Some people will tell you that Peyton Manning vs. Rex Grossman is a worse match than K-Fed and Britney. Yeah, well, maybe. But I can think of at least three other instances where Super Bowl quarterbacks were as different as George and Reggie Bush.
OK, I can think of four. Make that five. In fact, I'll name them for you right now -- with Peyton and Rex excused from class.
But before I get started, one word of caution: You'll find no mention of Trent Dilfer vs. Kerry Collins in Super Bowl XXXV because it's not the quality of the two quarterbacks I'm interested in; it's the disparities between them.
Got it? Good. Now, on to the show:
Joe Theismann vs. David Woodley, Super Bowl XVII
David Woodley was the worst quarterback to start a Super Bowl, with 15 more interceptions than touchdowns in his brief career. Still, nothing is ever as bad as it seems, and Woodley was no exception. If he'd been better, the Dolphins might not have drafted Dan Marino in 1983 -- and think about that for a minute before you start to shred David Woodley. Then take a look at Woodley's play in Super Bowl XVII and start shredding.
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| It was all downhill for David Woodley in XVII after he'd say 'hike.' (US Presswire) |
The NFL's top-rated passer, Theismann was cool and efficient -- completing 15 of 23 passes for 143 yards with two touchdowns as the Redskins amassed a Super Bowl-record 276 yards rushing. He was no ordinary Joe, and he would return to the Super Bowl the next season while Woodley returned to the bench.
Terry Bradshaw vs. Vince Ferragamo, Super Bowl XIV
I remember reading a column once that had Ferragamo listed as the league's 10th best quarterback ... of all time. Huh? Maybe in Orange County. Ferragamo had some decent seasons in the NFL (once throwing for 509 yards in a game), but 1979 wasn't one of them. His passer rating of 48.8 is the proof, though it was a marked improvement on his 1978 figure of 15.4.
Anyway, he took over as a starter because Pat Haden was hurt, and Ferragamo played well enough to help steer the Rams to wins in six of seven games leading up to Super Bowl XIV. That was good.
So was Ferragamo's performance for the first three quarters of the Super Bowl as the Rams -- at 9-7, the worst team to reach a Super Bowl -- held a 19-17 lead. But that evaporated when Bradshaw connected with John Stallworth for a 73-yard touchdown, and the Steelers went on to a 31-19 victory -- Pittsburgh's fourth NFL championship in six years.
Bradshaw was named the game's MVP and went on to the Hall of Fame; Ferragamo retired and went on to run a successful real-estate business in southern California. That figures. He always was about yards, anyway.
Jim McMahon vs. Tony Eason, Super Bowl XX
OK, so McMahon wasn't McAccurate. In 15 seasons, he had 10 more touchdowns than interceptions, a 58 percent completion rate and one Pro-Bowl season. But this was that season, with McMahon the "punky QB" who would lead the Bears to a 12-0 start and their first Super Bowl ever. McMahon was as bold and arrogant as he was effective -- mooning a helicopter that circled Chicago's practice fields the week before the Super Bowl. Eason was another story.
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| Tony Eason found himself painfully overmatched in XX. (US Presswire) |
Eason failed to complete his first six passes, fumbled once and was sacked three times before he was sent to the bench. He and the Patriots had an improbable and exhilarating playoff run, winning three times on the road, but they blew a tire before reaching the finish line. Maybe you forgot about Eason, but I couldn't: He's the only starting quarterback to start a Super Bowl and not complete a pass.
Roger Staubach vs. Craig Morton, Super Bowl XII
The more I remember this game, the less I want to remember Morton. There was a time I thought the guy was going to be decent. Then I watched him self-destruct against Baltimore in Super Bowl V. He never really did put up big numbers in his career and sometimes did just what he had to do to be successful -- which is what happened in 1977, his first season with Denver.
The Broncos were all about defense that year; not about Craig Morton. Heck, they never scored more than 27 points in a game. But that didn't matter.
Morton didn't make big mistakes that year ... until Super Bowl XII. Staubach didn't make big mistakes, either, but the difference is that he knew how to produce big plays. He was poised, too, never rattling when it mattered. And this game mattered. Staubach was on from the beginning, hitting 17 of 25 passes -- including one for a touchdown -- but it was Harvey Martin and Randy White who were named co-MVPs. And for good reason: They were part of a defense that shook down Morton. The Cowboys intercepted him four times and recovered four fumbles in a 27-10 rout. Morton never made it to the finish, benched after completing as many passes to Dallas (4) as to his teammates.
But that's not all: He achieved a Super Bowl rarity with a zero-point-zero passer rating.
Troy Aikman vs. Neil O'Donnell, Super Bowl XXX
This was worse than it should have been. Aikman won three Super Bowls in four years and was named to the Hall of Fame. O'Donnell won a conference championship game in a season where he threw 17 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. To appreciate that performance check out the numbers of three others who tried passing for Pittsburgh that season: They produced four TDs and 14 interceptions.
O'Donnell always was smart with the ball, and he had one of the best touchdown-to-interception ratios in NFL history (120 TDs to 68 interceptions). But that doesn't mean he was a great quarterback because he wasn't. Aikman was. And the difference between the two was apparent in Super Bowl XXX when O'Donnell made Dallas cornerback Larry Brown the game's MVP by hitting him with two perfectly thrown passes -- one of which he returned to the Pittsburgh 6.
O'Donnell also threw an interception on the game's final play. Brown would move on to Oakland, where he faded away, and O'Donnell to the New York Jets where he was 0-6 in his first season as a starter. And Aikman? You can catch him any day of the week in Canton, Ohio.
