Burt: Fighters Are Needed to Beat 49ers

Can somebody beat these people? Can anybody? The Rams? Broncos? Browns?

“Let me tell you what it’s going to take,” said a nine-year NFL man, nose tackle Jim Burt, speaking on behalf of his new bosses and teammates, the San Francisco 49ers, on whose side he has been for only a matter of weeks.

“Whoever’s going to beat the 49ers has one chance, and one chance only,” Burt said, “and that’s to fight. They’re going to have to fight. It’s going to take more than just perfect execution of a book full of football plays. Anybody who beats the 49ers is going to have to fight to the finish, because that’s the only way these guys know how to lose.

“You take that Ram game in Anaheim. Did you see that game? Man, 99% of the teams in this league are finished in the third quarter after what the Rams did. I mean it, 99%. What Joe Montana did that night was probably the best quarterbacking I’ve ever seen. But, it was more than that. There was a genuine belief on this team that the 49ers could and would pull out that game.

“That’s rare, let me tell you. Some teams, you get them down, they die. The 49ers, you get them down, you’re going to have hell on your hands keeping them down. Somebody’s going to have to play at their very, very top to beat the San Francisco 49ers, and then still have something left at the end.

“Because I’ve learned something since becoming a 49er. I’ve learned that if you’re with two 49ers and you get into a fight with 10 other guys, those two guys you’re with are going to fight till the end, fight till the death for you. If they’re going to die, they’re going to die together.

“You think I’m kidding.

“I’m not.”

Jim Burt, 30, was caught by surprise in the city by the Bay. He knew the Niners were good. He knew they had common interests. What surprised him was the way they approached their work. That, he says, is what has taken them a notch above the rest; what made them the football team of the ‘80s; what promises--threatens?--to make them the team of the ‘90s.

“Look, you know and I know that some players look forward to the playoffs because it’s a chance to make some extra money. Everybody in life likes to make a little extra money. But I’ve been around the 49ers for a while now, and I know this is going to sound corny as can be, but these guys are not motivated by money, not one bit. They’re motivated by the championship, the thought of another championship.

“You think Joe Montana’s thinking about money? Joe Montana doesn’t need the money. Joe Montana lives for the battle. Most of these guys here do.

“I never thought in a million years I’d play for anybody else but the New York Giants, or ever want to,” said Burt, who spent 1981-88 with them, “but now I’m thankful that I got a chance to see what life on this side of the field was like. I’m going for two Super Bowl rings. Doesn’t matter if we have to get by the Giants or Rams or whoever. I just couldn’t have dreamed up a better scenario.”

Burt gave heart and soul to the Giants, and cut a memorable figure after the 1986 NFC championship game at the Meadowlands, climbing into the stands to hug family and fans after an exciting triumph over Washington. The squatty-bodied, 6-1, 260-pounder had taken just as much pleasure from the New York playoff slaughter of San Francisco the week before, 49-3.

He was a giant among Giants then, true and blue. But later he would leave them, with such hard feelings toward Coach Bill Parcells that Burt even expressed fantasies about knocking a ball-carrier out of bounds and right into Parcells.

“Believe me, my blood is with the 49ers now,” he said Saturday, after the Niners advanced to their fourth conference title game since 1981.

Burt wasn’t in the starting lineup against Minnesota. Pete Kugler has his spot on the defensive line. But he is there when needed, and he expects to lay a lick on several more ball-carriers before he is through. After all, he has incentive.

“Two Super Bowl rings,” Burt dreamed aloud. “What a concept.”

Particularly if they could be gained with two different teams. Burt was part of the Giant juggernaut that wiped out Denver in Super Bowl XXI at Pasadena.

Not many players have won rings with two different teams. “I know Kenny Hill did,” Burt said, recalling the former Raider and Giant safety.

As long as Montana’s on his side, Burt figures he has a chance. Nothing against the Rams. Burt respects them. He’s simply grown quite fond of Montana in their short time together.

“It’s just that Joe’s such a great person and team player,” Burt said. “He’s not a prima donna. A lot of people don’t know Joe, because he’s pretty quiet. Well, he’s a great guy, and he’s just as tough a fighter as guys twice his size. That’s why the 49ers will be hard to stop. The more guys you got like that, the better chance you’ve got.

“Somebody might beat us. All I can say is, they’d better want it bad.”