pinnacle nfl

If the New England Patriots go on to win my shirt size XL - as in Super Bowl XL - this year I'm going to have to make a statement that 49er fans (myself included) might not like hearing. Here goes: Tom Brady is better than Joe Montana.Not yet, but that's the conclusion I have to reach in the event that the team from Foxboro, Mass. hoists the Vince Lombardi trophy again this year.I'm a huge 49er fan - just check out my hat in the little picture that accompanies this column. The only picture in my office at the moment is of Montana with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background that reads, "the Road to the Super Bowl Goes through San Francisco."But I can't argue with the facts.Since getting the rock early in the 2001 season after former starter Drew Bledsoe went down, the kid who was picked 199th overall in the 2000 NFL draft has been on a collision course with Canton, Ohio.And the sickest thing for Niner fans is that the sixth-round draft pick from San Mateo has said on a number of occasions that he wanted nothing more than to be a 49er, stating that as the draft went on, the 6-foot-4-inch quarterback, who played his college ball at Michigan, was hoping that he would get the call from the 'Niners' front office with each passing round.Instead, the 49ers spent their third-round pick that year on Hofstra quarterback Giovanni Carmazzi and chose Tim Rattay in the seventh round. Between the two picks, was the Bay Area kid who yearned to be a 49er.Time out. I think I need a throw-up bucket.Had the Niners picked Brady it would have gone Montana, Young and Brady. The team with five Super Bowl rings wouldn't have missed a beat. Montana went from 1979 to 1992 with the 'Niners. Young had the starting job from 1992-1999, and retired following a series of concussions. Then bingo - Brady would have come along the following season and the Super Bowl train would have kept chugging along.But that's all pointless now. And since most of you Bay Area football enthusiasts are familiar with Montana's astronomical numbers, let's see why Brady's stats rival his childhood idol's.The best place to start is with Brady's three Super Bowl wins since getting the nod in 2001. Three regular season wins out of four is good in this league, but three out of four Super Bowl wins is off the chart.Montana won four rings his entire career! Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw won four rings in six years, which is slightly better than Brady right now - but Bradshaw is sitting behind the desk every week at Fox studios while Brady hasn't even reached his prime. And that's the scary thing.And Brady's numbers are just as amazing.Brady has a record of 68-20 in regular-season and playoff games. It is the best record of any NFL quarterback in the Super Bowl Era (since 1966) with at least 40 starts. Brady is the only quarterback in NFL history to start and win three Super Bowls before his 28th birthday, having quarterbacked the Patriots to victories in Super Bowl XXXVI when he was 24 years old, Super Bowl XXXVIII (26) and Super Bowl XXXIX (27).Brady is the fourth quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to three or more Super Bowl wins, joining Terry Bradshaw (4), Joe Montana (4) and Troy Aikman (3).Brady owns two Pete Rozelle Awards as Super Bowl MVP (XXXVI and XXXVIII).He is just the fourth player in Super Bowl history to earn multiple MVP awards, joining Montana, Terry Bradshaw and Bart Starr, all three of whom are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.Brady is the NFL's all-time leader in overtime wins without a defeat, recording a perfect 7-0 mark in overtime in his career. Brady owns the Super Bowl record for pass completions in a game, connecting on 32 passes in Super Bowl XXXVIII.Brady has won his first 10 playoff games, setting an NFL record for the most consecutive playoff wins to begin a career.Brady has led a game-winning drive in each of the Patriots' three Super Bowl victories.And in the only year he didn't lead the Pats to the Promise Land, Brady led the NFL with 28 touchdown passes in 2002 and became the first Patriot to lead the league in touchdown passes since Steve Grogan shared the lead with Brian Sipe (28) in 1979.Brady (24 years, 184 days old) was voted MVP of Super Bowl XXXVI and was the third-youngest player to earn the honor (Marcus Allen, 23 years and 301 days at Super Bowl XVIII and Lynn Swann, 23 years, 316 days at Super Bowl X).He also became just the fifth quarterback to be voted to the Pro Bowl in his first year as a starter since 1970, joining Dan Marino (1983), Brett Favre (1992), Kurt Warner (1999) and Daunte Culpepper (2000).Brady completed the first 162 passes of his career without an interception. It was the longest streak to start a career in NFL history.The bottom line is that my heart is with San Francisco and the guy who threw "The Catch" that put the franchise on the map. But I can't argue with the facts either. Although Montana, who interestingly went to Ringgold High School in Pennsylvania, can't win any more gold rings the kid from San Mateo can. And if he does, the two are tied. But Brady still potentially has a decade of football still ahead of him.By the way, what ever happened to Giovanni Carmazzi?