Favre is the greatest QB ever

How are you going to argue this? He's clearly the greatest QB ever. The only other name you didn't mention that's been thrown around in the banter about this topic this week is Unitas. Unitas!? C'mon!

As a Packer fan, it hurts me to vote this way. And it particularly hurts me to vote for someone named "ShitStain." But while I think Favre is clearly top five, and maybe top three, he isn't #1.

Most of the QB's you list are of the modern era. I'm not qualified to speak about QB's from the 40's and 50's that I never saw play, but it does seem like knowledgable people put Unitas (especially), Graham, and Baugh high on the list as well. And in the modern era, I would have to give Montana serious consideration as well. He was on great teams, but was unquestionably a hell of a player and very clutch.

But I will say this: as a fan, I don't think there was ever a QB that was as much fun to watch as Favre. And I don't think there are any that are really even close. His character, his touhgness, his determination, his ability to take medicore players and literally carry them forward -- hard to think of another QB, or many other players, period, that are his equal in those respects.

And most important of all was the joy he took in playing the game. It's become a cliche now, but only because it's so obviously true. No one played harder or had more fun doing it -- and you couldn't help but get swept up in that. When he announced his retirement, it was pretty clear that he was losing that enjoyment. And that is why it was the right time for him to go.

I think you need to separate best QUARTERBACK from best PLAYER IN A TEAM. If your focus is on Super Bowl wins, then certainly Brady, Montana, and others are in the discussion. But those guys had the distinctly fortunate position of playing on superlative teams. Put Favre in any of the recent Pats teams and he's got as many rings as Brady.

My argument is that if you strip away the team, and just look at the pure performance of the athlete at that position regardless of surrounding cast, Favre is #1. Marino's name doesn't come up much, but it should. So the guy never won a Super Bowl. Does that make him a "bad" quarterback!? Clearly not. What has clouded this whole discourse is the murgling of player with team .

I love Favre but he's not close to number one. Marino and Elway were much better quarterbacks and winning Super Bowls should be a strong consideration. I'm too young to talk about Baugh or Unitas. But I would put Brady on the list now. I think Favre is serious when he says that Marino was better. If our own guy (Favre) says he's not the best, he's not the best.

Montana is the greatest quarterback ever, based on ShitStain's criteria, rings, and his overall winning percentage, his comebacks, his accuracy, his leadership, his grace under pressure, etc. Bradshaw has the same number of rings, but he's a clear step below. Brady could surpass Montana some day, and he's already surpassed Favre, but I can't vote for either side in this smackdown because neither choice provides the correct answer.

Favre's flameout this year against the Giants certainly didn't help his cause. If he had engineered a Superbowl this year, you'd have to give him serious consideration...but he threw that awful interception when he had seven better options. That's just one play, but it is sort of symbolic of a bigger issue. He made too many mistakes during his career to be considered the best. Sure, there was a lack of talent there for a while and he made up for that, but not enough to overshadow the interception problems.

This conversation wouldn't be complete without at least a brief reflection on Eric Hipple's career.