The entire Detroit Lions All-Time team will factor in their first four seasons as the Portsmouth Spartans. The players/coaches/front office will not factor into this because it is hard to figure out what these players would have done statistically in a different environment. Also, the era they played against will not be factored into this for the same reason. A player’s potential will not be factored into this. A player could stop playing at any given moment for a multitude of reasons so a player’s potential is not important here. Where a player was drafted, how they were acquired, how they left, their attitude, or any off-field issues are not relevant to this conversation and will not be discussed. Three Quarterbacks will be selected with a starter, backup, and third string.

The guidelines for how I have determined these are presented in the original All-Time Teams article here.

The Candidates and Their Top Arguments

• Matthew Stafford: All-Time leader in nearly every passing statistic
• Bobby Layne: three-time NFL Champ, Hall of Famer, 1950s All-Decade Team
• Greg Landry: one-time All-Pro and 1976 Comeback Player of the Year
• Eric Hipple: 1986 Completion Percentage Leader
• Tobin Rote: one-time NFL Champ, top two in Lions playoff history in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and completion percentage.
• Scott Mitchell: Top ten in every major passing category and two playoff appearances
• Gary Danielson: Top five in Passing Yards and Passing Touchdowns
• Dutch Clark: one-time NFL Champ, 1930s All-Decade Team, and six-time All-Pro

Inflated Career Statistics to 2022

First, we will look at the career numbers of each player inflated to 2022. I could go over every statistic known about each player but, instead of going into detail in this section, I will tell you what I did. I ranked each player based on their regular season numbers in completion percentage, passing yards, passing yards per season, passing yards per game, passing yards per attempt, passing touchdowns, passing touchdowns per season, passing touchdowns per game, interception percentage, interceptions, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and playoff numbers in each of those same categories. After determining the rankings of each statistic, I determined an average ranking for each Quarterback and found that this is the ranking of each Quarterback statistically:

1. Matthew Stafford

2. Bobby Layne

3. Greg Landry

4. Scott Mitchell

5. Gary Danielson

6. Dutch Clark

7. Tobin Rote

8. Eric Hipple

League Leaders

• Bobby Layne has led the league in completion percentage once, passing yards twice, and passing touchdowns once.
• Eric Hipple has led the league in completion percentage once.
• Dutch Clark has led the league in rushing touchdowns three times.

Award Winners

• Matthew Stafford:
  • 1 Pro Bowl
  • 1 Comeback Player of the Year
• Bobby Layne:
  • 5 All-Pros
  • 5 Pro Bowls
  • 1950s All-Decade Team
• Greg Landry:
  • 1 All-Pro
  • 1 Pro Bowl
  • 1 Comeback Player of the Year
• Dutch Clark:
  • 6 All-Pros
  • 1930s All-Decade Team
  • 100th Anniversary Team
  • The first Pro Bowl/All-Star Game did not begin until 1938 and from 1943 to 1950 there were no Pro Bowls or All-Stars so 6 years of possible Pro Bowls/All-Stars are missing for Clark.

Postseason Success

• Matthew Stafford:
  • 3 Playoff Appearances
  • 0-3 as a starter
• Bobby Layne:
  • 3 playoff appearances
  • 3-1 as a starter
  • 2-1 in championship games
  • 1 championship not starting
• Greg Landry:
  • 0-1 as a starter
• Eric Hipple:
  • 0-1 as a starter
• Tobin Rote:
  • 1 playoff appearance
  • 2-0 as a Starter
  • 1-0 in championships
• Scott Mitchell:
  • 2 playoff appearances
  • 0-2 as a starter
• Gary Danielson: 
  • 0-1 as a starter
• Dutch Clark:
  • 1-0 as a starter
  • Won Championship

Longevity to Dominance Ratio

• Matthew Stafford played 12 Seasons and had 9 Quality Seasons
• Bobby Layne played 9 Seasons and had 7 Quality Seasons
• Greg Landry played 11 seasons and had 3 quality seasons
• Eric Hipple played 9 seasons and had 3 quality seasons
• Tobin Rote played 3 seasons and had 2 quality seasons
• Scott Mitchell played 5 seasons and had 3 quality seasons
• Gary Danielson played 8 seasons and had 3-4 Quality seasons
• Dutch Clark played 6 Seasons and had 3 Quality Seasons

Final Verdict

Starting Quarterback:

Bobby Layne is where the history of this franchise lies. He is statistically the second best, no other QB in team history has led the league in more major categories, he is the second best when it comes to awards, no other QB has had better postseason success, and he is the second best when it comes to longevity and dominance. He put this team on the map in the 1950s as one of the league’s greatest teams and in hindsight led to the downfall of the franchise by trading him. Detroit has not been the same since. Only Erik Kramer has won a playoff game for the Lions since Bobby Layne left.

Backup Quarterback:

Matthew Stafford rejuvenated this team at the Quarterback position for the first time since Layne was traded. He is statistically the best Quarterback in team history and is the best when it comes to longevity and dominance. The issue is the success he has had. He never led the league in any major categories. Stafford has only been named to one Pro Bowl and once was named Comeback Player of the Year. He led the Lions to the Playoffs three times but like nearly every Quarterback since Layne left, he has been unable to help win a playoff game. He has done more than enough to be in the conversation but not enough for the top spot. I still believe being in this spot is an honor.

Third String Quarterback:

Dutch Clark helped Detroit appear in and win their first championship. He was an option Quarterback labeled by most sites as a Tailback. He technically could be placed in either the Quarterback or Running Back parts of the Lions All-Time Team but because he is a Quarterback on the All-Pro and  All-Decade Teams then he will be considered one here. Clark is statistically one of the worst of the group but excels in the rushing department. He led the league in rushing touchdowns three times and was given all-pro honors six times. His awards and postseason success put him in the convo for the best and carried him past all the other Quarterbacks considered for this team.

Honorable Mentions:

• Greg Landry is carried by a long career but lacks any league or postseason success to push him in with the top three Quarterbacks.
• Gary Danielson has the same argument as Greg Landry but has not played as long and has no awards to his name.

-Jordan Burden