A random thought experiment for you guys today. Suppose you are the owner of an expansion team, with a below-average offense line, a below-average set of skill position players, and a below-average defense. Your only goal is to get to at least .500 in your first season.

By luck, you do have one wish. You get to have as your quarterback either Cam Newton or Joe Montana; in either case, you would get your quarterback in his prime, so you’re getting the best Newton or Montana possible.

Which would you choose? The obvious answer, of course, is Montana: a man always in discussion for the title of best quarterback of all time, and an AP All-Pro three times in four years during (one stretch of) his prime.  But in this example, there’s no Jerry Rice, Dwight Clark, Freddie Solomon, Roger Craig, John Taylor.  And, perhaps most importantly, no Bill Walsh.

With Newton, you get arguably the best running quarterback in football history, but a player whose passing efficiency stats have been average at best in four of the last five seasons.  But Newton has a lot more experience carrying below-average teams to success than Montana.

So who would you pick, and why?