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Then Steve Said To Jerry - By Bryan Hersh Sept 23 2008

Then Steve Said To Jerry

In times where the sucess of the 49ers is uncertain, it is often welcome to look back at a gloried past. No, not all of the team's history is makred by success, but there is plenty to feel good about when one trvale back through team history.. Ultimately, Then Steve Said To Jerry written by Steve Silverman and published by Triumph Books is an opportunity to do just that: travel through history enjoying the 49ers.

Today's team is complete with uncertainty. The legendary status of the quarterback position with the team has been erroded. Since Jeff Garcia left town, the team has shufled through the likes of Tim Rattay, Steve Stenstrom, Cody Pickett, Trent Dilfer, and of course Alex Smith among several others. J.T. O'Sullivan now has the chance to bring glory back to The 'Stick, but it will be a tall task. To date he has been impressive, but there is so much he still has to accomplish. As the book clearly illustrates, the success of Joe Montana and Steve Young and even of Y.A. Title and John Brodie are not easily matched, and the fan base has grown accustomed to winning. O'Sullivan may only be scratching the surface of what it means to be the quarterback of the 49ers.

There is similar uncertainty at the receiver position. The days of Freddie Solomon, Dwight Clark, John Taylor and of course The Greatest Of All Time, Jerry Rice are long gone. Terrell Owens was but a minor glimpse of how the 49ers should have restocked at the position. Today, Isaac Bruce from the hated Rams has the tall task of returning some dignity to this once unstopable position. Like Sullivan, Bruce is performing well. Others like Arnaz Battle, Josh Morgan and Bryant Johnson are light years away from what was once the most feared group in football, yet with a high octane offense are beginning to make a name for themselves.

Then Steve Said To Jerry places heavy emphasis on the team's defense. The book is full of stories of All Pro careers. Fred Dean, Hacksaw Reynolds, Ronnie Lott, and even Charles Hayley are permanent fixtures of the team's past. The book anecodtally describes parts of their careers with good color and commentary. Coach Mike Nolan has brough some tenacity to the defense that had been lacking since George Seifert was removed as coach of the team. Even still, with Bryant Young's retirement last season, the defense lacks any single player who has a clear Hall of Fame career. Patrick Willis is one key player who has a chance at such a career, but he is only entering his second year with the club. Nevertheless, relative to the offense, the 49ers defense has been in good shape over the past few years. This year both sides of the ball seem to be coming together.

The book comes complete with a CD containing two high quality audio interviews. These two interviews reason enough to purchase the book. Stories of the history of the team are recalled both on the audio disk, and throughout the book. It's a fun read for any 49ers fan looking to reminise and learn abit more about 49ers history.