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Welcome to the latest edition of StaTuesday, where each week we'll give you a different look at sports by examining a particular statistic or numbers.
Since it was Brett Favre weekend and, really, when will we have the opportunity to legitimately talk about him again, let's take a look at some of Favre's numbers and see if he stacks up as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
First, let's agree that quarterbacking and the passing game in the NFL has changed over the years, and quite dramatically. From Bart Starr in the 1960s to Roger Staubach and Terry Bradshaw in the '70s to Dan Marino, Dan Fouts and Joe Montana in the '80s and so on up until present day, the QB position and the game itself has evolved, with passing numbers ever increasing over the years.
Nevertheless, Favre is on top -- or near the top -- of every major passing category, thanks in large part to playing until he was 41 and somehow able to play nearly every game of his 19 years in the league.
Here are the categories Favre is currently No. 1 all-time in NFL history:
Passes completed -- 6,300
Pass attempts -- 10,169
Passing yards -- 71,838
Interceptions -- 336
Times sacked -- 525
Total offense -- 70,195
Other notables:
Passing touchdowns -- 508 (2nd)
Passes completed/game -- 20.9 (11th)
Passing yards/game -- 237.9 (13th)
Completion percentage -- 62.0% (18th)
Those above statistics are obviously a tribute to his play, durability and longevity.
Now let's take a look at some other statistics. One we shouldn't look at is passer rating, which is flawed You can read more about that here, but suffice to say a look at the all-time leaders should throw up some red flags: The QBs who rank 12-15 are, in order, Chad Pennington, Daunte Culpepper and Jeff Garcia. Dan Marino is 18th. Favre is 20th . . . tied with Trent Green. Yeah, let's please ignore passer rating.
Favre does rank fifth in the Pro-Football-Reference.com's career Approximate Value statistic. His AV is 254, second only to Peyton Manning's 270. Jerry Rice is third at 250. Fran Tarkenton is the next quarterback at 236 and former Packers defensive end Reggie White is fifth at 226.
When it comes to quarterbacks and winning -- and winning close, exciting games, few did it better than Favre.
He ranks fifth all-time with 45 game-winning drives (defined as "must be an offensive scoring drive in the 4th quarter or overtime that puts the winning team ahead for the last time."). The four QBs ahead of Favre are Manning, Marino, Tom Brady and John Elway. The closest active QB is Drew Brees, with 36.
Favre also is tied with Tarkenton for sixth all-time in fourth-quarter comebacks with 30. Those ahead of Favre are Manning, Marino, Elway, Brady and Montana.
Arguments will be had if Favre was the best-ever, but there can be little debate he's in the conversation. Hall of Fame company indeed.
Oh, one more thing. Remember how Favre has been sacked the most? Here's a little more perspective on that: Favre's sack percentage (Times Sacked / (Passes Attempted + Times Sacked) was 4.91 percent -- the 16th best rate of all-time. Some stats truly are beauty in the eye of the beholder.
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