Steve Young was often said to have been the best athlete on the team, a team that included Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott, but Joe was the best QB of all time, period. Brady has more Super Bowls and playoff wins, but arguably two of those wins were gifted to him (Seattle and Atlanta), and is 7-3 (5-5 if the opposing coaches had just not been stupid). Joe is 4-0, with zero interceptions, two close games and two total domination blow-outs. If the Niners hadn't traded him they would likely have won two or three more with him.
When you see a relaxed interview from Joe…. Or Bill for that matter…. It is hard to comprehend their relentless competitive spirit ❤. jerry rice and ronny lot too
The only real controversy was because of the 1993 NFC championship. Montana had been hurt for most of two years, but was finally healthy, playing great in the last regular season game against the Lions. But the Niners went with Young in the playoffs. Had they won that game, at home, against the Cowboys, Montana could have moved on, and all been good. But the fact that Young threw two interceptions in the 4th quarter, with Montana standing on the sidelines in his last game in a 49er uniform was a bitter pill to swallow. Granted, Young played well for 3 quarters, and would later win a Superbowl for the team, and Montana took the Chiefs to the AFC championship the next season, but that game never sat well among Niner fans, whether they like Montana, Young, or both. A stat freak could also say 2 fumbles, and bad penalties also did the Niners in that day. Credit also goes to the Cowboys that game for playing mistake free, and a gutsy pass play to Harper late when everyone was expecting the Cowboys to run Smith, and try to run down the clock.
@@briancusack4386 I honestly do. The two interceptions (mostly the first) Young threw in the 4th quarter would not likely have been thrown by Joe. However, the gutsy TD pass to Harper in the 4Q when everyone assumed the Cowboys would run, or throw to Irvin, was a terrific call and backbreaker. Dallas and Jimmy Johnson deserve props for that. Keep in mind, I'm not one of the people who think Young sucked, or was lucky. He was a damned good QB. I just think Montana had plenty left in the tank at that point in his career, was completely healthy, and should have been given his job back.
@@PhilAndersonOutside : Thanks for your reply. Like yourself, I was a huge fan of Steve Young. Ditto for Joe Montana. Both were great! You say that 'Joe Cool' was fully healthy and had plenty of gas left in the tank. I agree with you. He proved that the following two seasons in KC. However, I would have found it tough to start Montana in that NFCCG. Steve Young had just come off an MVP season. Granted, he did look pretty shaky the week before against the Redskins in the Divisional round. Bottom line though? Dallas were fast, hungry and full of playmakers. I'm not sure how well Joe would have fared against the Cowboys pass rush (Charles Haley; etc.). Oh well. I guess we'll never know. Two great teams took the field that day.
That was hard to take. I had the feeling at the time that even if it meant a shot at the Super Bowl, the 49er management was willing to let that go in order to move on from Joe. It was fine to start Young in that game, as he had been the starter all year. But late game comebacks were a Montana specialty, and the offense that day was flat under Young. Seifert likely had orders from Eddie Debartolo not to put Joe in the game under any circumstances short of late in a 49er's blowout win for a cameo. If he had been put in that game and won it, it would have been the quarterback controversy of all time. Fans who were upset at the GOAT being traded at all, would have gone crazy. Debartolo had promised Steve the job, and would not have welcomed the fallout of a Montana win in that case. Even a Super Bowl wasn't enough to change the situation.
The only politicking is being done by Lott. That was a totally underhanded shot. He and Joe are best buds, which is great, they're both the GOAT of their positions. But Young won a playoff game with broken ribs. Won another running on a pulled groin and didn't leave the game until he was knocked OUT COLD on the field.
flandersucks part of the reason the QB controversy was so intense is because SY had no problem saying hey, lm ready to play, RIGHT NOW, in the middle of Joes legend. You can't be any more competitive than that.
Carl Hilbish Steve is a legend but did some shady stuff. Used to have his bad throws from practice erased off of the tape so the coaching staff wouldn't see his bad throws from practice. However, that doode was an animal. Him turning it upfield instead of running out of bounds when his helmet got ripped off defines the type of player he was. Struggled with his accuracy the first part of his career but worked his ass off to be an all time great and h.o.f. Respect #8
Lott, Montana the GOAT and Young were all fantastic, and I would take Montana over Brady any day, but you are 100% right. Underneath Young’s Ivy league politician exterior was a player that was as tough as any that played the game. Steve will never get the respect that he deserves as one of the truly great QBs and as a tough as nails player.
I think Lott is implying how their personality approach to the game was so so different, and that Young was just competitive in a much more passive way, whereas Joe was straight on. Not that Young wasn't competitive. I could definitely see that from having followed the 49ers so closely through the 80s & 90s. Tom Brady's obsessive competitive. Peyton Manning's preparationally competitive, so there are different styles of competitive.
@@Lawguy2009 Hardly. Young was a choke artist come playoff time. The 49ers had to mortgage their future to get him a ring in '94. Outside of that season he had a sub-500 record in the playoffs as a starter.
My greatest memory of Ronnie was a throw deep right by Ram's QB in a playoff game, (might have been Everett), and the Niner corner had bitten on the slant and was way behind the play, Ronnie had dropped back a few yards after the snap, and was watching the QB like a hawk, and set off on his cover run, eating up the ground like a cheetah, arrives as the ball is set to drop into the arms of the receiver for a certain TD, and bats the ball into touch with his right hand, looks around at the QB and you can almost feel him give a look that says 'not on my watch you don't;. I think the Niners won that game 27-0.
That shocks me about Steve young. I wasn't in the locker room so Lott knows what he's talking about but I thought Steve was probably one of the most competitive guys I ever watched. Steve was sort of a "whiner" I thought after watching a football life as well but when he was on the field he seemed to go all out.
He went all out trying to do every play great, but not w/ an asassin's mentality, like a Joe Montana or Larry Bird. Young was more like Kevin McHale. Competitive, yes, but not w/ a go-for-the-dagger approach; at least not usually. It's a feel-the-game-out approach.
Any of you youngsters notice how Ronnie's left pinkie finger is a bit shorter than it should be? That's because he badly injured it in a game back in the day. Instead of leaving the game to have it fixed, he said "Nope. Fu*# it. Cut the thing off. I'm finishing this game. When men were men. For better or worse.
I would take Young too, but that's because Montana was such a douchebag to his fans. I might have been the only 49er fan who cheered when Montana went to KC. #ForeverYoung
Steve Young was often said to have been the best athlete on the team, a team that included Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott, but Joe was the best QB of all time, period. Brady has more Super Bowls and playoff wins, but arguably two of those wins were gifted to him (Seattle and Atlanta), and is 7-3 (5-5 if the opposing coaches had just not been stupid). Joe is 4-0, with zero interceptions, two close games and two total domination blow-outs. If the Niners hadn't traded him they would likely have won two or three more with him.
Yes. This.
Montana Is The GOAT; Young, a great apprentice.
When you see a relaxed interview from Joe…. Or Bill for that matter…. It is hard to comprehend their relentless competitive spirit ❤. jerry rice and ronny lot too
The only real controversy was because of the 1993 NFC championship. Montana had been hurt for most of two years, but was finally healthy, playing great in the last regular season game against the Lions. But the Niners went with Young in the playoffs. Had they won that game, at home, against the Cowboys, Montana could have moved on, and all been good. But the fact that Young threw two interceptions in the 4th quarter, with Montana standing on the sidelines in his last game in a 49er uniform was a bitter pill to swallow.
Granted, Young played well for 3 quarters, and would later win a Superbowl for the team, and Montana took the Chiefs to the AFC championship the next season, but that game never sat well among Niner fans, whether they like Montana, Young, or both.
A stat freak could also say 2 fumbles, and bad penalties also did the Niners in that day. Credit also goes to the Cowboys that game for playing mistake free, and a gutsy pass play to Harper late when everyone was expecting the Cowboys to run Smith, and try to run down the clock.
Phil Anderson If Montana would’ve played that game they probably would’ve won. He was a surgeon on the field and operated very methodically.
Phil Anderson: Had Montana started that game, do you think SF would have won? I still think Dallas would have prevailed.
@@briancusack4386 I honestly do. The two interceptions (mostly the first) Young threw in the 4th quarter would not likely have been thrown by Joe. However, the gutsy TD pass to Harper in the 4Q when everyone assumed the Cowboys would run, or throw to Irvin, was a terrific call and backbreaker. Dallas and Jimmy Johnson deserve props for that.
Keep in mind, I'm not one of the people who think Young sucked, or was lucky. He was a damned good QB. I just think Montana had plenty left in the tank at that point in his career, was completely healthy, and should have been given his job back.
@@PhilAndersonOutside : Thanks for your reply. Like yourself, I was a huge fan of Steve Young. Ditto for Joe Montana. Both were great!
You say that 'Joe Cool' was fully healthy and had plenty of gas left in the tank. I agree with you. He proved that the following two seasons in KC. However, I would have found it tough to start Montana in that NFCCG. Steve Young had just come off an MVP season. Granted, he did look pretty shaky the week before against the Redskins in the Divisional round.
Bottom line though? Dallas were fast, hungry and full of playmakers. I'm not sure how well Joe would have fared against the Cowboys pass rush (Charles Haley; etc.). Oh well. I guess we'll never know. Two great teams took the field that day.
That was hard to take. I had the feeling at the time that even if it meant a shot at the Super Bowl, the 49er management was willing to let that go in order to move on from Joe. It was fine to start Young in that game, as he had been the starter all year. But late game comebacks were a Montana specialty, and the offense that day was flat under Young. Seifert likely had orders from Eddie Debartolo not to put Joe in the game under any circumstances short of late in a 49er's blowout win for a cameo. If he had been put in that game and won it, it would have been the quarterback controversy of all time. Fans who were upset at the GOAT being traded at all, would have gone crazy. Debartolo had promised Steve the job, and would not have welcomed the fallout of a Montana win in that case. Even a Super Bowl wasn't enough to change the situation.
Hard to imagine today, but 1 team had arguably the 2 best QBs in footbal.
Bono was nothing to sniff at either
The only politicking is being done by Lott. That was a totally underhanded shot. He and Joe are best buds, which is great, they're both the GOAT of their positions. But Young won a playoff game with broken ribs. Won another running on a pulled groin and didn't leave the game until he was knocked OUT COLD on the field.
flandersucks part of the reason the QB controversy was so intense is because SY had no problem saying hey, lm ready to play, RIGHT NOW, in the middle of Joes legend. You can't be any more competitive than that.
Definitely a shot at Young. Both guys were tough competitors who did everything they could to win. Disrespectful to say Steve Young isn't.
Carl Hilbish Steve is a legend but did some shady stuff. Used to have his bad throws from practice erased off of the tape so the coaching staff wouldn't see his bad throws from practice. However, that doode was an animal. Him turning it upfield instead of running out of bounds when his helmet got ripped off defines the type of player he was. Struggled with his accuracy the first part of his career but worked his ass off to be an all time great and h.o.f. Respect #8
Lott, Montana the GOAT and Young were all fantastic, and I would take Montana over Brady any day, but you are 100% right. Underneath Young’s Ivy league politician exterior was a player that was as tough as any that played the game. Steve will never get the respect that he deserves as one of the truly great QBs and as a tough as nails player.
I think Lott is implying how their personality approach to the game was so so different, and that Young was just competitive in a much more passive way, whereas Joe was straight on. Not that Young wasn't competitive. I could definitely see that from having followed the 49ers so closely through the 80s & 90s. Tom Brady's obsessive competitive. Peyton Manning's preparationally competitive, so there are different styles of competitive.
Joe v. Steve is the football equivalent of Willie Mays v. Angel Pagan…
…& yes, the gap is that big.
Steve is Willy in your analogy, right? 😊
@@Lawguy2009 Hardly. Young was a choke artist come playoff time. The 49ers had to mortgage their future to get him a ring in '94. Outside of that season he had a sub-500 record in the playoffs as a starter.
Last I checked, Montana has 4 SB wins and Steve Young 3 SB... No matter how you debate it, Steve will ALWAYS come in 2nd..
Young had 1 as a starter.. two of those rings came as a backup to Joe. He got in for trash time in SB 24, but that was it.
Joe has that MJ GOATness character in him. Both are fiercely competitive and that's why both are undefeated.
My greatest memory of Ronnie was a throw deep right by Ram's QB in a playoff game, (might have been Everett), and the Niner corner had bitten on the slant and was way behind the play, Ronnie had dropped back a few yards after the snap, and was watching the QB like a hawk, and set off on his cover run, eating up the ground like a cheetah, arrives as the ball is set to drop into the arms of the receiver for a certain TD, and bats the ball into touch with his right hand, looks around at the QB and you can almost feel him give a look that says 'not on my watch you don't;.
I think the Niners won that game 27-0.
Great play by Ronnie Lott that prevented a long td by Flipper Anderson. You got the margin of victory right. The score was 30-3. Go 49ers!
1988 was the QB controversy
That shocks me about Steve young. I wasn't in the locker room so Lott knows what he's talking about but I thought Steve was probably one of the most competitive guys I ever watched. Steve was sort of a "whiner" I thought after watching a football life as well but when he was on the field he seemed to go all out.
He went all out trying to do every play great, but not w/ an asassin's mentality, like a Joe Montana or Larry Bird. Young was more like Kevin McHale. Competitive, yes, but not w/ a go-for-the-dagger approach; at least not usually. It's a feel-the-game-out approach.
Any of you youngsters notice how Ronnie's left pinkie finger is a bit shorter than it should be? That's because he badly injured it in a game back in the day. Instead of leaving the game to have it fixed, he said "Nope. Fu*# it. Cut the thing off. I'm finishing this game.
When men were men. For better or worse.
Jerry Rice said "Joe", even though Steve was great.
Montana GOAT
I would take young over joe any day
RAIDER NATE 🤣
Young is great but Montana was better.
RAIDER NATE 😂 ok buddy
I would take Young too, but that's because Montana was such a douchebag to his fans. I might have been the only 49er fan who cheered when Montana went to KC. #ForeverYoung
🤣