In the past three decades it is been proven that the key to winning a superbowl is drafting a great rookie quarterback. The reason why so many teams spend so many first round draft picks on a quarterback is that all of the team general managers know that without a quarterback the odds are significantly stacked against winning a superbowl. The only team that has won a superbowl with a “average” quarterback was the 2002 Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens were an anomaly because they had a once in a lifetime defense. The strength of their defense was able to overcome and shortcomings of their quarterback position.

What is missing from many people who have made this argument is that sometimes the superbowl propels the young quarterback to greatness. If you look at the last ten years quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Eli Manning have used the superbowl victory to propel their careers on to greatness. This is a first of a series of posts related to this topic.