NFL QBs

[tsst]

Yeah, but retro-actively if Tom Brady had studded pads and a metal helmet with switch blades taped to his knees then defenses would be fetal....

Are we talking footbal or Mad Maxx movies?

...The game would be "tougher" that way, but it would detract from the skill required to play the position....

Ok I can buy that having over the top protective rules for one position on the field gives that player a distinct advantage. QBs of the past had to display positional skill without special rules to give them that advantage. It was not only "tougher" but one could argue that they also had to play smarter to display those skills.

... Maybe for some people football is about broken bodies and torn legs, but for me it's about schemes, techniques, and formations. I don't like to see brutality, and I would prefer it to be a game of skill, and not a game of kill....

I don't like seeing severe injuries either but hitting is part of the game. Should the NFL convert to no contact flag football?

... I care if Tom Brady can run with his kid's when he retires, and I don't like to see concussed AFL stars on Outside the Lines talking about suicide, because their brains were permanently altered from a careless league.
The game is just starting to get it right,...

So why only the special rules for a QB and not every postition? Does the NFL not care if an O-guard can run with his kids? I would venture the NFL could careless about Brady's health but more about the dollars he earns them. If the O-guard was the money position you can bet the new rules would slant in their favor. Saying the NFL is getting it right is giving them too much credit. It's money.

... and I have no doubt that the teams of yester-year could not compete with today's game. They would have to resort to violence, because that would seem like the perfect option after you've been mentally dis-mantled by a superior opponent....

We can debate unprovable points of contention all day but if you are asking me to believe Brady is far mentally superior to the likes of Otto Graham or Montana or Marino well we will just have to agree to disagree.

... The speed and knowledge of today's game would have teams blowing in the wind, and their would be zero hope for their success. ...

The speed has improved but that has more to do with training improvments, modern day medicine, modern equipment, etc than it does with the heart or ability of today's player. There were just as dominant of athletes in past eras compared to their peers. In fifty years you can have this same debate with someone about why the QB then can run faster and throw farther than Brady does now. And how he would be dis-mantled.

... Maybe you dis-agree, but trust me; as long as the NFL keep's going in the same direction it has been for the last few years, their will be constant improvement.

I do disagree but not because athletes have not improved but rather because the changes to the game have highlighted and enabled. I still believe an Otto G playing inside the rules that everyone on the field shared was better than an over-protected Brady. If you want to compare apples to apples instead of apples to oranges it would be tough for you to argue your point.

In ten years of play his team made the championship game every year and won 7 of the ten. He also played pro basketball for a year and that team won the title too. His team went 105-17-4 in ten years of play. He was 57-13-1 as an NFL starter, that's over an 80% winning percentage, which by the way makes him #1 all-time. Yep I will still disagree that a modern QB is better. More pampered, better protected, given more advantage ... sure. Better compared to his peers (apples to apples) nope sorry!

 

[The_Thunderer]

Just got back after a couple of LONG weeks. I agree with you about Bob Griese. He's overlooked quite a bit and I don't like it. LOL.

 

[Cflaguy]

Something else about Griese....

Just got back after a couple of LONG weeks. I agree with you about Bob Griese. He's overlooked quite a bit and I don't like it. LOL.

He would look into the huddle and see a tired WR and give em a break with a pass to the other side, or get em out of the game. He would also wear out a CB by sending Twilley on an out for two quarters, Briscoe deep for one quarter, then stick Warfield over there who could do what ever he wanted to the CB.

 

[Ricky87]

Are we talking footbal or Mad Maxx movies?
Ok I can buy that having over the top protective rules for one position on the field gives that player a distinct advantage. QBs of the past had to display positional skill without special rules to give them that advantage. It was not only "tougher" but one could argue that they also had to play smarter to display those skills.

Yeah, but then you could argue how destructive todays defensive stars would be if they weren't confined to todays rules. James Harrison would destroy people, and so would Ray Lewis, Brian Dawkins, and about 100 other of the games best. If you thought Jack Lambert was bad, wait till you see Demarcus Ware speeding off the edge. It wouldn't even be fair, let alone how unbelievably todays coverage schemes would do against Bob Griese, or some of the afformentioned QB's.

I don't like seeing severe injuries either but hitting is part of the game. Should the NFL convert to no contact flag football?

No way, but the NFL should have a responsibility to the players that keep their houses warm and their children fed, not to mention all of the fans who show up to see a Brady or a Manning.

So why only the special rules for a QB and not every postition? Does the NFL not care if an O-guard can run with his kids? I would venture the NFL could careless about Brady's health but more about the dollars he earns them. If the O-guard was the money position you can bet the new rules would slant in their favor. Saying the NFL is getting it right is giving them too much credit. It's money.

It's money that retro-spectively benefits health. A positive out of a negative if you ask me. Also, todays gaurds get paid, and their are rules against illegal chop-blocks, late hits, and holding. Also, every injured player gets the same rehab. If Stephen Neal suffers a concussion he'll be checked out just as quick as a Tom Brady, because he keeps Brady upright.

We can debate unprovable points of contention all day but if you are asking me to believe Brady is far mentally superior to the likes of Otto Graham or Montana or Marino well we will just have to agree to disagree.

I'm not saying his IQ is greater, but he does have the benefit of learning from a game in evolution. He can pick up blitzes better, read coverages better, and is much more keyed in to individual tendencies. Thats just the way the game is today.

The speed has improved but that has more to do with training improvments, modern day medicine, modern equipment, etc than it does with the heart or ability of today's player. There were just as dominant of athletes in past eras compared to their peers. In fifty years you can have this same debate with someone about why the QB then can run faster and throw farther than Brady does now. And how he would be dis-mantled.

No doubt you can have that argument in 50 years, and I'm sure they will be better. It's just the way it is.

I do disagree but not because athletes have not improved but rather because the changes to the game have highlighted and enabled. I still believe an Otto G playing inside the rules that everyone on the field shared was better than an over-protected Brady. If you want to compare apples to apples instead of apples to oranges it would be tough for you to argue your point.

In ten years of play his team made the championship game every year and won 7 of the ten. He also played pro basketball for a year and that team won the title too. His team went 105-17-4 in ten years of play. He was 57-13-1 as an NFL starter, that's over an 80% winning percentage, which by the way makes him #1 all-time. Yep I will still disagree that a modern QB is better. More pampered, better protected, given more advantage ... sure. Better compared to his peers (apples to apples) nope sorry!

I'm not doubting Otto Graham as much as I am his competition. I think if Graham were a rookie in todays game hs potential would be limitless, but I'm just going from a right-here, right-now match-up. If the Steelers of the 70's were beamed in to play the best of todays game they would get smoked. The game would be way to fast for them to learn on the fly, and by the time they were starting to formulate a strategy, the game would be over. I'm really not bashing guys you idolize, and their is nothing I love more than good old-fashion (correction; new-fashion) football talk. To be honest I would pay millions to see those guys play each other, because it is possible I could eat my words, though I do thing todays teams would reign supreme!.