Don’t Tell Steve Young He’s Just a Backup : 49ers: Montana may be the top dog, but this quarterback is convinced that he’s a starter.

So he’s not the straw that stirs the 49ers’ drink. Maybe he is more like the finger you swish around in the glass if no one’s looking and you don’t have a straw.

But make no mistake, Steve Young can get the job done. He may not be San Francisco’s classy Hall-of-Fame-bound, hero-of-the-final- minutes quarterback, but he’s not your looks-OK-in-a-baseball-cap-on-the- sidelines-but-God-forbid-he-has-to-play backup, either.

In fact, Joe Montana may be the only player in the National Football League who could keep this guy on the bench.

Montana has been sidelined because of various injuries on several occasions this season and all Young has done when called on is complete 49 of 64 passes for 735 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception. He also has rushed for 115 yards.

Last week, when Montana went out because of sore ribs just before halftime in Atlanta, the 49ers’ $1 million-a-year reserve set a club record for completion percentage--hitting on 11 of 12 passes (he would have been perfect but one pass was dropped)--and turned a 10-6 halftime deficit into a 23-10 49er victory.

When the Falcons thought they were starting to get an upper hand on the fire, the 49ers flung them into the frying pan.

“The difference in styles (between Montana and Young) is obvious to everyone,” said Jesse Sapolu, the 49er center. “Joe is more pretty to watch, the way he dissects a defense. Steve, well, he finds a way to get the job done. He improvises. What he does is way beyond coaching.

“If Steve was sitting behind anyone besides Joe, it would be harder. But he knows he’s sitting behind a guy who will someday be considered the best ever.”

That might be true, but it provides little solace for Young. He’s 28, has an unbelievable quarterback rating of 143.7, and he isn’t even a starter.

But don’t tell him that, either.

“I feel like I am a starter,” Young said. “Whenever I read that I’m a backup, I get so upset I want to arm-wrestle the guy who wrote it. Take him down.

“It’s like, ‘What? You’re kidding me! I can’t be in that situation.’ So I don’t ever get realistic. Anyone who says otherwise, I’ll take him on. I’m forced to live in a fantasy world.

“To play in this league, you have to have a lot of confidence in yourself and that’s the way I keep my confidence, just knowing I’m a starter.

“Sounds kind of nuts, doesn’t it?”

Young is the first one to admit that he’s “halfway to the funny farm.”

Understand, this is not the same raw, Pete Rose of a quarterback who wowed ‘em with quarterback sweeps--and even played running back once--when he was with the Los Angeles Express in the United States Football League. Or even the wild-eyed scrambler who used to pump fake and then run for his life with Tampa Bay.

Young is now a calculating, cool hand who can run football’s most efficient offensive machine with all the poise and aplomb of, well, a Joe Montana.

“I think I’ve improved a lot this year and that just makes the fact that I’m not playing that much more dramatic of a problem,” he said. “People say, ‘You must be getting used to it,’ and it’s like, ‘No way. It just gets worse.’ I’m improving and not on the field.

“It’s the old Catch-22. I’m in a place where I can be successful. It’s a great organization, a great team, a great offense. That’s why I’m willing to wait here. But it’s a very tough situation.

“I’ve put in a lot of hard work here and I’d like to see it come to fruition here. I hold out great hope for that. But we’re going to come to a crossroads here in about two months where everyone will have to sit down and take a long look at this situation.”

If you think that sounds like “play me or trade me,” forget it. Young won’t so much as mention the word trade. He won’t even explain what he means by a crossroads.

First-year San Francisco Coach George Seifert can sympathize with Young’s torment, but he also is secure in the knowledge that he now possesses a rare luxury: a backup who can come in and keep the offense rolling without missing a beat.

And there’s not even a quarterback controversy.

“Steve has been a tremendously big factor in our (11-2) record,” Seifert said. “In this league, with the way people go after quarterbacks, you’re very, very fortunate to go through a season with one guy. It’s just not the norm. So having a good, solid backup is a huge plus.

“Steve is the reason we’ve won some games that we wouldn’t have otherwise won. I think that’s pretty obvious.”

OK, so maybe he’s not Joe Montana. But Young brings a few assets to a football team that even Montana can’t match.

If you’re playing the 49ers, you don’t want to turn the ball over to Montana with two minutes left in a tie game. But you also don’t want to drop back in a prevent zone and have Young slash through three-quarters of your defense on a 49-yard touchdown jaunt with 1:58 left in a game you’re leading, 21-17.

Just ask the Minnesota Vikings. They were the ones missing the tackles in that game on Oct. 30 last season.

Young realizes that his legs, not his arm, set him apart from a roomful of other quarterbacks and he doesn’t hesitate to run with the ball. But he’s doing his best to erase the perception that he’s a scrambler first and a passer second.

“Before, my first instinct was to move the ball myself because that’s the way I survived at two crazy situations before this,” he said. “Now, that’s not necessary and I realize you can make even bigger plays if you keep your eyes downfield while you’re moving out of the pocket.

“I’ve seen what Joe does. He gets the ball in the hands of the weapons on this team. He orchestrates things. He doesn’t try to move the ball himself. The old days of the bootlegs and wild runs are gone. I’m a drop-back passer and if I played long enough, hopefully, I’d become one of the better ones.”

Although Young has found an increasingly productive balance between the pass and the run of late, he still can take things into his own hands when he feels the need.

Guard Guy McIntyre said: “You may lose some things, mostly intangible things, when Joe goes out but you gain something with Steve, too, and that offsets it. Steve adds another dimension. He’s not only a passer, he’s a big-time runner.”

Bill Walsh says Young will soon be a premiere quarterback in the NFL.

Young would like to thank his former boss for the compliment.

And then he would like to scream, “When? “

There are a lot of people in this part of the country who hope Young somehow finds a way to be patient. And they have a number of reasons for waiting:

--He’s 28, but his body has to be a couple of years younger. All this watching and the resulting lack of physical abuse should extend his career.

--The 49ers have an offense that any quarterback would love to direct.

--And even he acknowledges that he is learning from Montana, is better for the competition and is still improving without much playing time.

Young has heard all the arguments, understands them all and rejects them all.

He has no bad feelings for the organization. He was signed days before the 1987 draft, when Montana was recovering from a back operation that would leave most people unable to take out the garbage. San Francisco owner Ed DeBartolo Jr. decided to make this young millionaire a bit richer, figuring it would take a miracle for Montana to play again.

But then we know all about Montana and miracles. He is back and playing the best football of his life. And you-know-who, sore ribs and all, is set to start against the Rams Monday night at Anaheim Stadium.

“They didn’t pay me this much to back up,” Young said. “I don’t think they believed that would be the case, but Joe has made it that way. He’s played the best ever. He’s been spectacular.

“So I compete against one of the best players in the world. I go out there every day and try to play better than the guy in front of me. That’s my goal. I don’t sit back and rationalize it.”

And Young says his spirits are up this week. After all, he set a club record last week, engineered an important comeback, and, most important, played an entire half.

“I’m on the best team in the league and I feel very confident that I could start,” he said. “I learned a tough lesson last year. I was always trying to make four touchdowns on one play.

“Now, I go in relaxed. I’m not trying to win the job in one series. I want the coaches to know the team has the same chance for success if I’m playing or if Joe’s playing.”

San Francisco’s coaches, players and fans all feel good about their insurance policy. And they all want to pat Young on the shoulder and assure him his time will come.

“Sure, I feel like there’s plenty of years of football left in me,” he said. “Heck, I feel like I could play forever . I just feel like it’s time. It’s important that the situation doesn’t extend itself.

“My emotions get all, uh, they get really, well, it’s really, really tough.”