Chris Simms’ latest all-time quarterback rankings are the kind of list that gets people talking fast, and Miami Dolphins fans will zero in on one thing immediately: Dan Marino came in ahead of Tom Brady.
That alone is enough to light up South Florida. Marino has been part of the GOAT debate for two decades since he retired, and while Brady is the name most people in NFL circles would put at the top, Simms pushed back in a way Dolphins fans will love.
On his Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast, Simms admitted he expected the reaction.
“ I know I’m probably going to get blowback for this right here, but Tom Brady did get afforded the luxury,” Simms said on Chris Simms Unbuttoned,
“Especially in his prime in the early years of ‘We’re not asking you to carry the team, Belichick’s gonna come up with an unbelievable defensive game plan. We’re going to run the ball and be physical, and then we just need you to be clutch at the end of the football game and do that right now.’"
Simms’ point was that Brady benefited from the setup around him, and that his success in Tampa Bay also came in a situation built for a Super Bowl run. Marino, in Simms’ view, is the type of quarterback who might have done even more in a different environment.
The ranking itself is where things get wild. Simms put Brady at No. 9 and Marino at No.
- Yes, really.
His full list went like this:
9 - Tom Brady
8- Dan Marino
7 - Lamar Jackson
6 - Josh Allen
5 - Brett Favre
4 - John Elway
3 - Aaron Rodgers
2 - Patrick Mahomes
1 - Peyton Manning
For Dolphins fans, the Marino placement is the headline. For everyone else, the bigger question is how Simms arrived at a list that has Brady outside the top eight and Marino only one spot ahead of him.
The argument for Marino is easy enough to make. He put up his numbers without much help from the running game, and in his entire NFL career, only one player - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, not the basketball legend - rushed for more than 1,000 yards. He also spent nine seasons with Tom Olivadotti calling the defense.
So yes, Dolphins fans can absolutely enjoy seeing Marino ranked above Brady. But even with that boost, Simms’ list is still going to draw plenty of eye rolls.
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