PRO FOOTBALL : Jets’ Defense Brings Down Their Offense and 49ers Win, 24-10

It is difficult for good offensive players to succeed when their defensive team is crippled by injury.

That sounds crazy. But that’s the way football is, the two leaders of the San Francisco 49ers agreed Sunday after they made short work of the wounded New York Jets, 24-10.

Neither Bill Walsh, the coach, nor Joe Montana, the 49er quarterback, was surprised that Jet quarterback Ken O’Brien spent most of the afternoon throwing the ball with glaring inefficiency.

“The Jets have lost their entire defensive line and (their best) linebacker (Lance Mehl),” Walsh said. “That makes it impossible for their offense to function normally. For one thing, (O’Brien) sees the (49ers) moving the ball continuously and gets impatient.”

Something similar happened last Monday night in a game that the 49ers led, 17-0, and then lost to the New York Giants, 21-17.

“It took a lot away from our defense when we (the 49er offense) couldn’t move the ball in (Monday’s) second half,” Montana said. “One of the big things with the Jets is that their defense isn’t getting the big plays that fire up an offense.”

Thus, in Candlestick Park, O’Brien failed at any time to resemble the athlete who for most of the season has topped the National Football League in passing.

After leading the Jets to a 10-1 record, O’Brien has struggled in three straight defeats since an assortment of injuries took out Mehl and three other defensive standouts--Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko and Marty Lyons, who formed the NFL’s most widely respected front three.

For the 49ers, meanwhile, Montana played another in a series of strong games since his return from back surgery.

After their quarterback opened up the Jets with passes, two 49er fullbacks darted through for all three touchdowns. First, Roger Craig scored on runs of 1 and 5 yards, then rookie Tom Rathman contributed the other a 29-yard burst.

Montana moved the 49ers 56, 84 and 61 yards to those touchdowns, throwing five times to wide receiver Jerry Rice for 98 yards, as the 49ers won the game in a 14-3 first half.

But significantly, Craig’s second touchdown and Rathman’s were both scored through the middle of the Jet line--where Klecko would have been if he’d been out there instead of standing disconsolately on the sideline.

“We’re still in control of our own destiny,” 49er guard Randy Cross said, pointing to the standings in the NFC West. The 49ers (8-5-1) play the New England Patriots next week at Foxboro, Mass., and finish with the Rams in the finale at Candlestick Park.

The Jets (10-4) remain even with the Patriots atop the AFC East.

To make the playoffs, “We’ll have to play better in the next two weeks,” Walsh said. “We’re still out of sync.”

One problem is that the 49ers’ veteran quarterback is still underweight. “Joe lost 15 pounds in back surgery and hasn’t been able to get it back,” the coach said.

As a result, Montana has changed his game slightly. His former style was to operate out of the pocket on numerous plays, pressuring the defense with rollout passes and runs. Even in the pocket, he used to move around extensively. By contrast, in his present mode, Montana is more of a stationary pocket passer, and this style takes away from his effectiveness.

In other years, the great Montana play--the one few other quarterbacks can make--was the left-side rollout followed by a hard downfield throw.

Montana isn’t making this play now, either. It’s one that’s tough on a man’s body, requiring a twisting motion that can, and did, throw out his back, and he’s obviously not yet ready to try it.

Asked if Montana will ever be able to throw his left-side fastball again, Walsh said: “Sure. When he gets back his strength.”

Happily for Walsh and Montana, they’re associated on this team with perhaps the foremost pass receiver in America, Jerry Rice.

The top two, Rice and the Jets’ Al Toon, were visible on the same field this time, and in such a matchup it was clear that the 49er has more to offer.

He’s a more coordinated athlete than Toon and he’s more assertive in his fine movements.

Most wide receivers today have been hit so hard and often by defensive teams that they play mostly short-arm football. Understandably afraid that they’ll get blasted, they stay contained.

Not Rice. The 49er youngster is always going all-out, gracefully. And, in an NFL mine field, that’s hard to do.

If Rice keeps it up, he might be ranked someday with Paul Warfield, Lance Alworth, James Lofton and the two or three others at the all-time top.

In San Francisco, to be sure, O’Brien didn’t give Toon much help. On a team that’s lost its defense, the Jet passer has lost his touch. He seemed as uncomfortable here as he was unconcerned earlier this year when he was tearing up the league with Gastineau and Klecko.

“I know just how (O’Brien) feels,” Walsh said. “When we lost our first two quarterbacks (this year), the rest of us didn’t play very well, either. The psychology of football may be hard to understand, but you feel it. You always feel it.”