Posted by Nolan Dalla on Jan 26, 2023 in Blog, Essays |
MY TEN/TWENTY
The 10/20 Greatest Quarterbacks in NFL History (minimum 10 seasons played)
1. Tom Brady
It’s no longer debatable. Longevity (24+ seasons), championships (7), playoff appearances (winning 35 of 47 games), passing stats (most yards, completions, touchdowns, wins) — Brady dominates every significant category. The debate begins at #2. Brady is likely to be a solid lock in this spot for decades to come.
2. Joe Montana
Four Super Bowl wins, great leader, always cool under pressure, and arguably the best clutch player in football history. Played 16 seasons — made Pro Bowl 8 times and led the league in passing 5 seasons.
3. Peyton Manning
Holds the record for most MVP trophies — at 5. The poster boy for NFL quarterbacks. Amazing work ethic, natural ability, a consistent winner, and outstanding passing stats and ratios.
4. Otto Graham
Led the Cleveland Browns to title games every year between 1946 and 1955, making ten championship appearances, and winning seven. With Graham at quarterback, the Browns posted a record of 105 wins and 17 losses. Unfortunately, Graham didn’t play in the TV era, so his greatness often gets overlooked.
5. Johnny Unitas
Three MVP trophies, four NFL championships, consistently led the league or near the top in all passing categories. Played 18 seasons (should have retired after 15). Stood above all other QBs of his era.
6. Roger Staubach
Only played 11 seasons, but is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever to play the position. Known for mental and physical toughness, leadership (he served in Vietnam — otherwise, add four more seasons to Staubach’s resume), and making miracle comebacks, Staubach made the Pro Bowl 6 times, appeared in the Super Bowl 5 times, won two championships, an MVP award, led the league in passing twice, and was the highest-rated NFL QB in history (stats wise) when he retired early in 1980.
7. John Elway
Sometimes called the greatest pure passer in NFL history, Elway was a naturally-gifted QB who played 15 seasons, won two championships, and was always among the league leaders in passing throughout his career.
8. Brett Favre
Favre made 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 2010, including 297 regular season games, the most in NFL history. He was also the first QB to reach 70,000 yards, 10,000 passes, 6,000 completions, 500 touchdowns, 200 wins, and victories over all 32 teams. Won three MVPs and one Super Bowl.
9. Drew Brees
Brees is one of the greatest quarterbacks — and comeback stories — in football history. No team wanted him (New Orleans finally decided to take a chance) after the undersized Brees with a spotty record in San Diego underwent rotor-cuff surgery on his passing shoulder in 2005. He won the starting job with the Saints, played 15 more seasons, and retired with (or near the top) over every major passing category.
10. Aaron Rodgers
The Green Bay Packers QB is difficult to rank. His numbers are easily Top-10, and probably Top-5 based purely on numbers. Four MVP trophies alone place Rodgers among the greats. He is also second on the NFL’s all-time career passer rating list, with a regular-season career passer rating of over 100 (the first to ever have a career rating over 100). But he’s also been criticized for his shortcomings as a team leader and for perceived aloofness.
11. Steve Young
Followed in the footsteps of a giant (Joe Montana) and the 49ers didn’t miss a beat. Great duel threat as a runner and passer.
12. Terry Bradshaw
Not usually considered among the great QBs, but then how can we dismiss four Super Bowl championships, and his toughness in an era dominated by NFL defenses?
13. Jim Kelly
Similar pedigree to John Elway. Great passing numbers, team leadership, but didn’t perform quite as well in the big games.
14. Dan Marino
Played 17 seasons — all with Miami. Maybe the best regular season QB of all time, and the most talented passer. But had an 8-10 playoff record and made it to just one Super Bowl (a blowout loss).
15. Troy Aikman
How much of the Cowboys dynasty of the early 1990s was Troy Aikman, and how much was due to the coaching of Jimmy Johnson and his assembling a powerhouse team? That’s debatable. We can’t deny Aikman’s three Super Bowl wins and his impressive passing stats. But also notice the deep decline of Aikman’s numbers after the Johnson-Switzer era. Aikman was a great QB, but nowhere near the Top-10.
16. Len Dawson
Dawson played 14 seasons and became the face of the AFL. He led the Kansas City Chiefs (Dallas Texans) to three championships (one Super Bowl), led the AFL in passing four times, and dominated every passing category for the league that lasted ten years.
17. Ben Roethlisberger
Roethlisberger was one of the most prolific passers in NFL history — ranking 5th in all-time career passing yards, 8th in touchdowns, and 5th in completions. He also had the fourth-highest career winning percentage (.710) as a starter.
18. Bart Starr
Starr was the QB of Vince Lombardi’s legendary Green Bay Packers’ championship teams of the 1960s, still regarded as one of the top-three dynasties in NFL history. Five titles alone place Starr in the Top-20. His passing stats weren’t as impressive as some of his contemporaries, but all he did was win big games when things counted the most.
19. Fran Tarkenton
Tarkenton was a game-changer and prolific passer who was the first QB to eclipse several statistical categories. He even held several career records when he retired (most yards, attempts, completions). His passing stats with the Giants (5 seasons) and Vikings (13 seasons) were consistently solid. Three Super Bowl appearances, but played poorly each time. Still, deserves to be here among the greatest.
20. Dan Fouts
Fouts is sometimes overlooked when debating the greatest QBs. That’s probably because he never played in a Super Bowl. However, Fouts led the NFL in passing every year from 1979 to 1982, passing for over 4,000 yards in the first three of these – no previous quarterback had posted consecutive 4,000-yard seasons. Fouts was voted a Pro Bowler six times in 15 seasons, all with San Diego.
21. Warren Moon
I had to put Moon on the list, who was undrafted and started his career in the CFL because no NFL team would give him a chance. He won the Grey Cup five times. After that, Moon played 17 NFL seasons (with Houston and Minnesota), leading the league in passing twice, while also receiving 9 Pro Bowl selections. He spent 10 seasons with the Oilers, who he led to seven playoff appearances, and made an eighth postseason run with the Vikings before retiring in 2000.
TBD/Honorable Mention:
Patrick Mahomes – Russell Wilson – Kurt Warner – Ken Stabler – Jim Hart – Sonny Jurgenson – Players before 1950 (Sammy Baugh, Sid Luckman, etc.)
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Note: Brock Purdy–keep it up, you’re on pace to beat them all!
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Posted by Nolan Dalla on Jan 25, 2023 in Blog, Essays, Uncategorized |
Tests show the latest artificial intelligence tool is comically unreliable and often gets things horribly wrong
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know….I won the $5,000 buy-in Limit Hold’em championship at the 1996 World Series of Poker, defeating a field of 129 players for first place which paid $182,000?
Did you know….I have cashed in several World Poker Tour (WPT) events and made it to the final table on multiple occasions and that I also have multiple cashes in European Poker Tour (EPT) and other international tournaments?
Did you know…..I am hugely successful in high-stakes cash games, where I have been known to play against the likes of Phil Ivey and other top poker players and that my reputation as a skilled and aggressive player has been well-established among the poker community?
Did you know….I’m on the Board of The Miracle League of Las Vegas, which helps children with disabilities play baseball?
Did you know…..I’ve made significant donations to the charity and been a top fundraiser for the organization?
Did you know….I volunteer time, coach, and mentor children?
Did you know….I received the prestigious “Spirit of Poker” award in 2016?
Did you know….I was the “Humanitarian of the Year” in 2017?
Did you know….I worked with a number of charitable organizations — including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Nevada SPCA?
Impressive huh?
All of these amazing things certainly must be true. AI doesn’t make mistakes, right? All of these discoveries came up in an article about me written by ChatGPT.
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WHAT IS CHATGPT?
If you visit ChatGPT and sign up for a free account (or download the app), you’ll have instant direct access to a powerful research and writing tool that’s catching on like wildfire. Anyone everywhere can use it.
However, there’s a problem. If you play with fire, sometimes you get burned.
VISIT THE CHATGPT SITE HERE
ChatGPT was released to the public only a few months ago. It’s already having an explosive impact on education, journalism, and social media. Any user can sign in, plug in a simple command, and within seconds ChatGPT writes an original essay/article without grammatical and punctuation errors. It doesn’t duplicate any prior published text, so there’s no risk of plagiarism. It sounds perfect. Game-changing.
However, the potential detriments of this new technology are alarming. Students no longer need to do any work when it comes to learning, especially on written exercises. The challenges to teachers are obvious — and potentially devastating. Some schools are even trying to ban ChatGPT (good luck with that). This artificial intelligence (AI) gives any student the tools to produce a term paper on almost any subject. It doesn’t matter if the student knows about or understands the subject matter. ChatGPT does all the work. [See Footnote 1]
Put another way, it’s the equivalent of going to the gym and having a robot lift the weights during your workout.
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ONE TEST (NOLAN DALLA AND POKER)
ChatGPT’s AI software scours an incalculable number of online sources and produces text instantly. However, there are some serious limitations.
First, resourcing is available only up through the year 2021. So, if you want to create an article about a current hot topic, it won’t have any recent references. Second, obscene content isn’t available (yet). Third, political opinions are not included, so don’t ask the AI to write an opinion about a controversial issue.
Moreover, people with no public profile are basically invisible to ChatGPT. Essentially, they don’t exist. So, if you’re inactive on social media and/or have little or no Google presence, AI can’t write anything about you. You’re also at risk of being confused with other people if you have a common name. That’s a real problem is your last name happens to be Manson, Gacy, or Bundy.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) for me, I have an uncommon one-of-a-kind name. I also have thousands of Google impressions, which are the result of writing and publishing perhaps 10,000 articles over a 30-year span. This makes ChatPFT’s AI job way too easy. In my case, it shouldn’t make many mistakes since there is so much content online.
So, I went to ChatGPT and typed in: “Write an article about Nolan Dalla and poker.”
Here’s what the AI-bot wrote about my life and career. Note that I have not edited even one word of these texts:
Nolan Dalla is a well-known figure in the world of poker and sports gambling. He is well-known for his work as a professional player, writer, and commentator. However, many may not be aware of his philanthropic efforts, particularly his dedication to helping children with disabilities.
As a member of the Board of Directors for the Las Vegas-based charity, “The Miracle League of Las Vegas,” Dalla has played an instrumental role in helping children with disabilities play baseball. The organization provides a safe and friendly environment for children with disabilities to play the game, and Dalla has been actively involved in fundraising and volunteering for the charity.
Dalla’s dedication to the cause is evident in his actions. He has made significant donations to the charity and has consistently been a top fundraiser for the organization. Additionally, he has been known to volunteer his time, coaching and mentoring the children and helping them to develop their skills on the field.
The Miracle League of Las Vegas has been able to provide an inclusive environment for children with disabilities to play baseball and has positively impacted many families. Dalla’s contributions to the organization have helped ensure that the children have the opportunity to experience the joys of the game, and have helped improve the overall quality of life for many of the children and their families.
Dalla’s philanthropic efforts extend beyond just The Miracle League of Las Vegas, he has also been actively involved in other charitable causes such as education, healthcare and sports for underprivileged children. His dedication to giving back to the community is admirable and makes him a role model for others to follow.
One of the most notable awards that Dalla has received is the “Spirit of Poker” award, which is presented by the World Poker Tour (WPT) Foundation. This award is given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the game of poker and the poker community, both on and off the felt. Dalla was presented with this award in 2016 for his work with a number of charitable organizations, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Nevada SPCA.
In addition to the “Spirit of Poker” award, Dalla has also been recognized by other organizations for his charitable efforts. For example, in 2017 he was presented with the “Humanitarian of the Year” award by the Global Poker League (GPL). This award is given to individuals who have made a significant impact in the world through their philanthropic work.
Dalla’s charitable efforts have also been recognized by the poker community. In 2018, he was presented with the “Poker Charity Award” by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). This award is given to individuals or organizations that have made outstanding contributions to charitable causes in the poker community.
One of Dalla’s most notable tournament accomplishments is his victory in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $5,000 Limit Hold’em event in 1996. This event is considered one of the most prestigious tournaments in the poker world, and Dalla’s win was a major accomplishment. He defeated a field of 129 players and won the first prize of $182,000, which was a significant amount of money at the time.
In addition to his WSOP win, Dalla has also had success in other major tournaments. For example, he has cashed in several World Poker Tour (WPT) events and has made it to the final table on multiple occasions. He also has multiple cashes in European Poker Tour (EPT) and other international tournaments.
Dalla has also been successful in high-stakes cash games, where he has been known to play against the likes of Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, and other top poker players. His reputation as a skilled and aggressive player has been well-established among the poker community.
Let me be as clear as possible. NONE OF THESE THINGS (ABOVE) ARE TRUE. So, why did they come up in the AI-produced article(s)?
To make sure this wasn’t an outlier, I conducted similar tests for: “Nolan Dalla and sports betting“ and “Nolan Dalla and politics“ and “Nolan Dalla and writing.” Those results were equally inaccurate and (in many cases) were downright comical. [See Footnote 2]
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THE VERDICT
I ran several other tests. Very simple subjects and common themes produced useful results. Think of AI as being good for elementary school, but less useful for college. And, it’s downright toxic for those doing original work, important research, or creative writing for any respected publication. Relying on the content might even be perilous.
For instance, writing a book report on George Washington using ChatGPT netted perfect results. Writing up a recipe on how to make jambalaya looked pretty tasty. Producing an essay on the history of astronomy read like a textbook.
However, the more detailed the subject matter, often the more wildly inaccurate the output. Using just one example, I attempted to use ChatGPT to obtain historical data on NFL teams against the pointspread in certain situations. These are parameters that are clearly defined. Any amateurish software package should be able to data-mine results from a vast pool of sports betting sources, compute percentages, and then post them into a readable format. I did this because much of my current writing is in this field. How great ChatGPT might be as a writing tool!
Yet, this AI produced utterly nothing of value. Many of the data points were also contradictory. Had I relied upon the data, the results would have been laughable. Basically, this was all a useless waste of time, and probably detrimental to anyone relying on the information as fact.
If you doubt this, then try this. Run your own experiment. See how accurate ChatGPT’s output is. You might be surprised, or even shocked by what you learn about yourself.
Hey, where’s my $182,000? Where’s my “Humanitarian of the Year” award?
I’m still waiting!
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FOOTNOTE 1 — ChatGPT can write a school term paper within seconds. That’s what makes it so counterproductive to education. No teacher can look at a paper and tell if the student wrote it, or know if the assignment was completed using AI. This is especially true for common subjects, historical figures, and scientific concepts. A student can “write” an original term paper using AI, and it will always be clear and mistake-free.
FOOTNOTE 2 — While I have done charity work, it’s not been with any of these organizations. In the past, I’ve volunteered with The Animal Foundation and also delivered food to the needy as a program to take soon-to-expire produce from grocery stores to various food banks (125+ trips). But I rarely if ever wrote about these endeavors, so they didn’t come up on AI.
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