Tom Brady and Peyton Manning ... Peyton Manning and Tom Brady ... in whichever order, they are the biggest stories for the 2008 NFL season ... as they have been for quite a while.
In fact, in these two guys, we are seeing the greatest pro quarterbacks of all time.
Their similarities are striking ... both are dominating, durable 6-foot-5 athletes with laser arms and the versatility to go deep, hit the sideline route or find the open short receiver under pressure at the last millisecond. Both have led their teams to Super Bowls; their teams would be losers without them. Above all, they are actually quarterbacks ... that means instead of being the coach's robot as is the case for almost every other team today, they go to the line of scrimmage and call the play. What a concept.
I rate them 1a and 1b all-time. The rest of my top 10:
3 -- Steve Young. It might surprise some to see him this high, yet he rates as the most powerful all-around threat at his position ever. With his 4.5 speed and 205 pounds his running ability equaled that of many halfbacks; he rushed for an amazing 537 yards in 1992. As a passer, he led the league in TD passes four times for the 49ers and was the leading passer in four consecutive seasons. More than the stats, his long passes to Jerry Rice were beautiful ... always perfectly in stride.
4 -- Joe Montana. Four Super Bowl wins and three Super Bowl MVPs with San Francisco provide convincing evidence. He led the NFL in completion percentage five times and set a record with a 112.4 QB rating in 1989.
5 -- Johnny Unitas. From the late 1950s into the early 1970s, the Colts ranked as one of the premier NFL teams, and Unitas was their unquestioned leader. He threw a TD pass in 47 straight games and ended his career as NFL leader in passes attempted (5,186), yards gained (40,239) and TD passes (290).
6 -- Terry Bradshaw. He may have a goofy demeanor as a TV commentator but on the field, he proved his greatness by guiding Pittsburgh to four Super Bowl titles.
7 -- John Elway. He'll be remembered for leading the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl crowns ... a rare and difficult feat ... and taking them on 47 game-winning or tying drives in the fourth quarter ... a clutch player.
8 -- Dan Marino. He used a strong arm and quick release to set many NFL records for the Dolphins, including most attempts, most completions, most yards and most TDs.
9 -- Otto Graham. He took the Browns to three titles, throwing for four TD passes in the 1950 game, three in 1954's and two in 1955's.
10 -- Sammy Baugh. OK, we're going way way back but Baugh was the first great NFL QB. He threw 187 TD passes for the Redskins and as a two-way player, he amassed 31 career interceptions and averaged 45.1 yards as a punter. Does that make him a three-way player?
Among today's quarterbacks, maybe Ben Roethlisberger could join this list someday ... he's dominant when he's on. Coming out of college, it seemed Vince Young could, too ... but no way yet. Joe Namath (injuries curtailed him), Roger Staubach (got late start), Sonny Jurgenson (what a passer) and Bart Starr (what a leader) rank as our honorable mentions.
Gerry Storch is editor and administrator of http://www.ourblook.com a political discussion/media analysis website that fills the gap between a blog and a book. In his journalism days, he was sports editor of Gannett News Service.
