Is Brady the Next Montana

Written by Dr Furious on July 29, 2005

There are so many questions surrounding the upcoming football season. Will T.O. stop being a bitch (or stop bitching) and show up to play? Will the Pats linebackers be able to fill the void left by Bruschi and Johnson? What records will Peyton Manning break this year? While I could, no doubt, write an extensive piece about either of those topics, I will examine the dynamics of the Brady/Montana comparison. If you are lucky, I may even mix in a little fantasy relevance at some point in the discussion. So sit back, relax, and make sure you flush when you complete your business.

So why are columnists, analysts, and fans comparing Tom Brady to Joe Montana? The answer is fairly straightforward: both win big games. These are two of the biggest big-game quarterbacks ever. Neither have the pure athleticism of Mike Vick or a howitzer for an arm like Bret Favre. Brady and Montana just win, and thrive when the pressure is at its peak. Brady may not have the “magic” comebacks on his resume quite yet (the argument can be made that the drives to set up Vinatieri against Oakland and St. Louis were magical, and I doubt many would disagree), but hell, the dude is just about to turn 27. I think he has plenty of time to work on that. Winning the big games is not the only reason for comparison.

The Numbers
A peek at Brady's and Montana’s numbers further illuminates the reason why the connection is made between the two athletes.

Career completion percentage during the regular season:

Montana: 63.2
Brady: 61.6.

The two QBs also have similar touchdown to interception ratios in regular season games:

Montana: 1.96
Brady: 1.87

Career Yards per attempt stays true to form:

Montana: 7.5
Brady: 6.9.

Brady’s career is not nearly as long as his counterpart, and it will be interesting to look at this five to seven years later. Will the numbers stay remain comparable? Is it possible that Brady might improve and surpass the stats that Joe Legend put up?

Where they differ
The largest disparity in statistics would be Quarterback Ranking. Montana holds a lusty career 92.3 QB rating, second all-time to Steve Young. Brady comes in at 87.5, which definitely does not suck. This stat can be very misleading though when taking a closer look. Young had all types of targets to throw the ball to, including some guy by the name of Jerry Rice. He caught (and continues to catch) a few balls in his day. Brady has complied his stats throwing to receivers like Deion Branch, Troy Brown, David Patten, and David Givens. While that receiving corps is good, none of them (not even Brown in his prime) match what Rice brought to the table in his prime. I do not even have to mention the others guys Montana had the privilege to throw to, I am sure most of you already know. The talent that surrounded both QBs was very different, possibly making Brady’s ranking (and numbers) more impressive.

It will be interesting to revisit this comparison when Brady has been in the league a little longer. Montana definitely did his thing for 13 seasons, while Brady is just entering his sixth. The most telling statistic of all, possibly a reason why this comparison was derived originally, is SuperBowl record. Both Quarterbacks are undefeated in big game, Montana winning four rings to Brady’s three. Will Brady get that fourth this season … I guess we will have to wait and see.

-- Written by Dr Furious on July 29, 2005