Week 13 turned out to be the lucky one for the San Francisco 49ers as they sealed their 1st Western Division title since the 2002 season. The 49ers are the first team to clinch their division (yes, Green Bay did clinch a playoff berth with their 12th win), and they did it in dominating style, shutting out the St Louis Rams 26-0. Kudos are deserved all around for the organization. From Jed on top, down to the practice squad players. Flash back to January, and this was one of the more dysfunctional franchises in the league. With the’nationwide’ search for the guy inside the building, the debacle that was the Singletary/Jimmy-Hat dynamic dud-o (and the Nolan/Hostler turd-fest), to the maddeningly inconsistent play in many different areas of the team (esp QB), the team seemed poised on another fruitless effort to improve. Jed York has to be given major props for going out and getting Harbaugh. Miami was hell-bent on signing Harbaugh, and while Harbaugh has Bay Area ties, had work with Bill Walsh, and picked his brain on many occasions, Young York got it done. Whether this really was the spot Harbaugh wanted to be plays into it, but Jed closed the deal. Miami is looking like a big mess front-office-wise as well, but what a difference a year makes.
Trent Baalke, although he was the recipient of the so-called nationwide search for a GM, has done admirably so far without the albatross of Mike Singletary hangning around his neck. He looks as though he stocked the team with this 2011 draft. He picked a winner in Aldon Smith. His 2 sacks yesterday pushed his team-leading total to 9,5. He’ll be the first Niner to go over the 10 sack mark since Andre Carter in 2002. Not coincidentally their last playoff run, with the likes of Jeff Garcia, TO, and Steve Mariucci. The rest of the draft looks very solid. Kappy is developing (looks like he’s behind Smith for a bit longer), Culliver is looking strong at CB (1 pick, 7 passes defensed, 24 tackles in limited duty), Kendall Hunter is a great change of pace from Frank Gore, Kilgore Trout and David Person-to-be-named-later are developing for O line depth (they looked good in preseason action), FB Bruce Miller is now an integral part of the offense as a blocking back, and catching the ball out of the backfield (hello Tom Rathman). Only Ronald Johnson (who was cut) isn’t in the future plans for the team. Curtis Holcomb, a FS from Fla A&M, suffered a ruptured Achilles. His status will be determined once he’s healthy. The 2010 draft under Baalke was solid as well, netting Anthony Davis, Mike Iupati, Navorro Bawman, Anthony Dixon, and Kyle Williams. Only Taylor Mays (a Singletary must-have), and Phillip Adams (injuries, on and off NE 3x) haven’t made the grade.
The lynchpin in the vast improvement sqaurely lies at the feet on one James Joseph Harbaugh. He and Fangio, and the rest of his coaching staff turned a group of underachieving players, browbeaten and yanked back and forth from starters to bench guys and back week to week, into the #1 defense in points allowed, and the #10 offense in points scored, and the #7 QB in Alex Smith. Special teams are vastly inproved as well. There is no element of the team that isn’t markedly better than last year. Harbaugh has gotten all the players to buy into his system. One that on the surface appears a lot like the previous versions. One that Singletary, and Nolan before him, strived to have. And that’s and offense built around a strong running game, and a punishing defense that doesn’t give up points easily. Harbaugh has done this, with little fanfare, preseason, or time. The result of the lockout may have forced Alex Smith to stay (as I think he would have left in a New York minute given the chance in a regular offseason), and for Harbaugh to work with him (this beaing said, the FA QB market wasn’t very good last offseason), but the results cannot be argued. Smith is 20 points up in his QBR from his previous career average of 74.1. 15 TDs and 5 picks is very solid, and when you look at the drops by VD and Crabs (seemingly 2 a game each), and the numbers could be even better. Gore’s running has opened up the passing game, and conversely the run has set up the passing game. Harbaugh has gone heavy pass and heavy run at different times during the season. Not as a knee-jerk reaction like the previous regimes would do, but as WEAPON to beat the opponent. Strategy. What a concept. Dumb as that sounds, it eluded the last 2 head coaches.
In other words, how much better will the team be when they get the privilege of a full training camp with Harbaugh and company running things? Even if the 49ers are one-and-done in the playoffs this year, the future certainly looks 100x brighter than it did at the beginning of the year. My thought is that the 1st order of business is to sign Alex Smith to a 3 year deal after the season ends.
Forty Niners Forever 
I hope Edwards is chomping at the bit right now, he obviously can’t do his thing while he is hurt, so when he comes back he needs to be healthy and then he needs to get his timing back, game-timing. He has a problem with dropping some easy looking passes too, but when he is “on” he has those “sticky” hands. When I say”easy” passes I don’t mean I could catch them ha-ha, I mean passes that they usually catch, the quick “in”, the “slant” the “curl” etc. We will see.
I think Ginn has been improving a lot the last few weeks…hope he doesn’t have an “oops” moment at the worst possible time.
I like Kyle Williams style, sure hands and he always seems to have his body in a controlled football position when he receives the ball…ready to run. Crabtree needs to keep his eye on the ball more, when he does he makes a play, but I’m not totally sold on him yet. Crabtree is getting better, I just hope he keeps GETTING better.
When I see the ball going to D. Walker I get excited. He is a game changer, he gets the first down or the TD or the positive yardage the offense needs. He has had some drops in other years but this year he is money. Like Morgan was. I miss Morgan, talk about a quiet dude who got the job done without fanfare.
V.D. ? All’s I have to say is I remember that Super Bowl where the Cowboys were trying to win their first Superbowl and TE Jackie Smith dropped a sure TD that could have been the game winner.
I hope on my guacamole dip, that something like that doesn’t happen to him. He is an outstanding blocker and makes some big plays. I am always amazed how he makes a simple catch look difficult though, I don’t know how he has more TD passes than Brent Jones cuz he doesn’t have the same kind of hands. I am definitely happy we have him though, he is responsible for some huge plays whether it is blocking or snagging a pass stuck in his facemask.
Brent Jones had a lot of competition for getting passes his way. Including Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Tom Rathman, Roger Craig, Mike Wilson, etc. For the first few years of VD’s career (and even somewhat now) he’s the go-to guy.
Yes, he’s a freak of nature physically. I just wish he was more consistent. Same with Ginn. And, yeah, Dog, I look at that Jackie Smith TD drop in the Super Bowl as a very distinct possibility. The Niners, without Morgan, are still without a true possession-type WR. The guys they have are all good to sometimes great, but over the years, guys like Dwight Clark, Freddie Solomon, Mike Wilson, and Eric Johnson were guys who rarely dropped anything thrown their way. Tai Streets even. These weren’t the superstars of the team. Lunchpail guys. Unsung hero-types. Mike Wilson was playing behind one of the greatest tandems in history in Rice and Taylor. He ran most of his routes in obscurity. But he was ready when called upon.
Edwards does have the rep for dropping balls, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. I like the guy as a deep threat, and I hope he gets healthy in the next couple weeks. He looked very good early in the season.
On game day day it IS dominated by Death Threat and his stupid Smith posts and been doing it for years- limiting the number of repititious posts intended only to annoy others is not being a “control freak”, it’s doing what any blog host should do. Anyway, as I said, if that bullshit is considered kosher, I am more than happy to respond in kind, multiplied by 10. I would think most people, like me, would like to talk about the game but I’m not going tolerate having Death Threat turn this into another Hate Smith forum. You people even tolerated, if not encouiraged, by your silence, the death threats from DTD and the Spitter. Anyway,, if this is to be no holds barred, I’m lovin’ it, bring it on Wet Brain…
saw Edwards at the fan fest and he is a big dude, If he and Alex can get warmed up, it could be a lethal combination.
I think Kyle Williams can be that “possession” receiver for now. Crabtree should be, he is coming along but not there yet.
This could be Ginn’s best year in the pro’s. Depends on how he finishes it.
I hear you about Brent Jones having to share with all the other great receivers the 49er’s had.
Green Bay is the clear frontrunner, and I can’t blame anybody for saying there is no way the 49er’s beat them BUT the 49er Defense is a monster and you win championships with defense. That being said, the front seven would have to beat the crap out of Rodgers and still the DB’s would have to play crazy to beat them…it could happen.
I just hope Roman and Harbaugh have a ton more of goal line plays in the bag when it comes to the playoffs…no sense showing them now…against the Rams, Cards, even the Steelers.
Well, they’ve recently played two teams we faced- Tampa with a lower tier QB and NYG with an elite or near elite QB- and those teams put up 61 points betwwen them- and not in junk time, they were well contested through out. The Tampa game was in Green Bay. We match up very well with GB.
Phil seems to do as many of us do-watch and post at the same time. It’s the simple kind of multi-tasking that even DTD can handle. So it’s disingenuous to pretend not to know what what my comment about the “dumb shits” meant- it obviously referred to what we had just witnessed on the field- the stupid celebration penalty.
Naw it’s quite genuine. Why would I lie? That’s silly. The broadcast is piss poor over here in coconut land. I do a lot of guessing as to what’s going on in the game some times
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