A Coliseum Homecoming for 49er Quarterback : Steve Young Has a Field Day Against Raiders on His Old Stomping Grounds

Whose home game was this, anyway?

Steve Young returned Saturday night to the Coliseum, where his pro football career started three years ago, and he remarked about how comfortable he felt.

“It was like good old times,” Young said, recalling his brief career with the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League. “The guys that run the locker room are all the same guys. It was good. We had some good camaraderie in the USFL.”

Young, the San Francisco 49ers’ new backup quarterback, dazzled the Raiders with his footwork--he was the game’s leading rusher with 61 yards in 6 carries--and used their secondary for a dartboard in a 42-16 victory.

Young, acquired in a trade from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in April, completed 20 of 27 passes for 247 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown play to Jerry Rice that gave the 49ers a 14-0 lead after about 10 minutes of play.

“I probably shouldn’t have thrown it,” Young said, grinning mischievously, but I wanted to show you guys I could go long.”

Since he emerged from Brigham Young University, Young’s left arm--the one he throws with--has been suspect.

Of course, critics have always said the same of Joe Montana, and he’s done pretty well with the 49ers.

Young knows that his role this summer is to put in as much playing time as Coach Bill Walsh thinks he needs to be ready to play should Montana, 31, break down.

Walsh said Montana could have played Saturday night despite a strained ligament in his sternum, and he will start next Saturday’s home game against the Dallas Cowboys. But Walsh also had to be highly curious about Young’s potential, especially after Young’s mediocre performance in the Hall of Fame game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

But Walsh is difficult to please. After this week’s game, he allowed that Young “showed remarkable improvement over the first game. He made four or five severe errors, but he also demonstrated why we traded for him.

“His running was exceptional. I haven’t seen a quarterback run like that since I’ve been in professional football.”

As for learning Walsh’s sophisticated offense, the coach said Young is just getting into “the basic fundamentals. It’ll be a full year before you see a refined Steve Young. But we’ll at least know what kind of game we can have with Steve Young.”

Later, standing outside his dressing room, Young smiled at Walsh’s assessment.

“What I really like is that he expects a lot out of you,” Young said. “It’s funny, but when you come off the field after a third-down play that didn’t work, he kind of looks at you (as if to say), ‘How could you screw up my offense?’

“That’s OK, because it makes you want to try harder. If you can impress him, you’ve accomplished something.”

Young said he is especially happy to be back in California, after spending a season at Tampa.

“I just love the West Coast,” he said. “Playing in L.A., San Francisco or San Diego, it’s all making me feel very comfortable. I wanted this chance to start.

“What I want out of the preseason is that they know that when I’m in the game, the offense is as explosive as when Joe’s in there,” Young said.

He’ll certainly be more of a threat to scramble than Montana. Walsh’s only complaint about that, Young said, was that “he wants me to go upfield instead of laterally.

“I don’t want to get overly excited. I just want to get a lot more playing time.”