Quarterback Tournament: Round 1, Heat 1

[Rain Man]

Here's the drill. We have 64 quarterbacks. It will be a one on one matchup, one-game playoff system, with the loser out and the winner going to the next round. You get to pick which quarterback you get on your team for that game, and the other one is your opponent. In each matchup, which quarterback do you pick? Assume that you will get them at the peak of their career.

How I picked the quarterbacks

I took the top 50 QBs in history based on career yardage
I took any QB who is in the Hall of Fame and is in the top 250 in yardage.
I needed two more QBs to fill out the field, so I took the #51 and #52 guys in terms of career yardage.

The fact that defense is illegal now means that the list overweights modern quarterbacks heavily, but to be honest our voting is going to do that, too, just due to exposure. Not sure how to fix that, so screw it.

Also, in looking at the list, I think we have pretty much any significant quarterback on the list. If I was going to add any more, the next guys on my list would be Jim Plunkett, Joe Theisman, Archie Manning, and Bernie Kosar, so if you don't think those guys would win it, you don't have a leg to stand on.

All matchups are random, and if you complain about it you will be escorted to the door.

[RealSNR]

Here's to John Elway getting booted out in the first round

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by SNR

Here's to John Elway getting booted out in the first round

I'll check to see if he's in the top 50 anywhere. He was pretty mediocre.

[Kyle DeLexus]

Geno Smith

[Rain Man]

My thoughts:

Game 1: It's hard to pick against George vs. Gannon. One has all the tools except a brain, and the other has a brain and no other tools. This one was close. I'll give it to Gannon just because he's less likely to quit and give up.

Game 2: I think Brad Johnson is a very underrated quarterback, but hey, Arnie Herber threw to Don Hutson. Gotta go with Arnie on this one since he was a better deep passer. It's very close, though.

Game 3: Chandler vs. Hasselbeck. Never been a huge Hasselbeck fan, and Chandler was very effective if you could keep him upright. For one game I'll go with Chandler and hold my breath.

Game 4: Cunningham by a mile. I never figured out why Testaverde was on the league for so long, and Cunningham was a superhero.

Game 5: It's nice to see Jim Kelly get pounded into the turf by an immortal. Unitas kills him and eats his black little heart.

Game 6: I think Staubach easily wins this one. Hadl played a long time, but I don't remember him ever being a top quarterback. Plus, I had a football card of him as a child, and he was all bald and stodgy looking, unlike Roger the Dodger.

Game 7: Green destroys Kitna both in passing and lead blocking.

Game 8: What a painful one. I like Steve DeBerg. He had that finger pin thing and he handed off to Okoye. I like all of those things. I despised Blanda. He was evil and terrible. But in a one-game playoff I have to pick Blanda.

[RealSNR]

I know Arnie Herber in today's game likely wouldn't be much of a player, but back in the 30s the guy rattled off championships like it was no big deal.

For each of these, I'm probably going to make an attempt at being more fair to the old QBs than the new ones just because the nature of the game they played back then demands it. I'm also going to resolve to look up the names of guys I don't know before simply voting for the other guy due to name recognition.

I mean, I like to think I know a thing or two about NFL history, but there will always be names that escape me.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by SNR

I know Arnie Herber in today's game likely wouldn't be much of a player, but back in the 30s the guy rattled off championships like it was no big deal.

For each of these, I'm probably going to make an attempt at being more fair to the old QBs than the new ones just because the nature of the game they played back then demands it. I'm also going to resolve to look up the names of guys I don't know before simply voting for the other guy due to name recognition.

I mean, I like to think I know a thing or two about NFL history, but there will always be names that escape me.

Excellent post, and I resolve to do the same.

Some of those old-timers were pretty darn good, especially when you compare them to their peers in the same era. For example, Herber won four championships during his 11 years, so he had to be pretty good for a long time.

[cdcox]

People shouldn't be voting for George Blanda over Steve Deberg. Blanda threw 42 interceptions in a 14 game season. That was during the 4 year prime stretch of his career. Outside of those 4 years, he was nothing. Deberg cracked 3400 yards for three different teams in 3 different decades. Vote Deberg.

[Hammock Parties]

Jeff George was a better QB than Rich Gannon.

George could have been awesome if he had played in the right environment with proper coaching and talent.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning

Jeff George was a better QB than Rich Gannon.

George could have been awesome if he had played in the right environment with proper coaching and talent.

Physically, yes.

Mentally, he was worse than Grbac.

[Fishpicker]

I had to look up arnie herber. I still wouldn't pick him now.

Gannon, Johnson, Chandler, Cunningham, Unitas, Staubach, Green, Deberg

Esiason or Krieg?

[cdcox]

Bump - need more votes against Blanda.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Fishpicker

I had to look up arnie herber. I still wouldn't pick him now.

Gannon, Johnson, Chandler, Cunningham, Unitas, Staubach, Green, Deberg

Esiason or Krieg?

Chris Chandler? Hasselbeck matched him in terms of Super Bowl appearances (and actually came dangerously close to winning his), and enjoyed far more regular season success throughout his career. Chandler was a career backup for most of his time.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by SNR

Here's to John Elway getting booted out in the first round

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I'll check to see if he's in the top 50 anywhere. He was pretty mediocre.

I love you guys.
Can we just skip ahead and do an Elway vs. Montana vote with Montana crushing big John in a biased land slide?

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by vailpass

I love you guys.
Can we just skip ahead and do an Elway vs. Montana vote with Montana crushing big John in a biased land slide?

Been there, done that.