Worst Steelers QB of All TIme

[NorthCoast]

Can't say that I'd argue with the pick but the writeup is right, it's hard to follow a HOF QB and look good doing it.

Fingers crossed KP isn't another Mark Malone......

We love Malone's thoughtful and insightful analysis on television, but sometimes, the best analysts are the ones who couldn't produce on-field success. To be fair, the Steelers have had a robust number of great quarterbacks in their heydays, and Malone wasn't so much untalented as he was unlucky to just miss the exceptional dynasty days and take over the starting job from Terry Bradshaw, which he did in 1984.

But Malone?s 46-start tenure with the Steelers netted just three postseason games in an era where the Steelers became a religion in Western Pennsylvania.



NFL career: 10 seasons (1980-89)

Other teams: San Diego Chargers (198, New York Jets (1989)

Career stats: 73 G, 23-30 record, 50.9 CMP%, 10,175 YDS, 60 TDs, 81 INTs

Stats with Steelers: 60 G, 21-24 record, 50.2 CMP%, 8,582 YDS, 54 TDs, 68 INTs

Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0

https://www.stadiumtalk.com/s/worst-...utm_source=msn

[Chucktownsteeler]

My vote is split between Kent Graham and Jim Miller.

No, KP8 is not another Mark Malone. Malone was a hell-a-va QB and athlete before he blew his knee.

[whisper]

Well, I'm gonna take this to mean "one of the worst in the modern era" which starts in the 70's up until now. I really am not qualified to judge any QBs before that, not is there really a need to, considering pre-70's, it was a different game. I'm not really qualified to judge the 70's either. I guess all you need to know is 70's was Bradshaw, end of list.

And Malone was bad, there is no hiding his won/loss record. He was a solid athlete, just not a good QB.
As far as others, are we to include those who barely played like Franken-Graham? If so, he was near top of the list as one of the worst.

Bubby Brister wasn't very good, but I've seen worst.
Kordell was one of the worst as far as a full-time starter (more than a year).
O'Donnell was serviceable (when not throwing Super Bowls).
Maddox had one decent year.
Tomczak was probably near average. Cowher squeezed all the wins out of him that you could.

[Dwinsgames]

My vote is split between Kent Graham and Jim Miller.

No, KP8 is not another Mark Malone. Malone was a hell-a-va QB and athlete before he blew his knee.

I cant say Jim Miller , I mean he started just 1 game.............

Graham was horrible but just 5 starts so still kinda hard as bad as it was the sample size was small .....

so for me it has to be Cliff Stoudt that 83 season where he had 15 starts he tossed 12 tds and 21 int's with just a 51% completion percentage ....

[Steel Maniac]

I cant say Jim Miller , I mean he started just 1 game.............

Graham was horrible but just 5 starts so still kinda hard as bad as it was the sample size was small .....

so for me it has to be Cliff Stoudt that 83 season where he had 15 starts he tossed 12 tds and 21 int's with just a 51% completion percentage ....

Kordell Stewart..

Because he teased and wasted away some good teams that could have made an additional Super Bowl or two. He did what LJ is doing in Baltimore right now.

Any QB that waste away other wise great teams are the worse to me. At least afterward, we knew to move on from Cliff Stoudt and Jim Miller....but a QB that teases & waste away championship level teams over some years?And never delivers (because run first QB's NEVER delivery) are the worse in my book.

[Chucktownsteeler]

I cant say Jim Miller , I mean he started just 1 game.............

Graham was horrible but just 5 starts so still kinda hard as bad as it was the sample size was small .....

so for me it has to be Cliff Stoudt that 83 season where he had 15 starts he tossed 12 tds and 21 int's with just a 51% completion percentage ....

Come on now, that's our Youngstown buddy.

[Dwinsgames]

Come on now, that's our Youngstown buddy.

I liked him better when he was at YSU lol

[NorthCoast]

I cant say Jim Miller , I mean he started just 1 game.............

Graham was horrible but just 5 starts so still kinda hard as bad as it was the sample size was small .....

so for me it has to be Cliff Stoudt that 83 season where he had 15 starts he tossed 12 tds and 21 int's with just a 51% completion percentage ....

Yea, the coaches didn't even bother with another season for him (cut him). I think he went into hiding for a couple of seasons after the 83 ugliness.

[whisper]

I cant say Jim Miller , I mean he started just 1 game.............

Graham was horrible but just 5 starts so still kinda hard as bad as it was the sample size was small .....

so for me it has to be Cliff Stoudt that 83 season where he had 15 starts he tossed 12 tds and 21 int's with just a 51% completion percentage ....

Yea, Cliff was bad, but to be fair, in those days a 50-some completion % wasn't bad, low 50's still was. And 12 TDs compared to 21 ints is really bad; not winnable football in any era.

[whisper]

Yea, the coaches didn't even bother with another season for him (cut him). I think he went into hiding for a couple of seasons after the 83 ugliness.

It was after the '96 ugliness, not '83. But he did disappear for 3 years after, until '99.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MillJi00.htm

But he went on to Chicago where he was decent for a little while (2001). I remember thinking, "Is that the same Jim Miller that was in Pgh?"

[Dwinsgames]

It was after the '96 ugliness, not '83. But he did disappear for 3 years after, until '99.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MillJi00.htm

But he went on to Chicago where he was decent for a little while (2001). I remember thinking, "Is that the same Jim Miller that was in Pgh?"

we're talking about Stoudt not Miller at that point

[Chucktownsteeler]

I cant say Jim Miller , I mean he started just 1 game.............

Graham was horrible but just 5 starts so still kinda hard as bad as it was the sample size was small .....

Their small sample size should tell you how bad they sucked.

[DrCalculus]

Yea, the coaches didn't even bother with another season for him (cut him). I think he went into hiding for a couple of seasons after the 83 ugliness.

Some tidbits about Stoudt: He held the record for most career games without a game appearance from 1977 to 1979 (56 games on the active roster without a single play or even holding for kicks). Started for the Steelers after Bradshaw's elbow forced him into retirement and played adequately to start the season with a 9-2 record. Went 1-4 down the stretch and got smacked out of the playoffs by the eventual champion Raiders.

Moved on to play QB alongside former Bills RB Joe Cribbs for the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL for a couple of seasons. Led their division with a 14-4 record in 1984 before losing in semifinals to eventual champion Philadelphia Stars, then again led the division with a 13-5 record in 1985 before again losing in the semifinals to the same Stars team, after the champs had relocated to Baltimore. Best record for a starting QB in those two seasons (better than Jim Kelly, Doug Flutie, and Steve Young) with a reasonably decent stat line --- over 6400 yds passing, with 60 TD and 26 INT. He was definitely a better QB in Spring football than he showed in his lone year as Steelers starter (remember there were many more NFL caliber players in the USFL in its original iteration --- NFL vets and recent draftees chased bigger contracts handed out by wealthy owners and led to a much better quality product than the current version). Then the league folded and Pittsburgh traded his rights to the Cardinals and he bounced around the league holding a clipboard for another 2+ years.

But alas, he was pretty wretched down the stretch for his Steelers tenure.

[pczach]

Some tidbits about Stoudt: He held the record for most career games without a game appearance from 1977 to 1979 (56 games on the active roster without a single play or even holding for kicks). Started for the Steelers after Bradshaw's elbow forced him into retirement and played adequately to start the season with a 9-2 record. Went 1-4 down the stretch and got smacked out of the playoffs by the eventual champion Raiders.

Moved on to play QB alongside former Bills RB Joe Cribbs for the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL for a couple of seasons. Led their division with a 14-4 record in 1984 before losing in semifinals to eventual champion Philadelphia Stars, then again led the division with a 13-5 record in 1985 before again losing in the semifinals to the same Stars team, after the champs had relocated to Baltimore. Best record for a starting QB in those two seasons (better than Jim Kelly, Doug Flutie, and Steve Young) with a reasonably decent stat line --- over 6400 yds passing, with 60 TD and 26 INT. He was definitely a better QB in Spring football than he showed in his lone year as Steelers starter (remember there were many more NFL caliber players in the USFL in its original iteration --- NFL vets and recent draftees chased bigger contracts handed out by wealthy owners and led to a much better quality product than the current version). Then the league folded and Pittsburgh traded his rights to the Cardinals and he bounced around the league holding a clipboard for another 2+ years.

But alas, he was pretty wretched down the stretch for his Steelers tenure.

Let's not forget my favorite memory of Cliff Stoudt. He broke his hand while in a bar using a punching machine. He swung at the bag and his fist glanced off the bag and broke his forearm on a holding stand! You can't make stuff like that up.

Yeahhhhh.......Good times!

Here is a funny article about him and what a character he was. Plus a mention of the dreaded broken arm by punching a machine in a bar.

https://vault.si.com/vault/1984/03/19/a-time-for-the-stoudt-of-heart#:~:text=Stoudt%20fumbled%20a%20chance%20to,ulna%20of%20his%20throwing%20arm.

And another about the incident:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1981/11/10/no-urban-cowboy-stoudt-cant-sling-any-ball/9d80d4ca-11ab-4f2a-b421-5f2dfffabaa7/

["BuzzNuter"]

Mark Malone played WR for the Steelers during his first year. He had a 95 yd TD reception. Mark was fast as a QB in college. He tore his ACL and I think that ruined his career.

Without a doubt Cliff Stoudt was the worst QB for the Steelers in the modern era. As I remember it, we went 9-2 and lost the last 5 in a row with him as QB in 83? I believe that was the year we went up to the Polo Grounds and played the Jets in the first playoff game . Terry Bradshaw played a half I believe and threw 2 TD passes to lead us to victory.That , I believe was his last game. For some reason I blame Cliff Stoudt for us not drafting Danny Marino.
Cliff Stoudt was BAD.