The Quarterback Era

I truly believe that the NFL is in the middle of "The Quarterback Era". Never in the history of the NFL have quarterbacks been such a significant impact on offenses. Of course, quarterbacks have always played a major role. They touch the ball more than anyone else on the field. (Well, technically the center touches the ball every play... But I don't think anyone would argue that this is The Center Era.) However, if you have had a football team in the NFL in the last 20 years, you needed a top-quality QB to be competitive.

Let's take a look at the Super Bowl winning QBs of the past 20 years:
SB 27: Troy Aikman
SB 28: Troy Aikman
SB 29: Steve Young
SB 30: Troy Aikman
SB 31: Brett Favre
SB 32: John Elway
SB 33: John Elway
SB 34: Kurt Warner
SB 35: Trent Dilfer
SB 36: Tom Brady
SB 37: Brad Johnson
SB 38: Tom Brady
SB 39: Tom Brady
SB 40: Ben Roethlisberger
SB 41: Peyton Manning
SB 42: Eli Manning
SB 43: Ben Roethlisberger
SB 44: Drew Brees
SB 45: Aaron Rodgers
SB 46: Eli Manning

Looking at that list, it should be pretty obvious that the key to victory is having a great, possibly Hall-of-Fame quality quarterback. There are 3 exceptions there: Dilfer's win with the Ravens, Brad Johnson's win with the Buccaneers, and Roethlisberger's 1st SB win with the Steelers (he improved his play significantly before winning his 2nd). Each of those teams had amazing defenses. Those defenses were all so good, that I would have no problem placing all 3 of them on a list of the top 10 defenses of all time. They were that good. The only way they wouldn't have won would be if they had the equivalent of a high schooler playing QB... You know, someone like J.P. Losman, JaMarcus Russell, or Ryan Leaf.

Not only are we in The Quarterback Era... But we are at the peak of The Quarterback Era. I'll put it this way, name the best teams in the league right now. Who would you say? Packers? Giants? Saints? Patriots? Oh right, the teams with Hall of Fame Quarterbacks. Honestly, the only team you could argue to place in the top 5 without a great QB would be the 49ers... And that just brings us back to great defenses.

Oh, and let's not forget about the Colts. With Peyton Manning? 10-6 and AFC South Champions. The next year without Manning? 2-14 and possibly the worst team in the league.

How good are these QBs? Well, before last year only 2 QBs had thrown for 5,000 yards in a season: Dan Marino and Drew Brees. Last year alone? 3 QBs threw for over 5,000 yards. Matthew Stafford did it with 5,038. Some people might not believe that. That's because Stafford was completely under the radar. Why? Well because 2 other guys had more yards. One of them was Tom Brady, who threw for 5,235 yards. That blows away Dan Marino's record set in 1984 with 5,084! Wow! So Brady's the new leader for passing yards in a season? Nope. Not to be outdone, Drew Brees decided he'd throw for 5,476. Almost 400 yards more than Marino! Simply insane numbers.

There are a few reasons that QBs are throwing for ridiculous numbers. I think it's a combination of 3 reasons: 1) The NFL has put new rules in place protecting QBs and WRs attempting to make a catch. 2) These QBs are really that good. and 3) Not enough good defenses out there these days.

So, listen up NFL team owners (none of which will ever read this)... Do you want to have a winning franchise? Well you have 2 options... The most successful one is to find a great QB. Seriously. That's it. Don't worry about your defense. Sure, they might give up 35 points... But if you have a guy like Drew Brees, that won't be a problem. He'll just throw for 500 yards and 6 TDs. Don't bother with RBs or WRs neither. You can just pick them up off the street. The Patriots have been doing that for years. See: Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Kevin Faulk, etc. Yes, even Wes Welker. People might consider him to be a great WR now... But he was a nobody with the Dolphins. Your other option is to make your defense so good that no one can score... I suggest you find a good RB, too. Someone has to score points.