You nailed it, Vince.
I watched virtually every game Starr played in his prime. I wasn't paying attention to statistics. I watched from the point of view of purely a fan who wanted the Packers to win. I watched before all the accolades and post career analysis that tend to amplify the good and wash away the warts. Starr was no Aaron Rodgers or even Brett Favre in terms of his raw talent or physical abilities. As a pure passer, Unitas could throw circles around Starr. Starr did not have an especially quick release or a strong arm. He was not fast on his feet. In short, he was the classic case of an over-achiever, a guy who used the gifts he had to their greatest advantage.
In my opinion, Starr's greatest attributes were his character, intelligence, patience and confidence. Those qualities made him an incomparable leader. Nobody in the day was better at keeping the opposing defense off balance. You couldn't game plan against Starr, or the Packers for that matter. Everyone in the league knew what the Packers were going to do; the problem became stopping them. On the other hand, Starr could pick apart a defense, find a weakness and exploit it. You couldn't afford to make a mistake against Starr. He'd take advantage of it. The only way to neutralize Starr was to pass rush the hell out of him, and that's what opponents resorted to. Plus, I truly believe teams (and certain individual players) tried to hurt him, put him out of the game.
Which exemplifies Starr's greatest attribute of all: courage. There were games when Starr's uniform was the only one that wasn't muddied. He stood out like a sore thumb when everyone else on the team was covered with mud. Then again, there were games when Starr was simply pummeled. Teams with great pass rushes, like Chicago, the Lions, Baltimore, the Rams and Dallas gave Packer fans fits. They'd put heavy pressure on Starr, but he wouldn't panic. He'd stand in the pocket and take the sack. Or he would bravely stand tall in the face of an onrushing lineman, toss a pass at the last moment and expose his ribs to punishment. Then, he'd slowly pick himself up off the ground, make his way back to the huddle and do it over again. Starr seemed to have the ability to WILL a win.
Starr didn't wear a flak vest, at least not to my knowledge. He was often injured. Luckily, Zeke Bratkowski was waiting in the wings. Zeke was way more mobile than Starr and probably had a better arm. There were times, I confess, when we as fans wanted Zeke in there instead of Bart. We knew Bart would stand in the pocket and take a beating from the likes of Gino Marchetti, Big Daddy Lipscomb, Doug Atkins, Roger Brown or Alex Karras. We as fans didn't have Bart's patience or courage. Rather than make a mistake, Bart would eat the ball. But in the end, he'd have the last laugh, dumping off a screen to Taylor or Hornung, throwing deep downfield for a TD to Dowler or Dale on 4th and one from his own territory or calling his own number and sneaking into the end zone on the final play of the game to win a championship game. That was a stereotypical Bart Starr moment.
And no matter the beating he took or the criticism, Starr always accepted responsibility. He never threw a teammate under the bus, no matter how bad the screwup. That's why Kramer, Thurston, Gregg and company loved the guy. Never a harsh word. That's why when he did look crosswise at a player in the huddle or call him out, the player listened and responded.
I may take some heat for this, but the only guy I've seen lately with even a measure of Starr's character, tenacity, courage and selfless confidence is Andrew Luck. Yes, I've seen Favre take some shots, and God bless him. But the way Luck can take considerable punishment and keep getting up and hanging in there is very reminiscent of Starr. But Luck has the physical tools and stature Bart wasn't blessed with.
In my book, there will never be another Bart Starr.
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Originally Posted by Maxie the Taxi
