“Tom, steal Bruce Arians’ whiskey and share it with the offensive linemen. He’ll think Gronk took it. I stole Marty Schottenheimer’s hooch once and he blamed Marcus Allen.”

There are always comparisons to the current GOAT of the NFL and the GOAT of a previous age.

When Tom Brady was a kid growing up in northern California, he went to 49ers games to see Joe Montana and those fantastic San Francisco teams.

Montana (and to a lesser degree Terry Bradshaw) were known as the kings of the Super Bowl. But had four rings. And while Bradshaw dominated The Big Game, throwing some of history’s best touchdown passes, Montana had much more flair for the dramatic in the postseason and regular season.

Montana, 4-0 in Super Bowls, has one of Joe’s favorite stats: four Super Bowls, zero picks.

(Joe still gives the overall nod to Montana over Brady. He had to beat a murderer’s row to make the Super Bowl, whereas Brady and the Belicheats feasted on a weaker than weak AFC East).

But it seems Brady has taken one thing from his boyhood hero: it is as important to be accepted socially by teammates as it is for them to accept your football ability.

Like Brady, Montana changed teams late in his career, flipping to the Chiefs for his last two seasons. Montana was beaten up physically but he still had magic in his arm, guiding the Chiefs to the AFC title game in 1993 and the playoffs in 1994 before his 38-year-old body finally gave out for good.

Connor Orr of SI.com details that Montana knew he had to fit in and be one of the guys in Kansas City to make the transition work.

Teammates and coaches remember Montana as a man at ease with his place in life; someone who could glide around an unfamiliar locker room and instantly win over his new teammates. Montana made the social aspect of his job look as effortless as the physical, which those around him insisted was just as important.

The tidbits Joe hears seeping out from One Buc Palace is that Brady, too, is just one of the guys, even though his new teammates know his resume.

Tristan Wirfs said he was taken aback when Brady came up to him unannounced, introduced himself to Wirfs and asked Wirfs how old he was.

For nearly Wirf’s entire life, Brady has been the quarterback of the Patriots.

Several Bucs talked about how Brady wasted little time reaching out to them. Brady was also the guy who masterminded the spring and summer workouts at Berkeley Prep.

And we’ve seen photos of Brady bro-hugging Shady McCoy, and we heard stories from RoJo how Brady has helped him, coaching him up on improving route running.

Now will Brady go out drinking with offensive linemen like he did in New England when he was younger? Will he be a practical joker like Montana was, letting off stinkbombs when his coach was supposed to address the team? For some reason, Brady doesn’t seem to be a practical joker.

Just from what Joe has seen and heard coming from One Buc Palace, it seems Brady is fitting in fine.

As a football player, as the old saying goes, Brady’s reputation has preceded him.