Tim Krumrie

Montana still would have won.

he was their version of justin smith, non stop motor guy who never missed a game after that injury, but i remember that game, prior to krumries injury steve wallace broke his ankle, so it was kind of tit for tat

Heck, why stop at Krumrie's injury? There were other bizarre events in that game...

> Bengals RB Stanley Wilson was suspended from the game for going on a coke binge the night before. He was a good player in that backfield with Brooks and Woods.

> If I recall correctly, both Bengal RB James Brooks and 49er WR Jerry Rice (ankle?) were bothered by injuries before the game.

> 49ers LT Steve Wallace broke his ankle on the third play of the game. He was a key player in that o-line.

> In the game-winning drive, Montana threw a pass right into the arms of Bengals CB Lewis Billups, who dropped the ball in the end zone. That would've ended the game right there. Instead, a few plays later we have "The Catch 2."

So many random, fortuitous, uncontrollable events...I'm just glad the Niners prevailed...

[ Edited by PierceHolt on Apr 3, 2010 at 13:13:28 ]

It was fate that the Niners won that game.

Can't cheat fate.

He was coming off 2 pro bowl seasons, of course he was missed and if he stayed in the game the 49ers would have had a tougher time winning.

Originally posted by PierceHolt:
> In the game-winning drive, Montana threw a pass right into the arms of Bengals CB Lewis Billups, who dropped the ball in the end zone. That would've ended the game right there. Instead, a few plays later we have "The Catch 2."

No one on the planet calls that play "The Catch 2."

We all know "The Catch." "The Catch II" was Young-to-T.O. in 1998.

If anything, fans refer to that as "The Drive," though there is always debate because the Broncos had "The Drive" before the 49ers.

But no one calls Montana-to-Taylor "The Catch 2." Sorry bro.

Originally posted by PierceHolt:
> In the game-winning drive, Montana threw a pass right into the arms of Bengals CB Lewis Billups, who dropped the ball in the end zone. That would've ended the game right there. Instead, a few plays later we have "The Catch 2."

That wasn't on the last drive, it was on the 49ers other TD drive, where Rice dove in the corner of the endzone and stretched the ball over the pylon, infact the TD was the very next play and Billups had the coverage on Rice.

SB XXIII is my favorite football game, I've got this game totally memorized.

[ Edited by linkboy on Apr 3, 2010 at 15:22:36 ]

Krumrie was a monster back then. But no teams could stop Montana Rice and Walsh back then. If it wasn't for mistakes and freak turnovers by our the niners, this game should've been a blowout.

I would say that from a front 7 perspective he was there best player. He was the key for the line and without him it left a big hole. If you watched the replay of that game recently, Sam Wyche their coach (and first NFL mentor to Joe Montana) said he knew it would be very tough when he went down.

The other brilliant comment from Wyche was that once they scored their final points, they left too much time on the clock for Montana.

Another poignant note from that game is after it was all over, it was Sam Wyche who helped a very emotional Bill Walsh off the field. You see it was Walsh's last game, and Sam Wyche had been a backup QB when Walsh was the OC of the Bengals under Paul Brown. Walsh gave Sam his first NFL coaching job as QB coach of the 49ers and
installed him as mentor to Montana.

Interesting stuff.

I was certainly releived when he wasnt coming back, many could have said it was a cut block (hmmmm), yes he was a stud for that Bengal D, and yes he was certainly missed...

Originally posted by linkboy:

Originally posted by PierceHolt:
> In the game-winning drive, Montana threw a pass right into the arms of Bengals CB Lewis Billups, who dropped the ball in the end zone. That would've ended the game right there. Instead, a few plays later we have "The Catch 2."

That wasn't on the last drive, it was on the 49ers other TD drive, where Rice dove in the corner of the endzone and stretched the ball over the pylon, infact the TD was the very next play and Billups had the coverage on Rice.

SB XXIII is my favorite football game, I've got this game totally memorized.

You are correct . . . the Billups drop the was play immediately before Rice's dive for the flag.

safe to say lewis billups wasnt as clutch as his name sake, chauncey billups

Originally posted by crabman82:
safe to say lewis billups wasnt as clutch as his name sake, chauncey billups

I don't think you understand what "namesake" means.

Krumrie was pretty good, but Montana would have found a way regardless.