Originally posted by NCommand:
^ Such a great topic and discussion. I think Phoenix hit on the most important aspect:
"...coaches having far more time to work with him then they would have nowadays but it came down to Steve's desire, work ethic and trust in his coaches that all the repetitive crap he was doing would make him a far better QB."
But to qnnhan7's point, it really makes you appreciate Steve that much more. He STILL had to do it and trust the process. And it paid off.
Well, Steve *had* to get better in the pocket otherwise Joe would have kept his starting position. I remember him getting playing time in the playoffs, and one of the first things he does his break the QB rushing record. Steve had the luxury, or maybe in his mind, the challenge to unseat a super bowl QB and had to stay and watch Montana for a very long time before he got his chance to start. For the most part Montana was pretty durable and it wasn't until the last few years of his career that he got some injuries. So Steve had the time to master the pocket, unlike Colin who was basically thrown in there in his 3rd year. I think Colin would have been better if - instead of simplifying the offense, just limit his field of vision to one half of the field and let him develop over time his vision of the whole field, but then again - he was so talented at running, why bother even with half the field if he could make a first down with his legs. If I had the power to go back in time, first thing I would change is Jed's decision to let Harbaugh go. Second thing I would do is get Colin some speedster WR's to push the DB's back like how Kyle got Goodwin and the rest of these jitter bug WR's. That would have helped develop the QB position. It helps QB development if the QB has someone to throw to.