Category Archives: Football

H2H 23: Bruce Smith vs. Reggie White – Who was Better?

Pass rusher is one of the most important positions in football (and quite possibly the most important one on defense), as the ability to generate pressure and force the quarterback to get rid of the ball quickly can wreak havoc on an opposing team’s offense.  Thus, having a disruptive pass rusher is a precious commodity in the NFL, and one that teams will often spend high draft picks on to mixed results. In the history of the NFL, no one got to the quarterback better than Bruce Smith or Reggie White, who with 200.0 and 198.0 career sacks, respectively, are the number one and number two all-time sack leaders.  Between the two fearsome Hall of Fame pass rushers, however, the question is:

Who was better – Bruce Smith or Reggie White?

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H2H 19: Terry Bradshaw vs. Roger Staubach – Who was Better?

More so than any other position in football, and perhaps in all of sports, quarterbacks are judged by how much they win, in particular how many Super Bowl titles they have.  When you think of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, be it Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, etc., one thing they all have in common is at least one Super Bowl ring.  Back in the 1970s, when the NFL-AFL merger had only recently happened and the Super Bowl was still in its infancy, two of the dominant teams of that era were the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys, both of whom were led by Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach.  Thinking back on their careers and how each quarterback led their respective team to multiple Super Bowl victories (as contemporaries and rivals, they even faced each other twice in the Super Bowl), the question is:

Who was better – Terry Bradshaw or Roger Staubach?

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H2H 14: Randall Cunningham vs. Michael Vick – Who was Better?

For most of the modern NFL era, general managers and coaches have had a very defined view of the prototypical quarterback: a tall, usually white, relatively immobile player who is a traditional pocket passer with a strong arm.  Even as black quarterbacks such as James Harris, Doug Williams, and Warren Moon began to enter the league, they were still relatively traditional quarterbacks; however, the NFL would soon witness the advent of the dual-threat quarterback with “The Ultimate Weapon” Randall Cunningham in the late 1980s and then later, the electric Michael Vick in early 2000s.  As mobile, scrambling quarterbacks have become more popular at all levels of football, we look back upon two of the pioneers of the dual-threat quarterback and ask:

Who was better – Randall Cunningham or Michael Vick?

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H2H 9: Dan Fouts vs. Warren Moon – Who was Better?

With the evolution of offense in today’s quarterback-friendly and pass-happy NFL, a quarterback passing for 4,000+ yards and 30+ touchdowns is an increasingly common occurrence, and throwing for 3,000+ yards and 20+ touchdowns is almost the bare minimum for a starting signal-caller.  However, if you turn the clock back a few decades to when the quarterback was less of a protected species and defensive players were allowed more freedom in how they operated, big passing numbers were more of the exception than the norm. During that era of professional football, two quarterbacks who were ahead of their time in putting up gaudy passing stats were Dan Fouts in the San Diego Chargers’ “Air Coryell” offense and Warren Moon operating the Houston Oilers’ “Run and shoot” attack.  As pioneers and trailblazers in paving the way towards today’s style of pro football, both would make their way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and leave an indelible mark on the game, which begs the question:

Who was better – Dan Fouts or Warren Moon?

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H2H 6: Marshall Faulk vs. LaDainian Tomlinson – Who was Better?

Running backs come in all shapes and sizes – big bruisers, shifty speedsters, goal-line specialists, third-down pass-catching backs, etc.  In an era of increasing specialization and running backs by committee, the most coveted backs are still the ones that can play all three downs and represent both a rushing and receiving threat.  Any list of the most dangerous all-purpose backs in NFL history who were equally good at running between the tackles and catching a screen pass in the flat would include Marshall Faulk and LaDainian Tomlinson.  As football fans and fantasy players of the last 20 years will remember, in their prime, Faulk and Tomlinson were elite offensive weapons who racked up yards, catches, and perhaps most importantly, touchdowns at an extraordinary rate, on their way to Hall of Fame careers.  With both players having hung up their cleats and been immortalized in Canton, the question is:

Who was better – Marshall Faulk or LaDainian Tomlinson?

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H2H 2: Randy Moss vs. Terrell Owens – Who was Better?

The 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame class featured arguably the two best wide receivers of the 2000s, and perhaps two of the most colorful characters as well, in Randy Moss and Terrell Owens.  On one hand, the duo terrorized opposing defensive backs with their unmatched combinations of size and speed and by the time their playing careers were over, Moss and Owens were near the top of most major receiving categories (behind only the great Jerry Rice).  Yet at the same time, due to their brash and mercurial personalities, they at times clashed with coaches and teammates alike, and were often in the headlines for reasons other than their receiving prowess. Thus, it only seems fitting that the two wide receivers would be inducted into Canton together, leading to the question:

Who was better – Randy Moss or Terrell Owens?

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