Before Tom Brady took over the NFL, Joe Montana was the quarterback to watch as he led the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowls in the 1980s. And despite the league changing a lot in the last 30 years, there are some NFL fans who feel Montana is the greatest of all-time. But how does Montana feel about today’s NFL quarterbacks? PopCulture.com recently caught up with the Pro Football Hall of Famer, and he said he really likes watching the young signal-callers, specifically Patrick Mahomes.
“Obviously [Patrick Mahomes] is a different cat,” Montana said. There’s no one like him. So exciting to watch.” Montana also mentioned Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals as young quarterbacks to watch. He then explained why he likes watching some of the young guys in action.
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“It’s fun to see the quarterback groups are changing,” Montana stated. There’s a lot of the old-school guys still playing, now with the rules, they don’t get hurt as much. It’s easier to hang on there a little longer as long as their arms hang in there. I think the young guys are fun to watch because they bring a different element to the game. Some of that, you’re not sure what’s going to happen on every play but it’s fun to watch the growth of them from week to week.
The young quarterbacks are fun to watch, but what about the most accomplished quarterback in NFL history? Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season after spending 20 years and winning six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots. Brady is showing no signs of slowing down as he was recently named NFC Offensive Player of the Month and has led the Bucs to a 6-2 record. Montana, who is on the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time team with Brady, believes the three-time MVP will keep playing until he wants to call it a career.
“He will play for as long as he can and as long as he’s not getting hurt, why not?” Montana said. “When you decide to hang it up, there’s no going back to it. There’s no going to have a pickup game in the front yard. Those things don’t happen. The excitement of the game, when it’s over, it’s over.”
