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According to san francisco 49er legend Bill Walsh he is! 🙂 GO PATS! 🙂
Brady reminds Walsh of Montana
By Nick Cafardo, Globe Staff, 1/21/2004
When it comes to quarterbacks, whose opinion is more valued than Bill Walsh's? He made Joe Montana. He made Dan Fouts when he was the offensive coordinator in San Diego. He ran the "West Coast offense," which is perilously close to what Tom Brady and the Patriots use. Montana, who won four Super Bowl championships -- he was MVP of three of them -- will always be the greatest in Walsh's eyes, but every time he watches Brady, it takes him back just a tad.
"He's as close to Joe as anyone I've ever seen," said the 72-year-old Walsh yesterday. "What strikes you about Brady is the serenity in which he plays the game. That might sound silly, but when you see a great quarterback, there's a calmness and a coolness he has on the field, a fluidity to his game -- smoothness, if you will -- that sticks out. And you can see plays that are tough for some quarterbacks aren't tough for them."
Walsh thinks that, except for three fewer championships, Brady is very much equal to Montana in just about all other aspects of his game.
"Look at the winning percentage," said Walsh. "Look at the accuracy. Watch how effortless his delivery is. He's one of the most natural passers I've ever seen. Joe was like that. Brady throws a ball that's very catchable for the receiver. That's very important. You see guys that blister the ball in and sometimes it's thrown so hard the receiver can't catch it.
"The ball gets there and comes in soft into the receiver's hands. Few quarterbacks are able to do that. And Brady can make all the throws. I kept hearing he couldn't throw it long. He can not only throw it long, he throws it so the receiver can catch it long.
"The other thing is, he makes great decisions on the field. This was what Joe was all about. It's not something you can necessarily teach. That has to be something you're born with or something you've acquired based on your experience."
The only ability Brady doesn't seem to have that Montana did?
"I think Joe was a better runner," Walsh said. "He was a quick, darting runner. I'm not saying Tom can't do that; it just seems that Joe was a little quicker and he picked his spots when to take off. I've seen Brady do that, too. I know he's very effective with that quarterback sneak, but I would say running isn't a big part of his game."
Walsh believes that Brady would have been hugely successful in his West Coast offense. And though he stops short of calling the Patriots' offense similar to the one he virtually perfected, he did say, "Many of the throws he makes are similar to what we did. I don't want to say it's the same or anything because I don't know the Patriots offense, but it's pretty close to it."
Walsh's West Coast offense was predicated on a short- to medium-range passing attack that creates mismatches for receivers and allows them to turn upfield for longer gains. Which sounds like what the Patriots do.
Walsh credits the Patriots for drafting Brady in the sixth round. He said a lot of scouts didn't like Brady coming out of Michigan, but, "The scouts aren't always right. They're probably right as much as they're wrong. Someone up there saw something that a lot of people didn't. It was a great decision, as it turned out, to go with Brady over Drew Bledsoe, who I have a great deal of respect for."
Brady's early career has been similar to Montana's start. Brady won a Super Bowl in his first year as a starter; Montana won in his second year as a starter. Brady completed 63.9 of his passes with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for a QB rating of 86.5 in his championship season. Montana completed 63.7 percent of his passes, with 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for a rating of 88.4 in 1981, the year he led the 49ers to a Super Bowl victory over the Bengals. Neither quarterback led his team to the playoffs the following year. Montana lost in the NFC Championship game to Washington two years later, but Brady is now back in the Super Bowl. Montana won his second Super Bowl in his fifth season as a starter. The 49ers were 15-1 that season.
Walsh called Belichick and Romeo Crennel's defensing of Peyton Manning last Sunday "incredible."
"To hold a quarterback like Manning who had come into that game as hot as he was and force him into four turnovers like that is nothing short of sensational," said Walsh. "When a defense can do something like that to a quarterback of that magnitude, that is, I'll say it again, incredible."
Walsh is making no predictions, however, for the Patriots-Panthers matchup. He likes the Carolina team as well.
"This is not a fluke matchup," Walsh said. "The Patriots earned it. The Panthers have earned it. I like the Panthers defense.
"Jake Delhomme reminds me a little bit of Brady. He's not a guy I was familiar with until recently, but I've watched him a lot and he too can throw that soft ball that his receivers can handle. "John Fox did a marvelous coaching job turning that franchise around in a short period of time.
"This is going to be an enjoyable Super Bowl to watch. Brady, as I said, is a joy for me to watch. The Panthers have to get after him with their rush, but like I said, this kid makes great decisions even when he's pressured."
Brady reminds Walsh of Montana
By Nick Cafardo, Globe Staff, 1/21/2004
When it comes to quarterbacks, whose opinion is more valued than Bill Walsh's? He made Joe Montana. He made Dan Fouts when he was the offensive coordinator in San Diego. He ran the "West Coast offense," which is perilously close to what Tom Brady and the Patriots use. Montana, who won four Super Bowl championships -- he was MVP of three of them -- will always be the greatest in Walsh's eyes, but every time he watches Brady, it takes him back just a tad.
"He's as close to Joe as anyone I've ever seen," said the 72-year-old Walsh yesterday. "What strikes you about Brady is the serenity in which he plays the game. That might sound silly, but when you see a great quarterback, there's a calmness and a coolness he has on the field, a fluidity to his game -- smoothness, if you will -- that sticks out. And you can see plays that are tough for some quarterbacks aren't tough for them."
Walsh thinks that, except for three fewer championships, Brady is very much equal to Montana in just about all other aspects of his game.
"Look at the winning percentage," said Walsh. "Look at the accuracy. Watch how effortless his delivery is. He's one of the most natural passers I've ever seen. Joe was like that. Brady throws a ball that's very catchable for the receiver. That's very important. You see guys that blister the ball in and sometimes it's thrown so hard the receiver can't catch it.
"The ball gets there and comes in soft into the receiver's hands. Few quarterbacks are able to do that. And Brady can make all the throws. I kept hearing he couldn't throw it long. He can not only throw it long, he throws it so the receiver can catch it long.
"The other thing is, he makes great decisions on the field. This was what Joe was all about. It's not something you can necessarily teach. That has to be something you're born with or something you've acquired based on your experience."
The only ability Brady doesn't seem to have that Montana did?
"I think Joe was a better runner," Walsh said. "He was a quick, darting runner. I'm not saying Tom can't do that; it just seems that Joe was a little quicker and he picked his spots when to take off. I've seen Brady do that, too. I know he's very effective with that quarterback sneak, but I would say running isn't a big part of his game."
Walsh believes that Brady would have been hugely successful in his West Coast offense. And though he stops short of calling the Patriots' offense similar to the one he virtually perfected, he did say, "Many of the throws he makes are similar to what we did. I don't want to say it's the same or anything because I don't know the Patriots offense, but it's pretty close to it."
Walsh's West Coast offense was predicated on a short- to medium-range passing attack that creates mismatches for receivers and allows them to turn upfield for longer gains. Which sounds like what the Patriots do.
Walsh credits the Patriots for drafting Brady in the sixth round. He said a lot of scouts didn't like Brady coming out of Michigan, but, "The scouts aren't always right. They're probably right as much as they're wrong. Someone up there saw something that a lot of people didn't. It was a great decision, as it turned out, to go with Brady over Drew Bledsoe, who I have a great deal of respect for."
Brady's early career has been similar to Montana's start. Brady won a Super Bowl in his first year as a starter; Montana won in his second year as a starter. Brady completed 63.9 of his passes with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for a QB rating of 86.5 in his championship season. Montana completed 63.7 percent of his passes, with 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for a rating of 88.4 in 1981, the year he led the 49ers to a Super Bowl victory over the Bengals. Neither quarterback led his team to the playoffs the following year. Montana lost in the NFC Championship game to Washington two years later, but Brady is now back in the Super Bowl. Montana won his second Super Bowl in his fifth season as a starter. The 49ers were 15-1 that season.
Walsh called Belichick and Romeo Crennel's defensing of Peyton Manning last Sunday "incredible."
"To hold a quarterback like Manning who had come into that game as hot as he was and force him into four turnovers like that is nothing short of sensational," said Walsh. "When a defense can do something like that to a quarterback of that magnitude, that is, I'll say it again, incredible."
Walsh is making no predictions, however, for the Patriots-Panthers matchup. He likes the Carolina team as well.
"This is not a fluke matchup," Walsh said. "The Patriots earned it. The Panthers have earned it. I like the Panthers defense.
"Jake Delhomme reminds me a little bit of Brady. He's not a guy I was familiar with until recently, but I've watched him a lot and he too can throw that soft ball that his receivers can handle. "John Fox did a marvelous coaching job turning that franchise around in a short period of time.
"This is going to be an enjoyable Super Bowl to watch. Brady, as I said, is a joy for me to watch. The Panthers have to get after him with their rush, but like I said, this kid makes great decisions even when he's pressured."
