The inductions of Dan Marino and Steve Young to the Pro Football Hall of Fame got me to thinking: Why is Joe Montana considered the game’s greatest quarterback? Whatever the network, whoever the pundit, most proclaim Joe Montana as the greatest. Is their reasoning based on his statistics or any records he may hold? No, because Dan Marino holds most of the major passing records, and Steve Young has the highest passer rating in the game’s history. What their arguments usually start and end with is Joe Montana’s 4 Super Bowl Rings.
Well, Terry Bradshaw has 4 Super Bowl Rings, why isn’t he considered the greatest of all time?
The Steel Curtain, you say? I agree. The 1970’s Pittsburgh Steelers were dominant on defense. During their 4 Super Bowl runs, in points scored against, the defense ranked 2nd in both 1974 and 1975, 1st in 1978 and 5th in 1979. Defense, as the pundits also say, wins championships. So, even though Terry Bradshaw was NFL MVP in 1978 his defense gets the majority of the credit for their success.
What’s puzzling is how you never hear any credit given to the defense of the San Francisco 49’ers during their 1980’s Super Bowl runs. If defense really wins championships, then let’s see how that 49’er D fared. In their 1981 Super Bowl run, the 49’er defense was rank 2nd in points against, and capped off a brilliant defensive season with a memorable goal line stand, 4 turnovers, and 5 sacks in the 26-21 Super Bowl win against Cincinnati. However, Joe Montana was the game’s MVP after passing for a mere 157 yards.
The 1984 San Francisco 49’ers Super Bowl run was much of the same. The defense finished the year ranked number 1 in points against. After giving up 10 points in the divisional playoff game, the defense pitched a shutout in the NFC Championship game, and then held the league’s number 1 offense (Dan Marino’s Miami Dolphins) to 16 points, while forcing 2 turnovers and 4 sacks, in the 38 -16 Super Bowl win. With a much better statistical effort, 331 yards and 3 touchdowns, Joe Montana was named the game’s MVP.
1988 saw some slippage from the 49’er defense. They only ranked 8th in points against. Still, come playoff time the defense yielded only 12 points in their first two playoff games. Facing off in the Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals, the NFL’s number 1 ranked offense that year, the 49’er defense once again rose to the occasion giving up only 16 points, forcing one turnover, 5 sacks, and holding their opponent to less than 50% passing and under 4 yards per carry.
The defense returned to top form for the 1989 regular season finishing 3rd in points against, and once again turned in a stellar defensive performance in the post season. Three blowout wins where the defense surrendered a total of 26 points brought the 49’ers their fourth Super Bowl title in nine years.
For 10 years, beginning with their first championship season (1981) and ending with Joe Montana’s last season as starter (1990), the San Francisco 49’er defense ranked in the top 4 in eight of those years. The only aberrations were the strike shortened 1982 season and the aforementioned eighth ranking in 1988.
Joe Montana played with a perennially dominating top 4 defense that consistently shut down great offenses in the post-season. How is that story different from Terry Bradshaw’s? Why is it held against Bradshaw for having a great defense, but ignored for Montana, who also had a great defense. Virtually the only thing missing from the 49’er defense is an intimidating nickname to match its impenetrability.
I’m not arguing that Joe Montana wasn’t a great quarterback. However, I’m arguing against the certainty with which many make the claim that he’s THE greatest. I’m also arguing against the criterion that the claim is based on. If Super Bowl Championships have been won with a dominating defense then the titles can not be a testament to the quarterback’s greatness.
Whether you’re Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Trent Dilfer, or Tom Brady your greatness isn’t determined by having your defense dominate the league. Joe Montana is the greatest quarterback of all time – the biggest myth in pro football!
16 replies on “Exposing The Biggest Myth In Pro Football”
A few mistakes For the team name, 49’ers does not need an apostrophe. Technically it should, but the team goes without it. Thus just write 49er or 49ers.
“defense of the San Francisco 49’ers during their”
“defense” is singular, “their” is plural. Change defense to defenses or their to its.
“In their 1981 Super Bowl run, the 49’er defense”
Same as above.
“1988 saw some slippage from the 49’er defense. They only ranked 8th in points against”
Same as a couple above.
“the 49’er defense once again rose to the occasion giving up only 16 points, forcing one turnover, 5 sacks, and holding their opponent to less than 50% passing and under 4 yards per carry.”
Same as a few above.
“For 10 years, beginning with their first championship season (1981) and ending with Joe Montana’s last season as starter (1990), the San Francisco 49’er defense ranked in the top 4 in eight of those years.”
Yet again, their at the beginning should be its. Defense is singular while their is plural.
Also, this sentence reads a little awkward. It would be better if you ended it with “eight times” instead of “eight of those years.”
Great job! Great research and great writing. I’m voting for it, but hopefully you will make the corrections. I really liked it.
But to rebut your arguement about his statistics:
He has 40,000 yards, five less than twice as many touchdowns as interceptions, a 17-7 playoff record, the eighth most yards, seventh most touchdowns, eighth most completions and third best QB rating (though I think he is back in second; Kurt Warner was ahead of him for a while). That is not too shabby. He has won 17 more playoff games than Jim Mora and lost only one more. Not too shabby.
I think Unitas is the best of all time as he dominated in a completely different era. Montana is up there though.
Oh You forgot Jim McMahon, the second worst defense wins Super Bowls QB.
Trent Dilfer will always hold that honor.
Unless Rick Mirer one day wins a Super Bowl….
Kyle Boller’s got something to say about that.
To bsd987 I do believe you may be mistaken with the rules that you are applying to my grammar. Of course ‘defense’ is singular and ‘their’ is plural, however, their is being used as the pronoun for San Francisco 49’ers, not a pronoun for defense.
Take this sentence for example. The defense of Joe in HIS title fight was superb. The fight was Joe’s not his defense’s. In my column the Super Bowl runs were the 49’ers not their defense’s.
Here’s another sentence. No one liked the cards of Joe in HIS World Series of Poker match. Does it make sense to say ‘no one liked the cards of Joe in THEIR poker match’. See, I believe the rule is that the pronoun belongs to noun in the prepositional phrase. The cards are not playing poker, and the defense is not making a Super Bowl run, the 49’ers are.
Now, if I’m wrong, then the burden of proof is on you, and you’ll have to present more than just YOUR word to prove otherwise. Give me the specific grammatical rule.
As far as 49’ers vs. 49ers don’t waste time with such triviality.
Next, I never argued anything about Montana’s stats. I merely said that the pundits do not point to his stats when making proclamations of his being the greatest. Did you know his statistical rankings off the top of your head or did you have to look them up? We do, however, know 4 Super Bowl Rings without looking it up. And, we also know Dan Marino holds almost every significant career passing record for quarterbacks.
Lastly, it’s argument, not arguEment. If you’re going to play William Safire around here make sure you dot all your own I’s and cross all your own T’s. I’ll be waiting for either the specific grammatical rule from you, or for a retraction.
good article very nicely written. please never, ever, ever, ever again mention terry bradshaw’s name when talking about the greatest quarterbacks to play the game.
wrong…. 49ers vs. 49’ers is not trivial. It is a proper noun that you butchered.
The pronoun belongs to the noun it is modifying the way you wrote those sentences, it was modifying defense:
“defense of the San Francisco 49’ers during their”
“of the 49’ers” is a prepositionary phrase. It is not the noun. The “during their” applies to 49’ers.
“In their 1981 Super Bowl run, the 49’er defense”
49’er is a singular advective in this case. Even if it were a noun, it would be its.
“1988 saw some slippage from the 49’er defense. They only ranked 8th in points against”
Same as my last explanation.
“the 49’er defense once again rose to the occasion giving up only 16 points, forcing one turnover, 5 sacks, and holding their opponent to less than 50% passing and under 4 yards per carry.”
Same as my last explanation.
“For 10 years, beginning with their first championship season (1981) and ending with Joe Montana’s last season as starter (1990), the San Francisco 49’er defense ranked in the top 4 in eight of those years.”
Same as my last explanation.
That is the rule. There is nothing more I can say.
I hope that there’s nothing more you say bsd987, did you just write that something was a PREPOSITIONARY phrase? You’re starting to embarrass yourself! It’s PREPOSITIONAL phrase. First you misspell argument, now you’re talking about ‘prepositionary’ phrases.
By the way, ‘to the defense’ is a prepositional phrase, too. So, which noun in which prepositional phrase is the pronoun modifying? These are complex sentences and maybe your understanding of grammar is rather simplistic.
Lastly, I see that you fancy yourself as some kind of ‘grammar policeman’ on this site. That’s fine, some people need to have identities they are proud of. However, you lose whatever credibility you THINK you have when you can’t apply the rules you THINK you know to your own writings.
Anyway, I don’t have time nitpick minutiae with someone so in need of self-esteem boosting that they spend their free time sifting through website posts trying to find and correct someone else’s grammatical errors.
If you’re not getting paid for that, it’s really kind of sad.
PREPOSITIONARY PHRASES!!! LOL What a joke!
Thank you tays44, thank you.
If the pundits continue using championships as the measuring rod, then either Bradshaw is the greatest, or the criterion is absurd.
Don’t forget, too, that Terry Bradshaw made some big plays in the two Super Bowls versus the Cowboys, and in the one against the L.A. Rams. He may not have been one of the greatest, but he sure knew how to play great in big games.
And, remember, this was before the West Coast Offense and short routes that needed elusive backs and receivers to break big plays. Bradshaw had to tough it out in the pocket with pressure barrelling down on him and still make an accurate throw 40 yards downfield. He didn’t have Jerry Rice taking slants 60 yards, or Roger Craig taking screens 50 yards.
Give Bradshaw some credit.
dude I’m typing faster than I’m thinking and I cannot spell. I use spellcheck on my articles and it picks up a lot of mistakes.
If you read the guidelines to this site, it says make sure you use spellcheck and that articles are clean of grammar and spelling mistakes.
It even reminds you when you post.
Also, why are you having a cow and acting like you are mister perfect? You cannot submit articles and be this thin-skinned. It is one thing if I bastardize your entire article and you act like this, but I kindly mention some gramatical mistakes and compliment your article and you take it like I am out to get you. I am just pointing things out, hoping that you correct them for future use. I am wrong sometimes and in which case I am sorry.
But even if I am wrong with the first one, the other mistakes are mistakes because you make 49’er and defense both singular. There is no plural and there is no and that makes it two seperate things.
I may be nitpicking, but it takes ten seconds to go back and correct it.
I make mistakes too and if you find any, I’ll be more than happy to make the correction.
You cannot take part in a community-edited site and be so thin-skinned.
Also, you come off sounding rude and ignorant (which I sometimes do and I apologize when I do).
Don’t tell me to “prove” something, have me prove it, and then ignore me like that. Ask me kindly like, “I don’t see anything wrong,” or “I did not learn that. Can you show me that rule?” or something like that.
But when you someone to prove it, he proves it, and you still ignore it because he accidentally mispelled arguement and put down the wrong word in place of prepositional when he was typing a comment, that is being rude and ignorant.
I am sorry if I insulted you, but you have to learn to be less thick-skinned and accept that you are not perfect. Almost everyone makes that mistake; I am just telling you nicely so that you can make the correction.
If you do not want me to do that, I’ll kindly not comment and vote your articles down if there are mistakes.
one more thing “Next, I never argued anything about Montana’s stats. I merely said that the pundits do not point to his stats when making proclamations of his being the greatest. Did you know his statistical rankings off the top of your head or did you have to look them up? We do, however, know 4 Super Bowl Rings without looking it up. And, we also know Dan Marino holds almost every significant career passing record for quarterbacks.”
I was just stating something. You don’t have to be an asshole about it. I was stating my own opinion. I was not correcting you, nor did I say you said anything. I was just stating something to tell you what my opinion was.
You wrote “Is their reasoning based on his statistics or any records he may hold?”
And I rebutted by giving my opinion based on his statistics that he was pretty good. You don’t have to sound like an asshole when you type that. I just rebutted your article with my opinion. I even said that. I was stating my opinion on the matter, not putting words in your mouth.
{{{YAWN}}} At least you admit you are wrong on the first example. But, why is this so important to you? My column is free from any blatant grammatical errors. Only the fanatical would choose to press on and search for trivial errors.
And, if there are errors, why would I take YOUR word for it? You’ve already admitted that you were initially wrong, and you don’t know the lexicon of the discipline.
To paraphrase Barry Goldwater, your motto on this site must be ‘Extremism in the defense of [ego] is no vice’.
LOL
Let it go LOL Don’t be so thin-skinned. LOL
I’m finished, you provided me a couple good laughs today. I have more important things to tend to.
i did not say I was wrong I said even if I were wrong…..
Geez.
Let us end this feud.
do you not know what thin-skinned is? You cannot take criticism.
Oh my god.
Let me repeat, this was a great article and I voted for it, I just pointed out a couple mistakes and my opinion.
Now, let us end this feud.
one thing “No one liked the cards of Joe in HIS World Series of Poker match.”
It would be awkward if you write it like that.
get a clue dig deep into statistics and youll find most qb’s dont amount to a pimple on joes ass. like the fact that of all qb to go to lose or win a superbowl only 3 others had a better playoff qb rating than reg season. after all thats where the cream of the crop is. joes career superbowl rating was 127.8 find me anyone within 20 points didnt search it. but maybe aikman, brady, (young 1 game). then theres int. per pass attempt only young comes close . brady blows everyone away. i have a spead sheet in excel and bradshaws #’s suck. others may not give details other than sb victories but if you dig deep and compare everything, theres only montana by himself! brady actually has better #’s but i dont like to compare active with retired. but hes in a great position to stand alone someday. all based on facts. for anyone who would like a copy of the full excel speadsheet email me at [email protected]