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Older generation QBs who would still excel today


Tightspiral7

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I don't subscribe to the recency bias notion that older generation QBs would fail today - not when the league has less-than-spectacular starters like Jimmy G, Cousins, and Tannehill, and not when a merely "good" QB just a won a SB.

But I'm not delusional, obviously some would do better than others. I'm mainly focusing on 70s/80s QBs here, btw. Admittedly, it's hard for me to speculate how a guy like Johnny U would do today, though I'm sure he'd adjust and still be excellent.

The guys who would still excel and be awesome today IMO are:

Montana: The obvious choice. Montana is 100% era-proof. He'd still be the best QB in the league right now. 

Staubach: Roger would still be great today, given his mobility, his great mind, his decision-making, his accuracy, and his intangibles (as clutch as any QB in history). Only thing Staubach would have do to if we were around today is add about 15 pounds of muscle - and with modern weight training that'd be no problem.

Bradshaw: Would still be elite today. His IQ is underrated, and his athleticism is VERY underrated. Also, he had a cannon of an arm, and that's helpful in any era. I might add, that like Montana and Staubach, Bradshaw was as clutch as anybody.

Marino: Another obvious choice. With his arm talent alone he would excel in any era. Only knock would be, Marino's decision-making and IQ wasn't on par with a Montana/Staubach.

Elway: Mobility, and a cannon arm, he'd do well in any era.

Others?

 

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Not sure if Randall Cunningham counts in this discussion, but he’d absolutely do well in this “don’t touch the QB” era. His last stint with the Vikings is a bit of a glimpse into that… 3700/34/8 back in 1998 (in 13 games) is very modern football.

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  • 2 months later...

All of them.  Pocket QBs aren't dead.  Brady will have an AARP card by the end of the decade and he's still winning superbowls.

Go down the list of the top QBs and it's going to be difficult to find one that doesn't translate.  I'd love to see Marino, Favre and Peyton drafted into 2022's league.  

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The rule changes have been talked about a lot but I think an even bigger factor is how much better playcalling is and how much better TEs are. You used to have a bunch of  guys on the field who couldn’t catch. You didn’t have 3 WRs on the field as much. A lot of dropping back from under center. Not nearly as creative using presnap motion.

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