San Francisco 49ers Forever

I guess as of now, the NFL is gonna go ahead and cancel the Bills/Bengals game. Seems very odd that a game with so many playoff ramifications would simply be left unplayed. The easiest thing would be to give all the playoff teams a week off and create a week 19 to take care of this unfinished game. Cut out the 2 week Super Bowl break down to one and all is well.

But no, the NFL in its wisdom decided to let the game go since it didn’t ‘alter’ the playoff picture. Except that it would fuck up the seeding. KC stand to gain the most from this as they could very well be the #1 seed despite having lost to both Cincinnati and Buffalo.

Strange, that. But not our concern. Our big games to watch are of course our game vs the Cards (1:25 pm), Vikings @ Bears (10:00 am), and the NY FB Giants @ the Iggles. (1:25 pm). All these games are on Sunday.

The Minnie-soda game is early so we will know if the #2 seed is sewn up or not before our game starts. The Iggles are the late game as well, so the deal with that will be ongoing while we play.

FWIW, here are the games that matter in the AFC for the #1 seed. Chiefs @ Raiders, tomorrow at 1:00 pm. Ravens @ Bengals, Sunday 10:00 am, and Pats @ Bills, Sunday 10:00 am.

Still don’t make sense to me that they don’t make up the game, and there is talk of playing the AFCCG at a neutral site to forego any supposed favoritism to the missing outcome, but there you have it. Can’t upset the TV scheduling. Because TV is King.

On a very uplifting note, Damar Hamlin is off the ventilator and addressed his team in a Zoom meeting this morning. He still has a long way to go, but there is no permanent neurological damage. His first question was “Did we win?” The doctor replied “Yes, you won at the game of life.”

That the game of football is violent is plain to see. Still and all, it is a game. No matter the rhetoric around ‘going to battle’, ‘fighting to the finish’, or even ‘sudden death overtime’, the game of football is still that. A game. It isn’t supposed to be life and death out there. Unfortunately, we all saw how fragile someone can become on the field of play. Damar Hamlin, in trying to tackle Bengals WR Tee Higgins, took what looked like a fairly run-of-the mill shot to the chest. He immediately popped up, but suddenly collapsed. His heart stopped and he had to be resuscitated twice on the field before being stabilized and taken to the hospital. Players on both sides prayed, cried, and were dumbfounded and horrified at the situation unfolding in front of them and an international TV audience. The latest news is that Hamlin is ‘showing signs of improvement’ today as he is still listed in critical condition and remains in ICU on a ventilator.

Violence and football of course go hand-in-hand as the game played at the turn of 19th century was nearly cancelled by the government for all the fatalities and maimings going on in college football. It was all ground and pound as most plays were runs up the middle with 22 guys swarming each other and getting their heads smashed in or bodies twisted into paralysis. Football in the early 1900s saw 10-20 deaths with hundreds of debilitating injuries a season. But Teddy Roosevelt saved the game. He brought about rules changes to allow forward passes and illegalize the scrum-like formations that got so many players hurt. These changes lowered injuries and deaths in a big way and the modern game got its start.

Nowadays, the effects are more cumulative what with all the ‘safety’ equipment now worn by the players. Now it is CTE, early-onset dementia, the occasional paralysis, and a myriad of issues the league strives to ignore. Hamlin’s case appears to be a fluke type thing where he was hit at the exact wrong time in the exact wrong place to induce a heart attack. This doesn’t make the injury any less horrible, but it also serves to remind people that this game is inherently violent, and it is pretty hard to figure what to do other than play on. It is kinda difficult to think about this upcoming game, but this injury, like so many others, will fade. The hope is that Hamlin fully recovers and is able to live a normal life.

Not sure how or when they will make up the Bengals/Bills game as it has huge ramifications for the #1 seeding in the AFC, but I’d think they’ll add a week to the schedule after week 18 as Buffalo and Cincy will play their regularly scheduled games this weekend. I’d think they’ll add a week 19 to allow Buffalo and Cincinnati to complete their game, while the rest of the league gets a bye week heading into the playoffs.

In a game no one expected to be competitive, the 49ers and Raiders got into a shootout of pretty epic proportions yesterday as the 49ers outlasted the Raiders 37-34. The normally stout Niner defense gave up 254 yards and a 100 rushing yards. At HALFTIME. And, if not for the early goal-line stand, the lead very well would have been 24-14 at the half.

A lead the Raiders got anyway as Jason Stidham sliced and diced the Niners secondary, mostly Demmodore Lenoir on DaVante Adams, and ran effectively. The vaunted 49er defense was definitely caught sleeping and overlooking this Raider team. Jacobs ran well, and play action burned the D relentlessly to the tune of 500 yards given up.

So, is this a scary-ass game that exposed our weaknesses? Or a wake-up call to the team that they can’t overlook anyone at any time.

If anything, this gave our young gunslinger Brock Purdy a chance to show what he can do when the defense isn’t suffocating their opponent and the kid is down 2 scores late. Well, Purdy came through with flying colors. Purdy had like 75 yards passing in the 1st half but had scored 2 TDs. The 2nd half saw him throw for 200 yards and finally lead the Niners to victory after overcoming the 10 point deficit and the late missed FG by Robbie (not so) Gould.

CNMC had a huge game running the ball for 121 and a score, and 72 receiving yards, Jordan Mason added a TD run late, and Brandon Aiyuk had a big day as well going 9 for 101 and a 16 yard scamper late. The defense did get shredded, and I didn’t see us adjust by blitzing at all, but they came up with big plays late to seal the deal. Neither team got a sack, but the 2 picks by Stridham were a direct result of the pressure put on him.

So, this game was a great learning lesson for Purdy to overcome adversity, and for the defense to get this shit game out of their system. Pretty much a best-case scenario where you learn some things, but still get the win. Turn the page. Learn from the mistakes. 9 in a row.

Niners / Raiders used to mean something. It wasn’t very long ago that the teams agreed not to play in the preseason for all the fighting and mayhem. Now? Well, this is another home game for the Niners in the Roomba as the ticket purveyors are saying sales are around 70% to Niner fans.

Crazy that the Niners get games in LA that are home games as well. The league in its infinite wisdom is all about teams fleecing cities for stadiums to get built for fan bases that don’t exist. The Chargers had a huge following in San Diego and they had a promise from Alex Spanos that he wouldn’t move the team. Unfortunately that promise went to the grave as son Dean promptly moved them to a city and stadium that doesn’t care.

The Raiders? Same shit, different city. I’m sure ticket sales will be fine, but it will be predominantly away fans. The players must be bummed because both owners moved away from rabid fan bases.

Anyhow, have a happy and safe New Year’s and let’s keep the ball rolling.

Steve DeBerg, where are you? Strange times in Las Vegas as the ‘leadership’ of Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb decide their future is to jettison the guy who has played with more guts and passion this year than McDaniels and Prince Valiant have shown their entire lives. Mark Davis is hell-bent on setting the franchise back a couple-three years while he tanks this season by benching Derek Carr for Jarrett Stidham for a shot at what? Will Levis in the draft? Carr has been the scapegoat for the Raiders issues lately, but the problem is really the head coach Josh McDaniels and his propensity to blow leads late.

The Raider players have to be completely demoralized seeing their head coach and owner give up on the season with a shot to get into the playoffs. Remote as it is. Say what you will about Carr but he, Adams, and Jacobs are busting their asses to win games while Davis and McDaniels play grab-ass on the sidelines.

Like the Cowboys of a few years ago, they are a team loaded with individual talent and no impetus to play as a team. Offensive and defensive stars but no leadership. And this is after the players lobbied long and hard for last year’s interim coach Rich Bisaccia and his staff. The Raiders were majorly fucked up after the Gruden affair, and the Ruggs tragedy. Bisaccia got the team into the playoffs and nearly beat the AFC champ Bengals and is rewarded with his walking papers. Leadership.

This looks worse than the Irsay/Saturday debacle. Danny Snyder is likely the worst of the worst in this carnival of thieves, but these guys are sliding down the turd pipe as well.

Good new for us though as we will likely have about 80% Niner fans in the Big Roomba in the desert, and the game should be decided by halftime and we can rest our starters.

Go back 2 months and no one would have the Niners, packers, or the Bucs in the playoffs. But thanks to an 8 game winning streak, and the emergence of Brock Purdy, for the Niners, and a lot of sucking in the rest of the NFC, gives us this possibility. Both the Packers and Bucs are 7-8. Brady even pulled off another ‘epic’ coma-back at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals. Like the Saints game before it, AZ stumbled, bumbled, and fumbled their way all over the field while giving Brady about 76 opportunities to win late. Which they finally did. They amazingly lead the NFC South by a game over the Saints and the Carolinas.

Same thing with A-A-Ron and the Packers. 4-8 and losing to everyone, they’ve reeled off 3 straight and all the teams around them in the hunt, the NYGs, Deetroit, and Washington all lost, and they now control their destiny. Sort of. But their chances did go up from 15% to 29%. Beat the Vikes and they jump to 52%. Win out and it goes to 89%. Silly. Miami and Tua Tavailoa helped tremendously by giving the game away with 3 late picks and Rodgers went 24/38 for 238. Tua later went back into the concussion protocol as Miami’s slide from the top has been precipitous.

Thought we wouldn’t be blessed with the old school QBs, I mean come on, man. But they are hanging around. Mainstays Dak Prescott is out there winning games. As is Jalen Hurts and the ascendant Iggles. And the shit-show that is Kirk Cousins. I still don’t believe these teams are for real. Sheesh. The NFL seems to be full of a lot of mediocre teams that can win at any time, or reel off 5 losses in a row. Hello Vegas. Even THEY are still mathematically in the race. Even sillier.

The Niners? SF has clinched, and we have Brock Purdy. The biggest surprise since what, Tom Brady 21 seasons ago? Kurt Warner? Something like that. Looking at the state of the NFC, and we are starting to look like the best team. Our defense is playing at its highest level and the offense is loaded with weapons.

Much is being made of what to do going forward for the Niners, but history paints a picture of teams that let off the gas earn an early playoff exit. And I guess the impetus to get that 2nd seed is enough to push for these last 2 wins. Minnesota has the packers and Bears to close out the season. Those early losses may bite us, but that shit is ancient history and hitting the road for our 2nd playoff game wouldn’t be too onerous. But beating Washington again won’t be easy. That defense is legit. The Giants? Meh.

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On the injury front, it looks like we very well could have Elijah Mitchell AND Deebo Samuel available for this playoff run. That would be most excellent.

The Brock Purdy train keeps rolling along. Against the toughest defense he’s seen so far, Purdy got a hard-fought win over the Washington Generals. Purdy used a revitalized George Kittle for 2 scores, a big 4th down conversion, and 6 catches for 120 yards. Washington pretty much dared us to throw by packing the line and stifling our run defense. And it worked for the most part, but for an end around by Ray Ray McCloud, which garnered 71 yards and the first score. Half our rushing yards for the day.

Purdy was an efficient 15/22 for 234, 2 TDs and a pick. The pick should have been a 12 yard completion but Jennings batted it into the air for the INT. Which led to the tying score. Shanny did a good job of calling plays today I must say. The red zone offense wasn’t all that, but Shanahan is designing play-action plays that work. The first TD to Kittle was a designed pitch to CMC with the option to throw.

The kid makes good decisions. Defense is on fire. Keep rolling.

Merry Christmas all!!! All I want for Christmas is Super Bowl 6.

This looks like the wrong week to step off the gas for Kyle Shanahan. More like he wants to step on Danny Snyder’s throat. Troubled waters run deep, and the Shanahan family is still pissed at the way Danny (#metoo) Snyder micro-managed and bad-mouthed the Shanahans as Snyder whispered behind the scenes that he would override Kyle’s dad Mike’s QB decisions as the team imploded.

So, I think this one is pretty big on Kyle’s radar. Washington’s defense is surprisingly good this year, and looks to get better with DROY Chase Young making his return from a knee injury. They are 3rd in yards allowed and 9th in points given up. And they have a crop of stud WRs in McLaurin, Samuel, and Dotson.

Their offense is not too dynamic, but they did have Carson Wentz stinking things up to start their season. Heinekie is nothing special either, but still, they have a dangerous set of WRs. Should be interesting anyway given Shanahan’s abject hatred for Snyder.

Step on their throats and don’;’t let up.

Still one of my favorite sound bites from the history of post-game interviews. Colts head coach Jimt Mora was asked about his team’s fading playoff hopes after a loss, and went on his mini-tirade. “I just want to win a fricking game!!”

Anyhow, the 49ers are NFC West champs, and the #3 seed in the playoffs. The Minnesota Vikings are the 2 seed, one game ahead of us. We would own the tiebreaker should we end up tied with them. And Indianapolis did us no favors by choking away the largest lead in NFL history. A 33-0 half time lead ended up not being enough for Jeff Saturday. It sure was interesting to watch as everything the Colts did backfired and Indy simply couldn’t get out of its own way.

But the real issue is, how hard do we try to gain the 2 seed. Being the 2 would keep us from playing the Iggles on the road in the divisional round of the playoffs, and we would instead play the winner of the Minnesota Washington (or Giants) at home.

So I guess it is a pretty big deal. But does it justify putting all the starters at risk for 3 games? I’l love to see the 49ers play the starters like 1.5 quarters and coast home these next 3 games. I guess this is all fluid depending on what Minn does. I mean, in theory we could catch the Eagles should they stagger badly. Doubtful, but hey. it’s out there.

I just want to see the team hit the playoffs as healthy as possible.

In a game with huge playoff implications for both teams, clinching the West for us, and kicking Seattle out of the hunt for them, Brock Purdy led the 49ers to their 7th straight win to clinch the West. Playing with a strained oblique (why do baseball players miss 8 weeks with a strained oblique?) and bruised ribs, Purdy calmly led the team to victory in one of the most difficult places for opponents and especially us to play, Seattle.

The 21-13 score ended up being more of a nail-biter than it should have been. The refs did their best to keep Seattle in the game by negating a pick 6 on a hit that was pretty much a textbook hit-the-QB-on-the-chest move, but nowadays you have to somehow alter your trajectory once you have shed a block and leapt toward the QB. And there was a great play where we got called for THREE penalties on a single play. The best part was Nick Bosa was grabbed around the neck and twisted down from behind and while trying to keep his balance knocked the helmet off the lineman holding him. Penalty Bosa.

Robbie Gould even got into the act buy missing a field goal that would made it a 3 score game, but alas, no luck there either.

Still and all, the defense did a great job stifling Seattle’s dink and dunk offense, and Dre Greenlaw had the hit of the night when he blasted Homer all the way home and caused the fumble that Mooney took down to the 5 for a quick score before the half.

Got to say, this game showed a lot from the young Brock. He read through his progressions, esp on the 2nd TD to Kittle when a slant to Aiyuk lined up on the right side was the 1st read, and he looked to the middle for something, then saw Kittle wide open on the left. Yeah, he had the dropped pick, but hey, them’s the breaks. He showed a lot of guts getting through that game hurt, and was 11-11 to start the contest.

Got to think Purdy needs the reps, but I’m of a mid to treat these last 3 games like preseason ones. Give the starters 1.5 quarters and rest them the rest of the way.

NFC West champs. With our 3rd string QB. Feels great, baby!!