Who is Better: The Great Quarterback Debate

There has been an ongoing debate throughout the years about who rank as the best quarterbacks in NFL history. You hear the names Montana, Marino, Elway, Unitas, Bradshaw and Favre thrown about. There are usually two sides of the fence you can fall on; do you go for the guy with the great statistics or the one who won championships? Is Dan Marino the greatest, or is it Joe Montana?

Sunday night in Foxborough, Massachusetts, we have the two most prominent signal callers in the league leading their respective teams into battle for AFC bragging rights. Throughout the week, football writers and analysts alike have been debating who the better quarterback is and whom they would take if they were forced to choose. To me, this is reminiscent of the Bill Russell versus Wilt Chamberlain argument, or the Dan Marino versus Joe Montana debate. One player has mind-boggling career numbers while the other has the bling. To me, the answer is so obvious that the fact that we even have to argue the topic boggles my mind. The important question is, “what do you play the game for?” Growing up in your backyard, did you daydream about throwing the most touchdowns in the league, scoring the most points in a game, or being the leading passer in the NFL? Maybe some did, but I dreamed about scoring the game-winning basket that wins the NBA Championship or throwing the winning pass in the Super Bowl. It is all about the titles; championships are what matter in sports, not numbers.

Every year, Peyton Manning puts up gaudy numbers throughout the regular season, leading the Colts to the top of the AFC. Every postseason, however, the Colts shockingly get knocked off and everyone wonders what happened. Up in Foxborough, the supposedly boring Patriots narrowly beat their opponents week in and week out and people doubt their talent. The Pats do not have great receivers…their offensive line is not good enough to handle great pass rushers… their defense is too old to compete. Every season, you hear these remarks said about New England and what happens in January, it ends up being Tom Brady who lifts another Vince Lombardi trophy above his head and it is Boston hosting a victory parade. Back in the 60’s Wilt Chamberlain put up astronomical numbers while his Sixers and Lakers teams dominated their opponents, yet every June, Bill Russell and his Boston Celtics won another championship.

Give me Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman and Bill Russell and you can have Peyton Manning, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly and Wilt Chamberlain. Twenty years from now, when Brady and Manning are retired and thinking about their careers, you can bet Manning would trade places with Brady any day. Great stats look good on paper but trophies and championship rings look better on the mantle.