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Wednesday Round-Up: Pete Carroll, Mike Holmgren Help Rank The Best Quarterbacks Since 1978

Current Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and former Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren joined eight other Super Bowl champion coaches and executives to come up with a list of the greatest quarterbacks since 1978.

Good afternoon, 12s.

Here's a look at what's "out there" for today - Wednesday, July 19 - about your Seattle Seahawks: 

The Game's Greatest QBs

In an exercise over at ESPN.com, former Seahawks reporter and current NFL Insider Mike Sando enlisted the help of current Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and former Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren to establish a list of the best quarterbacks since 1978, a year when, as Sando notes, "the NFL ushered in a new era by changing blocking and coverage rules to open up the passing game."

On Sando's panel, Carroll and Holmgren joined Tony Dungy, Howard Mudd, Wade Phillips, Mike Reinfeldt, Ray Rhodes, Mike Shanahan, Al Saunders, and Norv Turner. The group possess a combined 330 seasons of NFL experience and each one of them is a Super Bowl champion.

Rankings were determined by how often each quarterback outranked the others who received votes across all 10 ballots, with Tom Brady coming in at No. 1, Peyton Manning at No. 2, Joe Montana at No. 3, John Elway at No. 4, Aaron Rodgers at No. 5, Dan Marino and Brett Favre tied for No. 6, Steve Young at No. 8, Drew Brees at No. 9, and Dan Fouts at No. 10.

Here's what Carroll and Holmgren had to say about a few of the game's greatest QBs:

Joe Montana

Carroll:Joe would not necessarily play as well in other guys' systems, like an Ernie Zampese system. I think it was Joe in that Bill Walsh system that made him, but Montana is still No. 1 for me because I think he was the best player. He won games in more ways than the other guys at the very top because he could move.

Holmgren:One, he was maybe the most accurate passer I have ever seen. Two, he played his absolute best on the biggest stages. That is why he was No. 1 for me.

Dan Fouts

Carroll: Fouts was phenomenally accurate and played the game like a championship guy plays games. He had great awareness and understanding of the game. He threw a lot of difficult stuff and was able to do it in that Ernie Zampese offense. It was the same style of offense that Troy Aikman had in Dallas, but Fouts never had the running game, the defense, the other stuff. And he was so tough. The game ain't at all like it used to be in that regard. Everybody got hit harder, everybody got hit more -- at all the positions, and the quarterback, for sure. They had to be fricking studs then. I'm not saying they are soft now. They just don't get hit as much.

Brett Favre

Holmgren: Brett is the contrast quarterback to Manning and Brady for how he played the game. You could make a case that, while he played within an offensive system, he ad-libbed a lot. It helped him a great majority of the time and hurt him some. Those other guys were more robotic. All these guys are tough, but Brett's record of playing in all those games cannot be overlooked.

Outside the Top 10, the group placed Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner tied for No. 11, Troy Aikman at No. 13, Warren Moon at No. 14, and Jim Kelly at No. 15.

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Tweet Of The Day

Today's "Tweet of the Day" comes from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which shares a photo of its Class of 2017 banners going up at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Seahawks Legend Kenny Easley is featured on one of the banners next to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

More From Around The Web

Russell Wilson is in China for a series of youth and fan events this week and you can follow the Seahawks quarterback at his new website, TraceMe.com.

As former Seattle safety Kenny Easley awaits his Hall of Fame enshrinement in early August, the Seahawks Legend recently recalled a vivid dream he had the night before learning he would become part of the Class of 2017.

With fantasy football drafts fast approaching, Scott Engel at RotoExperts.com previews and ranks the running back position.

710Sports.com comments on tight end Jimmy Graham, who comes in at No. 9 on the station's list of the most-intriguing Seahawks heading into training camp.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is in China this week leading a series of youth events with Nike and Alibaba Group. Follow his journey at his new website, TraceMe.com.

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2025 Pro Bowl Voting Is Now Open!

2025 Pro Bowl Voting Is Now Open!

Vote for your favorite Seahawks players to send them to the 2025 Pro Bowl in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, February 2nd.

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