Monday's poll: Who is the best quarterback of all time?

Vote now and let your voice be heard, then leave a comment letting us know why you voted the way you did.

-- Houston Mitchell

Comments

[Terry Dawson]

Unitas to Berry was a household phrase in the late '50s and '60s. If the quarterback and wide receiver "protection rules" and 16-game schedule had been in place during their careers, Unitas would have thrown for 80,000 yards and Berry would have had more than 900 catches. Why is Unitas the best ever? After being rejected by the hapless Steelers in 1957, Unitas came to a Baltimore Colts team that the year before couldn't beat their wives. They instantly became a team of NFL lore. It's hard to compare eras, but my eyes have seen it all. Unitas for me... Terry Dawson

[Leigh Hess]

I ALMOST pulled the trigger to vote for Johnny Unitas, then for Joe Montana; but then, a name not on the list elbowed its way to my consciousness, and I had to cast my vote for someone in the "other" category. I finally voted for the man at the helm of 'Air Coryell' at the San Diego Chargers, Dan Fouts. Fouts was a six-time Pro Bowl selection (1979-1983 & 1985) and compiled passer ratings over 90.0 for a three-year stretch (1981-83). He threw for over 4,000 yards for three consecutive seasons (1979-81), led the NFL in passing yards in four consecutive seasons(1979-1982) and six times eclipsed the 20-touchdown mark with a career high 33 in 1981. His career high of 4,802 passing yards during the 1981 season was an NFL record at the time. Fouts is now in the NFL Hall of Fame, and has since accomplished himself as arguably the most skilled man behind the microphone as a 'color commentator' for NFL games, currently on CBS television. For all of the above reasons, I sincerely believe Dan Fouts should be in the conversation for the 'best quarterback of all time.'

[Bob M.]

John Unitas changed the quarterback position forever. He changed plays at the line with audibles (No one had ever done that before)and was clearly the one against all others were compared. Passing records (and all records) should be ignored since eras and rules are always changing.

[Art C]

Steve Young.

[Jon Parssinen]

John Unitas. Period. There is no "other."

[Martin]

the only discussion here is what the ranking is for the remaining contestants after Montana. It's Joe then everyone else. Quaterbacking is leadership and winning championships. Any non Niner fan will painfully attest to being broken hearted by Montana more than once.

[WilDaMA]

DAN MARINO

[Mark]

Nice to see it's Montana in a landslide. While Marino was the best pure passer I've seen (and Fouts is in that conversation as well; and Aikman - not on the list - could deliver the deep ball on the money with the best of them), if being a winner is a key attribute of being the GOAT, Montana is it. He outplayed Marino in the Super Bowl at Stanford, one of his 4 rings. Montana revolutionized modern NFL offenses by perfecting the West Coast offense. Some would argue that he had the luxury of throwing to the GOAT receiver in Rice but I think Rice would not have been Rice without Joe. In his prime, the guy was relentless - the Michael Jordan of qbs. By the way, Starr is underrated in this poll - he was another big time winner.

[Tony B]

The voters nailed this one. Joe Montana had no peers when it came to reading a defense or running a two minute offense with his team behind in a game it had to win or be out leading to a championship.
They renamed a town after him, Joe, Montana. And, at least one racehorse I know of, Montana to Clark. Not too many QBs are held in such high esteem. But, Joe Montana's worthy of it.

[bob cuomo]

Not to take anything away from Johnny Unitas and John Elway, who certainly must be included in the discussion, but it has to be Joe Montana. Montana, who won four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers (1982, 1985, 1989, 1990), was famous for leading last-minute, game-winning drives (as was Elway), such as the one to beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-16, in the 1982 Super Bowl.
Montana also played a key role in one of the best college bowl games in history, leading Notre Dame from a 34-12 deficit to beat Houston in the 1979 Cotton Bowl. He threw the winning touchdown pass with no time showing on the clock to give the Irish a 35-34 victory.

[Gregory Bryant]

Joe Namath was able to pull of the upset of the decade by defeating the mighty Baltimore Colts and by doing so gave the AFL increased credibility in the early days of the AFL-NFL merger.

[Rob Williams]

No love for Steve Young from the Times? Come on he is a former LA Express QB before he was a 49er.

[Dieter Brock's mom]

Are you kidding me with this list?!?!
.

I so enjoyed watching Dieter Brock.

[Hal Summers]

Joe Montana is probably the most overrated QB of all time. He quarterbacked great TEAMS on the Niners and was a system QB more than any other in NFL history. ANYONE could throw ten yard passes to Jerry Rice and John Taylor and watch them run after the catch for big gains. If you don't believe it Steve Bono and Steve Young both had completion percentages equal or greater than Montana's. Why are they not in consideration here?

Teams win championships, not individuals. Montana has all those rings because of great teams and great coaching, not because he was the greatest ever.

[John Urrea]

I selected Bob Waterfield he did more than thow TD passes. He was a team leader and a defensive back, punter,field goal kicker and kicked converisons and won a world Championship.

[Nickolas Silver]

Unflappable. "The Catch." With Bill Walsh, transformed a moribund organization, dominating the NFL throughout the 1980's. Slayed all rivals at his position in the biggest venues, namely the Super Bowl: Marino, Elway. Unrivalled.

[Dwight Palmer]

It is always difficult to get the correct answer when laymen are asked for an opinion. This poll will probably give the vote to Montana, but it will be a travesty of justice. Montana was mediocre at best, but the system he played in was geared to the pass.

Johnny Unitas was the best qb ever to put on a uniform. During his playing days recievers could be hit by the defenders until the ball was thrown. During Montana's tenure, the defenders could only hit a reciever withtin the first 5 yards. Today a qb cannot be hit in the head or with a helment. Johnny U could be hit in the head or speared. During Montana's days, the qb could not be hit after the ball was thrown. Johnny U could be hit with momentum. Montana had 16 game seasons, Unitas had 12 and 14 game seasons.

There is no question that Johnny Unitas was the best ever, but it is unfortunate that most of the voters are either too young or without knowledge of the game to make an informed decision.

[Just Joe]

Joe. No one else came close.

Joe was magic.

[Victor L. Hernandez]

I also voted for Dan Fouts. I can't believe he wasn't even originally considered in this list. In all honesty, modern football owes Dan Fouts (and Don Coryell) its explosive air game. People may not remember or be old enough to know, but football was pretty much a running game with seldom game changing air plays. It was until the Fouts' era Chargers that all of this changed. Fouts throwing magnitude developed the game to become a more powerful entertainment sport. People used to watch more baseball than football before. Not after Fouts. So he didn't win a Super Bowl thanks to the Raiders cheating (Madden admitted they snuck into Chargers' closed practices and stole plays and signals), Dan Fouts changed the sport to what it now is. Dan Fouts is the greatest for me, and even today he is talked about even more than many QBs that won the big game. Who remembers who won the Super Bowl when the Chargers beat Miami in the Epic in Miami game??? No one, but no one forgets Fouts beating Miami in what was one of the best games ever played. For me, once again, long live Dan Fouts!