Who do you think is the best quarterback of all time?

[dolphins4life]

His Super Bowl wins prove that not only is he an excellent QB, but he is employed by a team with an excellent front office and arguably one of the greatest coaches in NFL history.

...or it could be luck, I suppose.  

I often wonder if Peyton Manning would have won more than one Super Bowl with Belichek as his head coach.  Dungy made several head-scratching decisions in the playoffs.

[dolphins4life]

^^^ None of those sound as much like luck as they sound like Brady has had some excellent teams around him.

Hence he was LUCKY to have these excellent teams around him. 

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

One measure of greatness is a truely great player elevated those arond him. Brady has had multiple recivers that also played with other qbs.  Has any of them done better with Brady than the other qb?  Have any done better with the other?

Bledsoe went 0-2 with the same team Brady took to the SB.

Welker did better in NE than Mia orDen.  And Denver has a pretty decent qb in his own right.

Moss did crap in Oakland broke records in ne then did crap again.

Etc etc etc

[Tenshot13]

One measure of greatness is a truely great player elevated those arond him. Brady has had multiple recivers that also played with other qbs.  Has any of them done better with Brady than the other qb?  Have any done better with the other?

Bledsoe went 0-2 with the same team Brady took to the SB.

Welker did better in NE than Mia orDen.  And Denver has a pretty decent qb in his own right.

Moss did crap in Oakland broke records in ne then did crap again.

Etc etc etc

1.  Bledsoe was very overrated in my opinion
2.  Welker did better in NE than Denver because he's in the twighlight of his career.  Miami had no QB at the time.
3.  Moss was a stud in Min before NE or OAK

I agree he isn't that lucky though...when you cheat, you make your own luck

[Phishfan]

Why are we going to debate who is lucky and who isn't? Since when did lucky become a bad thing anyway? In my experience, the best players generally are lucky. When that swagger is going luck follows.

[Denver_Bronco]

Brady, Elway, Montana

[dolphins4life]

Brady has a winning record in playoff games when his rating is below 70 (3-2)

Brady has an UNDEFEATED record in playoff games when his rating is below 60 (2-0)

[dolphins4life]

To me, though if he keeps playing this well this season, he would earn the greatest ever title. 

This is not a knock on other quarterbacks, though. 

[dolphins4life]

I would just like to point out that you have all agreed that it is Dan Marino already as a condition to join this board.

IJS

When did we agree that?

I do rate Marino ahead of quarterbacks such as Montana, Elway, and Bradshaw. 

Not Brady and Manning, though.

[Tenshot13]

When did we agree that?

I do rate Marino ahead of quarterbacks such as Montana, Elway, and Bradshaw. 

Not Brady and Manning, though.

Heresy. Leave this site and never come back.

[Pappy13]

I don't think Marino is the greatest QB of all time, but I think he's the greatest pocket QB of all time. The best QB all time may have been Steve Young who could kill you both throwing the ball and running it. Brady and Montana are very close to Marino, I just think Dan was better getting the ball down the field than either of these guys who both benefitted greatly from being on very good teams for most of their careers and could afford to play it safe and methodically move down the field. Marino was on an average team for most of his career and forced to carry the team the majority of the time. His first couple of years when Miami had a really good defense the Dolphins were head and shoulders above the rest of the league, but then things fell apart defensively and Marino was forced into playing from behind far too often. Had the Dolphins maintained a quality of defense that he had his first couple of years, they would have gone deep into the playoffs annually just like Brady and Montana.

[dolphins4life]

Another question to ask is how many Super Bowls would Marino have won if his opponents decided to roll over and literally hand games to him pretty much like they have done with Brady throughout his career.

Even in last year's blowout AFC title game, the Colts handed the Patriots their first two touchdowns with a fumble on a punt return and then on a missed field goal.

[dolphins4life]

I don't think Marino is the greatest QB of all time, but I think he's the greatest pocket QB of all time. The best QB all time may have been Steve Young who could kill you both throwing the ball and running it. Brady and Montana are very close to Marino, I just think Dan was better getting the ball down the field than either of these guys who both benefitted greatly from being on very good teams for most of their careers and could afford to play it safe and methodically move down the field. Marino was on an average team for most of his career and forced to carry the team the majority of the time. His first couple of years when Miami had a really good defense the Dolphins were head and shoulders above the rest of the league, but then things fell apart defensively and Marino was forced into playing from behind far too often. Had the Dolphins maintained a quality of defense that he had his first couple of years, they would have gone deep into the playoffs annually just like Brady and Montana.

Was there ever a time in Marino's career when the Dolphins were Super Bowl favorites?

[Spider-Dan]

I don't think Marino is the greatest QB of all time, but I think he's the greatest pocket QB of all time. The best QB all time may have been Steve Young who could kill you both throwing the ball and running it.

I think if this is your criteria, Elway is probably the best QB ever.

Keep in mind that Elway took three not-particularly-good teams to the Super Bowl mostly on his own arm and legs.  Sure, they got hammered in all three, but I don't think he gets enough credit for that.  The irony is that he finished his career with the all-important Super Bowl victories (on teams that really didn't even need him) and it seems like he's basically been forgotten.  Normally in the "greatest ever" discussions, you hear the same names:

Unitas
Montana
Brady

And then Peyton and Marino get mentioned as passers but discounted for their lack of postseason success (so much for winning that one title, Peyton).

It seems like there's a tier below where you have Elway, Favre, and Young; QBs that most people consider great but that no one really compares to the top tier.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

While Superbowl wins should not be the end all and be all of judging a QB, it should not be discounted completely "he is one player and it is a team sport"

Several reasons.  A good QB makes his receivers better.  A QB's responsibility goes beyond throwing the ball: he is the leader of the offense, he is responsible for clock management.  He sets the tone for the offense, if the QB gets rattled by being on the big stage the whole team gets rattled if he executes calmly he can calm the whole team.  So yes, I put more on SB wins when judging a QB than I do a right tackle or free safety.