A handful of former NFL quarterbacks have spoken on the recent Deflate-gate scandal following the Patriots into Sunday’s Super Bowl, but none that carry the weight of Joe Montana.
Montana, a four-time Super Bowl winner, three-time league MVP and Tom Brady’s boyhood idol, said that if the footballs used in the Patriots win over the Colts in the AFC championship game were altered, it was demanded by Brady.
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“I mean, it’s easy to figure out who did it,” Montana said after an appearance for Papa John’s, via the Boston Globe. “Did Tom do it? No, but Tom likes the balls that way, obviously, or you wouldn’t have 11 of them that way without him complaining, because as a quarterback, you know how you like the ball. If it doesn’t feel like that, something is wrong.”
Montana added: “If I ever want a ball a certain way, I don’t do it myself ... so, somebody did it for him."
“But I don’t know why everybody is making a big deal out of trying to figure out who did it. It’s pretty simple. If it was done, it was done for a reason.”
Montana continued to bash the NFL’s rules on the handling of footballs.
“It’s a stupid thing to even be talking about because they shouldn’t have the rule anyway,” Montana said. “If you want to see the game played at the best, everybody has a different grip, everybody likes a different feel.”
Montana even said he wishes he thought about toying with the air pressure in the football back in his playing days.
“Troy (Aikman) and I were in the back saying, ‘Dang, we weren’t smart enough to think about air pressure,’” said Montana. “Because he couldn’t throw in the rain, neither could I. We should have thought about that earlier.”
Brady is trying to join Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks to win four Super Bowls, and despite the swirling controversy, Montana said Brady is easily one of the best to ever play the position whether the Patriots win or lose to the Seahawks.
“Can it get any better? The guy is already playing at the top of the level of anybody else,” he said. “I think a win is great for him, but I think if he loses, I don’t think it matters to his legacy at all. The guy has won three and been here six times.”