Which of these 4 retired QBs would you most prefer to build your franchise around in the current NFL?

[chad72]

I have 4 QBs listed - Dan Marino, John Elway, Joe Montana, and Steve Young.

 

Who would you have liked to build your franchise around the most in the current NFL? 

[Colts_Fan12]

Dan Marino is my pick since Peyton isn't an option lol 

[2006Coltsbestever]

I'll go Peyton  I know he isn't a choice. I am not sure here because Marino was the most talented but knowing what we know now, only Brady has been the better winner over Montana.

[BloodyChamp]

Current NFL? Dan Marino because the arm is all you need if it's big enough.  Any other time I would pick Elway because he was talented in every facet of the game even if he wasn't the most talented at any of them. 

[crazycolt1]

I would go with Steve Young. Not only did he have a strong accurate arm he might have been the best running QB in history outside of Cunningham and Vick.

[Jules]

Dan Marino, he can carry a crappy team too. In today's NFL Marino would even beast harder then ever.

[AZColt11]

I always thought Elway was the best of those, even though he could've been a Colt and spurned them.  He could still play.

[southwest1]

1 hour ago, crazycolt1 said:

I would go with Steve Young. Not only did he have a strong accurate arm he might have been the best running QB in history outside of Cunningham and Vick.

I was more or less going to say the same thing CC1. 

 

What I liked most about Steve is that excelled at both scrambling outside the pocket & throwing TDs from the pocket. In addition, he succeeded a HOF QB in Montana & became 1 himself. That is extremely rare. 

 

Plus, the dude is left handed & he said once that going to law school was easier than mastering his 49ers playbook. Young is awesome. I loved seeing him beat the Cowboys too, an added bonus. 

[southwest1]

I can't criticize anybody for throwing Marino some love either. His release was lighting fast. 

 

I have a soft spot for Jim Kelly too & Warren Moon as well. God, Warren Moon threw beautiful passes with tight spirals. Loved him in his Oilers uniform. 

[crazycolt1]

7 minutes ago, southwest1 said:

I can't criticize anybody for throwing Marino some love either. His release was lighting fast. 

 

I have a soft spot for Jim Kelly too & Warren Moon as well. God, Warren Moon threw beautiful passes with tight spirals. Loved him in his Oilers uniform. 

If we are going outside of these 4 I would have to give Dan Fouts some kudos too. That dude could throw a super tight spiral also.

[crazycolt1]

I think it's kind of funny as we bring up all these great QBs and how they all thru great spirals and then we have Payton Manning. He thru lame ducks but his uncanny ability to be on target was amazing.

[southwest1]

16 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

If we are going outside of these 4 I would have to give Dan Fouts some kudos too. That dude could throw a super tight spiral also.

Great point CC1. Dan should receive more praise than he does playing for the San Diego Super Chargers man. 

 

I get a kick out of his broadcasts saying on the air stuff like this: He's bummed out that the Dos Equis pitch man AKA 'Stay Thirsty My Friends' got canned as the spokesman on TV since that was the perfect costume for Dan & he can't be that guy on Halloween anymore. 

 

Dan is a riot in the booth. He really is. I never know what he's gonna say live & neither does he. LOL! 

 

The other dude that makes me laugh my caboose off is the color common tatter guy for the AZ Cardinals. On Preseason games for NFL Network, he's just priceless! 

 

His name is Ron Wolfley. 

[southwest1]

40 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

I think it's kind of funny as we bring up all these great QBs and how they all thru great spirals and then we have Payton Manning. He thru lame ducks but his uncanny ability to be on target was amazing.

First order of business....Sorry Chad72 for get distracted by funny on air talent. My bad. I respect you too much to derail this thread. 

 

Now CC1, yeah it is kinda strange that #18 doesn't just roll off our tongues as a field general with perfect rotation on his footballs. It did happen in 2004, 2006, & 2009. Yes, he knew exactly where his TEs & WRs were supposed to be on any given down even when his nerve regeneration process inhibited his laser like accuracy for awhile. 

 

The season that amazed me was after he had a bursa sac taken out of his knee. He started out shaky & then won like 8 straight games. If your knee is messed up or healing, it screws up your plant foot & weight distribution on long throws. Knees tend to recover well yes, but it's all about QB confidence & Peyton to his credit fought threw it in 2008 & took INDY to her 2nd SB. That always impressed me. 

 

I guess I'm familiar with this because I had a bursa sac removed myself & it's scary when you can't rely on your knee to give you stability as you recover like a person is used to. I still marvel at how well Manning performed knowing full well fans would raise an eyebrow at some of his early throws especially for a guy so deadly accurate. 

[southwest1]

Getting back to Young for a second. I applaud him for staying in the Bay area behind Montana when he could have left. He waited his turn, was patient, & I was so happy for him when he beat the Chargers & got "the monkey off his back." 

 

So many athletes are so impulsive nowadays. However, Steve knew the Niners was a great organization & Jerry Rice was the conscious of that team. I just revere Steve for waiting & then making the most of his SB opportunity. 

 

I felt horrible for him when concussions prevented him for playing with Mike Shanahan & the Broncos at the twilight of his career. I would have found that HC/QB marriage or partnership fascinating to witness live. 

 

I'd be interested to hear from Steve & also Aaron Rogers how sitting behind a veteran QB enhanced not hindered their development too. Yeah I know, in the past I have compared sitting to drivers ed from the back seat which rarely works. But, sometimes you can place too much responsibility on a field general before they are equipped to handle it or know what that job description really entails. 

[southwest1]

3 hours ago, Jules said:

Dan Marino, he can carry a crappy team too. In today's NFL Marino would even beast harder then ever.

All true Jules. I still remember when Jimmy Johnson was hired as the new Dolphins HC & I honestly thought Jimmy would put Dan in the best possible position to make a serious SB run again. 

 

I wonder about HOF athletes that get showered with false hope. That's gotta be the worst letdown ever. I'm not blaming Jimmy at all. I just thought his Cowboy metamorphosis would take hold in Miami & I was stunned when the Johnson magic evaporated. Sorry Dan. No bull. I sincerely mean that. 

[SteelCityColt]

I went with Marino just because I'd love to see what numbers he'd put up in the more pass happy modern game. Especially if in this fantasy world he's landed on a team with some talent around him. Imagine Marino with a true top tier WR? 

 

Steve Young would probably be more in line with the prototype "modern" QB. Good arm, mobile, can make plays on the run when required. 

[Jason_]

11 hours ago, BloodyChamp said:

Current NFL? Dan Marino because the arm is all you need if it's big enough

 

There's a call for you on line 1. Its a jamarcus Russell.  should i take a message?

[21isSuperman]

9 hours ago, Jules said:

Dan Marino, he can carry a crappy team too. In today's NFL Marino would even beast harder then ever.

Marino threw for 5000 yards and 48 TDs in the '84.  Imagine what he could do in today's game.  6000 yards and 60 TDs?

[GoPats]

 

Marino would be sick with today's passing rules and the caliber of modern athletes. If you're too young to have ever seen him play, you missed out. I hated him because Miami was a division rival and the Patriots were pretty awful back then (for the most part), but there's no denying the talent. Probably the best pure passer in NFL history. 

 

 

[Lucky Colts Fan]

Marino.  Probably the best arm ever.  With a decent team around him, he would light it up in the current NFL.

[BloodyChamp]

4 hours ago, J@son said:

 

There's a call for you on line 1. Its a jamarcus Russell.  should i take a message?

 

Huh

[21isSuperman]

18 minutes ago, BloodyChamp said:

 

Huh

His point was that a big arm isn't always all you need, as you suggested.  JaMarcus Russell had a cannon for an arm and is one of the biggest busts in NFL history.  You need accuracy, timing, etc.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Regarding Marino, that was some great stuff in 1984. Marino to Clayton, Marino to Duper. It was all day!

[Synthetic]

Dan Marino easily. Of this entire poll, he is the only one who truly did not have a team built around him. 

 

Elway in the 80's had the "3 amigos" supporting cast at wide receiver - Vance Johnson, Mark Jackson and Rickey Nattiel. In the 90's after some mediocre years, the Broncos came back loaded with Terrell Davis, Shannon Sharpe, Ed McAffrey and that late 90's Denver defense was incredible. 

 

Joe Montana and Steve Young played on the same 49ers team that was ridiculously loaded in both eras. Montana's team went 15-1 in 1984 before they even got Jerry Rice. Both of them always had great running backs (Montana had Roger Craig, Young had Ricky Watters). The 49ers were always a force to be reckoned with in those eras. 

 

So it has to be Dan Marino. In 17 years, he only ever had one season with a running back who rushed over 1,000 yards. Go through the Dolphins draft history in his prime and they drafted bust after bust in the early rounds, thus setting him up to fail. His best supporting cast was probably Mark Clayton and Mark Duper, the "Marks Brothers" as they were called. They were good receivers, but were not the elite Hall of Fame level of guys like Jerry Rice or Art Monk in that era. And the Dolphins defenses with Marino were absolutely terrible. Of any QB in history, he is easily the one who's team let him down the absolute most by not building a team around him. 

[BloodyChamp]

6 hours ago, 21isSuperman said:

His point was that a big arm isn't always all you need, as you suggested.  JaMarcus Russell had a cannon for an arm and is one of the biggest busts in NFL history.  You need accuracy, timing, etc.

 

Dan Marino has said more than once that he never even knew the plays. Maybe not Jmarc but I doubt you can name anoter. Jeff George, Bobby Douglas, Doug Williams and all those guys would ball today. 

[21isSuperman]

13 hours ago, BloodyChamp said:

 

Dan Marino has said more than once that he never even knew the plays. Maybe not Jmarc but I doubt you can name anoter. Jeff George, Bobby Douglas, Doug Williams and all those guys would ball today. 

If anything, I'd argue the opposite.  Maybe a few decades ago, a QB could have gotten away with just a big arm.  But in today's game, everyone is looking for an extra edge, and a lot of times, that edge comes in the film room.  QBs especially need to know how to read defenses and coverages.  In today's game, players are too athletic and too smart for a quarterback to be able to just wing it.  The demand on the mental/cerebral side of the game is higher now than ever, as is the demand to win now, so I'd argue those guys would flounder even faster now than they did back in the day.

[BloodyChamp]

That's just not true. If they can't do that they can just dump it off like Brady or go deep like like Rodgers. Not that they aren't smart quarterbacks, but that's been what's kept them under center with every year that they become less athletic and defenses become more athletic (which doesn't matter as much as you suggest since defenses aren't allowed to put all of it to work for themselves anymore).

[jvan1973]

17 hours ago, BloodyChamp said:

 

Dan Marino has said more than once that he never even knew the plays. Maybe not Jmarc but I doubt you can name anoter. Jeff George, Bobby Douglas, Doug Williams and all those guys would ball today. 

I highly doubt Marino ever said he didn't know the plays.  

[BloodyChamp]

He sure did...and what Don Shula said escapes me but it was basically the equivalent of Dan Marino not being the smartest quarterback, and having arm enough to get by anyway.

[jvan1973]

1 hour ago, BloodyChamp said:

He sure did...and what Don Shula said escapes me but it was basically the equivalent of Dan Marino not being the smartest quarterback, and having arm enough to get by anyway.

He called the plays,  He also called audibles frequently.  He certainly knew the playbook.

[BloodyChamp]

Go tell him that since he says the opposite. And before you start acting the way you typically act when you have a problem with certain facts, I doubt he meant literally every play ever made. IIRC he was referring to certain pass plays. He even referenced this in that blurb with Ryan Tannehil a few years ago when he repeated part of what he said (...I just threw it to the open man). I think it was originally from an old NFL Films piece.

[footballhero1]

Steve Young no question.

[jvan1973]

13 hours ago, BloodyChamp said:

Go tell him that since he says the opposite. And before you start acting the way you typically act when you have a problem with certain facts, I doubt he meant literally every play ever made. IIRC he was referring to certain pass plays. He even referenced this in that blurb with Ryan Tannehil a few years ago when he repeated part of what he said (...I just threw it to the open man). I think it was originally from an old NFL Films piece.

I.can't find anything that says he didn't know the plays

[2006Coltsbestever]

On ‎6‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 8:33 AM, 21isSuperman said:

If anything, I'd argue the opposite.  Maybe a few decades ago, a QB could have gotten away with just a big arm.  But in today's game, everyone is looking for an extra edge, and a lot of times, that edge comes in the film room.  QBs especially need to know how to read defenses and coverages.  In today's game, players are too athletic and too smart for a quarterback to be able to just wing it.  The demand on the mental/cerebral side of the game is higher now than ever, as is the demand to win now, so I'd argue those guys would flounder even faster now than they did back in the day.

That is what has made Peyton so Great and easily a Top 5 QB of all-time (the film room). He could beat you with his mind, guy was a Coach on the field. His presence out there was huge that is why when people say he stunk it up in the Playoffs the year Denver won it bothers me a bit. Yeah they can use Stats but that doesn't tell the whole story. He knew when to audible into the right plays during that whole Playoff run. He played a near flawless game vs the Pats and no way Osweiler beats the Pats.

[BloodyChamp]

5 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

That is what has made Peyton so Great and easily a Top 5 QB of all-time (the film room). He could beat you with his mind, guy was a Coach on the field. His presence out there was huge that is why when people say he stunk it up in the Playoffs the year Denver won it bothers me a bit. Yeah they can use Stats but that doesn't tell the whole story. He knew when to audible into the right plays during that whole Playoff run. He played a near flawless game vs the Pats and no way Osweiler beats the Pats.

 

This exemplifies what Jared said in other thread, and more so what I went on to reference in that same thread. That's not true at all, but it's what sounds the best if you're always trying to make everything reflect Peyton Manning's greatness. Superman didn't say it but he didn't have to because somebody went on to oblige right on time.

[jvan1973]

1 hour ago, BloodyChamp said:

 

This exemplifies what Jared said in other thread, and more so what I went on to reference in that same thread. That's not true at all, but it's what sounds the best if you're always trying to make everything reflect Peyton Manning's greatness. Superman didn't say it but he didn't have to because somebody went on to oblige right on time.

All the great qbs were great because of preparation.  Lots of guys with arm talent only have failed over the years

[BloodyChamp]

I wouldn't call Dan Marino unprepared. He just didn't end up an Xs and Os genius even after the work was put in. Heck nobody really did if the standard is Peyton Manning. 

[LockeDown]

Dan Marino would be the guy I'd pick.  He had the size, arm, accuracy, leadership...everything but a great defense and a running game....which is what you need to win a Super Bowl.  What a shame. 

[Chrisaaron1023]

I really didn't get to see anyone play but Young a little. Elway was too old by the time I saw him. I wish I could've seen him in the orange crush days. I went with young, because of mobility and arguably the best performance in a super bowl by a QB

[Myles]

I'd go with Marino.   His quick release would be great today and keep him healthy.     

Those who didn't get to see him play missed greatness. 

 

I almost went with Steve Young, because he was the best I had ever seen play.   I didn't choose him because his scrambling may have led to injuries.