European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 31, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Wednesday january 31,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 23 49ers in rightful place among elite nil teams by Jim Litke new Orleans apr people have Short memories. Which is especially important when you come out of nowhere a As the san Francisco 49crs did eight Short years ago a and announce your arrival before you get there. But the same Cam that Gate crashed its Way into the nil s elite with its first super bowl appearance in 1982 owns the mansion today. And there s no reason to believe that the 49ers. After dismantling Denver 5510 in their latest showing Are going to hand the keys Back anytime soon. A the fourth ring is great. It s a great feeling to 49crs running Back Roger Craig said sunday night As wave after wave of Celebration washed Over the san Francisco locker room. A now we can be mentioned in the same breath As the Pittsburgh St Clurs. The Miami dolphins and the Green Bay packers. We be accomplished that feat now but our next Craig continued a is the history is like a receding hairline in one important sense making what was lost seem All the More precious. And so the great packers of the 1960s had trouble escaping the lengthening Shadow of the Cleveland Browns of the previous decade just As the dolphins that dominated the Early 1970s and the Steeles who owned the Middle and later years of the decade struggled to be free of the memories of the packers. That never seemed to be a problem with the 49ers. When they showed up in Pontiac mich., to face the Cincinnati bengals in the 1982 super bowl they were regarded More As a one trick Pony than a thoroughbred. A team propped up for one shot at the top by owner Eddie Dibartolo s too thick Check Book coach Bill Walsh s too innovative playbook and too Small quarterback Joe Montana s refusal to do most anything by the Book. San Francisco looked then like anything but a dynasty. And when the organization took that team apart almost immediately afterwards for retooling a a process that would take three Yean a no one in the league realized just How ambitious this cozy Little franchise on the left coast had become. The 49ers won a second super bowl in january 1985, but they had yet to be taken seriously largely because they continued to be regarded As a finesse team one More accomplished at treachery than toughness. And toughness was what marked All the great teams that had gone before them. The Packin lived by the sweep run behind a pulling offensive line that was a for its Era a As big a a trailer and just As Mobile and became known for their a three Yards and a Cloud of dust attack. Miami in turn earned its reputation for grittiness with the a no name defense and bullish Larry Csonka in the Back Field. Pittsburgh perhaps the toughest of All featured a a steel curtain defense and a quarterback Terry Bradshaw who could be knocked Down often but rarely knocked out. And what of the 49crs, who popped up in the super bowl a third time at the dose of the decade yet still seemed too frail somehow for the ravages of time but so unwilling to go away has a fourth super bowl piggybacked on no. 3, enabled them to claim their rank have they proved finally they Are Tough enough a they showed me today a said Wade Phillips Denver s defensive coordinator a that they have a great defense to go with a great offence. Going in i did no to think they could compare with those great Stchler teams on defense but i was wrong. A maybe the Steeles were a Little better on defense but the 49ers Are better on offence. They compare very Well with those Pittsburgh Phillips Boss Dan Reeves has been to More super bowls a eight a As a player assistant or head coach than anyone else in nil history. And after sunday s drubbing he was willing to find the 49ers a place on the Pedestal. A there s an awful lot of great teams a he said. A you done twin the championship even one year without being a great team. The fact that they be done it Back to Back to me moves you up another notch because it s so hard to repeat. I d say it s going to be difficult for someone to say that they re not one of the great teams of All the Steeles dolphins and packers were made up for the most part of the same personnel during their great runs Veteran offensive and defensive units that absorbed bruises from one coach a Chuck Noll Don Shula and Vince Lombardi respectively a Early on and stayed hungry Long enough to hand the bruises out to opponents for the length of their careers. San Francisco with the notable exception of Montana and safety Ronnie Lott has been an evolving organization. It proved itself capable of grafting old fashioned toughness onto a High tech offence changing Edward Debartolo or. Accepts the fruits of Victory. Personnel in a timely fashion and Segu eing from Walsh to coach George Seifert interestingly the team s defensive coordinator since 1983. Barely skipping a beat. And so the question has to be asked. Can the 49ers stay on top can they get better a we said throughout the game that we be got to keep turning it up a notch turning it up a notch and we did a Seifert recalled. A that s a sign of the inner strength this organization has put together the last 10 years. A your approach in this thing is that As Long As we re working we be got to give it our Best shot. A doctor does t operate one time the Best he can a Seifert added a and Slack and their sense of history wont let the 49ers, either. They May have crept into their rightful place among the great teams. But rest assured they will Only be dragged from it after much kicking and screaming. A you know a san Francisco guard Guy Mcintyre said �?o1 look at some film of Vince Lombardi and it was the same thing. He drilled the Guys he drilled the Guys. He would t let up on them and he had to make them believe they can win. A and once you believe you can win a Mcintyre concluded a you can do already talking about three straight by Barry Wilner new Orleans apr same time next year Down the Gulf coast the san Francisco 49ers might have three heated their Way into the record Book. After a 55-10 demolition of the Denver Broncos in the super bowl the 49crs were being compared to the greatest teams in nil history and deservedly so. They Are 4-0 in super bowls and marched through the playoffs this year in unprecedented style. Quot they Are one of the Best Quot 49crs coach George Seifert said monday. A i Felt the 84 team was great As Well. I believe we match up quite Well with the Steeles of the 1970s, who also won four. This happens to be our that time does t appear close to ending. Nobody would be surprised to see the liners at Tampa fla., next january going for the three peat. Quot i want to be in Tampa a Joe Montana said. If he plays the Way he did this year a having As a Good a season As any quarterback Ever did. And a better super bowl a the 49ers might be unstoppable again. A the Guys came Back and took repeat ing As a Challenge Quot Montana said. A people told us a you have the Opportunity to do it but you probably won t repeat because nobody repeats our Guys said no one can Tell them what they can a i can t help thinking of next year Quot linebacker Michael Walter said. A one of the sad things is that we might not All be together. A but nobody has done it three straight times. That a what we re Seifert an assistant under Bill Walsh for the 1982,1985 and 1989 super victories agreed there will be no status quo in san Francisco. A there will be changes Quot he said. A every year is different and an entity unto itself. Quot Well Start making plans on the plane going Back. Change is a natural process. The foundation Lor he next one is he desire within each player. This is a talented team with individuals who want to win. When that is in place you be got an Opportunity. A there Are some awfully Good teams frothing at the Mouth to get those teams including the Minnesota Vikings and los Angeles rams each routed by san Francisco in the playoffs must live with the realization that the 49crs Are not an old team. Montana for instance will be 34, but he s getting better every year and plans to pick apart defences for at least another two seasons. Ronnie Lott the guts of the defense has been banged up nearly every year but still performs at an All pro level. He will be 31 next season and insists he in t close to retirement. Roger Craig will be 30 and definitely is not slowing Down. He has t missed a game in seven years and played in every game this season. Jerry Rice the Best receiver in the business and John Taylor who could be the second Best Haven t reached their prime. Brent Jones is just getting started at tight end and the offensive line was a fortress in the postseason. Then there is the overlooked defense which was t As flashy but was just As effective As the offence. A never since in be been with the 49ers,�?� said Walter who has been in san Francisco six seasons a i thought we had a great defense. Its gotten better. A if others Don t perceive us that Way i Don t know what to Chet Brooks docs. A your offence is the Best in football a the safety said. A maybe now you la understand our defense is the for the Broncos things might appear to be at their worst with an 0-4 Mark in the super bowl tying Minnesota s record of futility. But three acc titles in four years Isnit bad and despite what happened against the 49ers, this was the Best of Denver a three acc champions. A we have a Young team that we Hope will get better coach Dan Reeves said. Quot we made strides from the previous year to this year. Nobody thought we d get Here. We played consistently Well through 18 games and were competitive in every game. When you do that you Don t anticipate yesterday s outcome. A we made strides in improving the areas that needed improvement. We have better people but we re not Good enough. We be got a Long ways to go if we want to be compared to the 49ers. A Well Start building for next year in the off season. We be not a Tot of people who will work hard. We re the defending acc champions and we re not going to give it up
