OranjelloJones says:

Come on edgy...seriously?

Aikman's numbers pale in comparison to the statistically greatest passer of all time. He also played on a team that had a much better defense, arguably the greatest O line of all time (although as a Skins fan I'd argue against that with the 91 team), ridiculous talent at 3 WR slots and borderline HOF talent at TE.

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You're kididng, right?

AT MOST, he had 1 guy with ridiculous talent at WR, Michael Irvin and he didn't get to being "Michael Irvin" until Aikman's 3rd season. The next best was Alvin Harper and he didn't get good until HIS second season and they were only together for 3 years. After that, it was a parade of guys and only Anthony Miller was decent and he didn't stay for more than a year. NEVER did he ever have 2, let along 3 guys at WR with ridiculous talent. Compare that to Mark Duper and Mark Clayton and later McDuffie and Fryar.

Yes, he had a damn good TE but here's a secret that you may not be aware of, he was NEVER the leading receiver for TE for the Cardinals in his 5 years (Marsh and then later, Awalt, were). He caught 1, 1, 20, 38 and 23 passes in 5 years with the Cardinals and in his first two years with the Cowboys, he passed his Cardinal totals. Seems like Novacek benefited a lot by moving to Dallas. Marino wasn't bereft of talent at TE and most of the time, they had a couple of pass catchers but Keith Jackson was there for 3 years and Hardy and Johnson were a pretty good duo.

As for the crack about the OL, you're out of your mind. The Cowboys were better run blocks but they were terrible pass blockers, which is why Aikman had so many concussions. People talk about Marino's release but he was barely touched on the plays that took longer to develop because he had the best pass blocking line in the NFL and they were weaker at run blocking. Give him the Cowboys OL and he's have spent more time on the sidelines like Aikman.

Aikman could have done better on a team with a different philosophy and if you can't see that, you don't know anything. The guy had a hell of an arm, he was accurate and he didn't try to show everyone that he could throw it between 2 and 3 defenders (and be proven wrong) like some guys. Far from being a caretaker, he made it possible just as much for Emmit to be a success as Emmitt made it for him to be a success. He, not Smith or Irvin, was the MVP of the Super Bowl when he threw for 273 yards and 4 TDs and he threw for 322 and 2 TDs against the 49ers in the NFC Championship. The biggest thing that he did was sacrifice in the red zone. He rarely threw an interception in the red zone but he also didn't throw as many TDs as other did (but they were picked off more). In terms of +/-, he had an edge over other QBs because he might throw 1 pick while they might throw 6 or 8. His QB rating in the red zone was the best of any QB that played in the league when he did. His lifetime passer rating was hurt by the fact that he didn't throw as many TDs as the other guys but that came at a price that he was willing to pay - WINNING. The injuries took their toll but he still retired with a decent QB rating AND his lifetime playoff rating is HIGHER than his regular season, something that Marino can't say.