Joe Montana was hands down the greatest QB of our era.

I'm not gonna sit up here and pretend to know who the greatest QB of all time is, there's more than a handful of great quarterbacks that I've never seen before.

Yet to compare quarterbacks like Dan Marino, Brett Favre, John Elway, etc. to a player like Montana, in my opinion is absolute insanity.

I love this argument that Joe Montana wasn't as advertised because of the great teams he played on. That somehow because Montana was tutored under one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he couldn't possibly be the greatest QB of all time.

???

Then what's the point of even discussing "the greatest of all time" if a player is going to be penalized for the influences that made him great?

I don't get it.

First off, the legend of Joe Montana dates way back to his college playing days at Notre Dame. Before Bill Walsh. Before Jerry Rice. Before Roger Craig. Therefore, can I use the same lame logic to suggest it was Joe Montana who made Bill Walsh's "system" so effective?

It's funny how Montana's "critics" love to point out the possibility that it was Jerry Rice's influence that created Montana's "mystique". Blatantly disregarding the fact that Joe won 2 SB's championships before anyone spotted Rice on the radar. Throwing to wide receivers named Freddie Solomon and Dwight Clark, neither of whom will be found at the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.

Yeah, lets just brush that under the rug.

While we're at it, we'll also conveniently try to forget that Montana's 49ers beat the snot out of Dan Marino's Dolphins (who were favored to win) AND John Elway's Broncos (55-10) on the games biggest stage.

The Super Bowl.

I mean, what more proof do you need? That's like saying if JRStress kicks the crap out of Ugly American outside of a bar in Texas, Ugly American is still the better fighter because JR is a professional boxer.

???? Uh, WHAT????

"Well, if Dan Marino played in the same system Joe played in..."

Are we dealing in reality or fantasy? If Dan Marino played in the same system???? What does that mean?

If a frog had wings he wouldn't slam his balls on the rocks every time he jumped in the pond!!! If my grandma had a penis she'd be my grandpa.

What is your point?

Should we downplay the greatness of Michael Jordan because he played with Scottie Pippen? Do we minimize Jordan's influence because Phil Jackson was his coach? And what about Magic Johnson? How great was he? Afterall, he played with arguably the greatest center of all time.

And Bill Russell? His 11 championship rings were a product of Red Auerbach, right?

I mean, what's the point of labeling somebody "great" if we are going to penalize them for it?

The truth is, I don't care who Joe Montana beat on the games biggest stage. That was child's play. It's how Joe played the position.

You know what I remember most about Dan Marino? Dan Marino was a QB that could put up huge numbers, but in the huddle, Dan Marino was arguably the biggest rattle trap on the field. Marino was a guy who could throw a ball 4 feet in front of his wide receiver and absolutely scream down a guy because his throw was hampered by pressure.

Yeah, way to divide team chemistry, Marino! I'm guessing the tight end you just aired out might not run as hard the next time because, well, you're a prick!

He was rattled! You could rattle Dan Marino. Dan Marino had no problem informing opposing defenses that he was off his game. He might as well have walked to the side lines and filled out invitations to blitz his ass.

You don't want a QB like that on the biggest stage. They don't win championships.

You didn't rattle Joe Montana.

The only way to beat Joe Montana (as shown by the NY Giants) in a meaningful game was to knock him out of the game. Joe wasn't bothered by pressure or the moment. The position was more about rhythm and timing than it was how much arm strength do I have so I can gun the ball into triple coverage, trying to be a hero.

I mean, you can make the argument that todays most successful QB, the New England Patriots Tom Brady, is a product of Joe Montana's influence the same way Michael Jordan helped carve out Kobe Bryant. In my opinion, that's the ultimate, tell tale sign of greatness.

You don't see many championship QB's talking about growing up emulating Jim Plunkett, or Jim Kelly.

Thanks for your time,

JR