E Town
06-28-2007, 09:40 PM
Nothing seems to spark a greater debate among casual and hard-core sports fans than these two burning questions: Is cheerleading a sport? Who’s the greatest quarterback in NFL history?
Fortunately for the loyal readers of this column (insert punch line here), I’ve got the answers. First, let’s start with the greatest QB debate. Who’s the best of them all?
In going T-Mobile, here’s my Fave Five.
1. John Elway: Sorry 49er fans, but this is a no-brainer. Elway did everything Joe Montana did but better. Wins, completions, passing yards and touchdown passes? All in favor of Elway. And you thought Montana was cool under pressure? Elway holds the NFL record for most fourth quarter comebacks, with 47. Here’s the bottom line: As great as Montana was, he benefited greatly from his legendary supporting cast.
Montana had Rice, Craig and Lott. Elway? He had the Three Amigos. Enough said. Yes, Montana won more Super Bowls, but you’d have to be delusional to think that Elway wouldn’t have done the same if you plugged him in on those great San Francisco teams. On the other hand, there’s no way Montana could’ve taken some of those barely above average Denver teams to the Super Bowl.
Elway at times single-handedly carried his team to the promised land. With a cannon for an arm (and a a deadly accurate one at that), great vision and superior leadership abilities, Elway was the perfect signal-caller. If you wanted to build a QB from scratch, Elway would rank first in nearly every category.
And don’t take that from me — NFL scouts and general managers have said the exact same thing over the years. In addition, what separated him from Montana was his mobility and strength; how many times did a 300-pound defensive lineman have Elway in his grasp only to be bamboozled when Elway slipped away and fired a 50-yard pass across the grain? Utterly unbelievable.
2. Montana: No shame being No. 2 here. Besides Elway, there’s no one I would rather have in the huddle with two minutes to go and needing a touchdown to win. Montana’s greatest strength was his mind —*beneath his leading-man looks was a cold-blooded assassin.
3. Dan Marino: Dan the man never had a complete supporting cast that could help him taste championship glory. The best pure passer in league history. Holds nearly every significant NFL passing record. An arm for the ages.
4. Peyton Manning: On track to break many of Marino’s records. Once he got a defense, Manning won his Super Bowl. No surprise there. Cool under pressure, laser accurate and tough as nails, Manning could be moving up many people’s lists when it’s all said and done.
5. Johnny Unitas: I never saw him play, but I have to put him here on his stats and legendary reputation.
On the cusp: Tom Brady
Overrated: Steve Young
Yes, he performed admirably during the team’s 1995 Super Bowl run, but that was the exception, not the rule during his career, i.e., all those losses to Green Bay and Dallas in the postseason, when he performed well below average.
Overrated, part II: Brett Favre and Terry Bradshaw. The two made more mistakes than our current president. One look at Favre and Bradshaw’s poor touchdown to interception ratio — arguably the most meaningful stat for a QB — says it all.
What is a sport?
Definitely not cheerleading. That’s not to say cheerleaders aren’t incredible athletes. They are. But anything that allows judges to basically decide the direct outcome is not a sport. Same goes with ice skating.
College signings
The Skyline College baseball team once again has a number of players transferring to four-year universities. This year’s list includes Matt Lucchesi (Kent State), Geoff Downing (New Mexico State), James McCarthy and Aaron Bjorkquist (Niagara), Jarrod Esquibel and Joe Dieterle (Upper Iowa), Dan Orlick (Concordia) and Ricky Molina (Lee University-
Tennessee).
Fortunately for the loyal readers of this column (insert punch line here), I’ve got the answers. First, let’s start with the greatest QB debate. Who’s the best of them all?
In going T-Mobile, here’s my Fave Five.
1. John Elway: Sorry 49er fans, but this is a no-brainer. Elway did everything Joe Montana did but better. Wins, completions, passing yards and touchdown passes? All in favor of Elway. And you thought Montana was cool under pressure? Elway holds the NFL record for most fourth quarter comebacks, with 47. Here’s the bottom line: As great as Montana was, he benefited greatly from his legendary supporting cast.
Montana had Rice, Craig and Lott. Elway? He had the Three Amigos. Enough said. Yes, Montana won more Super Bowls, but you’d have to be delusional to think that Elway wouldn’t have done the same if you plugged him in on those great San Francisco teams. On the other hand, there’s no way Montana could’ve taken some of those barely above average Denver teams to the Super Bowl.
Elway at times single-handedly carried his team to the promised land. With a cannon for an arm (and a a deadly accurate one at that), great vision and superior leadership abilities, Elway was the perfect signal-caller. If you wanted to build a QB from scratch, Elway would rank first in nearly every category.
And don’t take that from me — NFL scouts and general managers have said the exact same thing over the years. In addition, what separated him from Montana was his mobility and strength; how many times did a 300-pound defensive lineman have Elway in his grasp only to be bamboozled when Elway slipped away and fired a 50-yard pass across the grain? Utterly unbelievable.
2. Montana: No shame being No. 2 here. Besides Elway, there’s no one I would rather have in the huddle with two minutes to go and needing a touchdown to win. Montana’s greatest strength was his mind —*beneath his leading-man looks was a cold-blooded assassin.
3. Dan Marino: Dan the man never had a complete supporting cast that could help him taste championship glory. The best pure passer in league history. Holds nearly every significant NFL passing record. An arm for the ages.
4. Peyton Manning: On track to break many of Marino’s records. Once he got a defense, Manning won his Super Bowl. No surprise there. Cool under pressure, laser accurate and tough as nails, Manning could be moving up many people’s lists when it’s all said and done.
5. Johnny Unitas: I never saw him play, but I have to put him here on his stats and legendary reputation.
On the cusp: Tom Brady
Overrated: Steve Young
Yes, he performed admirably during the team’s 1995 Super Bowl run, but that was the exception, not the rule during his career, i.e., all those losses to Green Bay and Dallas in the postseason, when he performed well below average.
Overrated, part II: Brett Favre and Terry Bradshaw. The two made more mistakes than our current president. One look at Favre and Bradshaw’s poor touchdown to interception ratio — arguably the most meaningful stat for a QB — says it all.
What is a sport?
Definitely not cheerleading. That’s not to say cheerleaders aren’t incredible athletes. They are. But anything that allows judges to basically decide the direct outcome is not a sport. Same goes with ice skating.
College signings
The Skyline College baseball team once again has a number of players transferring to four-year universities. This year’s list includes Matt Lucchesi (Kent State), Geoff Downing (New Mexico State), James McCarthy and Aaron Bjorkquist (Niagara), Jarrod Esquibel and Joe Dieterle (Upper Iowa), Dan Orlick (Concordia) and Ricky Molina (Lee University-
Tennessee).