Bad News for the NFL: 49er Expect Jerry Rice Will Only Get Better

Bill Walsh got his first look at wide receiver Jerry Rice on film, and it appeared the defensive backs were going in slow motion.

“It was wild. In so many cases, the defenders just weren’t in his class. He was wide open almost all the time. It was like watching a gazelle,” the San Francisco 49er coach recalled.

Rice had 1,845 yards and 28 touchdowns two years ago for Mississippi Valley State’s record-breaking passing attack and joined the 49ers last season as a first-round draft pick, the first ever taken by Walsh from a small college.

“We had high expectations, and he’s certainly fulfilled all of these, or more,” Walsh said of the 6-2 receiver.

In his second season against the fast and physical defenders of the NFL, Rice has accumulated a league-leading 1,281 yards and 13 touchdowns receiving. He goes into the 13th game, Monday night against the New York Giants, only 63 yards away from the 49ers’ single-season yardage record (1,344 by Dave Parks in 1965) and within 465 yards of the all-time pro record, Charlie Hennigan’s 1,746 yards with the Houston Oilers in 1961.

Rice was somewhat of a slow starter in pro ball. He hurt the team several times with dropped passes and had 18 catches for 295 yards through the first half of his rookie season, coming off the bench in most games. He made a major breakthrough on a Monday night in December with a team-record 241 yards against the Rams, and he finished the season with 49 catches for 927 yards and three touchdowns.

He had a 204-yard game against Washington two weeks ago, and two receptions totaling 54 yards were nullified by penalties in that game. He also has had a pair of three-touchdown games and he’s averaging 19.7 yards per reception and 33.8 yards per touchdown catch.

“It’s mainly my concentration. Last year, it was something I didn’t have. This year, everything is falling into place,” Rice said.

“I’ve learned a lot from Dwight Clark, mostly how to watch every ball,” Rice added. “Dwight almost never drops a pass. That’s the way I want to be.”

Clark, the steady and dependable receiver in his eighth NFL season, owns the 49er career record for receptions, 473, and is 301 yards away from the career yardage record of 6,664 held by Gene Washington.

“When I retire, I’ll just sit back and watch Jerry Rice go right by me,” Clark said.

“I’m still reaching up,” Rice said. “I’m not at my peak right now. Maybe next year I’ll be able to reach it.”

Walsh agrees.

“There are areas where we believe he can still improve,” the coach said. “After four or five years, he will be a truly great player. I expect this year he will be an all-pro, but then he can get better and better and better.”

Rice had his first three-touchdown game against Indianapolis on Oct. 5, when Jeff Kemp was filling in at quarterback for the injured Joe Montana, and the other three-touchdown day on Montana’s return to action four weeks ago.

“Jerry Rice inspires confidence in a quarterback. He’s got speed and size, and he does things with the ball after he catches it,” Kemp said.

When Kemp played with the Rams, one of his receivers was Ron Brown, who won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the U.S. sprint relay team.

“On a football field, Jerry has awesome speed, comparable to Brown’s,” Kemp said.

Rice has gone over 100 yards receiving six times this season, twice since a three-game stretch in which he totaled only 11 catches for 151 yards.

“But when I got into a slump, I didn’t let it bother me,” he said.