Hill joins Montana in San Francisco record books

By Jeff Dickinson  |   Monday, November 17, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

San Francisco 49ers
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After Sunday’s blowout win over the St. Louis Rams, when fans of the San Francisco 49ers are discussing the all-time great quarterbacks of the franchise, the list will read something like this: “Joe Montana? Check. John Brodie? Check. Shaun Hill? Check.”

Shaun Hill? What’s he doing being mentioned in the same breath as Montana? That’s like talking about Bentleys and Kias, right? Not after Hill led the 49ers to a 35-16 rout of the Rams.

Hill placed his name in the San Francisco record books alongside Montana’s as one of only two quarterbacks to lead the 49ers to four touchdowns in a single quarter. With the game’s outcome still very much in the balance in favor of the 49ers at 7-3 early in the second quarter, Hill took San Francisco on his back and put the Rams away for good.

Hill completed 11 of his 13 passes for 183 yards and threw for two touchdowns. He also scored on a 1-yard run. Those scores, coupled with Frank Gore’s 1-yard touchdown run, made it 35-3 and made interim coach Mike Singletary’s decision to put Hill in and bench J.T. O’Sullivan a few weeks ago look like a stroke of genius.

Before fans get too excited about this win, it did come against the hapless Rams, who have lost four straight. In the Rams’ last two games, they have trailed 75-3 at halftime. This was definitely the kind of win San Francisco needed, though, after letting one slip away against Arizona last week.

This win isn’t going to get talk of the playoffs started. The 49ers are still only 3-7 and would have to win their final six games to even entertain thoughts of making the postseason. San Francisco’s next four games come against teams that have winning records and are in line to make the playoffs, so establishing a six-game winning streak will be a tall task.

What this win over the Rams does, however, is build confidence. It makes it easier for players and fans to believe in Hill as a legitimate future quarterback for the 49ers. This win also helps give Singletary and offensive coordinator Mike Martz something positive to build on for the rest of the season.

Hill obviously still has light years to go in order to etch his name in the San Francisco record books next to or ahead of Montana. But even having your name alongside Montana’s for one franchise record is pretty good for a guy from Parsons, Kan., who was buried behind a guy named Spergon Wynn when he played for the Minnesota Vikings.
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About Jeff Dickinson

I have been writing and editing professionally for 18 years. I spent the first three years of my career as a sportswriter for a daily newspaper in Alabama and got to cover sports and get paid for it! It was great until I got married and then it wasn't too much fun being away from my wife every ...
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