Just saw on the ESPN crawl that Jim Harbaugh is ‘torn’ about accepting the Michigan job. His friends and family are encouraging him to take it, but he says he’s curious about what is around in the NFL. In other words, Jimbo is looking for more money. He’s going to play coy and see who writes the biggest check. I still think it’s going to be Michigan after all is said and done.
Frankly, I’m glad. Yeah, this regime of ineptitude could very hire another shitty coach and we go into the toilet again for 4 years, but I don’t see this team as it is currently constituted doing well if everything stays in place. Not that it could even come to pass, but Harbaugh has a habit of doing exactly what he’s doing here and that’s pissing off everyone around him. Not that this is a determining factor to keep a coach, but Harbaugh was handed the keys to a very talented but underachieving team. He basically rode the team by time and again leaning on the defense to make stops and keep the scores low.
For Harbaugh supposedly being an offensive coach, this was curious to me. There’s trying to be smashmouth and there’s constantly leaving points on the field. Whether Smith or Kaepernick was the QB, the offense was a lot like the previous offense. A whole lot of Gore and a whole lot of keeping the scores down. The offensive problems plaguing this team from day one of the Harbaugh era remain. No sense of urgency in getting plays off quickly, using up all of the play clock and more, red zone inefficiencies, and the inexplicable inability to make any kind of offensive adjustments on the fly.
This season it became insanely apparent as the 49ers were able to score pretty well in the first halfs of games, scoring an average of 13 points in the first half, and sucking down to an average of 5 points in the 2nd half of their games this season. This leads me to believe these coaches can game plan during the week pretty well, but when teams adjust things at the half, the 49ers don’t counter the changes they face, and end up fading as the defense ends up playing too much in the end. The 3 wins over NO, NYG, and Washington all followed this path, and the losses to Chi, AZ, Seattle, StL, and Oakland followed this deal. Early leads given up in the 2nd half.
The defense has been able to keep these games close over the years, but not this year. This year’s offense seemed bound and determined to abandon the run completely, and the results are pretty obvious to see. No continuity, massive substitutions and motion, all destined to use up play clock and stow down the offense. The same inane pass plays. Outs and fades. Nothing over the middle anymore. No screens, no slants, nothing to slow down the relentless pressure Kaepernick faced. To the tune of the most sacks in the league.
The game tomorrow? All I can hope for is no injuries as we play out the string.
Forty Niners Forever 
You can’t go out of bounds there. That’s the kind of football smarts that Kaep lacks too often.
Stupid play call as well. Why run anything towards the sideline in that situation? Lack of football smarts by your OC is pathetic.
How can you expect your QB to make smart decisions when your OC is an idiot?
Is it any wonder why I’m pissed about the play calling?
I think we all are, Chuck. It’s been a long time since a 49er coaching change has been needed so badly. Okay, not that long, but Roman needs to go bye bye big time.
Couldn’t agree more John
another nail biter with all these turn overs and a near franchise record for running yards. Crazy game.
We’re leaving tonight
The Niners are basically running a third team defense right now.
Overtime with the Chargers at home……..what a crappy season.
Two pretty evenly matched teams. Neither one of them all that great. It’s been a pretty entertaining game, although I feel mostly emotionally detached from it.
NFL officiating sucks these days.
That Raider loss killed the Niner’s season.
One positive thing about this season: no matter what happens, the Seahawks, or the Patriots, or both of them, won’t be winning the Super Bowl this year.
Why do you say that?
I really really really don’t like the Seahawks and the Patriots.
I can dig that.
This cursed season can’t end soon enough. Jesus H Christ.
Ok I don’t care to look up this guy’s name on the roster #23? Going out for the OT coin toss with Kap, but I thought they brought a fan from the stand out there..hilarious you never saw the hippie’s name on his back!!
The Niners are in that mode of finding creative new ways to lose. Harbaugh has come full circle. This was the Niners before he came to the team.
BLEEP! Another pathetic loss.
Patton fumble the final contribution.
Total embarrassment. Complete and utter shameful franchise at the moment.
That’s a little over-stated. They didn’t embarrass themselves tonight. They played an entertaining close game on national TV. They entertained a lot of people. They’re one game under .500. It was a mediocre season. The Chargers aren’t all that good either.
If you don’t HATE Jim Harbaugh and his team right now, you don’t care enough.
Fuck Jim Harbaugh and every fiber of his being. Loathsome POS.
One thing I would agree with there; I didn’t care all that much about tonight’s game. And once the SF Giants won their 3rd World Series in 5 years, the trials and tribulations of the ’14 Niners faded off my radar screen quite a bit.
I hope the Niners can retool and become a playoff contender next season.
Merry Christmas!
Regarding the Eagles game- what’s with coaches being afraid of letting the other team score when that team is just running down the clock to kick a chip-shot fieldgoal? The Eagles could have let Washington score, and then gotten the ball back with a minute left, to try to tie the game and go into overtime. But no, letting the other team score in a strategic move is just too outside the box for the robot coaches in the NFL. They’d rather just let the other team run the clock down and kick the game-winner. And now the Eagles are just about eliminated from the playoffs.
21 pt. lead at the half and we have a mook of a QB who doesn’t know when to stay in bounds. And Nipper wishes me a Merry Christmas. Unmotherfuckingbelievable.
Merry Christmas to you and yours as well.