Best NFL Quarterback Ever

I watched an NFL network show today on the top 10 games of Joe Montana's career, and it got me thinking about a thread. Never having been a 49er's fan, I have to say that Joe still takes my vote for best ever. I am old enough to remember the 1981 NFC championship against Tom Landry's Cowboys, and Dwight Clark's infamous 'catch' to win that game late. The thing that differentiates him from the rest, in my mind, was his will to win. So many late game comebacks and huge point differentials overcome in games over his career. There is not another NFL QB I would have wanted in the game late with a lead to make up than Joe Montana.

That said, there have been plenty of others to argue the point. Bradshaw, Unitas, Brady, Elway, etc.

Go ahead. Make your case for another. I can already guess who Baloo will pick.

Joe Montana because he went 4-0 in Super Bowls and didnt throw an interception. I want to say Brady because Im a Patriots fan but he lost 2 Super Bowls so I'll put him at #2. No one say Payton Manning because Im pretty sure his playoff record is under .500. To me the best quaterbacks have great regular seasons and pile up the stats AND win in the playoffs.

For me its Brett Favre sure he only won one superbowl and lost one to Elway but the man is the toughest quarterback to ever play the game. going 300 games without missing a start i don't think anyone's going to beat that ( especially with all the new concussion rules ). and the man played in green bay so its not like it was nice and warm the whole year and to top it off he has almost every major passing record. on a side note i do knock a few points off of montana for having the unfair advantage of having the best wide receiver (maybe even player) in NFL history in Jerry Rice.

It's really hard to argue against Joe Montana. His 1989 Post-Season play consisted of 11 TDs and no INTs and a Super Bowl ring. The only other player to ever do that is Joe Flacco this past post-season. Though I think Tom Brady overall as a quarterback is a very close second. He's always lead high-powered offenses and rarely makes mistakes and throws picks, just like Joe.

Joe Montana all the way. One of the smartest QBs. He could read the defense better than anyone. And he was a hard nose working class QB.

Montana is number 1 in my book. I'd put Johnny U 2nd and after that there's a handful of guys duking it out for 3rd. As for that guy who said Favre is number 1, what are you smoking? His only Super Bowl victory came courtesy of Desmond Howard's punt returns for touchdowns (he was the MVP btw). Favre's int-td ratio was poor as well. Don't get me wrong, the guy was great, but if you think he is the best of all time, you're delusional.

Fair or not, I guess one of my prime metrics is number of championships won. That ties Montana with Bradshaw and possibly Aikman (did he win 4, or only 3?). I am somewhat of a Patriots fan over the Brady/Belichik era, and have always rooted for Tom to win his 4th. Unfortunately, his career is winding down, and short of an influx of talent in New England, he may always be relegated to 2nd or 3rd on my all-time list. I once thought Brady might overtake Montana for 1st, but even if he manages to win a 4th Superbowl, he still has 2 SB losses. Joe and Terry's SB records were unblemished 4-0 marks.

I also agree with profholt82 regarding Favre. Don't get me wrong: I always loved him in Green Bay and rooted for him to win, but in the end he only won a single championship while there. In fact, he lost a SB to Denver in the late 90's. I put Brett Favre and Peyton Manning on equal footing. Both played impressively for their teams for many years, but both only mustered a single championship. It can be argued, of course, that they did not always have the greatest talent around them, but doesn't a truly great QB transcend that and 'will' his teams to some wins anyway?

Farve wasnt a smart QB. He always threw a pick in a big spot.

Joe Montana
Dan Marino - the man never moved in the pocket and took a beating.... if him and Joe Montana played in todays league where all the rules are favored for the QB and WRs they would have dominated even more.

Also Tom Brady has to be up there.