10. Bart Starr – Green Bay Packers
The last spot on this list is always a tricky one. There are so many different avenues to go down.
Guys like Dan Fouts, Terry Bradshaw, Sid Luckman, Steve Young, YA Title, Len Dawson and Brett Favre are just some of the names that had to be left off.
I know Green Bay faithful will go nuts at the fact that the all-time leader in passing yards and completions (Favre) will be left off this list, but his reckless play leaves him outside of the top 10. There’s no doubt he’s a legend, but he’s hurt his team on so many occasions when it wasn’t necessary. The career leader in interceptions, with 336, is the reason he finishes 11th on this list.
Number two in career interceptions is George Blanda with 277 career picks. Favre leads this category by a landslide.
As far as our number 10 spot goes, Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr fits the bill perfectly.
Starr was not a phenom breaking into the league. He was a lowly 17th round draft pick who Vince Lombardi transformed into one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
The Packer Sweep was their bread and butter play, which Starr had very little to do with. Lombardi believed in a relentless attacking ground game that overwhelmed opponents. There were very little tricks. Constant overpowering of their opponent was his way.
Starr though, much like all quarterbacks then, had to call the game from the field, and did he ever do it the way Lombardi wanted.
The strategy led to five NFL Championships and the first two Super Bowl Titles in history as Starr was named MVP of both.
Next: Number 9