Is this the Era of the QB

[THE ICEMAN]

Is this the Era of QB's?

I don't think there's been so many good young QB's Matt Ryan,Sam Bradford,Aaron Rodgers,Josh Freeman,Mathew Stradford and Mark Sanchez and I think Andrew Luck will also be one as well when he goes number 1 next year. I think this is a QB driven league and with the amount of talent at the position now young and old it will only make for better football and many more close high scoring games.

[Quarterback]

Is this the Era of QB's?

I don't think there's been so many good young QB's Matt Ryan,Sam Bradford,Aaron Rodgers,Josh Freeman,Mathew Stradford and Mark Sanchez and I think Andrew Luck will also be one as well when he goes number 1 next year. I think this is a QB driven league and with the amount of talent at the position now young and old it will only make for better football and many more close high scoring games.

Thinking about your question, I'm not so sure that the pool of QB raw, physical talent is noticeably, if at all, better than recent modern eras. I absolutely believe that the increase in colleges who run a more pro style offense, coupled with all of the new QB protection rules and pass interference rules, have been instrumental in the ability for young QB's to start right away and be effective.

When I think of what Steve Bartkowski went though his first 3-4 years behind a horrific line, the multiple knee surgeries, the large, bulky knee braces, etc, it triggers a ton of sympathy in me.

[TdotFalcon]

I absolutely believe that the increase in colleges who run a more pro style offense, coupled with all of the new QB protection rules and pass interference rules, have been instrumental in the ability for young QB's to start right away and be effective.

couldn't agree more. the nfl is catering to all qb's; making young qb's able to thrive early with experience of a pro style offense from college

[Atlfanstckndenver]

personally i think all the talk of this being some kind of golden age for quarterbacks is greatly over hyped. I believe all of the statistical surges in the passing numbers are more a direct result of rule changees and officiating than anything else. Even though i do think overall QB play has developed and advanced with time.

[Peyton]

This is the golden era of QB play, there has never been as many great QBs in the league as there is now. I don't think it's even close.

[Peyton]

personally i think all the talk of this being some kind of golden age for quarterbacks is greatly over hyped. I believe all of the statistical surges in the passing numbers are more a direct result of rule changees and officiating than anything else. Even though i do think overall QB play has developed and advanced with time.

The last significant rule changes with regards to the passing game were in 1978.

The reason that QB play is so outstanding now as opposed to the past is the amount of studying and preparation that the QBs are putting in compared to the past. When seasons were over in the 80s, and even the 90s, dudes took off and didn't even worry about football again until July.

Now....it's much more of an all year thing. Maybe it's the money that's changed things, but QBs are way more prepared now than they were in the past.

[Karst41]

It is and all of the above.

The Pro Style offense is being used at the High School level.

What is really odd is that the game's true progression could easily be Arena Football.

The only issue with Arena is the size of the field.

It is very rare these days to see the final score of 3 - 0.

[Tandy]

When you consider that there are only 32 guys in the world who are starting NFL QBs at any given time, the pool to pick from is large and they get the cream of the crop from that pool.

There have always been great QBs - and they rotate. What we are seeing is a lot of new talent coming in and the old reign starting to go out.

For the times, QBs are as good as they have been. What do I mean by that?

I mean there are about 40% who are top of the line winners and 60% who are good (or they wouldn't be in the league), learning and questionable in their success.

The times .... what is available to the QB now that wasn't before? Technology for one thing. If a QB wants to see how the defense of the team he is facing handles this move or that one - he types in a few criteria and he has all the video he needs on it - and how to combat it.

Information has never been so readily available to QBs as it is now. The same amount of time devoted by a QB today to dig up information compared to the QB of 20 years ago yields a lot more in todays information age.

QBs are more sophisticated in the game today because they have more tools available to them in the same time frame to become knowledgeable and plan counter-attacks.

There are some great QBs out there - but there always have been. For the times they played through.

[Panther Pride]

LOL @ Sanchez being a good QB.

[Tandy]

LOL @ Sanchez being a good QB.

The young man has come 1 game away from the Super Bowl both years as a starter.

He has a lot to learn and a lot of maturation to go through - but he is a good QB.

[CDuB2009]

The young man has come 1 game away from the Super Bowl both years as a starter.

He has a lot to learn and a lot of maturation to go through - but he is a good QB.

It's debatable, I think he gets more credit than he deserves for getting the Jets to the AFC CG's. You don't make those games based on one player, even if it's a QB. Brady didn't win Championships by himself either, his defense helped a lot back when he was winning rings, and they had one of the most clutch kickers in the league at the time. Sanchez is an alright QB who happens to be in the drivers seat of a very good team, not all credit goes to him.

It's kinda like Troy Aikman, the numbers are nothing special, he won rings because that Dallas team was stacked and all he had to do was manage the game. Which he did very well.

Edited June 19, 2011 by CDuB2009

[Tandy]

It's debatable, I think he gets more credit than he deserves for getting the Jets to the AFC CG's. You don't make those games based on one player, even if it's a QB. Brady didn't win Championships by himself either, his defense helped a lot back when he was winning rings, and they had one of the most clutch kickers in the league at the time. Sanchez is an alright QB who happens to be in the drivers seat of a very good team, not all credit goes to him.

It's kinda like Troy Aikman, the numbers are nothing special, he won rings because that Dallas team was stacked and all he had to do was manage the game. Which he did very well.

Very true that the team has to perform as a whole to get through the playoffs - but Sanchez has performed very well in the playoffs - actually better statistically than he has in the regular season.

He's only had 2 years and he's coming along very nicely for a young QB. I don't know if he'll end up being a HOF caliber QB, but give the guy credit for what he has done, it's been impressive overall.

[isproab]

I heard 790 the zone talking about this a little this morning and I thought about this board topic. I don't think this is the best era of QB's but it is a pretty good group.

There are a lot of good young QB's in the NFL now. I think looking back at the 1990's and guys that were playing at one time I see more names of guys that stood out at some point in their career. Look at the list below from 1991. I know they were all at different points in their career, and the passing game 20 years ago was not what it is today. Still, I see a lot of names that had good careers or put together a good season or two and stood out as a player, even for a short amount of time.

Warren Moon

Dan Marion

Jim Kelly

Mark Rypien

Bernie Kosar

Jim Everett

Ken O'Brien

John Elway

Jim Harbaugh

Chris Miller

Boomer Esiason

Troy Aikman

Steve Young

Jim McMahon

Rich Gannon

Dave Krieg

Jeff Hostetler

Vinny Testaverde

Niel O'Donnell

Bobby Herbert

[Peyton]

I heard 790 the zone talking about this a little this morning and I thought about this board topic. I don't think this is the best era of QB's but it is a pretty good group.

There are a lot of good young QB's in the NFL now. I think looking back at the 1990's and guys that were playing at one time I see more names of guys that stood out at some point in their career. Look at the list below from 1991. I know they were all at different points in their career, and the passing game 20 years ago was not what it is today. Still, I see a lot of names that had good careers or put together a good season or two and stood out as a player, even for a short amount of time.

Well, yeah, that's the point. It's harder to stand out now cause there are so many guys playing great. There were 4 different guys that threw 25+ TDs and less than 10 INTs last year, but only one of those was a serious MVP candidate. The guy who won it.

A lot of the guys on your list would have a hard time even getting a shot with their skills if they were playing today.

[CDuB2009]

I heard 790 the zone talking about this a little this morning and I thought about this board topic. I don't think this is the best era of QB's but it is a pretty good group.

There are a lot of good young QB's in the NFL now. I think looking back at the 1990's and guys that were playing at one time I see more names of guys that stood out at some point in their career. Look at the list below from 1991. I know they were all at different points in their career, and the passing game 20 years ago was not what it is today. Still, I see a lot of names that had good careers or put together a good season or two and stood out as a player, even for a short amount of time.

Warren Moon

Dan Marion

Jim Kelly

Mark Rypien

Bernie Kosar

Jim Everett

Ken O'Brien

John Elway

Jim Harbaugh

Chris Miller

Boomer Esiason

Troy Aikman

Steve Young

Jim McMahon

Rich Gannon

Dave Krieg

Jeff Hostetler

Vinny Testaverde

Niel O'Donnell

Bobby Herbert

If you list all the "good/great" QB's in the league now the list would be similar.

P. Manning

T. Brady

A. Rodgers

D. Brees

P. Rivers

M. Ryan

B. Roethlisberger

M. Vick

M. Schuab

J. Flacco

E. Manning

J. Freeman

M. Cassel

J. Cutler

S. Bradford

T. Romo

M. Sanchez

D. Garrard

(Matt Stafford should probably be on this list, has everything you look for in a QB, except for the ability to stay on the field.)

I think this list might even be better. There are two that are definitely in the HOF when they're eligible in Manning and Brady, I think Rodgers, and Roethlisberger are on their way there as well. Rivers could be this era's Dan Marino, will always post great numbers but never get a ring, and then throw in Ryan and Vick as wildcards to the HOF both have a lot of years left. Vick might need to do more based on what's happened off the field, but give him a ring and it might change enough minds to get him in. Then I'd add Bradford and Freeman who have the potential to be great but are still developing their game. With all that said, we can all agree we're lucky to be able to tune into NFL games and see this much talent every Sunday.

Edited June 20, 2011 by CDuB2009

[Tandy]

(Matt Stafford should probably be on this list, has everything you look for in a QB, except for the ability to stay on the field.)

As a Ga fan - I am also a Stafford fan and wish the best for him. Still, this made me laugh out loud. That's a pretty big except.

[DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry]

I think this is the best era of QB simply because of how the game has changed.

There are about ten guys that, in other eras, would be MVP winners if they were to maintain their productivity. Phillip Rivers has trouble cracking the Top 5 of QBs playing today and since becoming the starter has averaged almost 4000 yards and thrown more than 2x as many TDs as INTs. Kid's a stud and he isn't even a Top 5 guy.

Add to that the fact that you have two of the five best QBs to ever play the game currently active in the league.

This is about as good as QB play has ever been, IMO. Thank god because it got ugly for awhile there.....

[Twoism]

LOL @ Sanchez being a good QB.

Is this a joke?

[revenge]

Is this a joke?

I don't think it was. :unsure:

[CDuB2009]

Oh I know, I'm just saying if he can find a way to keep himself healthy he'd be a great QB. That's why I left him off the list. As it stands it seems the Lions will never get lucky enough to draft a QB worth a darn.

[SyCo]

I don't think QBs are better now than in the past. I believe this is coming from the past decade, late 90's to about 2003 or 2004 where there just werent any "great" qbs. Since then we saw alot of good young qbs emerge at once, and the list is getting bigger every year. There will probably be another drop off in a few years, and people will be saying, "why arent qbs as good as they used to be?"

[Atlfanstckndenver]

I actually think rule changes that have been implemented are simply starting to show up in the game more and more. I have said it before i personal y think the whole "Golden Age of Quarterbacks" is over hyped.

[Atlfanstckndenver]

The last significant rule changes with regards to the passing game were in 1978.

The reason that QB play is so outstanding now as opposed to the past is the amount of studying and preparation that the QBs are putting in compared to the past. When seasons were over in the 80s, and even the 90s, dudes took off and didn't even worry about football again until July.

Now....it's much more of an all year thing. Maybe it's the money that's changed things, but QBs are way more prepared now than they were in the past.

honestly. how does this not apply for all of the nfl? Including coaches and players on both sides of the ball.

[Peyton]

honestly. how does this not apply for all of the nfl? Including coaches and players on both sides of the ball.

It does, but I think having the synchronicity of working together most of the year rather than just during football season benefits the offense more than the defense.

[BadMoonRising]

To be fair.

This could also be considered the time of good passing schemes or receivers.