INDIANAPOLIS -- Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana made the rounds at the Super Bowl media center today, and spent some time talking about Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady, who grew up in California, was a fan of Montana when he played for the San Francisco 49ers and won four Super Bowls.
Given Brady's success -- he's playing for his own fourth Super Bowl ring on Sunday -- Montana was asked to compare himself to Brady.
"It's hard to compare guys. He's a completely different style of player than I was. He's most of the time in the shotgun. I don't think I ever stepped foot ... well, I did once. they snapped the ball over my head and [ coach ] Bill [ Walsh ] said forget it, get under the center. He likes to be in the pocket. We all try to stay in the pocket but I didn't stay there if I didn't have to. Things got crazy. He doesn't like to move around and that's the key to the game this weekend. You have to make him move."
On the quarterbacks with four Super Bowl rings club:
"I don't know if there's a club. You guys make the club. Terry [ Bradshaw ] and I don't sit around talking about that, but I think it's great for him. He's had a great career. The thing with him is he's still got enough age on him that he can probably get back here another time or two. So it'll be fun to watch him."
Is Brady a Hall of Famer?
"Oh, yeah. Long before this. You've got guys who've done not anywhere near what he's accomplished and made it to the Hall of Fame so obviously he's well past that."
On the Brady/Belichick and Patriot dynasty if they win
"The thing I like about them is that they've been able to do it with different teams. Obviously there's a connection between him and Bill and that's probably the biggest key. When you have that connection with the quarterback, you can make things work with just about whoever you've got. It doesn't matter."
On Eli Manning
"He's in the same boat. He doesn't really have to. Everybody wants him to win another Super Bowl to have to prove something. I'm not sure why. Obviously the more you win the better you feel. He didn't come here to lose. I actually believe they've got the better team."
More on Montana and The Catch:
Montana will recreate The Catch, which happened 30 years ago when he completed a touchdown pass to Dwight Clark with under a minute left in the NFC Championship vs. the Cowboys to advance to the Super Bowl. The Catch will be celebrated at the Volkswagen Rolling Stone Rock N Roll fan tailgate party on Sunday and eight fans will have a chance to re-enact that catch with Montana and one person will go to the game with Montana.