McCall St. Brewer
Well-Known Member
When I saw this sure-to-be-controversial list of the top 10 best ever quarterbacks from Cold Hard Football Facts (http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.co...definitive_list:_Top_10_NFL_quarterbacks.html)
I was surprised, but pleased, to find that at last someone out there actually knew something about football and football history.
Bart Starr the best quarterback of all time? Well, as they say in their section on him, "History has done a grave disservice to the legacy of Starr..."
For those of you who were either not around in the 60's, or didn't follow the NFL back then, let me tell you something about the Lombardi Packers. Never before, or ever since, have I ever experienced anything like what they acheived. Perhaps the 1950's New York Yankees are the only similar "dynasty" I can come up with, but I haven't really thought about this enough.
You see, the thing with Bart Starr and the Packers during those years is that whenever a big game came around, you just knew that they were going to win. You knew that Bart Starr would come through and you knew that, whatever happened, no matter how bad things may have looked at certain points in a game, that Bart and the Packers would find a way.
Bart Starr may not have the glitzy statistics of other quarterbacks, and even during his era it is possible that Johnny Unitas was a better athlete in some respects, but the bottom line is that Bart Starr won. He is hands down the best big game quarterback who has ever played the game.
Some of the younger sports talkers on the radio these days like to argue about where Brett Favre should be ranked among all time great quarterbacks. Many of them put him anywhere from 1 to 5 all time. Now don't get me wrong, because I love Brett Favre and am amazed by all that he has accomplished. My problem with him, though, is that you can't count on him to have an outstanding performance in big games. In fact, arguably, he has performed badly more often than he has performed well in big games.
You can't say that about Bart Starr. Green Bay lost to Philadelphia in the championship game in 1960 in Lombardi's second year as Green Bay head coach. I have heard anyone blame Bart Starr for that loss. Following that game, he went 9-0 in postseason games. Not only that, but in other big games during the regular season, Starr could always be counted on to come through. (He got knocked out of a huge game in 1965 against the Colts, but the Packers still won).
Bart Starr was simply the best. You just knew he was going to win-- and he did-- every time.
I was surprised, but pleased, to find that at last someone out there actually knew something about football and football history.
Bart Starr the best quarterback of all time? Well, as they say in their section on him, "History has done a grave disservice to the legacy of Starr..."
For those of you who were either not around in the 60's, or didn't follow the NFL back then, let me tell you something about the Lombardi Packers. Never before, or ever since, have I ever experienced anything like what they acheived. Perhaps the 1950's New York Yankees are the only similar "dynasty" I can come up with, but I haven't really thought about this enough.
You see, the thing with Bart Starr and the Packers during those years is that whenever a big game came around, you just knew that they were going to win. You knew that Bart Starr would come through and you knew that, whatever happened, no matter how bad things may have looked at certain points in a game, that Bart and the Packers would find a way.
Bart Starr may not have the glitzy statistics of other quarterbacks, and even during his era it is possible that Johnny Unitas was a better athlete in some respects, but the bottom line is that Bart Starr won. He is hands down the best big game quarterback who has ever played the game.
Some of the younger sports talkers on the radio these days like to argue about where Brett Favre should be ranked among all time great quarterbacks. Many of them put him anywhere from 1 to 5 all time. Now don't get me wrong, because I love Brett Favre and am amazed by all that he has accomplished. My problem with him, though, is that you can't count on him to have an outstanding performance in big games. In fact, arguably, he has performed badly more often than he has performed well in big games.
You can't say that about Bart Starr. Green Bay lost to Philadelphia in the championship game in 1960 in Lombardi's second year as Green Bay head coach. I have heard anyone blame Bart Starr for that loss. Following that game, he went 9-0 in postseason games. Not only that, but in other big games during the regular season, Starr could always be counted on to come through. (He got knocked out of a huge game in 1965 against the Colts, but the Packers still won).
Bart Starr was simply the best. You just knew he was going to win-- and he did-- every time.