7DnBrnc53 wrote:Before Super Bowl XXXII, Elway was the quintessential quarterback who "couldn't win the big one"--i.e. the new Fran Tarkenton. Given the fact that the Broncos were 13-14 point underdogs, that was supposed to be reinforced against Green Bay. Amazing what two Super Bowl wins can do to a reputation.
In the 80's, Elway had the inflexible Dan Reeves as coach, and he didn't have as many HOF teammates as Graham did. They wouldn't have been in those SB's without John.
Otto Graham, like Joe Montana, Bart Starr, and Tom Brady, stepped into situations that were ideally suited for them. They had great coaches, great systems, and great players around them. I think any of them, provided they had gotten a real chance (no sure thing, especially with Brady) could have succeeded almost anywhere, but not at the same historic levels they did with their actual teams. Graham was a great talent. He was a fine athlete, and had a great arm. He threw a very soft ball to catch. But if Graham doesn't land on the team Paul Brown had been building for over a year, there's no way that he goes to 10 title games in his career. On the other hand, there's not a single other QB who would take Paul Brown to 10 title games. Baugh and Luckman would have aged out. Brown would never have tolerated Bobby Layne's off field activities, and perceived lack of discipline. He would have butted heads with Norm Van Brocklin, and shipped him off very quickly. Maybe Bob Waterfield could have done it, especially in the early years, with Brown's hand-picked talent, but I don't think Waterfield could win his division 10 straight times.
Then there are QB's so gifted, that success is almost a given, no matter where they end up. The two best examples I can think of are two men who were holding the Lombardi trophy last February.
John Elway was one of the most amazing physical specimens to ever play QB. And unlike Jeff George, his attitude, work ethic, and leadership skills were rarely questioned. Elway's athletic gifts allowed him to take three above-average Bronco teams to the Super Bowl. Ultimately, each team was exposed as being less than great.
Peyton Manning had passable physical skills, but his work ethic and dedication, his utter obsession with the game, meant he was as likely to succeed as Elway. He definitely benefitted by Bill Polian's masterful building of a team, but the man went to the Super Bowl four times with four coaches! Peyton would have had a successful career almost anywhere. (He may have found a tough going in the deficient organizations in Arizona and Cincinnati in the late 90's and early 2000's.)
