Well, we didn’t back in, not with our four game winning streak still intact, but we did get in through the side door with the Deetroit Lions fade to oblivion with their own set of injuries and whatever their problems were.
Truth is, we kinda control our destiny with the 1 seed should we win out and end up in a three-way with the Rams and Hawks.
Nutty.
Not sure how realistic running the table is, but tomorrow screams trap game even more than the Tuxedos game last week. These east-coasters are usually a bitch, but we get the extra day, AND a late start so that should help.
From what I hear, Bethune is back, Sam O is back, Kendricks is available, and possible YGM.
The story will be beating the fuck out of Old Man Rivers. The offense should be fine.
Forty Niners Forever 
Thanks for the video. The cotton business was booming. Maga would say that was woke and never happened.
I am a little concerned about out strategy going forward but i’m pretty sure we are going for the 1 seed until it doesn’t matter anymore.
Gotta sayI haven’t heard that in at least 50 years.
Agreed, good tune though.
Really interested to see how Saleh handles Rivers. Most of his throws are short and ball is out of his hands quickly, up to receiver to get the yards.
Plus they do have running game, so given what other teams have done to Niners on ground that’s gotta be point of emphasis. Indy has lost 5 of 6 and D has given up 100 more yards than O has been able to gain in almost all of them, though they played Hawks tough.
Getting Elliott back is huge. He’s out best run stuffer. YGM is questionable.
btw found another good read, “Madden and Summerall” by Rich Podolsky. Didn’t realize Madden was D coach for Don Coryell at San Diego State, whom he met at clinic on I formation run by USC coach John McKay, and Coryell was offensive CO.
anyway got me thinking about announcer pairings these days. This game will get Aikman and Buck both of whom write forward messages for this book…wondering who Niners fans like/can’t stand. Is Papa supposed to return on radio for this one?
Yes papa is returning, cancer in remission
Personally I can’t stand Aikman and Buck. I think particularly Aikman has a negative bias against the Niners and Buck agrees with whatever Aikman says.
I also dont like Collinsworth for the same reason, generally negative bias towards the Niners.
Al Michaels is about the only guy since Madden that I consistently like. But he’s getting long in the tooth.
Simmons was always good. I liked Starkey and Wayne Walker. Plummer and Ryan are fine. Never really liked Papa. Vaguely remember Hugh McElhenny.
Aikman is fine as well. Buck? Nope.
Loved Madden and Summerall but I grew up on Brooksheier and Summerall.
And John Facenda . . .
I like collinsworth, he not to hard on the Niners considering he lost to the Niners twice in SB.
I don’t why some of you are worried about the run D, I have always said, I don’t care if a running back hets 300 yards in a game if they don’t score what good is that stat. I mean if teams were scoring running TD left and right then yeah there is a problem. Last week the star running back scored 1 TD on the Niners
Their best chance to beat is is to keep our offense off the field. Tenn is 3-12. We’ve played a lot of bottom-feeders recently.
Indy, despite their issues, and gramps at QB, are legit with their run game and defense.
I was at this game sitting in the north end zone, couldn’t really see Young through all the bodies but the crow was doing the wave standing up the closer he got to the end zone. It was so loud and crazy.
Heard the call on the way home and couldn’t stop laughing. Great fucking play.
yeah great call. loved Simmons who was always entertaining even when Niners weren’t at their best.
Classic chuck. #77 was C Bruce Bosley who went up and patted poor Jim Marshall on shoulder after he’d flipped ball once he crossed goal line lol.
Boseley! He was the predecessor to Forrest Blue.
Always loved that name . . .
Indy is gonna go with quick passes, play-action and Jonathan Taylor. I would LOVE to see Saleh go max aggressive to get Rivers gun-shy from the start. blitz the gaps and keep everyone up close to the line.
I don’t think we can sit back and run our soft zone/four corners D when 98% of their game will be inside 15 yards.
I think the complete opposite Chyes.
Don’t blitz, play man and up close to the LOS zone coverages and don’t give Rivers easy completions.
Rivers is a blitz beater, he’s seen every coverage and knows where to go when blitzed.
Playing close to the LOS helps against the run and the easy dump offs and that’s all Indy has available. Rivers was 2 of 8 over 10 yards and didn’t attempt more than 15 yds.
Chuck*
Man coverage is essential. Blitzing or no, as long as we take away the quick passes, I’m down. We all know they aren’t gonna go all Daryl Lamonica on us, so take away the short shit and fill the running lanes.
We gotta stay aggressive the whole game and I think Shanny has figured that out. Haven’t kept up with Indy and not sure if Defo is healthy I hope he is it will be fun to see him. Letting him go was this regime’s biggest mistake imo. At least with Lance we got to roll the dice.
It’s his first game back from injury Winder.
CB Eli Apple and new LB Kendricks are up from the PS and Gross-Matos is activated from IR and likely to play tonight.
I always wanted to know what Montana thought about that run, as he was on the bench due to injury, when the ’88 49 yard TD run occurred. However, he never commented specifically on that run.
Nevertheless, he expressed frustration with how the 49ers organization handled the transition, feeling he wasn’t given a fair opportunity to compete for his job back after his elbow injury in 1990, leading to his eventual trade to the Chiefs. He has even suggested the 49ers would have won more Super Bowls had they stuck with him over Young! I loved Joe, so I personally agree with him . . . However, we’ll never know.
Unca or anyone else, do you recall when Eddie D said “Montana is our starting QB” at the start of the 1993 season? Despite this, Montana requested a trade and his last start was the previous season (where he played the last half against the Bears or the Lions – forgot which one???). Anyway, the 80s and early 90s were “heady times” for the 49ers. Really miss how dominant they were back in the day.
It was the Lions. Joe was on the last year of his contract, and the league had already pushed hard against the 49ers (and Cowboys) free-spending ways and installed salary caps and all the plan b free agency bullshit.
They had to make a choice between the two and where they were age-wise, certainly health-wise, the better bet was to go with Young. And due to all the changes in the NFL leading up to that time, the 49ers lost a lot of players like Lott, Craig and a bunch of other guys.
They did end up getting DPOY Dana Stubblefield in the Joe trade as well. Love Joe to death, but he was kind of a bitch in the whole process. At least in my eyes. He certainly forced the trade issue and got his way.
But the problems with the team after Joe left weren’t due to the offense. It was the defense that was gutted by the league’s new policies. And the historically brain-dead move of trading Charles Haley to the Cowboys.
THAT move was the catalyst for the the team not winning after Joe left. Policy fucked that up hard.
The Niners only won their last Super Bowl due to getting Deion Sanders in 1994.
Thanks Unca
I have a feeling this is gonna be a tough game. The Colts have a good defense and we are in their house
Have no idea how that happened
Huh. I can kill whatever that is. Yeah, this isn’t gonna easy. Taylor is a stud, and If old man rivers can get rolling, it could be rough.
As long as Kyle opens the offense and listened to Kittle about how the offense needs to carry the team due to D injuries and they score 30 or more they will be fine
I just hope we aren’t just complacent with the playoff berth being clinched. But we do have the road to #1 at stake.
Indy is fighting for their playoff lives as well. All about the D line. If we can stop the run we should be fine.
Wow comes out throwing the ball,
That was such a freaking easy TD throw by Rivers. Surprised? Yeah, I am.
There we go! Nice pass Purdy! Good catch Robinson!
Yeah 49ers came out soft Blade they needed to put more pressure on the old man for sure!
Purdy comes right back on a beautiful throw to Robinson for the TD!
Now a KO fumble let’s get it for the lead…
CMC for the lead,easy catch and throw from Purdy!! Time to take control of this game!
. . . and another one to McCaffrey AK!
Damn. Special teams has improved so dramatically this year.
Soft zone ain’t working.
We’ve been beat by the same drag route to beat the zone 8 times already.
Rivers is calling the play in the huddle quickly, lots of time on the play clock for him to read the D
As you alluded to Kev, Rivers has plenty of time. Moreover, the dude doesn’t get rattled by anything (nor do I expect someone like him who has 10 kids – to EVER GET RATTLED).
Jesus. He;s the 2nd coming of Joe. We gotta fucking blitz 6.
Saleh needs to come up with something
We have to hit him. We aren’t even in the right zip code.
Not certain our D has any answers, particularly when Rivers threads the needle like he just did with that throw.