Joe Montana Explains How to Be Clutch

The game is in the fourth quarter, and you're the quarterback of the losing team. Everyone expects you to lead the comeback charge down the field. Could you?

During his football career, Joe Montana steered his team to 31 come-from-behind victories that left opponents stunned. Playing as a backup for Notre Dame, he once came off the bench with the score 30-10 with 15 minutes to play and led the team to a 31-30 win.

In the 1982 NFC Championship game with 4:54 left on the clock, Montana moved San Francisco 89 yards down the field and topped the possession with a miraculous off-balance pass to the corner of the end zone for the winning touch down.

Montana seems like the perfect professor to teach a class on how to be clutch, yet he says being ready for dire moments begins long before you get on the field.

Click here for a primer on thriving under pressure by one of the greats.

Be Competitive
You may think some guys are just born to throw the pigskin. However, growing up, Montana's favorite game was basketball, not football. He was still a winner, though, even when he played on the baseball diamond, pitching three perfect games as a kid. Did his natural calm make him clutch? "I really think it starts with the competitiveness," says Joe. "I don't think you train for that. I think that part of it is ingrained in you from the beginning. I wouldn't say I was a quiet player because I'm not as quiet as it seems, but more focused would probably be a better word."

Be Over-Prepared
"The key with football, probably just about anything in your life, is preparation. That helps calm you down.
"I tell my kids: 'You're always nervous when you take a test, right?'
"'Yes.'
"'Are you more nervous when you know you haven't studied?
"'Yes'
"Because you know you aren't going to do very well. It's the same thing with athletics.
"When I go in, I prepare myself that week. I know I'm going to do well because I'm prepared and I did the work behind it so I can go out there and play the game and just have fun. "I think that's what happened at Notre Dame. You have to prepare yourself whether you're the starter or not. There's going to be an opportunity where you have the chance to play ... so you better be ready to go because if you're not you may not get another chance. I had a couple of opportunities and I was ready and I brought the team back late in game. I was thrown in those situations where we were losing and we win, that's how I wound up being a starter."


Know the Fundamentals Cold
What's going to get you through the stressful moments? Knowing the fundamentals of your game and position. "When you go in prepared and you work hard, it's easy to focus because you're playing a game and having fun you're not thinking 'Oh wow, that ball came out funny. It's not spiraling.' You don't care. Right then you talk about location. 'Can I throw it here? Can I throw it there?'"

Play the Game in Your Mind
You may know that being prepared is the best way to win, but you have to consider how carefully Joe prepares for a game. Playing under San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh, he'd get plans faxed over on Monday night for the following Sunday. Joe would then trace over the plays and draw out the receivers so he knew exactly where they would be in his mind. Then he had to think through what could happen given the defense. "Where would I go with the ball if there's a blitz? Soon as the ball's snapped, if there's a blitz, this is my hot receiver. From there, what are my reads? One, two, three. OK, if I get flushed out of the pocket, what do I do? Here are the four and five over here. I would trace every receiver so that in my mind when the play was called in the huddle I would see that picture in my mind I'd traced over it so many times."
Since Walsh liked to suggest 100 pass plays a game, Joe had to memorize much more than most quarterbacks. If a play broke down he had already gone through drills with the receivers. "Basically, it's if you went long, come back. If you went short, go long."

Don't Change in the Middle of Game
If your pitch, shot, swing or pass isn't working, you'll be naturally tempted to retool. Don't. "First of all, it doesn't work," warns Joe. "Second of all your teammates see, all of a sudden now you're different, especially if it goes on the negative side of it. 'Oh, he's worried I should be worried.' So, I always try to be the same."



Don't Try Too Hard to Relieve the Tension
Joe was known for keeping teammates focused while facing a ticking clock, but says he never concentrated on cracking jokes or keeping things light. "They know me. If I try to do something that's not me, then they think, 'What's he doing? Why's he doing this?' That's when things go wrong. Everybody's out there and we're talking about the plays. We all know what position we're in and what we have to do. Unless you see someone who's not in that moment, you try to bring them back."

Dissect Your Opponent
In addition to sketching out the plays, Joe also carefully studied video of the defense he was about to face, to know the formations, and also search for holes in the armor. Often the defensive line will set up in a formation to intentionally throw the offense. A quarterback has to be mindful of what might happen when defensive line suddenly shifts. "There's a key that one of the players or a couple will give away what's happening. You won't know that unless you watch the video."

Don't Stress Too Much
"The more you relax the easier it is," says Joe, but that's often easier said than done. "I rode with a guy the other day. The guy travels for a living all his life for his business and he's scared to fly. I said: 'You just gotta relax, man. You can't do anything about it. Worrying doesn't do anything.' 'I know,' he says, 'I just can't relax.' So, it will always be that way [with some people]. I don't know how you get over that. ... The more you relax the easier it is. But it's hard to tell people that, because it's hard to relax. Once they see that 'The calmer I am the easier it is to make a basket, hit a baseball, hit the right shot in tennis or golf, whatever it is.' How you get there? I don't know. I think it's just a personal thing."

If you want a piece of Joe Montana to inspire your cool, on and off the field, you can bid for the painting he's showing off above at NFLAuction.com. All proceeds go to NFL charities.