Throws of passion

Sporting News, The, Jan 2, 1995 by Paul Attner

So you want to know everything that is important to know about the NFL playoffs and you want to know it concisely and quickly? Hey, we aim to please, so here goes:

Dave Krieg.

That's it. Forget Pittsburgh's defense and Emmitt Smith's hamstring and everything else that is cluttering up your football mind. Clear it with images of Krieg -- whose greatest struggle over his 15 pro seasons has been to hold onto the football -- winning the Super Bowl. No way, you say. That's right. It just ain't going to happen. Nor is Neil O'Donnell or Vinny Testaverde or Steve Walsh or Stan Humphries going to celebrate on that night late in January, either.

The horrid realization that these playoffs are being dominated by the presence of journeyman quarterbacks such as Krieg, who just happens to be the second-hottest passer in the NFL, is enough to make San Francisco the favorite to dethrone Dallas and win the league title. The 49ers have Steve Young, who currently is the best passing dude the league has seen in years. Indeed, he is producing a historically significant season. Just as impressively, his stranglehold on a position that has deteriorated so horribly in 1994 gives the 49ers an advantage that only perhaps the Cowboys, with Troy Aikman, can dream of neutralizing. And there is a considerable gap now between Young and Aikman, likely too much for Dallas to overcome.

It's hardly a revelation that the 49ers are the championship pick. But it shouldn't be because of all those nifty free-agency defensive moves they made, as wise as they were. Rather, if Young can perform in the playoffs at the same level he executed during the regular schedule, this is one Super Bowl derby that might be all but over before it begins.

"Usually all the teams in the playoffs have a certain degree of competence, whether it is on offense or defense, but the deeper you go, the more important the quarterback becomes," Washington General Manager Charley Casserly says. "Ultimately, the teams with the best quarterbacks win. In the big game, so many crucial plays come down to his ability to make the play, to throw it right, to not make a mistake. And Young is the best in the league. He is playing the best football of his career."

After hearing so frequently how he has been playing in Joe Montana's shadow -- we sportswriters just love this shadow cliche -- Young should be relishing the fact he now is casting his own image over the entire NFL, including Mr. Joe. Even in Montana's vintage years, he never dominated the quarterback spot the way Young is manhandling things this year. Montana had to compete with a Marino or an Elway. But Young? He has Krieg, a serious-minded, conscientious type whose inconsistent performances -- plays like Johnny U. one week and Vinny T. the next -- have prevented him from obtaining true stardom. This is the same Krieg who is the NFL's career fumbles leader, and the same Krieg who was signed by the Lions in the offseason as an $850,000 backup to $11.1-million man Scott Mitchell, now out with a broken wrist. Since replacing Mitchell in early November, Krieg has been outstanding. He has thrown 14 touchdown passes and three interceptions, and Detroit is 5-2 with Krieg starting.

"In my six years here, he's playing better than any quarterback I've ever had," says Lions Coach Wayne Fontes, whose job security might have increased considerably because of Krieg's contributions. Granted, Fontes never has had quality quarterbacking before, but still, even an Aikman can't come close to matching Krieg's 1994 numbers. So there is Young ... and then there is Krieg. And then everyone else. See what I mean about manhandling?

Steve Sidwell, the Saints' defensive coordinator who twice lost to Young and the 49ers this season, simply says, "(Young) is the best I've seen, period. Nobody comes close this year. Nobody. He is a great thrower, and he has that extra dimension of being able to get away and hurt you, scrambling around." That is the one area in the 49ers' offense that Young has made his own. Montana was agile and nimble but not the gifted runner that Young is. He runs hard, not scared, and is surprisingly sacrificial with his valuable body.

Entering Monday night's finale against Minnesota, Young was on the verge of breaking Montana's NFL quarterback-rating record for a season (112.4) and passing his record career mark (93.1). After 15 weeks, the best rating anyone else could produce this season was 89.6. He also should have shattered Montana's team record for passing yards; Young's 34 touchdowns had previously surpassed Montana's best of 31. Young will lead the NFL in passing for a record fourth consecutive season; only Sammy Baugh (six) has won more passing titles. His touchdowns-to-interception difference, 34 to 10, is vintage Montana, but even more impressive is his performance during the 49ers' 10-game winning streak (25 to 3), which includes a 125.4 rating. No wonder the 49ers have set season records for points scored and touchdowns.

The problem with Young, however, is that despite his gaudy regular-season statistics, he has never been Montana-like in the postseason. So all his good work will be -- that's right -- overshadowed once again if he fails to walk away with a Super Bowl ring. In four playoff starts over the past two seasons, he has four touchdown passes and four interceptions and the 49ers are 2-2. Both losses were to Dallas in the NFC title game.