All-time Top 12 seasons by a QB

[King Glorious]

Now that I'm rolling, I want to do some more quarterbacks. Takes a little time between them but here's Joe Montana. Remember, all stats and records are as a starter only. First column regular season, second is total playoffs, third is conference title games and Super Bowls.

Games......164 (117-47.713).......23 (16-7.696).........11 (8-3.727)
Comp...............3304..................460...... .................220
Att..................5220..................734.... ...................345
Comp%.............63.3..................62.7...... ...............63.8
Yds.................39318................5772..... ................2873
TD...................259....................45.... ....................24
TD%.................5.0....................6.1.... ...................7.0
Int...................134.....................21.. ......................7
Int%.................2.6....................2.9... ....................2.0
YPG.................239.7.................251.0... .................261.2
Rating..............92.1...................95.6... ..................104.7

Montana is incredible. Notice how his accuracy is steady no matter the level of the game and is at it's highest in the biggest games. His td% goes up at each level and his interception % is at it's lowest in the biggest games. His yards per game go up and so does his quarterback rating. It's clear to see why he's considered one of the most clutch big game performers in history. Yes, he usually played with really good teams and really good players but we've seen plenty of guys that did that and when the pressure was turned up, the faltered. Montana didn't.

Coming up next is Troy Aikman.

[King Glorious]

Aikman

Games........165 (94-71.570).........15 (11-4.733).......7 (6-1.857)
Comp.............2898....................309...... .................145
Att................4715....................486.... ...................218
Comp%..........61.5.....................63.6...... ...............66.5
Yds...............32942..................3735..... ................1823
TD................165......................23..... ...................13
TD%...............3.5.....................4.7..... ...................6.0
Int................141.......................16... .....................4
Int%...............3.0......................3.3... ....................1.8
YPG...............199.6..................249.0.... .................260.4
Rating............81.6.....................89.2... ...................104.6

Aikman is another one that increased his productivity during the playoffs. He was a decent regular season qb but nothing spectacular. But notice how his td% rises as the stakes get higher and he goes from barely over a 1/1 td to interception ration during the regular season to over a 3/1 ratio during the conference title games and Super Bowls. His yards per game and passer rating shoot way up as the games get bigger and of course, his winning percentage does too. These are the hallmarks of guys that come through in the clutch.

[King Glorious]

Here's Brady and Manning in the same format

Brady
Games..........111 (87-24.784).......17 (14-3.824)..........9 (7-2.778)
Comp............2295.....................372...... ..................191
Att...............3640....................595..... ....................299
Comp%..........63.0....................62.5....... .................63.9
Yds..............26394.................3954....... ..................2001
TD................197......................26..... .......................13
TD%..............5.4......................4.3..... .....................4.3
Int.................86......................12.... .........................6
Int%..............2.3.......................2.0... .......................2.0
YPG.............237.8...................232.6..... ...................222.3
Rating..........93.0.....................88.0..... ....................89.3

Manning
Games..........176 (117-59.665).......15 (7-8.467)............3 (2-1.667)
Comp............3839.....................348...... .....................75
Att...............5960.....................564.... .......................132
Comp%..........64.4.....................61.7...... ....................56.8
Yds..............45628...................4208..... ......................833
TD...............333.......................22..... .........................3
TD%.............5.6........................4.0.... .......................2.3
Int...............165.......................17.... ...........................6
Int%.............2.8........................3.0... ........................4.5
YPG..............259.3....................280.5... ....................277.7
Rating...........94.8......................85.0... ........................64.4

[King Glorious]

Marino

Games........240 (147-93.613)..........18 (8-10.444).......4 (1-3.250)
Comp..............4944.......................385.. ...................92
Att.................8319.......................687 ....................175
Comp%............59.4........................56.0. ................52.6
Yds................61121....................4510.. ..................1255
TD..................417........................32. .......................8
TD%...............5.0..........................4.7 .....................4.6
Int..................251........................24 .......................7
Int%................3.0........................3.5 ......................4.0
YPG................254.7......................250. 6................. 313.8
Rating.............86.4........................77. 1...................74.3

Marino's numbers are suprisingly disappointing. I knew he was a high yards and touchdowns guy but I didn't really realize how average he was in so many areas. His completion percentages and td/int ratios are way below what I expected to see when I started looking up this stuff. He also regressed significantly in the biggest games. Very disappointing.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Yeah, Antwon Smith. I picked the Patriots to win the Super Bowl that year before the season ... Indian Charlie can tell you all about it.

Yeah, I can attest that Douglas Savantore did indeed pick them, and when they started out with a poor record, he even said, and I quote "they will still win the superbowl if a few things go their way".

I would only rank that though #3 on his all time retarded predictions that actually came true.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

And all three had one common denominator, the best WR in football. That is the problem with rating QBs, there are so many other factors and too much credit is given to the QB. All three of those guys are great QBs but you'll never convince me that if you plugged Peyton Manning in for them that he wouldn't have been better.

Take a guy like Troy Aikman, he's not in the top 100 QBs to ever live but when you have one of the greatest O-Lines in football history, Emmit Smith in the backfield, and Michael Irvin, Alvin Harper, and Jay Novacek to throw to you become a Hall of Famer. Hell, Mark Rypien won a Super Bowl for one of the most dominant single season teams I have ever seen strictly cause they had the most amazing line in NFL history.

Actually, Aikman was, if anything, underrated. They didn't pass very much in that offense. They could easily have been a much more prolific offense.

The real beneficiary of all those stud offensive players was Emmit Smith. Grossly overrated in my estimation. I can only imagine Barry Sanders on that team, that would have been sick.

[King Glorious]

Kurt Warner

Games..........101 (57-44.564)..........11 (8-3.727).........6 (4-2.667)
Comp.............2260.........................261. ....................152
Att................3442.........................40 3......................236
Comp%............65.7........................64.8. ....................64.4
Yds...............27704.......................3368 ......................1905
TD.................178..........................26 ........................12
TD%................5.2..........................6. 5.......................5.1
Int..................113.......................... 13........................6
Int%...............3.3...........................3 .2.......................2.5
YPG.................274.3......................306 .2.....................317.5
Rating..............93.9.........................9 8.9.....................95.7

Warner is an interesting guy by the numbers. There's considerable debate about whether or not he's a hall of famer. I say yes. His career numbers aren't all that great but he's won a couple of MVP awards and been to three Super Bowls with two different teams. He's performed better in the playoffs and in the really big games than he has in the regular season and that's something I love. His passer rating is very high and his yards per game is extremely impressive. So is his accuracy and his 2/1 td to int ratio in the playoffs. When it comes to playoff performers, he's ahead of Brady, Aikman, and Montana in yards per game, completion %, td %, and passer rating. And that's just of the ones I've done so far.

[King Glorious]

Brett Favre

Games.........269 (169-100.628)...........22 (12-10.545)...........6 (3-3.500)
Comp............5690............................43 8.........................114
Att...............9223............................ 721..........................199
Comp%.........61.7..............................60 .7.......................57.3
Yds...............64765..........................5 311.......................1559
TD...............462.............................. ..39........................13
TD%.............5.0............................... .5.4.........................6.5
Int...............307............................. ..28...........................6
Int%.............3.3.............................. ..3.9........................3.0
YPG.............240.8............................2 41.4......................259.8
Rating...........85.6............................. ..85.3......................91.7

Favre's numbers kind of suprised me a little as well. I always thought of him as kind of reckless with the ball and his td to int ratio during the regular season and playoffs kind of support that thinking. But in the big games, he's better than 2/1, which suprised me. I also like how his quarterback rating stays consistent even in the playoffs and actually rises during the big games. He does lose a little accuracy as the games get bigger but overall, I think he's pretty consistent no matter the stakes. I don't like that his winning percentage goes down with each level though.

[herkhorse]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

The real beneficiary of all those stud offensive players was Emmit Smith. Grossly overrated in my estimation. I can only imagine Barry Sanders on that team, that would have been sick.

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

How can you watch Manning and his jittery feet in those situations and no realize that there's more to it than just the stats? Brady has a presence and brings a calmness to the team that is reassuring and he exudes confidence. Hell, I've even seen it in Eli Manning more than I've seen it in Peyton. You want to talk about underperforming against expectations? How many times in a row have the Colts won at least 10 games and they have one title to show for it. They are like the Braves of the NFL. When the breaks don't go your way once or twice, chalk that up to bad luck. When they continually go against you, while they continually went Brady's way, that's not luck. Then take it back to Peyton's troubles in college and you see a pattern. I think Peyton is a better passer. Better at reading a defense and making the tougher throws. Better at leading a team for 45 minutes a game. But when it's on the line, give me Brady every time and while you come up with your reasons why Brady won and Manning lost, be it the defense they face or the idiot kicker making or missing, etc, I'll be celebrating the championship. I'll always take wins over excuses.

what he said

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Actually, Aikman was, if anything, underrated. They didn't pass very much in that offense. They could easily have been a much more prolific offense.

The real beneficiary of all those stud offensive players was Emmit Smith. Grossly overrated in my estimation. I can only imagine Barry Sanders on that team, that would have been sick.

I went to a ton of Eagles/Cowboys games growing up. During those golden years for the Cowgirls, you could drive 18 wheelers through the holes the offensive line created. Anyone on this site could have rushed for 1000 yards per season on that team

also, Good stats King.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

I went to a ton of Eagles/Cowboys games growing up. During those golden years for the Cowgirls, you could drive 18 wheelers through the holes the offensive line created. Anyone on this site could have rushed for 1000 yards per season on that team

also, Good stats King.

Exactly my point. It was a near miracle of Smith was ever hit before the line of scrimmage, and it seemed pretty rare for him to be hit before gaining three yards.

I loved the way, as his career progressed, he'd get hit that once or twice a game and he'd go down and stay down for a minute. All of a sudden, he'd spring back up and everyone in Dallas would let out their collective breaths.

He was very theatrical.

Barry Sanders, or Eric Dickerson in his prime, with that line, would easily have gone for 2k a year.

[Antitrust32]

Some of my greatest childhood (and adult) memories are Eagles/Cowboys games.

First one I went to, I was 6. Its when the cowgirls sucked but had there good players so they were about to be good. It had snowed and everyone was chucking snowballs at the cowgirls huddle. That was great... Think want you want about Philly fans but Cowgirls always deserve to be pelted with snowballs.

and then there was "ITS 4TH AND 1 AND THEY STOP HIM AGAIN!! ITS GROUNDHOG DAY!" one of the greatest Eagles plays, stopping Emmit twice on 4th and 1.. the first time didnt count cause the clock hit the 2 min warning before the snap.. but we stuffed them twice.

Last year's 44-6 game to get into the playoffs was a great experience. My bro and I drank so much beer to stay warm! What an atmosphere though, its always great blowing out the Cowgirls!

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by The Bid

Brady Quinn 09-----TBD, but I get the feeling it may go down as a great one

Good lord ...

*shaking my head*

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

no way the aints are a paper bull..no one has tried to beat up on breeze yet

and sanchez is doing very well..

NO, Matt! This is our year, I tell ya!

[King Glorious]

Elway

Games........231 (148-82-1.643).........21 (14-7.667).........11 (7-4.636)
Comp%............56.9..........................54. 2......................51.5
YPG...............222.2.........................23 0.5....................231.1
TD%................4.1...........................4 .2.......................3.8
Int%................3.1........................... 3.1.......................3.6
Rating..............79.8........................80 .1......................74.3

Doing Elway's numbers surprised me. I always thought he was better than this numbers wise. Compared to all the rest I've done, he's the least accurate of all of them so far. His completion % sucks big time and he gets less and less accurate as the stakes increase. His td/int ratio is pretty weak and it's horrible in the biggest games. Not impressed at all by his numbers. He and Marino are virtually the same quarterback by the passing numbers. Luckily for Elway, he got Terrell Davis and got his Super Bowl wins.

[King Glorious]

Ben Roethlisberger

Games..........71 (51-20.718).........10 (8-2.800)........5 (4-1.800)
Comp%............62.4.....................61.9.... ...............59.1
YPG...............208.4...................223.9... ................227.0
TD%...............5.3.......................5.4... ...................4.4
Int%...............3.6.......................4.3.. ....................4.4
Rating............89.5.....................87.2... ..................82.2

Roethlisberger is a pretty steady guy. He loses some accuracy but not a whole lot. His td/int ratio is not too good and gets worse as the stakes rise so he might want to work on that but his numbers don't lose too much as the games get bigger.

[horseofcourse]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

How can you watch Manning and his jittery feet in those situations and no realize that there's more to it than just the stats? Brady has a presence and brings a calmness to the team that is reassuring and he exudes confidence. Hell, I've even seen it in Eli Manning more than I've seen it in Peyton. You want to talk about underperforming against expectations? How many times in a row have the Colts won at least 10 games and they have one title to show for it. They are like the Braves of the NFL. When the breaks don't go your way once or twice, chalk that up to bad luck. When they continually go against you, while they continually went Brady's way, that's not luck. Then take it back to Peyton's troubles in college and you see a pattern. I think Peyton is a better passer. Better at reading a defense and making the tougher throws. Better at leading a team for 45 minutes a game. But when it's on the line, give me Brady every time and while you come up with your reasons why Brady won and Manning lost, be it the defense they face or the idiot kicker making or missing, etc, I'll be celebrating the championship. I'll always take wins over excuses.

There's your answer right there. How many titles does Brady have without Vinatieri?? Zero. How many has Manning won without Vinatieri?? Zero. He is the magic elixer for both fellows. If Tom Brady had Scott Norwood and Jim Kelly had Adam Vinatieri, they'd have the same number of championships.

Brady often needed that idiot kicker.

[King Glorious]

Steve Young

Games............143 (94-49.657)........14 (8-6.571).........5 (2-3.400)
Comp%............64.4........................61.5. ...................61.2
YPG.................224.6......................222 .7..................266.0
TD%...............5.5..........................4.3 ......................5.5
Int%...............2.6..........................2. 7......................2.2
Rating............96.4.........................85. 4....................92.5

Young's first two years were with the Buccaneers and they really didn't qualify as an NFL team. Here are his career regular season numbers with SF as a starter:

65.9% completions, 233.0 ypg, 5.9 td%, 2.3 int%, 101.1 rating. Young's numbers, while pretty good, show why he never could replace Montana up there. He was much more of a regular season guy and just didn't come through in the clutch the same way as Montana did. Montana got markedly better as the pressure increased. Young regressed. Not by a lot but still, went backwards.

[King Glorious]

Terry Bradshaw

Games..........158 (107-51.677).........19 (14-5.737)..........10 (8-2.800)
Comp%............52.4..........................57. 3.....................54.5
YPG...............171.9.........................20 1.7...................191.7
TD%................5.3............................ 6.6......................7.3
Int%................5.2........................... .5.7......................6.4
Rating.............71.9........................... 83.0.....................81.6

Bradshaw obviously got the job done and as the pressure increased, he got better. His accuracy and his quarterback rating both got better in the playoffs than in the regular season. The one thing I don't like about him is that his td/int ratio was very poor. Overall, he never was an accurate passer and his rating sucks in comparison to some of the best but you can't argue with the results. Great team or not, he got better as the stakes got higher.