Rice to the rescue! If the 49ers are to win another Super Bowl, Jerry Rice must perform his greatest miracle yet

Sporting News, The, Dec 15, 1997 by Paul Attner

You hate to do this to a guy coming off a knee injury so severe he shouldn't even contemplate playing again this season. But even though the 49ers own the league's best record, their chances of winning the Super Bowl hinge on whether Jerry Rice's comeback becomes more substance than show by early January.

From a human interest standpoint, of course, it doesn't get much better than what could unfold Monday in San Francisco. On a night when the 49ers will retire Joe Montana's number, his old pal Rice hopes to play in his first game since tearing up two ligaments August 31 against the Bucs. No athlete of his stature has ever returned this quickly from knee wreckage and reconstructive surgery of this magnitude, and to do it on national television against one of the AFC's top teams -- and a potential Super Bowl opponent -- could make this a particularly emotional occasion.

But for the 49ers, Rice's return has taken on importance far beyond showcasing his remarkable ability to drive himself through painful rehabilitation that was supposed to last perhaps into next training camp. Yet here he is, running with the fluidity and grace that have become his standards, showing us once again that to tell him he can't do something is his incentive to prove us wrong.

Whether he actually plays Monday night is no sure thing -- coach Steve Mariucci and team doctors still were withholding final approval last week -- but barring unforeseen setbacks, he should be part of the 49ers' game plan entering the playoffs. Now the question is, how much of that game plan can he carry?

For the 49ers to be a postseason factor, he must quickly be able to handle a game load close to his pre-injury level. He sees no reason why he can't become the Jerry Rice of old; nothing in his rehabilitation has indicated he is limited in any way. That alone is extraordinary and probably unrealistic, although Rice is so driven he refuses to concede to reality. Last week, when he started practicing for the first time with the squad, his teammates were shocked by what they saw.

"He looks awfully, awfully good," quarterback Steve Young says. "There is no sign he can't do what he has always done. But we haven't seen him in a game yet. so it is unfair to him to expect anything. I don't want to push him. But I can't believe he would want to go out there and not be the Jerry Rice he always has been."

The reason the 49ers need Rice so desperately despite their gaudy record can be answered in two words: Kansas City. in his absence, Mariucci has done an admirable job sustaining the team's quality. The 49ers have been transformed into a tough, determined, physical bunch that loves to run the ball -- "We are like an NFC East team that pounds it, plays conservatively and plays strong defense," Mariucci says -- but their passing game has been limited, in part to protect the concussion-prone Young from many unnecessary hits. But young receivers Terrell Owens and J.J. Stokes have not become the big-time, downfield threats needed to stretch defenses. Against a lackluster schedule, the 49ers have survived very nicely with their revised offense, putting together a team-record 11 consecutive victories. But that was before they lost leading rusher Garrison Hearst at least until January with a broken collarbone. And that was before they had to face playoff-caliber opponents with defenses strong enough to control the San Francisco running attack, which should force Young to carry the team with his arm. That's where the 49ers' concerns begin.

If Owens and Stokes remain his primary outside targets, Young, who at 36 once again is the league's top-rated passer, will have problems rescuing the franchise. The Chiefs showed why in their 44-9 rout two weeks ago, the 49ers' worst loss in 17 years. They jammed Owens and Stokes with single coverage and put eight defenders close to the line to neutralize the 49ers running game. The passing opportunities for Young against this scheme were abundant, but the 49ers were incapable of capitalizing on them.

"We felt if they had a hard time running it would play into our hands," says Chiefs defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham. Adds Chiefs offensive tackle Steve Wallace: "We had a pretty good idea of some of what would make them less effective. Disrupt the timing of their routes. And you can't let them run the ball up and down the field. You've got to make them throw. They haven't had to do that all year."

Can you imagine an opponent saying it wanted a Young-and-Rice 49ers offense to throw the ball? "Teams have been going to eight men inside," Young says. "We have the opportunities to make plays on the outside. But unless we make them, it doesn't matter what chances we are given." Rice must make defenses honest. He must make them spread out and move away from the pattern the Chiefs used -- and teams such as the Broncos surely win copy.

"You've got teams playing us bump-and-run and the linebackers are in the box and they are saying to us, `You are not going to beat us consistently outside (with our receivers),'" Mariucci says. "We have to have those guys make some plays."