Tasser’s Take: 2004 quarterbacks proving greatness

Now that Eli Manning has won his second Super Bowl and corresponding Super Bowl MVP award,… Now that Eli Manning has won his second Super Bowl and corresponding Super Bowl MVP award, it’s time to truly state how great the 2004 draft was for quarterbacks.

That year saw Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers get drafted and can now be favorably compared to the legendary class of 1983, which produced Hall of Fame quarterbacks Dan Marino, John Elway and Jim Kelly.

Let’s start with the immediate similarities — a temper tantrum by the first overall pick.

With the first choice in both drafts, a quarterback was taken against his will. Eli Manning publicly stated that he would refuse to play for the San Diego Chargers, who had the first overall pick. The Chargers took him anyway, before immediately trading him to the New York Giants for Philip Rivers (the fourth choice) and draft picks (which were used to draft Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding ).

Back in 1983, Elway threatened to sign with the New York Yankees baseball organization full-time (he had already played two seasons of minor league baseball) if the Colts drafted him. They drafted him anyway, but eventually traded him to the Denver Broncos for quarterback Mark Herrmann, lineman Chris Hinton (also the fourth pick) and a first-round pick in the 1984 draft.

Elway would go on to reach the Super Bowl five times in his career (Super Bowls XXI, XXII, XXIV, XXXII and XXXIII), losing the first three before winning the last two and announcing his retirement. Manning, meanwhile, is two for two in Super Bowls (with two Super Bowl MVP awards), famously out-dueling Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in both.

Jim Kelly, hailing from Pittsburgh and the University of Miami, was drafted with the 14th overall pick in 1983. He would go on to put up prolific numbers with the Buffalo Bills using the then-new concept of a no-huddle offense outside of a two-minute drill.

Kelly would become the first quarterback to lead his team to four consecutive Super Bowls (XXV, XXVI, XXVII and XXVIII). But alas, he would also become the only quarterback to lose four consecutive Super Bowls.

Ben Roethlisberger was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers using the number 11 pick out of Miami (Ohio) and quickly established himself as a quarterback who knew how to win. His winning percentage as a starter is .714 and he has won two Super Bowls and been to a third, topping Kelly’s .617 winning percentage with the Bills.

The final comparison is between Pittsburgh native and former University of Pittsburgh star Dan Marino and San Diego Charger Philip Rivers. Both quarterbacks are known for their greatness during the regular season but inability to lead their team to a championship. Marino — at one point — held every major quarterbacking record and led the Miami Dolphins to the playoffs 10 times (including one Super Bowl appearance) in a 17-year career.

Rivers has been, statistically, one of the best quarterbacks in the league during his career, but the Chargers have had a penchant for choking late in the regular season, often times missing the playoffs or losing in the first round.

The 1983 NFL draft class has a huge advantage over the 2004 class statistically. Manning and Roethlisberger, particularly, are more known for their abilities as big-game quarterbacks than they are for putting up big numbers. But that is where the argument is: All three QBs from the 2004 class are still in their prime and are a combined 4-5 in Super Bowls, compared to the abysmal 2-9 record that the 1983 class attained. While it is still a stretch to call any of the three 2004 quarterbacks Hall of Famers, the argument over which draft class was better is becoming easier and easier to make.