Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Top 10 Worst Super Bowl QBs
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This week, everyone has a list of the worst Super Bowl quarterbacks in history. This probably won't be the first one you've read. The reason it's worth reading is because I won't be going solely by results in the Super Bowl itself.
This exercise has been inspired, obviously, by Rex Grossman. He had a rough season and he hasn't done anything noteworthy in his professional career. This list ranks Super Bowl quarterbacks on their careers, their performance during the season they went to the Super Bowl, and their play in the big game itself — in that order.
Grossman hasn't even played in the Super Bowl yet. His name is part of this discussion because of his limited NFL accomplishments and his wildly inconsistent 2006 season. Grossman finished the year with a lower passer rating than Michael Vick, Alex Smith, and Matt Leinart. He was more than 10 points behind J.P. Losman, and almost 30 behind Peyton Manning.
In this column, I'm judging quarterbacks mostly the same way we're judging Grossman right now: by their accomplishments — or lack thereof — entering the game. Grossman isn't on the list — let's wait at least a week or two before passing judgment there — and no one appears more than once (cough, Craig Morton, cough). I only used starters, so you won't find Norris Weese or Steve Grogan listed here.
10. Ben Roethlisberger (PIT), XL
Let's start the list with a winner. Big Ben, obviously, is not a bad quarterback (at least, he wasn't until the motorcycle crash and the appendectomy). But he's early in his career and doesn't have the numbers of a Chris Chandler or Drew Bledsoe, and he really stunk it up in the Super Bowl. Despite coming out a winner, Ben completed fewer than half of his passes, throwing for two interceptions and just 123 yards.
9. Neil O'Donnell (PIT), XXX
O'Donnell had a pretty decent career — in fact, he holds the NFL record for lowest interception percentage. And that's the last good thing you'll read about Neil O'Donnell in this article. As quarterback of the Steelers, O'Donnell gave away Super Bowl XXX, with four sacks and three interceptions, of the "what color jersey is that?" variety.
8. Vince Ferragamo (LA Rams), XIV
Forced into action after Pat Haden was injured, Ferragamo led the Rams to Super Bowl XIV despite throwing twice as many interceptions as touchdowns. He didn't have a great game — 212 yards, one interception — but against a Steel Curtain defense, it wasn't terrible, either. Ferragamo went on to a blah career, throwing for 3,000 yards twice, ending his career with a negative TD/INT differential, and never making a Pro Bowl.
7. Stan Humphries (SD), XXIX
Humphries had a decent but unremarkable career, a decent but unremarkable 1994 season, and a decent but unremarkable Super Bowl. He threw a touchdown and passed for almost 300 yards, but it took him 49 attempts, and he tossed two picks along the way.
6. Craig Morton (DEN), XII
Morton wasn't a bad quarterback. You don't play 18 years in the NFL by being a loser. Morton had several fine seasons, and 1979 was one of them. In Super Bowl XII, though, Morton had probably the worst game of any player in Super Bowl history, throwing as many interceptions as completions (4) and compiling a 0.0 passer rating. Morton also played very badly in Super Bowl V.
5. Joe Kapp (MIN), IV
Kapp played well in 1969, making the Pro Bowl, but it was a brief flash of glory in an otherwise undistinguished four-year career. Kapp threw at least seven more interceptions than touchdowns in all but one season of his career, including a remarkable 3:17 TD:INT ratio in his final season. That makes Grossman look like Joe Montana.
4. Kerry Collins (NYG), XXXV
Collins has played well enough to stick around in the NFL for a lot longer than four years, and he's thrown for over 30,000 yards, but he remains one of the worst quarterbacks ever to make it to the big game, and his performance against the Ravens was among the worst in Super Bowl history, with four sacks, four interceptions, and a passer rating of 7.1.
3. Trent Dilfer (BAL), XXXV
Dilfer's Ravens pounded Collins and the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, but that was in spite of Dilfer, not because of him. Few quarterbacks have been consistently mediocre for as long as Dilfer, and not even a handful have been less impressive in Super Bowl victories. Dilfer completed under half his passes, threw for only six first downs, and made several memorably bad throws that missed open receivers.
2. Tony Eason (NE), XX
Eason had a short and mediocre career, a wretched 1985 season, and the least productive showing from a quarterback in Super Bowl history. Eason didn't complete a single pass before he was benched for Grogan, going 0-for-6 with three sacks and a fumble.
1. David Woodley (MIA), XVII
In Woodley's six-season career, he seldom got off the bench long enough to have much impact, but when he did, it was usually negative: he retired with a 65.7 passer rating and 30% more interceptions than touchdowns. In the 1982 Super Bowl season, he threw for just 1,080 yards — that's weak even in a strike season — and threw eight picks against just five TDs.
In Super Bowl XVII, facing a Washington team known more for its offense than its defense, Woodley managed only two first downs. He completed only four of his 14 passes, didn't reach 100 yards, and was benched for the equally useless Don Strock. No matter what Grossman does on Sunday, I'm pretty sure Woodley is the worst starting quarterback in Super Bowl history.