Forty Niners Forever

Well, if that was the last game at Candlestick Park, the Niners sent her to the dust bin of history in grand fashion. NaVorro Bowman’s 90 yard TD snatched victory front the jaws of defeat and cemented our spot as a playoff team. We still don’t know what our seeding is, but it is either 1, 2, 5, or 6.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Festivus, or whatever your predilection is, but have a good and safe time this holiday season.

See ya on Thursday.

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Groupology event from Anna Piranah:
The software is at my.groupol.ogy, but you’ll need a private invitation in order to participate in this multimedia event that will feature videos, Candlestick memories, photos and live chat during the game. If you’d like to participate, please send email to anna@ekage.com).
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And Candlestick’s . . .

Here we are at Week 16, and there are still 18 teams still in the running. That means only 14 teams have been eliminated, and 10 teams are fighting for the last 4 spots. Crazy thing is, the Niners can still land the #1 seed, the 2, the 5, the 6, or they can be eliminated from the playoffs entirely. The unlikely scenario of the Niners gaining the #1 seed got a huge boost from the suddenly sleepless in Seattle. The 12th Man couldn’t help the suddenly anemic Seattle offense out of their malaise, and they suffered a beat-down at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals. A team themselves on the edge of the playoff hunt. Carson Palmer did all he could to give Seattle chances by throwing 4 interceptions, but it mattered little as the AZ defense kept Russell in check to the tune of 89 net yards passing, and 103 yards rushing (71 for Lynch). If it wasn’t for the picks, this should have been easier for AZ, but Seattle has to be reeling a bit right now. They’ve lost 2 out of their last 3, to division rivals no less, and have another division foe in St. Louis next week.

So, as this applies to the 49ers, don’t take your foot off the gas. Win tonight and clinch a playoff berth. Don’t leave this shit up in the air. I sincerely didn’t give AZ much of a shot, but AZ played godawful on offense and still won fairly easily against the vaunted Seahawks and their 12th man. Seattle went nowhere all day, and were 2-13 on 3rd down conversions. This brings to mind the earlier Niner game in Seattle, which they won handily. Or did they? That game, the Niners were missing Mario Manningham, Crabs, VD got hurt midway thru the 2nd quarter, Ian Williams was chop-blocked and broke his ankle, Willis was hobbled by a groin injury, Miller dropped a TD pass in the 1st quarter, and Kappy missed an open VD and was picked off early. Throw in the 5 turnovers, and you have a recipe for failure. Yet, for all that the Hawks had a 5-0 lead at the half, and a 12-3 lead at the start of the 4th quarter. This is where the game got away, as the Niners kept forcing the ball in the air, and the defense got gassed due to our 38 second drives, and Seattle scored a couple late TDs.

I hope the 49ers just play the game tonight and don’t get caught up in all the history around the Stick, the hoopla, and the circus atmosphere for the game tonight. It’s hard enough to win in the NFL without a shitload of distractions. And there are quite a few tonight. The Niners should be able to run on these guys. And if TB proved anything, it showed that we CAN run against 9 in the tackle box. But that was with Bruce Miller. He’s out, and the run formations look to be different with Boobie Dixon in the backfield with Gore. Still and all, Atlanta is travelling across the country amid a completely failed season, and shouldn’t put up too much resistance. The recipe is the usual. Get on top of them early, and put them away. I’d love to see Colt McCoy get into the game by the end of the 3rd quarter.

From a friend (Anna) on another blog:

I am looking for people to participate in an online Farewell to Candlestick party. The purpose is, of course, to hold a going away party for the soon-to-be Great America 49ers. The second purpose is to test out software that I hope will become a significant part of and asset to social media and fan/user interaction. The software is at my.groupol.ogy, but you’ll need a private invitation in order to participate in this multimedia event that will feature videos, Candlestick memories, photos and live chat during the game. If you’d like to participate, please send email to anna@ekage.com). If you cannot attend, please contribute your own Candlestick memories on the “Jon Dowds Revenge” site listed in my blogroll (jondowdsrevenge.wordpress.com). Thanks!

It still hasn’t really sunk in yet. Candlestick Park, Monster Cable Stadium, 3-Com, Shit-hole, The Pigsty, whatever you want to call it, it will forever in my heart be The Stick. Some time soon it will be imploded and forgotten. I can’t even begin to guess at how many baseball and football games I’ve been to at the grand old hole, but I do remember the first game I went to. I was in 2nd grade, and it was 1969.

My mom thought it would be a great idea to take me and all the 2nd grade boys (16 of us) in my class to Bat Day. Bat Day usually fell near my birthday (April 25th), and this game was on the day after. I don’t remember very much about the game, but it was a sunny gorgeous Saturday, we were playing Astros, and all my favorite players were out there. Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds, Willie McCovey, and Juan Marichal. An old guy behind me said “watch that centerfielder for the Astros. Jimmy Wynn. They call him the Toy Cannon.” I don’t know if he did anything that day, but I loved the nickname, and he became a guy whose career I followed as a kid. We were sitting in the upper deck cheapies on the 1st base side. I think we won.

The coolest thing about the game was the bats. Every kid 14 and under got a regulation sized bat. During any rally, all the kids would start pounding the bats on the concrete in rhythm. A sound that I’ll never forget, since there were tons of kids in the stands that day. My mom put up with a lot of kid shennanigans, and I hve no idea how we all got there, but I do remember getting bags of peanuts, those Carnation Malted things with the little wooden spoons, hot dogs, and cokes. We had a lot of fun stacking peanut shells on the hats of the 2 drunk oldsters in front of us who had fallen asleep (passed out?) somewhere around the 6th inning. All in all a greeat day, and my introduction to The Stick. Mom did that for the next couple years, bless her heart, and from then on I went to games every chance I got. Scrounging up money to catch the bus and hit the bleachers for 50 cents, or glomming on to friends who were going.

There’s talk of opening the stadium up some time next year for one last tour, and that is something I will not miss.

If you have any pictures or stories to share about the ol’ shit-hole, let me know . . .

I’m always confused that the word ecstacy does not have an X in it. Anyhow, this season sure isn’t what I imagined it to be. Yeah, I thought we’d beat up on the underlings like Tennessee and Arizona, but I didn’t think we’d get waylaid by the likes of Indy, Carolina, and especially New Orleans. Game 1 was a shining example of what turned out to be false expectations as we quickly fell to 1-2 and hit scramble mode. 5 wins later, and we’re feeling fine.

Boom, another little rough patch as the Niners lost 2 close games to 2 good teams. At least we tightened up the losses. Fast forward to now, and we’re rolling on a 4 game winning streak. Which of course includes the stirring victory over the Seahawks. So here we sit, with the 5th seed in our grasp. Yes, we could possibly get the 1 seed should the earth open up and swallow Seattle, but that probably won’t happen. Ans yes, we could lose out and miss the playoffs entirely I suppose, but that’s another far-fetched deal.

So, if things go according to the path of most likely, we win out and get the 5 seed. Which means we get the winner of the NFC Norris Division. Which most likely means Da Bearsss. GB could sneak in and ride the wild hope that Aaron Rodgers makes it back, but ewither way, we are playing in the elements. Not too big a worry to me as we have a strong run game, but if it’s a blizzard like we saw a couple weeks ago, all bets are off. Still, running and defense travel well in shitty weather.

Green Bay has Pitts, and a huge showdown with Chicago, which likely determines the playoff team. Lose and you are out. Deetroit, in the inimitable words of Steeve Young last night, “threw up on themselves” in a fairly ghastly loss to the Ravens, who did nothing more than get into field goal range 6 times yesterday. So, it would have been nice to play in the warm confines of the Bankrupt Dome, or wherever Deetroit plays, but Deetroit can’t get out of their own way, amid the penalties and stupid play calling. So it looks like the Niners are packing their longies for the trip to the frozen midwest.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, in the case of the San Fracisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys. Let’s take a look at a couple of football games from yesterday. The 49ers/Bucs game (of course), and the Dallas/GB game. Both featured teams that were expected to do very well and reach the playoffs with ease. Well, in both cases, each team has run into some roadblocks along the way. But as of yesterday, both had their fate in their own hands.

The Niners faced a tough road game against a team that, while 4-9, was on a roll, having won 4 of their last 5.The Niners of course have gone through their share of ugly losses, and a recent huge victory over the Seahawks. Dallas on the other hand, has yoyoed themselves through wins over the also-rans, and Philly before they got hot, and took a couple big losses in the shootout with Denver (51-48), and Chicago (45-28).

So, come yesterday, both teams had build up leads at the half. The Niners however, screwed the pup by going prevent late in the 2nd quarter to allow TB to march down the field and score a TD. Dalls, had build a seemingly insurmoutable 265-3 lead on the back of some strong DeMarco Murray running, and some big pass plays from Romo to Dez Bryant and Jason Witten. Throw in 4 field goals, and there’s your 23 point lead.

While the 49ers had dominated their half, they were only up by 10, and that lead quickly shrunk to 6 points after the Niners drove for a 43 yard FG, and Tampa swithced things up by going no-huddle, and scoring very easily to mae the score 20-14. Dallas meanwhile, started their 2nd half by instantly giving GB life by giving up a 60 yard run to Edddie Lacy, and letting GB score in less than 2 minutes after the kickoff. Still, Dallas was able to drive down the field and answer with a FG of their own on a 6+ minute drive, mixing runs and passes fairly well. GB then marches down the field 80 yards in 12 plays, making the score 29-17. Closer, but no need to panic yet.

Here’s where the coaching comes in to play. Both games were now entering the 4th quarter, and both teams faced momentum shifts that had gone the other way. The Niners were only up by 6, but at this point they started pounding the ball on runs. They engineered an 18 play (10 of which were runs), 75 yard drive that burned 10 minutes of the 4th quarter. That it only resulted in a FG is of little import as the Niners had a 2-score lead, and there was little time. Dallas, who had run the ball very well all game, suddenly and inexplicably gave up on the run. So their momentum-defining drive was 2 dropped passes, and a sack. Burning less than 1 minute of clock. So they were punting from their 2. A decent punt return, and boom. 29-24, and panic starts to creep in.

The Niners were then able to salt the game away on a very high risk reverse on the ensuing kickoff, thus allowing Kendall Hunter an easy touchdown on the blown excxhange. Dallas on the other hand, was in pass-only mode. To stem the fact that Their defense was turning very sieve-like, Dallas didn’t run. They did manage a tpouchdown midway through the 4th quarter, thus extending their lead to 36-24. Certainly a big enough lead, even though their derfense was starting to gag.

Sure enough, Dallas’ defense gives up a TD-scoring drive as GB marches 80 yards in 3 minutes. 36-31 Dallas. So, instead of trying to give their defense a rest, and take time off the clock, Dallas keeps passing. Incomplete pass, sack, then the killer INT. GB by this point is doing anything they want offensively. The Dallas defense is gassed and tiring, and they give up yet another scoring drive. 50 yards in 1:30. GB up 37-36 (2 pt conversion failed). At this point it still isn’t desperation time, but it’s close. Still and all, they just need to get into FG range to kick the game-winning FG. Unfortunately (hah!!), Romo throws yet another pick to ice the game for GB.

What do we gain from this? Well, as much crap as I’ve given Greg Roman over the course of this season, he called a masterful game yesterday. He did NOT go away from the run as he had in some earlier games when the momentum was slipping away. Namely, Seattle and Indy. He stuck with the run, and was rewarded with some tough Gore runs up the middle, and some surprisingly effective sweeps from Hunter. Kaepernick had, to me, one of his best games ever, as he effectively bought time and made some huge throws under big pressure, into some very tight windows. He also ran with reckless (and effective) abandon that kept drives alive.

Dallas on the other hand, is once again looking at a statistaical marvel of a game that sdomehow slipped away amid the HC blaming his QB for calling into the pick, and the prima donna WR walking off the field with 1:30 left in the game. In other words, just another day in Pleasant Valley.

Conventional wisdom seems to be that this game is ripe for the Niners to have some kind of let down. After the physically and emotionally draining victory over the Seahawks, the prevailing thought is that the Niners will have problems handling the Buccaneers. If so, at least it isn’t a division game.

Anyway, for all the travel, the spend emotions, and the early start, the Niners should be able to handle these guys. TB doesn’t have that much offensively, and despite their defensive turnovers, the Niners offense should be able to do more against their defense than they can against ours.

So, that means we win, right?

Haven’t had any easy ones for a while. Let’s hope the rain isn’t bad, and this one is over quickly.

Playoff scenarios aplenty these days as the jockeying for position heats up these last couple weeks of regaluar season football. The Niners could fall anywhere from the #1 seed (unlikely) to not making the playoffs (again, unlikely). I tell ya, though, if Seattle loses (always possible for them on the road), and the Niners win, they will be feeling the heat a little more in the great white (trash) northwest. If the 2 teams somehow end up tied, the Niners would win the West based on a better NFC West record. Thankfully, point differential in their 2 games isn’t the deciding factor.

Strange thing is, though, the Niners could very well end up 12-4 and still remain the 6 seed. They could go 10-6 and remain the 6. Carol has the Jets, NO at home and Atl on the road. Doesn’t look like they’ll drop any of those, so the 5 is out. The Niners? This should be their last remaining tough game. Atl and AZ? we’d better handle that. AZ would have to pass us to take the 6 seed, and that seems unlikely as well. We have a better division record and have split as well. So, worst case scenario is 11-5. But that could make the last game of the year vs. AZ a possible play-in game IF Arizona catches fire and beats Seattle. Again, not likely. The Niners are in the drivers seat, and Chi still has Philly and GB. They only get in as the NFC North winner, not the WC. Dallass? Please. They are playing themselves right out of contention. Their defense rests . . . all game.

Surprising to me is the resurgence of the left-for-dead Eagles. They staggered their way to a 3-5 record behind the inconsistent and injured Mike Vick. Matt Barkley played a little as I guess Foles got hurt, but once Foles regained the job, he hasn’t looked back. Chip Kelley’s much maligned offense is now paying off in spades as Philly has gone from last to first, and the 3 seed as of now. 5 wins in a row, with the limp biscuit Vikings next up.

So, as of right now the #6 seeded 49ers would travel to the #3 Iggles, and the #4 Lions would host the Panthers. Will this change? Probably.

No, not a family reunion, but the next game on the quest for the 49ers to reach the playoffs. Tampa Bay may be 4-9, but ever since their near (dammit) victory over the dreaded and recently vanquished Seahawks, Tampa is on a bit of a roll. They are 4-1 since that game, with their lone loss coming at the hands of the Carolina Panthers. Gone is Josh Freeman and new quarterback Mike Glennon has quietly led TB to a certain amount of respectability in recent games.

Tampa made the switch to Glennon after Freeman led the leam to an 0-3 record. Glennon has gone 4-6 in his stead, but as you know, he’s 4-1 in the last 5, and almost engineered a shocking upset of Seattle in their house. No mean feat. Tampa may be full of holes on offense and defense, but they do have an elite cover CB in ex-Jet Island Darelle Revis, a stud DT in Gerald McCoy, and their pass-rushing OLB Lavontae David, an emerging leader on the team. He of the 6 sacks and team-leading 81 tackles. And of course the oft-fined FS Dashon Goldson. He of the one pick, and a one-game suspension. This of course is among the 3 penalties and one more near-suspension he’s incurred for head hunting.

All in all it should be a fun day at the beach. Hopefully Jim Harbaugh will re-introduce the team to one Frederick P. Softie on the plane ride to sunny Florida. You know, the guy who likes to show up when the boys get a little full of themselves. This seemed to happen every 3 weeks last year, but we’ll see what happens going forward. No road game is easy. Well, Tennessee and St. Louie were cakewalks, but Tampa is playing pretty well. They managed to beat Detroit despite losing the yardage battle 229 to 390. Maybe the 4 Stafford picks had something to do with that. Kappy had better be careful.

For the Niners, I sure would like to see Frank Gore get a rest. I know he’s 69 yards shy of 1,000 yards for the year, and 230 yards shy of 10,000 yards for his career, so there’s impetus to get him some touches. I mean, Seattle put up 198 on them, Atl 163, and Carolina put up 152, so the opportunity is there to get him some chunks. Get the passing game rolling. just stay away from Revis. Burn Goldson with some double moves. He ALWAYS bites on those.

In a huge game with mainly psychological implications, the San Francisco 49ers put their stamp on one of the last games they will play at the venerable shit-hole, Candlestick Park. A place, in the famous words of Jerry Garcia talking about his band, “like bad architecture, or an old hooker, eventually you gain respect.”

Did the Niners gain respect? In the grand scheme of the NFL, sure. If only til the next game. Respect is fleeting and elusive in the NFL. The 49ers earned their respect when the game came down to a final drive with 6:20 left, and the Niners trailing 17-16. The high point for me was actually seeing the Niners convert on 3rd and 1 with a run by Bruce Miller. Important because this same play failed on the goal line early in the game. It kept the drive alive. It was then followed by Frank Gore’s 51 yard run off the left tackle. Gore very smartly went down in bounds to keep the clock running. This forced Seattle to burn a timeout, as the Niners kept running. The biggest play of the game turned out to be the 3rd and 7 from the Seattle 15. Kappy drifted left on a designed sweep that was blocked perfectly, and Kappy was able to gain 8 yards, get the 1st down, and allow the Niners to run down the clock to give Seattle little chance at the end.

Kappy threw one pass on the drive, a short out to Crabs for 6 yards. The other 68 came on the ground. Something this tame has been known to abandon at times. Is this an indictment of Kaepernick? No, not really. Seattle does much the same. They rely pretty heavilly on their run game as well. That the 49ers held them in check is a testament to how well the defense played overall. Seattle was able to get some traction underneath, but never hit anything deep. Seattle’s 2 best plays were crossing routes to Luke Willson that Patrick Willis looked very slow and late on. Other than that, and a couple Golden Tate catches where coverage was blown due to Wilson buying time, the Niners did a good job of limiting damage.

The Niners on the other hand spent a lot of the game stopping their own progress with some questionable penalties and early conservative play calls in the red zone, and an awful throw by Kappy that was picked off. The 2 FG lead was quickly wiped out by a Seattle TD, and the Niners were able to regain the lead with a 52 yard FG and the VD touchdown to close the 1st half.

The 2nd half saw a menagerie of ridiculous penalties called on both sides of the ball as the refs seemed to want to put their stamp on this game. There were 8 penalties called in the 2nd half, and only one was an inocuous false-start penalty. The rest were various tauntings, unsportsmanlikes, facemasks, and holding calls, which to me mostly looked ticky tacky. The refs often cite calling games close like this to create order out of the highly charged emotions, yet all this seemed to do was kill the flow of the game and piss off everyone involved. Richard Sherman says the refs won it for SF, but Seattle got a lot of favorable calls their way. I call it evenly terrible.

In the end, it was as tough a game as we’ve played all year. The difference being the Niners closed this one out. Something they failed to do against Carol, and Nawlins.

Revenge is a dish best served in the cold mud of Candlestick Park . . .

Will this be lucky 13 for the Niners? Will Kappy get his first win over the Seahawks? Will Harbaugh reverse the recent trend of getting spanked by Pete Carroll and Co? We will fond out soon enough as the hyperbole turns. . .

Beyond the fact this would hurt their playoff chances should they lose, this game has bragging rights, team psyche, and the determination of contender or pretender written all over it. It would further cement the fact that the mantle of best in the west has been shifted north to Seattle after a brief stay in the city by the Bay.

Other than that, just another game.