West Coast Killers indeed. Tampa Bay learned the hard way that this isn’t last year’s 49ers, last year’s coaching staff, or last year’s Alex Smith. The 49ers put a beat-down on the slow-starting (and slow finishing) Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the tune of 48-3. The largest margin of victory since the heady days of Bill Walsh (and Super Bowl XXIX). The 49ers, if they beat Deetroit next week, would BECOME the West Coast Killers. A suddenly a very legit powerhouse in the NFC. Hard to believe the speed at which they have assimilated the new offense of Harbaugh/Roman, and Vic Fangio’s newly aggressive defense. I guess Joe Staley was right when he said the O line doesn’t suck. The line pitched a shutout in protecting Alex, and opened up the tough TB D line for 211 (125 for Gore, and Hunter had some nice runs and 65 yards of his own late) yards rushing, and 205 passing.
The game yesterday was a thorough and complete beat-down of a tough NFC South team in the Bucs. One thing I like is the team has never taken the opening kickoff. They either defer, or the other team wins the toss. It seems to set the tone when they stop the opening drive. Especially when they can back it up with a TD. The Niners forced a 3-and-out, and scored in 4 plays to set the tone. The 2nd drive was stalled by the Gore fumble, but instantly erased by the Rogers pick 6. And the rout was on. Alex Smith now has the 3rd best QBR in the league at 104.1. His numbers weren’t huge, but they certainly didn’t need to be as the Niners threw for 205 and ran for 211. That’s balance. The big numbers in this game? 127.2 rating, 3 TDs, 0 picks. More importantly, he led the team on successful drive after successful drive.
The defense has suddenly become a ball-hawking (Nate who?) secondary that has 8 picks in 5 games. The D line has 12 sacks (including 2 by Aldon Smith yesterday) without blitzing very much. They confused and baffled Josh Freeman all day, and stuffed LeGarrette Blount to the tune of 38 yards. This was a statement game that I was fairly sure the Niners would come out aggressive, and not buy in to the grind-it-out style that everyone seemed to think it was going to be. These guys came out throwing (mainly in 2 WR/2TE sets), so there was little of the spread formations that were used the last couple weeks. Althogh Walker did line up in the slot for some big plays, includiong the opening drive TD that Smith put in there perfectly. They even used a bunch of 3 TE sets that resulted in some decent runs, and they threw once out of that formation for a 12 yard gain.
The great thing to see is that, with all the different formations and sets the Niners are running, there is a ton of shit for other teams to try and figure out. Passing out of 3 TE formations, running out of the spread, and being aggressive with the offense has been the biggest sea-change for this team. Harbaugh has fully sold this team on his strategies, and philosophy. I really didn’t think it would happen this fast.
Forty Niners Forever 
Not many men have screwed two whole cities..
I’d say 95% of the players who played for dirty Al loved the man with an all-fired passion. He’s done more for guys who played for him than any other owner. By far. Not even remotely close. Yeah, he was an asshole of the highest order, and he fucked over some players (hello Marcus Allen) but his loyalty to the team and its players should be noted and mimicked by all the other owners.
I never liked the guy, but he was one of the reasons the NFL is as strong as it is now.
You don’t have to like it, Mike, but it was true.
Don’t forget Irwindale. He got $10 mill from them to look at a gravel pit.
Exactly. And chuck, you KNOW the reason I’m calling twin out on this. Being the dissenting lone voice on everything has gotten old but certainly nothing to freak out over. But look, using they same schtick against a dead man, especially when his post was fraught with errors and basically lies, is just total bullshit
I’m well aware of Al’s selective generosity, and certainly those who benefitted from it, at least LIKE him. I doubt that the coaches and players he fucked or didn’t pay share the love. Like I said, Hue was probably crying because he’s the only coach Al can never fire…
Fuck the cities. I’m talking about players, human relationships. If you were a raider, and you didn’t cross Al, he was there for you for life. You seem to think all these people are “acting”. I’m going to refrain from embarrassing you any more tonight because I don’t need to get any more emails from you about “what I did to you”. You’re as bad as Dennis when it comes to admitting a mistake. But you’re almost worse if you’re looking to ply your schtick at the expense of a dead man. And since I’m bailing now, to keep you from sending me 3am emails, I will ask that you stfu about this and move on. Either that or I will battle you all the way to a fucking “call to Bea”.
From NBC Bay Area:
“He’s number one in our hatin’ hearts.Al Davis, associated with the Oakland/Los Angeles/Almost-Irwindale Raiders since 1962, has topped E-Poll Market Research’s findings of the most-hated sports figures .Rounding out the list’s top five: Philly QB Mike Vick, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, golfer Tiger Woods and one-time Red Sox and LA Dodger Manny Ramirez.
Davis has recently overseen a rather disappointing on-field performance — and has added to his legacy by firing coaches and then shooting holes in their character on their way out the Alameda door.Another factor may be the long memory Californian’s have of his wandering-franchise ways, having sued Oakland, Los Angeles and poor Irwindale along the way.The adjective “creepy” was most associated with Davis. And in his most recent epic press conference, he did look a little rough, but, let’s be fair — we’re all going to age.It’s when you tell the press your former coach was a coach-beater and morally loose that stokes these hating fires without throwing in the much-needed qualifiers like “possibly” or “allegedly.”
But, hey, good on you, new coach Hue Jackson, for taking on the job, intangibles and all.”
Here’s an idea: just fucking say, “you’re right Craig. That 7:21 post was out of line.” it would be like Dennis saying “I admit I was a dumbshit about Alex smith.”
Well, all in all, Detroit is pretty good. This will be a tough game, mainly for the crowd noise, Megatron, and Suh, but get the corwd out of it early, and the Niners can win this.
Ha, more spewed bullshit from you. You’re worse than Dennis. You wanna go at this all night? I’m fired up dude, I am happy to do this till you ait your 7:21 post was utter bullshit inflamatory drivel that was written only to support your usual “lone wolf– go the opposite of everyone” posts. Can’t do it? Didn’t think so.
Actually, my take on Davis is shared by many, sonny. But I ‘m not going to go into with you all night, you’re drinking and looking to pick a fight. He was a dick, that’s no minority opinion, pal. I’d say Huey was crying tears of joy.
Ha, save your “drinking” posts for Dennis. How about you stfu or I start re-posting emails. I am not going to have you lie right now. Your usual responses to bloggers when you are embarrassed about looking like a dumbfuck is to say they are drunk. How about I re-post some @calls to Bea” emails? Fuck you, you are a bitter old man who can’t even take a blog fight any more. I wouldn’t care except you are still able to put down and disparage everyone along the way. So, fuck that. If you can’t take the heat stop spewing it out on everyone. Including dead people.
Oh, just settle down. That Al was hated is not a minority opinion.
Mafia scum are nice to those who are “loyal”. BFD. He was a hated man- and, as I said, one of the most influential men in all of sports at one time. But pretending he was a beloved figure is a fucking joke.
Fine. If that’s the post you want to go out on regarding this, I’m fine with that. Carry on.
Mike, 95% of the people that worked for him, loved him. He did more for his retired players than most of the other owners combined.
Frankly, I don’t give a fuck.
Take it to Craig’s blog if you want to continue.
And many hated him. It’s not a BFD, just a well known fact. Look, Craig can hate on me when I go, I’ll be past giving a shit, as Al is now.
Perhaps the funniest thing about this manufactured brouhaha is that only the brain dead don’t know that had Al lived, Jackson would have joined the legion of head coaches canned and cheated by Al…
Ummm do not bring this to the flap. I’ll drop it. Most of what I said is dead on but I will admit I’m over reacting. Good night.
Chuck, I’m tired of my posts going to spam. I’ll email you a way to fix it tomorrow.
Geez Guys, can we all just get along?
Opinions are what they are, accept it and agree to disagree for a change.
We’re 4-1, going to Detroit to see if we can hand them an L –
Love him or hate him, Al has gone to the Great Luxury Box in the Sky. R.I.P.
unca- About your 8:41 post, I knew the people Al screwed in Irwindale. They were friends of mine. I have nothing good to say about Al Davis, so I’ll say nothing.
Agree to that
Man…. it’s a good thing that we banned Spitblood, Chuck. How else could we all sit here and sing Kumbaya together? LMAO.
As for Undead Al, he was a Raider. Fuck the Raiders. I’m a 49er fan. I don’t care about the fucking Raiders.
THIS is kumbaya? Haha Spit would have made it harsher true. And some of us wouldn’t be here either…
As a former resident of San Diego I got nothing good to say about the Raiders. I’ll say nothing (following Bergs) except Rest in Peace Mr Davis.
NJ49er: With you on the old stale arguments and endless debates re: AS, etc. As I said on another blog “I’m not joining the misery train! Have at it,” It’s been proven again, Harbaugh builds QBs. Resurrection of Alex being the latest PROOF. End of subject (for me).
What interests me are a couple other things. Harbaugh; how is he doing it? What is ‘good coaching’? Teaching technique? Being supportive of the players? Positive attitude? Football IQ: Knowing how to play the game to win? What?
Also interested in the smooth transition to a stronger defense. Like Chuck I was concerned about all the guys we let go starting with A Franklin. Yet his replacement Soap goes down and RJF anchors a D line that holds big bad Blount to 38 yards. Our DBs are mostly new and are far more effective than the old crew. How come? Niners D is ranked #5 over-all!
Seems like the 2011 draft has panned out pretty good with A Smith, K Hunter!, Chris Culliver, even Colin Jones and Kaep looking good. So Harbaugh knows how to get the most out of the guys they get. Even the vets on the team are like Gore, AS, VD, Staley are buying in. How does JH get this under-achieving crew to play together and become more than a bunch of talented individuals?
Me, I dunno.
Alex did not need to be resurected, he just needed a decent coach. Did anybody watch him in college, or under Norv Turner. He’s always been a decent QB, except in college where he was great. I’ve always wanted to see what he could do with a coach hat knew his ass from his elbow. That would not be Nolan or Sing. I’m getting very close to calling him a good pro QB. He’s sure looked that way, so far, under a decent coach, Harbaugh.
Agree, never thought he was a “bust”, just a talented young guy turned loose among the wolves with no help. (A victim of shitty circumstance)
As I said, this was a manufactured argument about Al Davis- *I* don’t hate him, and I’m not not glad he passed away. Once upon a time he was a relevant figure in the NFL, decades ago. I probably shouldn’t have said Hue was acting, though. I’m sure he does love him, although taking the job while watching Al turn the shiv in Cable’s back must have been unsettling. It would be kinda funny to find out that Amy was the real coach killer though…
I was pretty impacted by watching some of the images from that game. Maybe my emotional reaction to what I thought was a genuine emotional reaction caused me to go a little over the top last night when, in my eyes, you were mocking it or even doubting the man’s sincerity. But I appreciate you saying that you “probably shouldn’t have said Hue was acting.” I’m now done with this…..
I just wish ESPN and Comcast would be done with it. They love this shit, but 150 times is enough. Actually, I thought maybe Hue was crying because it was one of the luckiest wins ever. They were horrible…
Everyone is giving Huff the credit, I haven’t seen one person give credit to that linebacker who changed Schaub’s course and prevented his from just running it in. Didn’t catch who that dude was but he’s really the one who “saved” that game……
“I haven’t seen one person give credit to that linebacker who changed Schaub’s course and prevented his from just running it in.”
But that was Al, guiding from above..
Can’t argue with your feelings Flav, they were genuine, human.
Phil, for the past 4 seasons I was convinced the team was better than the coaches were allowing them to be. What’s the opposite of synergy? Antergy? Conergy? Shitergy? Whatever it was, that’s what was happening. 2007 and 2010 were such absolute fuck ups that I lost track of what was really going on. I’ve blamed the coaching staff for a long time, for Smith’s problems, as well as the defense’s inablilty to close games, but I was very leery this season of how fast they could effect meaningful change. The first couple games were iffy at best, but by the 3rd game, amidst the false starts and blown coverages, the team was making plays. The Philly game was eye-opening in the fact that they pulled it together seemingly out of nowhere at halftime. It just clicked.
Now? Well, the dismantling of TB was phenomenal mainly because they did it with an aggressive set of plays. Passing downfield, and some nice runs. Teams can no longer stack the box because Smith has shown he can go downfield with confidence. The defense has been getting pressure without blitzing regularity. A very big deal.
Deetroit? The toughest part of that game will be the crowd noise. Chicago was flailing for the whole first half, yet took the lead. Yeah, Stafford hit the long pass to Megatroid, but beyond that, they were nearly as inept. This is another game that the Niners can come out aggressive and get on top of these guys early, take the crowd out, and coast to a win. They weren’t amazing, but they were good. Suh is a beast, but Nick Fairley was invisible. I think the Niners should show pass (3-4 WR sets) and run up the gut on them. Believe it or not.
Shitergy. It’s gotta be shitergy Chuck. I’m loving the resurrection! Good coaching, what a difference…