why is joe namath considered the greatest quarterback of his era?
365908
one he did a very good arm, second he played in new york, won the super bowl, wore a mink coat on sidelands, played in new york, made a huge amount of money and finally played in new york. the new york media kinda makes there hometown heroes immortal in sports world.
797042
Peyton will be known as one of the best, there are a lot of shoes to fill there and he has not been to nor won the Superbowl yet.  The only 2 really great QB's to not win one are Marino and Kelly.  The best ever?  He has to look up to Bradshaw, Montana, Aikman and Elway  before anyone can claim that for Peyton.  Maybe he will, we will have to see.  Joe Montana was the best QB ever, cool under pressure and very few mistakes and a whole bunch ' o Super Bowl rings.\n\nL.T. by far is the best running back the Chargers have ever had.  But, he too, has a long way to go to stand up to Payton, Brown, Sanders and Thurman.  Walter Payton was the best running back ever.  He NEVER had a really good offensive line and he held the rushing record for a long time before Emmit passed it.  Emmit had a VERY good offensive line for several years, He is good but not as good as a Payton or Barry Sanders.
965109
The Denver Broncos because they (normally) have a balanced offense and defense, the run game is (usually) the best in the league no matter who the running back is or who the linemen are, they have great players like Rod Smith, Javon Walker, Champ Bailey, John Lynch, Al Wilson, Tom Nalen, Jason Elam, DJ Williams, Ian Gold, and a decent quarterback in Jake Plummer, plus a young QB Jay Cutler who is going to be the future of the team, and they know how to win.
931789
If you said the last 15 years I would have put Montana #5:\n\n1.) John Elway - does what ever it takes to win. Not as wild as Favre\n\n2.) Brett Favre - a close 2nd\n\n3.) Dan Marino - best passer of all time...although not all there with playmaking\n\n4.) Troy Aikman - very good in all categories and outstanding in none\n\n5.) Peyton Manning - A good play caller and passer, but really can't make a play if the original play isn't there.\n\nAlthough, if I had to pick a QB for my team with current NFL QBs I would choose either Tom Brady or Donovan McNabb
11559
He certainly is... He is however not a pocket passer, he wins games with his legs in addition to his arm. I think people deem him not to be a pure quarterback because he doesnt air it out and win games with his arm but really he is evolving the position.
847095
who are you comparing these guys to?..Manning will go down in history as one the greats..Brady and McNabb (maybe) will likely join him in the hall of fame..outside them there isn't much..but little Manning and Palmer could be in the same breathe as them in a handful of years\n\nthese guys are still with their original teams..unless you count the draft of Eli as a charger..but remember Elway wasn't drafted by Denver
1095559
Matt Hasselback, becuase you specifically said right now. Brett Favre is one of the greatest/toughest  QBs in NFL history, but Hasselback is younger and slightly better QB than Favre is now.  Favre throws way too many interceptions. Alot of Favre's passes are go for broke (big plays/touchdowns/let the receiver catch in triple coverage), he was great at doing when he was younger and he was better decision maker.  He didn't throw as nearly as many picks as he does now.  I\n\nHasselback is not a playmaker like Favre, but he manages the game better and does not throw as many costly interceptions as Favre.
249476
To answer this question, you have to ask "How is a QB judged?"  .  If it is by championships, then it is Montana.  If you judge by statistics, then Young is all-time leader in passing efficiency.  If you judge by leadership, it's hard to argue that there was a better motivator/leader than Montana.  If you judge by athleticism, Young's ability to run changed the game forever.\n\nI'm a HUGE Steve Young fan and he is probably my favorite player of all time, but I'd have to give the edge to Montana for this reason:  he was able to take 3 vastly different teams to the Superbowl 4 times.  The 81 Team was so much different than the 85 team, which was different than the 88-89 teams.  There was no Jerry Rice or John Taylor in 85 and no Roger Craig on the 81 squad.  Joe was the constant and to me, that's what makes him extraordinairy. When you look at the Steelers of the 70's, and the Cowboys of the 90's they did it with the same core group.  The 49ers of the 80's were truly led by the game's great all time QB.
871380
You only say that because he is the QB for the FIghting Irish. If he was a construction worker you would care less. Which shows how fucked up our country is! People are attracted to fame and fortune and nothing else. Sure football is fun to watch but nobody is gonna be able to take anything with them when they die! So; Its just an illusion.
656265
Johnny Unitas, extolled in countless football arenas as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game, was almost denied the chance to prove his talent. Unitas began his career as field general while a sophomore at St. Justin's High School when the quarterback broke his ankle. Johnny U, it was decided, could throw the ball well enough and was moved to the QB position with less than a week to learn the entire offense. Johnny wanted very much to go to college to continue his sport and build himself a solid foundation for the future. However, his dream team, Notre Dame, was unwilling to take a gamble that his six foot, 138 pound frame would bulk up. Unitas received an offer from the University of Louisville, and after some consideration, decided being a big fish in a small pond might be more to his advantage after all. He made a solid reputation for himself while at Louisville that got him into the ninth slot for the Pittsburgh Steelers draft of '55. Unitas was eventually told the club couldn't use him, they had too many quarterbacks.\n\nThe Steelers had waited so long to let him go that it was too late for a chance of being drafted anywhere else. Johnny was left to construction work and the Bloomfield Rams, a semi-pro team that had to sprinkle its field with oil before every game to keep the dust down--since there was no grass to do it.\n\nFinally, one fateful day in February of 1956, the lucky call came. The Baltimore Colts were interested in what Johnny might be able to do for them.\n\nThey saw. They liked. They bought. The $7,000 contract was a far cry from the $3 a game he had been making on his dusty field. So began a 17-year career with the Colts. The 1958 title game in which Unitas took the Colts on two 80-yard drives to beat the New York Giants 23-17 is considered by many as the greatest pro football game ever played.\n\nJohnny U retired in 1973 after one year with the San Diego Chargers. He left behind him records for: most pass attempts (5,186); most completions (2,830); most total yards (40,239); most touchdowns (290); most 300-yard games (26); and most consecutive games throwing touchdown passes (47). He led the Colts to one Super Bowl Crown, three NFL championships, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
944114
Manning, because for one he's a great QB and two he can read defenses.  Plus, he's great leader and you can count on him in tight spots.
810844
This is a very difficult question. \n\nIf you look at both side to side it is almost like looking at Joe Montana and Dan Marino. Montana, like Brady, has the Championship rings. Also, just like Montana, Brady has constantly had great coaches and a decent cast of co-players around him. \n\nManning and Marino have not had that luxury. Both Marino and Manning are regular season statical giants. Breaking pretty much every passing record, neither seemed to have the right mix of players to get through the playoffs. Also until Dungy, Manning never really had great coaching.\n\nIn truth the answer to this opinion question lies in whether or not you feel that Championships or Records make greatness.\n\nI am of the belief that records make greatness so I would CURRENTLY choose Manning as the better of the two.\n\nHowever, Brady is still very young, so the jury is still out.
397122
Bradshaw, Elway, Marino, P. Manning, Montana  are my favorites of all time!\n\nbut that is really difficult to say because I am leaving out so many greats!\n\nStarr, Unitas, Staubach, Namath, Brady, Aikman, Moon, Tittle, Young, Favre and maybe even Vick or Big Ben someday!\n\nIt really depends what era, or what criteria you are looking for.
891998
Historically speaking, quarterbacks who were considered superior athletes, ala Troy Smith, haven't always done that well in the NFL.  Great college quarterbacks, particularly those that depend primarily on their athleticism rather than their arm and decision-making, don't always have games that translate well into the NFL.  \n\nQuinn has more of a prototypical NFL game and is about 5 inches taller.  The NFL has been dominated by drop-back passers who have generally been good, but not great athletes.  Add to that Smith's height, he's listed at 6'1'' but most scouts believe he's closer to 5'11'', and you have a lot of question marks about his NFL future.\n\nMichael Vick was going to revolutionize the game, and although he's shown flashes of brilliance, overall he's been a very mediocre NFL quarterback.   Is Troy Smith a better QB coming of out of college than Michael Vick was?  Not even close.  \n\nI'm not even sure he's as good as Seneca Wallace was and that's who most NFL scouts are equating him to.  Troy Smith could play with Ohio State's 2nd and 3rd stringers and still have a better college team than either of those two ever got to work with.  \n\nI think a lot of draft analysts wonder if Troy Smith is really that great or if he's just the beneficiary of a great team that is stocked with lots of future NFL prospects.  Ohio State has arguably more team speed than anyone in the country and probably a top 2 or 3 defense.\n\nSo...I think teams might be hesitant to draft him as the first quarterback.  Maybe he's the next Donovan McNabb which would be great, maybe he's the next Daunte Culpepper which wouldn't be the end of the world but would suck if you took him as the 1st QB, or maybe he's the next Akili Smith...which would just plain suck.  I think a 5'11'' quarterback with poor throwing accuracy is going to be a tough sell for most NFL teams.
949516
I'm an old fart so I can remember watching football in the late fifties.  I am also an avid SEC fan and have followed those schools since the late sixties.  If I had to chose one player that was truly amazing with 'god given talent' and good work ethics then it would be Bo Jackson.  He was an extraordinary athlete.  He was successful not only at football but baseball as well.  It was a shame his career was cut short due to injury.  No telling where he would have ended up on the charts.
576760
10. Peyton Manning\n9. Tom Brady\n8. Phil Simms\n7. Jim Kelly\n6. Troy Aikman\n5. Steve Young\n4. Brett Favre\n3. Dan Marino\n2. John Elway\nAnd the best???...Joe Montana\nAll most...\nDoug Flutie\nWarren Moon\nBoomer Esiason\nDrew Bledsoe\nRandall Cunningham\nJim McMahon\nBernie Kosar\nDaunte Culpepper
914526
I am from Indiana, but I have been a NY Giants fan for as long as I can remember.\n\nIn all honesty, I think Peyton Manning is the best quarterback that I have ever *personally* watched play (including the games I have seen on television). With that said, I would say at least 5 years and at most 10 years. I also think that he will stay in Indianapolis until the day he calls it quits.