Why today’s NFL QB’s are greatly under-appreciated | Zero Blitz
Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz takes a look at the final four signal callers left standing in the NFL playoffs and explains why instead of finding every fault - fans need to focus on each of their individual greatness.
Video Transcript
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JASON FITZ: We are living in an era of underappreciated greatness when it comes to the quarterback position in the NFL, and this weekend is the worst of it. I don't know if it's debate shows. I don't know if it's 24-hour news cycle. Maybe it's social media. But through all of it, we have become a society that wants to question absolutely every ounce of greatness we see. Every time. Mahomes can't just be about the greatness of Mahomes. It can't seem to be about the fact that the Chiefs are doing things we didn't think they could do because of how bad it's looked at times this year.
It can't suddenly be, look at the greatness of Patrick Mahomes. It has to be, oh, Mahomes is no Brady. Brady's far better. You can't compare him. Mahomes isn't that good. It's all about-- insert whatever the argument is going to be here. Lamar Jackson is in a situation where he very likely is going to win his second MVP. At such a young age, it's unprecedented greatness. It puts him in incredible categories with great quarterbacks. It's a historic moment to look around and say, I got to watch Lamar play. And Mahomes versus Lamar has the opportunity to be the type of game you'll tell everybody about for generations to come. That should be what we crave, not what we crave to tear down.
And then you look at the other match-up. Having Mr. Irrelevant, the last pick in the draft, be in an NFC Championship game with this 49ers team should be a beacon of hope. It should be a beacon of light in a dark, dark world, where every fan base can look at it and say, maybe we can find our Brock Purdy. Maybe Brock can suddenly be the thing we all cling to for hope-- and instead has to be this huge debate about whether it's really Brock, or is it the people around him? Who cares? Speaking of that, Jared Goff-- nobody was excited about Jared Goff going to the Lions. Everybody has found reasons throughout his career to doubt him. Oh, McVay made him who he is.
Then we hear reports that maybe he wasn't bright enough for the offense. And all of a sudden, he finds himself with a Lions team that's been doubted at every turn. How many people are turning around right now saying, hey, Jared Goff is proof-of-concept that you can take a quarterback that maybe somebody else has given up on, and you can suddenly find that quarterback a way to win? You can suddenly build around that and find a second life.
Maybe instead of trying to find fault every single way, we can find joy. Because maybe we're watching this generation's Dan Marino. Maybe we're watching this generation's Joe Montana. Maybe we're watching the very quarterbacks that kids will grow up wanting to play like on the playground. And if we are, maybe instead of trying to find ways to tear them down, we should find ways to appreciate it, build them up, and be thankful for what we're getting to see.