Forty Niners Forever

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.

This is the first year of the 14-team, one-team sits, 6-game wild card, wacky, wooly, weird and wild football weekend. We even get a Monday night tilt.

Saturday:

• Raiders (10-7) @ Cincinnati (10-7) 1:30 PM NBC – Cincy -5
• Patriots (10-7) @ Bills (11-6) 5:15 PM CBS/NFL Network – Bills -4

Sunday:

• Eagles (9-8) @ Bucs (13-4) 10:00 AM Fox – Bucs -8.5
• Niners (10-7) @ Cowsluts (12-5) 1:30 CBS – Sluts -3
• Steelers (9-7-1) @ Chiefs (12-5) 5:15 NBC – Chiefs -12.5

Monday:

• Cards (11-6) @ Rams (12-5) 5:15 ESPN/NFL Network – Rams -4

Strange days indeed. For all the angst around letting shitty teams (Pittsburgh, Philly) into the playoffs, only 2 of the teams were under 10 wins. Pittsburgh and Philly.

Really a shame that Brandon Staley was stupid enough to call a timeout while the Raiders were happy to simply let the clock run out. Can’t believe they didn’t fire him as he went for in on his own 18 yard line on 4th and 1 in the 3rd quarter with a 3 point lead that quickly vanished.

If Eddie D was the boss, Staley would have been frog-marched off the field 2 minutes later. Justin Herbert is fun to watch and the Chargers are an old fave of mine. Pittsburgh? Fuck them. I’ll gladly watch the Chiefs annihilate them. Not that I like the Chiefs, but they win big, 38-17.

Raiders / Bengals? This one is a great one to kick off the WC weekend. This one can go in 150 different directions. Both teams look unbeatable one minute, and unwatchable the next. Carr has been Studly at times, and wild at times. Cincy and Burrow are all over the place as well. We should be thanking the Bengals for running in OT and kicking that FG. We were NOT stopping the pass that day, and we lucked out wildly. A toast to Zac Taylor. Raiders cover and win 34-30.

Pats Bills? Jac Mones looks to be overwhelmed as a rook in the playoffs. Belichick notwithstanding. The Bills can control the clock and the game and win going away 27-20.

Eagles Bucs looks to be another wipeout. Eagles shouldn’t be here. Seattle is better than them.
Bucs 31 – Eagles 13.

Us? Sunday is the day the Niners play a complete game and smash the Cowboys 28-17.

Rams Cards looks to be a close one, but I think the McVay hold over the Cards continues, but they don’t cover. Rams win 28-27.

I guess the Niners and Raiders qualify as the only upsets that I think happen this wild wooly weekend.

No need to go over the playoff history between these two franchises other than to say it has been all or nothing. win a bunch, lose a bunch. The 49ers are 2-5 in those playoff matchups, but one of course was the Catch, and the other was the culmination of the 2 previous losses in the 1992 and 1993 NFC Championship games.

I loved loved loved the 1994 game mainly because I went with my neighbor who had a friend at Fox Sports and got us 40 yard line seats in the pullouts about 30 rows up. Perfect. Plus I had a bota bag (remember those) full of Stoli, so we spent the game buying orange juice. 3 minutes in and we were up 21-0.

Got dicey near the end, and there was a blatant PI on ED that wasn’t called and Barry (hold my gun) Switzer got a 15 yard penalty for screaming at the refs, but the Niners prevailed 38-28. Good times.

Sunday? We need to keep up with the smashmouth football. Dallas has a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, especially rookie DE Micah Parsons. Unreal speed and strength for a hybrid LB/DE. 13 sacks is nothing to sneeze at.

That being said, the Dallas defense is strictly middle of the road. They don’t stop the run very well, they don;t stop the pass very well, but they do create a lot of turnovers. 34 takeaways, and +14 in take/giveaway is also tops in the league. Because of this they give up yards but not a lot of points. 7th in the league there.

So natch, the imperative here is to play a clean game. This is the scary part of the deal. Jimmy has 12 picks and 8 fumbles in 14.5 games. Worrisome as hell to me. Jimmy needs to be good Jimmy for the entire game for this to turn in our favor. Dallas has 20 giveaways themselves, so they can be sloppy as well.

With our defense getting just about everyone back, I like our chances. This game will be won in the trenches, and if we can come out at smash these guys at the line and establish our run game, the Cowboys will wilt under the onslaught.

I think a clean game gives us the win. Going with the same score as last week – 30-21 Niners.

Got to love Gary Plummer. One of many San Diego Chargers defensive players we stole and kicked ass with.

Madness, I tell you. This has been by far the weirdest season. This fairly reminds me of the 1988 season where the Niners stumbled midway through the season after losing horribly to the Vikings in the playoffs the previous year. There was turmoil in the building as Eddie D was on the rampage thinly veiling hints of a coaching change as the Niners were 6-5 and had lost an epically fucked up game to the LA Raiders 9-6. I was at that game, and it ended on a 4th and 1 reverse to Jerry Rice that lost 9 yards. The end of a cold, miserable, rainy day. To make things worse, the girl I went with ditched me in the 3rd quarter, and I had to catch a ride with a rando fan.

Here we are at 10-7. In the playoffs. In a season that saw very high expectations, the Niners lost 4 of 5 games to bring our record to 3-5. Jimmy G had missed a game already with a calf injury, and the Niners suffered their worst loss in recent memory, laying down like dead dogs to the injury-ravaged AZ Cards. Colt McCoy looked like Brett Favre and the Niners were folded, spindled, mutilated, crushed, demoralized, and defeated bady.

It was at this point I thought, well, this season is over. 3-5 and the Rams are coming to town to lay a whupping on us. Turns out the Ram game, like that Monday night game vs Redskins back in 1988, provided the springboard to propel the team into the playoffs. I have no idea what Kyle did, or what Lynch did, if anything, to get this team righted. But Deebo Samuel became a running threat, Brandon Aiyuk was released from the doghouse, and the team played better on both sides of the ball to go 6-2 down the stretch. Special teams? Wellllll, that’s a different concern.

Funnily enough I saw the Cards game as well. So, I saw the games that were the low point in the tale of those two seasons. Back in ’88 though I went to the Redskins game that saw John Taylor return two punts for over 90 yards as the 49ers killed Washington 37-20 iirc. Didn’t get to see this Rams game that helped turn this season around.

So, kudos for Kyle Shanahan for devising some new schemes, and getting his play calling in better order. The Deebo TD pass was pretty special and it completely fooled the Rams. Shanahan’s use of Deebo as a runner has also paid huge dividends even though it still scares the shit out of me to see him running between the tackles. Aiyuk and now Jauan Jennings, have really come on these last 8 weeks, and provided a huge lift to the offense. Elijah Mitchell has been outstanding as our lead runner. This team relishes contact and no one goes down after only one hit.

Kudos to DeMeco Ryans for finally understanding the need to blitz and to dial up pressure in obvious passing situations. The defense is finally getting to the point of being healthy and it couldn’t coma at a better time. I have dogged Ambry Thomas over the season, but I have also said he has improved dramatically these last few weeks. Leading to the game-winning pick last Sunday. Trial by fire indeed. The defense as a whole, and especially the defensive line, has really come

And lastly kudos to Jimmy G for pretty much staying his goofy-ass self. He hasn’t balked, a la Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers, about training his replacement. He has been even-keeled even through the horrible games, the injuries, the errant picks, and the stunning victories. Like it or not he has turned into a gunslinger who throws some baffling interceptions, but then turns around and leads a 90 yard drive with 1:25 left and no time outs to win the game.

Fitting that we face the Cowboys in this playoff game. Bring it on!