Joe Cool

I seem to remember reading that Grossman led the league in games with a 100-plus passer rating with something like seven -- and in games with a rating of 50 or less, with five or six. He was definitely in Good Rex/Bad Rex mode that season.

 

Aside from the playoff win, Montana did NOT significantly improve the Chiefs. In fact, their overall win percentage was actually slightly WORSE during Montana's two years than the years immediately preceding and following him. Here was KC's record the three years before Montana's arrival:

1990: 11-5
1991: 10-6
1992: 10-6

Years with Montana:

1993: 11-5
1994: 9-7

Three years after Montana:

1995: 13-3
1996: 9-7
1997: 13-3

So let's not pretend he was some sort of miracle worker in KC. He stepped into a very good situation with a team already winning and built to keep winning. He didn't win at any higher rate than Dave Kreig or Steve Bono did with that era's Chief teams, in fact they immediately improved four games from 9-7 to 13-3 right AFTER Joe left.

I guess you can brag about the playoff win over those Choke-prone 90s Oilers. But, otherwise, there was nothing particularly special about his time in KC.

 

I'm right here, and nothing in my post was incorrect.

 

Except he also beat Pittsburgh, and 1993 was the team's first AFC West title in 22 seasons.

It could easily be argued that he helped the Schottenheimer era in KC come of age.

If you're referring to your "Joe Walsh coached Joe Montana" post, I respectfully must tell you that it read like someone who was deliberately attempting to be as off-base as possible.

 

"Joe" was just an inadvertent typo, since corrected. And the rest of that post was a matter of subjective opinion, not "incorrect", and a subjective view that I stand by.

 

Montana getting KC into an AFC Championship Game may seem trivial, but I believe that was the first time they got there since the Len Dawson days and they haven't been there since. Although it appears they ultimately got blown out, if that HB doesn't drop that simple pass, it doesn't get picked and its a whole different ballgame.

"He drove the Chiefs to the Bills' 5-yard line and had a touchdown in his sights when he tossed a pass over the middle to a wide-open Kimble Anders. But the ball sailed out of Anders' hands into the arms of Buffalo defensive back Henry Jones." (just before halftime, down 20-6.)

 

indeed, the two drives eli manning led to beat the pats in the supe's were moreimpressive than any of bray's most important supe moments. in both cases the giants needed a td, not just a fg, to win the game. brady's 'game-winning' super bowl drives were simply set-ups for vinatieri -- game-winning fg drives do not equal game-winning td drives. adam made his kicks so the legend of tom brady was born; if viatieri misses, pulls a norwide, brady = jim kelly.

 

And lest we forget, in the last Pats-Colts AFC title game, Peyton needed to drive the Colts to a late TD. And did it.

Brady got the ball back with a minute to go to move into FG range (his specialty). And threw an interception.

 

Wow, it didn't even take two full pages for somebody to demonstrate my point. Thanks Stoney.

 

Wow, an unabashed Giants guy and the ultimate Peyton fanboy, talkin' NFL.

 

The 1994 game between Kansas City and San Francisco was one of the greatest regular-season sporting spectacles I ever witnessed. Arrowhead was so jacked up for that game. Montana's presence in Kansas City alone made it a special time.

Pre-Montana and post-merger, Kansas City had one division title and one playoff win. With Montana, Kansas City had one division title and two playoff wins. Since Montana, Kansas City has four division titles and zero playoff wins. Kansas City has indeed had many good regular seasons pre and post Montana, but those seasons are remembered more or less for royal choke jobs and postseason ass beatings.

And let's not forget that Montana played one meaningless half of football in two years before coming to Kansas City. And the sumbitch showed he still had the magic, not only against the Steelers and Oilers, but also the next season when Montana led the Chiefs to one of the greatest wins in Monday Night Football history at Denver.

 

Reading the "Best of Rivals" book about Montana/Young.

Montana was excellent but not perfect in the playoffs. In general, his teams won against inferior opponents (except for 1987 vs Vikings) and lost to better NFC teams in 1983 and 1986. Also back then, the NFC was a man's conference where the playoffs were a siege. Imagine an era with Gibbs' Redskins, the '85 Bears, the Rise of Parcells. Granted, the bottom of the NFC then was awful (Tampa, Detroit, Philly, St. Louis) but the top end was legendary.

I am more impressed with Montana's NFC games than the SB wins. The NFC title games were the real Super Bowl most years anyway.

Contrast that with the AFC in the 1980s. The Raiders won two but, otherwise, the Broncos won soft conferences over Marty Schottenheimer. Hell, the freaking Bengals went to the SB twice.