Who in your opinion would have been better for the Steelers?

[Joey Porters Taint]

Marino. Joe had better teams around him.

 

[Steelerfreak]

Montana may have been a bust if drafted by teams other than San Fran or Cincy. People forget that back then, playing QB was much different. You didn't have all the dink and dunk and run after catch stuff. You didn't have small quick WRs going over the middle because they'd be dead. There was man coverage all over the place. Playing QB was all about 7 step drops and throwing down the field. You needed a big arm.

The west coast offense changed all that and Montana was a perfect fit. San Fran and Cincy were the two teams running it back then. If he got drafted by a team that ran a traditional offense, he probably would have struggled and gotten beaten out and then just been a backup. If he stuck around for 5 or 6 years, when the west coast offense started to spread throughout the league, maybe he winds up with one of those teams and has a good second half of a career.

If the steelers had drafted Montana, he would not have beaten Bradshaw out until his elbow quit and then he would have taken over a traditional offense not suited for his talents. He would have been mediocre on the steelers and maybe would have ended up a nobody.

Marino is one of the best talents to ever play. He could play in any system. He would have been great on the steelers or any team that drafted him. He would have won with the Jets and Rich Kotite.

The question then becomes, If the steelers have Marino does Bill Cowher ever coach for the Steelers?

If Marino takes over for Bradshaw, Noll probably coaches a few more years, and Cowher probably gets a different head coaching job. Maybe he coaches the Browns.

Was going to say something along these lines. Good points. Something else to consider, if Montana does not hook up with Walsh, does the West Coast offense spread throughout the league in the 80s?

 

[diver]

Was going to say something along these lines. Good points. Something else to consider, if Montana does not hook up with Walsh, does the West Coast offense spread throughout the league in the 80s?

Yes, because Cincinnati was running a version of it in the '70s with Kenny Anderson when he was healthy. Bill Walsh was a coach there. And Cincy was putting up some good offensive numbers. They just happened to be unlucky, like Houston, to have the Steelers in their division. I just do not buy the fact that the Steelers wouldn't have adjusted. They were in the process of doing that very thing with Bradshaw. I'm telling you, go to youtube and watch the '82 opening week game against Dallas. The Steelers were doping a lot of shorter, timing throws. But even before that, they were incorporating some of that.

 

[tapeANaspirin2it]

Yes, because Cincinnati was running a version of it in the '70s with Kenny Anderson when he was healthy. Bill Walsh was a coach there. And Cincy was putting up some good offensive numbers. They just happened to be unlucky, like Houston, to have the Steelers in their division. I just do not buy the fact that the Steelers wouldn't have adjusted. They were in the process of doing that very thing with Bradshaw. I'm telling you, go to youtube and watch the '82 opening week game against Dallas. The Steelers were doping a lot of shorter, timing throws. But even before that, they were incorporating some of that.

You are looking at JOe Montana Hall of Famer and saying Of course the steelers would have adjusted their whole offense to suit him. You are not looking at late 3rd round pick Joe Montana who most teams saw as too small and too weak of an arm to be a big time QB.

Incorporating some shorter throws does not mean converting to the west coast offense.

Remember that the term "west coast offense" was derogatory. It may have been Parcells who came up with that tag to describe the San Fran offense. It was a slight because even though it was working it was still not seen as an offense that could work in bad weather.

It's revisionist to say that any team that drafted Montana would have just scrapped their offense and installed that new west coast offense. An offense that at that time did not have a bunch of coaches practicing it. Even if you wanted to run it, good luck finding a coach well enough versed in it to install it.

 

[diver]

You are looking at JOe Montana Hall of Famer and saying Of course the steelers would have adjusted their whole offense to suit him. You are not looking at late 3rd round pick Joe Montana who most teams saw as too small and too weak of an arm to be a big time QB.

Incorporating some shorter throws does not mean converting to the west coast offense.

Remember that the term "west coast offense" was derogatory. It may have been Parcells who came up with that tag to describe the San Fran offense. It was a slight because even though it was working it was still not seen as an offense that could work in bad weather.

It's revisionist to say that any team that drafted Montana would have just scrapped their offense and installed that new west coast offense. An offense that at that time did not have a bunch of coaches practicing it. Even if you wanted to run it, good luck finding a coach well enough versed in it to install it.

No I am not looking at Montana as the HOFer. I am saying that the Steelers were in the process of changing their offense by the very late 70s and early 80s. Certainly not totally to the West Coast, but they were incorporating elements of it. Being that they were doing that, I just don't feel it would have been this major overhaul to Montana. And anyway, Montana has gotten this reputation of not having a strong arm. I don't know about that. There were a number of times I recall him throwing some long passes to Jerry Rice and such. His arm would've been fine.

I encourage you to go on youtube right now and watch the Steelers-Cowboys game from '82. I think you will see what I am talking about. Again, it isn't a total switch to the West Coast, but there are much more timing routes, as you will see. I also think it is a crock that Montana could only run the system he was in. Maybe he would not have fit the '75 Steelers or Raiders or something, but I think by the late '70s early '80s he would have fit anywhere.

 

[Wingman]

Montana's game as I remember was based on a lot of play action and run and pass type things in a broad sense. He would have been a good fit in the Steelers game plan as they were a run heavy team for most of their successful times. One exception was the 1979/1980 season when the offense began putting up lots of points in some games. I suspect that Chuck Noll would have incorporated things in the offense that worked with his players as he was not opposed to trying new things unless he found that they did not work.

 

[Coach]

You are looking at JOe Montana Hall of Famer and saying Of course the steelers would have adjusted their whole offense to suit him. You are not looking at late 3rd round pick Joe Montana who most teams saw as too small and too weak of an arm to be a big time QB.

Incorporating some shorter throws does not mean converting to the west coast offense.

Remember that the term "west coast offense" was derogatory. It may have been Parcells who came up with that tag to describe the San Fran offense. It was a slight because even though it was working it was still not seen as an offense that could work in bad weather.

It's revisionist to say that any team that drafted Montana would have just scrapped their offense and installed that new west coast offense. An offense that at that time did not have a bunch of coaches practicing it. Even if you wanted to run it, good luck finding a coach well enough versed in it to install it.

I disagree a bit. 6'2" tall 200-205 pounds was not too small for a quarterback. Bart Starr had a weak arm Len Dawson had an average arm. Bob Griese had an average arm. They won super bowls.

Montana became a more accurate quarterback in the NFL. The QB makes the receiver in almost all cases. As great as Bradshaw could be the Steelers defense bailed him out of too many turnovers. Montana was just very clutch and accurate.

Either man would have been great, but I think Montana would have taken over under better terms, and be ready to start by 1983. In 1984 the Steelers made the AFC Championship game ( and had a 14-10 lead ) only to be sunk by Mark Malone's three interceptions.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MontJo01.htm

http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2013/7/15/4523030/the-truth-about-big-armed-quarterbacks