Joe Montana Drops Some GOAT Wisdom on Rookie Quarterbacks and Brady

"Joe Cool" Says College Creates Quarterbacks That Think More About Systems Than They Do About Defenses

Sports

The true Greatest of All-Time, Joe Cool, Joe Montana, was interviewed by USA Today to speak about Tom Brady and the preparation of rookie quarterbacks in today’s game.

Montana spoke about the lack of mental preparation of the current crop of quarterbacks, suggesting that their college systems are doing them no favors. They are, in fact, coddled by the systems that produced stars for the NCAA but failed to translate to the pros (see Tim Tebow, JaMarcus Russell, basically 2/3’s of every draft class).

“As a rookie, you always think you’re ready, and everyone wants to play right away. A lot of it depends on the sophistication of the offense,” the 49ers legend said. “Having what it takes for that, because I think a lot of these guys that you’ll see in college, all of a sudden look to the sideline and [their] teammates go, ‘Why are you looking over there?’” Breaking it down, there’s a learning curve to the NFL, and the system-based offenses of college ball produce cogs that get changed out every few years, but the coaches, the ones who develop the championship-caliber systems, remain.

The 4-time Superbowl champion continued that, without a developed on-field ability to souse out the opposing defense and their adjustments, or call their own number and wander away from the coaches’ calls, first-year pivots have a shelf life and it’s a do-or-die game; adjust accordingly. Speaking directly about the early-season struggles that have plagued the Jacksonville Jaguars and their first-overall pick at quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, Montana said: “But they’re telling him everything. They’re telling him where he wants to throw the ball, where the defense is. They’re giving them all of the information instead of teaching them how to do it themselves. Those are the guys that suffer once they get to the NFL.” Absolute facts from the Notre Dame product.

In the same interview, Joe was asked about the prospects of Tom Brady, specifically how much longer he can continue to play at such a high level. The interviewer asked if Montana, had he started his career in the early 2000s, if he would be able to play until he was 50 like Brady recently said. Joe answered with an emphatic, “Yeah, they don’t even touch him. He hardly ever gets hit. So he [might play until] maybe 60. It’s always been about the physical part of it; how long can you handle that part of it? The way the rules are today, you just don’t take those big hits anymore. He gets hit on occasion, but it’s never one of those big 300-pounders compressing you into the ground. They stopped that from being legal, and they just don’t do that anymore.”

That seems like a fairly obvious observation. If Brady can stay upright – and as Tom’s childhood idol points out, he has a good team around him – then who’s to say he couldn’t continue to play as long as he wants? It’s a shame that Montana was not afforded that luxury when he played. Not the same level of protection from the referees, and the defensive game has been so neutered since the ’80s and ’90s that it’s hardly recognizable. Plus, Lawrence Taylor isn’t around to break a leg or two.