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Peak Quarterbacks, Part II

Posted by Neil Paine on October 16, 2009

Two weeks ago, I compiled a list of the top peak regular-season quarterbacks of all-time by averaging together their best 6 seasons (or all of their seasons if they didn't have 6 seasons) in a metric that attempts to estimate Football Outsiders' YAR (yards above replacement) via linear regression. The results were somewhat surprising -- underrated Cincinnati signal-caller Ken Anderson was ranked #1! -- but the concept was a hit, and many readers made suggestions to make the rankings better, so I figured I'd revisit our Peak QB list today and make some changes to the method.

One of the main problems with the first list was that if a player had fewer than 6 seasons, we averaged together all of his seasons, which resulted in wacky outcomes like Matt Ryan being ranked 78th overall after just one season. So here's the list again, but dividing every player's best-6-years total by 6 regardless of how many or few seasons he played:

Rk Player Best6Avg
1 Ken Anderson 1894
2 Johnny Unitas 1875
3 Roger Staubach 1868
4 Steve Young 1856
5 Peyton Manning 1813
6 Fran Tarkenton 1811
7 Sammy Baugh 1772
8 Dan Fouts 1761
9 Otto Graham 1697
10 Sid Luckman 1693
11 Sonny Jurgensen 1652
12 Norm VanBrocklin 1631
13 Joe Montana 1627
14 Dan Marino 1602
15 Len Dawson 1597
16 Ken Stabler 1581
17 Y.A. Tittle 1459
18 Joe Namath 1459
19 Kurt Warner 1452
20 John Hadl 1431
21 Bert Jones 1399
22 Brett Favre 1393
23 John Brodie 1381
24 Jim Hart 1331
25 Boomer Esiason 1328
26 Bob Griese 1325
27 Daryle Lamonica 1324
28 Bart Starr 1302
29 Terry Bradshaw 1302
30 Trent Green 1298
31 Warren Moon 1292
32 Roman Gabriel 1253
33 Tom Brady 1244
34 John Elway 1217
35 Randall Cunningham 1195
36 Bobby Layne 1193
37 Craig Morton 1187
38 Jim Kelly 1174
39 Daunte Culpepper 1172
40 Joe Theismann 1166
41 Rich Gannon 1158
42 Jim Everett 1156
43 Drew Brees 1145
44 Milt Plum 1140
45 Neil Lomax 1137
46 Brian Sipe 1106
47 Greg Landry 1082
48 Mark Brunell 1082
49 Donovan McNabb 1077
50 Bob Waterfield 1076
51 Charley Johnson 1074
52 Troy Aikman 1072
53 Norm Snead 1062
54 Earl Morrall 1047
55 Jeff Garcia 1042
56 Danny White 1039
57 Billy Kilmer 1035
58 Phil Simms 1032
59 Steve McNair 1012
60 Don Meredith 1011
61 Archie Manning 1010
62 Bill Wade 1007
63 Steve Bartkowski 994
64 Drew Bledsoe 991
65 Ken O'Brien 982
66 Charlie Conerly 976
67 Joe Ferguson 975
68 Jeff George 945
69 Bernie Kosar 943
70 Jim Plunkett 939
71 Vinny Testaverde 939
72 Matt Hasselbeck 933
73 Ron Jaworski 933
74 Steve Grogan 927
75 Dave Krieg 920
76 Marc Bulger 912
77 Chris Chandler 900
78 Lynn Dickey 897
79 George Blanda 889
80 Brad Johnson 876
81 Bill Nelsen 873
82 Jim Zorn 872
83 Babe Parilli 856
84 Frank Ryan 850
85 Bob Berry 847
86 Steve Deberg 845
87 Tobin Rote 833
88 Ed Brown 827
89 Jake Plummer 819
90 Chad Pennington 812
91 Steve Beuerlein 803
92 Mark Rypien 786
93 Jack Kemp 780
94 Richard Todd 758
95 Eddie LeBaron 747
96 Tommy Kramer 745
97 Bobby Thomason 731
98 Neil O'Donnell 718
99 Jim Harbaugh 717
100 Kerry Collins 714
591 Andrew Walter -74
592 Kurt Kittner -74
593 Mike McMahon -75
594 Scott Bull -75
595 Heath Shuler -80
596 George Izo -82
597 Bruce Gradkowski -88
598 Danny Kanell -88
599 Gary Marangi -88
600 Akili Smith -89
601 Stan Gelbaugh -90
602 Kent Nix -94
603 John McCormick -104
604 Craig Whelihan -107
605 Randy Hedberg -118
606 Ken Dorsey -121
607 Dan Darragh -123
608 Rick Norton -135
609 Ryan Leaf -158
610 Kim McQuilken -205

That's one problem eliminated -- Ryan ranks 217th all-time now. But what if we felt 6 years was too arbitrary? How about a ranking of QBs by their best 3 seasons?

Rk Player Best3Avg
1 Ken Anderson 2224
2 Sid Luckman 2142
3 Otto Graham 2125
4 Bert Jones 2109
5 Steve Young 2083
6 Peyton Manning 2034
7 Dan Fouts 1999
8 Roger Staubach 1986
9 Sammy Baugh 1966
10 Ken Stabler 1949
11 Johnny Unitas 1936
12 Fran Tarkenton 1935
13 Dan Marino 1932
14 Kurt Warner 1891
15 Sonny Jurgensen 1842
16 Daunte Culpepper 1805
17 Joe Montana 1794
18 Norm VanBrocklin 1775
19 Len Dawson 1761
20 Joe Namath 1754
21 Y.A. Tittle 1700
22 John Brodie 1692
23 Daryle Lamonica 1682
24 Tom Brady 1627
25 Roman Gabriel 1621
26 Boomer Esiason 1576
27 Trent Green 1550
28 Jim Hart 1545
29 Terry Bradshaw 1534
30 John Hadl 1530
31 Warren Moon 1526
32 Drew Brees 1516
33 Rich Gannon 1510
34 Brett Favre 1501
35 Milt Plum 1500
36 Randall Cunningham 1499
37 Neil Lomax 1498
38 Bob Griese 1497
39 Bart Starr 1485
40 Greg Landry 1440
41 Joe Theismann 1417
42 Craig Morton 1401
43 Don Meredith 1383
44 Brian Sipe 1377
45 Bob Waterfield 1374
46 Earl Morrall 1374
47 Jim Kelly 1355
48 John Elway 1347
49 Archie Manning 1344
50 Jim Everett 1343
51 Charley Johnson 1328
52 Jeff Garcia 1318
53 Troy Aikman 1317
54 Bobby Layne 1307
55 Jeff George 1307
56 Danny White 1297
57 Marc Bulger 1294
58 Norm Snead 1290
59 Donovan McNabb 1288
60 Mark Brunell 1286
61 Bernie Kosar 1282
62 Ken O'Brien 1275
63 Charlie Conerly 1258
64 Matt Hasselbeck 1257
65 Steve McNair 1244
66 Vinny Testaverde 1240
67 Carson Palmer 1234
68 Tobin Rote 1232
69 Jim Zorn 1230
70 George Blanda 1225
71 Bill Wade 1216
72 Johnny Lujack 1207
73 Steve Bartkowski 1203
74 Mark Rypien 1193
75 Joe Ferguson 1181
76 Lynn Dickey 1181
77 Steve Grogan 1167
78 Ed Brown 1144
79 Chris Chandler 1141
80 Billy Kilmer 1138
81 Chad Pennington 1132
82 Bill Nelsen 1131
83 James Harris 1116
84 Steve Beuerlein 1111
85 Bobby Thomason 1110
86 Bob Berry 1110
87 Frank Ryan 1109
88 Phil Simms 1105
89 Ron Jaworski 1102
90 Drew Bledsoe 1096
91 Tony Romo 1084
92 Steve Deberg 1071
93 Brad Johnson 1070
94 Jim Plunkett 1069
95 Dave Krieg 1061
96 Babe Parilli 1058
97 Philip Rivers 1050
98 Jack Kemp 1036
99 Ben Roethlisberger 1030
100 Tom Flores 1023

5 seasons?

Rk Player Best5Avg
1 Ken Anderson 2023
2 Steve Young 1954
3 Roger Staubach 1902
4 Johnny Unitas 1900
5 Peyton Manning 1888
6 Fran Tarkenton 1854
7 Dan Fouts 1840
8 Sammy Baugh 1823
9 Otto Graham 1818
10 Sid Luckman 1788
11 Ken Stabler 1697
12 Sonny Jurgensen 1695
13 Dan Marino 1673
14 Norm VanBrocklin 1673
15 Joe Montana 1672
16 Len Dawson 1645
17 Kurt Warner 1585
18 Bert Jones 1571
19 Joe Namath 1550
20 Y.A. Tittle 1532
21 John Brodie 1491
22 John Hadl 1463
23 Daryle Lamonica 1449
24 Brett Favre 1427
25 Boomer Esiason 1419
26 Jim Hart 1404
27 Trent Green 1386
28 Terry Bradshaw 1379
29 Bob Griese 1376
30 Roman Gabriel 1368
31 Warren Moon 1358
32 Daunte Culpepper 1357
33 Tom Brady 1351
34 Bart Starr 1351
35 Randall Cunningham 1309
36 Drew Brees 1305
37 Rich Gannon 1280
38 Craig Morton 1270
39 Milt Plum 1268
40 Neil Lomax 1263
41 Joe Theismann 1258
42 John Elway 1250
43 Bobby Layne 1222
44 Jim Kelly 1222
45 Bob Waterfield 1216
46 Jim Everett 1202
47 Brian Sipe 1196
48 Greg Landry 1191
49 Charley Johnson 1148
50 Troy Aikman 1147
51 Earl Morrall 1144
52 Mark Brunell 1128
53 Danny White 1127
54 Donovan McNabb 1125
55 Norm Snead 1116
56 Jeff Garcia 1106
57 Don Meredith 1101
58 Archie Manning 1092
59 Marc Bulger 1088
60 Billy Kilmer 1076
61 Bill Wade 1070
62 Matt Hasselbeck 1069
63 Steve McNair 1068
64 Steve Bartkowski 1063
65 Ken O'Brien 1061
66 Jeff George 1060
67 Charlie Conerly 1060
68 Phil Simms 1060
69 Bernie Kosar 1052
70 Joe Ferguson 1036
71 Drew Bledsoe 1030
72 Vinny Testaverde 1016
73 Bill Nelsen 998
74 Lynn Dickey 995
75 Jim Zorn 993
76 Steve Grogan 989
77 Ron Jaworski 979
78 Jim Plunkett 976
79 Dave Krieg 970
80 George Blanda 967
81 Bob Berry 962
82 Chris Chandler 961
83 Frank Ryan 933
84 Brad Johnson 933
85 Ed Brown 931
86 Tobin Rote 926
87 Chad Pennington 918
88 Babe Parilli 915
89 Mark Rypien 905
90 Steve Beuerlein 900
91 Jake Plummer 899
92 Steve Deberg 896
93 Bobby Thomason 866
94 Jack Kemp 842
95 Johnny Lujack 826
96 Richard Todd 822
97 Ben Roethlisberger 815
98 Eddie LeBaron 804
99 Jake Delhomme 801
100 Tommy Kramer 795

7 seasons?

Rk Player Best7Avg
1 Roger Staubach 1822
2 Johnny Unitas 1812
3 Ken Anderson 1792
4 Fran Tarkenton 1770
5 Steve Young 1749
6 Peyton Manning 1747
7 Sammy Baugh 1731
8 Dan Fouts 1701
9 Joe Montana 1593
10 Norm VanBrocklin 1589
11 Sonny Jurgensen 1580
12 Sid Luckman 1580
13 Dan Marino 1547
14 Len Dawson 1542
15 Ken Stabler 1488
16 Otto Graham 1455
17 John Hadl 1402
18 Y.A. Tittle 1398
19 Joe Namath 1370
20 Brett Favre 1356
21 Kurt Warner 1333
22 John Brodie 1294
23 Bob Griese 1285
24 Jim Hart 1260
25 Boomer Esiason 1249
26 Terry Bradshaw 1245
27 Bert Jones 1242
28 Warren Moon 1241
29 Bart Starr 1225
30 Daryle Lamonica 1208
31 Trent Green 1194
32 John Elway 1189
33 Roman Gabriel 1169
34 Tom Brady 1167
35 Bobby Layne 1156
36 Jim Kelly 1126
37 Craig Morton 1121
38 Randall Cunningham 1105
39 Joe Theismann 1093
40 Jim Everett 1059
41 Rich Gannon 1043
42 Neil Lomax 1035
43 Mark Brunell 1034
44 Daunte Culpepper 1032
45 Donovan McNabb 1021
46 Troy Aikman 1016
47 Norm Snead 1016
48 Milt Plum 1015
49 Brian Sipe 1010
50 Charley Johnson 1004
51 Drew Brees 997
52 Phil Simms 995
53 Greg Landry 978
54 Jeff Garcia 974
55 Earl Morrall 972
56 Billy Kilmer 964
57 Danny White 958
58 Steve McNair 947
59 Bill Wade 940
60 Bob Waterfield 930
61 Joe Ferguson 928
62 Drew Bledsoe 927
63 Archie Manning 924
64 Ken O'Brien 921
65 Charlie Conerly 916
66 Steve Bartkowski 915
67 Don Meredith 915
68 Jim Plunkett 899
69 Ron Jaworski 896
70 Dave Krieg 885
71 Steve Grogan 881
72 Vinny Testaverde 880
73 Jeff George 859
74 Chris Chandler 849
75 Bernie Kosar 834
76 Matt Hasselbeck 833
77 George Blanda 830
78 Brad Johnson 827
79 Lynn Dickey 814
80 Steve Deberg 798
81 Babe Parilli 789
82 Marc Bulger 783
83 Frank Ryan 780
84 Jim Zorn 770
85 Bill Nelsen 768
86 Tobin Rote 767
87 Ed Brown 746
88 Steve Beuerlein 733
89 Bob Berry 728
90 Jack Kemp 725
91 Jake Plummer 712
92 Eddie LeBaron 703
93 Chad Pennington 703
94 Richard Todd 688
95 Neil O'Donnell 683
96 Tommy Kramer 680
97 Mark Rypien 680
98 Jim Harbaugh 674
99 Kerry Collins 671
100 Bobby Hebert 650

9 seasons?

Rk Player Best9Avg
1 Fran Tarkenton 1698
2 Johnny Unitas 1673
3 Peyton Manning 1613
4 Roger Staubach 1589
5 Ken Anderson 1587
6 Sammy Baugh 1585
7 Dan Fouts 1576
8 Steve Young 1537
9 Joe Montana 1514
10 Norm VanBrocklin 1457
11 Dan Marino 1457
12 Sonny Jurgensen 1421
13 Sid Luckman 1414
14 Len Dawson 1385
15 Brett Favre 1299
16 Y.A. Tittle 1282
17 John Hadl 1280
18 Ken Stabler 1266
19 Bob Griese 1197
20 Joe Namath 1174
21 Warren Moon 1167
22 John Brodie 1153
23 John Elway 1138
24 Otto Graham 1131
25 Jim Hart 1124
26 Bart Starr 1120
27 Kurt Warner 1091
28 Boomer Esiason 1090
29 Terry Bradshaw 1090
30 Bobby Layne 1085
31 Roman Gabriel 1040
32 Jim Kelly 1035
33 Craig Morton 1014
34 Bert Jones 992
35 Mark Brunell 950
36 Daryle Lamonica 949
37 Trent Green 946
38 Randall Cunningham 944
39 Donovan McNabb 941
40 Troy Aikman 937
41 Joe Theismann 917
42 Norm Snead 915
43 Tom Brady 909
44 Phil Simms 901
45 Jim Everett 878
46 Charley Johnson 874
47 Rich Gannon 863
48 Steve McNair 858
49 Billy Kilmer 842
50 Earl Morrall 840
51 Jeff Garcia 834
52 Charlie Conerly 830
53 Greg Landry 826
54 Neil Lomax 825
55 Daunte Culpepper 823
56 Dave Krieg 822
57 Ron Jaworski 814
58 Steve Grogan 812
59 Drew Bledsoe 809
60 Jim Plunkett 809
61 Bill Wade 809
62 Milt Plum 792
63 Joe Ferguson 792
64 Danny White 788
65 Steve Bartkowski 786
66 Brian Sipe 786
67 Vinny Testaverde 782
68 Drew Brees 780
69 Archie Manning 770
70 Ken O'Brien 750
71 Chris Chandler 742
72 George Blanda 724
73 Steve Deberg 723
74 Jeff George 721
75 Brad Johnson 707
76 Don Meredith 706
77 Lynn Dickey 690
78 Bob Waterfield 681
79 Frank Ryan 679
80 Babe Parilli 678
81 Bernie Kosar 676
82 Matt Hasselbeck 649
83 Ed Brown 628
84 Tobin Rote 627
85 Steve Beuerlein 622
86 Marc Bulger 609
87 Jim Zorn 596
88 Jack Kemp 596
89 Bill Nelsen 594
90 Kerry Collins 590
91 Neil O'Donnell 584
92 Jim Harbaugh 584
93 Tommy Kramer 571
94 Bob Berry 563
95 Chad Pennington 552
96 Eddie LeBaron 552
97 Jim McMahon 548
98 Richard Todd 542
99 Bobby Hebert 542
100 Jake Plummer 531

Okay, that's enough. To this point, we've just been averaging a player's best x seasons without regard to when they occurred in his career -- a player could conceivably have some good years to start his career, be mediocre for a few years, and have some more good years at the end of his career, and he'd look the same as a player who had 6 consecutive good years. I don't know about you, but that doesn't really feel right; it seems like the guy who plays well year in and year out for a block of seasons should get extra consideration for his consistency. So here's the same method as before, but ranking QBs by their best consecutive seasons...

First, those with the best 3 consecutive years:

Rk Player From To 3YrAvg
1 Otto Graham 1951 1953 2125
2 Bert Jones 1975 1977 2109
3 Ken Anderson 1973 1975 2087
4 Sid Luckman 1941 1943 2079
5 Steve Young 1992 1994 2066
6 Dan Fouts 1980 1982 1999
7 Peyton Manning 2004 2006 1980
8 Fran Tarkenton 1974 1976 1912
9 Kurt Warner 1999 2001 1885
10 Roger Staubach 1977 1979 1864
11 Dan Marino 1984 1986 1832
12 Ken Stabler 1974 1976 1764
13 Johnny Unitas 1963 1965 1755
14 Joe Montana 1982 1984 1683
15 Daryle Lamonica 1967 1969 1682
16 Joe Namath 1967 1969 1636
17 Sammy Baugh 1947 1949 1628
18 Norm VanBrocklin 1952 1954 1612
19 Tom Brady 2005 2007 1572
20 Trent Green 2003 2005 1550
21 Len Dawson 1966 1968 1539
22 Terry Bradshaw 1977 1979 1534
23 Warren Moon 1989 1991 1526
24 Rich Gannon 2000 2002 1510
25 Milt Plum 1959 1961 1500
26 Brett Favre 1995 1997 1499
27 Y.A. Tittle 1961 1963 1471
28 John Hadl 1965 1967 1470
29 Sonny Jurgensen 1966 1968 1469
30 Daunte Culpepper 2002 2004 1449
31 Jim Hart 1975 1977 1441
32 Bart Starr 1964 1966 1428
33 John Brodie 1968 1970 1427
34 Drew Brees 2006 2008 1423
35 Joe Theismann 1982 1984 1416
36 Boomer Esiason 1986 1988 1394
37 Bob Griese 1975 1977 1377
38 Brian Sipe 1978 1980 1371
39 Archie Manning 1978 1980 1344
40 Jim Everett 1988 1990 1343
41 Jim Kelly 1990 1992 1324
42 Danny White 1981 1983 1297
43 Jeff Garcia 2000 2002 1291
44 Ken O'Brien 1985 1987 1275
45 Roman Gabriel 1971 1973 1269
46 Marc Bulger 2004 2006 1256
47 Neil Lomax 1983 1985 1250
48 Don Meredith 1966 1968 1248
49 John Elway 1993 1995 1244
50 Carson Palmer 2005 2007 1234
51 Troy Aikman 1991 1993 1230
52 Charley Johnson 1972 1974 1223
53 Mark Brunell 1996 1998 1219
54 Johnny Lujack 1949 1951 1207
55 Bobby Layne 1950 1952 1203
56 Greg Landry 1970 1972 1201
57 Steve McNair 2001 2003 1190
58 Lynn Dickey 1982 1984 1181
59 Bob Waterfield 1949 1951 1181
60 Donovan McNabb 2004 2006 1177
61 George Blanda 1961 1963 1169
62 Jim Zorn 1978 1980 1167
63 Steve Grogan 1977 1979 1167
64 Matt Hasselbeck 2003 2005 1121
65 James Harris 1974 1976 1116
66 Vinny Testaverde 1996 1998 1111
67 Bob Berry 1970 1972 1110
68 Craig Morton 1969 1971 1106
69 Billy Kilmer 1973 1975 1104
70 Steve Beuerlein 1998 2000 1099
71 Mark Rypien 1989 1991 1099
72 Bill Nelsen 1968 1970 1092
73 Bernie Kosar 1986 1988 1091
74 Chris Chandler 1997 1999 1090
75 Randall Cunningham 1988 1990 1089
76 Steve Bartkowski 1981 1983 1086
77 Tony Romo 2006 2008 1084
78 Philip Rivers 2006 2008 1050
79 Drew Bledsoe 1996 1998 1041
80 Bobby Thomason 1953 1955 1024
81 Ron Jaworski 1980 1982 1015
82 Phil Simms 1984 1986 1006
83 Mike Livingston 1975 1977 1004
84 Jeff George 1995 1997 1000
85 Bill Wade 1958 1960 994
86 Joe Ferguson 1975 1977 986
87 Jake Plummer 2003 2005 977
88 Dave Krieg 1984 1986 972
89 Frank Ryan 1964 1966 972
90 Tony Eason 1984 1986 969
91 Charlie Conerly 1948 1950 967
92 Pat Haden 1976 1978 950
93 Babe Parilli 1962 1964 914
94 Scott Mitchell 1995 1997 911
95 Ben Roethlisberger 2005 2007 907
96 Steve Deberg 1988 1990 903
97 Ed Brown 1954 1956 903
98 Vince Ferragamo 1981 1983 891
99 Earl Morrall 1968 1970 890
100 Jake Delhomme 2003 2005 890

The best 5 consecutive years:

Rk Player From To 5YrAvg
1 Dan Fouts 1978 1982 1840
2 Peyton Manning 2003 2007 1824
3 Otto Graham 1951 1955 1802
4 Fran Tarkenton 1972 1976 1795
5 Roger Staubach 1975 1979 1767
6 Ken Anderson 1973 1977 1739
7 Steve Young 1991 1995 1719
8 Sid Luckman 1941 1945 1698
9 Johnny Unitas 1963 1967 1649
10 Ken Stabler 1973 1977 1642
11 Norm VanBrocklin 1950 1954 1600
12 Dan Marino 1984 1988 1584
13 Joe Montana 1981 1985 1557
14 Sammy Baugh 1945 1949 1519
15 Sonny Jurgensen 1966 1970 1471
16 Len Dawson 1964 1968 1437
17 Bert Jones 1974 1978 1433
18 Jim Hart 1973 1977 1404
19 Daryle Lamonica 1967 1971 1386
20 Boomer Esiason 1985 1989 1383
21 Brett Favre 1994 1998 1370
22 Daunte Culpepper 2000 2004 1357
23 Tom Brady 2003 2007 1351
24 Joe Namath 1965 1969 1350
25 John Hadl 1964 1968 1314
26 Trent Green 2001 2005 1305
27 Drew Brees 2004 2008 1305
28 Terry Bradshaw 1977 1981 1304
29 Warren Moon 1988 1992 1295
30 Rich Gannon 1998 2002 1280
31 Y.A. Tittle 1953 1957 1270
32 Bob Griese 1974 1978 1264
33 Bart Starr 1964 1968 1254
34 John Elway 1993 1997 1218
35 Milt Plum 1958 1962 1179
36 Jim Kelly 1988 1992 1178
37 Roman Gabriel 1969 1973 1177
38 Joe Theismann 1979 1983 1174
39 John Brodie 1968 1972 1173
40 Neil Lomax 1984 1988 1157
41 Kurt Warner 1999 2003 1139
42 Brian Sipe 1976 1980 1122
43 Troy Aikman 1991 1995 1117
44 Mark Brunell 1996 2000 1113
45 Bobby Layne 1950 1954 1104
46 Marc Bulger 2002 2006 1088
47 Jim Everett 1988 1992 1087
48 Donovan McNabb 2004 2008 1082
49 Billy Kilmer 1971 1975 1076
50 Steve Bartkowski 1980 1984 1063
51 Jeff Garcia 1999 2003 1032
52 Bill Wade 1958 1962 1024
53 Don Meredith 1964 1968 1009
54 Danny White 1980 1984 1006
55 Phil Simms 1984 1988 996
56 Lynn Dickey 1980 1984 995
57 Ken O'Brien 1985 1989 994
58 Jim Zorn 1977 1981 993
59 Joe Ferguson 1975 1979 991
60 Steve McNair 1999 2003 991
61 Archie Manning 1977 1981 968
62 George Blanda 1960 1964 963
63 Bob Berry 1968 1972 962
64 Steve Grogan 1975 1979 950
65 Craig Morton 1977 1981 949
66 Ron Jaworski 1979 1983 946
67 Matt Hasselbeck 2003 2007 934
68 Randall Cunningham 1986 1990 926
69 Mark Rypien 1988 1992 905
70 Drew Bledsoe 1996 2000 892
71 Frank Ryan 1963 1967 891
72 Dave Krieg 1983 1987 890
73 Bill Nelsen 1966 1970 887
74 Chris Chandler 1997 2001 884
75 Vinny Testaverde 1994 1998 882
76 Jeff George 1993 1997 876
77 Bobby Thomason 1951 1955 866
78 Greg Landry 1970 1974 857
79 Bernie Kosar 1985 1989 849
80 Brad Johnson 1999 2003 830
81 Johnny Lujack 1947 1951 826
82 Earl Morrall 1968 1972 822
83 Ben Roethlisberger 2004 2008 815
84 Charley Johnson 1970 1974 805
85 Bob Waterfield 1948 1952 795
86 Steve Beuerlein 1996 2000 785
87 Carson Palmer 2003 2007 785
88 Steve Deberg 1987 1991 784
89 Babe Parilli 1962 1966 780
90 Norm Snead 1963 1967 774
91 Charlie Conerly 1948 1952 759
92 Richard Todd 1979 1983 743
93 James Harris 1973 1977 742
94 Aaron Brooks 2000 2004 724
95 Bobby Hebert 1988 1992 724
96 Jake Plummer 2001 2005 722
97 Ed Brown 1955 1959 719
98 Bill Kenney 1983 1987 715
99 Tom Flores 1962 1966 709
100 Jake Delhomme 2004 2008 708

The best 7 consecutive years:

Rk Player From To 7YrAvg
1 Roger Staubach 1973 1979 1758
2 Steve Young 1992 1998 1700
3 Peyton Manning 2000 2006 1662
4 Fran Tarkenton 1970 1976 1652
5 Dan Fouts 1978 1984 1640
6 Sid Luckman 1941 1947 1567
7 Johnny Unitas 1959 1965 1490
8 Ken Stabler 1973 1979 1488
9 Otto Graham 1949 1955 1455
10 Ken Anderson 1973 1979 1451
11 Len Dawson 1962 1968 1427
12 Joe Montana 1981 1987 1408
13 Sammy Baugh 1942 1948 1402
14 Dan Marino 1984 1990 1384
15 Norm VanBrocklin 1949 1955 1369
16 Sonny Jurgensen 1964 1970 1316
17 John Hadl 1965 1971 1304
18 Brett Favre 1995 2001 1220
19 Jim Hart 1972 1978 1194
20 Trent Green 1999 2005 1194
21 Bert Jones 1975 1981 1189
22 Bart Starr 1962 1968 1174
23 Terry Bradshaw 1975 1981 1173
24 Warren Moon 1989 1995 1167
25 Tom Brady 2001 2007 1167
26 Joe Namath 1966 1972 1157
27 Roman Gabriel 1967 1973 1145
28 Daryle Lamonica 1966 1972 1142
29 Bob Griese 1971 1977 1141
30 Boomer Esiason 1985 1991 1140
31 Jim Kelly 1986 1992 1126
32 John Brodie 1965 1971 1119
33 Joe Theismann 1978 1984 1093
34 Y.A. Tittle 1951 1957 1081
35 John Elway 1992 1998 1062
36 Bobby Layne 1950 1956 1055
37 Neil Lomax 1982 1988 1035
38 Mark Brunell 1996 2002 1033
39 Daunte Culpepper 2000 2006 1024
40 Kurt Warner 1999 2005 1015
41 Troy Aikman 1991 1997 991
42 Donovan McNabb 2002 2008 989
43 Drew Brees 2002 2008 987
44 Rich Gannon 1997 2003 974
45 Phil Simms 1984 1990 953
46 Billy Kilmer 1969 1975 931
47 Ken O'Brien 1985 1991 921
48 Steve McNair 1997 2003 919
49 Steve Bartkowski 1978 1984 915
50 Don Meredith 1962 1968 915
51 Danny White 1980 1986 904
52 Milt Plum 1958 1964 904
53 Joe Ferguson 1975 1981 899
54 Jim Everett 1988 1994 896
55 Brian Sipe 1976 1982 893
56 Ron Jaworski 1977 1983 883
57 Greg Landry 1970 1976 875
58 Bob Waterfield 1945 1951 868
59 Bill Wade 1956 1962 858
60 Steve Grogan 1977 1983 847
61 Craig Morton 1975 1981 842
62 Matt Hasselbeck 2001 2007 833
63 Randall Cunningham 1986 1992 826
64 Bernie Kosar 1986 1992 821
65 Jeff George 1993 1999 810
66 Drew Bledsoe 1996 2002 810
67 Vinny Testaverde 1992 1998 801
68 Dave Krieg 1983 1989 795
69 Lynn Dickey 1979 1985 784
70 Marc Bulger 2002 2008 783
71 Frank Ryan 1961 1967 780
72 Chris Chandler 1995 2001 773
73 Jim Zorn 1976 1982 770
74 Jeff Garcia 1998 2004 768
75 Bill Nelsen 1965 1971 768
76 George Blanda 1960 1966 738
77 Brad Johnson 1997 2003 735
78 Archie Manning 1974 1980 725
79 Babe Parilli 1961 1967 725
80 Bob Berry 1968 1974 720
81 Chad Pennington 2002 2008 701
82 Earl Morrall 1963 1969 691
83 Richard Todd 1977 1983 688
84 Charley Johnson 1969 1975 679
85 Norm Snead 1961 1967 676
86 Charlie Conerly 1954 1960 655
87 Mark Rypien 1986 1992 647
88 Jack Kemp 1959 1965 643
89 Steve Deberg 1987 1993 634
90 Bill Kenney 1981 1987 632
91 Kerry Collins 1999 2005 625
92 Tommy Kramer 1980 1986 621
93 Bobby Thomason 1951 1957 621
94 Jake Delhomme 2002 2008 620
95 Neil O'Donnell 1992 1998 619
96 Jim Plunkett 1971 1977 619
97 Tom Flores 1960 1966 605
98 Jim Harbaugh 1990 1996 605
99 Jeff Hostetler 1990 1996 599
100 Ed Brown 1954 1960 595

And, finally, the best 9 consecutive years:

Rk Player From To 9YrAvg
1 Peyton Manning 1999 2007 1603
2 Fran Tarkenton 1968 1976 1599
3 Roger Staubach 1971 1979 1559
4 Johnny Unitas 1957 1965 1511
5 Steve Young 1990 1998 1500
6 Dan Fouts 1977 1985 1497
7 Joe Montana 1982 1990 1440
8 Sid Luckman 1939 1947 1414
9 Ken Anderson 1974 1982 1401
10 Dan Marino 1984 1992 1386
11 Sammy Baugh 1940 1948 1370
12 Len Dawson 1962 1970 1262
13 Sonny Jurgensen 1961 1969 1250
14 Ken Stabler 1972 1980 1243
15 Norm VanBrocklin 1949 1957 1236
16 John Hadl 1965 1973 1234
17 Brett Favre 1994 2002 1156
18 Otto Graham 1947 1955 1131
19 Bart Starr 1960 1968 1120
20 Bob Griese 1970 1978 1107
21 Joe Namath 1966 1974 1098
22 Warren Moon 1987 1995 1089
23 Jim Hart 1970 1978 1060
24 Jim Kelly 1986 1994 1035
25 John Elway 1990 1998 1030
26 Roman Gabriel 1965 1973 1024
27 Terry Bradshaw 1974 1982 1022
28 Bobby Layne 1950 1958 1002
29 Bert Jones 1974 1982 992
30 John Brodie 1964 1972 989
31 Boomer Esiason 1985 1993 967
32 Y.A. Tittle 1955 1963 964
33 Trent Green 1999 2007 946
34 Donovan McNabb 2000 2008 941
35 Daryle Lamonica 1964 1972 940
36 Troy Aikman 1991 1999 937
37 Kurt Warner 1999 2007 928
38 Joe Theismann 1976 1984 917
39 Tom Brady 2000 2008 909
40 Mark Brunell 1995 2003 885
41 Jim Everett 1987 1995 850
42 Billy Kilmer 1968 1976 826
43 Neil Lomax 1980 1988 825
44 Daunte Culpepper 1999 2007 823
45 Ron Jaworski 1977 1985 814
46 Phil Simms 1984 1992 808
47 Steve McNair 1998 2006 800
48 Steve Grogan 1975 1983 798
49 Rich Gannon 1996 2004 789
50 Brian Sipe 1975 1983 782
51 Drew Brees 2000 2008 780
52 Danny White 1979 1987 775
53 Joe Ferguson 1973 1981 770
54 Bill Wade 1956 1964 763
55 Jeff Garcia 2000 2008 761
56 Greg Landry 1970 1978 760
57 Dave Krieg 1984 1992 758
58 Ken O'Brien 1984 1992 750
59 Steve Bartkowski 1978 1986 737
60 Randall Cunningham 1986 1994 736
61 Milt Plum 1956 1964 733
62 Craig Morton 1973 1981 707
63 Don Meredith 1960 1968 706
64 Drew Bledsoe 1996 2004 691
65 Norm Snead 1962 1970 691
66 Archie Manning 1972 1980 690
67 Vinny Testaverde 1990 1998 690
68 Jeff George 1991 1999 683
69 Bob Waterfield 1944 1952 681
70 Chris Chandler 1994 2002 680
71 Bernie Kosar 1985 1993 675
72 Lynn Dickey 1977 1985 664
73 Frank Ryan 1960 1968 663
74 Brad Johnson 1996 2004 657
75 Earl Morrall 1963 1971 649
76 Matt Hasselbeck 1999 2007 649
77 George Blanda 1960 1968 635
78 Charlie Conerly 1948 1956 619
79 Marc Bulger 2000 2008 609
80 Steve Deberg 1983 1991 602
81 Jim Zorn 1974 1982 599
82 Jack Kemp 1959 1967 596
83 Bill Nelsen 1963 1971 594
84 Babe Parilli 1961 1969 592
85 Neil O'Donnell 1991 1999 580
86 Jim Harbaugh 1989 1997 570
87 Ed Brown 1955 1963 565
88 Bob Berry 1967 1975 560
89 Chad Pennington 2000 2008 552
90 Jim Plunkett 1974 1982 544
91 Richard Todd 1977 1985 542
92 Tommy Kramer 1979 1987 541
93 Charley Johnson 1966 1974 530
94 Steve Beuerlein 1992 2000 527
95 Bill Kenney 1979 1987 514
96 Mark Rypien 1984 1992 503
97 Bobby Hebert 1988 1996 499
98 Tobin Rote 1955 1963 489
99 Kerry Collins 1997 2005 488
100 Jake Delhomme 2000 2008 485

This entry was posted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 11:27 am and is filed under Best/Worst Ever, Statgeekery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

17 Responses to “Peak Quarterbacks, Part II”

  1. Danish Denver-fan! Says:
    October 16th, 2009 at 12:28 pm

    Why isn't Ken Anderson in the HoF again?

  2. Jason W Says:
    October 16th, 2009 at 12:42 pm

    Man, Kim McQuilkin was bad.

  3. Neil Paine Says:
    October 16th, 2009 at 12:53 pm

    JaMarcus Russell is gunning for him. Hard.

  4. Larry Says:
    October 16th, 2009 at 1:08 pm

    Good stuff! I did a couple similar analyses on RBs best 4 years a couple of months ago. I took a different approach, as I did all my analysis in Excel, but it was kind of interesting to me. If anyone's interested:

    http://wolfpacksteelersfan.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/top-rbs-in-nfl-history-their-best-4-years/

    and

    http://wolfpacksteelersfan.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/another-comparison-of-rbs-best-4-years/

  5. Larry Says:
    October 16th, 2009 at 1:11 pm

    It really is amazing that Ken Anderson doesn't get more recognition. Maybe you have to win SBs before an innovative offense can really be considered great. I think many in the NFL have called very pass heavy offenses gimmicky, like "Air Coryell" or the Run and Shoot. Anderson just ran the West Coast Offense before Joe Montana ran it and established a dynasty.

  6. Larry Says:
    October 16th, 2009 at 1:11 pm

    Of course, now that I think of it, that didn't stop Dan Fouts from getting in the HOF.

  7. Rock Says:
    October 16th, 2009 at 4:56 pm

    I was surprised to see Namath so high on the 7 and 9-season lists considering that he barely played in '70 and '71. But I guess it just shows, once again, that Namath was much better in his best years than he gets credit for.

    Also, Lamonica! The Mad Bomber 15th, 19th, 28th and 35th! The man deserves so much more love than he ever gets. Everyone always talks about how Stabler should be in the HOF while totally ignoring the fact that his predecessor was just as good at their peaks. Lamonica didn't do anything from '64-'66 and still ranks fairly high on the latter two lists. Actually, since I mentioned him--why isn't Kenny Stabler in the HOF?

  8. Jerry Says:
    October 16th, 2009 at 4:59 pm

    As I've said here before, the Walsh offense was looked at as "dinking and dunking" when Anderson ran it in Cincinnati. It may be that if Montana and Anderson had switched birthdays, Anderson would be considered an all-time great and Montana would be the guy whose stats now would have people asking why he's not in the Hall of Fame.

    We do have to consider that the electors who saw Anderson play weren't sufficiently impressed to put him in the Hall. Even if they were wrong, it's not that Kenny was a slam-dunk first-ballot guy.

  9. Dave Says:
    October 16th, 2009 at 5:22 pm

    Ken Anderson falls victim to the special standard QBs are held to regarding their teams success. His not being in the hall probably boils down to the fact that his team didn't qualify for the playoffs very often, and when they did, they usually didn't win any playoff games.
    To be considered HOF worthy without a championship, it seems QBs have to be mad bombers in their prime and put up some serious numbers, like Fouts, or especially Marino.

  10. Jason Says:
    October 17th, 2009 at 12:00 am

    Big Niner fan here. I find it interesting that in each list, Steve Young rates higher than Joe Montana. This supports my belief that on his best day, Young was a better QB than Montana which would sound like heresy to any other Niner fan I know.

  11. pmac Says:
    October 17th, 2009 at 6:37 am

    I was surprised to see how low Brett Favre ranks on the best 3-year stretch list. With 3 consecutive MVPs, you'd think it was the best ever, but apparently Trent Green 03-05 was better. I've always thought that Brett's third MVP was more on reputation, and Barry deserved the whole award.

  12. glen Says:
    October 17th, 2009 at 7:29 am

    Lets give some love to one of the most underated QB of all time, Bert Jones, if he doesn't get hurt and play for those crappy Colt teams who knows what he accomplishes.

  13. Larry Says:
    October 17th, 2009 at 8:03 am

    Jason, I would say that Young had an overall better receiving corps than Montana most of his career. In the early to mid 80s, Montana had Dwight Clark, Freddy Solomon (I believe), and who else? I think Roger Craig was there for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th SBs. But, Young had Rice for his entire time there, in addition to Ricky Watters, William Floyd, Terrell Owens, and Brent Jones. I don't know, I'd still put Montana ahead of Young, especially in the playoffs.

  14. MattieShoes Says:
    October 17th, 2009 at 1:08 pm

    I started pondering "best days". I imagine most modern QBs are fairly indistinguishable in terms of their stats on best days. 60% completions or better, 300+ yards, 3+ TDs, 0-1 INT. So then I started wondering how many of these arbitrary best days QBs have had.

    http://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/tiny/f4NZt

    16 - Manning, Montana, Warner
    15 - Favre
    14 - Brees, Marino
    13 - Young
    12 - Fouts
    11 - Brady
    10 - Everett

    As a percentage of starts...
    Brees around 13%
    Montana, Manning, Young, Brady around 9-10%
    Fouts, Everett 6-7%
    Favre, Marino 5-6%

  15. Downpuppy Says:
    October 18th, 2009 at 5:35 pm

    And you wondered that before the 2nd quarter against the Titans.

  16. Richie Says:
    October 18th, 2009 at 7:45 pm

    I think that Ken Anderson falls victim to being one of the best QB's of his era, but doing it at the most run-oriented period of modern football. Because of that, his raw stats weren't spectacular, and his lack of Super Bowl wins don't build on his legend.

    Quick: what college did Ken Anderson go to? I had to look it up.

    From 1970 through 1979 QB's passed for 3,000+ yards in a season 20 times.

    From 1980 through 1980, QB's passed for 3,400+ yards in a season 64 times. (I used 3,400 yards as the minimum to account for the 16-game schedule.)

    The 1960's had 33 QB's pass for 3,000+ yards.

  17. Richie Says:
    October 18th, 2009 at 8:10 pm

    ...and if you want to know who those 20 QB's were, take my Sporcle quiz: http://www.sporcle.com/games/RichieW13/3000_1970s

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