QB Class of '83 Vs. QB Class of '04: A Battle Royale

Eleven playoff berths in 12 full seasons of starting.

Eight division championships in 12 seasons.

Three-time conference champs in four attempts.

Two Super Bowl victories with a third on the way.

Offensive Rookie of the Year, three-time Pro-Bowler.

Super Bowl MVP.

No, those statistics and accolades are not attributable to one player. It's actually three players, forever linked by that fateful draft afternoon in 2004.

Those stats above are the accumulated statistics of Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, and Phillip Rivers (we can forget J.P Losman, a footnote in football history, who will be a trivia answer to "What QBs were drafted in the first round in 2004?")

As the Super Bowl draws near, I was compelled to defend my white knight, my franchise's savior, Eli Manning, from the packs of drooling Steelers fans, all waiting to pounce on that second title and proclaim with impunity that Roethlisberger was the best in show in 2004.

And much to my dismay, there was little denying the fact that should Roethlisberger win his second title, he will be known as the cream of the crop. Graciously though, God has granted quarterbacks with long careers and my hope that Eli takes home a second title outweighs my bitterness over Roethlisberger's success. 

So in lieu of the mundane, compare the stats and intangibles routine, it might simply be better to expound upon the virtues of a QB class that has already accomplished so much in so little time. 

Ask any number of football historians/fans a litany of questions and the same answers always arise. Very few of these questions result in unanimous answers though.  Who is the best QB ever?  You’ll hear about Marino, Elway, Montana and Brady. 

Ask who the best receiver ever is though and you’ll hear one answer, Jerry Rice. The same goes for a question that everyone seems to agree upon, what was the best QB class ever? The class of ’83.

That class included six total QBs who combined for an amazing 24 Pro Bowls, three Hall of Famers, and 11 Super Bowl berths, among many other accolades. It did also include a monumental bust, Todd Blackledge, but the class of ’04 contained it’s own bust in J.P Losman.

While Losman still might develop, it would be a pretty safe bet to conclude he will be a journeyman backup and wouldn’t be surprised if he were out of football in several years. Consider those a wash.

The rest of the ’83 class contained Marino (who owned just about every QB record ever until he was surpassed by Brett Favre, and eventually Peyton Manning), Elway (a 2x Super Bowl champ and 5 time participant), Jim Kelly (four consecutive losing efforts in the Super Bowl), Tony Eason (led his Patriots to a Super Bowl stomping at the hands of the ’85 Bears), and Ken O’Brien (an under-rated 2x Pro-Bowler).

The staggering statistics put up by that class would typically result in the conclusion that the ’04 class just doesn’t stand up.  That only occurs though, because we have the benefit of hindsight, and the fact that the six QBs from ’83 all have finished their careers while we are only five seasons into the ’04 class. 

The soft-spot that arises for the elder class comes in terms of Super Bowl victories. If Roethlisberger were to win the coming Super Bowl, the ’04 class will have already EXCEEDED the two victories scratched together by the ’83 class, both by Elway in the twilight of his career.

And therein lies the problem. If a trio of quarterbacks has already snagged more Lombardi Trophies than the quintet from ’83, how can the ’04 class not possibly be put into consideration? 

And with the stability provided by the franchises of the Giants, Steelers and Chargers, how can we not assume that their success will not continue?

The conversations between football fans will always be interesting only because of disagreement. The reason Jerry Rice is seldom not the answer as the greatest receiver ever is because most people know this to be true.

But let’s throw away the knee-jerk reaction of stating the ’83 class was the best crop of QBs ever. Add some spice to the argument. Make the outrageous claim that the ’04 class has already met, and will possibly exceed, the success of the famed ’83 group.