Minnesota Viking quarterback Brett Favre recently turned 40 years old and is playing better than most of the young quarterbacks in the NFL right now. One has to begin to wonder: Is Brett Favre the greatest quarterback of all time?
I’m here to say yes, he is! Brett Favre takes 40 minutes to order at a restaurant but, pushing his personal life aside, Favre has to be considered the best quarterback of all time, with all his accomplishments.
The Vikings are 5-0 because of Favre, and he has already thrown a game-winning touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers. He is showing people that he still has that famous rocket arm. In the first quarter of the NFL season Favre has nine touchdowns. That’s three more than what Tom Brady, Tony Romo and Philip Rivers have.
However, his skills should be no surprise. He has been proving that he is the best quarterback ever since he was in Green Bay. His stats simply back up how great he is.
Favre is very consistent; after his rookie season with the Atlanta Falcons he has never thrown less than 3,000 yards. Also Favre is the only one with 274 consecutive starts in any position, and he is the most accurate passer among those with at least 6,000 attempts. His rating is 61.4 percent.
Not only that, but he has also thrown more touchdowns than any other quarterback. His record is 473 – and counting.
Some might say he has failed as much as he has succeeded, and that is true. Favre has thrown more interceptions than any other quarterback in history with 312 interceptions. However, if someone does any profession long enough, they will have their good days and bad days.
This season Favre is doing a good job in not turning the ball over. He has fewer interceptions than Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger, with two.
Analysts might say that other quarterbacks are better then Favre. For example, people may look at Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw or Dan Marino for their pick of best players.
They are all great quarterbacks, but let’s take a close look at these players’ careers. Joe Montana won four Super Bowls and was clutch in big situations. No one can forget his great pass to Dwight Clark in the 1982 NFC Championship game. Montana, being a clutch quarterback, does not equal the best passer ever to play the game.
If you look at stats, Favre blows Montana away in basically every passing category. Montana never threw for 4,000 yards in a season, something Favre has done five times. Also don’t forget Montana had one of the best wide receivers to ever play the game in Jerry Rice. Favre has played with no- name receivers throughout his career.
Terry Bradshaw had an all-star team! The defense called itself the “Steel Curtain,” with legendary names such as Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, and Jack Ham.
The offense had Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. Oh, and I almost forgot – their running back was Franco Harris. Any quarterback could have won with this team.
Bradshaw did lead his team to four Super Bowl titles, but only passed for 300 yards seven times. He just had to manage the game, and let the defense do the rest.
The only player that comes close to Favre is Dan Marino. He is usually discounted because he never won a Super Bowl. However, that has nothing to do with him being a great quarterback.
Marino did hold records for most completions, yards and attempts. However, Favre has surpassed all these records.
Take away Favre’s lone Super Bowl, and just look at the stats. Favre is the most consistent and has broken every important record.
Favre reminds me of Kobe Bryant. Bryant is not the most likable guy, but he is a great player. People need to forget about Favre’s personal life, and just look at his body of work.
