But in his research he discovered an even more exclusive contingent of quarterbacks: the 100-Loss Club.
A mere five quarterbacks in history lost 100 games. Three quarterbacks are on both lists of 100 wins and 100 losses: Brett Favre, Fran Tarkenton and Warren Moon.
Writes Stoppe: "Since the 100 Loss Club is so exclusive, and I don’t like leaving off habitual losers, I expanded this dubious club to include the likes of Jim Everett."
Here's his look at the losingest (is that a word?) quarterbacks in NFL history, based on total number of losses.
It's no small feat to make the loss leaderboard. To do so, you either have to be
All-Time QB Losers Club
|
|
Quarterback (seasons) |
Record |
Pct. |
|
1 |
Vinny Testaverde (21) |
90-123-1 |
.423 |
|
2 |
Fran Tarkenton (18) |
124-109-6 |
.531 |
|
3 |
Archie Manning (13) |
35-101-3 |
.263 |
|
4 |
Warren Moon (17) |
102-101 |
.502 |
|
5 |
Brett Favre (18) |
169-100 |
.628 |
|
6 |
Norm Snead (16) |
52-99-7 |
.351 |
|
7 |
Drew Bledsoe (14) |
98-95 |
.508 |
|
8 |
Boomer Esiason (14) |
80-93 |
.462 |
|
9 |
Dan Marino (17) |
147-93 |
.613 |
|
10 |
Jim Everett (12) |
64-89 |
.418 |
|
11 |
Jim Hart (19) |
87-88 |
.497 |
A few thoughts from Stoppe
ONE – If you lose 100 games, you are most likely going to the Hall of Fame! Dan Marino wanted another year but was forced out by Jimmy Johnson at Miami. An extra (9-7) Favre-like Jets year would have given Marino the 100 losses needed. Two of the five 100-loss listers are in the HOF, while Favre is destined for it. The most likely next candidate to reach 100 losses is Peyton Manning (117-59). With a couple of rebuilding years and an average of seven losses per year over the next six seasons, he could make the list.
TWO – It's no surprise that spending many years with a loser franchise helps a quarterback find a spot on this exclusive list. Archie Manning spent most of his career with the historically pathetic 1970s vintage Saints and has the dreadful .263 win percentage to show for it. Quarterbacks are usually the first players benched when teams can't win, so it's something of a miracle that Manning was able to play so long and start so many games despite the consistent dearth of victories.
Norm Snead played 16 years, mostly with the Redskins and Eagles at their historic nadirs. He even reached four Pro Bowls. But he enjoyed just one winning season in his career, leading the 1972 Giants to an 8-5 record in 13 starts. Boomer Esiason had the misfortune of being drafted by the Bungles, while Vinny T. wound up with the equally pathetic Bucs, where he never enjoyed a winning season. Testaverde certainly contributed to the struggles with a single-season NFL record 35 INTs with the Bucs in 1988 (George Blanda threw 42 picks with the AFL Oilers in 1962).
THREE – Bill Parcells played a large role on this list. Two of his prize QB projects, Bledsoe and Testaverde, are here on the list of losingest signal callers.
FOUR – An all-time QB club would not be complete without a Manning and Favre in it, and this list does not disappoint. Old Yeller, for one, doesn't miss too many all-time lists.
FIVE – Don't forget the greatless Jeff George when considering the loser's list. Like Jim "Chris" Everett, George was apparently able to convince people into thinking that he doesn't actually suck when, in fact, he does. He doesn't quite make the cut above, but he did manage to post a disastrous 46-78 (.371) record in his 12-year NFL career. He was well on his way to the exclusive 100-loss club before most NFL owners realized what a loser he was. Naturally, Al Davis and Dan Snyder were the last to get the message: George spent four of his last five seasons with the Raiders and Redskins.
