Do you agree? Who is your top 5?

In no particular order I have

Brady
Peyton
Unitas
Montana
Favre

Also considered Marino Elway Rodgers Staubach Rodgers and Brees

Johnny

snowdog90 said:

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Favre is not top 5. Rodgers is better than Favre.

Brady
Montana

Elway
Marino
Peyton
Rodgers

No order, tier 1, tier 2.

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That is my thoughts as well, for years I would argue Montana over Brady, not anymore, but those two are certainly tier 1 and I agree with tier 2. If Rodgers can pull it together for a couple more SB, he will move into tier 1.

Does Brees not belong in the top 5?

He's got more TDs and yards than Brady, Marino, and Elway. NFL record 66.64% comp pect and 54 straight games with a TD.

Think he deserves top 5 talk.

Brees is way up there, but he hasn't really won enough to be top 5 in my book. Definitely top 10.

I would say:

Brady
Montana

Manning
Elway
Rodgers
Unitas
Marino

Brees
Farve
Kelly

Brees is awesome. Honestly, I just haven't seen him play a lot. But I agree he belongs somewhere in the conversation.

Why has no one mentioned Staubach? He has as many rings as Elway and the Mannings. And I abhor the cowboys.
And Unitas needs to be higher on these lists. He did more with less than maybe anybody on these lists.

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I find it impossible to compare across different times as the game is nowhere near the same. I think skill wise Rodgers is WAY up there though. Not sure there has been anyone who I consider a top passer so good out of the pocket. His deep accuracy is amazing. Needs more Super Bowls, but skill wise I think he beat Brady. But, fewer opportunities to be truly amazing like Brady has had being in the better overall organization.

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I think football is the one sport where I don't think it's fair to consider championships when talking about top position player. Playoff games are lost on kickers misses, bad tackling, and a whole slew of things unrelated to the QB. Sure, hold it against their overall legacy...but it's ok to say someones a Top 3 QB and still mention their lack of championships.

edit: I should say that we shouldn't overvalue titles. Even if Brady goes on to win more titles, you will never know if Joe could have won more this era, or what Brady would have done back in Joes.

One name that is left out of this conversation is Big Ben. However, if they win the Super Bowl this year that would give him 3 rings and he is on target to finish in the top 5-6 in yards and possibly touchdowns with a career passer rating that is better than Marino, Montana, Favre and Elway.

regarding Brees...he's had a great HoF career, but 3 drawbacks are:

-- lack of postseason success. He's only been to the playoffs 6 times in 15 seasons -- primarily in a division (NFC South) that has not been all that great thru the years.

-- the home/road splits. Some years they have been borderline embarrassing to play so well at home and then play so poorly on the road.

-- ton of interceptions. 220 in his career. Especially when compared to his peers. Brees averages 15 per season during a time when so much emphasis is placed on turnovers

Big Ben is a guy who never gets mentioned but deserves consideration.

Rodgers reminds me very much of Steve Young. Young is handicapped because of his USFL years and his years carrying Montana's clipboard.

I agree on Big Ben. Young was good and should be mentioned, but Rodgers is an another level, which Young never reached, IMO.

Rodgers is the most talented QB I've ever seen. Arm strength (best Hail Mary guy ever), accuracy, can throw from pocket or on run. Great pocket presence and escapability. Great poise. He's even a top 3-4 running QB in the league but he just doesn't run that much.

Any QB you can name there is at least one thing that Rodgers does significantly better. Go down the list and see for yourself.

But he has to win more to be considered among the top few QBs ever, instead of just most talented.

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But he has to win more to be considered among the top few QBs ever, instead of just most talented.

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I don't get why we make this distinction...it seems like it exists solely to add this arbitrary "winning" component. I am not sure why we overvalue football players for having good teammates and undervalue them for not.

I think when you say "all time" it's impossible to nail down three guys.

In this "current era" I'd say it's easily Brady, Manning, Rodgers.

In the era previous to that I'd say Montana, Aikman, Marino.

Before that I didn't watch any of those dudes...Stabler, Tark, Bradshaw, etc, and then even back to Johnny U, Starr, etc.

I just think you have to define the era more specifically.

I agree that it's very difficult to compare eras.

Always one of my favorite stats...in 1978 Terry Bradshaw (as the NFL MVP and 1st team All-Pro) threw 20 interceptions. The following year 1979 he threw 25 interceptions. However he was generally considered the best QB in the league those 2 years.

there is no way in the year 2017 a QB would be considered for MVP or All-Pro with that many picks. It was a different game prior to the west coast offense (and the short passing game) becoming so popular in the 1980's

another key consideration has to be the quality of WR's played with. That would generally be a plus for Brady, Rodgers, and Brees. And a slight downgrade for Montana and Young (having had Jerry Rice for so many years).

that was one thing that probably kept Kenny Stabler from the HoF for so many years. His #1 WR (Biletnikoff) and TE (Casper) were no doubt Hall of Famers. And Cliff Branch was really good too. So the QB doesn't get as much credit.

although that did not hurt Dan Fouts per se...even though he never won anything of significance

I think the biggest issue is what DBs could get away with then versus now.