Ranking the Quarterbacks: Solving my Dilemmas
December 31, 2007
OK, prior to my announcing the results of my study as to the best quarterbacks of all time, I’m going to inform my readers (all six of you who care about the NFL) what I decided to do regarding the Otto Graham Predicament, etc. In short, I’m giving half points for the four years of the AAFC, as well as the first four years of the AFL, with the reasoning being that a.) the competition in those leagues was less than that in the NFL (although as I mentioned earlier, the Browns entered the NFL in 1950 and promptly won the championship under Otto Graham’s leadership, and it only took the AFL three tries to win the Super Bowl), and b.) guys who played in those leagues during those years deserve, if less than full credit, something more than no credit for the body of work they carried out. This has the effect, practically speaking, of moving Otto Graham into the top ten all-time of quarterbacks (he almost made it without getting the extra points for his four AAFC years).
Now, let me get the ball rolling by listing some of the guys in positions 11-20. I’m saving some of these guys for my next post, when I will commit the NFL Quarterback equivalent of blasphemy, as I detail how at least two of the quarterbacks that people bandy about as being, perhaps, “the greatest of all time”, didn’t even make the top ten. And looking at the evidence, I think that it’s accurate, and that people have a grossly overinflated opinion of these men. But for now…
Tied for 20th all-time are three quarterbacks, Terry Bradshaw, Norm van Brocklin, and Dan Fouts. Bradshaw, of course, gets a lot of his points on the basis of being a winner, with four Super Bowl rings to show for his career. Fouts is the diametrical opposite, a great player on some pass-happy “Air Coryell” squads that never quite made it to the show. Fouts, in fact, ended his tremendous career without even appearing in a Super Bowl. Van Brocklin, of course, was quarterbacking before I was born.
The 19th-rated quarterback, for the moment, is Tom Brady. I say, “for the moment”, because a Super Bowl win would catapult Brady into a tie for 16th, a bump up, but still nowhere near the top. Some won’t like this, coming as it does as Brady is in the midst of a season-for-the-ages, but the fact of the matter is that this is the first statistically impressive season Brady has had, to speak of. Basically, until this year, Tom Brady has garnered almost all his points by winning Super Bowls. Now, that’s impressive, and he’ll probably add one more, but as we’ve said, for a QB to be an all-time top-fiver, he needs a combination of both. I’ve already argued that “wins” is a wonderful way to analyze a team, but a fairly poor way to analyze one individual player, particularly when there are 50+ other players who contribute to the success of that team. Brady is a winner, one of the greatest winners of all time, and yes, the success of the team is in large measure due to Brady’s play. Further, it wouldn’t take Brady but a couple more seasons like this one to jump to the very top.
But he ain’t there yet…
More to come in my next post, including my first piece of NFL sacrilege.
Sneezing and Spirituality
December 31, 2007
I’m sitting in Atlanta Bread Company when, behind me, I hear someone sneeze, and immediately (twice, for good measure), the obligatory, “God bless you!”
What is it about sneezing that makes people talk so freely about God? I don’t get it. I didn’t grow up in a home where we reflexively said, “God bless you” when someone sneezed, and I’ve always thought it was the strangest of things to do at a time when someone was spewing snot all over the place. I mean, that seems at least to be on the borderline of taking the Lord’s name in vain, doesn’t it? I grant that it’s meant well, but I seriously doubt that people are really considering the majesty and glory of the Lord when invoking this “blessing”.
But here’s a thought: are there implications for evangelism to be found in this everyday event? I mean, “sneeze for Jesus”, just to get a stranger to say, “God bless you”, and then launch into an exposition of the gospel?
Uh…maybe not…
Iowa? Who Knows?
December 31, 2007
The certainty I had 10 days ago about a win for Huck in Iowa has now evaporated, given recent polling which shows him neck-and-neck with Flip Flopney for the win. It’ll still be a tremendous accomplishment, given Flopney’s massive spending advantage, for Huck to pull off a close second, but a win, which looks to be about a 50/50 affair at this point, would be a tremendous boost. Huck continues to run second now to Rudy nationally, and I still believe that this race will come down to Rudy versus one conservative, but I have to candidly confess that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto throws foreign policy to an even more prominent role, and boosts John McCain’s stock to the point where I have to admit I might have written him off prematurely. His campaign has been re-energized, that’s for sure. And he is, for all his faults, much preferable to Rudy Giuliani.
But Huck, who has been hit repeatedly now that his candidacy is seen as viable, continues to hold strong, and it should be a very interesting 6-8 weeks, that’s for sure.
Joel Osteen on Mormonism
December 29, 2007
Ken Silva at Apprising Ministries just posted a comment on my latest Osteen post and referenced an article on his site that links not only to Joel Osteen’s beliefs about Mormonism, but also the fact that Deseret Books, the publishing arm of the Mormon Church, sees such little threat from Osteen’s latest book that they are selling it in their bookstore. Here’s the link.
I reproduce below the “money shot” from an interview that Chris Wallace had with Joel Osteen on Fox News Sunday; the entire transcript is here.
WALLACE: And what about Mitt Romney? And I’ve got to ask you the question, because it is a question whether it should be or not in this campaign, is a Mormon a true Christian?
OSTEEN: Well, in my mind they are. Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his savior, and that’s what I believe, so, you know, I’m not the one to judge the little details of it. So I believe they are.
And so, you know, Mitt Romney seems like a man of character and integrity to me, and I don’t think he would — anything would stop me from voting for him if that’s what I felt like.
WALLACE: So, for instance, when people start talking about Joseph Smith, the founder of the church, and the golden tablets in upstate New York, and God assumes the shape of a man, do you not get hung up in those theological issues?
OSTEEN: I probably don’t get hung up in them because I haven’t really studied them or thought about them. And you know, I just try to let God be the judge of that. I mean, I don’t know.
I certainly can’t say that I agree with everything that I’ve heard about it, but from what I’ve heard from Mitt, when he says that Christ is his savior, to me that’s a common bond.
“…I’m not the one to judge the little details of it.” He’s not the one to judge “little things” like who Jesus is, how we are made right with God through His death, our response of faith. Ah, but he is the one to pastor 50,000 people. Absurd. Utterly absurd.
I’m sorry, but this is astonishing, even for Joel Osteen. I guess it shouldn’t be; I really would have (on what basis, I don’t know) given him the benefit of the doubt that he’d at least know enough not to take this position, but at this point, there really doesn’t appear to be much of anything that Joel would say “negatively” about anybody. Astonishing…
UPDATE: Here’s a thought that I seriously am beginning to wonder about: should followers of Jesus make a decision not to patronize stores, publishers, etc. who call themselves “Christian”, but who carry his drivel? That would mean, for instance, Family Bookstores and Christian Book Distributors, for starters (and, of course, TBN, but there are dozens of reasons not to patronize TBN). Am I calling for a boycott? Well, maybe…what think ye? Of course, you’d have to produce a letter explaining such actions, but I honestly wonder if this might be the issue that begins to return some of these Christian entities to a modicum of sanity. I’m not getting my hopes up, but…
Cletus, Take the Reel
December 29, 2007
This guy is really funny. Check out
but don’t skip by “A Homeschool Family” either. Hilarious.
Tozer v. Osteen
December 29, 2007
“Sometimes it is hard for us to grasp that God wants us to prosper in every way…God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny He has laid out for us. One of the most important Biblical principles that shows us how to prosper is the principle of sowing and reaping…
“People tell me, ‘Joel, He is God. If He wants to bless me, He can.’ Friend, God works by laws. You can’t expect to reap a harvest without first planting your seeds. If you will be faithful and do what God is asking you to do, God will do His part. Don’t let the enemy deceive you into holding on to your seed–get it into the ground!” Joel Osteen, Ministry letter 2005
“Christ calls me to carry a cross; we call them to have fun in his name. He calls them to forsake the world; we assure them
that if they but accept Jesus the world is their oyster. He calls them to suffer; we call them to enjoy all the bourgeois comforts modern civilization affords…He calls them to holiness; we call them to a cheap and tawdry happiness that would have been rejected with scorn by the least of the Stoic philosophers…we can afford to suffer now; we’ll have a long eternity to enjoy ourselves. And our enjoyment will be valid and pure, for it will come in the right way in the right time.” A.W. Tozer - Born After Midnight
Remember What I’ve Said About John Edwards?
December 27, 2007
Remember that I’ve said that The Prettiest Presidential Candidate is actually the worst, the most despicable, among the entire field? Remember that I said that I’d support Mrs. Bill Clinton, or Barack the Wonder Boy, before I’d support The Pretty One? Well, in case you haven’t heard, here’s John Edwards’ leading celebrity endorsement:
Harry Belafonte Endorses John Edwards
If anyone needed any more proof as to which candidate was furthest to the left (well, this side of Dennis…snicker…Kucinich), look no further. Harry Belafonte is a socialist through and through—and he’s supporting The Prettiest Presidential Candidate. Says just about everything we need to know about Mr. Edwards.
This phrase comes from the 1978 "Jonestown massacre" in which most members of the Peoples Temple cult, blindly following their leader Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
Osborne: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God
Schlossberg: Idols For Destruction
