The Greatest Quarterbacks Have Never Been The Greatest Throwers

Who’s the greatest quarterback of all-time?
The majority will probably say Tom Brady. Others will think Joe Montana. Many will even throw Peyton Manning or Johnny Unitas in the mix.
But what about Dan Marino, John Elway, Brett Favre, or Aaron Rodgers? Are any of them number two or three? Are they even in the top five? Maybe. But are any of them number one? Probably not.
However, are either Marino, Elway, Favre, or Rodgers the best pure passers of all time? Of course. Yet not many would put Brady, Montana, Manning, or Unitas in that club.
They are in the top tier of quarterbacks, but they don’t have great arms. Or at least not great enough to fit a cannon ball through a keyhole like Marino.
Despite having only above-average arm talent, tier one (Brady, Montana, Manning, and Unitas) still competed with their strong-armed counterparts in tier two (Marino, Elway, Favre, and Rodgers) in almost every category.
Tier one has 12 Super Bowl victories out of 18 appearances. Tier two only has 4 Super Bowl victories out of 9 appearances.
Although tier one dominated in terms of championships, they beat tier two statistically as well.
In terms of yards, tier one led the league in 10 total seasons, while tier two led the league in 8 total seasons. In terms of touchdowns, tier one led the league in 14 total seasons, while tier two led the league in 8 seasons.
So the question becomes how do these passers, who are good at best, not only win more, but also throw more yards and touchdowns than people who were born and bred to do that exact job? The answer is adaptation.
For example, imagine if someone were blind. That person would not have one of their five senses and as a result would rely more heavily on other senses than the average person. The same goes for a quarterback. If a passer doesn’t have a world class arm, they have to make adjustments and adapt to their surroundings.
Tier-one quarterbacks have to look for success through the playbook and coaching. They have to rely on their ability to read the defense and go through their progressions.
On the other hand, no matter how good a tier-two quarterback is at the mental parts of the position, there is an automatic belief that they can make the big throw. So they’re way more likely to force unnecessary passes and make poor decisions. That’s why Aaron Rodgers has so many incredible Hail Mary throws under his belt, and why Brett Favre has so many career interceptions.
So to go back to the question, what makes tier one better than tier two? It’s brain over brawn. At the end of the day, the pen is in fact mightier than the sword.
