The California Kid Tom Brady is never shy about sharing his love for 49ers great Joe Montana.
This Thursday Brady posted a TBT on his Facebook wearing his idol’s jersey in 1983.
But Montana may have thrown him an unexpected curve ball just hours later.
When asked about the New England Patriots under-inflated footballs Brady’s childhood idol told the Boston Globe he believes Brady had a role.
“If I ever want a ball a certain way, I don’t do it myself. So, somebody did it for him,” Montana said.
Maybe he was sending a zing Brady’s way, but Montana was quick to blame the kickers for the origin of the problem.
He said the reason the NFL uses kicking balls directly out of the box is because teams doctored them so dramatically.
Montana added insight only a quarterback can when he said they shouldn’t have that rule anyway.
“That if league officials want to see the game played with the best, everybody has a different grip, everybody likes a different feel,” Montana told the Globe.
While Tom Brady has the rare opportunity to join Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only starting quarterbacks to have a Super Bowl ring on four fingers, Montana thinks Brady’s overall legacy is safe.
“Can it get any better? The guy is already playing at the top of the level of anybody else. 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,” Montana said.
Montana also joked that he and fellow hall of famer Troy Aikman could never throw in the rain and they wished they had been smart enough to think about the air pressure in the footballs.