A few interesting tidbits came out of 49ers Central this morning. One is that Frank Gore will see limited action this weekend in Philly. Limited meaning none. That turf in Philly is not very forgiving, and healthy guys roll their ankles on that fake grass shit all the time. Frank would be well-served to sit this one out. The other story was Joe Staley’s remarks about the offensive offensive line. Here’s what Joe said:
“Contrary to everyone’s belief, we don’t suck,” Staley said. “We’re good players and we play well. It comes down to everybody executing. It takes all 11 guys. It doesn’t take five offensive linemen to make a running play go. It takes fullbacks. It takes tight ends. It takes quarterbacks carrying out the fakes, wide receivers blocking downfield. It takes all 11 guys and we all do our job and we all have to do our part.”
Yes, Joe, it takes a village to block for a run up the middle. The problem with your argument is that Gore is usually met by a defender 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The WRs and TEs aren’t blocking DEs an NTs. You are. The front five is getting no penetration at the point of attack. Better fakes would sell the runs? How do you fake a running play, by the way? Yes, there’s a learning curve this whole unit is going through. but we fans sure don’t feel that confident when Gore is met consistently behind the line of scrimmage, and Smith is constantly hit while he throws, or is sacked.
Anyhow, with Gore and Norris out, we get to see the future in Hunter and Miller as the FB and RB. Will THEY make the blocking look better? Hard to say, but Norriss sure has his share of whiffs in trying to block. Other teams have run on Philly, so we should get our shots. Give Gore the rest. Maybe bring him in for a few screen plays. He’s better suited to grass anyway. Miller can hopefully play Norriss to the bench for the rest of the season.
Still no word on how long Braylon Edwards will take to recover from his torn meniscus. Please at least activate Kyle Williams. He deserves more of a look than he’s gotten.
Forty Niners Forever 
“There were so many Cowboy fans at the game due to fans like you. Guys who bail on their team when there’s some adversity. ”
Shit. If you only knew. I was there that Sunday in 1980 when the Niners trailed the Saints 35-7 at the half. Did I leave like at least 50% of the other “fans” at halftime? Hell fucking no. I was there to see Ray Wersching kick that GW FG in OT. It was like Joe’s third career start or something. In OT, the Saints committed a stupid personal foul on 3rd dn on L. Elliott ( he had a great game) to keep the drive going. IIRC, the final drive was mostly sweeps with Randy Cross pulling…the old 18 BOB play.
Yeah, I’m a fair-weather fan alright.
Hey, look what I found. That goddamn YouTube has just about everything…I was there. SEC 57 ROW 5 SEAT 9…
Shit, Dennis, I was at this game, too. The upper deck was fairly empty so we went up to Sec 24, upper box.
The best part for me was mentioning Chuck Evans on a tackle. I used to know him well. He gave me rides to and from practice in High School. His brother Mike was in my wedding. Chuck was also Bill Walsh’s personal accountant. Today he is an Asst AD at Stanford. He and Duncan McColl were the “All-American Book Ends” at Stanford. Duncan’s father was our team doctor in pee-wee football. His brother Milt was our QB on the WC Comets the next year. Milt recovered a fumble for us in Super Bowl XIII.
Good memories. I prefer good mammaries, but I’ll take what I can get.
Good for youse guys being at the game in 1980, cool.
Thanks Bergs, you dog
Don Woods? Don’t remember that guy at all. Shit, look at the linemen. They look smaller than the TEs of these days.
They WERE smaller than today’s TEs. 250 was a normal guard or tackle back then. Most centers were even smaller. 270 was a big guy, and there were only a limited number of those.
Don Woods was a Pro Bowler early on who was playing out the string with us after injuries. We picked him up after Hofer went down that year I think.
Yeah, Grump, I met Bob St Clair when I was in high school (mid 70s), down at Harry’s Hof Brau in Redwood City. 6′ 7″ and still around 270 then. Dude’s hands were HUGE. He was wide as hell.
The thing I’ll never forget about that game was hearing the KNBR replay of Lon Simmons saying something like this right before halftime when they were down 35-7: “This wil either be the worst beating in the history of the 49ers franchise, or the greatest comeback in NFL history. Stay tuned for the 2nd half . . .”
We were laughing like loons in the parking lot . . .
Parking lot? So you never even saw the comeback? You’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do?
After the game, they were replaying the game highlights on KNBR. That was one of them. They used that sound bite for the rest of the season.
Pretty lame0-ass PF there, BTW. The guy was already falling and he barely hit Elliott.
I can’t believe it’s already fucking October. Next thing you know Berger will be stuffing a 25 lb bird, and Santa Claus will be forgetting my address — again.
Anyone hear who’s gonna start at RG tomorrow? Harbaugh doesn’t say shit. I’m guessing it’s gonna be Snyder > Rachal, but that’s only a guess.
I was at that 1980 new O game too but my dad made us leave at halftime.
He gave up his season tix that year too
Flav, it was 1978. The 49ers had like a “open house” They were selling season tickets, and all the open seats had balloons tied onto the seat to show your destination. My mom (God rest her soul) and I settled on the upper deck, corner end zone. Most would say it wasn’t a great seat in the house, but it was money. Perfect view and angle when DC hauled in “The Catch” from Joe.
Wouldn’t trade my seat for anything. I had the best view in the ‘Stick.
We were in front of the jumbotron for years, but I didn’t make ‘the catch’ game.
Funniest thing was watching Steve Young’s run agasint the Vikings. I remember seeing the crowd standing up in a wave the farther Young got down the field. Couldn’t see shit, but by the reaction of the fans, we knew he scored . . .
See for yourself, SEC 57 had the perfect angle for “The Catch.”
I just lucked into that location…
http://tinyurl.com/3ftew73
You know, it’s funny… every time I see “The Catch” replayed on TV I still have a hard time thinking DC caught that sumbitch. I’ve watched that replay, no joke, 1,000 times, and I still wait and expect Dwight Clark to drop that ball. I still don’t believe it.
But Berger can attest to this fact…I have a framed photo of “The Catch” hanging in my bedroom. It’s above my feet on the wall. It’s the last goddamn thing that I see EVERY night before I turn out the lights. And I was sitting in SEC 57 ROW 5 SEAT 9 when that Clemson Tiger reached high into the SF twilight and snatched that 3rd and 3 pass from the 6 yd line from St. Joe.
Most men probably see the curved back of a beautiful women before they go to sleep. Me? I see the upright back of Everson Walls with his hands at his side, looking in awe as DC made that fateful “Catch.” Walls was just a spectator on that play, and I’m proud to say, so was I.
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