NFL Network concluded its look at the the NFL 100 All-Time Team with a look at perhaps its most polarizing position – quarterbacks.
Throughout the course of the series, it has been noted that the selection committee was tasked with coming up with a list that represented the 100-year history of the National Football League. Friday’s list did just that.
Without furtherado, here is the list of 10 quarterbacks (in alphabetical order):
- Sammy Baugh
- Tom Brady*
- John Elway
- Brett Favre
- Otto Graham*
- Peyton Manning
- Dan Marino
- Joe Montana*
- Roger Staubach
- Johnny Unitas*
* Denotes unanimous selection
Perhaps the biggest surprise addition to the list was former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, who won a pair of Super Bowls and reached Super Sunday on four occasions. Staubach’s addition was a keen one though. He led the Cowboys to four Super Bowl appearances and led the league in passer rating four times during his career.
The biggest omission based off social media response is New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who is the current NFL all-time leader in most passing yards and touchdown passes.
While Brees is statistically superior to all those on the list, he never won a league MVP award and only made first-team All-Pro one time in his career (back in 2006). People are likely going to go crazy over this but it’s pretty evident Brees is a victim of the era he played in.
Brady, Manning, Aaron Rodgers combined to win eight MVP awards between 2007 to 2017. Brees didn’t win one during that stretch. Ultimately, Brees’s statistical success is in part symbolic of a pass-heavy era where he hasn’t been able to push him team back to a Super Bowl since the 2009 season.
Someone big was going to be left off the list no matter how it was done. Remember, Terry Bradshaw, who won four Super Bowls, didn’t make it either.
Nonetheless, with Baugh, Graham, Unitas, and Montana holdovers from the 75th anniversary squad, thinking two players in Rodgers and Brees that haven’t reached a Super Bowl since the 2010 season would appear on the list while still being active is a bit short-sided.
I’m siding with The Shield on this one. They got the list right.
Categories: News and Notes