Super doesn't always mean great: conventional wisdom says a team can't get to the Super Bowl without a big-time quarterback, but there are plenty of examples to the contrary - 2003 Postseason Preview

EXPERTS USED TO SAY THAT A team couldn't win it all without a marquee quarterback. But after some unlikely QBs announced their intentions to visit Disney World--or at least led their teams into the Super Bowl--many of those pundits have changed their minds.

If Trent Dilfer, Kerry Collins, and a young and untested Tom Brady were able to get their teams to the Super Bowl--and in the case of Dilfer and Brady, win the thing--can anybody do it?

"Obviously some quarterbacks--Brett Favre, Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw--leave giant marks that people remember forever. And Then other guys leave marks that are more unidentified," says Dilfer, whose Baltimore Ravens beat Collins' New York Giants, 34-7, in Super Bowl 35.

Although Dilfer has had a pedestrian NFL career, he's not the Worst Super Bowl quarterback ever. Who, then, are the very Worst, and how in the name of Montana did they lead their teams there?

To answer these and other questions , we ranked every Super Bowl quarterback by the NFL's passer-rating Formula. On six occasions, the Quarterback who had the majority of the regular-season snaps wasn't the one who took the team to the big game. In those instances, we went with the Super Bowl QB. For example, we used Bob Griese in 1972 instead of Earl Morrall, who quarterbacked the Miami Dolphins through most of their undefeated regular season because Griese was injured. Griese did, however, return for the Super Bowl.

Going strictly by the rating formula, what follows are the worst Super Bowl quarterbacks ever. (Note: The chart shows the regular-season years, and not the years of the Super Bowl itself.)

Shockingly, some huge names are on this list, including six Hall-of-Famers: Bradshaw, Starr, Unitas, Dawson, Griese, and Namath. So, what is amiss here? NFL rules changes had quite an impact on these rankings. After the 1978 season, the league opened up the passing game by limiting contact between receivers and defenders and modifying pass-blocking rules. Passer ratings--along with all air-related statistics--shot way up. In other words, Ferragamo, Woodley, Eason, and Plunkett all belong on our list, but we need to cut some slack to the quarterbacks who played before 1979.

Nevertheless, in the seasons shown, many of those big names still performed below their usual levels. Starr posted a dreadful 9-to-17 touchdown-to-interception ratio for the 1967 Green Bay Packers. The previous season, when the Packers crushed the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in Super Bowl 1, he threw 14 regular-season TD passes vs. three interceptions. He also had a much better completion percentage in 1966 (62.2) than in 1967 (54.8).

But even though Starr had a weak 1967 campaign by his standards, Green Bay still went 9-4-1. And the quarterback shined in the big game itself (13-for-24, 202 yards, one TD pass, no interceptions), winning the most valuable player award. Furthermore, stats can't describe Starr's ability as a leader. Even in a so-so year like 1967, he never could have been described as a poor quarterback.

The same goes for Namath. Football historians rarely mention that he had a mediocre 1968 season, completing only 49.2 percent of his passes. Only three other Super Bowl starters haven't hit the 50% mark--Bradshaw (1974, Pittsburgh Steelers), Ferragamo (1979, Los Angeles Rams), and Craig Morton (1970, Dallas Cowboys)--and Bradshaw and Ferragamo had fewer than 150 pass attempts.

But Namath always will be remembered for his bold prediction before Super Bowl 3, which overshadows his statistics. And he played a clean and efficient game in the New York Jets' 16-7 upset of the Baltimore Colts, completing 17 of 28 passes for 206 yards.

At any rate, it's more accurate to look at Super Bowl quarterbacks after the rules changes took effect. Here are the 10 with the worst ratings:

Ferragamo easily wins the title of "Worst Super Bowl Quarterback Ever." In addition to having the poorest quarterback rating since 1978, he has the worst interception percentage (9.1), completion percentage (48.2), and touchdown-to-'interception ratio (0.50). He also is in the bottom 10 in yards per pass attempt (7.07).

Woodley and Eason deserve a mention, as well. Both had poor seasons leading up to the Super Bowl, then also performed miserably once they got there. Woodley completed only four of 14 passes in Super Bowl 17; Eason failed to complete a pass in six attempts before leaving Super Bowl 20 in the second quarter.

In fairness to Ferragamo, he, unlike Woodley and Eason, did reasonably well in the actual Super Bowl. Playing against a vicious Steelers defense in Super Bowl 14, he completed 15 of 25 passes for 212 yards. He threw only one interception and his club entered the fourth quarter leading, 19-17, but the Steelers scored two touchdowns to win, 31-19.

"It's the game everybody looks at," says Ferragamo. "I even see people today who tell me they saw highlights of that game. In my career, people remember that year more than anything."

Although he had poor numbers that 1979 season--Pat Haden actually took the majority of snaps for the 9-7 Rams--Ferragamo played decently afterward, passing for 3,000 yards in two of the next three years. Still, he never was what would be termed a big-time QB.

Others on the post-1978 list were, including Elway, Simms, and Bradshaw. In some cases, the quarterback's low passer rating was partially the result of the team's strong running attack. With Franco Harris leading the way, for instance, Bradshaw's 1979 Steelers rolled to 2,603 rushing yards. Simms' 1986 Giants also had a good ground attack, as well as an outstanding defense. The job of both Bradshaw and Simms was to manage games, to not lose them rather than to try to win them single-handedly.

Oddly enough, many quarterbacks have led their teams to the Super Bowl despite turning the ball over numerous times with interceptions. Interception percentages of over 5% have become uncommon in the NFL, yet 12 QBs have led their teams to the Super Bowl despite having percentages over that mark. Those signalcallers include four since the passing-rules changes, most notably Bradshaw, who did it in consecutive seasons (1978 and '79). Most recently, Differ lined up under center in the Ravens" Super Bowl 35 victory after getting nearly 5% (4.9, to be exact) of his passes picked off during the season.

"It doesn't bother me," says Dilfer, now a backup with the Seattle Seahawks. "I have no problem with saying that my teammates carried me. They carried me."

Indeed, Super Bowl 35 was the quintessential matchup of less-than-stellar quarterbacks: Dilfer vs. Collins. It was a Super Bowl in which the QBs took a backseat to everyone else. Says Simms, "I think that game showed everyone it's about the team." The Ravens had such an outstanding defense and running game that merely adequate quarterbacking was all they needed to win.

While history has demonstrated that mediocre quarterbacks like Dilfer can earn Super Bowl rings, the jury still is out on another type of quarterback, the kind who is all the rage these days in the NFL: a true running quarterback. We're talking about players like Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons, Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Daunte Culpepper of the Minnesota Vikings.

A running quarterback has yet to win the Super Bowl--and not many have even been in one. Only five QBs from the 74 Super Bowl teams gained more than 300 rushing yards in the regular season, and their clubs went just 1-4 in the big game. Roger Staubach had the most ground yards, 343 with the 1971 Cowboys, who beat the Dolphins, 24-3. The rushing numbers Vick and Culpepper put up in 2002--776 and 609 yards, respectively--dwarfed that figure.

McNabb may get a shot at the Super Bowl this season. And that would be fitting, since athletic quarterbacks who can do it all are the wave of the future. But then again, perhaps a less accomplished signalcaller--like Jake Delhomme of the Carolina Panthers--will have the opportunity to shine on football's biggest stage. It's happened several times before--and it's certain to happen again.

The Lowest-Rated Super Bowl QBs Ever

Quarterback       Year   Team       Games   Comp.   Atts.

Vince Ferragamo   1979   Rams         8       53     110
Terry Bradshaw    1974   Steelers     8       67     148
David Woodley     1982   Dolphins     9       98     179
Bart Starr        1967   Packers     14      115     210
Johnny Unitas     1970   Colts       14      166     321
Tony Eason        1985   Patriots    16      168     299
Len Dawson        1969   Chiefs       9       98     166
Bob Griese        1972   Dolphins     6       53      97
Joe Namath        1968   Jets        14      187     380
Jim Plunkett      1980   Raiders     13      165     320

Quarterback       Pct.   Yds.    TDs   Ints.   Rating

Vince Ferragamo   48.2     778    5     10      49.0
Terry Bradshaw    45.3     785    7      8      55.2
David Woodley     54.7   1,080    5      8      63.5
Bart Starr        54.8   1,823    9     17      64.4
Johnny Unitas     51.7   2,213   14     18      65.1
Tony Eason        56.2   2,156   11     17      67.5
Len Dawson        59.9   1,323    9     13      69.9
Bob Griese        54.6     638    4      4      71.6
Joe Namath        49.2   3,147   15     17      72.1
Jim Plunkett      51.6   2,299   18     16      72.9

The Lowest-Rated Super Bowl QBs After 1978

Quarterback        Year    Team        Games    Comp.    Atts.

Vince Ferragamo    1979    Rams          8        53      110
David Woodley      1982    Dolphins      9        98      179
Tony Eason         1985    Patriots     16       168      299
Jim Plunkett       1980    Raiders      13       165      320
John Elway         1989    Broncos      15       223      416
Phil Simms         1986    Giants       16       259      468
Trent Dilfer       2000    Ravens        9       133      225
Terry Bradshaw     1979    Steelers     16       259      472
Steve McNair       1999    Titans       11       187      331
John Elway         1986    Broncos      16       280      504

Quarterback        Pct.    Yds.     TDs    Ints.    Rating

Vince Ferragamo    48.2      778     5      10       49.0
David Woodley      54.7    1,080     5       8       63.5
Tony Eason         56.2    2,156    11      17       67.5
Jim Plunkett       51.6    2,299    18      16       72.9
John Elway         53.6    3,051    18      18       73.7
Phil Simms         55.3    3,487    21      22       74.6
Trent Dilfer       59.1    1,502    12      11       76.6
Terry Bradshaw     54.9    3,724    26      25       77.0
Steve McNair       56.5    2,179    12       8       78.6
John Elway         55.6    3,485    19      13       79.0

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