No comparison — Brady, Montana are both great
Murphy: One of the story lines this week is the Tom Brady-Joe Montana comparison, because if he wins his fourth he ties Joe (and Terry Bradshaw). Manning: Joe was just an unbelievable quarterback, and Tom’s been the same way. What the Patriots have done, the consistency they have shown during this era of football is very impressive — winning divisions, going to Super Bowls. They are two great quarterbacks without a doubt. Murphy: Of course, it is against Super Bowl law to not ask your opinion of Deflategate. Manning: Guys, I don’t know anything about it. I know ... a bunch of quarterbacks six or seven years ago that wanted to change the way they put footballs into the game. Because you know the referees would just throw a new football out there and it would be too slick. So that kind of changed the rules because quarterbacks can be involved in how they prepare the footballs or kind of breaking them in a little bit, which is a good rule because a slick football is bad. Murphy: Just because of what’s happened, do you look at the Patriots any differently? Do you look at them less impressively? Manning: Well, I don’t. You know if this had happened late in the year in a Jacksonville-Tennessee game I don’t think
we’d be hearing much about it. Murphy: Now I’m looking at your career — if I have this right — you played for (coaches) J.D. Roberts, John North, Ernie Hefferle, Hank Stram, Dick Nolan, Dick Stanfel and maybe Bum Phillips, is that about right? (Plus Ed Biles in
An edited transcript of the conversation between former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and KNBR’s Brian Murphy and Paul McCaffrey. Houston, and Bud Grant and Les Steckel in Minnesota.)
Manning: Well, I don’t know if that’s a record for head coaches in a 12-year period, but it’s a pretty good average.
Murphy: You’re on the list. Manning: Boy that’s a lot of changes. Murphy: So you know what a head coach can do. ... Do you feel like the 49ers, perceptionwise, have taken a step back? Manning: No I just don’t know, I just don’t know anything about the new staff. I know Jim Harbaugh is a heck of a football coach. I go way, way back with Vic Fangio, who is a great friend of mine. Gosh, I just, I think back to the 49ers-Giants championship game a few years ago. That was one of the dangedestever seen, so footballthey really games had I’ve some good teams.
Murphy: Did (son) Peyton (Manning) tell you anything about the Seattle defense?
Manning: Yeah, he said, “They were good.”
Murphy: That was evident. Manning: He said, “They were real good.” Murphy: Is it Seattle’s defense or is it the Brady-(Bill) Belichick legacy? Manning: I think it will be the fourth quarter. It’ll be tight. This may be a field-goal game. ... I’ll pick the Patriots.