Well, PatsGuy. Tom Brady is a player in the National Football League. He currently plays for the New England Patriots. The New England Patriots have won a lot of games including some Super Bowls. This has lead to some people questioning where Tom Brady's ranking against all-time great QBs might be. While there is no true consensus I feel it is fair to say that the QB who has the most folks calling him the greatest of all time would be Joseph Montana, aka Joe Montana.
Now, Joe Montana no longer plays the sport of football in the National Football League. But he did a few decades back. During his time his team won a lot of games and even some Super Bowls. This is important information, we'll come back to it shortly.
Recent events, and some not so recent, have resulted in Tom Brady being unfairly cast as a cheater by those with an axe to grind or, at the very least a desire to see his legacy tainted. Specifically a situation that occurred in 2007 where the Patriots were filming defensive signals, out in the open, from the wrong location. This past year there was a situation involving claims that the Patriots intentionally deflated footballs.
Here's where it gets interesting - at the height of this Jerry Rice made some statements. Jerry Rice, you may or may not be aware, is considered the greatest WR of all time and he played with Joe Montana. Please refer to paragraph 2 for more information on Joe Montana. These comments were less than supportive of Tom Brady. However, it was during this time that previous statements Mr. Rice had made about using illegal substances on his gloves to better help catch the ball came to light.
So, the point of this thread, during this the busiest time of the season when posting space is at a premium, would be to question whether or not Joe Montana might have been aware that he was playing with a cheater and, as a result, receiving a direct benefit. And, if so, why that would not be considered a taint against his legacy but the claims of ball deflating on behalf of the Patriots would be.
