Joe Montana Legacy Secured

Part of the problem with the Montana legacy argument is that so many people reduce his legacy to the four Super Bowls. As great as an accomplishment as that as, there are other things that put him above any other QB that played the modern game. His didn't just win Super Bowls. He played flawlessly in them. Going back to college, there was winning the National Championship after the 1977 season. There was the flu game in the Cotton Bowl I believe. There was the 1980 comeback against the Saints. Of course we have The Catch. But you can also throw in the 1981 regular season game against Dallas. There was his overall dominance of the great Bears defensive teams of the 1980s. My personal favorite game is the 1989 regular season game against the Eagles. Tom Brady folds against that kind of pass rush.

There was going to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993 and almost taking them to a Super Bowl. How many playoff games have the Chiefs won since Joe Montana? How many did they win in the preceding seasons prior? Montana won two in that one season. And his coach was none other than snakebitten Marty Schottenheimer. He also beat the Super Bowl winning 49ers that year with those Chiefs. Tom Brady is about as close to Joe as one can get without being Joe, but Brady cannot top Montana's legacy.

Originally posted by ChazBoner:
legacy secured, as the 2nd best QB in NFL history.

not sure about 2nd but I'd say top 5

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:

Originally posted by Niners99:

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:

Originally posted by Niners99:

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:

Originally posted by Niners99:

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:

Originally posted by Niners99:

When you're protected by the refs, and you get your version of Bill Walsh for 17+ years, its not hard to see why Brady has accumulated so much success.

It always comes down to this. 2 mins left in the Super Bowl. Down by 4. Your own life is on the line. You can pick one QB in history to lead that drive. Who do you pick?

With stakes that high, not even Patriots fans would choose Brady. We all know who the best is.

You were 2 years old when Joe last won a SB. How would you know.

Joe's legacy was certainly cemented by 2 drives in playoff games thats for sure. To answer your question, I might take Rodgers given his arm strength, mobility, and accuracy. Not to mention his Hail Mary ability.

So youre saying you had to have witnessed something as it happened to know anything about it? This is tragic news to the historians of the world.

This is your OWN life on the line, and this is the Super Bowl. You're honestly leaving it up to Aaron Rodgers? Your funeral. Rodgers has been to 1 Super Bowl, and has a 10-7 career playoff record..

LOL I knew you would get butt hurt. So sensitive. lol There are a lot of great QBs that I might choose for a 4th quarter comeback and it has nothing to do with how many SBs they won. Peyton Manning would be right there. Brady. Joe. Rodgers. Manning is actually by far the greatest in 4th qt come from behind wins.

Joe wasnt perfect. Hell, even before he threw a couple of TD passes to win SB 23 he almost blew the game by throwing a ball right into the hands of Lewis Billips in the endzone. If Billips holds on to that easy pick Joe's legacy is not the same.

As for Rodgers, the talent on his GB teams doesnt even compare to the talent the 49ers had with Joe. He is pretty much the only reason that team wins anything. Just looking at career playoff record and nothing else is shortsighted

The Billups play wouldnt have blown the game. It was earlier in the quarter. It would've made it harder, but it wasnt a game ender. If were looking at dropped picks, every great has had their fair share of them.

You dont seem to be differentiating 2 mins left in the Super Bowl as a factor here. In the most pressure packed moment in someone's career, who stays calm? Who gets it done? I would never risk my own life on Tom Brady in that scenario. Everyone blames Welker for that drop, but Brady threw the ball behind him.

Brady needed Adam Vinatieri to get him his first 3 rings, and an idiotic play call from the Seahawks to get his 4th. Not to mention being babied his whole career in the protection era. If Seattle runs the ball on the 1, Brady would still be on a 12 year SB drought.

His career body of work is impressive, but its cumulative. Defenses cant touch him, so hes having some of his best years at almost 40 years old. His version of Bill Walsh has been there for 17 years and still going. Give Montana 17 healthy seasons with Bill Walsh and see what he accumulates. Montana was brutalized his entire career. He played hurt regularly.

Montana got his rings by performing at his ultimate best in the biggest moments. Tom Brady has needed outside help for all 4. Can you imagine Joe being owned by a team in the Super Bowl like the Giants own Brady?

I dont even know where to begin. First of all, if Billips makes the easy pick the Niners would never have been able to win that game. Even after scoring right afterward they still needed a miracle at the end. Joe almost cost the Niners that game with a bad throw. Just sayin. His legacy wouldnt be the same.

I think its laughable that you are saying Brady needed help from his kicker. LOL I guess the fact that he lead his team on last minute clutch drives to get Vinateri close enough to kick a FG doesnt count. First SB he drove the team from his 17 with 1.43 to go to put his kicker in a position to win it. Next SB he drove the team down with 1 minute to go to get close enough to win 32-29. By the way, he threw for 354 yards and 3 tds. All the Pats wins were close but that doesnt mean Brady wasnt clutch. He really was.

So Joe got his rings because he was awesome while Tom only got his through help. Um Kay. LMAO

They were still in the position to NEED a FG at the end. Brady couldn't finish the win himself. Montana blew out Marino and Elway. He stole victory away from league MVP Boomer Esiason with the 2 minute drive. His SB QB rating is 127.8, by far the best.

You should remember very clearly how violent the league was, especially the NFC for QB's at that time. The Bears, Giants, Eagles, etc. How you can give the edge to Brady, who played in a bubble, is beyond me.

Like I said, give Joe 16 seasons+ with Walsh and ref protection and guess how much more he wouldve accomplished.

All I can do is laugh. "Brady couldnt finish the win himself" DO you realize how dumb this statement is? He lead 2 long drives in the last minute to put his team in a chance to win on a FG.

BTW.. Montana didnt blow out Marino and Elway. The 49ers, with their 2 greatest teams ever, blew out mismatched Dolphins and Broncos teams. You werent alive yet (watch the game if you havent had a chance) but the Niners defense totally shut down Marino lead by Fred Dean and Gary Johnson. It was a total team effort.

Joe was brilliant in SBs. No one is denying that but Brady has been as well.

Ive watched all 5 of our SB wins in entirety. Good to know youre the same patronizing a-hole outside the Giants thread BTW. Whether or not I watched it live is totally irrelevant to this debate, thanks to the miracle of video and statistical records.

I know how much you love to play up the opposing sides greatness and play down your own teams', but take the time to counter my points about the advantages Brady has had in this era, and focus less on balancing on your high horse.

Originally posted by JimA49ers:
I've seen Joe take hits, and Brady take hits. Have you ever seen Joe complain to the refs when he got hit? Seems like Brady was always in their ear on each sack. And yes, Brady did crumble on plays where he was barely touched.

Montana didn't know how to lose in SBs...

Originally posted by LVJay:


Montana didn't know how to lose in SBs...

Montana also didn't know how to get to 7.

Originally posted by brodiebluebanaszak:

Originally posted by okdkid:

Originally posted by brodiebluebanaszak:

Originally posted by okdkid:
A testament to Tom Brady's GOAT-ness is when the Pats sign some no name undrafted RB to the 53 man roster half way through the season... everybody in fantasy football tries to pick him up.

Chris f'ing Hogan was playing full-time lacrosse 6 years ago, no football. Brady just got that dude nearly 200 yards in an AFC Championship game. It's comical how great he is.

Why do you say tom brady and not Josh macdaniels/Chad O'Shea?

The same reason I don't say Bill Walsh. They're not the ones throwing the ball.

POint is, credit the coaching staff for building up these no names and putting them in a position to be successful.

It's a little early to be touting Hogan's greatness. More like McD knows how to find side players, and scheme them to success when the opportunity presents itself.

I'm not touting Hogan's "greatness". Anything but.

I'm saying Hogan was a no-name WR that is not even close to being a top playmaker on any other roster. And Brady still got that dude to nearly 200 yards in a championship game.

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:

The 84 team was a great great team with tons of talent on both sides of the ball. Wendell Tyler was great that year running for over 1200 yards. Craig had over 1300 yards combined running and receiving. They were even pretty solid at TE with Earl Cooper and Russ Francis. Agreed they didnt have the WRs they had later but no one should ever think that team wasnt really loaded.

Yeah I'm just saying people act like Montana had all HOF players on offense from the start but he didnt


And Brady had some good weapons too

Edit: off topic, Gore is #10 all time for yards from scrimmage!

Originally posted by okdkid:

Originally posted by LVJay:


Montana didn't know how to lose in SBs...

Montana also didn't know how to get to 7.

The fact is, Joe didn't know how to choke once he arrived.

someone could come in and play for 10 years, win 10 superbowls for another team and niner fans would still say joe is the greatest

half of em never seent him play

You would be one of them (never seen him play)?

I'm a lifelong 49ers fan and I went to Serra High School when Brady won his first 3 championships and we worship him. So all in all, this is a win win for me

Originally posted by LVJay:

Originally posted by okdkid:

Originally posted by LVJay:


Montana didn't know how to lose in SBs...

Montana also didn't know how to get to 7.

The fact is, Joe didn't know how to choke once he arrived.

If the team doesn't trade for Steve Young, Joe gets to 7.

Originally posted by LVJay:
You would be one of them (never seen him play)?

yes

Originally posted by VaBeachNiner:

Originally posted by LVJay:

Originally posted by okdkid:

Originally posted by LVJay:


Montana didn't know how to lose in SBs...

Montana also didn't know how to get to 7.

The fact is, Joe didn't know how to choke once he arrived.

If the team doesn't trade for Steve Young, Joe gets to 7.

I agree. We'll never know for sure, but he'd have at least 5

Originally posted by RonMexico:
someone could come in and play for 10 years, win 10 superbowls for another team and niner fans would still say joe is the greatest

half of em never seent him play

True, unless you are 45 or older, I have a hard time believing you can actually fairly assess Joe's career. If you are born in 1970, you were 9-10 when his career started. Really you probably gotta be 55 or older to be old enough when Joe started out to really have a full measure of him.