Fran Tarkenton
Fran Tarkenton is the second-best quarterback without a championship during his career, but his long career and extreme consistency make him one of the best of all time anyway.
Tarkenton was a third-round draft pick of the Vikings in 1961, and stepped into the starting role early in his rookie season. He made a huge impression in his first game, coming off the bench to throw for 250 yards and 4 touchdowns and run for another as the expansion Vikings upset the defending champion Bears 37-13. He remains the only player in NFL history to throw 4 touchdowns in his first game, and he did it without starting.
Tarkenton threw for at least 2300 yards for each of the next 11 seasons, but despite being one of the top passers in the league for that long, he never managed to get his team to the playoffs. That would all change in his final 6 seasons.
In 1973 he had his lowest passing output since his rookie season, and it seemed to do the trick, as Minnesota made the playoffs for the first time with Tarkenton leading the way, with a record of 12-2. In his first-ever trip to the playoffs, he took the Vikings all the way to the Super Bowl, where they were stifled by the Miami defense, going without a point until Tarkenton ran for a touchdown in the 4th quarter to prevent a shutout.
They came back strong in 1974, taking the top record in the NFC at 10-4, and fighting their way back to the Super Bowl, where Tarkenton's 3 interceptions doomed them to a 16-6 loss to Terry Bradshaw and the Steelers, despite Bradshaw's 96 passing yards.
The following season Tarkenton won his first MVP award, pretty incredible for a guy in his 15th season. He threw for 2994 yards and 25 touchdowns while leading the league in completions and completion percentage, and Minnesota snagged the league's best record once again, but they lost in their first playoff game to Dallas, with Tarkenton again choking on the big stage.
1976 brought a slight drop in production, but a 4th straight season of the top record in the NFC, and a third trip to the Super Bowl in 4 seasons. This time they would fall to the Oakland Raiders, with Tarkenton again throwing more picks than touchdowns in the title game, as was his custom.
Tarkenton never came through when it really mattered, which is the only reason he is not in the all-time top 10. When he retired in 1978, he was #1 all-time in pass attempts, completions, yardage, and touchdowns, along with rushing yards by a quarterback and wins as a starter. He no longer holds any of the records, but he is still in the top 10 in each of them 41 years later. If only he could have stepped up in a Super Bowl, there is a great chance he would have been in the top 10 on this list.
No comments:
Post a Comment