A rarely talked about Montana quality

Someone mentioned this to me in email and I thought it was noteworthy:

"For all the talk about Montana's clutch ability, accuracy, touch, pocket presence, etc, people tend to forget that in Walsh's eyes, what really made Montana perfect for his intended offense was his mobility. And not just his mobility in the pocket, but his drop. That guy covered more yardage more quickly in a basic three-step drop than almost any QB before or since. It was a huge advantage for him and it's erroneous to suggest that any other QB could have duplicated it."

Anyone notice that?

I agree that it is an under-appreciated skill that Joe had. He was very smooth and fluid dropping back. Had a very nice flow and rhythm to his drop, if memory serves.

I think it overstates the case a bit, to be honest. Montana was an athletic guy no doubt, especially early. But there's some exaggerating here.

"What really made Montana perfect...was his mobility"
"it's erroneous to suggest that any other QB could have duplicated [his 3-step drop]..."

That's a bit of a stretch. Just my opinion.

It was perhaps a little more unusual in the NFL then than it later became.

Mobility is a stretch, I would say impressive footwork, and drop quickness, is what made him so dangerous in the pocket. Helps when you have Goat Jerry Rice lol

It does not sound exaggerating , heard Walsh say the same thing, that what mad Joe stand out was his feet, he was sffortless on dropping back like he was ice skating, don't see anyone close to do that and scan the field with his pin point laser vision. Just my opinion.

Originally posted by TheGoldDiggerrrr:
Mobility is a stretch, I would say impressive footwork, and drop quickness, is what made him so dangerous in the pocket. Helps when you have Goat Jerry Rice lol

Better way to describe it, yeah.

plus he had a smooth release , and was a very acurate passer ...Walsh sure knew how to build QB's

Originally posted by johnnyredneat:
I think it overstates the case a bit, to be honest. Montana was an athletic guy no doubt, especially early. But there's some exaggerating here.

"What really made Montana perfect...was his mobility"
"it's erroneous to suggest that any other QB could have duplicated [his 3-step drop]..."

That's a bit of a stretch. Just my opinion.

yeah i agree, little too much homerism.

Originally posted by TheGoldDiggerrrr:
Mobility is a stretch, I would say impressive footwork, and drop quickness, is what made him so dangerous in the pocket. Helps when you have Goat Jerry Rice lol

He didn't get rice until '85 so he must have been doing something right before then....

tom rathman quote: those bird legs sure got him out of allot of trouble

It's so fluid and smooth how Montana drops back. He gets back so quickly and is always in position to make the right throw. Compare his drop-backs to other good or great mobile QBs like Elway, Steve Young, or Vick and it's night and day. Walsh knew what he was talking about. Montana's mobility is second to none.

I also heard Walsh talk about his instincts. Not only did he have great peripheral vision and see the entire field but when he saw someone open, he was quick to pull the trigger. I was always so amazed with his accuracy. He seemed to ALWAYS put the ball right on the money and always at the right time.

All he needed was 1 more second in the NFC championship against the Giants and the 49ers would have threepeated! He had Rice wide open on a bomb but old fat a$$ bubba didn't block his man. Nobody would have been talking about Rogers fumble if it weren't for old fat a$$ bubba.

What Montana was great at wasn't the drop. He still needed to time the drop with the route.

What he was great at was knowing which man would be open during his read on the Defense AND then looking off the defense knowing very well he was not going to throw to his initial progression.

He still went through his progressions knowing he was going to throw to the 2nd or 3rd receiver prior to the snap. THAT was what he was great at.

Most QB's now go straight to their presnap read during the play. They don't "fake" through the progressions.