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Does anyone else feel he is vastly overrated? I would argue he had the best supporting cast any quarterback has ever had. I would also argue Neil Lomax or Dave Krieg could have won many Championships playing in Pittsburgh. Going game by game through the playoffs you realize how little importance Bradshaw had for a lot of their success(completions, attempts, touchdowns, interceptions):
1972 vs. Oakland:
11-25-1-1(defense wins)
1972 vs. Miami:
10-20-1-2(no defense, loss)
1973 vs. Oakland:
12-25-2-3(no defense, blowout loss)
1974 vs. Buffalo:
12-21-1-0(blowout win, not a bad game)
1974 vs. Oakland:
8-17-1-1(running game wins it)
1975 Super Bowl vs. Minnesota:
9-14-1-0(defense and running game wins it)
1975 vs. Baltimore:
8-13-0-2(defense and running game wins it)
1975 vs. Oakland:
15-25-1-3
1976 Super Bowl vs. Dallas:
9-19-2-0(Defense has 3 interceptions, not a bad game)
1976 vs. Baltimore:
19-24-3-0(great game)
1976 vs. Oakland:
14-35-0-1(lousy game)
1977 vs. Denver:
19-37-1-3(another lousy game)
1978 vs. Denver:
16-29-2-1(not too bad)
1979 vs. Houston:
11-19-2-2(mediocre game)
1979 Super Bowl vs. Dallas:
17-30-4-1(one of his best)
1979 vs. Miami:
21-31-2-0(good game)
1980 vs. Houston:
18-30-2-1(decent game)
1980 Super Bowl vs. Los Angeles:
14-21-2-3(may be the only quarterback to throw 3 interceptions and win Super Bowl MVP)

The NFL was not a passing league when Bradshaw played, and your stats don't show the leadership skills Bradshaw had, or the key passes he completed when they had to have a play made. It is pretty clear you have never seen any of these games you posted the stats for.

Is Bradshaw the best QB of all time, no definitely not. But was he important to the Steelers run? Yes, very much so. And does he deserve to be known as one of the best QBs to play in the game? Yes he does.

cochiseuofm wrote:The NFL was not a passing league when Bradshaw played, and your stats don't show the leadership skills Bradshaw had, or the key passes he completed when they had to have a play made. It is pretty clear you have never seen any of these games you posted the stats for.

Is Bradshaw the best QB of all time, no definitely not. But was he important to the Steelers run? Yes, very much so. And does he deserve to be known as one of the best QBs to play in the game? Yes he does.

What games are you referring to where he made key plays. Eli Manning has also made many key plays when he had to. It doesn't make him a great. It's possible the rules favor quarterbacks more today, but many quarterbacks put up some very good numbers around this time so I don't think there was a big difference. Neil Lomax actually put up better numbers over his career with a weaker supporting cast. Bradshaw is closer to a Neil Lomax than he is to a Steve Young, Troy Aikman, or Joe Montana.

One of the more underappreciated skills is the ability to manage talent in the huddle. Bradshaw was a master at that.

If you compare Bradshaw to his contemporaries, he was an above-average QB. He was consistently a top 5 QB for almost a decade and won 4 rings. His closest career comparisons are Bob Griese, Jim Kelly, Drew Bledsoe, and Donovan McNabb--all very good QBs, though only Griese won a Super Bowl. I like to use this site for comparisons:
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/p ... adTe00.htm

If you look at the years they won the Super Bowl, he was great. The years he wasn't great, they didn't win despite having all those HOFers on defense and a HOFer RB and two HOFer WRs. That says a lot to me. As far as a great passer, he was not one. Accuracy was not his strong suit, and he threw a lot of INTs because he took a lot of chances. He threw a great deep ball and was an underrated scrambler.

He's not in my top 10 all-time QBs but he was the perfect guy for the best dynasty of the Super Bowl era.

Hes not the kind of QB I like. I prefer more accurate guys who dont sling the ball all over the place. I think hes a bit overrated but I never saw him play live so what do I know.

Celtsfan1980 wrote:What games are you referring to where he made key plays. Eli Manning has also made many key plays when he had to. It doesn't make him a great. It's possible the rules favor quarterbacks more today, but many quarterbacks put up some very good numbers around this time so I don't think there was a big difference. Neil Lomax actually put up better numbers over his career with a weaker supporting cast. Bradshaw is closer to a Neil Lomax than he is to a Steve Young, Troy Aikman, or Joe Montana.

If Eli Manning wins three more Super Bowls, he will be considered a great QB as well. If you want a specific play:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9s-EFNz0i4

You can't compare Bradshaw to today's quarterbacks, Bradshaw was a very good quarterback in his day despite what stats might say.

Bradshaw was an AWESOME qb. He had the skill-set, and the demeanor to be one of the greatest.

Any "Game Manager" can win a SB (I'm looking at you Brad Johnson), but only the greats can end up like with the rings of TB.

so in other words, Bradshaw was to the steelers then the way Big Ben is to the steelers now?

Overrated? Not a bit.

IMO best supporting cast goes to Bob Griese. He had two 1,000 yard rushers - one that was fleet and one that would shove the ball down your throat. Plus two 1,000 yard receivers.

C....A...?

He was solid...nothing special.

He was good but not great. He simply wasn't as talented as Elway, Montana or Marino.