NFL: Joe Montana Best quarterback in History
The San Francisco 49ers were honoured by the NFL when the list of the 100 greatest NFL players was compiled. The 49ers hall of fame wide receiver Jerry Rice was given first place on the list and 4th place went to San Francisco’s quarterback, Joe
Montana. He was the highest ranked quarterback on the list.
If Rice was great, Montana was part of the reason why. Before Rice ever set foot in the field, Joe Montana had already won the Super Bowl twice and was named the Most Valuable Player both times. He was a legend before the legend of Jerry Rice was even born.
So when Jerry Rice walked into the San Francisco 49ers’ locker room and found himself in the presence of the Joe Montana, he was quite intimidated. Montana was a leader and made Rice feel comfortable and welcomed. It was Montana who created the player who
is now being recognized as the best of all time.
Physically there were quarterbacks in the league who made Montana look skinny, they had stronger arms and quicker releases, but none could match the abilities of San Francisco’s quarterback. He didn’t just throw. Montana was quick on his feet, nimble and
slippery. Montana scored 20 rushing touchdowns in his career and covered 1,676 yards on foot.
He didn’t play football just with his body, but with his mind too. Montana said that he viewed football as a game of chess. Each play was a part of a series that led up to checkmate.
His style wasn’t to go for the big plays. He believed that shorter but continuous gains were more damaging to the defence than long touchdown passes. Not like he didn’t mix 60 or 70 yard passes with the short ones but his focus always was to keep the ball
rolling. It worked for him and the 49ers. He could do that because he stood on that field like a radar searching for targets. Montana kept track of his receivers at all times. He knew where everyone on the field should be and where they actually were. If one
receiver was blocked, he would throw the ball to the next and if he couldn’t find anyone, he would just take off with the ball himself.
Montana pulled through for his team in the toughest of situations. It was never over until the clock came to 00:00. He proved this during the Super Bowl XXIII. The San Francisco 49ers were up against the Cincinnati Bengals and were trailing by 3 points.
49ers were almost a 100 yards from the end zone in the final drive of the final quarter with the time running out quickly.
Jerry Rice recalls that the 49ers were still at ease on that day. They could be at ease because they had the best quarterback leading them forward. To watch him make plays one after the other flawlessly was nothing short of poetry. Montana took that drive
to the end zone and the 49ers won the Super Bowl for the third time with Joe Montana leading.
There might be stronger quarterbacks with more deafening statistics but when it mattered, Montana had no rivals. He played in the Super Bowls four times in his career for the San Francisco 49ers and won all four titles. In those games he threw 11 touchdown
passes and no interceptions. His passer rating in the Super Bowl was an unbelievable 127.8. He was named the Most Valuable Player in the Super Bowl three times in total and is the only player in NFL history to hold that distinction.
After 12 NFL seasons, Montana ended his career with a passer rating of 92.3 which ranks 7th all-time. He was a Pro Bowl Selection in 8 seasons, first team All pro and second team all pro 3 times. In his career he scored 273 touchdowns and gained
over 40 thousands yards making him the best quarterback of all time.
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