As John Madden writes in his introduction, “Joe Montana knew more about football, on offense, than any player I ever talked to”. In 1997, three years after he retired, Montana decided to share some of that knowledge with a book on playing the quarterback position. The title, Joe Montana’s Art and Magic of Quarterbacking, echoes 1984’s The Art of Quarterbacking by Bengals’ QB Ken Anderson. Coincidentally, Montana contributed to Anderson’s book.
Montana’s book is primarily pitched at young players, with the veteran covering details from the importance of wearing a mouth piece, getting the right throwing motion, and how to learn the playbook. However, there are plenty of stories from his career that will be of interest to fans of 80s football or the 49ers. Those who are interested in strategy will also pick up plenty here about things like how a quarterback views zone coverage.
It’s a hardback book full of colour photographs so it also functions a little like a small format coffee table book. Again, those with fond memories of 80s football will find lots of photos to enjoy in here.
When Montana retired he was probably the best quarterback in the history of the game. That’s changed over time – and so has the game. Anyone picking this book up today with a view to learning how to play the position, is likely to find that a lot of the observations are dated. As a snapshot of how the position was played in the mid-90s, however, this is an excellent read.
Title: Joe Montana’s Art and Magic of Quarterbacking
Author: Joe Montana with Richard Weiner
First published: Henry Holt & Co, 1997
Distinctions: Featured in The Scouting Academy football books list
Buy the Book: Amazon US | Amazon UK
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THE AUTHOR
Joe Montana is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, known for his calm attitude under pressure that allowed him to lead his team to numerous late comebacks, most notably on the winning drive in Super Bowl XXIII. With four Super Bowl wins, three Super Bowl MVP awards and two NFL MVP awards, Montana was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000. He is a member of the NFL’s 1980s All-Decade team, the 75th Anniversary team and the 100th Anniversary team. He is the author or co-author of several books, including Joe Montana’s Art and Magic of Quarterbacking, Audibles: My Life in Football, Montana, and The Winning Spirit.
EXCERPTS
“For me, there are other, much more important physical attributes than height and weight, namely the ability to throw a football accurately. The importance of being able to throw the ball 70 yards in the air is overrated, especially in today’s passing game where timing and precision are so much more critical…As long as you’re smart about execution, everything else will fall into place.”
“The pass rushers have the same objective as the rest of the defensive unit: to make you feel uncomfortable, to make you do what you don’t want to do. They go about this by trying to sack you, knock you down after a pass, or at least make you run for your life. Standing in the pocket in the face of a heavy rush has been compared to auto racing, and that’s not too far off. Personally, I always thought it was more like standing in the middle of the freeway.”
“If the defense thinks you’re calling an audible, they might move around to try to confuse you. They might even do what middle linebacker Matt Millen did when I called, “Black 3 24 Omaha”. He threw up his hands and yelled, “Oh no! Not Black 3 24 Omaha!” It was pretty hard not to laugh.”
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Photo: Arnie Papp
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