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When it comes to discussing the greatest NFL quarterback of all-time, two names repeatedly come to the forefront: Joe Montana and Tom Brady.
For years, the San Francisco 49ers legend ruled the roost.
But Brady’s remarkable career with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may well have just surpassed that of Montana.
And that’s something Montana himself both acknowledges and despises.
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ESPN’s Wright Thompson appeared on The Dan Patrick Show in February to discuss a story he wrote about Montana.
Patrick asked Thompson about Montana’s feelings regarding Tom Brady passing him as the GOAT, and Thompson made Montana’s feelings clear:
“He hates it,” Thompson said.
Patrick then followed up, at which point Thompson explained “he’s less jealous of the rings then he is of the fact he gets to watch someone else gets to live his life that got ripped from him.”
Fair enough.
But what about the “best” quarterback ever?
Montana recently delineated the difference between “best” and “greatest” in an interview with Men’s Health magazine, noting that greatest refers to accomplishments, whereas best is a matter of talent.
Even then, however, Montana didn’t name himself, instead choosing Miami Dolphins hall of famer Dan Marino.
“He had a quick release. I had to step into a lot of things to get enough [force] on the ball,” Montana said of Marino. “He had the perfect torque of his upper body and strength to deliver the ball quickly at a fast release with accuracy.”
Montana then said that Marino would have thrived in the current era of the NFL.
“Put Marino into today’s game where he gets free release…and his receivers, holy cow, weren’t very big,” Montana said. “Now these guys are 6’4,” 6’5.” I think [Marino] is probably one of the most unsung heroes of the game. People don’t talk enough about him or realize the numbers that he put up during the times that he put them up.”
He may well have a point. Marino put up some jaw-dropping numbers in his days.
But it’s still surprising to hear given how much Montana hated losing his GOAT status.