There’s no better way to learn what really goes on in a football game than to ask players and coaches what actually occurred on the field. Tape and metrics will tell you a lot, but if you can get the inside intel from the guys who are actually drawing it up and executing it, it’s an entirely different dimension. The more detail the better in that case, which is why I’ve enjoyed watching tape with some of the NFL’s best players, and some of the NCAA’s best draft prospects.
I’ve been fortunate enough to watch tape with everyone from Patrick Mahomes to Richard Sherman, and three players in Super Bowl LV — Mahomes, Buccaneers running back Ronald Jones II, and Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr.
Since I started doing this with former NFL guard Evan Mathis in 2015 after Mathis challenged me to learn more about a sack he had allegedly allowed than I actually knew, the concept has always been enlightening, and has contributed a great deal to my football acumen, such as it is. Hopefully, those who have read these articles have felt the same way.
And then, once in a while, you just hit the motherlode. That happened to me this week when I was afforded the opportunity to speak with Joe Montana regarding his involvement in the new Fan Controlled Football league. Montana has been an investor and Chief Strategic Advisor since 2018, and we’ll be running a separate piece on Montana’s role in the league, as well as some very candid comments about one of the league’s most prominent quarterbacks — one Jonathan Paul Manziel.
But when I realized that I’d have quite a few extra minutes of scheduled time with Montana, I thought it would be interesting for me, and for our readers, to dive back into the low-def, No-22 of the 1980s and go over some of the most important and amazing plays of the decade with the man who defined it.
So, without further ado, here’s the opportunity to go under the hood with one of the greatest players in NFL history, who worked his magic with the greatest offensive mind in NFL history in Bill Walsh, and find out just how this was all done — at a forensic level.
Folks, it’s time to watch tape with Joe Montana.