PRO FOOTBALL : Going to Kansas City Presents a Big Challenge for Montana

When Joe Montana finally joined the Kansas City Chiefs last week, the question remained as to whether the Chiefs gave up too much. It’s a pretty fair question. Montana has played only a half of one game in the past two seasons. His throwing elbow has undergone surgery and he’ll be 37 years old when the 1993 season begins.

But most anybody who saw Montana throw in practice the last half of the ’92 season, and anybody who saw him work out for the Chiefs and Phoenix Cardinals in recent weeks, will swear to you it’s the same old Joe.

If it’s the same old Joe, the Chiefs just got the greatest quarterback in National Football League history--and he is on a mission.

Too much? The Chiefs traded the 18th draft pick in the first round for Montana, safety David Whitmore and a 1994 third-round pick, but that will be a bargain if it’s the same old Joe.

Montana won’t have to adapt to a new system. The Chiefs already had hired former San Francisco assistant Paul Hackett as their offensive coordinator, and he is installing the 49ers’ offense. The Chiefs knew they needed to make a change after a 17-0 loss to the San Diego Chargers in the playoffs.

So if it’s the same old Joe and the same old system, then naturally there’s only one expectation: Montana must take the Chiefs to the Super Bowl.

But if he does that, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will have to reserve a private section for Montana.

In truth, this won’t be easy.

For instance, in Kansas City, there is no Jerry Rice and no Dwight Clark. Not even a John Taylor. The receivers are Tim Barnett, J.J. Birden and Willie Davis. There’s certainly some promise with those guys, but that’s all it is.

To run the 49ers’ offense in Super Bowl form, a quarterback also needs a fullback such as Tom Rathman and a halfback such as Roger Craig or Ricky Watters.

The Chiefs do not have that fullback. Bill Jones would have been ideal in this system, but his off-field problems forced Kansas City to release him last season. They tried to sign free-agent fullback Steve Smith, but he returned to the Los Angeles Raiders. Neither Christian Okoye nor Barry Word is a natural fullback.

As for the halfback, Harvey Williams could be sensational in this system, but he’ll have to stay healthy or play hurt.

Now, what about tight end? This system requires the tight end to be an exceptional receiver such as a Brent Jones. The Chiefs have Jonathan Hayes. He’s a great blocking tight end. He’s not a receiver.

How about some protection for Joe? The Chiefs allowed 48 sacks in 1992, and the thought of Montana getting blindsided into the Arrowhead Stadium artificial turf is enough to make 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. cry again.

Left tackle John Alt did not have his best season in ‘92, but he did go to the Pro Bowl. Left guard Dave Szott is solid. Center Tim Grunhard is one of the league’s better ones. But the right side is suspect.

It will be up to new offensive line coach Alex Gibbs--an excellent teacher with a demanding style--to do his best work with third-year guard Joe Valerio and right tackles Rich Baldinger and Derrick Graham, a fourth-year man who is coming off serious knee surgery. The Chiefs also signed Phoenix free agent Danny Villa, who could claim the right-tackle spot.

But Montana’s offensive lines never were the greatest in San Francisco. The Bill Walsh scheme that calls for quick reads with three- and five-step drops will reduce the sacks.

As for the competition, there are several teams on the rise, such as defending AFC West champion San Diego. But Montana certainly knew what he was doing when he chose the Chiefs over the Cardinals.

The path to the Super Bowl in the AFC doesn’t include the Dallas Cowboys or the 49ers.

RAIDER free-agent running back Marcus Allen remains undecided about his future NFL home. Or, it appeared his future home wasn’t quite willing to open the door for him. Not at his price.

Allen was asking for $9 million over three years, which pretty much turned off teams such as the Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins and San Diego. They remain interested, but at a more reasonable cost.

True, Allen probably was underpaid and underplayed with the Raiders, for whom he made $1.1 million per year. But his earning power has decreased at age 33.

You would think Allen would be looking for more than money in his final years.

If Allen wants action--something he got little of in recent years with the Raiders--then the Dolphins might be the ideal match. Running back Mark Higgs is coming off knee surgery (plus he’s 5-foot-7, 195 pounds), and Bobby Humphrey is in a whole lot of trouble with the law.

If Allen wants to be in the spotlight, then the Redskins should look good. If Allen wants to have the most comfortable ending to his career, then the Chargers should be a lock. He was a high school star in San Diego and could return a hero. Plus, if he wants a shot to play the Raiders twice a year in the AFC West, he’d have it.

All the teams play on grass. All the teams have a shot at playing in the Super Bowl.

All of them make sense. It would be nice to see him make a choice not spoiled by money.

THE NFL GAVE expansion hopefuls the green light last week to sell season-ticket packages for premium seats.

Almost everything is riding on these ticket sales for Charlotte, N.C., a promising candidate that has slipped in recent months because of concerns about financing. Between expansion fees and a new stadium, the Charlotte group would start about $300 million in the hole. Charlotte has about 50,000 premium seats and sky-box suites that it will try to sell to finance the stadium.

Jerry Richardson, who heads the Charlotte group, believes Carolina fans will open up their wallets to show the NFL it is a worthy candidate. They had better have some money in those wallets.

Charlotte is asking premium-seat buyers to plunk down $1,000 to $5,000 just for the right to buy a season ticket. If Charlotte gets 50,000 commitments under this plan, the expansion committee will be much more receptive and Charlotte could move past Baltimore as the second candidate. It’s pretty much a given that St. Louis is running first. Memphis, Tenn., and Jacksonville, Fla., are hanging in there.

Two new teams will be named by the end of the year and are scheduled to begin play in 1995.