This one took some time, but I think you guys might find it interesting. Given the amount of shit we give Kyle about his Tom Brady love, I wanted to look back and see which QB’s we all love the most, based on starts! I’ve compiled stats back to 2001 and taken a look at who everyone has started at QB every week since then.
Before I started my research, I gave my best guess on who everyone’s most played QB would be, here was my intial guesses;
- Chris: Kurt Warner
- Dave: A, Rodgers
- Jones: A Packers QB
- Josh: Matt Ryan
- Kaiser: Dak Prescott
- Kronner: EITHER Stafford, Rivers or McNabb
- Kyle: Tom Brady
- Matt: P. Rivers
- Ryan: D. Brees
- Sanchez: K. Cousins
- Timmy: P. Manning
- Trigger: D. Culpepper
Do you know who your QB is? Make a guess before you go on, like a child reading an educational book!
So let’s see how we did…
So after my recent updates to the main chart, I found this piece was also affected, so here’s how these things have changed.
11. 12. Steve and Jared Goff (22)
Tied at 22 with Chris, Steve made his love connection in a fraction of the time. With the second-fewest games played of any active manager, Sanchez locked in on current Lions leader Jared Goff back when he was slinging it for the Rams. My initial dart-throw of a guess with Kirk Cousins was not even close, though Cousins has spent a lot of weeks on Steve’s rosters, he rarely got the start.
Andrew Luck and Deshaun Watson are tied for second here with 14 starts a piece, and no other QB has surpassed 7.
My Guess: K. Cousins (4)
Actual: J. Goff (22)
12. 11. Chris and Josh Allen (22 25)
It’s pretty crazy to think that Chris, who is tied for the most games played of any manager, is dead last 11th in the QB Loyalty rank here. It’s less surprising if you remember the “QB Black Hole” years, where the commish was snakebit with injuries galore. Since 2001 Chris has had 48 different starting quarterbacks.
After Allen, there is a three-way tie (Big Ben, K, Warner, C. Palmer) for the second-most starts at 20. Overall, there are 15 signal callers with at least 10 starts for Tan, and another 16 QBs who lasted only one game in that spot.
My Guess: K. Waner (20)
Actual: J. Allen (25)
9. 10. Josh and Kurt Warner (37)
So when I think of Kurt Warner, I think of his time with the Rams and on Tansuche’s IR. What I failed to recognize is that Warner would make the list, but not for the Rams or CTan. Warner’s time in the desert, where he led the Cardinals to their first and only Super Bowl appearance, was largely spent on Josh’s squad.
The only other QB to start more than 20 games for JK is Drew Brees (21), so Warner is far and away the leader here, though Josh’s most successful season was with Matt Schaubb…
My Guess: M. Ryan (0) – oof
Actual: K. Warner (37)
10. 9. Kyle and Tom Brady (40)
With more than double the amount of starts as the 2nd place QB here (R. Wilson, 15), Brady has been Kyle’s ‘man under center’ for over 50% of his total games in the league, good for 2nd highest percentage on this list.
Kyle won his championship with Brady leading the way, and so far not even a 1-5 3-7 record can change his mind about the man in the Ugg boots.
My Guess: T. Brady (40) – I got one!
Actual: T. Brady (40)
7. 8. Matt and Phillip Rivers (44)
Like a smoker who just can’t kick the habit, Matt has paired with Rivers on and off for a lot of years. Rivers’ 44 games is more than double Matt’s more recent infatuation with Patrick Mahomes (20 games). But before trading him in for a younger model, Matt just couldn’t quit the Chargers mainstay. He ran with Rivers season-long only a couple of times, but most years managed to get him into a least a couple of games.
My Guess: P. Rivers (44)
Actual: P. Rivers (44)
6. 7. Jon and Tom Brady (45)
Chaulk it up to one more impressive record for Tom Brady. He’s been playing so long he’s made this list for two different managers. Before his new Tampa-Based love affair with Kyle (the one that cost him his family), he spent a lot of time with the reigning champion, Jon Jones. With 45 starts, he just edges out Kaiser and Matt, which is surprising since the Skippers have always been pretty fickle about QB. Additionally, Brady has started 46 games for Trigger!
Tony Romo checks in next with 31 starts, but the more interesting one to me, and the one that shows how old this league is, Jon’s 3rd most started QB is the Welfare Queen himself; Brett Favre, with 25 starts.
My Guess: A Packers QB (Favre – 25, Rodgers – 16)
Actual: T. Brady (45)
5. 6. Trigger and Matt Ryan (53)
The first combo to break the 50-mark, I was pretty blindsided here. I remember Trigger and the glory days of Daunte Culpepper, but since Culp’s irrelevance, Matt Ryan has really stepped up to lose a lot of games for Trigger during his days with the Falcons.
I don’t feel too bad about my guess though, 31 games is still a solid number for Culp, who is tied for 2nd 3rd place here with, behind, you guessed it, Tom Fucking Brady (46 games). Matt Ryan is one of only six seven players to ever start 50 games for any one manager among us.
My Guess: D. Culpepper (31)
Actual: M. Ryan (53)
4. 5. Kronner and Matt Stafford (58)
So I had it narrowed to three possible guys, and as it turned out, they were my top three. I had guessed either McNabb, Rivers or Stafford. I think I have the longest track record of sticking with a QB once I find them. 58 games with Stafford is good for 4th most in league history, while my 2nd place is McNabb at 51. The Mallrats are the only team to have two different QB with 50+ starts. And my third guess, Phillip Rivers, clocked in at 45 starts – one more than he had with Matt.
And while that Stafford number still has a chance to climb, I think I’ve moved onto a new Chargers QB, as Justin Herbert is currently tied (with Jon Kitna) for fourth on my list at 19 22 starts, ahead of my original boo Rich Gannon (18).
My Guess: M. Stafford (58), D. McNabb (51) or P. Rivers (45)
Actual: M. Stafford (58)
8. 4. Kaiser and Eli Manning (59)
My original numbers were off for Mark, Trigger and Dave – but since correcting those, only Mark’s #1 man was affected, jumping Eli up a whole extra season of starts.
So my guesses were pretty far off on some of these. But I have to admit, this is the one that caught me most off-guard, Eli Manning wasn’t even on my radar. His 43 59 games for Kaiser is an impressive feat, and runs the range of full-season starter to Bye-week fill-in to IR desperation-level replacement. But whatever the need, good ol’ Eli was always there for Mark, ever available on Waivers.
My guess of Dak Prescott actually checked in 5th place with 19 starts, but if not for injuries would probably be #2 here. Maybe the biggest surprise though was Kaiser’s QB2 in this regard – a whopping 36 games were started for Markus by one Jay Cutler. Who saw that coming?
My Guess: D. Prescott (19)
Actual: E. Manning (59)
3. Ryan and Drew Brees (72)
Now we move into the big leagues. The final three pairings jump quite a bit, with Ryan starting Drew Brees 72 times over the course of 132 games. That’s a staggering 54%. For comparison sake, Chris’ connection with Josh Allen is only about 8%.
This connection accounted for the first of Ryan’s two championships, way back in 2007. For his 2009 title, he rolled with Aaron Rodgers. The undersized QB out of Purdue, who the Lions passed on in favor if Kalimba Edwards in the draft because he was too small for the NFL, and then passed on again in Free Agency because of concerns about his shoulder, will be a first-ballot hall of famer.
The aforementioned Rodgers is next on the list with 31 starts.
My Guess: D. Brees (72)
Actual: D. Brees (72)
2. Dave and Aaron Rodgers (98)
Speaking of Aaron Rodgers, no connection over the last decade can compete with Dave’s infatuation year after year with the Packers’ weirdo QB. At a staggering 98 games together (to date), there is still time for this one to climb up the chart. Checking in at 2nd place, Dave could pull off a trade with Josh, or if Rodgers doesn’t retire, there is always next year.
Anyhow, Dave loves Green Bay apparently. Rodgers is first at 98, and 2nd place for Mr. Alley, is Brett Favre with 22 games. Rodgers powered Dave to his 2015 title, and he’s been holding on with real mixed results ever since.
My Guess: A. Rodgers (98)
Actual: A. Rodgers (98)
1. Timmy and Peyton Manning (102)
One hundred and fucking two. The only duo to break 100 games (to date), this pairing was the bane of my existence in the early years of the league. destroying my team seemingly every fucking year.
Peyton was the main driving force behind Timmy’s 2004 title run, and unlike all the other players on this list, the Peyton McLeod team stayed intact for several consecutive years, rather than broken up runs and BYE week fill-ins to pad the stats. This is the most iconic duo in league history and was basically law in the first decade of our game.
Second to Manning is quite the drop – both in quality of player and starts – Kirk Cousins with 26 starts.
My Guess: P. Manning (102)
Actual: P. Manning (102)
So, as for my predictions, I got 6 of 12. I’ll take it. How did you do? Did you know who your QB was already? What did you think of this post – interesting/fun or a waste of time? I have a lot more numbers on this, so if there is interest, I’ll do a second post about some of the forgotten QBs of yesteryear and whatnot. Lemme know if you want more or less of this stuff.
SC League Forever 