QB Wars #1 - Dan Marino vs Brett Favre

[IrishCanadian25]

Dan Marino vs. Brett Favre

Dan Marino

• Rated #25 NFL Player of all-time by NFL.com as of 2009 season
• 9× Pro Bowl selection (1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995)
• 3× First-team All-Pro selection (1984, 1985, 1986)
• 5× Second-team All-Pro selection (1983, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1995)
• National College QB of the year runner up (1981)
• NFL MVP (1984)
• PFWA MVP (1984)
• NEA MVP (1984)
• NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1984)
• UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year (1984)
• UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year (1994)
• Walter Payton Man of the Year (1998)
• NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1994)
• Miami Dolphins #13 Retired
• Pass attempts 8,358
• Pass completions 4,967
• Percentage 59.4
• TD-INT 420-252
• Passing yards 61,361
• QB Rating 86.4

Brett Favre

• Rated #20 NFL Player of all-time by NFL.com as of 2009 season
• 11× Pro Bowl selection (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009)
• 3× First-team All-Pro selection (1995, 1996, 1997)
• 3× Second-team All-Pro selection (2001, 2002, 2007)
• 3× AP NFL MVP (1995–1997)
• 5× NFC Player of the Year (1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2007)
• 2× NFC Champion (1996, 1997)
• Super Bowl champion (XXXI)
• NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
• TD–INT 508–336
• Yards 71,838
• QB Rating 86.0

​

This is the first of a series of threads I'm hoping to launch in the sports section placing legendary QB's in head-to-head discussions to determine who Wrestlezone feels is the better of the two all-time.

The first match will pit Dan Marino vs Brett Favre. Here are a few of my notes:

Both men are basically #1 and #2 in many all time lists. Marino held a ton of passing records until Favre broke them.

Marino, for now leads the NFL all time in passing yards for a season. Favre is the all time leader in touchdowns. Favre has a ring. Marino doesn't. Favre won the MVP 3 times. Manning won once. Favre leads the NFL all time in INT's. Marino left on a career high. Favre, well, didn't. Both men appeared as themselves in a hit 90's comedy.

I'm interested in hearing people's arguments either for Marino or Favre. Debate or vote, and I'll jump in as I see fit.

 

[Davi323]

I'll bite. Between the two of them, I will take Dan Marino. Their stats are actually closer than you might think, especially the TD/INT ratio, and Favre technically has better stats because of the length he played and more yards...but when it all comes down to it, Marino had better decision making skills than Favre. That is as important, if not more important than simply counting stats. (this will be more evident whenever we get the QB comparison thread involving Joe Montana)

Simply put, I would trust Dan Marino more than I would trust Brett Favre.



PS: IC25, this is a FANTASTIC thread idea. Maybe a best player/position tournament to follow?

 

[HoHo]

Both QBs I would take just like that.Arm strength was even, but in my opinion Brett was tougher especially when he had that active streak on games started.I bet right now he could still air out the ball 60 yards or so.Brett had the advantage early in his career for a dominating defense especially when Reggie White signed with the Packers! Marino had to do everything, but their defense was solid as well.Sad that Marino stayed in Miami too long, and if he left to a better team later in his career, he would of had at least one SB under his belt.With Brett though, theirs a aura, almost you have to breathe for a moment when you hear that you are playing Brett Favre especially in his prime.I vote for Brett Favre, make more of these threads, I love them!

 

[Larry]

This is a case of your head versus your heart. For me my heart says Dan Marino. He is one of my favorite QB's of all time and on a short list of maybe 10 guys. It breaks my heart and comes to me as the biggest travesty of all time in professional sports that Dan Marino never won a Superbowl. This is in part though due to Dan Marino. It's not that he wasn't a good enough QB to win one, it's that he had too big of an ego to let the team be built around more than himself. Everything had to be approved with Dan Marino and if he didn't like a player, coach, or other member of the establishment they weren't there. This hurt them over time as his lack of Superbowl wins shows.

Looking at Marino purely as a player, I would want him over Favre. Even though Bret Favre broke some of Dan Marino's records, there are still some significant records of his that Favre never did break, and no one else has broke either such as:

Most yards passing, Season: 5,084 in 1984
Most games, 400 or more yards passing, Career: 13
Most Games, 400 or more yards passing, Season: 4 in 1984
Monday Night Football, most passing yards: 9,654
Monday Night Football, most completions: 798
Monday Night Football, most attempts: 1,303
Monday Night Football, most touchdown passes: 74
Monday Night Football, most wins as a starter: 20
Most 4th quarter comeback wins, career (playoffs included): 36
Most game-winning drives in the 4th quarter/overtime, career (playoffs included): 51

What to take away from that is, not only was Dan Marino the REAL "Mr. Monday Night", but he was also "Mr. Clutch" the guy you could depend on to comeback and win the game for you. This means mental toughness, and if you look at the stats for having 400 or more yards and of course the Monday Night Football records it shows that he's performed at the highest level more consistently than anyone else. For these reasons I would want him as my QB over Favre purely from that aspect of him as a player. Unfortunately there are other things that come into play here to make me have to ultimately vote for Brett Favre.

Favre wanted nothing more than to win, and this is what separates him from Marino. While Marino was busy playing "Who's The Boss" in Miami, Favre was letting the people above him put the best people they could around him. This makes a big difference because Marino sabotaged his own team with him own ego, and as a result he never had as good a team around him as he could have. Had he been more humble and just focused on being the QB instead of the unofficial GM, he could have had a better team around him, he could have won some superbowls, and he could have probably set higher records.

Favre is a true team player and a true leader which sets him miles apart from Dan "I am the man" Marino. Where Marino might have been a bit better, more consistently by some definitions, Favre let his team make him better as well and that shows in his stats. He was never afraid of someone else being the star of the show and let everyone around him shine which helped him project his own light. It should be noted that Favre played longer than Marino which is why he broke some of the records he did, and as I mentioned that having a better unit around him also helped elevate his stats. Marino technically was the better QB as a pure player, he was a one man show, unfortunately that is also his downfall here. I would trust Marino to win the game for me by making the right in-game decisions ahead of Favre, but I would trust Favre more as a leader to take a team down the stretch which matters a little bit more in my view.

 

[Davi323]

He was never afraid of someone else being the star of the show and let everyone around him shine which helped him project his own light.

Were you actually able to type this and maintain a straight face? This statement can be refuted with two simple words.

Aaron Rodgers. Brett Favre refused to take a back seat to Rodgers, and because of that, NFL fans had to deal with all the Brett Favre retirement drama for 4 freaking years. If either of these two QBs could be said to have a massive ego with a me first attitude, it's Favre, not Marino.

 

[Big Sexy]

Give me Brett Favre. I usually don't like using the "Super Bowl" argument but it is a big deciding factor in this case along with postseason play. The stats are almost identical. Favre has a better completion % and slightly better win %. Marino has a better yards per game average and a slightly better TD/INT ratio. At the end of the day, however, Favre has a ring and Marino does not.

You can talk about all of the big game picks Favre has thrown in the playoffs but Marino wasn't exactly a stud when it came to the postseason. In fact Favre has Marino beat in pretty much every major stat category in postseason play including TD/INT ratio as well as winning %. Favre was 13-11 in postseason play while Marino was 8-10. Neither had overly spectacular talent around them for the most part so that argument can be thrown out. Favre gets a lot of shit for his mistakes and gunslinger mentality, but when it comes down to it Marino wasn't much better in the regular season in terms of mistakes and was actually worse in the postseason when it mattered the most.

Advantage Favre without a doubt.

 

[jmt225]

I'd take Dan Marino.

You can throw stats around and say this and that about both guys, but the bottom line is that I grew up watching both of these men play the quarterback position as good as its ever been played, and Marino was just slightly better than Favre. He was more accurate, took better care of the ball, and did so much with such shit teams that I don't think any other quarterback in history not named John Elway could have done. Favre, as great as he was, won with some GREAT talent around him, and Marino never had that luxury, unfortunately. Marino, no matter what though, was the type of guy who could win a game under any circumstance, with any group of players around him. That's the kind of guy you build a team around, and that's why I take Marino over Favre.

 

[Big Sexy]

What great talent did Favre really have though for an extended period? He had some good defenses with Reggie White and Leroy Butler but he still led some great offenses with minimal talent. The best player he ever played with on offense was Sterling Sharpe and he only played with him for a few seasons. Antonio Freeman and Robert Brooks weren't exactly superstars. Marino had Mark Clayton and Duper to start his career plus a few seasons with both Irving Fryar and OJ McDuffie afterwards. Favre never had that great of a running back until Ahman Green came half way through his career. Some of Favre's best years came with Edgar Bennett and Dorsey Levens running the ball. Green helped Favre later in his career and a good running back is never something Marino had so I'd give Favre the slight edge in talent but not enough to where I'd say Marino was the better qb.

I'm not taking anything away from Marino because he is an all time great but I can't put him over Favre. The biggest reason like I stated in my previous post was the post season performances of Marino. Favre may have some untimely post season picks but for the most part he was solid in the playoffs and he led his team to a Super Bowl victory. Marino was average at best in the post season for his standards.

 

[Larry]

Were you actually able to type this and maintain a straight face? This statement can be refuted with two simple words.

Aaron Rodgers. Brett Favre refused to take a back seat to Rodgers, and because of that, NFL fans had to deal with all the Brett Favre retirement drama for 4 freaking years. If either of these two QBs could be said to have a massive ego with a me first attitude, it's Favre, not Marino.

Hey are you able to make a statement without being a tool? I doubt that can be refuted with any number of words.

Brett Favre had every right as the long standing franchise quarterback NOT to take a backseat TO his back-up. We can look at Aaron Rogers now after winning a Superbowl and say how great he is, but they didn't know that then, Favre didn't either, and as the franchise player there was no reason for him to step down. I've made the case for Marino and history proves my point, he was both the best and worst thing in Miami. What can you say against Favre? Oh, he won multiple division titles, took the team to the playoffs consistently, won the MVP 3 years in a row, took the team to 2 superbowls and won 1 of them, and regardless of talent changes kept them a serious contender. What a selfish prick.

I'm not saying the guy is a fuckin' saint, but he had a much greater "Team" mentality than Marino, and wasn't intrusive in parts of the team that weren't his business. Because of that the Packers had more success than the Dolphins even though Marino was technically a better QB, and there's nothing you can say to refute that. Just comparing the two as players or pure athletes, Marino wins all day, but looking at the impact either guy has overall on the team and the establishment as a whole, Brett Favre is a better choice to lead your team. He puts the success of the team over a desire to control all the aspects of the team, and consistently worked to be an integral part of the teams success, not the teams sole success.

 

[Scuba 06]

These are two of my favorite QBs so it is really hard to pick. They are both very close in many areas, just look at the QB rating. Anyways, as far as the QB position, I think Marino played it better. With that said, if I wanted to go deeper in the post-season, I would take Favre. Did Marino have less to work with ? Yes, but just as someone pointed out earlier, Marino was not that good of a leader and played poorly under pressure in the post-season. Say what you will about Favre doing something stupid at the wrong time, but he actually has a better post-season QB rating than Brady, Young, Roethlisberger, Elway, Rivers or Marino. In fact, Favre actually has a slightly higher post-season QB rating than regular season. Marino's post-season QB ratings is in the high 70s. Favre may not have the best post-season record at 13-11 but atleast its over 500. Marino has an 8-10 record. I dont know the exact numbers but am certain Marino hardly ever got out of the first-round. Favre got to the SB back to back years and went to the NFC championship about 5 times. Favre gives you a better chance to win. Marino, in terms of mechanics is the better QB.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Great posts so far, and as I kinda anticipated, pretty well split right down the middle.

I, personally, am going to go with Favre, and just a disclaimer - I freely admit that is at least a small portion the result of my being such a big Packers fan for so many years.

Favre is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 70,000 yards, over 500 touchdowns, over 300 interceptions, and over 10,000 pass attempts.

Those are some amazing stats, and they cannot be refuted.

Favre made the playoffs for 11 out of 15 years with the Packers. Marino only made the playoffs 10 out of 17. Even if you add the season with the Jets and two with the Vikings, Favre made it to the postseason 12 out of 18 years.

Talk about owning a team? Favre was 18-0 at home against the Detroit Lions. Before you scoff at that, some of those Lions teams were led by Barry Sanders.

Favre is the only QB in NFL history to have beaten every single one of the other franchises in the game. He NEVER met a team he couldn't beat at least once.

His career record at Lambeau field is 96-30. He was a big reason the home field advantage of the Packers truly returned to prominence.

Favre was selected to 11 pro bowls. Marino to 9.

Favre's 186 regular season wins are most all time. 2nd place is John Elway, who is 38 wins behind Favre. Marino is 3rd with 147 wins. Favre's winning % is .624 in the regular season. Marino's is .613.

Favre is the all time leader in playoff attempts, completions, and yards. He is 5th all time in playoff wins behind Montana, Brady, Bradshaw, and Elway.

You want wins under pressure. Just look at the Monday Night Game against the Oakland Raiders on December 22nd, 2003. Favre's dad died on the 21st, and the enxt day, Favre led the pack to a 41-7 victory and a 154.9 passer rating with 4 TD's.

We don't even need to discuss toughness.

Favre is the better regular season QB. Favre is the better playoff QB. Favre has better stats and more championships.

If you're picking Marino based on his likability, then I hope you're never the GM of my Green Bay Packers. And if you're picking Marino based on "mechanics," then what the crap are you doing on an internet wrestling site? You should be breaking down film for ESPN!

 

[GI Cake]

If I had to choose between Dan Marino and Brett Farve when both Quarterbacks were in their prime. I would have to pick Dan Marino, Danny has been perhaps the most reliable QB in the history of the NFL. No matter what would happen to the Miami Dolphins in the off-season, you can count on Dan Marino putting up huge numbers and be the workhorse of the team. Dan Marino had a winning spirit but couldn't win, and for the most part, it was not fault. He was in a system where it's defense would like to fold in on itself. Dan was good, but he wasn't good enough to play both sides of the ball. If Marino were to ever have gotten a Superbowl ring, it would be no contest to who was a better player.

However, Brett Farve not only has better numbers, but he also has numerous rings with the Green Bay Packers. He was the Mid-West gun-slinger that made the Packers live or die on how well he played. He would either play like an all star or he would throw a 4th quarter pick that would clinch the game. But that was just who Brett was, he was a winner and felt that he needed to do everything on the Offense. But Brett had a good system to grow and produce in Green Bay. 1980-1995 Packers outclassed the 1980-1995 Dolphins down the line other than Quarterback play.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

This will probably mean little to many of you American boys but I've always thought more of Dan as a Matt LeTissier player, beautiful to watch and more than capable of winning a game by himself but Matt wasn't brilliant every game and, despite being the first name on the team sheet, if he wasn't firing his team generally lost. On the other hand, I regarded Brett as a Graeme Souness, who played a similar role to Matt and maybe wasn't as capable of magic moments but he was also the first name on the team sheet and what he lacked in show, he more than made up in go and was probably better at doing the simple things.

To put it simply, I always wondered which Dolphins team I would see in the Marino years. I always knew a Favre led Packers would be one tough ass proposition.

 

[Lion's Sacrifice]

This is a hard choice for me. At the end of the day I have to go with Farve. It comes down to one stat for me. 297 straight starts. That is insane to think about, the guy didn't miss a game for 17 years. Adding to that all of the stats that Farve has then the Super Bowl ring, I've got to go with Farve over Marino.