QBs who made a difference

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/09/2014 (4107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bud Grant and our panel have had their say. Now it’s your turn.

The Free Press and TSN 1290 are proud to jointly announce our All-Time Bombers Team as selected by you, our readers and listeners.

Over the next nine weeks, we’ll present a position each Monday with our panel’s choices of the Top 5 Winnipeg Blue Bombers to ever play for the club at that spot. Then the voting will commence — beginning today right here.

On Friday afternoons at 4 p.m., live on TSN 1290’s Hustler and Lawless program, the Free Press and TSN 1290 websites as well as the Saturday edition of the Winnipeg Free Press we’ll announce the winner and member of the All-Time Bombers Team.

Legendary Blue Bombers player and coach Bud Grant headlines our panel. Grant was joined by former Bombers player and GM Paul Robson, Free Press sports reporter Ed Tait, Free Press columnist and TSN 1290 host Gary Lawless and TSN 1290’s Andrew “Hustler” Paterson.

Panelists were provided a statistical breakdown of the Bombers dating back to the 1950s as well as an anecdotal package of the early Bombers teams when statistics were not recorded.

Each panelist brought a unique perspective and personal set of criteria. Grant joined the group via conference call from a cabin in the Wisconsin woods while the rest huddled around a boardroom table at the Free Press.

From Grant’s gravelly voice emanating out of the telephone speaker, to Tait’s vivid recollections of games and players, to Robson’s cold analysis of a players strengths and weaknesses, to Paterson’s views from the upper decks of our stadiums, there were strong opinions all around.

Some players were quickly selected. Others were hotly debated. Sometimes it came down to a clash of eras. Others made it on the merit of championship wins while those without rings on their fingers were often set aside.

This week, it’s your turn to pick the All-Time Bombers Team quarterback.

Vote a maximum of once per day and help choose the Blue Bombers player you consider the best at the following positions to be presented in this order: Quarterback, offensive lineman, linebacker, kicker, kick returner, running back, defensive lineman, defensive back and receiver.

So pick your portal and vote. We’ve done our part. The final decisions are up to you. So vote and vote often. You’re the GM of this team. Make your choices.

The top five quarterbacks

KEN PLOEN* 1957-67

Every conversation on the greatest Blue Bomber — not just QB — includes this icon, legend and Hall of Famer. Other pivots threw harder, but all Ploen did was win games in the summer (82, most as a Bomber QB) and championships in the fall (four Grey Cups). Such a gifted athlete, he was also an all-star defensive back in 1959.

JACK JACOBS* 1950-54

They dubbed old Winnipeg Stadium ‘The House That Jack Built’ and with good reason: he was a pure passer who revolutionized the CFL game and, as a result, packed stadiums wherever he played.

DIETER BROCK* 1974-83

Nobody could chuck it like Ralph/Dieter. Won back-to-back Most Outstanding Player Awards in 1980 and 1981 and led the CFL in passing four times. He remains the club’s leader in passing yardage and TDs and is second to Ploen in wins.

TOM CLEMENTS* 1983-87

Acquired from Hamilton for Dieter Brock, Clements would lead the Bombers to a Grey Cup victory over the Ticats in 1984, ending a 22-year drought. Cerebral, mobile and quietly efficient, he was the CFL’s top player in 1987, his last as a Bomber.

KHARI JONES 2000-2004

Like Jacobs and Don Jonas before him, Jones helped breathe life into the Bombers when times were bad. His 46 TDs in 2002 is a club record (third all-time in the CFL) and he is second to Brock in passing yardage. Was the CFL’s MOP in 2001.

* Indicates member of Canadian Football Hall of Fame.