Where Does Peyton Rank Amongst Greatest?

Now the debate can get rocking and rolling. Peyton Manning hung the pads up yesterday, ending a stellar 18 year career in the National Football League. This story would have been more dramatic and heart wrenching had he retired right after winning the Super Bowl last month. But now that the decision has been made and he is going to be calling it a career today, it makes you take a look back at one of the greatest to ever play the game. A first ballot hall of famer, of that their is no doubt. He's set records left and right and will go down as one of the greatest to ever play the game. But this beg's the question, is he the greatest to ever play the game? Now there's no universal way to prove this list but we'll now try and make a strong case for it.

There's only one real knock that can ever be made against Peyton. His nine one-and-done playoff exits hurt his case. Sure he owns a 14-13 playoff record, but again those nine cases of one and done aren't exactly great. That's the only knock against Peyton. The rest of the career has been fantastic. This much is known. He is the greatest regular-season quarterback of all time. Of this there is no doubt. Manning won five MVP awards, same as the NBA's Michael Jordan. Brett Favre, Johnny Unitas and running back Jim Brown won the award three times. Widen the lens to include all sports, only the NHL's Wayne Gretzky (nine), MLB's Barry Bonds (seven), NBA's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six) and hockey's Gordie Howe (six) have more MVPs. He owns the career marks with 71,940 passing yards and 539 touchdown passes and regular season wins with 186 (200 if you include playoff victories). During the regular season, he holds the records for passing yards in a year with 5,477, touchdowns with 55 (2013) and a full list more that's too long to place here.

There's non debate at his numbers and how astronomical they really are. One of the big things that has been mentioned about Peyton during his career is how hard he works. Nobody is going to outwork Peyton Manning. Ever. So with all that being said about the guy, where does he rank among the all time greats. There are some guys who deserve honorable mention, guys like Steve Young, Terry Bradshaw, Warren Moon, Fran Tarkenton, Dan Fouts, Drew Brees. You can include guys to be put in the same breath as Peyton. Guys like Brady, Montana, Elway, Otto Graham Brett Farve, Dan Marino, Troy Akman, Johnny Unitas, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, and Jim Kelly. So now, with that being said, here's the way I break it down. I throw into account regular season success and numbers as well as post season success and championship rings. It's all taken into account. With that being said, here's the top five greatest QB's to ever play the game.

Honorable Mention
John Elway
This is basically saying he's #6 on my list of the greatest QB's ever. I loved Elway (except in 1999 in the AFC title game when the beat the Jets but that's another argument altogether). Taken with the top overall pick in the 1983 draft, he played his entire career for the team he now runs, the Denver Broncos. He finished his career with 51,475 pass yards and 300 career TD's. Elway is the only player to throw for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 200 yards in seven straight seasons (1985–91). He won two Super Bowls the last two years of his career, but one of the things that people remember most about Elway is "The Drive". It was January 11, 1987. Elway lead the Broncos on a last-ditch, five-minute, 15-play, 98-yard touchdown drive in the AFC Championship against the Cleveland Browns. It lead Denver to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, which set up the overtime winning field goal by Rich Karlis. It included six passes made (nine attempted), five rushes and an eight-yard sack. He was named the NFL Most Valuable Player and the AFC Offensive MVP.

#5. Dan Marino
Man did this guy drive me nuts as a Jets fan. He was taken in the same draft as Elway, but he went 27th overall. He spent his entire career with the Miami Dolphins, playing from 1983 to 1999. During Marino's career, the Dolphins were perennial playoff contenders, reaching the post-season in 10 of his 17 seasons. He was selected to play in nine Pro Bowls, seven of which came as a starter. He was named first- or second-team All-Pro eight times and earned All-AFC honors six times. Marino has won all three major individual awards: NFL MVP (1984); NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1994); and NFL Man of the Year (1998), which recognizes charitable work off the field. He will go down as the greatest QB the game has ever seen NOT to win a Super Bowl.

#4. Brett Farve
Nobody has thrown the word retirement around more than this guy. He had that world thrown around at least ten times before he finally hung the pads up in 2010. Some of the notable records that Farve held when he retired were. Most pass completions (6,300), Most pass attempts (10,169), Most pass interceptions (336), Most starts (298), Most wins (186, tied with Peyton Manning). He owns a number of team records, including having printed his name into almost every passing category in the annals of Green Bay Packers history. He is the holder of several firsts in NFL history, including the only quarterback to win three consecutive NFL most valuable player awards and the only quarterback to win a playoff game over age 40. He also has a SuperBowl ring on his finger, leading the Packers over the New England Patriots in SuperBowl 31.

#3. Peyton Manning
Still my all time favorite Quarterback. Has almost every major passing record in the book. All that can been said about Peyton is listed above.

#2. Tom Brady
I hate the guy so much, only because he plays for the New England Patriots and always finds a way to kill any hopes and dreams I have for my Jets. He entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick, and may currently have about 14,000 fewer passing yards than Manning, but he’s won twice as many championships (4) in six Super Bowl appearances with the New England Patriots. Tom Terrific shows up when it matters most. He's won the most playoff games, at 21. The guy is great. He may not have put up the astronomical numbers as guys like Peyton, Farve or Marino, but he still knows how to win and get it done when it matters most.

#1 Joe Montana
On the grandest stage of them all in the football world, nobody was any better than this man. Joe Montana led the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowls in his reign at quarterback. While Joe Cool was under center in those games, the 49ers never lost and he was named the Super Bowl MVP three times. The Hall of Fame QB was known for his come-from-behind wins. Montana led a fourth-quarter comeback against the Cowboys in the 1981 NFC Championship that was simply known as "The Catch" after finding Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone. Montana also led the Niners on a 92-yard drive with only 36 seconds left in Super Bowl XXIII. He finished his career with 40,551 passing yards and 273 touchdowns. He was great when the lights shined the brightest.

So do you agree with this list? Who's the greatest of them all?