Forty Niners Forever

I’ve pretty much given up on ESPN as I don’t follow college b-ball (although St. Mary’s is currently 16th, playing the Zags, and I’m taking the fambly to meet my daughter for the game vs Santa Clara this Saturday) and I don’t want to see the ticker-tape parade, the interminable gushing over Eli (can’t spell illegitimate without e-l-i) Manning, or the fawning accolades for a game that was fairly pedestrian by any rights. Madonna? What a joke. The Stones, The Who, and Tom Petty weren’t all that, but lip-synching? Really Madonna? They should dig up Kurt Cobain next year, or give the job to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Someone with an actual pulse.

When you make NE’s defense look good, there’s something inherently wrong with your offense. Although Coughlin’s plan to run and keep Tom-not-so-Terrific on the sidelines worked as the game went on. The fade to Manningham was the play of the game. On the other side, the inexplicable drops on those last two drives killed any shot NE had of making a comeback. NE forced 3 fumbles, only to see the one they did recover called back because of a coaching gaffe. 12 men on the field. The inexplicable safety on NE’s first play was weird as well. Brady’s brain-fart. So, NY got 9 gift points to start the game. Lucky fucks.

Anyhow, enough about that. As it is, the big dates coming up are the combine from Feb 22 to 28, the Peyton Manning deadline of March 5th. Also the last day to designate ‘Franchise’ players, and the free agency period, which kicks off March 13th at 1:00 pm PST.

I’m very curious as to who gets franchised. I’m of a mind the Niners are going to let Goldson go at the cost of franchising Ahmad Brooks. Most everyone else thinks Goldson gets the tag, but I think the Niners would be fine if they slide Culliver to FS and let Goldson walk. Shit. Who knows? Maybe they’ll franchise Smith and sign Brooks before it goes too far. Or maybe they  let HIM go. Brooks could very well be replaced by a full-time Aldon Smith, but I’m not crazy about that idea. I’d rather have Aldon as our reated and ready weapon off the bench.

And all is right on the East Coast. Yes the season was a huge success for the San Francisco 49ers, but it was still a huge let-down for me, as I know the 49ers would have more than likely beaten the Patriots. It’s a big disappointment to come so close and get jilted at the front door, but the good news is the team is definitely pointed in the right direction. A year ago today was a time of major uncertainty around the team, and the NFL in general. The lockout was in full force, and the previous coaching staff’s stench was still lingering at 4949 Centennial Blvd.

As the situation stands now, the front office actually appears to be plodding along nicely. There haven’t been too many coaches gutted from the staff after this watershed season, Baalke has a very successful draft under his belt, and Coach of the Year Jim Harbaugh has the players hungry and wanting more. However, the front office has a lot to do around the 19 FAs we currently need to deal with.

The free agency gate opens on Tuesday March 13th, and the NFL draft is Thursday April 26th and Friday April 27th. Prime time. God know why . . . So, with a normal offseason staring the team in the face, they can address their needs in the correct order. Last year, the Niners were hamstrung because the FA period was after the draft, so they decided to stick with Alex Smith. A wildly unpopular decision at the time, which happened to pay off in spades, when Smith nearly led the team to the Super Bowl. A full offseason, camp and preseason should get this team in better shape offensively, as long as they do something about the WRs. I expect the team to focus on O line depth, WRs, Safeties, and OLB depth in the draft and the FA signing period.  

And, someone actually bet on this, and won big . . .

http://tinyurl.com/84n8lgs

Well, the good news is the NFL has decided to kick down $200 million to Jed to get the new Santa Clara stadium byuilt. Word is, the ground-breaking will be ‘soon.’ Whether Santa Clara was hoodwinked by the 49ers or not, the 49ers have received an $850 million loan from Goldman Sachs, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, and U.S. Bank to finance the construction. I don’t see Santa Clara getting screwed over by this deal a la Dirty Al and Oakland. The team being down there will generate tons of money for the city, and at some point in the not-too-distant future, Santa Clara will get a Super Bowl of its own. Granted, most of the hotels are in San Jose and San Francisco, but hey, residuals, taxes, and cash will still rain down on them.

While necessary to keep the team here in the Bay Area, this santa Clara stadium is pretty much a double-edged sword for me, as the new stadium will be wonderful, and spiffy, and costly. And further away for me. That being said, I think 65-70% of the fans come from the peninsula, so the driving difference isn’t that big a deal.  I’m sure with overruns, the final cost will be near $1.3 billion. Which means that Jed will pass the cost to the fans. I have no idea of the pricing structure coming, but seat licenses are skyrocketing, and the seats themselves are as well. For a spot in the new stadium, fans must pay a one-time fee for the rights to a seat, and club seats range from $20,000 to $80,000 each. Then they must buy the tickets, which can cost $325 to $375 per game. However, Jed said those prices apply to only 9,000 seats. “There’s definitely going to be affordable seats for everybody in this building.” 

Affordable for who? Mitt Romney? I guess well just have to wait and see what this brings. Word is, if they get humping on this soon, they could be ready for the 2014 season. That would be great, but it would also be sad to not have the team playing in San Francisco, the Niners’ home for the past 66 years. Carmen Policy, hired to try and keep the team in the City, said recently that San Francisco is still a solid Plan B for a stadium site. Good for you, Carmen. The only way this comes about is of something majorly stupid happens. Like Jed York caught on tape trying to buy liquor and gambling licenses with a briefcase full of cash from and undercover FBI agent.

As far as the Super Bowl goes, about the only thing I’ve seen about it was Madonna dogging Rob Gronkowski about his ankle. She told him, tape it up, take an anti-inflammatory, and get your butt out there. Apparently Madonna is also on the shelf with a hamstring strain. She says she’ll gut it out though. Don’t know how she’ll get through the usually interminable half time show.  Like I said, I’ll be skiing. NE bursts Coughlin’s bubble.

Given the fact that the 49ers aren’t serious about the Peyton Manning hope-fest, or the Matt Flynn sweepstakes, and their more-than-likely scenario of sticking with Alex Smith, what are the biggest needs for this team going forward? We (well, most of us) get the fact that the 49ers need some help at the WR spot. The little production they were getting was hindered by Cap’t. Morgan going down in the TB game, the on-again off-again nature of Michael Crabtree’s contributions, and the lack of fire (and healing powers) of Braylon Edwards. The rest were barely noticeable on the field. In fact, Smith did a pretty good job of moving the ball through the air with VD being pretty much his only consistent target.

Be that as it may, the Niners have to look at the possibility of losing some of their myriad free agents. The most important being Ahmad Brooks, Dashon Goldson, Ted Ginn, Adam Snyder, and Carlos Rogers. To a lesser extent, there are guys like Larry Grant (who filled in very well when Willis went down), Joshua Morgan, and special teams stand outs Blake Costanzo and CJ Spillman.

As I’ve said before, I think Dashon Goldson may get priced off of the team by a bigger offer from someone else (Dallas is likely). I don’t think they’ll franchise him either. The Niners would be well-advised to franchise Ahmad Brooks. He played his best year by far in the pros, but he has been dogged by inconsistency, so it warrants giving him a fat one-year payday to see if he can follow it up with another good year. The rest shouldn’t be too hard to sign. Alex Smith being the guy that gets the most money. 3/$20 mill? Sure, why not? Sign Morgan as well. There looks to be a whole new crop of WRs, so having Morgan and Crabs around would help some, for consistency’s sake. Morgan was on his way to a good year when he went down.

So, losing Goldson would leave a hole. The easy solution would be to do what they planned on all a long, and move Chris Culliver to FS. Culliver has shown he can cover very well as a CB, and would be well-suited to playing off the ball as a FS. Goldson was pretty much a SS in the FS spot anyway, and with Whitner signed, there’s no room for Hawk. There are also some strong FS free agents out there as well. Michael Griffin from the Titans would be worth a look, as would Dwight Lowry from the Jags. Both are young and solid. Brooks is the big question. Yeah, the 49ers revived his career, and he worked hard to crack the line up and stay there. I just wonder if he’ll balk at being franchised.

Which brings us to Ted Ginn. I sure didn’t think his injury would be the one that broke the team’s epic run, but there you go. The NFL is a harsh mistress. His WR adventures aside, Ginn proved that he was one of the best in the league at returning punts and kickoffs. He got off to a brilliant start by scoring the double-whammy on opening day Seattle game with a PR and KR for TDs. Beyond that, he unfailingly made the right decisions in when to go after balls, and when to back away. The 49ers ALWAYS had better field position due to his returns. So, just based on that, yeah, I’d get him back.

Carlos Rogers really was the key to this year’s sudden success. He set the tone early by picking off a lot of balls, and making a ton of plays. The overall defensive philosophy of giving up yards, but not points was greatly helped out by the punishing and ball-hawking nature of these defensive backs. Led by Rogers. I have no idea what he wants, but he won’t be cheap. But, sign him. Adam Snyder? He has proven to be very versatile, and solid, if not spectacular, when they move him around the line. Like Ginn, he shouldn’t be too hard to sign.

Excuse me for not caring, but this upcoming Super Bowl just doesn’t do it for me. What was almost the greatest turnaround in the Niners storied history (yes, even greater than the Walsh turnaround of 1979-1981) was dashed at the knee of Kyle Wiliams. One fateful bounce of the football. To hear the Giants call themselves a team of destiny is a crock of shit. They flat lucked out. Much like the 1990 season, when they were on their way to losing the NFC Championship game to SF, and Craig fumbling with 1:50 left. And then surviving the vastly better Bills team losing on the final play of the game. But whatever. I’m over it. Well, I’ll never be over it, but I’ve moved on. It’s very hard to even GET to the point the Niners got to this season. Just ask Philly, Dallas, NO, and GB. All teams who had much more to lose this year by not getting far in the playoffs. I’m sure their fans are pretty pissed off at this point in time.

My hope is that the Patriots beat the living shit of of the Giants. But I’m sure the game will come down to some sort of freak play (blocked FG for a score?) that tips the scales to the NY Giants. The coach that 80% of Giants fans wanted to run out of town in week 13 will be seen as the greatest thing since Bill Parcells. Blechhhh. I just threw up in my mouth a little. Fuck it. I ain’t gonna watch that shit. I’m going skiing . . .

I know it’s early to be thinking about this, but hey, it beats thinking about the Super Bowl . . .

This is a list of free agents that the 49ers currently have.

Tramaine Brock RFA CB 
Ahmad Brooks UFA LB 
Blake Costanzo UFA LB 
Ted Ginn UFA WR 
Dashon Goldson UFA S 
Larry Grant UFA LB 
Josh Morgan UFA WR 
Moran Norris UFA RB 
Chilo Rachal UFA OT 
Carlos Rogers UFA CB 
Reggie Smith UFA CB 
Alex Smith UFA QB 
Adam Snyder UFA OT 
C.J. Spillman RFA S 
Joe Staley UFA OT 
Will Tukuafu RFA DT 

I think we can safely say that Alex Smith gets signed. Something like 3 years/24 mill.

There are a lot of guys on that list that should be signed. There are also guys who can hit the road. Chilo Rachal and Moran Norris are obvious candidates. 

Guys like Tukafu, Brock, Spillman, Grant, Reggie Smith, and Constanzo shouldn’t be too hard to bring back into the fold. They are solid backups, and should stay here.

The big names are Ahmad Brooks, Ted Ginn, Dashon Goldson, Joshua Morgan, Carlos Rogers, Adam Snyder, and Joe Staley.

Ahmad Brooks had a solid and very consistent year. I have no idea what he wants, but he was a fundamental piece of one of the toughest sets of LBs in the league. Try to keep him. Ginn? As we saw with KW recently, Ginn should stay, if only as a KR/PR. His opening game heroics set the tone for the great season special teams had all year. His WR skills are awful at best. Goldson? Well, I think the Niners make an offer, but I think he’ll move on. He’s wildly inconsistent, and lacks game awareness. He is a liability in coverage. I keep thinking they’ll move him to SS, but they have Whitner now, so there’s no room. So, he goes. What likely happens is Culliver moves to FS. Morgan was putting together a very good year til he got hurt in garbage time vs TB. If he comes back at full health, keep him. If only for continuity’s sake, as the WR corps is likey to turn over greatly. Rogers on the other hand, should be given a key to the city. He solidified what was a shakey deefensive backfield upon his arrival here. He may not be the fastest guy out there, but his savvy and skills kept him in position most every play. Snyder and Staley? Their health seemed to determin how well the line played. When either of these guys went down, the line play as a whole suffered greatly. So, sign them.

I’m not sure what the front office’s thinking is going forward, but I’d like to think they are of a mind to try and keep things pretty much the same as this recently concluded season.

Well, but for the painful way this season came to a sudden and grinding halt, this was a truly epic run by this band of 49ers. Offensively, most areas of the team improved dramatically. Alex Smith went from the bottom 10 in the league to the top 8. He dramatically cut down his turnovers and interceptions. He led the furious comeback in the NO game to cement his lasting impression on a hugely successful season. The O line improved, after some mid-season setbacks. Frank Gore had another strong year, despite being banged up (and according to some, washed up). Rookie Kendall Hunter had a great year as Gore’s back-up/give-Frank-a-rest guy. Bruce Miller was a godsend as the converted DE turned FB. His blocking for Frank made everyone forget about Moran (whiff) Norris. Nice wheel route as well. TE was improved as well. VD had a strong season, mainly because of the WR situation. His yards were down, but his catches were up compared to 2010, as he became Smith’s go-to guy. He had some struggles with his hands and feet, but in the end was the biggest reason for the near Super Bowl berth. Delanie Walker had a great season going until the broken jaw. Both were beasts blocking downfield for the run game.

The area that was abysmal was the WR corps. The big blows were Joshua Morgan getting injured in garbage time of the TB game, and Braylon Edwards’ knee injuries in the preseason, and early in the Dallas game. This seemed to start the domino effect of ineffectiveness from this bunch. Michael Crabtree’s numbers have steadily improved since he got here, but I never get the sense that he’s fully engaged in the game. The Saints game and this last one were flat awful from a guy who’s supposed to be the #1 WR. 4 catches and 3 drops in the Saints game, and 1 catch in the Giants game aren’t very impressive. He seems to not bother turning for the ball when he isn’t the #1 option. Hot reads elude his comprehension. With Edwards’ injury and subsequent ineffectiveness, guys like Ted Ginn and Brett Swain (and other no-names) were added to the WR list, but they were varying shades of nothing. Ginn of course shines as a PR/KR, but his pass catching is not his strong suit. All in all, it was pretty amazing that Smith had the season he had without much in the WR department. The strange thing to me is that the ineffectiveness from this group never seemed to be a big concern to Jim Harbaugh. There were guys like Houshmanzada and Lloyd ( and others) who could have walked in and been effective. This is a BIG area for improvement this offseason.

I think someone like DeSean Jackson would be a welcome addition to a group that is vastly underperforming. There are plenty of draftable guys. Jerius Wright is a speedster who could be had in the 3rd or 4th round. And countless free agents.

Damn, what an inglorious end to a magical season. Say what you will, but the Niners should have won what was yet another huge defensive struggle between these two teams. That was their 8th playoff meeting (now tied 4-4). I didn’t want to listen to any of the post game commentary, because I’m sure the Giants were saying things like, we knew we were going to win, we beat them, It was our destiny. You know bullshit like that. It turned out Antrel Rolle was right, but he was talking about the Niners, not the Giants, when he said the only way we lose is if we beat ourselves. The 49ers, while struggling mightily offensively, had the lead and should have had possession late in the 4th quarter. The spector of Preston Riley and Roger Craig paid a visit and the deal was sealed when KW let the punt hit his leg. The Giants scored a TD and took the lead. In an almost seredipitous moment, KW made a great punt return later in the 4th quarter to set up the tying FG. But we all know what happened in OT.

I’m not sure how all of you feel (I know how some of you feel), but I think all these WRs should go. Morgan can stay if healthy. Crabs had another lackadaisacal performace, half-assing routes, and not bothering to turn for the ball. He can’t decipher a hot read to save his fucking life. For all of his improvement this year, he still doesn’t get it. VD pretty much saved the season through these playoff games. Other than VD and Gore, no one could get open ALL GAME. Harbaugh loves using TEs and backs, but they should have been able to get SOMETHING going with Crabs.

Ahhhhhhhhh fuck. Anyhow, I hope Brady riddles the shit out of NY and beats them into the ground. The New York Giants are the luckiest goddamn team to win as much as they have. Scott Norwood, Roger Craig, the helmet catch, and now this? Blehhhhhh.

I woke up about 4 times last night thinking that it was Sunday morning.  Can’t WAIT for this to go down. As much fun as this has been, and as improbable as it all is, I want these guys to get in to the Super Bowl. Bad. I’ll be severely disappointed if they don’t. Mainly because I found out yesterday that the Niners are 5-7 in NFC Championship games. We’re still undefeated in the big one, but that championship record kinda sucks.

On the other hand, it shows that this has been one of the more competitive teams over the past 41 years. Anyhow, the talk is over, the back and forth done, the injuries are taped up, and the puking is over with. There’s nothing left to do but play the game. Everyone around here seems to think that the Niners win, either close or by a big margin. The Giants have a lot of bluster, but I think we lay the wood on the field.

I’m leaving early tomorrow for a party, so I won’t be posting (unless I can commandeer my friend’s son’s computer at half time). Last week was insanely intensely fun. I don’t want it to end.

From Alex Smith, Frank Gore, to Adam Snyder (2005 draftees), to the few holdouts from the Donohue era (Soap and Spencer), to the myriad role players, draftees, and free agents that have coalesced to make this improbable run to glory, I tip my proverbial cap, and give a knowing nod. Win or lose, it has been a hell of a ride. SO many players have gotten their just desserts just by getting to the NFC Championship game. The wait has been long and painful, but as of now the team is on the edge of a new dynasty. Things are finally looking up.  

Go NINERS ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Literally and figuratively. The rain is finally supposed to return to Northern CA after a long absence, and the football teams involved in the NFC Championship game this weekend (well, one of them) have stopped yapping and appear to be actually focussing on the game. Chances are it rains off and on through the game on Sunday.

I guess we’ll see what happens. Slowing the game down would in all likelihood favor the 49ers, as they have a better run game, and more experience playing  on that quagmire they call Bill Walsh field. It’ll be high tide as well at 4:22 pm (+4.1′), so that will add to the squishiness. After the NFC Championship game in 1994, they let the fans on the field, and the corners of the field (especially the southwest corner) were about 6″ of muck. The middle of the field was OK, but the closer you got to the sidelines and endzones, it got thicker and muddier.

I’m sure the drainiage is better now, so it should be somewhat better, but still, the Stick is the Stick, and it looks to be a mess by the end of the game.