NFL Roundtable: Who Is The Greatest Quarterback Ever?

It’s the question that sparks just about as much debate in football circles as any ever could.  Quarterback is the central position of the sports.  Teams that don’t have one don’t win.  There have been so many great ones, but it inevitably leads to the question.  Who is the greatest ever?

We posed this loaded subject to the Mocks crew in our latest NFL roundtable.

Sayre Bedinger:

It would be blasphemous for me to not answer this question with the name John Elway. If you want to talk about the greatest quarterback of all-time and not necessarily the most decorated (which would be down to only Brady and Montana, IMO) then Elway is the guy.

Dual-threat who did it for what seems like a lifetime, won at every age, elevated the play of everyone around him, and was a superstar late in games. Clutch. Winner. Every intangible. Every skill you could have possibly wanted from a QB, Elway had it.

Brady Lunt:

I’ll probably get some criticism for this, but I think 10 years from now we’re going to look back and realize just how great Tom Brady has been throughout his career. After being the 199th pick in the draft, Brady would go on to have one of the most successful careers of all-time. He’s been to the Super Bowl six times, winning four of them.

He’s a two-time MVP and doesn’t show signs of stopping, even at the age of 38. He’s always given his team a chance regardless of who’s around him and consistently played at an all-pro level. Many dislike him because of the scandals surrounding New England and the fact that they have been one of he best teams in the league.

But the success he’s had ranks with Elway and Montana as one of the best of all-time.

Eric Robinson:

Even as a pre-teen I’ve always felt that Joe Montana was and is the greatest. Yes, Brady was taken very low in the draft but Montana was taken in the third and had to earn his way on the field unlike Elway. Montana was undefeated in Super Bowls, three time Super Bowl MVP, eight time Pro Bowler, and an argument can be made that he’s the most clutch QB of all-time.

Keep in mind that he racked up those accolades while also fending off a talented Steve Young in the late 80s. Joe Cool gets my vote.

Matthew Holowiak:

I don’t think it’s too hard of a question: Tom Brady. I’m a Giants fan saying that by the way. He has been to 6 Super Bowls, won four, either holds or is on pace to break many passing records, and he has done it all with such various players around him.

He’s done it in all phases of his career. He has some of the smoothest and most textbook mechanics of any quarterback I’ve ever seen. He makes the players around him better. He is the quarterback every young player should model after in terms of preparation, play, and playing under pressure. No doubt Tom Brady is the best quarterback to ever play.

Kyle McKinnon:

Since Sayre said Elway, I’ll go old, old, old school and pick Kenny Stabler. He was the definition of clutch and was the centerpiece to the most winningest team of the 70s, that being the Raiders (no, it wasn’t the Steelers). Stabler was apart of numerous memorable moments in league history, and played against some incredible squads. Even though he only has one championship ring from his lone Super Bowl appearance, there’s not many QB’s that top Stabler. It’s terrible shame that he’s only now getting legitmate consideration for the HOF on account of his passing.

Erik Lambert:

A lot of people are going to fight me on this, but it must be done.  Peyton Manning is the greatest ever.  Time to give it up.  What is there left for this guy to prove he deserves that honor?  He has more passing yards and passing touchdowns than anybody ever.  He’s a five-time league MVP, more than double what Brady has.  He has taken two different franchises to the Super Bowl twice and reached the big game with four different head coaches.

If that weren’t enough he is now the oldest quarterback to ever reach a Super Bowl as well at 39.  It’s impossible to deny Brady has the edge in rings, but Manning has a ring too and he’s also beaten Brady three times in the playoffs, proving that the margin between them was as simple as home field advantage.  For the longest time I felt Elway was the standard because he meshed both physical ability and poise under pressure.

I now realize it’s time to give Peyton the respect he has more than earned.  None of the others on this list can match his numbers, his ability to adjust to not only new schemes but new coaching staffs, and lastly the undeniable work it took to have the greatest statistical season by a quarterback ever after his fourth neck surgery.