49ers really wanted Rodgers, not Smith

[Mr. Cynical]

Great story....and true.

My dad was in Cleveland for a seminar yesterday at some hotel and ran into Montana having lunch at a sushi bar by himself. My dad sat down next to him and said Joe was really nice and he was there for some speaking engagement.

They talked/ate sushi for a half hour or so and here's some of the things Joe said:

1. The 9ers thought they could take Smith and then trade down to get Rodgers later in the round. The plan was that they wanted Rodgers but didn't want to pay #1 pick money. However the plan fell apart (somehwere along the line) and they got "stuck" with Smith. They like Smith as well, but now they have to pay the big dollars and supposedly it's going to be tricky.

Mr. Right

2. On Drew...."The guy has so much talent. When he came into the league I thought here is a guy that has amazing tools. But there are two things that hurt him...he is very stubborn and assumes everything he thinks is right, and he has no concept of how to throw a short pass. I mean it's either into the ground or going 90MPH at the receiver." He does think that if anyone can salvage whatever's left of him it is Parcells, but he thinks it is a longshot.

3. On 5'9" WRs..."That may have worked 10 years ago but I can't see it happening today."

4. On JP getting hit by DE/DTs if he runs around too much..."I could take the hits okay back then. It wasn't fun but I dealt with it. But these days they are 25-30lbs heavier, and worse they pile drive you into the ground. It gets called every now and again, but not nearly enough. And let me tell you, getting hit is one thing. Getting pile driven can end your career."

That's the jist of the conversation besides some other talk about health and stuff. My dad is a health nut and asked if Joe is too. He said, "Yeah, I just try to do things in moderation. On my way here yesterday I was starving and got a Big Mac. You know what? It tasted great! I don't eat them very often obviously but once in awhile isn't that bad."

Then they rode up the elevator together and parted ways. "Nice meeting you Joe". "You too, have a good seminar".

Very cool story. Dad was really psyched.

[YardRat]

Cool...

[ryjam282]

Wow, very cool. Montana was the best.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

You kind of got the impression that the 49ers didn't want Smith since there were trade rumors all day like they wanted nothing to do with him. I think other teams made it look like they wanted him so that is why the 9ers took him. They were fooled. Good job 9ers.

[elltrain22]

personally, I really think Alex Smith was the better of the 2 qb's, but they may be b/c I am not to high on those Jeff Tedford qb's. One thing is sure though, and that is the Pack got a steal at 24, drafting a kid who had the upside and talent to be a #1 pick.

[The King]

Very cool story.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

personally, I really think Alex Smith was the better of the 2 qb's, but they may be b/c I am not to high on those Jeff Tedford qb's. One thing is sure though, and that is the Pack got a steal at 24, drafting a kid who had the upside and talent to be a #1 pick.

I agree.

Excellent story, Mr. Cynical!!!

I think Montana's assessment of DB was "spot-on".

[Mr. Miyagi]

Great story Mr.C!!!

[Bulldog]

Great story....and true.

My dad was in Cleveland for a seminar yesterday at some hotel and ran into Montana having lunch at a sushi bar by himself. My dad sat down next to him and said Joe was really nice and he was there for some speaking engagement.

They talked/ate sushi for a half hour or so and here's some of the things Joe said:

1. The 9ers thought they could take Smith and then trade down to get Rodgers later in the round. The plan was that they wanted Rodgers but didn't want to pay #1 pick money. However the plan fell apart (somehwere along the line) and they got "stuck" with Smith. They like Smith as well, but now they have to pay the big dollars and supposedly it's going to be tricky.

Mr. Right

2. On Drew...."The guy has so much talent. When he came into the league I thought here is a guy that has amazing tools. But there are two things that hurt him...he is very stubborn and assumes everything he thinks is right, and he has no concept of how to throw a short pass. I mean it's either into the ground or going 90MPH at the receiver." He does think that if anyone can salvage whatever's left of him it is Parcells, but he thinks it is a longshot.

3. On 5'9" WRs..."That may have worked 10 years ago but I can't see it happening today."

4. On JP getting hit by DE/DTs if he runs around too much..."I could take the hits okay back then. It wasn't fun but I dealt with it. But these days they are 25-30lbs heavier, and worse they pile drive you into the ground. It gets called every now and again, but not nearly enough. And let me tell you, getting hit is one thing. Getting pile driven can end your career."

That's the jist of the conversation besides some other talk about health and stuff. My dad is a health nut and asked if Joe is too. He said, "Yeah, I just try to do things in moderation. On my way here yesterday I was starving and got a Big Mac. You know what? It tasted great! I don't eat them very often obviously but once in awhile isn't that bad."

Then they rode up the elevator together and parted ways. "Nice meeting you Joe". "You too, have a good seminar".

Very cool story. Dad was really psyched.

Link?

[Jan Reimers]

Great job, Mr. C. You're dad sounds like a cool guy.

[Samphin1]

I believe this story too. I have met Joe Montana on a couple of occasions just walking around and he was there and let me tell you, there isn't a nicer guy. He is very grounded and will talk to anyone. He is a regular Joe ( pardon the pun ). I saw him once at a car museum and told him that Marino was my favorite player ( I was abou 10 ), he laughed and said that Marino was his favorite player too. Very easy guy to talk to. Good story.

[Tatonka]

your story sucked.

[Tatonka]

[Kerr]

Joe's right. If Parcells can't help drew, then nobody can.

[Mr. Cynical]

Yeah, my Dad said he didn't want to walk up to him all starry eyed and ask him about the "catch", etc....because he knew Joe had probably answered that 1,353,647 times. He basically just asked him very non-chalantly, "Hey Joe, what are you doing here?" and they sat and chatted. My dad is pretty level headed but he sounded like a school kid when he told me about it over the phone. It was great.

Some other notes...

1. Said he was taller than he thought (Joe is 6'2".....Dad is 5'11")

2. Said he (joe) had a slight "old football" walk, e.g., he could tell Joe had taken his hits over the years.

3. Joe mentioned that draft gurus are all idiots. Said he doesn't remember what his (Joe's) draft report was but was pretty sure it wasn't very good. Also made a comment about the media saying something about one of this year's QB's hands being too small to make it in the NFL. Joe held up his hands and said "it's not like mine are huge. That guy made it to where he is with those hands...what is he supposed to do about it?"

4. Joe recently had surgery on his neck for a fused vertebrae. He said he had been putting if off for years and years, but then when he was working out he felt a bolt of electricity down his spine. He went to the doctor and had emergency surgery the next day. The doc said the vertebrae was wrapped around his spinal cord and had it clamped down the wrong way, he wouldn't be walking. Unreal. I'm glad he's okay - from what my dad told me, Joe really is a cool, normal guy. That's SO amazing too, given he has been on the top of the world.....there can't be any feeling like seeing the clock go 00:00 in the SB and you win it, hearing 80,000 roaring in the stands cheering your name. And then doing it 3 more times.

Finally my dad said he was tempted to ask him about that hit that Bruce Smith put on him in Bufflao in '93, where Joe supposedly said "I'm getting to old for this s***" to see if he really said that. But then he felt it might be awkward (not sure why) so he didn't ask.