NFLRT 7/12/2024

 

The questions and discussion…

Recently CBSSports.com ran a column that asked the question… Who is the greatest dual-threat quarterback in NFL history? Which QB was the best as a passer and a runner?

In coming to their conclusion CBS wrote: “That’s a long debate, considering how much the game has changed and running quarterbacks are more prevalent than ever. This list will be divided into two parts: quarterbacks who mostly scrambled to get yards (pre-2000) and the hybrid era of quarterbacks the game has now (mostly become in the post-2000 era).”

So…

1) Who is the best QB from the scrambling era (pre-2000)? Why?

Best QB from the scrambling era was Randall Cunningham.

He ran for 4,928 rushing yards, which was an NFL record when he retired and posted 500+ rushing yards in six seasons. He used to run the ball effectively before rushing quarterbacks were even known or was a thing. He led the league in passer rating and yards per attempt one time, had 29,979 career passing yards and threw for 207 touchdowns. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro (the year he led the league in passer rating).

He also didn’t have the greatest offensive line during his earlier tenure in Philadelphia, leading the league in sacks five seasons, including 72 in year two of his career and getting sacked 484 times throughout his career. He finished second in MVP three times in his career, second in Offensive Player of the Year twice as well as one third place finish. 

Randall Cunningham.

He ranks second all-time in career rushing yards by a quarterback with 4,928 in 775 carries with 35 touchdowns.

In 1990 he rushed for 940 of those yards which is currently the third-best single-season by an NFL quarterback, averaging an NFL-leading 8.0 yards per carry that year.

He’s had three career 100-yard games, topped by his 124 against New England in 1990.

2) Who is the best QB from the dual-threat era (post-2000)? Why?

Michael Vick is the best dual-threat NFL quarterback of the post-2000 era making the Pro Bowl four times in his career and winning Comeback Player of the Year one time and finishing top-five in MVP voting twice (second and fourth).

He posted 22,464 passing yards, 133 touchdowns and 88 interceptions including 6,109 rushing yards with 36 rushing touchdowns. In 873 attempts, he recorded 347 first downs on an average of seven yards per carry. He posted over 500 rushing yards six times, over 600 rushing yards four times, over 700 three times and his top two rushing seasons were 902 and 1,039 yards.

He was insanely fast and was a threat to run on every single play. He was the most dominant Madden player of all-time. He changed the game at the quarterback position. 

Josh Allen.

Through his six seasons, Allen has already passed for 22,703 yards, including four straight seasons of over 4,000 yards. For his career he has a 63.2 career completion percentage, which includes a no so hot 52.8% in his rookie year.

As a runner Allen has 3,611yards which isn’t the most among running QBs but it isn’t far behind the likes of other top rushing QBs such as Michael Vick (6,109), Cam Newton (5,628) and Lamar Jackson (5,258) ground yards and he has a  arguably a long way to go in his career to make up a lot of those yards.

Additionally he makes up for the yardage by scoring TDs with 53 career rushing touchdowns. Allen has some work to do to catch Newton’s 75, but he is coming off his best single-season with 15 rushing scores in the 2023/24 season. A couple or three more seasons like that or if he simply keeps pace with his career average of 9  per year and should eventually with ease easily surpass Newton in rushing TDs for a QB.

3) A case can be made that the New England Patriots… who have won six Super Bowl titles (2002, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017, and 2019) and 11 American Football Conference (AFC) championships to place them into the Super Bowl… to be considered the best football dynasty team in the Super Bowl era if not the history of the NFL.

If the Kansas City Chiefs accomplish winning the Super Bowl for a third straight year this season… will the Chiefs surpass the Patriots as the NFL’s top dynasty in the NFL or will the Chiefs still have their work cut out for them before they can be given that title? Why or why not?

Kansas City winning a third Super Bowl in a row would be an incredible feat and put them in the top dynasties of all-time, especially NFL level. But the way New England dominated for years in the AFC and NFL with Brady and Belichick is a tall mountain to top.

The Patriots were in the top echelon of the AFC each and every year. Favorites to win the Super Bowl year in and year out. The Patriots had six Super Bowl victories in their span. 11 AFC Championship Games that placed them in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are catching up, but they still have road left to drive on in order to match New England’s success. 

If the Chiefs achieve threepeating in the Super Bowl then they are in the conversation for the best dynasty ever in the NFL.

But only in the conversation.

They still have a ways to go before they surpass what the Belichick/Brady Patriots accomplished…

Chiefs are would be close with the threepeat which would put them during the Mahomes era at 7 consecutive AFC Championship games, 5 Super Bowl appearances with four wins but still short of the Patriots during the Brady era of 6 Super bowl trophies and 11 AFC championship wins.

4) Many folks consider Patrick Mahomes to be one of the best, if not the best, player from the present era…

However considering the totality of the NFL’s history, in your opinion who was the best player to have ever played in the NFL? Why?

And…

As a player where does Mahomes rank as a player in the history of the NFL? Why?

Best player ever is Tom Brady.

Fifteen Pro Bowls, seven Super Bowl rings, three MVPs including five Super Bowl MVPs, HOF All-2000s and All-2010s team, quarterback of the greatest dynasty in, arguably, all of sports. Left New England and went to Tampa Bay to win a ring and put them in the top team conversation each year he played.

He has numerous NFL records for passing and played at an elite level until he was in his mid-40s. The success, the awards, trophies, statistical achievements, nobody has matched what Tom Brady has done.

Then we speak about the intangibles – leadership, drive, devotion. He made great players out of back-ups. He’s the greatest NFL player of all-time. 

Mahomes, right now, is trending towards becoming one of the best, or possibly surpassing Tom Brady as the greatest ever. But, right now, I’d comfortably put him in the top 25.

In six seasons as the starter, he has six Pro Bowls, three Super Bowls and two regular season MVPs including three Super Bowl MVPs. He is a two-time All-Pro and already over 24,000 passing yards, 219 touchdowns to only 63 interceptions, and can run the ball with 1,936 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns in his career.

He’s had Travis Kelce by his side, but outside of that, especially last season, he struggled to have a reliable weapon for most of the season, including the playoffs. And he was still able to drive the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl over the 49ers.

What Mahomes has been able to do in a short time span is incredible and has sky-rocketed him up the all-time rankings already. He’s definitely on his way to being the greatest of all-time. 

Playing the most important position in sports, Tom Brady has won more Super Bowls than any other player with a total of 7… Brady won the 2002, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017, and 2019 Super Bowls quarterbacking the New England Patriots, and the 2021 Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Plus he led the arguably best ever dynasty in the Pats and included among his career stats are 89,214 passing yards, 97.2 QB rating, 649 passing touchdowns versus 212 interceptions, a career 64.3% completion rate and a career 7.4 yards per attempt.

Brady is the all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions, attempts, and quarterback wins. 

All of which leads me to say Tom Brady is the best player to ever perform in the NFL.

During Patrick Mahomes’ first seven years as the Chiefs’ starter he has led the team to 6 straight AFC Championship games  and won 4 of those Championship games and winning 3 of the 4 Super Bowls he has appeared in. Mahomes is a two-time league MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP.

While Mahomes is nowhere close to Brady in terms of counting stats, his numbers so far in his career of 96 games puts him on pace to not only challenge but possibly surpass what Brady did during his career.  At this stage in his career Mahomes has a better completion percentage (66.5% vs Bray’s 64.3%); better yards per attempt average (7.9 to Brady’s 7.4); better yards per game average (296.1 to Brady’s 266.3), and a better career QB rating (103.5 to Brady’s 97.2).  

Expect him to move up this list in the coming years but right now I got him in the top 15 all-time.

5) In your opinion, prior to the 2024/25 season who is currently the best running back in the NFL? Why?

Best running back in the NFL is on the 49ers in Christian McCaffrey. When healthy, he’s the most dual-threat running back the NFL has to offer. He can block as well, which makes him a surefire bet to always be in the lineup.

Last season alone, he rushed for 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns, with only three fumbles. On top of that, he had 564 receiving yards and seven touchdowns for a total of  2,023 total yards from scrimmage and 21 touchdowns. Just an absolute menace of a player that’s always a threat no matter where you line him up. Also, in his two completions (out of four attempts) he has two touchdown passes. Just an all-around top athlete and the top running back in the game. 

The reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year, Christian McCaffrey the NFL’s top running back. 

After his massive 2023 season… 1,459 rushing yards with 14 rushing touchdowns against only 3 fumbles along with 564 receiving yards and 7 TDs by pass for a total of  2,023 total yards from scrimmage and 21 total touchdowns… he became just the 10th player in NFL history with at least 10,000 career scrimmage yards (10,505) and at least 80 career touchdowns (81) in his first seven seasons in the league.

Six of the first seven players in this club are first ballot members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and when Adrian Peterson is elected in his first year on the ballot in 2027 it will be all seven.  

Eventually McCaffrey should make it eight.