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http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/09/sports/paris/21_18_396_8_07.txt
Joe knows. Just like everyone else who watched the Chargers' latest playoff crash-and-burn.
"They had it,'' NFL legend Joe Montana said. "It was there for them to walk away with it.''
Instead, the Patriots skipped east in January with a 24-21 upset, leaving the 14-2 Chargers facing another offseason filled with angst and what-ifs.
"It leaves a bad taste in your mouth,'' said Montana, an infrequent visitor to playoff heartache in mining four Super Bowl titles with the 49ers. "Hopefully, that will be some motivation for them. While it's not something you think about, it is there.''
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Montana said the Chargers' souped-up offense, with young quarterback Philip Rivers, is equally on track.
Rivers, a Pro Bowl pick last season in his first year as a starter, should be better this year ---- so says Joe.
If Rivers mimics Montana's second year as a first-stringer, the Chargers are bound for an intoxicating ride.
Montana's initial year as a starter in 1980 brought a 6-10 record. The next season San Francisco rolled to a 13-3 mark, Montana and Dwight Clark delivered The Catch in the NFC championship game, and the 49ers defeated the Bengals in the Super Bowl.
"He should be a lot more comfortable,'' Montana said of Rivers. "The hardest part is learning an offense and for the first time going out and executing it. It's not executing it in practice or preseason games, it's when it's live and they count.''
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The nuts and bolts of the Chargers' season is claiming a Super Bowl ---- the team's brass demands it.
Montana said it isn't alone.
"The players probably have those expectations as much as anyone, and they will be the most disappointed if they don't win it,'' he said. "Everyone else will say they are the most disappointed, but it's the players.
"Like last season, there wasn't anyone more disappointed than the players when losing to New England.''
Ugh, the New England game! Montana just inadvertently raised Charger Nation's blood pressure.
