Patriots owner: Tom Brady is better than Joe Montana

[JtotheIzzo]

Patriots owner Bob Kraft clearly has a soft spot for Tom Brady. After all, it was Brady as an unproven -- and mostly unknown -- rookie sixth-round pick who told Kraft "I'm the best decision this organization has ever made." Turns out, he was right. Brady has led New England to five Super Bowls and three Lombardi Trophies and when he retires -- whether it's tomorrow or well after his 40th birthday -- he'll be headed straight to Canton.

And that helps explain Kraft's affinity for his quarterback, as well as his view of Brady's place in NFL history.

“I think that Tommy, with all due respect, is better than Joe Montana,” Kraft told NFL Network's Albert Breer. “I know that's a leap, but I really think he might already be the best of all time. I watch how involved he is, how driven he is. He's like Belichick, he's into the details. And he's got a skill that makes him so special, he can process all of it so quickly. … And then, he's just got that quality. Certain people have that sincerity. He's a very genuine guy. People can relate to him. People can trust him.”

If we start with championships (and, really, that's where every vapid comparison of players from different eras begins, right?) Montana was 4-0 in the Super Bowl while Brady is 3-2. Both are Hall of Fame-worthy, though it would be hard for most unbiased observers to give the nod to Brady.

Something else worth considering: how incredibly different the NFL is today compared to 20 years ago. The evolution of the passing game and the sheer size and speed of the players is most obvious, but we sometimes forget that when Montana played he was treated like every other player on the field. Which is to say: he routinely took a beating.

We wrote about it back in January ahead of the Giants-49ers playoff game, and noted at the time that "As you'll see in the videos below, this brand of tackle football is virtually unrecognizable. There was no such thing at the Tom Brady rule or defenseless receivers or helmet-to-helmet hits, and defensive backs could mug would-be pass-catchers without penalty."




Brady, who grew up in Northern California idolizing Montana, was predictably humble when apprised of Kraft's remarks.

“Well, that's my boss. And I love Mr. Kraft for a lot of reasons, and we have a great relationship, and a great friendship,” he said. “He's been through a lot the last few years. There'd be nothing more exciting for all us players than to win for him, because it means a lot to him, and it means a lot to Coach Belichick. I think the great part about being around here is that the expectation is only to win, and there's nothing else. It's not about selling tickets or t-shirts. It's to win football games.”

Winning football games shouldn't be a problem for the Patriots. The AFC East doesn't look to be particularly strong. And as long as Bill Belichick's standing on the sidelines and Brady's under center, New England's probably headed for the postseason. It also doesn't hurt that today's NFL looks nothing like the one Montana played in.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/ey...an-joe-montana



What do you all think? Is Brady better than Montana?

[JBhaverhill]

He needs another superbowl. Winning 3 early in career, then 1 late (with an entirely new roster) would definitely make the conversation interesting.

Right now, I'd put Montana in front.

inb4 roadtrippin and his Eli Manning *******ry.

[CobyWan]

Robert Kraft is sticking behind his guy. To me he represents everything you want from an owner of your franchise. I think most NFL fans would love to have an owner like Kraft.


One thing nobody will ever be able to take away from Joe Montana is the fact he has four wins in four super bowls he started. I'm sure there will be other QBs to rival his total number of championships. But it's hard to top perfection.

[Ecnewyx]

Over the 2nd half of Brady's career he's been one of the best QBs of all time, yes, better than Montana.

But there are plenty of QBs that were better than Montana. Well. Not plenty, but it'd be hard to argue that Marino wasn't a better QB than Montana in every measurable that counts such as arm strength or whatever.

Montana's the GOAT because of his 4/4 Super Bowl wins, his postseason performances including a mind-blowing 127 passer rating in the Super Bowl, and the dominance of the 49ers. He's the best of the two categories that define QBs. He's not a poverty QB with a ton of Super Bowl wins (e.g. Bradshaw) and he's not a great QB with few Super Bowl wins (e.g. Marino).

[Dave P]

Its too difficult to compare 80's/90's QB's to Modern-Era QB's.


The rules favor QB's and passing so much now that its a huge advantage.

[iamgenus]

I don't blame Kraft for having Brady's back, that's his guy.

But no.

Tom Brady is terrific but I wouldn't be surprised if he put Joe Montana ahead of him if you'd ask.

[iamgenus]

Over the 2nd half of Brady's career he's been one of the best QBs of all time, yes, better than Montana.

But there are plenty of QBs that were better than Montana. Well. Not plenty, but it'd be hard to argue that Marino wasn't a better QB than Montana in every measurable that counts such as arm strength or whatever.

Montana's the GOAT because of his 4/4 Super Bowl wins, his postseason performances including a mind-blowing 127 passer rating in the Super Bowl, and the dominance of the 49ers. He's the best of the two categories that define QBs. He's not a poverty QB with a ton of Super Bowl wins (e.g. Bradshaw) and he's not a great QB with few Super Bowl wins (e.g. Marino).

WTF?

Did you see some of the shots that guy took? Guy had ice in his veins. So many fools try to downplay his ability claiming "Oh yeah he had Jerry Rice" well Joe had 2 rings before Jerry was even drafted.

He came through when the team needed it the most and was perfect for that offense. Hell when the guys back was beaten to sh*t and the 49ers chose to go with the younger healthier guy in Steve Young he was able to go to a whole different team in KC and get them to the AFC Championship game.

If he was able to play today and be fully healthy I guarantee he would be very similar to Drew Brees in terms of numbers and still have his clutch ability.

[REDFIVEO]

Its too difficult to compare 80's/90's QB's to Modern-Era QB's.


The rules favor QB's and passing so much now that its a huge advantage.

Strong this. I respect Kraft for backing his guy but there is no way he is better then Montana. 80's rules allowed QBs to get hammered all game long even after throws. The rules have also drastically changed for guys playing coverage. Far more receiver and QB friendly. Tom Brady couldn't make it one whole game let alone a whole season whithout getting carted off the field with what defenses were allowed to do back then. Everytime he gets sacked he is looking to the ref for a flag as it is. I would even wager most of the QBs in the league today couldn't make it.

Again Brady is insanely good but no way in hell is he better then Montana.

[Ecnewyx]

WTF?

Did you see some of the shots that guy took? Guy had ice in his veins. So many fools try to downplay his ability claiming "Oh yeah he had Jerry Rice" well Joe had 2 rings before Jerry was even drafted.

I wasn't intending to downplay his ability. More to make the point that ability isn't the reason he's the GOAT.

If a QB's ability was the only criterion then you'd probably have Marino as the GOAT.

[GrecoRoman]

I don't blame Kraft for having Brady's back, that's his guy.

But no.

Tom Brady is terrific but I wouldn't be surprised if he put Joe Montana ahead of him if you'd ask.

He probably wouldn't considering Tom never says anything to pump himself up and Montana was his idol.

[samarrand]

Joe Montana went 4-0 in superbowls with 12TD's and 0 int's.....Joe is the goat and its not even close

[samarrand]

I wasn't intending to downplay his ability. More to make the point that ability isn't the reason he's the GOAT.

If a QB's ability was the only criterion then you'd probably have Marino as the GOAT.

Negged for stupidity.

You box score watchers are fuarking pathetic

[SpiderSense]

Steve Young > Joe Montana

[REDFIVEO]

Steve Young > Joe Montana

[Ecnewyx]

Negged for stupidity.

You box score watchers are fuarking pathetic

Meaning what?

That Marino isn't one of the best QBs of all time despite not having the same accomplishments? That Marino wasn't considered to have better QB "abilities" like a better arm? That his individual accomplishments and QB records don't dwarf Montana's?






Edit:

Fuaaark, I'm sorry for negging you.

If you care at all about reputation points I will rep you back on spread to cancel out the neg.

Having a bad day.

[EastCoastNiner]

Meaning what?

That Marino isn't one of the best QBs of all time despite not having the same accomplishments? That Marino wasn't considered to have better QB "abilities" like a better arm? That his individual accomplishments and QB records don't dwarf Montana's?

Why don't you explain yourself next time *******.

You mentioning his individual accomplishments is pretty funny considering you're going to base it on solely on statistical passing categories, minus QB rating where Montana was significantly better.

How about we take a look at these "INDIVIDUAL" awards:


NFL MVP:

Montana: 2

Marino: 1


1st Team All-Pro Selections:

Montana: 3

Marino: 3


Super Bowl MVP's:

Montana: 3

Marino: 0



Or, are you going to act like those are more of a "team" accomplishment than Marino's passing statistics?

[Seldini]

As a die-hard Pats fan, Montana is the only QB that I put Brady behind in the all-time rankings. He hasn't surpassed Montana, but one more Super Bowl win and Brady has got it IMO. One more Super Bowl and Brady is all time tops in superbowl appearances, and one more win and he's tied with Montana for wins. But its a hell of a lot harder to build a dynasty now than it was in the 80s.

[MrRIP]

One Sb with a shirt d away from the greatest QB ever. Slightly premature. I think the argument can be made though.

I must admit I can't pretend to remember all of Montana's teams stats from that era. If someone can aware me on how strong the 49ers d was during joes time

[JaxBrah]

Its definitely a reasonable discussion. Montana did it with the GOAT wr and team around him. Brady did it with scrub wrs (except moss) and bad defenses. Both did it with great coaches. Brady played in the passing era, montana not so much.

If you look at it in an objective POV you could easily make the case brady is better. Most people are just afraid to say it because they are made to feel as if its blasphemus.

I dont remember seeing montana play so i cant really say for sure

[Woogiefied]

http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/po...ady-or-montana

Who’s the better quarterback? Tom Brady or Joe Montana?

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft thinks Brady is better.

What do the statistics tell us?

To compare the careers of Brady and Montana, let’s look at their first 12 seasons. Montana finished the 1990 season at 34 years old, the same age at which Brady finished last season. By that time, Montana had played 166 regular-season games in 12 seasons. Brady has played 161 games in 12 seasons.

REGULAR-SEASON NUMBERS

Tom Brady vs Joe MontanaThrough 1st 12 Seasons of NFL Career
Brady Montana
Pass Yds 39,979 34,998
TD-Int 300-115 242-123
Completions 3,397 2,914
Comp pct 63.8 63.6
W-L 124-35 100-39

Comparing Montana through 1990 to Brady side-by-side, Brady has the statistical advantage in every category. Brady has more passing touchdowns, passing yards and completions, a higher completion percentage and fewer interceptions. He also has more wins and fewer losses than Montana.

In some of the categories, it’s not even close. Brady has 24 more wins and four fewer losses than Montana. Brady has 58 more passing touchdowns and eight fewer interceptions in over 700 more pass attempts.

NFL Team Averages by Era
1979-1990 2000-2011
Pass YPG 201 212
Yds per att 7.0 6.9
Passes PG 31 33
Rushes PG 31 28

But it’s unfair to compare Brady and Montana without taking their eras into account. The current NFL is a more pass-heavy league than it was during Montana’s career – teams average 11 more passing yards and two more pass attempts per game.

From 1979-1990, Montana led the NFL in passing yards, passing touchdowns (only Dan Marino was even within 40 of him), completions (nobody was within 400 of him) and completion percentage (minimum 100 attempts).

By comparison, Brady is fourth in passing yards, second in passing touchdowns, fourth in completions and ninth in completion percentage (minimum 100 attempts) during his career.

So while Brady has better raw statistics, Montana was better when ranked against his peers in the era he played.

POSTSEASON

The postseason is where Montana truly distinguished himself. He was undefeated in four Super Bowls, while Brady is 3-2 in Super Bowls, losing each of his last two. Montana has a career Super Bowl-record 11 passing touchdowns and no interceptions for a 127.8 Super Bowl Passer Rating, also a record. Brady holds the Super Bowl record for career completions (127) and passing yards (1,279) and has nine touchdowns with one interception.

From 1979 to 1990, Montana had more than twice as many postseason passing touchdowns (39 to Marino's 18) and over 2,000 more postseason passing yards (4,758) than anyone else.

Since 2000, Brady leads the NFL with 38 passing touchdowns and 5,285 passing yards in the postseason, but his lead margins aren't anywhere near Montana’s.

CONCLUSION

Comparing their stats side-by-side, it looks clear that Brady has the upper hand. But by taking a deeper look at how they compared to their peers in their own eras, Montana fares better. Brady can’t compare to Montana’s perfect 4-0 Super Bowl record and 11-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio. If Super Bowls are your ultimate measuring stick, Montana is your guy.

If raw numbers are all that matters, there’s a solid argument for Brady. But if you take into account how much quarterback play has changed by comparing against their peers, Montana seems to come out ahead.

[MrRIP]

http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/po...ady-or-montana

Any article comparing the defenses of both QBs super bowls?

Brady's D last year was god awful from what I remember.

[chlaxman]

I'd say the argument against Brady is that his best statistical years were not SB winning years. He won his rings as a ridiculously efficient QB with a good defense, which Montana just straight dominated the league.

[samarrand]

Joe Montana did not throw any int's in any of his 4 superbowls unlike Brady who has contributed to his pats losing 2 to eli lol manning.

[Liff_Wates]

Brady did it with scrub wrs (except moss) and bad defenses.

wat

[Patient Bear]

I wasn't intending to downplay his ability. More to make the point that ability isn't the reason he's the GOAT.

If a QB's ability was the only criterion then you'd probably have Kevin Kolb as the GOAT.

fixed

[CCAurora]

They're in the same tier and there arguably aren't any other QB's in their group.

[iamgenus]

Any article comparing the defenses of both QBs super bowls?

Brady's D last year was god awful from what I remember.

Do each QB play against their own defense?

Brady got to the Superbowl...most comparisons are how Montana performed in the SB not why he won and you may want to review exactly what Montana did in those games before you go down that route.

[CurryTech777]

joe namath's arm > all

[azstrengthcoach]

I'd say yes but just barely. Namath was a decent qb who had one great season.

[CCAurora]

Jeff George's arm > all

Fixed