Thread: Brian Billick Talks About the Importance of An Elite QB In Today's NFL

You can't over-emphasize the importance of Peyton Manning. This question for a former NFL Super Bowl winning coach tells the truth of today's NFL that all the talk of "parity" conceals. I had endless arguments over the last 2 seasons with the Tebowites over this very question.

But, Billick states it directly in an interview on 104.3The Fan this morning:

Q: "Can you really win a Super Bowl without an elite QB in today's NFL, the way you did back in 2001?"

Billick: "It's a different game now from when we won the Super Bowl in 2001 with a great defense, good running game and Trent Dilfer. . . . Today [because of the importance of passing] you need that guy (QB). There are 10 to 12 guys who can win it all with the right players around them, but if you don't have that guy, you can't win it."

This really emphasizes the incredible importance for the Broncos to seize every opportunity over the next 3 years or so WHILE Peyton Manning is still around.

Because, as Billick noted, it's not easy to find an elite QB (he lost his job essentially because he thought Kyle Boller was "that guy" and pinned his hopes to Boller becoming an elite QB).

With no surety that Osweiler can ever really become a top 10 or 12 QB in this league realistically the Broncos hopes for a SB Championship in this decade might well ride on getting enough talent around Peyton Manning to win it all NOW.

And when he's gone the statistics say the greater probability is that the team will struggle for a time. (No point in knocking Osweiler before we know how he will do in 3 years time -- if he's given that much).

But, the signing of Jim Leonhard and Keith Brooking aside, is this team doing enough to strengthen the depth, especially on defense to give them a real shot at a SB title this season?

Or will they have to wait another year and load up some more for another run next season? I think we'll have a lot better idea after the first four games whether the team really has what it takes.

Couldn't agree more about the QB position.

Does a SuperBowl win make a QB elite, or do elite QB's win SuperBowls? If the latter is the case, how do we know if a QB is "elite"?

Discuss.

Originally Posted by silkamilkamonico

Couldn't agree more about the QB position.

Does a SuperBowl win make a QB elite, or do elite QB's win SuperBowls? If the latter is the case, how do we know if a QB is "elite"?

Discuss.

Winning the SB didn't make Dilfer an elite QB.

Billick's point is that even in the last 12 years the game has changed so much that you can't win with Trent Dilfer any more. And Trent Dilfer wasn't a bad QB after all. He played for about 10 years and you don't do that without any talent!

BUT, the year after the Ravens won the SB they got rid of Dilfer to try and upgrade that QB position. Billick knew even then that you can't expect to repeat with just great defense and a running attack. His problem was that he picked Kyle Boller to be his "franchise QB" and that mistake cost him any chance to repeat as SB Champion and ultimately his job.

Billick's point is ELITE PASSING QB. The league has changed due to emphasis on the passing rules and rules protecting the QB.

Remember the history of the NFL:

John Riggins and Marcus Allen won SBs, not their QBs. That was the formula for years. Great RB, tough defense win championships.

But, they changed the rules so you can't touch the WR more than 5 yards downfield, NO hand-checking WRs, can't touch the QB after he's thrown the ball, can't hit him in the head or lead with your helmet and hit any part of his body or you're risking a fine and possible game suspension.

Now it's possible for a QB to stand back in the pocket and pick apart the defense -- IF you have a QB like Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Aaron Rogers. You don't even need a totally great OL.

How many great OL does New England have? Outside of Logan Mankins? Pretty good and solid, but not outstanding all-pros like the Chiefs OL of a few years ago led by Will Shields, Weigman, et al..

And the Patriots went deep in the playoffs a few years ago with a secondary so depleted that they were using WRs as DBs. But, they had Tom Brady, and that covers a multitude of sins.

The league preaches parity, but the reality is that 10 or 12 teams have a chance to win the SB and everybody else has no shot. And those 10-12 teams have the 10-12 best QBs in football. If your QB is not one of them then "wait till next year."

Outside of the obvious top 6: Manning, Eli Manning, Brady, Brees, Roethlisberger, & Rogers, you can argue about who they are. Is Phillip Rivers still elite as he was considered a few years ago? What about Tony Romo? Joe Flacco? Mark Sanchez? Matt Schaub? Matt Ryan? Jay Cutler?

What about some of the new QBs? Andy Dalton??? Sam Bradford? Cam Newton? Maybe RGIII or Luck in a few years?

Serious minds can disagree. But, NOBODY can show that you can win the SB without an elite passing QB.

Eli Manning (2)
Aaron Rogers
Drew Brees
Ben Roethlisberger (2)
Peyton Manning
Tom Brady
Kurt Warner
John Elway
Brett Favre
Troy Aikman (3)
Steve Young

And Billick himself said just today that you can't win the way he did with Trent Dilfer in today's NFL. (Or Brad Johnson)

stop posting

Hi Carl

Why do people use yellow when they want to emphasize something? It's not only annoying to try and read when in Work Friendly Mode, but our colors are ORANGE and Blue. Not yellow.

Originally Posted by BroncoJoe

Why do people use yellow when they want to emphasize something? It's not only annoying to try and read when in Work Friendly Mode, but our colors are ORANGE and Blue. Not yellow.

you mean like a highlighter pen?