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Greatest NFL QB of all-time!!

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Great NFL QB of all-time

  • Total voters
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How many people here really saw Unitas, Baugh, or Graham play?

It's a pretty loaded question anyway.

That said, in the modern era, Elway was a one man show without a great running game or stable of receivers for most of his Super Bowl trips. On the flip side, he only won one with Davis and Rod Smith. I think I'd still have to take Elway over Marino. Montana was a great game manager, but not as great of a pure QB as those 2...probably just as good a leader though. Hell, it really depends on what one's criteria are, anyway.
 
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Any Bengals fan worth his salt can remember the Super Bowl where Joe Montana drove the 49ers down the field at the end for the game-winning score. But what they don't show on that SuperBowl highlight reel is the perfect strike Montana threw into Lewis Billups' numbers. What a dumbass to not catch that ball. It was basically a hand-off. Next play, Montana to Taylor for the game-winning score. You'll have to excuse me for considering that game a give-away rather than an awe-inspiring comeback led by Montana.

Marino has the greatest release, strength and accuracy ever.
 
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JohnnyCockfight said:
Marino has the greatest release, strength and accuracy ever.
Click to expand...


AGREE WITH RELEASE AND STRENTGH!! And he was also terrible in the clutch and a terrible leader.....

ps I really, really want to go off on Mr Incr. for his personal attack but I have made a promise to behave here...... DANG!

Actually Montana has a better career interception percent, a better completion percent and a better QB rating. Valid Stat's!!!!
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
NOTREDAMECHIEF said:
AGREE WITH RELEASE AND STRENTGH!! And he was also terrible in the clutch and a terrible leader.....

ps I really, really want to go off on Mr Incr. for his personal attack but I have made a promise to behave here...... DANG!

Actually Montana has a better career interception percent, a better completion percent and a better QB rating. Valid Stat's!!!!
Click to expand...

If you feel the need, fire away. At any rate, as I stated in my PM, this argument was not intended malicious. I don't recall any name calling, just a little harmless banter. Was the term genius used in sarcasm? Sure. Was it meant as a direct insult? Not on my behalf. Anyway, if you're that upset about it I apologize. Future FYI, if I'm upset about something I'll break out the name calling. :lol:
If you've got some mud, sling away man. I've got relatively thick skin.
Oh, and in the case of college football and Marino's college career, Pittsburgh (Marino was there from 79-82, pretty sure he didn't start for the first time his senior year :biggrin: ):
http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/ia_football_past_champs.html
1982
Nebraska: Berryman
Penn St.: AP, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Helms*, Litkenhous, Matthews, National Championship Foundation, NFF, NY Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sporting News, UPI, USA/CNN
Southern Methodist: Helms*

1981
Clemson: AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Helms, Litkenhous, Matthews, National Championship Foundation*, NFF, NY Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sporting News, UPI
Nebraska: National Championship Foundation*
Penn St.: Dunkel
Pittsburgh: National Championship Foundation*
Texas: National Championship Foundation*
Southern Methodist: National Championship Foundation*
1980
Florida St.: FACT*
Georgia: AP, Berryman, FACT*, FB News, FW, Helms, National Championship Foundation, NFF, Poling, Sporting News, UPI
Nebraska: FACT*, Sagarin
Oklahoma: Billingsley, Dunkel, Matthews
Pittsburgh: DeVold, FACT*, Football Research, NY Times
1979
Alabama: AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FACT, FB News, FW, Helms, Matthews, National Championship Foundation, NFF, NY Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sporting News, UPI
Southern California: Football Research
 
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Mr. Incredible said:
If you feel the need, fire away. At any rate, as I stated in my PM, this argument was not intended malicious. I don't recall any name calling, just a little harmless banter. Was the term genius used in sarcasm? Sure. Was it meant as a direct insult? Not on my behalf. Anyway, if you're that upset about it I apologize. Future FYI, if I'm upset about something I'll break out the name calling. :lol:
If you've got some mud, sling away man. I've got relatively thick skin.
Oh, and in the case of college football and Marino's college career, Pittsburgh (Marino was there from 79-82, pretty sure he didn't start for the first time his senior year :biggrin: ):
http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/ia_football_past_champs.html
1982
Nebraska: Berryman
Penn St.: AP, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Helms*, Litkenhous, Matthews, National Championship Foundation, NFF, NY Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sporting News, UPI, USA/CNN
Southern Methodist: Helms*

1981
Clemson: AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Helms, Litkenhous, Matthews, National Championship Foundation*, NFF, NY Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sporting News, UPI
Nebraska: National Championship Foundation*
Penn St.: Dunkel
Pittsburgh: National Championship Foundation*
Texas: National Championship Foundation*
Southern Methodist: National Championship Foundation*
1980
Florida St.: FACT*
Georgia: AP, Berryman, FACT*, FB News, FW, Helms, National Championship Foundation, NFF, Poling, Sporting News, UPI
Nebraska: FACT*, Sagarin
Oklahoma: Billingsley, Dunkel, Matthews
Pittsburgh: DeVold, FACT*, Football Research, NY Times
1979
Alabama: AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FACT, FB News, FW, Helms, Matthews, National Championship Foundation, NFF, NY Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sporting News, UPI
Southern California: Football Research
Click to expand...

Now that sure took alot of digging to find those 2 wanna-be titles! To bad NOBODY recognized them....

You should have thrown in his almost even college TD- INT. rate.
 
Upvote 0
NOTREDAMECHIEF said:
Now that sure took alot of digging to find those 2 wanna-be titles! To bad NOBODY recognized them....

You should have thrown in his almost even college TD- INT. rate.
Click to expand...

Yeah, my fingers are tired from all of the files I had to go through to find that information.
Actually, I kicked myself in my own head because when I got home from Indianapolis (NCAA HQ) my 3 year old girl typed in "NCAA National Champions football" into Google and asked why I drove 3 hours each way for something that comes up FIRST in that simple Google search. I'm so stupid. :smash:
Anyway, isn't this (ONCE AGAIN) about the greatest NFL QB ever?
Here's your stats (so he had a rough senior year with 2400+ passing yards?), I guess the point you brought up (about COLLEGE) throws out half the QBs on this poll:

<TABLE width=500 align=center bgColor=#006666 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD class=style3 align=middle bgColor=#f3f3f3>Marino's College Stats</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE width=500 align=center bgColor=#f3f3f3 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Year</TD><TD>Att</TD><TD>Comp</TD><TD>Pct.</TD><TD>yards</TD><TD>TD</TD><TD>INT</TD><TD>Rat.</TD></TR><TR><TD>1979</TD><TD>222</TD><TD>130</TD><TD>.586</TD><TD>1680</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>80.5</TD></TR><TR><TD>1980</TD><TD>224</TD><TD>116</TD><TD>.518</TD><TD>1609</TD><TD>15</TD><TD>14</TD><TD>71.4</TD></TR><TR><TD>1981</TD><TD>380</TD><TD>226</TD><TD>.595</TD><TD>2876</TD><TD>37</TD><TD>23</TD><TD>90.4</TD></TR><TR><TD>1982</TD><TD>378</TD><TD>221</TD><TD>.584</TD><TD>2432</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>23</TD><TD>67.3</TD></TR><TR><TD>Total</TD><TD>1204</TD><TD>693</TD><TD>.576</TD><TD>8597</TD><TD>79</TD><TD>69</TD><TD>77.7</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
 
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When looking at these QB's it's hard to judge. Montana was known for his clutch performances and good decision-making, but if that int isnt dropped against cinci as well as the RB scoring in the other Bengals SB...then Joe has a .500 record in SBs and his legend isn't quite what it is now. Joe was simply surrounded with pro bowlers both on offense and defense, had a HOF coach with a new offensive system that has turned out a number of unbelievable QBs in the last 15-20 years. Steve Young stepped right in and did the same thing. Joe is one of the greatest for sure, but IMO he was always a little overhyped.

John Elway was a great player, no doubt. He has 47 come from behind wins in his career and two super bowl victories. In one of his SB wins he went 8-15/115 yards and an int against the Packers. Terrell Davis really won that SB, but they wouldn't have gotten there without Elway thats for sure. When Elway made it in the 80's the AFC was much weaker than the NFC as the NFC strung along some 15-16 straight SB wins that ironically was ended by Elway and the Broncos. Not to mention everyone thought Elway was down and out in the early 90's as he had his worst year statisticly since his rookie year and they drafted Tommy Maddox in the first round. Still, he did get to three superbowls without as much talent on offense, but had a good defense. I'd put him in my top five for sure.

Dan Marino owns virtually every QB record. He played around some talented offenses as well with a good combo of recievers in mark duper and mark clayton. Never did quite have the run game nor the defense till very late in his career. Probably the best pure pocket passer of all time. Lightning quick release with an unbelievable arm. SB ring or not how is he not in everyones top 5?

Being a packer fan my bias is going to lean me towards Brett Favre naturally. He has almost as much to that team as Vince Lombardi did some 40 years ago. He has the absolute worst mechanics I've ever seen in a HOF QB, he takes way too many chances at times, and can be incredibly stubborn. Still, hes put up amazing numbers throughout his career and you always believe you can come back and win with him in the lineup. One of the most exciting players to watch ever IMO. Other than Sharpe, he has never had one of "those" recievers and until Ahman Green always had a shaky run game.

I think its way too hard to label anyone as "the greatest" ever. So many factors go into a choice. Some label it strictly as how many titles a QB won. If thats the case than Bradshaw is just as great as Montana ever was or will be labeled in the future. It takes a team to win a SB title. No QB has ever done it alone. I always felt that was a little too much to put on anyone as a QB. Imagine if Bart Starr would have drafted Joe Montana to the packers like his scouts wanted? Montana may have been out of the league in 3 years time. If you ask me(which I willingly admit no one did) then Favre, Marino, and Elway are the three greatest QBs at least of the modern era IMO because they could have gone anywhere and have been successful. The degree of success of course is unknown.
 
Upvote 0
Only getting one vote, I have to vote for Montana. Otto Graham is second and Unitas third, IMHO.

And what's all this talk about "the modern era"? Like the modern era started when? 1983?

The modern era of pro football began back in Baugh's time. The rules of the game haven't significantly changed since then, other than continual tweaks to keep the offenses competitive.
 
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NightmaresDad said:
Only getting one vote, I have to vote for Montana. Otto Graham is second and Unitas third, IMHO.

And what's all this talk about "the modern era"? Like the modern era started when? 1983?

The modern era of pro football began back in Baugh's time. The rules of the game haven't significantly changed since then, other than continual tweaks to keep the offenses competitive.
Click to expand...

The way the game has evolved is what is meant by modern era. Such as the new systems of passing the ball to lessen mistakes by the QB. You never would see QBs back in Unitas or Baughs day putting up the Gawdy numbers that the QBs today put up.
 
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<TABLE class=gntable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=770 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD width=630><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=630 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD width=450>
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=bg0><TD class=bg0font colSpan=6>75TH ANNIVERSARY ALL-TIME TEAM - FROM NFL.COM</TD></TR><TR><TD class=bg1 colSpan=6>Chosen by a selection committee of media and league personnel in 1994.</TD></TR><TR class=bg4><TD>Position</TD><TD>Name</TD><TD>Team(s)</TD><TD>Ht.</TD><TD>Wt.</TD><TD>College</TD></TR><TR class=bg4><TD colSpan=6>Offense</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>QB</TD><TD>Sammy Baugh</TD><TD>Washington Redskins (1937-52)</TD><TD>6-2</TD><TD>180</TD><TD>Texas Christian</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>QB</TD><TD>Otto Graham</TD><TD>Cleveland Browns (1946-55)</TD><TD>6-1</TD><TD>195</TD><TD>Northwestern</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>QB</TD><TD>Joe Montana</TD><TD>San Francisco 49ers (1979-92), Kansas City Chiefs (1993-94)</TD><TD>6-2</TD><TD>195</TD><TD>Notre Dame</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>QB</TD><TD>Johnny Unitas</TD><TD>Baltimore Colts (1956-72), San Diego Chargers (1973)</TD><TD>6-1</TD><TD>195</TD><TD>Louisville</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>RB</TD><TD>Jim Brown</TD><TD>Cleveland Browns (1957-65)</TD><TD>6-2</TD><TD>232</TD><TD>Syracuse</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>RB</TD><TD>Marion Motley</TD><TD>Cleveland Browns (1946-53), Pittsburgh Steelers (1955)</TD><TD>6-1</TD><TD>238</TD><TD>Nevada-Reno</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>RB</TD><TD>Bronko Nagurski</TD><TD>Chicago Bears (1930-37, 1943)</TD><TD>6-2</TD><TD>225</TD><TD>Minnesota</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>RB</TD><TD>Walter Payton</TD><TD>Chicago Bears (1975-87)</TD><TD>5-10</TD><TD>202</TD><TD>Jackson State</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>RB</TD><TD>Gale Sayers</TD><TD>Chicago Bears (1965-71)</TD><TD>6-0</TD><TD>200</TD><TD>Kansas</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>RB</TD><TD>O.J. Simpson</TD><TD>Buffalo Bills (1969-77), San Francisco 49ers (1978-79)</TD><TD>6-1</TD><TD>212</TD><TD>Southern California</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>RB</TD><TD>Steve Van Buren</TD><TD>Philadelphia Eagles (1944-51)</TD><TD>6-1</TD><TD>200</TD><TD>Louisiana State</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>WR</TD><TD>Lance Alworth</TD><TD>San Diego Chargers (1962-70), Dallas Cowboys (1971-72)</TD><TD>6-0</TD><TD>184</TD><TD>Arkansas</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>WR</TD><TD>Raymond Berry</TD><TD>Baltimore Colts (1955-67)</TD><TD>6-2</TD><TD>187</TD><TD>Southern Methodist</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>WR</TD><TD>Don Hutson</TD><TD>Green Bay Packers (1935-45)</TD><TD>6-1</TD><TD>180</TD><TD>Alabama</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>WR</TD><TD>Jerry Rice</TD><TD>San Francisco 49ers (1985-2000), Oakland Raiders (2001-present)</TD><TD>6-2</TD><TD>200</TD><TD>Miss. Valley State</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>TE</TD><TD>Mike Ditka</TD><TD>Chicago Bears (1961-66), Philadelphia Eagles (1967-68), Dallas Cowboys (1969-72)</TD><TD>6-3</TD><TD>225</TD><TD>Pittsburgh</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>TE</TD><TD>Kellen Winslow</TD><TD>San Diego Chargers (1979-87)</TD><TD>6-5</TD><TD>250</TD><TD>Missouri</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>T</TD><TD>Roosevelt Brown</TD><TD>New York Giants (1953-65)</TD><TD>6-3</TD><TD>255</TD><TD>Morgan State</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>T</TD><TD>Forrest Gregg</TD><TD>Green Bay Packers (1956, 1958-70)</TD><TD>6-4</TD><TD>250</TD><TD>Southern Methodist</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>T</TD><TD>Anthony Muñoz</TD><TD>Cincinnati Bengals (1980-92)</TD><TD>6-6</TD><TD>285</TD><TD>Southern California</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>G</TD><TD>John Hannah</TD><TD>New England Patriots (1973-85)</TD><TD>6-3</TD><TD>265</TD><TD>Alabama</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>G</TD><TD>Jim Parker</TD><TD>Baltimore Colts (1957-67)</TD><TD>6-3</TD><TD>273</TD><TD>Ohio State</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>G</TD><TD>Gene Upshaw</TD><TD>Oakland Raiders (1967-81)</TD><TD>6-5</TD><TD>255</TD><TD>Texas A&I</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>C</TD><TD>Mel Hein</TD><TD>New York Giants (1931-45)</TD><TD>6-2</TD><TD>225</TD><TD>Washington State</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>C</TD><TD>Mike Webster</TD><TD>Pittsburgh Steelers (1974-88), Kansas City Chiefs (1989-90)</TD><TD>6-2</TD><TD>250</TD><TD>Wisconsin</TD></TR><TR class=bg4><TD colSpan=6>Defense</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>DE</TD><TD>David (Deacon) Jones</TD><TD>Los Angeles Rams (1961-71), San Diego Chargers (1972-73), Washington Redskins (1974)</TD><TD>6-5</TD><TD>250</TD><TD>Miss. Vocational-South Carolina St.</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>DE</TD><TD>Gino Marchetti</TD><TD>Dallas Texans (1952), Baltimore Colts (1953-64, 1966)</TD><TD>6-4</TD><TD>245</TD><TD>San Francisco</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>DE</TD><TD>Reggie White</TD><TD>Philadelphia Eagles (1985-92), Green Bay Packers (1993-1998), Carolina Panthers (2000)</TD><TD>6-5</TD><TD>290</TD><TD>Tennessee</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>DT</TD><TD>Joe Greene</TD><TD>Pittsburgh Steelers (1969-81)</TD><TD>6-4</TD><TD>260</TD><TD>North Texas State</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>DT</TD><TD>Bob Lilly</TD><TD>Dallas Cowboys (1961-74)</TD><TD>6-5</TD><TD>260</TD><TD>Texas Christian</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>DT</TD><TD>Merlin Olsen</TD><TD>Los Angeles Rams (1962-76)</TD><TD>6-5</TD><TD>270</TD><TD>Utah State</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>LB</TD><TD>Dick Butkus</TD><TD>Chicago Bears (1965-73)</TD><TD>6-3</TD><TD>245</TD><TD>Illinois</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>LB</TD><TD>Jack Ham</TD><TD>Pittsburgh Steelers (1971-82)</TD><TD>6-1</TD><TD>225</TD><TD>Penn State</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>LB</TD><TD>Ted Hendricks</TD><TD>Baltimore Colts (1969-73), Green Bay Packers (1974), Oakland/L.A. Raiders (1975-83)</TD><TD>6-7</TD><TD>235</TD><TD>Miami</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>LB</TD><TD>Jack Lambert</TD><TD>Pittsburgh Steelers (1974-84)</TD><TD>6-4</TD><TD>220</TD><TD>Kent State</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>LB</TD><TD>Willie Lanier</TD><TD>Kansas City Chiefs (1967-77)</TD><TD>6-1</TD><TD>245</TD><TD>Morgan State</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>LB</TD><TD>Ray Nitschke</TD><TD>Green Bay Packers (1958-72)</TD><TD>6-3</TD><TD>235</TD><TD>Illinois</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>LB</TD><TD>Lawrence Taylor</TD><TD>New York Giants (1981-93)</TD><TD>6-3</TD><TD>243</TD><TD>North Carolina</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>CB</TD><TD>Mel Blount</TD><TD>Pittsburgh Steelers (1970-83)</TD><TD>6-3</TD><TD>205</TD><TD>Southern</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>CB</TD><TD>Mike Haynes</TD><TD>New England Patriots (1976-82), Los Angeles Raiders (1983-89)</TD><TD>6-2</TD><TD>190</TD><TD>Arizona State</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>CB</TD><TD>Dick (Night Train) Lane</TD><TD>Los Angeles Rams (1952-53), Chicago Cardinals (1954-59), Detroit Lions (1960-65)</TD><TD>6-2</TD><TD>210</TD><TD>Scottsbluff JC </TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>CB</TD><TD>Rod Woodson</TD><TD>Pittsburgh Steelers (1987-96), San Francisco 49ers (1997), Baltimore Ravens (1998-2001), Oakland Raiders (2002-present)</TD><TD>6-0</TD><TD>200</TD><TD>Purdue</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>S</TD><TD>Ken Houston</TD><TD>Houston Oilers (1967-72), Washington Redskins (1973-80)</TD><TD>6-3</TD><TD>198</TD><TD>Prairie View A&M</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>S</TD><TD>Ronnie Lott</TD><TD>San Francisco 49ers (1981-90), Los Angeles Raiders (1991-92), New York Jets (1993-94)</TD><TD>6-0</TD><TD>200</TD><TD>Southern California</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>S</TD><TD>Larry Wilson</TD><TD>St. Louis Cardinals (1960-72)</TD><TD>6-0</TD><TD>190</TD><TD>Utah</TD></TR><TR class=bg4><TD colSpan=6>Specialists</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>P</TD><TD>Ray Guy</TD><TD>Oakland/L.A. Raiders (1973-86)</TD><TD>6-3</TD><TD>190</TD><TD>Southern Mississippi</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>K</TD><TD>Jan Stenerud</TD><TD>Kansas City Chiefs (1967-79), Green Bay Packers (1980-83), Minnesota Vikings (1984-85)</TD><TD>6-2</TD><TD>190</TD><TD>Montana State</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>PR</TD><TD>Billy (White Shoes) Johnson</TD><TD>Houston Oilers (1974-80), Atlanta Falcons (1982-87), Washington Redskins (1988)</TD><TD>5-9</TD><TD>170</TD><TD>Widener</TD></TR><TR class=bg2><TD>KR</TD><TD>Gale Sayers</TD><TD>Chicago Bears (1965-71)</TD><TD>6-0</TD><TD>200</TD><TD>Kansas</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>



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Upvote 0
I candidly admit that I voted for Montana as the best of that group that I saw.

I saw Marino and Elway when they were still in College, and plenty (sometimes too much) when they were in the pros.

Montana I only saw in the pros.

My rating of these three one against another (yes - that's my top 3) was governed not by stats, but by how they impressed in their ability to bring teams back when under adversity.

Elway sure could do it - in fact you could argue that most of his college wins came under such circumstances as Stanford often faced teams with superior talent at every position EXCEPT QB. Elway certainly did it in the pros - to the chagrin of many teams - most notoriously the Browns. Elway at his best was like watching God at play. The other team became mere mortals.

Marino - for my money, in the pros, could not and did not do it - while I can try and re-rank on the basis that say the Bills were so dominant, or that the Broncos were so dominant, the fact remains that a sound defensive teams with good offense would and did beat the Dolphins in the play-offs. Marino was an artist on the field though reportedly, at times, an ass of it. It was even rumored in the local press that one of his last best chances to win a play-off game was foiled in part by a night of excessive drinking at his nightclub/restaurant in the Miami-Ft.Lauderdale area. Marino remains though on the strength of his "on-game" days and overall career performance one of the best ever - a Hall of Famer, a legend.

Montana sure could do it - and he did it again and again throughout his career. Moreover he took his team to wins - most notoriously or famously against the Bengals. Moreover he took his team to the ultimate prize in Pro Football again and again - you really cannot take that away from the resume. For Elway it was a career capper. For Marino it is a void - something he did not do (and honestly in that sub-group why is Kelly not talked about more). For Montana though, he had it, and he and the team on which he played had it all. Whether we like it or not, life likes a winner, and there is no other way to characterize Montana's pro stats (W-L and SB champs being the most important) than as that of a winner.

Montana gets my vote.
 
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