Archimedes

Lol, my friend that order I listed them in wasn’t how I was ranking them. I was just listing them out. If I were to rank them it would probably go: Montana, Favre, Elway, Marino, Young, Moon, Aikman, and then Kelly. And you’re right, I would probably rank Aikman’s weapons as slightly superior to Kelly’s. Their supporting cast as far as skill position players was probably a push, but Aikman had some horses on that OL in front of him. Kelly’s OL wasn’t exactly filled with slouches, but they weren’t the Cowboys. Ultimately, we’re in agreement about Kelly and Aikman being the bottom 2 of that group, even if we disagree slightly on who was the better of those 2.

Those Bills teams were almost as loaded on offense as the Cowboys. They scored 65 points in 2 playoff games with their backup QB. I don’t think it’s at all a given Kelly could’ve gotten the Cowboys past the Niners both times and the Packers for their last SB. I also disagree that Aikman wouldn’t have gotten one if you put him in the Bills. I think they would have beaten the Giants. Kelly had a chance to put that game away after his defense put the Bills up 9 and he did jack squat. This was a recurring theme of his during SBs. Of the great QBs of his generation, Montana, Young, Aikman, Moon, Favre, Elway, and Marino, Kelly would be last for me.

Agreed

Kelly did not play particularly well in any of his final 3 AFC title games, and was straight up crap in the game against Denver. The Bills won all of those games. Kelly didn’t play all that well in the 1995 wildcard win against the Dolphins either. As loaded as those early 90s Cowboys teams were, Troy delivered some masterpieces in the playoffs. I fully expected the Niners to win that 93 NFCCG going in, but Aikman balled out. I don’t think an average QB could have replicated his performance in that game. The Cowboys probably would have won with any half decent starter the next year as they were never really challenged in the playoffs. A couple of years later in the 96 NFCCG though, Troy was nails again. He led the Cowboys over an elite Packers team despite having a clown for a coach that year. Troy was a lot better than people tend to remember and Kelly was a little worse than people remember (although he was still really good).

And? Aikman played in the same conference as Young and Favre, among others. Lol, I’m old enough to have watched these guys their whole careers. Of course, whether you were old enough to have watched these guys doesn’t matter anyway, because you didn’t actually know what you were watching.

No, not a debate. Aikman was better. If Pro Bowls were so easy to make, how come Jim Kelly doesn’t have more selections? Which might be relevant if we were discussing Marino vs Aikman. The issue is Aikman vs Kelly. Aikman has a similar career passer rating and ANY/A to Kelly in the regular season. In the playoffs, Aikman’s passer rating is much better than Kelly’s. In the playoffs, Aikman’s ANY/A is much better than Kelly’s. Aikman has a SB MVP, Kelly doesn’t. Aikman has more PB selections. But Kelly threw for more yards and TDs!!!!! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! I will say, something Kelly is legitimately better than Aikman at. Not showing up in the SB. Kelly is GOAT at that.

Yeah... No. Their regular season efficiency numbers are comparable, however Aikman’s efficiency went up in the playoffs, Kelly’s tanked. Aikman has more pro bowls, and a SB MVP, something that Kelly doesn’t have.

Unless Eli gets in, then Kelly is absolutely a bottom tier HOF guy. Either he or Stabler would probably the worst QB to make the Hall in the last 25 years. Among his contemporaries, Moon, Aikman, Marino, Montana, and Elway, he has the fewest Pro Bowl selections. He’s the only member of that club to not have a SB MVP, league MVP, or offensive player of the year award. He started the fewest games of all of the members of that group. His 12 point drop in passer rating from the regular season to the playoffs is the worst of that group. In the 4 consecutive SBs he made, the Bills underrated defense played a bigger role in the AFC title games then he did in getting there. He also tended to play like crap in the SB, and was outplayed in 2 of his appearances by Hostetler and Rypien, neither of whom will even sniff the Hall. Again, Kelly was an excellent QB who had a fantastic team around him, and a great system in place. But as things stand now, he’s absolutely a bottom tier HOF qb.

Man, the Raiders looked so dominant in the playoffs in the run up to that game. I remember hearing later that a major reason that the Bucs won that game is because Chucky knew his former team inside and out. Had they gone up against any other NFC team that year they likely would have been SB champs.

I never said Kelly wasn’t good, I said he was overrated. He wasn’t in the same class as Moon, Marino, and Elway. He was on the same rung as Aikman, still a very good player, but not truly elite. The difference is that Aikman elevated his numbers in the playoffs, Kelly didn’t. In fact his playoff numbers are much worse.

I won’t comment on Stabler or Namath because they were before my time. Eliminating those 2 I’d have Moon, Fouts, and Wanrner at the top in any order. I’d personally probably go: Moon, Warner, Fouts, in that order but it’s debatable. Aikman was a substantially better player than Eli though. He was like a stronger armed version of Matt Ryan to me. He also delivered some incredible performances in the playoffs against some great GB and SF teams. Kelly was way more overrated than Aikman. Dude used to fold like a cheap lawn chair in the SB, and his playoff numbers are incredibly mediocre.

To be clear, I think Ryan is the better player, and the Colts, Patriots, and Niners would be crazy to not at least call and kick the tires on seeing if the Falcons would be open to hearing offers. Bear in mind though, the Lions had to take Goff, and Stafford is 3 years younger. That’s why the compensation was as good as it was. I’d probably still offer a couple of 1sts for him if I felt like I was a QB away, but I don’t know that I’d go much higher than that.

K.

No, Brady and Gronk aren’t in their primes. They’re far from it. But then, Brady is far from his prime as well.

Schefter saying Stafford will be a Ram...