What does it say about Vince that...

Comparing Elway and VY is just silly. Elway was regarded as one of the 2 or 3 best QB's in the league within a few years of going pro. VY has never been mentioned in the same sentence as one of the elite QBs in this era. And comparing QB ratings from 2 different decades/eras is equally silly. The rules are diffferent (pass interference much tighter now, can't chuck WRs after 5 yards, OT's can hold a lot more, can't hit the QB, etc), the systems are different (far more prolific, much higher premium put on completion percentage, more scoring and yardage, etc), and the results on the field in terms of QB stats is very different. .

Thus, while VY's late 2000's passer rating might have been OK in the mid-80's, during the era in which he played his BEST year he finshed 18th, and the rest he was 28 or below. In other words, terrible.

I'm sure Y.A. Title and Red Grange had mediocre QB rating by modern standards as well. Indeed, most every Top 20 All Time QB's from the less-pass-happy prior eras had QB ratings that are mediocre by today's standards: Staubach (83.4), Unitas (78.2), Baugh (72.2), Star (80.5), Bradshaw (70.3), etc etc. None of those ratings would have been in the top 15 in 2011, when Rogers took home the gold with an obscene 122.5, and several mediocrities were still solidly in the 80's -- see e.g. Moore, Flacco, Hasselbeck, Kolb, Dalton, etc. Are those ho-hums all better than Elway too?

Moreover, had Elway played in a decent system -- or, better yet, the then-cutting edge West Coast system in San Fran -- he would have won several more Super Bowls and have even better stats. Instead, he spent most of his career playing for Dan Reeves, who ran a 1960's era offesieve scheme that essentially consisted of run-run-throw deep-convert or punt. Unlike Montana, he had almost no pro bowlers around him, spent most of his career throwing to three 5'8" receivers that belonged un the Arena League, and still led his team to 5 SB's, winnign 2 of them.

VY's QN rating is 74.4. In the modern era, that sucks. That is David Carr (74.9) and Matt Leinart (71.6) territory. Moreover, its nearly 20-25 points below such mediocrities as Tony Romo (96.9) and Matt Schaub (92.2).

VY was at times an effective QB in the NFL, but it was when his run-threat helped open up a dominant running game, and he used his feet to force teams to spy on him and play a lot of man coverage, which he was effective at defeating on roll-out passes and converting third downs on the run. He was never a good (much less great) passer, however, as evidenced by his putrid yardage and TD stats. If he was capable of throwing for 3750+ yards and 30+ TDs he would have done it by now, or at least come close. Instead, his very best season -- 2010, when his rating was in the 90's before he had his meltdown and lost his job -- pro-rates out to a smoooooth 2240 yards passing and 15 TD's had he played a full 16 games. I'm sorry, but that is simply not a passing game that is worth bragging about.

Elway will go down in history as a Top 10 all time QB, and many think he was the best ever, but had the misfortune to spend most of his career playing for a mediocre team and a retread coach in Reeves. VY, by contrast, has had a career that basically equates to somewhere between Steve Pelleur (his career stats are about the same currently) and, if he plays another 5 years, Neil O'Donnel. In other words, meh.

Regardless, when people cherry pick a stat like Elway's career QB rating and try to use it to justify VY;s greatness -- while ignoring the fact that VY's QB rating within his own era is objectively awful -- it shows that they are not being serious and are just trying to keep an argument alive that died several years ago.

 

We'll see.

 

To those who are quick to bring up the bad there is also the good, his won loss record and 4th quarter comebacks. What me and other people are saying is given the starting job and keeping it he would be a much better qb right now with possibly a super bowl appearance and ring. There's a lot of what ifs now just like with Colt being injured as most would say including me we beat bama. Vince never was and never will be the perfect qb but he wins, similar to Tebow. His actions though not condoned but losing your starting job to injury a couple of times to an average joe would not be acceptable with his talent. VY is an amazing talent. Would Jordan sit there and take being benched? No. There are talents that need to be on the field and VY was/could be again one of them. I wouldn't bet against him. I met him after the Rose Bowl against Michigan and you can tell what kind of talent he is just standing next to him. There's only a few like him.

 

He should of stayed his senior year and led the Horns to another NC. Then he would of got drafted #1 by the Radiers.

 

VY was decent in the NFL.
He can probably make more money hanging out in Austin where people will likely pay him for no reason because of what he did in college.

 

QB rating and QBR demonstrate your per-play performance. It is akin to yards per attempt for running backs.

VY's QBR in 2009 was rated 6th in the league. What is more telling is that Kerry Collins had one of the lowest QBR's in the league. Collins was 0-6, while VY was 8-2. There is a clear link between the team's success and VY's per-play performance.

In 2010, he did not have enough attempts to qualify for QBR, but another similar type of rating had him ranked 3rd. This would make sense, since his conventional QB rating rose from 82 in 2009 to 99 in 2010. The team was 4-4 when he started, 2-6 when he didn't. The team was also 3-1 when he played the whole game.

To demonstrate the credibility of QBR, Peyton Manning was rated 1st in 2009 and 2010. After he got injured in 2011, the Colts had the worst record in the NFL.

The bottom line is that VY proved himself to be an above-average starting QB his final 2 years in TN. I consider his time in Philly to be a chance for him to display ability, which he did in spurts, but a less reliable gauge of his overall quality as a starter since he was filling in at midseason on a new team for only 3 games.

It is also a fact that Fisher did not want him over Collins and was forced to start him by Bud Adams. The drama continued into 2010. IMO, Fisher limited VY's passing opportunities because he did not want VY to get credit for the success of the team. For people like Zona, this ploy evidently worked. It is understandable that VY's frustration reached the level it did given that he was performing at a high level, the team obviously depended on him to get to the playoffs, his coach was working against him, and the team was starting to lose as a result. Once VY was ousted completely, the bottom fell out as the once 5-2 Titans finished 1-5.

All that said, VY has only himself to blame for the locker room incident. He did not keep his composure and gave Fisher the opportunity hexwas looking for to get rid of him. And Fisher took full advantage, going immediately to the media to give his version of events. This shocked many Titans players who had been told to keep their mouths shut and assumed the matter would be kept in-house. They said it was something between VY and Fisher. It was, and Fisher had the power to "win" the battle. VY should have kept his mouth shut. Had he done so, he would have continued through this year as the Titans starter, become a free agent this spring, and either continued with the Titans or started for a new team. That locker room explosion against Fisher may have cost VY his career.

 

Tebow led his team to the playoffs and just like anyone, if in the right situation could win a super bowl. Brady comes to mind, Warner, Doug Williams, Dilfer, and even Hasselbeck would have won one if not for the refs calling back 2 touchdowns and another late drive killer. I think VY has for the most part been unnecessarily wasted so far and has done nothing worse than Roethlisberger who keeps his job after all that and after injuries.

 

I think what Rothlesberger has done is obviously worse than anything VY has done but the difference is that BR is probably appreciated by his coaches and franchise for his work ethic and execution (what, 2 Super Bowls?) while on the field. Just a guess.

 

Jeff Fisher was a man who was obsessed with trying to prove himself right, no matter how many times he was proven wrong. In that regard, he is no different than your typical internet poster.

As of now, Fisher has won. When VY threw his final pass as a Titan, he was top 5 in pass efficiency, had won 14 of 19 starts, and was clearly entrenched as the Titans' starter. Now his name is mud. And the media has clearly exonerated Fisher for not wanting VY in the first place. Fisher got what he wanted, for now.

 

Fisher deserves St Louis and the "Man of Glass" Bradford. Since Greg Williams was kicked to the curb by the NFL he will now show his defense prowess since he can't hide behind any coaches on play calling.