So I figured it’s time to tackle a debate every football fan argues about – who’s truly the greatest quarterbacks ever? Grabbed my laptop around 8 PM last night, fired up YouTube game highlights first. Needed visuals before diving into stats.
Building the Foundation
Started scribbling names on a crumpled pizza receipt. Manning brothers? Obvious. Brady? Duh. Got stuck around number six though – kept debating Favre versus Rodgers. Texted my buddy Dave who’s a Packers nut. He screamed “RODGERS EFFICIENCY!” into the phone loud enough to wake my dog.
- First pass list looked awful: Had Marino way too low because I forgot his pre-injury rushing yards.
- Checked career stats: Wasted an hour comparing Montana’s playoff comebacks against Elway’s fourth-quarter drives.
- Modern bias hit me: Almost left Unitas off completely until I watched his 1958 NFL Championship replay.
The Crunch Phase
Came up with three rules for myself around midnight when the coffee wore off: Must have MVP awards, must change how the position got played, and must have bonkers clutch moments. That booted some fan favorites like Cunningham.
Made a pros/cons chart in my notebook:
- Peyton’s brain vs Brady’s rings
- Marino’s arm vs Montana’s ice veins
- Young’s legs vs Brees’ accuracy
Final Tuning
Stared at my #10 spot forever between Staubach and Moon. Watched Staubach’s Hail Mary again – that flick of the wrist sealed it. Biggest surprise? Mahomes barging into top five already. Guy plays like he’s using cheat codes.
Final ranking justification boiled down to:
- Brady at #1: Seven rings. Period.
- Rodens over Favre: Fewer “what the hell?!” picks.
- Elway at #7: Two titles carrying worse teams than Montana.
Posted it around 2 AM. Woke up to three Packers fans cursing in my DMs about Favre. Worth it.
