Brett Favre: One of the Greatest Ever?

According to an ESPN article, Brett Favre is finally retiring. I say finally because for the past several years there has been speculation as to when he was going to finally hang it up. Favre was no doubt a great quarterback who had a lot of fun playing for one of the storied franchises in pro football. Now that he is retired, where does he fall in regards to other quarterbacks? Let's take a look at 5 famous quarterbacks and compare him to those to see how he fares.

1. Joe Montana -- 49ers/Chiefs -- Montana, considered by many to be the greatest quarterback of all-time will be the first person we compare to Favre. If we first look to just the numbers, Favre does well on some statistics, but not so well on others. When looking at career touchdowns and yards completed, Favre wins the battle. However, when we look to things such as completion percentage and quarterback rating, Favre is a ways behind. Montana, according to Pro-Football Statistics, had a career QB rating of 92.3 and had set the record (since broken) of 112.4 in 1989. Favre on the other hand had a career completion percentage of 61.4 and a career rating of 85.7, with his best year coming in 1995 with a rating of 99.5.

However, the one thing that truly sets Montana apart is a small number: 4. That is how many Super Bowls that Joe Montana won in a decade with the 49ers. Favre has only won 1 and only appeared in 2 Super Bowls. While some great quarterbacks haven't won any, Montana has done much better in the post-season than Favre has and that in the end gives him the edge in this comparison.

2. John Elway -- Broncos -- I will say that I have a slight bias here since I am a Broncos fan, however, most people would agree with me that John Elway was a great quarterback. Looking at raw numbers, Favre again has an edge. However, Elway is much closer in regard to TD's, yards and total wins than Montana was. In fact, Elway did hold the record for most wins by a quarterback until Favre broke that record. Favre also does better when looking at completion percentage and quarterback rating. Elway does quite better when looking at yards gained by rushing the football by quite a margin. When looking at the post-season, Elway takes the advantage. Appearing in 5 Super Bowls and winning the final 2 (including one against Favre) puts him over the top when looking at the post-season.

Overall, this would be a tough one. Elway is considered to be the master of the 4th quarter comeback and was a better scrambler than Favre. Elway is also considered to be the one person who carried his team to 3 Super Bowls in the late 80's (of those 3 super bowl appearances, Elway is the only one to be in the hall of fame). Favre on the other hand had an amazing defense take him to his two Super Bowls, so in my book, Elway beats Favre.

3. Peyton Manning -- Colts -- While Manning is still playing, he is considered by many people to be one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game. Manning has set TD records, Passer Rating records and Yardage records that continue to pile up each and every year. If Manning stays on a regular pace, he will easily pass all quarterbacks in all of the major statistical areas. His career passer rating is 94.1 with a record 121 in 2004. However, Manning has only reached one super bowl winning it and has not fared well in the playoffs. So while statistically wise, Manning will no doubt pass Favre, he still needs to do better in the post-season for him to beat out Favre.

4. Tom Brady -- Patriots -- Just like Manning, Brady has quite a few years left in him, but to discuss great quarterbacks and not include Tom Brady would be wrong. The biggest statistic that used to be brought up when discussing Tom Brady was the three super bowl wins in four years with a fourth Super Bowl appearance this past year. However, this past year also saw Tom Brady put up one of the greatest statistical seasons ever. He now holds the record for most TD passes in a year, third all-time in yards and the second highest QB rating behind Manning. Is this the start of a trend, or just a one year fluke? Only time will tell, but even with his other years, Brady has put up some good numbers, but it is his performance in the post-season that has been amazing. Losing only 2 games in his entire post-season career that includes 5 post-season appearances is quite a feat. At the moment, I would put Favre in front, but just barely. If Brady can have a few more seasons of success he will easily surpass Favre.

5. Dan Marino -- Dolphins -- Dan Marino is considered by many to be the greatest quarterback that never won a Super Bowl. Marino held almost all of the major records until Favre passed him over the past couple of years. He is now second in TD's and Yards and third on Wins (behind Favre and Elway). However, Marino only appeared in one Super Bowl losing to the 49ers. With only one Super Bowl appearance and Favre beating him on most statistics, I give Favre the win here.

Overall, I would put Favre at number 3 right now. A great career with a couple of Super Bowls including a win.

ESPN Staff, "Mentally tired Favre to Retire"; ESPN.com

Pro Football Reference, "Joe Montana"; Pro-Football-Reference.com