No one knows more about quarterback battles than Jerry Rice.
Rice, a Hall of Famer who is widely considered the greatest receiver of all time, was at the center of the most contentious quarterback controversy between Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young. That status makes Rice the only one qualified to give his take on the tidal situation in Pittsburgh, as Russell Wilson could replace Justin Boxes as the Steelers’ founding quarterback in the upcoming Day 7 game against the New York Jets.
“We believed that whoever they put under center, they had to make that person the best football player possible on the football field,” Rice said during a recent one-on-one interview with CBS Sports. “Everything I learned with Joe Montana, I had to put on the back burner to adapt to Steve Young and get the best out of him. I was always able to make adjustments to whoever they put under center.
“I know they’re going through it in Pittsburgh. It’s not about choosing aspects or anything like that. It’s that you have to prepare that higher below the heart. When you look at it, that means, it’s committing to Play games the easy way imaginable.”
Rice’s transition from Montana to Younger used to be seamless. Rice’s tenure with Montana included two Super Bowl wins, a Super Bowl MVP award and a wealth of accomplishments that included recording the most landing receptions in a season, the most receiving yards and most landing receptions in a Super Bowl.
His association with Young was equally prolific. The duo had an NFL record 119 touchdowns. They also won a Super Bowl together, as Rice became the Super Bowl leader in receptions, yards and landing receptions.
His name is also linked to the information, but Rice’s greatest memory of his participation in the presentation has nothing to do with the history books.
“It was against the Los Angeles Rams,” Rice recalled, alluding to a 1989 game between the rival 49ers section. “John Taylor took two slant routes to the house, and guess who was blocking those two touchdowns? I was like a little kid in a candy store because I never had that opportunity, and here I am, trying to block.” so John Taylor can get into the end zone and score.”
Rice’s toughness is one of the things that undoubtedly made him the most prolific talented player in NFL history. He sees similar ownership in 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings, who has parlayed his last class’ Super Bowl luck into the 2024 season.
“He’s a playmaker, man,” Rice said of Jennings. “He does the dirty work, you know what I’m saying? You always need a guy like that on your team that you know is going to make a play. He was doing some outstanding things last year in the Super Bowl. In fact, “I felt like If we had won that football game, I probably would have been MVP. “He wants to be that playmaker and he wants to show it on the football field.”
Rice mentioned that he sees parallels between him and Jennings.
“He’s not afraid to cross the middle,” Rice said of Jennings. “And the article is that I wanted to be in the background, but I couldn’t because of what I was doing on the football field. I’ve never been one to want to be in the background. He’s the center of attention, and he He’s the same midfielder. He just does his job. You don’t see him in the spotlight that often, but if he’s on the football farm, he’s making plays to reserve the ball.
“I think he’s gaining more and more confidence in Brock Purdy, and Brock knows that, ‘Hey, I can go to this guy and he can make that catch.'”
After the playoffs, Rice notched a career-high 1,700 passes. One of his favorites was his late landing catch in the first half of the 1994 NFC Championship game. In addition to the catch that extended the 49ers’ hold just before halftime, the fact that it came against the Cowboys ( and particularly against cornerback Larry Brown, who in the past had boasted of “owning” Rice) made the games too particular.
“Those guys were talking noise,” Rice said of the Cowboys. “I was never the loudest type, but the best way to shut up defensive backs was to score. Bill Walsh always told me, ‘Just don’t retaliate. Just score touchdowns. Pass the ball to your referee and celebrate with your teammates.’ teammates.”
That play likely forced Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to sign then-49ers cornerback Deion Sanders to an opt-in list to see out the season with the goal of swinging the dispute again in the Dallas quarter. A month in which he admitted he had trouble falling asleep at night before facing Sanders (Sanders admitted the same thing as Rice, according to the finale), Rice relished the opportunity to progress into one of the greatest defensive backs ever. existed in sport. unequivocal.
“I implemented a lot of my conditioning,” Rice said when asked about his matchups against Sanders. “If it was a running play, I was still running 60 or 70 yards down the field and he was chasing me thinking it was a pass, and he just did it over and over again.
“Deion, he used to be one of the fastest defensive backs in the farmland, so you had to come into the practice sequence with a plan. I was going to go through him twice, three times, put him on his butt and get to me. way. While they gave you a fast man like that, they gave you a lot of battles. I would love to assume that I won the vast majority of the battles It used to be the final challenge where you were looking to progress towards the most efficient and also looking to see. what you could do.”
Rice was way ahead of his age when it came to his production. But his answer when asked how successful he would be in today’s sport could be a miracle.
“To be honest, I don’t know because it’s a totally different game now,” he mentioned. “Everything is more condensed. There isn’t that big play opportunity because the field doesn’t spread out as much. We always spread the field out. We wanted the big play. And now, everything is a little more jammed up, and that’s why you see a lot more passes. “shorts”.
Rice, however, has an enthusiasm for the sport that is best combined with his push to back others. That’s why they’ve partnered with FedEx and their ongoing initiative to donate to Traditionally Cloudy Colleges and Universities (HBCU). For the primary age, receivers and tight ends are eligible to win the award.
“The only wide receiver award I missed,” said Rice, who encourages fans to vote for their favorite players weekly. “I wish they had this in the past… Coming from an HBCU, it was something I will never forget, being at Mississippi Valley State University. FedEx is donating the Player of the Week winner $2,000 to any HBCU school that The player wants that money to go FedEx also gives $100,000 for scholarships to students each year.
“It used to be almost the best marriage,” Rice said. “I really like what they’re doing. I’m glad I get to work with them.”
