PHILADELPHIA -- Jerry Rice admits he amazed even himself with his performance this season.
'I surprise myself at times when I watch myself on film,' said Rice, the San Francisco 49ers receiver who set an NFL record with 22 touchdown catches in the 1987 season. 'Somehow I can just run that ball down.'
His ability to run the ball down Thursday earned Rice the Maxwell Football Club's Bert Bell Award as the outstanding NFL player this season.
Rice, who had 65 catches for 1,078 yards in 12 non-strike games in 1987, was the overwhelming choice of voters, beating Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Reggie White, Denver quarterback John Elway and San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana.
Rice, the 49ers' first-round draft choice out of Mississippi Valley State in 1981, is the only San Francisco receiver to gain 1,000 yards receiving in two different seasons.
He said, however, he had trouble adjusting to the NFL in his first season, when he caught 49 passes for 927 yards and a mere three touchdowns.
'When I first came into the league, I wanted to contribute to the ballclub but I had too much on my mind,' he said. 'I was thinking about the plays and not just concentrating on catching the football. Now I'm relaxed and just thinking about catching the football.'
In his second season, Rice caught 86 passes for 1,570 yards and 15 TDs before his outstanding 1987 campaign, in which he averaged one touchdown for every three receptions.
Rice, who set another NFL record by catching touchdown passes in 13 straight games dating from the 1986 season, said, however, that his records lost a little luster when the 49ers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Minnesota Vikings.
'Without the Super Bowl, it doesn't mean that much,' he said. 'If we had won the Super Bowl, (it) probably (would mean more). But we came up short so I'll just have to look forward to next year.'
The Vikings were the first team to control Rice all season, holding him to three catches for a season-low 28 yards and no touchdowns.
'It was very disappointing to me that we came out Saturday and didn't play like we wanted to,' Rice said. 'I know I didn't play good. For me to play so well all year and then to lose like that was disappointing.'
In ballots for the Bert Bell Award cast by sports writers, football coaches and club members, Rice received 326 first-place votes and 1,996 total points to become the first wide receiver to win the prize since it was first awarded in 1959.
White had 105 first-place votes and 905 points, Elway receivered 133 first-place votes and 833 points and Montana garnered 49 first-place votes and 421 points.
Rice said a lot of his success was due to Montana and the 49ers' offensive scheme devised by Coach Bill Walsh.
'Without him and the 49ers' organization, I probably wouldn't be getting so much attention throughout the league,' said Rice, who has 40 touchdown catches and 3,575 receiving yards in his three-year career. 'He (Montana) deserves much of the credit. He gets me the football and my job is to catch the football.'
Rice and Syracuse quarterback Don MacPherson, who won the Maxwell Award as the best collegiate player, will be honored at the club's annual banquet on Feb. 16.
