Even if he wins 4th ring, Brady’s no Montana [View all]

[Brother Buzz]

Even if he wins 4th ring, Brady’s no Montana

Think there’s nothing at stake for a Bay Area football fan in this year’s Super Bowl?

Think again.

Joe Montana’s legacy is on the line. With a New Super Bowl win on Sunday, Tom Brady — who grew up on the Peninsula idolizing Montana — will match the 49ers’ quarterback’s record with four Super Bowl wins.

The only quarterbacks to win four Super Bowls are Montana and Terry Bradshaw. Bradshaw isn’t part of the “greatest of all time” conversation, because his Pittsburgh teams were centered on defense, and he didn’t have the type of offensive numbers or skill to enter the pantheon of greatest-ever quarterbacks.

For people who count championships, Montana is considered the best ever. Hard to get much argument about that in these parts. Today’s generation might know him as the guy scarfing down Peyton Manning’s extra pizza or flashing his four Super Bowl rings at some other old men in a phone commercial, but those who watched him play knew they were watching history. Watching the best.

Now Brady is, once again, making a bid to be considered Montana’s equal, or even his superior, if he beats the Seahawks on Sunday. This is Brady’s third shot at Super Bowl victory No. 4. And we’ll get back to that issue a little later.

The East Coast media machine already has cranked up the story line: Brady will be considered the best ever if the Patriots win Super Bowl XLIX.

Why? Because, the East Coast reasoning goes, Brady has had less talent around him. His excellence has lasted longer. He is working in an era of free agency, in which it’s harder to keep good teams together. He came back as good as ever from 2008 reconstructive knee surgery. He is the shining light and reason behind the Patriots’ success.

Listen, there’s no doubt that Brady’s career is mind-boggling. Now 37, this will be his sixth Super Bowl appearance in 14 seasons. He has played in nine AFC Championship Games.

But here at West Coast Central, we’re not buying that one more ring means Brady will pull even with or surpass Montana. Not for a second.

Sure, Brady plays in a different era — but the biggest difference isn’t free agency but how much protection the quarterback gets. League rules now are designed to keep the quarterback upright, successful and playing for years. Montana didn’t have that advantage.

Montana had more talented teams? Let’s not forget that Jerry Rice teamed with Montana for only two Super Bowls. That first 49ers Super Bowl team in January 1982? Earl Cooper, Bill Ring, Ricky Patton — Montana’s teammates in that game in Pontiac, Mich., make Brady’s first Super Bowl team look like an All-Star roster.

Bill Belichick is as responsible for the Patriots’ success as Brady. Montana also shared the credit and glory with Bill Walsh. One difference: Montana was able to continue his greatness without Walsh, leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl the year after Walsh stepped down and George Seifert took the job.

Let’s look at the numbers:

Brady: Six Super Bowls in 14 seasons. Nine conference championship games.

Montana: Four Super Bowls in nine seasons. Six championship games in 10 seasons, plus one more in 1993 with the Chiefs.

Brady: Two interceptions in Super Bowls.

Montana: Zero interceptions in Super Bowls.

Brady: Super Bowl quarterback rating of 93.8.

Montana: Super Bowl quarterback rating of 127.8.

But here’s the biggie:

Montana: 4-0 in Super Bowls.

Brady: 3-2 in Super Bowls.

Montana didn’t need three shots at the fourth ring. He did not lose when he got to his sport’s biggest stage. He won in runaway fashion and he won with a breathtaking comeback. But he always won.

Then there are intangibles that help shape the legacy. Brady’s Patriots, as Raiders fans painfully can tell you, made it to their first Super Bowl only thanks to the incredibly stupid tuck rule. They haven’t won a Super Bowl since Spygate in 2007, tarnishing their franchise’s reputation. And they enter this Super Bowl under the dark cloud of Deflategate, which reflects more poorly on Brady than on anyone else with the Patriots.

Montana’s 49ers didn’t have any of those cloak-and-dagger issues. None of that controversy.

Oh, and to add to his legend, Montana had back surgery in 1986 — many thought his career was over — between his second and third Super Bowl wins. In fact, doctors told him he should retire.

He didn’t. He won two more Super Bowls and played in four more championship games, before finally retiring at age 38, after two seasons in Kansas City.

And when he gave up the game, many were sure they’d witnessed the greatest ever. Their eyes didn’t lie.

“Joe Montana,” Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman immediately answered a few months ago, when asked to name the best ever. “And I don’t care if we’re comparing him against anyone from today’s game or not. Or what his numbers may or may not look like. I saw him do it on the biggest stage, in the biggest moments, and bring his team back. And do the things that I think are required of the position.”

Many think Brady won’t make this conversation even relevant, that he will lose for the third time in the Super Bowl when he faces the Seahawks.

But if Brady wins that fourth ring, we here at West Coast Central still think he’ll be only second best in the conversation about the greatest ever.

Ann Killion is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. E-mail: [e-mail] Twitter: @annkillion


http://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/Even-if-he-wins-4th-ring-Brady-s-no-Montana-6041560.php