Its finally game day. Seattle fans are icing their throats in preparation to scream their brains out. The talk is over, only the game remains. We’ve all given our reason why, but in the end, it happens on the field. Amazingly, since I’ve been a Niner fan, I remember every playoff run short of the 1957 loss to the Deetroit Lions. I sat in the Candlestick rain for 2 straight championship losses to Brett Favre and the Packers. Reveled in joy when we finally beat the Cowboys in 1994. And threw a lawn chair 400′ down a hillside when Roger Craig fumbled 3-peat away. And died a little when Joe Montana was driven away in an ambulance in the loss to the Giants. These games are usually intense and hard-fought. As of now we are 5-9 in NFC Championships.
Time for number 6…
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
Lots of ways to dissect this one. It will be done in the coming days.
I second the motion that Roman is an obstacle here, and that’s on Harbaugh. If Kap is to progress as a QB, he’s got to be unleashed to throw the ball earlier in games, earlier in drives, earlier on downs. You can’t keep the guy on a leash all season re: throwing, then expect him to come through at crunch time with throws under the greatest pressure imaginable. I could not understand most of the first down calls in this game. The Niners constantly had 2 and 8, 2nd and 7, 2nd and 11. You can’t keep drives going with bullshit first down play calls into the line. Where are the slants, quick outs, QB draws, whatever, on first down to negate this stacking the box. Why constantly line up on first down with one guy wide? I just do not get the conservatism on offense. Then the 4th quarter where it’s 3rd and one, and they take the delay penalty to make it 3rd and 6, followed by Kap getting strip sacked. Inexcusable. We’ve had subpar offense now for a decade through various coaching regimes. This needs to change. Upgrade RB, upgrade WR with a burner, etc. This fine defense needs an upgraded partner on offense…
This game proved what I and others have said before — Gore is done or near done. He was a non-factor today. They need to draft another RB, there’s plenty out there. Frank can retire. Let Lattimore and a new guy compete for the starting position. Hunter is only a complimentary guy, he’s not going to get it done. It’s imperative they upgrade the RB position, and get a WR burner with hands. They MUST MUST get help at WR — how many times and how long are we going to have to say that?…
Kaepernick had four receivers out on the play that ended the game. Three of them were wide open. Patton on the left sideline, Bolden at the goal line and VD at around first down yardage IIRC. CK7 fixes on Crabs and the only risky throw he had. Patton and VD had green around them and Boldin had an easy catch. CK7 says he’d take that throw anytime. Damn all that happened earlier. And it isn’t the only play that costs the game but it damn sure is one of them and that’s not a bad play call or on the o-line or one anyone else except CK7. He says he’d take that play anytime. And that’s what makes him an idiot.
No need to get all defensive protecting him. I wanted CK7 to play long before most. I’m the last guy to trash him for the sake of laying blame. He screwed the pooch tonight and that’s all there is to it.
As far as the running game. It’s on the line to get the RB to the second level most generally. Seattle’s good at stopping our running game, they key on it. But I mentioned that earlier didn’t I?
Maybe if they let Kap loose passing more in the season, he sees that field and doesn’t fixate on Crabby. He’s a young player, with not that many reps. Coaching is key, and they failed him. Kap gets some of the blame, not all of it by a longshot…
Now comes some very interesting moves for the 49ers. First off, next year the 49ers will have four guys with maybe pretty significant roles on the team with ACL injuries in Lattimore, Culiver, Tank and now Bowman. That’s not a good thing, especially if you consider Justin Smith, Carlos, Andy Lee, Frank Gore, Goodwin and maybe even Whitner will either need to be completely replaced or they’ll need reduction in salaries along reduced playing time. Then there’s the cap casualties. We can’t resign Iupati, Crabtree, Aldon, T Brown and Kaep. Someone’s gotta go.
For my money, this game tonight was lost by the offense. Marshawn Lynch pounded us and eventually broke a big TD run. Frank Gore looked old. It wasn’t until Rathman, Harbaugh and Roman pulled Gore for Hunter that we started gaining yards on the ground. I think Gore’s lack of production is where we lost this game. I also think Greg Roman is a terrible OC. So ask yourself this: Do we really want an older Gore back as the featured back with Greg Roman calling the shots while paying Mike Iupati to lead the way? That won’t beat Seattle. It didn’t even come close to being the right combination tonight, and next year Gore will be older. Even when Iupati was in the game, Gore ran no where. And I told you he would suck before the game. Gore can’t get the edge, so all defenses need to do is clog the middle against Gore.
If I’m Harbaugh and Trent Balkee this offseason, I cut Frank Gore, I fire Greg Roman, and Mike Iupati just played his last game in SF. Then, with the first overall pick, I take the best receiver in the game – and he needs to have speed to stretch the field. I start Kilgore and Looney in place of Iupati and Goodwin. I run the ball with Hunter and James, and I draft another running back to replace Frank Gore. I don’t expect much out of Lattimore….ever.
If it’s me, I make serious philosophical shifts away from running the ball on offense unless I can find an amazingly talented running back who’s double tough in the draft. Gore’s done, and Lattimore was a mistake. Hunter’s a stud, but he’s not an every down back.
The 49ers secondary will lose Rogers, T Brown and maybe Whitner, but they have Brock, Culliver, Wright and Daryl Morris. We might, however, want to keep Whitner because the 49ers made the stupid mistake of paying that good Stanford practice squad safety more money, highlighting his skill and value to us, and he got snatched up by another team. Dumb. Move.
The linebackers will still be good even if Navarro doesn’t return to 100% and we lose Aldon because we have Lemonier and a good sleeper MLB in Nick Moody. Justin Smith will be replaced by Tank, and Tank will be a stud.
But it’s fair to say the 49ers are about to have some very serious turnover, and it’s also fair to say that Greg Roman will be here because a.) he’s a Harbaugh guy and b.) people are calling for Roman’s head enough for Harbaugh to feel the heat alla Singletary and Raye. So it’ll take another few years before Harbaugh realizes he has a stinker in Roman.
Colin Kaepernick needs to learn to be a pocket passer. He has the ability. He needs to learn to go through his progessions better, and he needs to see the field better while starting to make better calls and shifts at the line. The only way for Colin to start improving is for Greg Roman to hit the bricks, but again, that won’t happen for another few years and until it does, I don’t see the 49ers making any serious pushes deep into the playoffs. John Clayton has been fond of saying teams have a window to win. I think the 49ers’ window has closed. The 49ers have been drafting low for three years now, and that coupled with our older players losing effectiveness and the salary cap now taking its toll, Harbaugh needs to change his offensive philosophy if he wants to win in the near future. The only way I see to do that is to create an awesome passing attack with Kaepernick, Crabtree, Vance McDonald, Patton, Hunter, and two or three new offensive skill positions players not on our roster – two new fast wide receivers and a new bruise running back in the draft….. maybe another TE.
If it’s me making the call, I bite the bullet next year by parting ways with Frank Gore, Andy Lee, Carlos Rogers, T Brown, Whitner, Goodwin, Iupati and maybe even Boldin. I start guys like Looney, Kilgore, maybe Morris in the dime, Hunter and Jon Baldwin. And yes, I know we’d suck. But we’d start rebuilding alla the Patriots while still be competitive. You trot out the same core guys next year and we won’t win in the playoffs. Our Super Bowl window has closed. Time for Harbaugh to see if he can change his stripes.
You cut Iupati loose? Every team in the league would take that guy in a heartbeat. That’s ridiculous…
Cap casualty. Can’t keep everyone. Kaep, Crabtree, Aldon, T Brown, Iupati and more are either free agents or restricted free agents.
Gore’s under contract, spit. He’s not going anywhere.
Besides, he’s 33 yards short of 10,000.
One last thing for tonight. Again, Roman’s calls were atrocious after the Aldon Smith first play strip sack of Wilson. You MUST MUST get a TD there. The 3 points is a given, so you have to call plays that can get you into the end zone. The first play — a nothing off left tackle run into the line with Gore that went 2 yards. Next, a throw in the left flat to Crabs, not even close to being in the end zone. Then what looked like a QB draw by Kap for basically no gain. WTF is THAT kind of play calling — not even one pass into the EZ? The game may have been lost right there on not getting the 7 — I felt that was a huge lost opportunity to get Seattle immediately down — instead, they got energized by escaping with giving up only 3…
Has the game gotten to difficult to officiate? Too many rules, too many reviews, and then no reviews when you need it most, by rule? This season has been horrible for officiating. I don’t blame the Niner loss on officiating at all, that didn’t cost the game. Fact is, Niners had 30 seconds, 2 TOs left, and 20 yards to get a winning TD, and blew it. It’s on them…
Yeah, Snarkk. I agree. And I’ve been pissed off at the play calling for a while now. So many games we get a quick turnover and turn it into 3. Drive, get another FG. Grind shit out, only to fall behind 7 -6 because of a quick TD by the opposition. If Harbaugh can’t see what is happening, then we are in for more of the same.
Gore? Well we gave up on the run. Rightly so, because it wasn’t working. Gore, hunger, or whoever, we weren’t getting yardage on the ground. Not Gore’s fault. I just hope Lattimore can be a force next year.
I tend to agree. The OL wasn’t getting any holes open, Jim Brown wounldn’t have made much headway inside. The thing is, by putting Hunter in a lot in the 2nd half instead of Gore, the Niner braintrust showed their hand that they know Frank cannot get the job done anymore unless the OL dominates. Gore can’t change directions and bust outside around the edge; that is a real problem. He’s a great pocket and downfield blocker, but that doesn’t cut it as an RB if that’s your top skill set. They’ve got to get another RB that’s big, with speed. I have no idea if Lattimore is an answer — who does? But, Hunter is not the everydown answer. Again, not a screen pass in sight…
This next season will be a re-tooling year, and a learning year for Kap, get his vision expanded, get his passing skills upgraded. From an odds perspective, I think there is almost no chance the Niners can get to 4 conference champ games in a row in this day and age, and particularly now from this division, which will be a bear again next season.
Did we fire Jim Harbaugh yet?
ALL he does is lose big games. If you people haven’t figured that out by now.
Fuck you and your first born male child.
Whine on…
Continue to blame Greg Roman. Until we fire Jim Harbaugh, this offense will not change.
Kap threw a total of 10 INTs this entire regular and postseason combined.
HALF of them came vs Seattle.
Did we bring back Alex Smith yet?
Fuck us.
It’s 4:05 in the morning, and I’m still pissed off.
“New thread is up?”
Please don’t even bother, Chuck. 49er fans don’t deserve it.
Oh BLEEP!
Losing Iupati didn’t help the run game, and the scrambles disappeared after he went down.
Whatever they do this offseason, Kappy needs to stop locking on to guys. He’s shown some progress, but that last play was terrible. He needs to put that where Crabs and no one else can get it. At the least. If other guys were open, find them.
Again, though, this team refuses to do things to make life easier for Kaepernick. More quick passes. Slants. Delays. Screens are a mere fantasy.
If Lattimore is healthy, he’ll be outstanding. He was definitely worth the risk where we drafted him.
This Supewr bowl I probably won;t watch. I’ve hated Denver for years and years, but I’m certainly not rooting for Seattle.
Pisser is the defense won that game. The offense gave it away. The stupid ass delay penalty may have been the back breaker. It led to the sack/fumble.
It was more than that last throw- the time management was very puzzing. With two time outs in their pocket, 25 seconds was wasted after the throw to Davis at the 18- that’s an eternity. And while he made a good throw, it was also a risky one with Sherman on Crabtree and the LBer undernearh- if he’d read his progressions, he had VD and Patton open for at least ten. *AND* Boldin. The other two turnvers in the last 10 or 12 minutes carried no excuses. With considerable help from some questionable call from the refs, CK lost this game with the late turnovers and poor judgement. Some blame was put on Roman for the play call, and if the call really was for the fade, it was terrible- that’s too deep a throw for that pass and you certainly don’t choose Sherman as the guy to pick on. But again- Kap is a one read QB and he’d better get past that- if he can.
As to putting the blame on himself, what else could he say- he lost the game. It *was* a welcome change to see Harbaugh gracious in defeat, however.
As to Gore, he’s been bottled up before but they didn’t bail on the run and he’s broken some *huge* ones down the stretch. And whatever one may think of Roman- Harbaugh ultimately has responsibility, he certainly should be reviewing the play calls with the game on the line- not taking the TO hurt them on that also.
I noticed that, too–they pissed away tons of time on that last drive.
Yeah but I think Harbaugh wanted to score on the last play. He did not want Seattle to have that last shot for a comeback. So it made sense in one way. But in another you are right, as things got down to the wire Kappy was running low on time and that may have been part of why he was going to the End Zone on that last play, and to Hell with anything else. A lot of it is coaching and experience on Kap’s part. That was not the first time he locked onto a receiver last night and paid for it.
In my opinion, this team does not practice the two minute drill enough and always looks a little disorganized during one. Walsh put a lot of emphasis on that, as when you need it, you are out of other options. I’m not sure Harbaugh understands that.
Two very good teams, and one played better in the 4th quarter. It just wasn’t us. When Lynch started getting 7 yards on most carries while Frank was getting stuffed, I had a feeling we’d come up short. It sucks, but an appearance in the final four is still a pretty good year. We just have to figure out how to get more out of the offense, particularly the running game, going forward.
New thread is up
Last thought. I’ve been of a mind that a TO is worth the use if you have a 3rd down and short. The 3rd and 1 turned into a 3rd and 6, and thus the strip/sack in the 4th. A TO there changes everything.