Quarterbacks. They are important in football. Consider this: Without at least one of them, the center's snap would just bounce around deep in the backfield, where it'd go for a big loss or be recovered by the other team. Either way, not a winning proposition for your team.
Over the decades, some of the NFL's best teams have so thoroughly grasped the need for good quarterback play, and some didn't stop at getting just one. Sure, it occasionally led to hearty local sports radio debates over which one of those QBs should be taking first-team reps, but it also helped land some Lombardi Trophies.
Here are the 15 best quarterback units of the Super Bowl era.
15) San Francisco 49ers (2012): Colin Kaepernick, Alex Smith, Scott Tolzien
Laugh it up, but think back to that divisional-round game in Candlestick, where Kap spent the evening running away from a good Green Bay D over and over again. I remember feeling like I was watching a revolution -- and I understood why Jim Harbaugh was willing to yank the incumbent Smith, who'd gone 20-6-1 in a season-and-a-half when the QB switch was made. Also don't forget Kap got the Niners within one play of winning the Super Bowl (and one foot short with a throw that would've sent 'em back the next season). For his part, Smith has been to the postseason two of the last three years with Kansas City.
14) Cincinnati Bengals (1984-1985): Ken Anderson, Boomer Esiason, Turk Schonert
In the first part of the decade, Anderson (the '81 MVP & a borderline Hall of Famer) got the Bengals all the way to a Super Bowl, where they lost to Joe Montana's Niners. In the middle of the decade, Anderson handed the keys over to Esiason. At the end of the decade, Esiason (the '88 MVP and another borderline Hall of Famer) got the Bengals all the way to a Super Bowl, where they lost to Montana's Niners. Schonert wasn't nearly as accomplished as either, but his name is Turk, which is nice.
13) Miami Dolphins (1994): Dan Marino, Bernie Kosar, Doug Pederson
To be fair, Marino didn't require much help on the stat sheet, throwing for 4,400 yards and 30 TDs, but Kosar did teach his Hall of Fame teammate "The Fake Spike" that beat the Jets. As for Pederson? He's dealing with some QB stuff in his new home.
12) New England Patriots (2001): Tom Brady, Drew Bledsoe, Damon Huard
From the outside looking in, it still seems pretty ballsy of Belichick (not yet himself a legend) to start the relatively green Brady over nine-year vet and Super Bowl XXXI starter Bledsoe in the Super Bowl one week after Bledsoe helped upset Pittsburgh (and me) when Brady got hurt in the AFC title game. Spoiler alert: It worked out well.
11) Denver Broncos (1983): John Elway, Steve DeBerg, Gary Kubiak
After refusing to sign with the Baltimore Colts, Elway was dealt to Denver, where he started his Hall of Fame career looking more like Ryan Leaf (47 percent completion rate; 14 INTs against seven TDs), but we'll give him a pass. And speaking of passes, the Bill Walsh-schooled seven-year vet DeBerg threw enough good ones playing relief pitcher to save a wild-card spot for the Broncos. Since '83, sources say Elway and Kubiak have continued to make valuable contributions to the organization.
10) Dallas Cowboys (1977-1979): Roger Staubach, Danny White, Glenn Carano
Staubach's mid- to late-'70s Cowboys were a perennial contender and a couple postseason plays away from going down as the mythical "best team ever." White -- who served as both punter and the '63 Heisman winner's backup -- took over in '80 and led Dallas to three straight NFC title games (while still handling the punting!). Carano didn't do much in the NFL, but went to USFL's Pittsburgh Maulers and contributed to the making of MMA's Gina Carano.
9) Dallas Cowboys (1993): Troy Aikman, Bernie Kosar, Jason Garrett
The 1993 season was the sweet spot of Jimmy and Jerry's juggernaut, and -- not coincidentally -- featured the best QB group the Cowboys had put together since the days of the group above. Future Hall of Famer Aikman was lethally efficient, while Kosar played well in four games with a star on his hat after being released mid-season by his former star-crossed team, which (when voiced by Morgan Freeman) means, "He crawled through the river of Browns and came out clean on the other side."
8) Miami Dolphins (1975): Bob Griese, Earl Morrall, Don Strock
A few years after Griese and Morrall tag-teamed the Dolphins to an undefeated season, each of Miami's three QBs started at least one game. In hindsight, Griese may not deserve his gold jacket, but Morrall probably should've gotten one. ... Let's call it a wash, while Strock stands as one of the best backups ever.
7) Minnesota Vikings (1999): Jeff George, Randall Cunningham, Daunte Culpepper
One thing's for sure: No trio in history had the collective arm strength of what the Vikes had in their QB room near the turn of the millennium. With future Pro Bowler Culpepper learning with a clipboard in his hand, George took over for Cunningham one month into the season, then took Minnesota to the playoffs.
6) Washington Redskins (1974): Sonny Jurgensen, Joe Theismann, Billy Kilmer
The 2015 Texans' two-step of Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett pales in comparison to the early '70s back-and-forth between Jurgensen and Kilmer (and not just in terms of quality): The two D.C. signal callers flip-flopped more than most politicians up to and through '74, when the playoff-bound team was joined by Theismann, who in that season returned more punts (15) than he threw passes (11). Either way, break a leg doing much better than this trio.
5) St. Louis Rams (2000): Kurt Warner, Trent Green, Marc Bulger
Green returned from the '99 knee injury that indirectly made Warner the regular-season MVP and the Rams the Super Bowl champs. He then emerged as a star for the Chiefs over the next six seasons. Bulger eventually took over full time -- and put up some very good numbers -- after Warner moved to the Giants.
4) Oakland Raiders (1970-72): Daryle Lamonica, Ken Stabler, George Blanda
A young head coach named John Madden had his choice of two future Hall of Famers in Stabler and Blanda, plus "The Mad Bomber," who started Super Bowl II for the Silver and Black. Talk about depth.
3) Green Bay Packers (1994): Brett Favre, Mark Brunell, Ty Detmer (and Kurt Warner)
Two seasons before Green Bay reclaimed the trophy named after its iconic coach (and one year before Mark Brunell moved south to turn the expansion Jaguars into an almost-immediate AFC Central contender), the Packers' QB room was loaded with three starter-level talents ... and a future MVP who didn't even make it past August. (See No. 5 for further clarification.)
2) San Diego Chargers (2004): Drew Brees, Doug Flutie, Philip Rivers
How 'bout this trio? OK, not collectively very tall, but plenty good in just about every other regard. It's funny to think now that Rivers was drafted the preceding spring because neither Brees nor Flutie appeared to be a long-term answer. Then Brees, we now know, arrived with a monster '04. The torn labrum Brees suffered in '05 ended his time in San Diego, but he'd already been reduced to placeholder for first-round pick Rivers by then. Flutie was wee but gifted. It's just too bad Pete Carroll wasn't around in the '84 Heisman winner's heyday.
1) San Francisco 49ers (1989, 1992): Joe Montana, Steve Young, Steve Bono
Obviously, this is the (red and) gold standard of quarterback groups -- and the '89 group featured the signal callers of perhaps the greatest single team in NFL history. Starter Montana put up the best passer rating the NFL had seen at the time, while backup Young threw for 1,000 yards and ran for 126 more, stoking the flames for what was then a nascent QB controversy. Even third-stringer Bono would go on to win an AFC Player of the Year award in '95.
Follow Dave Dameshek on Twitter @Dameshek.
