Larry Brown Sports

Randy Moss made waves during the week leading up to the Super Bowl when he confidently proclaimed himself to be the greatest receiver to ever play in the NFL. Jerry Rice was not shy in expressing how strongly he disagrees with Moss, and he pointed to statistics and championship rings to argue that he, not Moss, is the best ever.

Naturally, Rice’s former quarterback also believes Moss is mistaken. During an appearance on PFT Live on Tuesday, Joe Montana talked about the differences between Moss and Rice.

“I just think that he can’t do all the things that Jerry could do,” Montana said. “Randy will get behind you and he’s pretty good at going up and down the field. But going across the middle and catching little 10-yard crosses and 5-yard shallow crosses and turning them into a big play by making people miss, that’s not going to happen. He may outrun you, but he’s not going to make you miss.

“He’s a great receiver, but he’s not Jerry Rice.”

One of the arguments Moss supporters will make is that Rice played with tremendous quarterbacks. Moss, on the other hand, bounced around throughout his career and played with some signal-callers who were average at best, with the exception of Tom Brady for more than three seasons and Brett Favre for a handful of games.

Moss may be the most physically-gifted receiver to ever play, but no one ever questioned Rice’s effort or work ethic. Whether you agree or not, the comments that Bill Romanowski made about Moss on Sunday would never have been made about Rice during his career. Had Randy given 100% effort  throughout his 14-year career and continued his career the way it started, he would have certainly had a chance to be the best. Rice simply did it more consistently and for a longer time period.

While most fans and media believe that Michael Jordan was the greatest NBA player of all time, there is far less consensus about who is the best quarterback of all time. Some say Johnny Unitas, others point to Joe Montana, both John Elway and Peyton Manning are in the discussion, and many believe Tom Brady is up there.

Montana gets the nod in many debates because he went 4-0 in Super Bowls. Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is obviously biased, believes Brady is the best ever.

“I think that Tommy, with all due respect, is better than Joe Montana,” Kraft said in an NFL.com article about Brady. “I know that’s a leap, but I really think he might already be the best of all-time. I watch how involved he is, how driven he is. He’s like Belichick, he’s into the details. And he’s got a skill that makes him so special, he can process all of it so quickly. … And then, he’s just got that quality. Certain people have that sincerity. He’s a very genuine guy. People can relate to him. People can trust him.”

Kraft also said Brady is like a son to him, so it’s not exactly shocking that he would make the remark.

Brady was told about his boss’ remark and switched the focus away from whether he’s better than his idol.

Brady might not want to participate in the debate, but that won’t stop us from analyzing it.

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Now that the Jets have traded for Tim Tebow, Mark Sanchez finds himself in a wee bit of a quarterback controversy. Joe Montana knows all about quarterback controversies. Montana had to fight off Steve Young for several seasons after the 49ers traded for Young in 1987. Comparing Sanchez’s situation with Montana’s might be quite the stretch. Montana already had two Super Bowls by the time Young came in and was solidified as the starter, even when Young excelled in back-up duty.

But for now, Sanchez still has the starting gig in his grasp, and Montana believes Sanchez should stay confident because he has the talent edge over Tebow.

“Mark is a better player right now and that’s it,” he wrote in an email to the New York Daily News. “As long as Mark believes in himself and plays, it’s not an issue. It’s more of an issue for those of you who write, or blog or tweet and all the other methods of delivering content.”

Sure, Sanchez is a better quarterback than Tebow, but does he have the support in the locker room that he needs to succeed? Tebow could step in and probably have greater respect from the guys in the huddle because Tebow can have that kind of effect on people. But mostly because Antonio Cromartie doesn’t play offense.

Photo credit: Jason O. Watson, US Presswire

When Tom Brady was carving up every defense in the league back in 2007, we thought we would never see anything like it again. Little did we know, Aaron Rodgers would come along a mere four years later and threaten to outperform him.  Rodgers is three wins away from a 16-0 season, 11 touchdowns shy of tying Brady’s single-season touchdown pass record, and on his way to setting a record for passer rating.  Like Brady in ’07, he has made virtually no mistakes with a mere six interceptions.  Like many other current and future NFL Hall of Famers, Joe Montana is in awe of what Rodgers has done this year.

“The (season Rodgers) is having right now is pretty phenomenal,” Montana said on the Dan Patrick Show according to Pro Football Talk. “I’m not sure I had one like that. From my understanding, the way the numbers are going, I don’t think anyone has.”

Montana’s comments simply echo those already made by other all-time greats like Kurt Warner and Tom Brady.  Rodgers could end up having the greatest season any quarterback has ever had statistically, but I think he would agree it means nothing without a Super Bowl ring to top it off.  If Brady could trade his 50-touchdown season for another ring, I’m sure he would.

Montana may have thrown more than 30 touchdown passes only once in his career, but the NFL was not a pass-first league when he played.  No. 16 had plenty of legendary years with the Niners and has four rings to show for it.  At the end of the day, statistics mean very little.  I’m sure that’s a concept Rodgers is very much aware of.

When you think of countries outside of the United States that enjoy American football, Japan probably isn’t one of the first to come to mind. We know the NFL is somewhat popular in London as a result of the games that have been played there over the last several years, but who knew Japan had a favorite NFL team?

As SFGate.com shared with us, American football became popular in Japan in the 1980s thanks to Joe Montana.

“He was the best pitchman any league could ever ask for,” said Ikuma Isaac of Nippon TV Japan and NFLJapan.com. Montana, at the time, did a commercial for Mitsubishi electronics and used a play on words with his last name that was similar to a Japanese phrase. The commercial, Montana, the 49ers and the NFL became a huge hit.

Nippon TV is a Japanese network that was in Santa Clara this week to get some stories on the Niners’ unlikely success so far this season.  According to cameraman and and director Kohel Kosaka, about 80 percent of the people in Japan are familiar with the 49ers thanks to Montana.  Nicely done, Joe.  Nicely done indeed.

Not long ago, we interviewed legendary fighter Evander Holyfield who said he wouldn’t stop boxing until he became heavyweight champion of the world again. The man was completely serious and made many of us question his sanity. In response to Holyfield’s claim, our man Harvey Bars of Tirico Suave said “If you have a Sega Genesis game named after you, it’s probably time to retire.” Well that comment seemed so accurate it inspired us to examine every single Sega Genesis sports game to see where those athletes and coaches have gone. Get ready for a trip down memory lane.

Joe Montana Football – Montana went on to set a career-high in passing yards with 3,944 the season after this game was released on New Year’s Day 1990. The following season, an elbow injury essentially ended his time in San Francisco, and he retired after two relatively successful seasons in Kansas City. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000, Montana was named the fourth greatest player in NFL history by the NFL Network.

Troy Aikman NFL Football – Following a year in which he posted a career-high 99.0 passer rating and led his team to its second-straight Super Bowl victory, this game was released on June 1, 1994. Aikman would play seven more seasons and win one more Super Bowl before retiring in 2000 due in large part to several concussions. He’s been nominated for an Emmy for his work as a color commentator for Fox Network and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Prime Time NFL Football starring Deion Sanders – Sanders had just been named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year when this game was released on Jan. 1, 1995. The two-sport star played in 137 combined games between the Reds and the Giants and missed the first half of that NFL season after knee surgery. Sanders retired in 2001, only to return three years later to play parts of two seasons with the Ravens. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year.

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