Originally Posted by
steelreserve
I get WHY Brady behaves that way, you're absolutely right about that. And about people's perception of Montana after Young came along. I just think the reality of Montana's career is a bit different from what people remember.
Young probably benefited a lot more from the West Coast offense than Montana did, and despite being incredibly talented, only won a single championship. To me, the almost "overlooked" first couple of titles say more about Montana than the more famous ones later. But as you point out, someone's legacy is about what people remember, and most people probably don't remember Montana without Rice or Bill Walsh. When actually the three of them were only all on the team at once for the third title.
Total side note: The fact that Young only got one championship on that team, despite being a near-perfect fit, speaks volumes about the insane level of competition in the late '80s through mid '90s, which I actually believe was where the skill and intensity of the game reached its all-time peak. Several teams - 49ers, Cowboys, Giants, Bears, Bills to name a few - probably could've topped what the Patriots did if they weren't all facing each other. For that matter, the Steelers probably would've won a couple championships during that time if all that wasn't going on. The current Patriots would've been somewhere between the Annoying "Red Dog Offense" Warren Moon Oilers and the Championship-Losing Broncos for All But Two Years of Elway's Career.