If Joe Montana and the Super Bowl is getting to be an old story, wait until next year.
”I`ve talked to him about how long, in general, he`s going to play,”
49ers safety Ronnie Lott said. ”You`ll probably be talking about this guy for a while to come. A while is a good four years, a good four or five years.”
Montana is 33 and had back surgery in 1986. After setting a record for pass efficiency this season, he might consider removing more discs.
”Everybody talks about injuries,” Lott said. ”If an injury heals properly, that injury is not there anymore. He`s not wearing a brace, like maybe Joe Namath or Dan Marino or John Elway.
”If you`ve got wheels and you`ve got your arm, you can be a great backup for a long time.”
If Montana can keep throwing 5-yard passes that Jerry Rice and John Taylor turn into 80-yard touchdowns, he might play forever, or at least as long as George Blanda, who quit at 49.
”I`m sure he`d probably say if George Blanda can play that long, I can play that long,” Lott said. ”If somebody made that challenge, he`d probably try to come out on top on that challenge, also.”
– This Super Bowl is about second chances for three-time losers and vindication for three-time winners as well.
1) Mike Shanahan, an assistant for two of the Broncos` three Super Bowl losses, rejoined the team after Al Davis fired him as head coach of the Raiders Oct. 3.
Shanahan picked up where he left off in tutoring John Elway.
”Mike has been great,” Elway said. ”Look at the stats before Mike got here and after he got here. He and I are on the same page on a lot of things.”
Elway averaged 173 yards passing in the six games before Shanahan, 200 after. He threw for 5 touchdowns and 8 interceptions before, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions after.
2) Steve Wallace, a 49ers offensive tackle. One of the most vivid memories of last year`s Super Bowl was the grotesque broken leg suffered by Cincinnati`s Tim Krumrie. The broken leg suffered by Wallace on the third play of the game was forgotten-but not by Wallace.
3) Jim Burt, a 49ers` nose tackle, underwent disc surgery in 1987 similar to Joe Montana`s 1986 operation. The New York Giants labeled him a medical risk and let him go.
One of the heroes of the Giants` 1986 Super Bowl victory over the Broncos, Burt was picked up by the 49ers this year after Michael Carter was hurt.
”When you feel that empty space in your back, you wonder. But seeing Joe come back really inspired me,” Burt said.
4) Wade Phillips, Broncos defensive coordinator. Phillips helped coach the New Orleans Saints with his dad, Bum, before leaving for Philadelphia and Buddy Ryan. He is credited with improving Denver`s defense this year and is happy to return to the Superdome.
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”It`s nice to go back a little triumphant, but I`m not going to drive the bus around the stadium honking the horn,” he said.
Phillips was with the Eagles when Ryan arrived at Soldier Field before the foggy 1988 playoff game and had the bus driver signal his arrival.
– If the NFL goes to a 16-game schedule spread over 18 weeks to increase television revenue while maintaining costs, there will be logistical problems. ”We play a game of attrition, so two byes during a season can certainly help,” Kansas City`s Carl Peterson said. ”The question I have is when do the two byes come and how is it orchestrated so it`s fair to all teams?”
”The effort to maximize income is a result of an economic pinch from our failure to contain costs,” said Mike Brown, Cincinnati`s assistant general manager. ”We think the NFL should do more to contain costs, and to focus on marketing the best possible product instead of focusing on TV revenue.”
– Bill Bidwill surprised Phoenix by drastically reducing ticket prices for his Cardinals` games. He went from the highest average in the league, $36, to the middle of the pack with an estimated $28. The exact average can`t be determined until season-ticket sales are complete because season ticket-holders get an additional discount.
Bidwill admitted he made a mistake because he believed advisers who sold him on the idea of ”premium” stipends on tickets for exclusive areas.