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In my, nearly, 35 years of watching NFL football, it seems that I can just about name you all of the great NFL quarterbacks to come and go from the NFL during those years, but what about those notable back-up QBs who were able to come off the bench and win your team games while the starter was out? Here are few names that come to mind, past and present. Maybe you can add onto this list!
1. Vince Evans
2. Charlie Batch
3. Jeff Hostetler
4. Jay Schroeder * (Kind of a iffy pick since he did take over as starter, but came in off the bench and lead the Redskins to a win over the Giants in 1986.)
5. Gary Hogeboom
6. Kirk Cousins (He's going to be a starter someday)
7. Frank Reich
8. Don Strock
9. Steve DeBurg
10. Doug Flutie??
Who else??? We could choose the obvious, Tom Brady, Kurt Warner, Steve Young...but I would put them on the list of the best QBs in the league, not just backups.
Morrall played 20 seasons in the NFL (1956 to 1975) and for the first 12 years played on clubs (49ers, Steelers, Lions, Giants) that never played in a playoff game-pretty much average clubs, some worse than average. He only started in 2 seasons, was basically a backup. Morrall, who in 1968 was traded to Baltimore, got a chance when Johnny Unitas had to sit out the 1968 season with an elbow injury. What did Morrall do? Lead the Colts to SB-III. Was named NFL Player Of The Year that year.
Fast forward to 1972. A lot of people forget that Morrall came in to keep the Miami Dolphin season winning streak alive when Bob Griese was injured early in the season. The streak kept going as Griese returned close to playoff time. Miami got their perfect season, and Morrall's leadership had a lot to do with that. Though Csonka, Kiick, and Mercury Morris set up a hell of a running game, Morrall still passed for 1360 yards, coming in with a quarterback rating of 91.0. For his career, Morrall passed for 20,809 yards.
Livingston played 11 seasons in the AFL/NFL as HOFer Len Dawson's backup. As a rookie Livingston took over the Chiefs role as #1 quarterback as Dawson went down in week #3 of the 1969 season and backup Jacky Lee the next week, IIRC. Livingston kept the club going until Dawson could come back. IIRC Dawson came back around week 10 when the Chiefs beat the Broncos 31-17. Livingston passed for 1164 yards on seven starts.
The Raiders consistently stayed one game up on the Chiefs until the AFL Championship game. In the final year of the AFL, the Chiefs came into the league as a wildcard and beat the raiders 17-7. Livingston had a big hand in that season. His performance was similar to Earl Morrall with one notable exception. Morrall was a 12 year vet-Livingston was a rookie. The Chiefs later played the Vikings in SB-IV and beat them 23-7. Livingston's role with the Chiefs that year was HUGE!
Stan Humphries lead the chargers to a Superbowl appearance, well he did become the starter ehhh
How about Chris Chandler, he like Stan Humphries
Marc Bulger, Mark Brunell, Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer all come to mind
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