Open NFL Thread

Since we've been turning every other thread into a football thread, let's go there. We can talk about whatever but let's start with this query from CitizenE:

Now I ask you--maybe they're a bit too clean, but Steve Young and Jerry Rice or Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin?

Look, don't ever let anyone tell you that a quaterback who wins three Super Bowls in four years, who goes to four straight championship games and wins three of them--one under Barry Switzer, no less--is overrated. Aikman was a great, great quarterback--the anti-Favre. Like Favre, he was a winner, but he didn't do the spectacular shit that Favre did. Of course he also didn't do the stupid shit either. He was just incredibly accurate. Irvin is the most physical receiver I've ever seen play the game. He also is one of the most competitive and hardest working athletes I've seen. He played reciever the way people play basketball--he'd catch passes with no separation at all, essentially boxing cornerbacks out. It was fucking incredible.

But let's be real here--Steve Young was basically the perfect quarterback. He could run like Mike Vick (almost) and throw like Peyton Manning. Jerry Rice is the greatest receiver to ever play the game. There simply is no comparison. I'm a lifetime Cowboys fan--but it's a weak-ass fan who goes all jingoist in spite of the actual facts. This following clip isn't a Rice to Young hookup, but it's what I'll always remember about Young. It is, to my mind, one of the greatest plays ever--look at T.O just laying there, crying like a baby. Listen to Summerall and Madden. This is why I love football. In another time, with a team that invested in him, Young would have been the greatest ever.