The quarterback has always been the most important position in pro football, even in the days when the running game was dominant. Many fans don’t realize that quarterbacks called all the plays as late as the 1970s and into the early 1980s. So even if offenses weren’t quite as complex back then and great teams had excellent running games, having a field general like Bob Griese, Terry Bradshaw or Roger Staubach was critical. As the NFL evolved into a more pass-happy league, an evolution that has accelerated in the last ten years with rules protecting the quarterbacks and defenseless receivers, the importance of the quarterback has only been magnified.

This reality makes the relationship between the head coach and the quarterback the most important in pro football. Look at the great teams over the years, and you see great partnerships between coach and quarterback leading to success on the field. It’s interesting to take a look back and see how these relationships took shape and see how they varied based on the situations and the personalities involved. Here are several interesting examples:

1-Bill Belichick and Tom Brady

Bill Belichick was known as a defensive genius when he took over the New England Patriots, but he was also known as a rigid coach who had a complete lack of imagination on offense as a result of his years as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Belichick wanted the quarterback to be just another position on the field as he didn’t seem to acknowledge the leadership qualities of the position. Tom Brady was a sixth round pick sitting on the bench behind Drew Bledsoe.

When Bledsoe got hurt, Belichick turned to Brady and immediately saw Brady’s talent, decision-making and leadership ability. When Bledsoe came back, Belichick decided to stay with Brady, which at the time was a controversial decision. They made it to the Super Bowl, and by then Belichick has so much confidence in Brady that he made the aggressive decision to drive down the field with little time left in the fourth quarter in a tie game against the Rams. John Madden famously said on television that the Patriots should have just run out the clock and took their chances in overtime. Instead, Brady drove the Pats down to the game-winning field goal.

Two more Super Bowls and one undefeated regular season later, this partnership between Belichick and Brady is one of the most successful in NFL history. Belichick and his offensive coaches let Brady achieve his full potential by becoming just as imaginative on offense as Belichick had been his whole career on defense. From year to year the Patriots would beat you in many different ways, and then they grabbed Randy Moss they were almost unbeatable.

2-Mike Shanahan and John Elway

John Elway is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. Yet despite his heroics with “The Drive” and countless other games that he won on sheer athletic ability, Elway had never managed to win a Super Bowl. He never had a real running game, and the Denver defenses were routinely embarrassed in Super Bowls. Then Mike Shanahan arrived. Shanahan is a stubborn system guy, and since the John Elway days he’s not had nearly as much success with his arrogant attitude. But Shanahan’s system was exactly what Elway needed. Elway bought into the changes which placed more emphasis on a running game and a disciplined approach to the passing game, and the result was two Super Bowl titles.

3-Bill Walsh and Joe Montana

Bill Walsh was a system guy. He was an offensive genius who dominated the NFL with his West Coast offense, and he happened to find the perfect quarterback for his system in third-round draft pick Joe Montana. Montana was very accurate and incredibly smart, and he played the quarterback position flawlessly in this system. Of course the 49ers were loaded with talent on offense, but the natural relationship between Walsh and Montana set a standard that would be copied over and over again in the NFL. Look at Aaron Rodgers today, and you see flashes on what Walsh and Montana created thirty years ago. Rodgers and Mike McCarthy have forged a great relationship following the Brett Favre drama in Green Bay.

Of course there are exceptions that help prove the rule. Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw never got along, but they managed to ride one of the best defenses in history plus a great running game to four Super Bowls, and Bradshaw thrived under pressure despite his frosty relationship with Noll. Bill Parcells was notorious for riding Phil Simms, and they had great success as well.

But there’s no doubt that the relationship between the head coach and the quarterback is usually a critical component to sustained success in the NFL. It will be interesting to see how young quarterbacks like Sam Bradford and Matthew Stafford grow with their head coaches.

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Per the New York Times:

The son of the former Notre Dame standout Joe Montana was among 11 Fighting Irish athletes arrested on misdemeanor charges of underage drinking at a party Friday night in South Bend, Ind. A total of 44 people were arrested after the police discovered the party, said Bill Redman, the St. Joseph County Police assistant chief.

I don’t want to make light of underage drinking because there are plenty of stories out there that end in tragedy after a young person had too much to drink. But it’s not surprising that a bunch of college students got in trouble after their party got broken up and the only reason why this story is on 2A instead of 9B is because it was Joe Montana’s son (Nate is his name).

Either way, it’s not a good start for young Nate, or any of the 11 Irish athletes that were busted.

Joe Montana is confident that Brett Favre will return to football this season, but believes the 40-year-old quarterback is playing coy with his plans because he doesn’t want to go to training camp.

“He says he’s not sure [about playing] because he doesn’t want to go to training camp. He’s smart,” Montana said. “I’m sure he already has that agreement with them. Nine chances out of 10 they already know and they’ve already had this whole conversation and they should just let everybody know because they know he’s going to come back.

“He knows he’s going to come back, but the reason they don’t say anything is because he doesn’t want to go through training camp,” Montana said. “If he didn’t have to go through training camp, his decision would already be made, but he should know by now going to training camp isn’t going to be hard. They’d never make it hard on him.”

Seeing as how the Vikings have shown zero signs of panicking about Favre’s pending decision, I think Montana is right on the money. Favre has always disliked going to training camp, so it would make sense that he would have an agreement with the Vikings that he’d return as long as he doesn’t have to go to camp.

The Vikings haven’t made any moves yet pertaining to their quarterback situation that would suggest Favre isn’t coming back. And with Favre’s familiarity with Brad Childress’ offense, it wouldn’t take him long to get ready for the season if he skipped camp and showed up when the team started their regular practices. Personally, I think he should be in camp with his teammates, but maybe that’s just me.

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]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/03/17/montana-favre-coming-back-but-wants-to-avoid-training-camp/feed/ 4 http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/02/05/is-manning-better-than-montana-and-brady/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/02/05/is-manning-better-than-montana-and-brady/#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:45:14 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=34067

Ross Tucker of SI.com writes that Peyton Manning is a better NFL quarterback than Joe Montana and Tom Brady.

Here are the highlights of Tucker’s argument:

Montana may have been the most clutch performer ever; his postseason success is almost unprecedented. He did, however, play in an era before the advent of free agency and the salary cap.

He (Brady) did, however, have the benefit of playing for one of the greatest coaches and defensive minds, Bill Belichick. Belichick’s game planning against Manning earlier this decade was a primary factor in the Pats’ success. Brady has also been blessed by a defense that was among the league’s best for a good portion of his career.

But Manning has also shown an ability to adjust, even after losing longtime running mate Marvin Harrison.

His offensive line has never been dominant, and yet their weaknesses have been covered up by his uncanny ability to get rid of the ball before the defender gets to him.

I can’t think of any other player who has as much control over the game plan or play-calling. That, of course, is fitting because I don’t think any other player has ever had quite the same grasp of his offense that Manning does.

Tucker makes some valid points, especially in the case of Manning, who is incredible at what he does. But what he ignores is that quarterbacks will always be graded by their performances in the Super Bowl. The goal for every team at the start of the year is to win a Super Bowl, it’s not to try and rack up as many stats as possible.

Montana was 4-0 in the big game, with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. He also racked up three Super Bowl MVP awards, the most by any player in SB history.

Brady is 3-1 in the Super Bowl, with two MVP awards and by the time he’s done playing, he might match Montana’s number for victories and MVPs.

Manning’s talent speaks for itself, but he only has one Super Bowl ring, which pails in comparison to Montana and Brady. Do you know what Manning’s postseason record was before this season? A dazzling 7-8. Even if the Colts win this Sunday, Manning’s postseason record will be 10-8, which is pedestrian compared to Montana’s (16-7) and Brady’s (11-4).

Manning is great, but Tucker needs to step off of the Super Bowl XLIV hype train for a second and look at the bigger picture. He acts as though Montana and Brady had a ton of help and Manning has been working on his own, but that argument spits in the face of how underrated the Colts have been over the past decade. Don’t forget that Manning had Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne to throw to for most of his career, while Brady had Troy Brown and Deion Branch, who were fine receivers but who aren’t in Harrison and Wayne’s category.

Granted, if Manning wins three or four Super Bowls before his career is over, then we can re-visit Tucker’s argument. But as of right now, Tucker’s argument is full of holes.

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]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/02/05/is-manning-better-than-montana-and-brady/feed/ 3 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/02/13/bradley-favre-is-the-most-overrated-athlete-of-our-time/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/02/13/bradley-favre-is-the-most-overrated-athlete-of-our-time/#comments Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:30:24 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=13563

Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has fighting words for Packer fans:

Which is this: Brett Favre is the most overrated athlete of our time.

Favre isn’t the greatest quarterback ever. He’s not even in the top 10. He’s 20th all-time in passer rating, 17th in completion percentage. Yes, he’s No. 1 in yardage and touchdown passes, but he’s also No. 1 by some distance in interceptions. Put it this way: If you added Peyton Manning’s and Joe Montana’s INTs together, you still wouldn’t match Favre’s massive total.

To Favre’s legion of admirers, he wasn’t just a quarterback but The Embodiment Of Football Itself. He was tough and he was daring and he got really excited and he played on the frozen tundra for the old-school Packers and … OK already! But he wasn’t the best quarterback Green Bay had seen — Bart Starr was better — and to me he wasn’t as good as the guy who nearly won a championship with the Arizona Cardinals.

That’s right. Kurt Warner. Who has won just as many titles as Favre, who has been to more Super Bowls, who has a better career completion percentage and a higher passer rating and a lower interception percentage but who had the misfortune of playing most of his career for the wrong Midwestern team in an unfrozen dome.

Unlike down-home Favre, Warner has never been seen as a real man’s man — no Wrangler ads — and hasn’t inspired the breathless adoration that John Madden and Peter King and every voice on ESPN lavished on Favre. Warner is considered a really good quarterback who throws a pretty ball and seems serious about his religion and has a talkative wife. Favre, as we know, is viewed as an icon.

I fail to see what commercials have to do with this argument, but I think Bradley was trying to drive his point home by playing to Warner’s good-guy persona.

What’s overrated in sports these days is the overrated statement itself. It’s not enough to sit back and enjoy a guy’s career, we have to pick it apart and compare it to every other player’s career in the history of the game. Favre didn’t play in Starr’s era, so you can’t compare the two. Peyton Manning has had the opportunity to play in the same offensive system since he was a rookie and Montana had Bill Walsh to learn from. If we’re going to compare things, you have to account for all variables – not just the ones that make your argument (i.e. stats).

Brett Favre might be overrated in the fact that his numbers don’t compare to other quarterbacks who aren’t viewed as a God. But to generally say he was an overrated player is a massive reach.

1. San Francisco 49ers (5-0)—The 49ers are undefeated in Super Bowl history, and when you have guys like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice and Steve Young leading the way, it’s easy to see how that happens. But these teams were deep on both offense and defense, and were coached by Bill Walsh and George Seifert. What might be even more remarkable is that the Niners have scored 188 points while giving up 89 in those five games, a 99-point differential. Truly, ahem, super.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-1)—The Steelers are looking to become the first team to win six Super Bowls this Sunday in Tampa against the Cardinals and the second one in the Ben Roethlisberger era. They are already one of the NFL’s premier franchises, but more is always better when it comes to championships.

3. Dallas Cowboys (5-3)—The Cowboys have a rich history of winning, but in today’s what-have-you-done-for-me-lately NFL, all anyone remembers is that they haven’t won a playoff game since 1996, and that dysfunction follows them around like tabloids following QB Tony Romo.

4. Green Bay Packers (3-1)—You might immediately think of Brett Favre, but he is only 1-1 in Super Bowls. The other two were Super Bowls I and II, when Bart Starr was the Packers’ QB and the coach was the legendary Vince Lombardi.

5. New York Giants (3-1)—The Giants climbed up a few notches with that improbable upset of the Patriots last season. Bill Parcells has two of the wins, one with Phil Simms at the helm and the other with Jeff Hostetler—and both with one of the greatest defensive players in history, Lawrence Taylor, terrorizing the other teams’ quarterbacks.

6. Oakland/LA Raiders (3-2)—It’s been about a quarter century since the Raiders won a Super Bowl, or around the same time Al Davis started to lose his marbles.

7. Washington Redskins (3-2)—The Redskins lost to Miami in Super Bowl 7, 14-7, to cap Miami’s (and the NFL’s only) perfect season, and have had mixed results since then, last appearing in 1991 when they beat Buffalo. Hard to believe it’s been almost 20 years since their last Super Bowl, but Dan Snyder makes Al Davis type decisions at times, so the drought could be long.

8. New England Patriots (3-3)—Have the Patriots have lost as many Super Bowls as they’ve won? Yes, when you realize the first two losses were to the mighty ’85 Bears, and to the unstoppable Favre/Holmgren Packers in ’96.

9. Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts (2-1)—You would think Peyton Manning should have more than one Super Bowl appearance, but that very fact was the big knock on him until he got his ring two years ago.

10. Miami Dolphins (2-3)—It’s been 25 years since the D-men have been in the big game, but mark my words…with Bill Parcells at the helm, this team will get back there within a few years, maybe even next year.

Source: Pro Football Reference

Interview Date: 1/8/09

It’s not often that a sports writer gets the opportunity to interview a sports legend. So when we were offered the chance to sit down and talk with former San Francisco 49er great Jerry Rice, we nearly leaped out of our seats.

Jerry has dabbled in a number of different professions since retiring from his Hall of Fame NFL career, including competing on “Dancing With the Stars” and more recently, acting. He has a cameo appearance in the movie, “Without a Paddle: Nature’s Calling,” where he plays a character named Hal Gore (uh, Al Gore’s brother…seriously), who happens to be a bit off his rocker. (Hal’s game plan to stop global warming was focused around squirrel farts…again, seriously.)

Jerry was gracious enough to talk to us about his role in the movie, his experiences with acting and whether or not more acting was in his future. We also couldn’t let him get off the phone without asking him some gridiron questions, including his thoughts on who currently is the best wide receiver is in the game, what young quarterback has the best chance of winning a Super Bowl, and what defensive backs were the best he ever played against. He also filled us in how legends Joe Montana and Bill Walsh were pranksters, and whether or not coaching is in his future now that the 49ers have hired former player Mike Singletary has their next head coach.

Jerry Rice: Anthony!

The Scores Report: Jerry, it’s an absolute pleasure to talk with you!

JR: Not a problem. You’re the last one of the day, bud! It’s been a long day so I’m giving you my best.

TSR: Excellent! Well my first question has to be – is acting harder than playing in the NFL?

JR: (laughs)

TSR: It’s gotta be, right?

JR: (still laughing) Yep! Of course it’s harder because it’s something that I’m not accustomed to. And in (my) particular scene in “Without a Paddle: Nature’s Calling,” I play someone else. I don’t play myself. So that was the challenging part of that, but it gave me a chance to challenge myself and I’m always looking for opportunities like that and I think it brings out the best in me. Hopefully people look at this on DVD and they appreciate it and they like it.

TSR: Well I got a few laughs just watching you dressed up in that garb!

JR: I bet you did!

TSR: (laughs)

JR: That’s why they put me in that!

TSR: I’m sure it was. Why don’t you explain the role for people who haven’t seen the movie yet?

JR: I’m this mountain man whose been in the wilderness for about 30 years and I’ve got this long beard…I’ve got this coat that’s pretty much made out of squirrels and stuff like that…and I thought I had found this cure for global warming by way of squirrel farts.

TSR: (laughs)

JR: But hey, I had a great time making it, man.

TSR: How did you get involved in something like this?

JR: You know, this fell in my lap because Terry Bradshaw was supposed to do it and you know how crazy Terry is. Maybe Terry looked at it as, “there’s no way I’m doing that.” So they decided to contact me and they said, “do you want to do it?” And I said, yeah, I’ll go for it and I did, and I’m glad because to be associated with Paramount is an honor within itself. And to also work with the actors and actresses was really cool.

TSR: Is there a future in this for you or is this a one and done type thing?

JR: Hey, I’m hoping it’s not a one and done. You know, hopefully this opens up more opportunities for me just like “Dancing With the Stars” did. I feel as though I worked my butt off, I had fun with it and people are going to get a chance to see another side of me that they’ve never seen before. I’m going to watch the DVD tonight and I’m going to critique, and I’m sure I’m going to look at certain parts and say to myself, “I could have done that better than that, but that’s just part of not being complacent and being willing to continue to work.

TSR: Consummate professional, right?

JR: That’s it, buddy.

TSR: Mind if I toss a couple football questions at you?

JR: Let’s do it.

TSR: I’m sure you watch the NFL closer than anybody. What current wide receiver impresses you the most every Sunday?

JR: Probably Andre Johnson. But you have to look at Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, you know…let me think…

TSR: What about Terrell Owens, one of your x-teammates?

JR: I thought you wanted younger guys, okay, yeah – Terrell Owens, Randy Moss all those guys. Those guys are still the big play receivers, you know? (They) are why you pay your money – because you know that those guys are going to put on a good show for you.

TSR: You’ve won Super Bowls with Joe Montana and Steve Young so you know what it takes for a quarterback to win a championship. What young quarterback – Tony Romo, Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, etc. – that hasn’t won a Super Bowl yet is the next to win one in your opinion? What current quarterback is destined to hoist a Super Bowl trophy?

JR: You know what? The next guy? Boy…it could be Joe Flacco from Baltimore with the way he’s playing right now. It could be Donovan McNabb. You know, Eli…well Eli’s won one already, so, you know, we’ll just have to wait and see how (the playoffs) pan out. The ultimate thing is to win the Super Bowl and I think all of those guys have a legitimate shot.

TSR: Besides winning the Super Bowl, what would you call your greatest moment in the NFL? What was your greatest achievement?

JR: (laughs) Oh my God! Probably…oh my God. I would say, uh…just playing with the guys that I had played with. It was never about records to me. So you know, just the relationships that I had built you know, with (Joe) Montana, (Ronnie) Lott, Roger Craig – so many great guys. Then going across the Bay (to Oakland to play with) Tim Brown and so many other great players.

TSR: I always want to ask players this. Was there ever a funny moment, whether it’s on the field, off the field in the huddle, whatever, that you rarely share with the public? Could you share one of those moments to give fans an insight to what your playing days were like?

JR: Joe Montana was always a prankster!

TSR: Was he?

JR: Oh, yeah – Joe Montana did crazy things. He would put Tiger Balm and stuff like that in jocks. Then all of a sudden guys would put their jocks on and they’d get that little burning sensation out there on the field!

TSR: (laughs)

JR: (laughs)

TSR: Did he ever get you?

JR: No, he knew better than that!

TSR: (laughs)

JR: (laughs) But you know, Joe was a prankster…Bill Walsh would walk through the locker room with those tights on, and his sweat towels and his football shoes and stuff like that trying to look like a wide receiver and all that stuff.

TSR: That’s pretty funny, although it’s hard to imagine a legend doing that!

JR: Yeah!

TSR: You played against some of the best defensive backs in the league. Who was the hardest to beat or the best you’ve ever played against?

JR: I had two of them – Darryl Green and Deion Sanders. Those guys were so fast and I had to study them, I had to work them off the line of scrimmage, and I had to be patient. That was always something Bill Walsh wanted us to do – he wanted us to be patient off the line of scrimmage. He wanted us to win at the line so, you know, I had some success against those guys.

TSR: Is there a current defensive back playing now that would fit into Green or Sanders’ mold?

JR: You know what, no, because you don’t have that many cornerbacks that play one on one anymore. It’s because of the (defensive) schemes, so you know, you still have some good defensive backs out there but (Green and Sanders) were going to pretty much be singled up with the best receiver on every team. And their job was to shut that guy down and they were great.

TSR: I thought the hire of Mike Singletary was absolutely the right move to get the 49ers headed back in the right direction. What are your thoughts on the hire?

JR: I think it’s fantastic. I think that was the best move the Niners (could make in hiring) Singletary. I also heard that Tom Rathman is going to come back as the running backs coach, so this team is starting to move in the right direction. They have someone (in Singletary) that’s a great leader, will lead them by example and if the players don’t do their jobs, he’s going to let them know it. And if they don’t pick it up, they’re going to be out of there.

TSR: Is coaching in your future, Jerry?

JR: No.

TSR: No? Absolutely not?

JR: (chuckles) Not at all, buddy!

TSR: (laughs)

JR: Hey I have to run, my man.

TSR: Thanks Jerry – I appreciate your time!

JR: You got it – take care.