Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
Originally posted by Since07:
Usually see a player have a break out year, Purdy has steadily gotten better each game. He's starting to make those crazy accurate timed those that a saw every now and then now a couple times a game.
Didn't get to see the rise of Montana but I imagine it felt somthing like this
It was a little different with Montana. He had that great comeback rep at Notre Dame. He had the big comeback game against NO in 1980. When he became the starter in 1981, the Niners didn't have a lot of talent on offense. Dwight was their best receiver and the RBs were average. The young secondary with 3 rookies and Dwight Hicks were the stars that year. They terrorized the league. Then they added Dean and the pass rush became lethal. So for Montana's first SB it was more about the D during the season. He threw 3 INTs against Dallas in his first NFC title game. He only threw 3 more in his next 5 combined and none in his 4 SBs.
Montana's rise was definitely different. His final ascendency was in years 2 and 3 of his career, the 6-10 season in 1980 then of course 1981. We were still dealing with blackouts in 1980, so all we really had was road games, local media and MNF halftime highlights to SEE what was happening.
So, to me, watching 1981 unfold (when I was a HS soph) was A LOT like watching Purdy's coming out bridging the last two seasons.
Completion after completion, TD after TD, win after win, you rub your eyes and almost can't believe it. It feels VERY similar.
[ Edited by SonocoNinerFan on Dec 18, 2023 at 8:38 AM ]