It seems many here directly equate SBs to the goat. Fair enough.
I don't agree but to each their own.
That doesn't disqualify Brady, but it doesn't guarantee his spot either. And in no way does someone have to win more rings than someone else to be better.
I'm sure there is no way to change your mind, fair enough.
I agree that rings are not the "end all be all" and to rate one player based on the results of a 53-man roster can be problematic. There are a couple of things lost in your statement, though.
1. In terms of Brady, it's hard not to rate among the best ever by
any measure. He among the best if you measure by longevity statistics, efficiency statistics, wins, playoffs, championships, fourth quarter comebacks, etc. The list goes in and on. Even when ranked among his peers, he is always among the very best. He may best Manning and Brees for career touchdown passes with 75-80 fewer interceptions.
2. Championships are not everything, but they sure have been instrumental for the Montana argument. While oftentimes the quarterback is not solely responsible for winning and losing, the quarterback does play a significant role. In addition, the entire point of the league is to win a championship. Do teams try to build perennial MVP contending quarterbacks? Of course not. It's all about championships, so it's hard not to put a lot of weight on that area. And arguing that Aaron Rodgers or Peyton Manning "would have won 7 championships on the Patriots" is beyond absurd. A theoretical, yet a common argument. Brady is TWO standard deviations above Montana in terms of overall winning percentage and has won 50% more playoff games. At some point, the arguments are silly.
3. It's not just about the championships...it's about the moments, the stories that make a legend. That's where Montana's magic comes in. That's why no matter what LeBron James' PER might say, he is not near Jordan yet. Brady has had too many heroic moments to count in the fourth quarter of playoff games with the season on the line. He is responsible for, arguably, the two greatest comebacks in Super Bowl history and has driven the team down the field to take the lead in the 4th quarter in SIX Super Bowls. That's why Peyton Manning will never be legendary and iconic in the same sense as Brady or Montana...so many chances to be the hero when it mattered and so many times retesting into his turtle shell. That's why, as of now, it's laughable that anyone would call Aaron Rodgers the GOAT with a straight face, and it's why no reputable football analyst or former player would embrace that idea.
