#6: Johnny Unitas | The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players (2010) |  

100% I litterlty did

That’s a former football player comment much respect ✊🏾

That was right that he gave props to the men up front they make him look good.

He was referring to the boys upfront the bench- the towel boy and water boy. I bet his equipment manager felt snubbed that he wasn't mentioned.. ooooooeee! 👀🙍‍♂️

Johnny Unitas should be #1

❤

Abel Herrera yup

Abel Herrera IKR

Kam Mike STFU

Abel Herrera Yes!!!

Amen, brother!

@Paul Kryder No. I didn't suggest that he was the GOAT due to being a family man. I just pointed out why he's such an inspirational icon to Baltimore.

@Paul Kryder It's called setting an example for the community. Unitas was always great with the kids, and gave back to the community when they needed help the most.

@Paul Kryder Sure. It's different when you're a celebrity like Unitas though. Several famous people don't always set the standard because they feel privileged due to their status, and Unitas just showed that he's a normal human like anyone else.

@Paul Kryder because the off the field part of the player reveals their character as a person and therefore their character on the field with teammates and opponents

Paul Kryder bruh you being so complicated hes just sayin he had a family and was normal even having an abnormal status.

George Wagner Unitas was a class act!! He changed the game he defined the QB position

He blocked downfield too all the time until he blew his knee out in 65.

Well said, ur text brought tears to my eyes. Such passion!!!

Andrew luck :(

Johnny said that record back in the day. When there was no quarterback protections. And a defensive back and bump and run the receiver. Until the ball wast thrown in the air

Indeed, Grandpa Simpson!

thejmmx1

*scrolls through comments incase someone has already said it* DAMN IT!

The perfect flattop. Funny thing, I saw a young boy of 8 to 10 years of age with a Johnny U hair cut. It's 2018!! I was stunned.

@@acewilliams7917 lmao 🤣

I couldn't have said it better. Well said!

A perfect summarization of the great Johnny U--the Father of all QBs

Bravo!

You can't leave out Bill Russell. He won all but the 1967 NBA championship in the 1960s.

@@jessebanda4953 i would not dispute that, he was also a great commentator. I think anyone who lived back in that era realize how special it was. The athletes loved the game and gave the fans a real treat, nowdays....i just quit watching.

@@jessebanda4953 or Arnold Palmer

Pelé was no.1 in the 60s

Jim's Stuff A lot of people forgot about Elgin Baylor. That man was the orginal high flyer

I had the same disease!!!

lol.. I was Jerry West, Larry Bird and Havlicek. I was Bradshaw. I was Rose and Mays.

I remember that game. It was the final game of the 1972 season if I am not mistaken. Of course the Dolphins shut out the Colts that day, but it was definitely a moment.

Jean Griffin no

Don Hutson

Walter: Over the line!!!

The GOAT. By far

@@mauriciobuendia8345 Life long Pats fan here, will agree with your first part, not sure about the by far part.

Hey, I can’t disagree with that. Worth a great debate however.

Its why I still call Otto Graham, Jonny Unitas and so on the greats! I think most modern QB's would have failed big time in a game of the same concept. Less protection (gear wise). All hits where okay and the list goes on.

Ron Fili maybe you would see the bad QBs from this era dominate in the past.. ever wonder why the most popular position.. the one that almost every kid wants to play growing up is the hardest one to find.. for some reason the nfl can't have 32 really good QBs.. maybe if some of the busts called their own plays they wouldn't be considered busts...but then again the game has really changed and sped up.. the athletes of this era are way more dominant..

Gregory Haynes you just disrespected every defensive athlete in the nfl.. I'd rather take hits back then than now.. however I'm not talking about every athlete from back then so calm down

Gregory Haynes yes... But with new technology players of this era can be bigger faster stronger than players from past.. however u take players from back then and give them the same resources then they could reach a whole new ceiling that they never had before..

Joe Sanders I really don't.. understand... Why you need... All.. the periods.. between.. your words and.. sentences.. like is one.. not enough..?

The irony is that it caused such a stir when Joe Namath wore white shoes. Then again, he did that in the AFL, and if he didn't, the No Fun League would probably still be making everyone wear black high-top cleats.

Exactly

@@cobracmr4 That’s why, even though I like Brees, I was pissed when he broke Unitas’ record. Brees plays in an era where you can pass, pass, and pass some more with the rules against the defense working in your favor. He doesn’t deserve the record, to me it’ll always be Johnny’s

Agreed. Plus many of today's QBs are being coached in a professional manner in college so a lot of them transition better to the NFL. In the past many had to learn in the school of hard knocks for a few years and some never recovered from horrendous early experiences, especially ones with bad teams. When I think of Johnny Unitas I automatically think LEGEND. The numbers were there for his time. He's the template from which every QB who exudes quiet confidence and grace under pressure is cut. There were great quarterbacks before him that were clutch as well and important in the evolution of the position (Luckman, Baugh, Layne, Graham, Van Brocklin). But Unitas was the right man at the right time. His career exploits intersected perfectly with the rising popularity of television. His Colts introduced fans to the excitement of professional football via a dramatic sudden death OT victory. Shortly after the Packers dynasty began and pro football's popularity mushroomed. Unitas and those late 50s Colts teams are the crucial link to what the NFL has become today. Greatness isn't just about numbers or the size and strength of players from one era to another. NFL history would have a huge hole in it without Johnny Unitas. It would be like trying to tell the history of rock and roll without Chuck Berry.

Well as to preparation and how QBs and receivers work together, Raymond Berry had a lot to do with this. A very good book that includes this is The Best Game Ever by Mark Bowden. @ Jose Dopwell Agree, and I like the analogy about Chuck Berry!

Couldn't agree more! The greatest of all time in my humble opinion. And he did it all with humility and grace. Rare to find that anymore.

65 TD passes in a Season ; )

@@drumlover1687 unitas was a bum .overrated

And his last name is Unitas

+Cade7501 manziel

Cleveland 216 the exit is on the right

Cleveland 216 CFL doesn’t count.

And that name is Unitas!

Lol Bradshaw? Hahahhaaha

Bradshaw is overrated even with 4 rings

Drew Brees 54 tds has held the record since 2012, then Brady 52 and peyton with 51 games in row throwing a TD

​@Yung Ec the game is so different. They didn't pass the ball nearly as much bro. It's like comparing having a million dollars in 1930 to today. You just can't compare

​@@yungecYou can't even compare the eras. You need to learn the game kid.

@@larrylinguine The original comment said the record still stood so he was just correcting it

Top 5

Gerald Beasley Perfect analogy. Johnny U.🏈👍

Namath shouldn't even be mentioned. He doesn't belong in that class. And interestingly enough, Unitas had no respect for him. He didn't think he was a good QB. I didn't either. His footage is littered with game crushing interceptions.

Unitas, Lombardi, Jerry Rice, and Lawrence Taylor for my football Mt. Rushmore.

Him Hutson Bill and Bill

BlitzinLB27 1 player stands alone with 6 rings

BlitzinLB27 Jim brown

@Colts fan4 Life stop.

Ravens fan from Pennsylvania here. That being said the Colts relocation was the result of failed attempts to replace Memorial Stadium with a more appropriate stadium. I don't agree with Mr Irsay moving the Colts but it's time City Hall in Baltimore and Maryland government in Annapolis steps up and takes responsibility for their mistakes. The thing that activates me is that the Baltimore Colts and Indianapolis Colts are considered the same team. Baltimore Colts should have been declared defunct and Indianapolis Colts should be considered established in 1984. With all rights to the team's history remaining in Baltimore.

@@randomtraveler9854 I agree I think what should have happened is they should have been able to move but the name and the history stays with Baltimore and then Baltimore we get the Colts again similar to what happened when the Browns moved to Baltimore ironically but Cleveland kept everything because the Colts were just such a historic franchise same with the Browns that's why they got to keep their history but it was the 80 so it was a different time then the late 90s

@@kingolight The problem was Jimmy Irsay. He could have righted a wrong and when the Browns relocated to Baltimore he should have given back the Colts name and colors for our new team.

Baltimore Colts, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Patriots!

@@randomtraveler9854 Or, they could have done what every other league in every other country does and build their own stadium. This move led to the bankrupting of countless cities and a worse quality of life. If cities can't afford decent schools, they don't need to be shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars of corporate welfare.

I am from Mexico, I did not see him play but my dad and one of my uncles did, and they said that he was the best QB ever!!! my uncle remember those hi top sneakers and his brush hair cut!! Mr. Claude White: Glad of reading your comments, you are really someone that knows about foot ball. Regards.

Claude White 👍👍

If you want to know the power of Johnny Unitas like Claudes saying here, Johnny Unitas had been essentially relegated to a injury backup role to the NFL's MVP Morall in that Jets superbowl victory. He had been beaten up severely in his career at times for a guy with his body type so it was natural to break down. The coach however pulled the *MVP of the league out* and put Unitas in to create a spark. That's the type of confidence he inspired in people. He had his # retired by two teams, and when the Ravens brought a team back to Baltimore they added his name to their ring of honor.

There's a little more than Unitas being `relegated' to a backup role to Earl Morrell. Unitas missed the entire 1968 season save one game, due to injury and the Colts went 13-1, steamrolling the Browns in the NFC Championship. I may be mistaken, but I believe the only game the Colts lost prior to Super Bowl III was the only game Unitas played in the regular season, a 30-20 loss to the Browns. So with Unitas injured, they called on the journeyman Earl Morrell who as you said, became the league MVP in 1968. But in the Superbowl, turnovers and Namath's quick passes kept the Colts on their back foot all day, before Shula called on #19.. Interestingly enough, that same Earl Morrell stepped in for an injured Bob Griese in 1972, leading the Dolphins to 11 straight wins and a perfect 14-0 record.

You hit on all the things that separate him from the rest--clearly the finest of the early years.

Jim Cushman indeed and john Mackey excellent hands , just a legendary team

Mackey came along a bit later, but he sure helped the late 60's and early 70's Colts.

58 Champ game, greatest ever; key play in that game, was a 3rd down run by Frank Gifford, that he claimed was mismarked and forced them to punt; what a great drive Unitas engineered, to get the tying score, and send the game to OT

Now that's a Hall of Fame team if ever I heard one.

OUR BALTIMORE COLTS….!!!!!!

Tom brady is EASILY better than Johnny

lol

No.. but he’s top 5

It’s 2021 and he’s now #7 because Brady has parked himself at #1 and pushed everyone in the top 20 back a spot

@@zacharytaylor3178 If John was playing now with todays rules he would be back on top. He also spent lots of time on the disabled list and had surgery that was ancient in technique. He played less games with shorter seasons and more running attempts per game than now. His highest salary was 140 grand a year. He would be 50 million a year plus now. I defend him all the time because he was my childhood idol and he did nice things for my dad when he was dying of cancer.

That's a pretty good point. Peyton's greatest skill in my opinion, was his ability to read the defense and put his offense in the right play for that defense.

James Wilson who is then other than Montana? Don't say Brady he isn't top 5

Lol Brady isn't top 5? That's laughable. Brees, Manning, Brady, Montana, Marino, Rodgers or Elway could be there. But Brady is and it's not close.

@@adamsheets2118 This list was made in 2010,Brady had only 3 rings...

luukas Turunen yes but that comment was made in 2019. Brady is the undisputed greatest of all time there’s really not an argument anymore