Forty Niners Forever

Well, that went about as well as anyone could have imagined. Offense running and passing well. The O line playing way beyond expectations. Myles Garrett a non-factor. New guys Mike Evans and Kaelon Black kicking major ass, and the sad retreads in Deebo and Dre G making plays all over the field.

Purdy was fairly awesome but for the early pick, hitting a beautiful strike to Demarcus Robinson, and converting a boatload of 3rd downs to Evans. 3 TDs and 1 pick works as he got the bad shit out ot the way early.

Here’s the main reason that Purdy never is thought of as the master QB that he is. 25-34, 205. 3 TDs, 1 int. Spectacular numbers? Of course not. He takes what is there. 3rd down conversions? 7 of 12. THAT is huge. Yeah, a lot of check downs. But better a checkdown than a pick or sack. Speaking of sacks, the Rams had zero. Myles Garrett was gassed after the 1st half.

The newly tooled Raheem Morris defense looked every bit ready to be a force in the league. I don’t even think Morris went too crazy with the looks and blitzes but the Rams were kept off balance through most of the game. And but for the soft call on Lenoir, the DBs and safeties were solid all game.

Tell ya one thing, I really wonder if Sean McVay catches any shit for completely throwing up the white flag with 5 minutes left. Seemed like a pussy move to me, but they really played this whole thing pretty badly.

The Lamb lies down in Melbourne

Ready or not, here we go. Another clusterfuck of an offseason has finally ended. This team can’t seem to get out of its own way sometimes. And that’s just the coach and the owner. And the pretender.

Lots of story lines for this one. Niners vs Rams. Early arrival vs late arrival. Home field for SF on the 8,000 mile road. NFC West supremacy. Purdy vs Stafford. Yadda yadda yadda. Game one becomes a pretty big deal.

Fact remains though that the loser of this game is suddenly down 2 games to their division rivals. Well, still a game back of Seattle as they didn’t play a division game, but still as with last year, our fast start got us into the playoffs and almost the #1 seed. Even with all the mayhem.

On a side note, I still find is pretty funny how little respect Purdy gets from the league at large. Guys like Prescott and Herbert are the ‘class of the league’ Herbert? 0-3. Prescott? 2-5. Drake maye is ranked 4th. Woo hoo. Shit, even Josh Allen is 8-7. The #1 QB in the league has not won an AFC Championship game. Much as I can’t stand Mahomes, the dude can win under pressure in the playoffs.

But all the wonks in the league gush over Prescott’s gaudy stats as he beats up on the also-rans in the NFC Least. And Drake May is suddenly God’s gift to the QB spot because he had the easiest schedule in the NFL last year.

Yeah, football is a team game, but come playoff time, guys like Herbert, Allen, and Prescott especially need to show me more if they are to be thought of as great QBs to me. Prescott has done the least with the most. Dallas is ALWAYS near the top in offense and has had a solid defense. Well, except for last year.

But, as with all these weekly ‘power rankings’ and other bullshit lists, what really counts is out there on the field.

Bring it on!!!

• And gimme a prediction

The NFL in all it’s grandiosity and flash has pegged Wednesday night September 9th as the opening bell.

In it we get rhe Super Bowl rematch of the (6-11) Patriots and the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seakawks. They got a little weaker this offseason, but we just found out Albert Collins is lost for the year as he tore his patellar tendon in practice. How many fragile players can we draft? I guess the airplane was exposed to the power station before it took off.

I swear to God, the 49ers should move back to the toxic waste dump that is Candlestick Point.

It was safer there.

Anyhow, I think we reach the playoffs as a WC and we go 11-6 and finish one ahead of the Seahwanks and one behind the Rams. I think all 3 teams reach the playoffs again.

Well, we brought most of the guys. Whether they play or not remains to be seen, but George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Mike Evans, and the rest of the walking wounded have already made their way to the Land of Oz, leaving Wednesday night and landing, uh yesterday? Tomorrow? Not sure of the vagaries of time travel.

Per ESPN:

MELBOURNE, Australia — By the time the 49ers took off for Australia late Wednesday night Pacific Time, their Qantas Airbus A380 charter flight had four pilots, 22 cabin crew, one traveling charter manager and carried more than 95,000 pounds of human and material cargo. The payload included 220 passengers and their checked luggage, weighing in at an estimated 62,000 pounds, alongside 33,000 pounds of essential team equipment.

Quite the payload.

More interesting is the fat the Niners are giving themselves a full 9 days to acclimate to the 17 hour time difference. The Rams? They are travelling a day and a half before the game. Wednesday night for the Friday morning (Melbourne time) game. Much is being said about the Rams success in their three games in London, but their opponents were the Jags, Cards, and the Andy Dalton-led Bengals.

So, how much this factors into the success or failure of the game for the Niners remains to be seen. They both have to go through it, but the difference in timing is interesting.

Hah! The good old days. Our Serra Senior Cut Day (1979) took place at the Pulgas Water Temple on Canada Road out there by the Crystal Spring Reservoir. Turns out San Carlos High had the same idea, so naturally a near riot ensued. To the point where one of the Serra football players, in a standoff with a San Carlos guy, decided to show how tough he was by breaking a beer bottle over his own head.

Of course he started bleeding profusely, and some pushing and shoving happened, and 30-40 dudes were just tumbling around the parking lot. Us loadies of course were over by the reflecting pool playing frisbee, getting stoned and drinking our own beer, and generally staying out of the mix.

Being veterans of any party where more than 5 guys from Serra showed up to a party, the cops arrived. But we were already on our way to Half Moon Bay with 2 baggies full of shrooms and enough partiables to get through the day.

Sad thing is, that riot pretty much closed the Water Temple Parking lot, and the county put up No Parking signs a mile in each direction from the parking lot. I think that lot was closed for 15 years.

Anyhow, speaking of cuts, we don’t have a punter or long snapper. But I guess we have a few more guys to IR to clear space for them. I’m sure Week the LS is gonna be fine, but someone might pick our punter just to fuck with us.

Anyhow, here’s the list as it stands now. But there will be changes.

I really thought one of the 3 LBs (Wallow, Gifford, Martin) wouldn’t make it. But I think that is insurance for Greenlaw. Cowing AND Watkins also made the grade. Watkins showed out pretty well in that Raider game.

M Williams and I Guerendo are on the PUP list along with Pleasants and Pearsall. I guess the good news is Kittle and Bosa are not on it, but whether they play or not remains to be seen. Frankly I’d spare Bosa the 32 hours of plane travel, but I don’t get to make that call.

Getting close to the real thing. 2 weeks (and a few hours) from kickoff in fricking Melbourne, Australia.

This final preseason game tho is a short hop to Vegas. Given the state of injuries on the team, I’m not too too concerned as we will not play anyone that could even risk getting hurt more. And then 2 weeks to healthy up for the 16 hour flight to the bottom of the Earth.

Gee, I sure hope the newly formed Melbourne Convicts NFL team is put in the Western division. We all thought it was bad when Atlanta and New Orleans were part of the NFC West. This’ll be great.

Better make sure someone keeps an eye on Jed. Sin City can be pretty tempting.

Well well. CMC isn’t holding in or out, and George Kittle isn’t going on the PUP list. Both practiced and happiness abounded in Santa Clara. Good news for a team constantly under the harmful effects of electromagnetic discharges, but that’s for another day.

Nick Bosa on the other hand is a bit more nebulous. He’s either working through normal post-surgery irritation or he’s about to the shelved for the year. He’s had a bunch of knee issues, and with every one, the risk gets greater for more problems. It may not happen, but the only guy I know who overcame boatloads of knee problems like this was Frank Gore.

I think the defense will give up more big plays, but I also think we get a shitload more turnovers. I like what I’m seeing from Raheem Morris and he’s not even going full-throttle with the 1st team yet. We are starting to get close to the actual thing, and as in the recent past, this comes with a shit-ton of excitement with a sidecar on trepidation. See above.

Saw these guys a couple times back in the day. Fun as hell.

Yeah, preseason. Still and all, seeing Cowing sprint sideways across the field and turn up the sideline for an 83 yard punt return TD was pretty damn impressive. Very glad to see him get that spot rather than Deebo. We have enough issues keeping our WRs healthy without subjecting him to that. Especially if him getting carries in the backfield resurfaces (pleasegodno).

Kaedon Black’s emergence will also hopefully put the Deebo RB shit in the can. He had some strong runs despite iffy blocking by that bothersome LG spot, and got positive yards after initial contact. It only got muddier with Austin Pleasants injury but he was already down the chart. Really need these guys to address the LG spot with someone that is a starter and not a stiff. Make a trade. We have enough LBs. Bethune? Greenlaw’s vulnerability will likely quash any trade talk there.

Jones is still a very big trade prospect, but no one has lost their starting QB yet. Still, Minn riding with Murray is a looooooongshot for success, and the Jets are going absolutely nowhere with Geno Smith and Klubnic. Miami and Cleve also spring to mind. Pittsburgh is one COVID vaccine from losing old man Aaron Rodgers. QB for a guard may be a tough pill to swallow, but hey, throw in a WR or safety.

Speaking of safety, I did like the tighter coverage that we showed. We didn’t give up a lot of stupid screens on 3rd and whatever. Our 2’s (D line anyway) against their 1’s on O did well.

Niners have a game in Levi’s South tonight as we face the Jim Harbaugh-led Chargers. A team searching for a playoff win for nearly as long as Pittsburgh’s playoff drought. 2018 to 2016. Harbaugh for whatever reason can’t stop talking about Brock Purdy and can’t wait to meet him.

As for the game, I’m sure it’ll be more vanilla than ever as we play these guys later this season for reals. But, it looks like Brock gets a series or 2, but no CMC, Kittle, and Evens was seen icing has ankle and quad, so no him, I’d think. But of all the preseason fun, this one will have the most #1s out there.

You bet your sweet bippy. Just when you thought the injury news was easing up, out comes a report from Mike Florio, and his co-hater buddy Chris Simms, is that CMC isn’t suffering from ‘muscle tightness’, he’s instead holding in for a new contract. he hasn’t practiced since last Wednesday, but given these clowns will throw any kind of chum in the water to garner clicks, who knows what is what.

If anything, this may get CMC to respond one way or the other. Other than that, the game last week was fairly satisfying. De’Zhaun Stribling looked ready for prime time as he caught 7 passes for 63 yards, including a sweet 32 yard catch on a fade route thrown by Kurtis Rourke. He looked very good as the back up to Mac Jones, and any and all good looks at Rourke only makes Jones’ trade value go up as this season wears on, and a quarterback here or there drops.

Gracon Halton looked very good as well going against the Titans #1 offensive lineman Peter Skoronski. His ankle injury is uncertain as far as status goes, but in the good news department, Nick Bosa was back at practice yesterday. Mike Evans is also back at practice.