Just How High Can Joe Montana Soar?

It’s reached the point that every time you think Joe Montana can do no more, he does it.

Take last week. He threw for 476 yards and six touchdowns against Atlanta and then yawned about it.

“There were times I was throwing well, but there were other times I didn’t hit people I should have,” he says, noting that he missed two receivers open for touchdowns and threw two interceptions.

Well, nobody’s perfect. It’s just that Montana seems to be.

Here he is, better than ever at age 34, even after four Super Bowl trophies, three Super Bowl MVP awards and more records than anyone can count.

With a running game ranked 26th in the NFL -- Roger Craig has been ineffective and then injured -- he’s still been able to average 339 passing yards a game, with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. At that rate, he’d throw for 5,794 yards and 45 TDs, 700 yards better than Dan Marino’s single-season yardage record and three touchdowns short of Marino’s record for TD passes.

“I’ve never played with anyone like him,” says Mike Sherrard, the one-time No. 1 pick of the Cowboys who has added a third dimension to the Jerry Rice-John Taylor receiving corps.

“You go down on a pass pattern and you read the defense and think ‘he’ll throw to the tight end.’ All of a sudden the ball’s coming to you. It’s amazing but he always knows who’s open. He makes you stay constantly on his toes.”

Still, the concern in the 49ers’ camp is that at some point, he’s bound to go down, particularly without a running threat to take off the pressure. Against Atlanta, the 49ers passed 49 times and rushed 22 times for 46 yards.

Moreover, Montana was sacked four times and hit a dozen other times as the Falcons lined up in eight-man fronts and blitzed on almost every play. Can he continue to do that and would he stay healthy if he did?

“I wouldn’t want it and I’m sure Joe wouldn’t,” says coach George Seifert. “We don’t want that tradeoff.”

“We won’t be able to do that all year,” says Harris Barton, the leader of the offensive line.

On the other hand, think of what Montana gives you.

The 49ers have been working diligently on the running game this week, even with Craig’s knee still questionable for Sunday. The assumption is that Montana’s brilliance will loosen up defenses and provide more running room for whoever the Niners find.

And that, of course is the dilemma.

If Montana can do what he’s doing without a running game, what will happen when (if?) San Francisco gets one.

Tighten up to stop it and back come Montana, Rice, Taylor and Sherrard.

Age doesn’t seem to be a factor, either -- the only player ahead of him in the ratings is Phil Simms, who turns 35 in November. Thirty-three year-old Warren Moon leads the AFC in passing and 35-year-old Steve DeBerg, who preceded Montana as San Francisco’s quarterback, ranks fourth.

So it doesn’t seem unlikely that Montana may still be doing the same things three or four years from now, which looks to be what he plans. If that’s the case, he’ll be in range of Fran Tarkenton’s all-time yardage record of 47,003 -- going into Sunday’s game with Pittsburgh, Montana has 32,846.

Moreover, how many more records will he break?

With 1,792 yards already this season he’s sure -- barring injury -- to break the record for most 3,000-yard seasons he shares with Dan Fouts and Marino, although Marino, just 30, may go right past him some day. He already leads the all-time ratings at 94.0 -- Roger Staubach, at 83.6, is second.

And, of course, his rating of 112.6 last year was an all-time record.

And what will Joe finally say about this.

He’ll thank Jerry, J.T., his wife Jennifer and add: “You never really appreciate what you’ve done until after it’s over.”