Forty Niners Forever

Well, for all intents and purposes, this season was a success. Believe it or not. The main goal of giving Trey Lance a red-shirt season worked, amid the fits and starts and injuries around Jimmy G and the whole team for that matter. The 49ers were a couple plays from the Super Bowl, which is what we were supposed to be. And we knocked Dallas and Green Bay out of the playoffs. No mean feat as they were both road wins. The Ram loss was a bitter pill to swallow, but as a team, we are young, talented, and hungry. I’ll put aside my animosity toward Kyle for the time being.

Jimmy said yesterday what the team wouldn’t, in that he has played his last down in a 49er uni. He hopes he is sent “to a team interested in winning.” Which I guess leaves out Houston. My landing spot was always gonna be Denver, as they are as desperate as any team, but they all off a sudden have major issues around the Brian Flores firing, and apparent sham head coaching interviews with Denver, Miami, and the New York Giants. All done to conform to the league and the Rooney Rule.

I’m thinking the upcoming Broncos sale is part and parcel with the impending fallout from this allegation of racist practices, so maybe Denver is out as a destination as horse-face and the entire Broncos organization is shit-canned in favor of a new ownership group and front office.

But that’s a different convo. Jimmy’s destinations still include New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Miami, the Giants, or possibly even the Jets, as they may want to get Zack Wilson out of harm’s way for a season while they try to build a better team around him before he gets killed out there.

My high-water mark would be a 2 and a 4. Given all the glowing reports from all Jimmy’s teammates, and the (relative) success the team had, you would think that he would get this in a trade. And it should happen pretty quickly. The teams looking for QBs are many, and the hope is that there is a bidding war for his services. Even if it is as a mentor for another highly drafted quarterback.

Fuck this. This one hurt. Kyle Shanahan has never seen a 4th quarter lead he can’t blow. It defies logic that Shanahan runs up the middle when there are 8 guys against our 5 on 2nd and 1. Since it didn’t work on 2nd down, or most off the whole fucking game, let’s try it again!!! Fuck me sideways. Fucking McVay had done it earlier himself, so it baffles me to no end that this keeps happening.

Where were the jet sweeps? None. Misdirection? Nope. Where were the slants Oh yeah, they worked to perfection, so naturally we stopped throwing them. Stopped. Throwing. Them. And I think Shany dipped into the Deebo up the middle well too often. We never ran outside. Baffling. And Jimmy wasn’t half bad. Sure, he missed Kittle wide open over the middle for what could have been a 1st quarter TD, but he was fairly solid, and actually got out of a few sacks without any damage.

Poor Jaquiski Tartt had the drop off the game on the gift from Stafford, but hey, that’s why he isn’t a wide receiver. The man who wears this loss is the head coach. Those last 2 drives, they couldn’t get anything set and they took a penalty, 2 more plays that no one was on the same page, and we just gave the ball right back. Could you have called a timeout, coach? Naaah. We’ll just piss the game away.

The pass rush was inconsistent, and people say you don’t blitz Stafford? Fuck that. He throws ducks when pressured. He’s the luckiest guy on earth that Tartt didn’t hang on to that duck.

Shanahan in the last Ram game got creative because he was behind. Since he was ahead, he hides like a turtle in his shell and plays it safe. Over and over and fucking over. FUCK HIM!

If Eddie was running the team, Shanahan would be gone tomorrow. As it is, I think we are gonna suffer a couple more years of this.

Man, this has been quite the season. What is it about San Francisco sports teams this year? The Giants come out of nowhere to win 107 games??? The Warriors storm out to the best record in the NBA? And now we have the Jekyll and Hyde 49ers turning on the jets after staggering out of the gate. One game from the Super Bowl? These guys were DOA after getting waylaid by the Colt McCoy-led Arizona Cardinals and were at 3-5.

Sputtering offense, shoddy defense, mediocre special teams. The maddening crowd, including me, was calling for a quarterback change, and a coaching change at the end of the year. But internally, the team kept their cool. They didn’t fracture behind the obvious division that the Trey Lance signing could have caused. Or the offensive woes as the team struggled to score. Or the injuries. Or the shoddy defense and bad clock management. The Super Bowl and NFC West crown dreams vanished in a hurry.

Thankfully the Rams provided the springboard for our current run back in week 10 as we pounded them into submission with a 15 minute game-opening TD drive and a 31-10 shellacking.

Something I think we repeat tomorrow. The Rams are the Rams. They make plays, but they also make mistakes. They blew a 17 point lead against us and lost, and blew a 24 point lead against the Bucs and won. Matthew Stafford can be pressured into mistakes, and our defensive line has really ratcheted up the pressure. In the last Ram game, Ryans dialed up a few blitzes on some obvious passing downs and got sacks. And most importantly, Ambry Thomas was a full participant in practice, so no Dontae johnson in the slot. We will still need help with Cooper Kupp, but I feel much better with Ambry out there.

So, buckle up for a big day of football.

Don’t know why, but I’m feeling a rematch of Super Bowl XVI and XXXIII. KC’s defense will not slow down Cincy enough to win.

Trent Williams didn’t practice today but he says he’ll do what he can to get in there. Deebo was a full participant, Ambry Thomas was limited but WAS practicing. Elijah Mitchell didn’t practice but he’s just resting up. Jimmy’s shoulder is off the injury report. So, hopefully we get the 2nd-half-vs-the-Rams-1st-half-against-Dallas Jimmy, not the throw-it-sideways-and-pray in Green Bay Jimmy.

Lots of people seem to be finding their way to the Rams bandwagon because they spent so much draft capital and capital capital on Stafford, Ramsey, Miller, ODB, and all that.

Well, fuck ’em. Flash don’t beat physical. Yes, I’m still waiting for this team to put a complete game together. I’m thinking this is the one. I’ve been busting Shanny’s balls a lot this year, but he has surprised me with his adjustments on both offense and defense.

They HAVE improved dramatically as the season has progressed. Deebo Samuel has asserted himself as a major offensive force in the NFL. He won’t get MVP, but to me he is the heart and soul of this offense. Elijah Mitchell is also a orce. He’s seemingly a respected vet after his spectacular season setting the 49er rookie rushing record.

Defensively, the biggest change is the fact that our defensive backfield finally got healthy. We were able to bench Josh (PI) Norman and the atrocious Dre Kirkpatrick. Dontae Johnson as well. Moseley and K’Waun Williams were desperately missed as the team held, grabbed, and PI’ed their way into the record books.

Special teams? Well, they earned their redemption for a season of crappiness with the Green Bay victory.

One thing that also has to be said is the team didn’t give up on itself. Through the shitty start, the injuries and the bad losses, Shanny kept the team focussed and on the same page. I really though his job was on the line as they staggered their way through the first half of the season, but here we are, on the doorstep of the Super Bowl.

You know. The original expectation. What a long strange trip it’s been. NO FAKE PUNTS!

Niners 30 – LA 20. Book it.

Well, here we go with our 3rd shot at Sean McVay. Our first victory over the Rams this year was the catalyst that ignited the team and spurred them on to this continuing run of winning football. The last victory, the demoralizing comeback, of course got us into the big dance. Really, our first playoff game. So, here we are in the NFC Championship game. Hard to believe after the rollercoaster season the team, and Jimmy G, had. As they say, it is better to finish strong rather than start strong, and the 3-5 start is a distant memory.

But what of the challenge of beating a team three times in a season? Not gonna look up the stats, but the 49ers clearly have a huge psychological advantage over the Rams. Seeing as the Niners and Kyle Shanahan are 6-0 in the last 6 meetings dating back to the last playoff run of 2019 over Sean McVay and the Rams leads me to think we are in their heads. Big time. Like Pete Carroll and Shanahan, the onus is squarely on McVay to turn the tide somehow.

Seeing as the 49ers are gonna look to establish the run early, I really would like to see us run misdirection plays to start the game. They are gonna play the run for all it is worth, and Shanny needs to throw some weird stuff at LA. Even play-action drag routes with Kittle/Jennings/Mitchell as you sent the other WRs deep. Come out with multiple WR formations on 1st down and spread the defense out. Run bunched formations and throw a jet sweep.

You know what would be a trip? Take a page from the Andy Reid Philadelphia Eagles and throw deep on the 1st play. With Deebo as the passer. I don’t know if Reid did it to anyone else, but every game against SF he would go deep on the 1st play. Home or road, rain or shine. Every time. They had DeSean Jackson, so it was pretty effective.

As this season has worn on, I really have to give Shanny grudging kudos as he HAS made in-game adjustments to get the team rolling. In-season adjustments as well. Using Deebo as a runner has been a very large part of the winning streak we are on.

On defense, moving AA strictly as an inside run-stuffer (along with DJ Jones) has shored up the D line. Moving Bosa all over the line has helped his effectiveness as well. The other huge improvement is the defensive secondary. Due to injuries and ineffectiveness, the back end of the defense has been a huge liability. But with the emergence of Thomas Ambry and regaining Emmanuel Moseley and K’Waun Williams, the secondary has markedly improved over the early disaster games that were the Indy and Seattle games.

Wow. I’ve seen a lot of games in my time, but I don’t remember seeing a game with a blocked FG and a blocked punt in the same game. Let alone a playoff game. What a crazy way to win. Shanahan to his credit stuck with the run, and the Niners O line eventually wore down the Green Bay defense. It looked ugly when Shanny tried (and I screamed “don’t run up the middle!!!) and failed on the 4th down play. Jimmy G is like 8-8 on 3rd or 4th and 1 so don’t do it Shanny.

Jimmy tried his best to fuck the game up throwing a highly stupid red zone pick to Kittle who was open until Jimmy waited about 4 seconds too long to get rid of it. Then the defense forgot to cover Arron Jones and that turned into what could have been a pretty big nail in the coffin with a 50 yard gain to our 20 yard line. This is when the special teams, the much-maligned special teams make their first big play with the FG block by Jimmie Ward to end the half.

It sure seemed to wake up the team as they came out behind a 50 yard return by Deebo (gimme the ball, coach!) Samuel to set up our first points with a field goal. The D came on more and more as the game wore on after the first opening drive that appeared way too easy for the home team. We started out terribly as George Kittle dropped a slant very well looked like a TD based on where the Packers were. Next drive, Aiyuk dropped a pass, next was Samuel, and by the middle of the 2nd quarter, the Niner offense had 0 completions and 0 first downs, -14 net yards passing, and -7 running.

Then of course the back-breaking pick in the red zone. Another pass that should have been thrown high and deep so Kittle was the only one to catch it was instead short and behind Kittle for the pick. Between that and Shanny’s 4th down fuckup all appeared to be lost as the Niners turned the ball over on downs with 5 minutes left.

Then, wonder of wonders, Jordan Willis made a Patrick Willis style play by knifing between blockers and blocking the Packer punt. It was pretty funny, if I wasn’t having a seizure at the time, to see all the players looking around for the ball as it went straight up in the air about 100 feet. Rookie safety Talanoa Hufanga tracked it down and made the 5 yard walk into the end zone to tie the score.

Resilient doesn’t even begin to describe this team. 8 of their 12 wins have been of the road variety, including the last three to keep us playing, to go 9-2 down the stretch. Unreal.

Back in Week 3, the 49ers were 2-0 and the Packers were 1-1 coming off an opening day absolute mauling by the Saints 38-0. That game was close, hard-fought, and in the end, squandered by Kyle Shanahan as he left too much time on the clock (0:37 seconds), and the defense allowed Rodgers to throw uncontested down the middle of the field twice for 42 yards and the game winning FG by the highly erratic Mason Crosby.

Say what you will about Jimmy driving the team down for the go-ahead score in the 4th quarter, he had a typical 2 fumble, 1 INT game to go along with the 2 TDs. 25-40, 257 and 4 sacks. Rodgers was an efficient 22-33, 261, 2 TDs, 1 sack.

The run game was kaput with the rookie Trey Sermon providing little. 10-31, 1 TD. Green Bay on the other hand had Aaron Jones run for 82 yards and a score.

For all that, the Niners should have won. With 43 seconds left and a 1st down on the 12, the Niners should have run at least once to bleed some time. Sure, it may change the later plays, but to think that Aaron Rodgers won’t do what he did is a dream that didn’t come true. Ryans not pressuring Rodgers was a major fail. One sack and the game would have been over.

But that was then. This is NOW.

Who is better, and who is worse? Well, I think the edge here goes to the 49ers. Trey Sermon has proven to be a washout, and did nothing back in September. Elijah Mitchell has proven to be a stud at running back and is a vast improvement. Deebo Samuel had yet to be the running threat that he is now. Shanahan has done a better job of calling plays, and making adjustments on both sides of the ball.

Another big factor is that RT Tom Compton has done a bang-up job since replacing Mike McGlinchey. That Shanny runs right is a testament to his faith in Compton. Green Bay’s D line is banged up so the thought there is we can pound them.

Also, I think the defense, namely the pass rush, has improved dramatically over the past month. Also, believe it or not, the defensive backfield has improved markedly as well. Ambry Thomas will hopefully keep Dontae Johnson off the field. He’s battling a bone bruise but should be ready. Nick Bosa thankfully cleared the concussion protocol so he is full steam ahead.

Another factor could be the competition faced. The Packers have had an easy stretch these past 5 games. Wins over the Bears, Ravens, Browns a, and Vikings, and a meaningless loss to the Bears, plus a week off MAY lead to a false sense of security, and a slow start for the Pack.

Meanwhile, the 49ers have been playing for their lives these past 10 weeks (going 8-2) just to reach this spot. And this IS a team with playoff experience. So the moment won’t be too big. The weather shouldn’t be too much of a factor, Green Bay has had a dismal playoff record since way back in 2010 when they won their last Super Bowl, and we have nothing to lose really.

Niners 30, Packers 20.

For better or worse, or til death do us part, Jimmy Garoppolo is our quarterback. Per Ian Rapoport, Jimmy said he is ‘feeling good right now’ (meaning Wednesday), and is ready to go when called upon.

In other news, Nick Bosa was out on the practice field and is also on track to face the Packers, so that’s good news. Warner has been limited in practice, but is practicing as well, so we look to be in pretty good shape.

Is Jimmy one step closer to being knocked out of a game? He sure seemed to be a lot worse after the shoulder injury, so the hope is he gets to the point where he can throw to our guys.

Tell ya one thing tho, bringing in Lance and having him run for a buck fifty would give those fans Colin Kaepernick flashbacks.

Let it ride, baby. Niners 30, Green Bay 20.

This is like a trip down memory lane what with us playing Dallas and now Green Bay in the playoffs. Both these teams were our nemeses at different times in our distant past, and our recent. Aaron Rodgers sure knows who we are as we are 3-0 against him in our last 3 playoff tilts. Colin Kaepernick got the first two wins in 2012 and 2013 running all over the GB defense, and Jimmy G spent most of the 2019 win handing the ball off to Raheem Mostert.

A strategy that may not be a bad idea after seeing that 4th quarter yesterday. Unlike the Rams game, where Jimmy actually did well, he: a) missed a wide open Brandon Aiyuk for what would have been a 40 yard gain, b) threw an absolute choke job of a pick later in the 4th quarter, and c) didn’t let Trent Williams get set on the 4th and 1 sneak that would have, again, sealed the win.

Instead we got to see Mike McCarthy pull a stupid running play with 14 seconds left. This was nearly outdone by Ryans ludicrously stupid defense in not protecting the sidelines when Dallas got the ball with 32 seconds left. Ryans played this defense like he should have way back in the Green Bay game he blew. In not protecting the sidelines, Dallas was able to stop the clock on every throw. Once we moved the safeties and corners to the sides, Dak ran up the middle.

This could have worked for one more Dallas play if: a) Dak had slid earlier, b) the Cowboys let the ref spot the ball, and c) didn’t get in the ref’s way as he DID try to spot the ball.

All in all a bizarre ending to what was a great game by the Niners. Our propensity to let teams back into games is pretty fucking annoying, and this one would have been an epic disaster to lose.

More annoying to me is as the game was nearing the end, Shanahan was playing the game like he was behind 6, not ahead by 6. Throwing on 1st down is great early in the game when team expect us to run. Throwing late in the 4th quarter when protecting a lead is not so good when Jimmy is unraveling before your eyes. The shit pass to Kittle was luckily so shitty that the subsequent fumble didn’t count.

Fuck! But I am not here to bury Jimmy but to praise him. Not really. Fuck, I don’t know. Just play a clean game next week. OK?

Real funny thing is, I thought with everyone getting healthy, Josh Norman wouldn’t be able to fuck anything up, but lo and behold, Norman was the gunner assigned to block the outside guy, CJ Goodwin on the fake punt. As Norman ran away from him, their punter completed a 16 yard pass to Goodwin. Derp! Even more luckily, that didn’t result in a TD. Christ. I’m too old for this shit. I sure miss the days when we just steamrolled through the playoffs.

Fuck Jerry. Fuck Dallas.

That is all.