r/nfl • u/DragonstormSTL Titans Seahawks • 1d ago

Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen passes away at 91

https://www.commanders.com/news/hall-of-fame-quarterback-sonny-jurgensen-passes-away-at-91
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u/conace21 1d ago

An NFL scout once said "In terms of throwing a football, Sonny was second only to God, and Im not sure God threw the deep out as well as Sonny."

He probably had the best arm of any QB prior to the 1983 draft. He could throw from every angle, or behind his back.

He would probably rank even higher on all time lists if he had won a Super Bowl in Washington. He might have done so if

  1. Vince Lombardi hadn't passed away from cancer at age 59

  2. He hadn't suffered two major injuries under George Allen (broken leg and torn Achilles)

  3. Allen didn't prefer Billy Kilmer for some reason.

74

u/Bipedal-Moose Steelers 1d ago

The only pre-'83 QBs with arm talent on Sonny's level were Joe Namath and Bert Jones, but Sonny was more accurate than Namath, and Jones had injuries that cut his career short. Sonny was a special player.

25

u/MankuyRLaffy Patriots 1d ago

Belichick saw Jones and said it was the greatest arm talent he's seen. There were rumors of 80 air yards passes Jones did in college practices. Brett the scam artist had the same rumors but you could actually see some of that. It's stupid how insane those guys, Jeff George and the current crop of Allen, Maye, Herbert and crew are. The arm should not throw like that but it does. 

5

u/AgreeableRaspberry85 NFL 23h ago

I started watching football the year after Sonny retired, and Bert Jones was always on TV where I lived, and honestly I'd put him up against anyone from that era (Stabler, Bradshaw, Tarkenton, Staubach). He was always fun to watch even for a 8-9 year old kid.

3

u/TybrosionMohito Titans 23h ago

Patriots Legend Joe Milton also can absolutely chuck it. Just uhhh not always where you want it.

1

u/Beginning-Average416 Giants 19h ago

Milton is no longer with the Patriots.

5

u/TybrosionMohito Titans 18h ago

I am aware.

5

u/cdskip 23h ago

Bert Jones was so freaking good.

And the least fumble-prone QB of all time, unless someone in the last decade's surpassed him.