Bill Walsh is the only person in the world allowed to use Joe Montana’s name in the same sentence with other aspiring quarterbacks, and even then, it sounds funny.
So when Walsh compares some of the attributes of new Bear Steve Stenstrom to Montana, it is important to capture the full context. Walsh, who had a lot to do with the development of both, routinely uses Montana as the touchstone. As a coach enraptured by detail more than hyperbole, Walsh sees little harm in dissecting a quarterback’s abilities and matter-of-factly dropping Montana’s name into the conversion unsolicited.
When Walsh coached Stenstrom at Stanford, he thought he could “thrive” in the NFL in the right system, meaning Walsh’s, of course. On Thursday, Walsh predicted Stenstrom would be with the Bears “eight or 10 years” provided they keep the same “West Coast” offense endorsed by coach Dave Wannstedt and taught by offensive coordinator Ron Turner.
“He maybe won’t be the starter–you never know that–but he’s certainly a value,” Walsh said.
This is how Walsh described him:
“He is as mechanically sound as anyone I’ve worked with or seen. He emulates Montana with his movement, and, of course, that’s basically how I teach it. Of course, I learned a lot from Joe too. Steve’s mechanics are right on the line with Joe, so when you watch him, you’ll notice that.
“Consequently, he can time his passes beautifully. He can anticipate, he can get the ball off quickly, he can go to all of his receivers very quickly. He’s got great touch. He’s got touch like Montana, where he can throw the ball over a defender and drop it in between people.
“He can throw deep very well. His arm is probably a B-minus in the NFL, better than average, but not a Marino or Bradshaw arm. He may have a little stronger arm than McMahon, but he’s right in that category. Montana would be a B so it’s not as though he’s got a weak arm.”
Stenstrom’s mechanical comparison does not extend to Montana’s running ability or his athleticism.
“I’m talking about his footwork,” Walsh said of Montana. “It’s almost perfect–the length of his step, the quickness of his step, the bounce, the throw, the maneuvering in the pocket. All of that is as good as you get.”
Stenstrom had a reputation for standing in the pocket and getting killed.
“He’s more mobile in the pocket than he once was,” Walsh said. “He can avoid the inside rush. Running, he’ll just be very average, but he’ll run at the right time. He’ll make six yards and Steve Young will make 60 yards on the same play. In a sense, it helps him because he’ll stay in the pocket and go to alternate receivers.
“He knows the system as well as anybody. He knows the system as well as Montana, so that will really help there in Chicago.”
The system, or variations, seeps into teams everywhere as proteges of Walsh continue to get jobs. Randall Cunningham is having a terrible time adapting to ex-49ers coach Ray Rhodes in Philadelphia. Erik Kramer admitted it has taken time for him in Chicago.
According to Young, the 49ers’ current master: “In this offense, you never want to pass up anyone open, even if it’s a one- or two-yard route. The best tip I ever got was watching Joe never pass up anybody. Just get the ball out of your hand and put it in someone’s hands. It doesn’t have to be a big play. It doesn’t even have to be an average play. Just out of your hands, a positive gain. Make the defense make a tackle and make the defense adjust to you.”
Adds Walsh: “And go to all your receivers, which Stenstrom will do beautifully.”
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So why was Stenstrom a fourth-round draft pick?
“He’s not going to be considered a great athlete,” Walsh said. “He’s a good one, but he’s not in the gifted athlete category. How many really are?”
In high school, Stenstrom played quarterback on a team of good athletes because, he said, “They didn’t have anywhere to move me.” One of his receivers was Rob Johnson, son of the coach. Rob later was moved to quarterback and was drafted this year out of Southern Cal in the fourth round by Jacksonville.
“There is a trend you don’t like to see in the NFL of just not drafting quarterbacks,” Walsh said.
After first-rounders Steve McNair and Kerry Collins, once highly touted prospects like Eric Zeier, Chad May, Johnson and Stenstrom dropped to the fourth round.
“These are guys people at one time thought would be first-round picks,” Walsh said. “I think teams don’t want to spend that kind of money on someone who isn’t going to play for a couple years. With the salary cap, you can’t pay that kind of money to someone to be on the bench two or three years and then conceivably leave . So they’re not investing in the position like they once did.
“It’s too bad, because you see teams trying to go back to 35- to 40-year-old quarterbacks, trying to win now and not build for the future.”