Forty Niners Forever

What a zany, unbelievable, absolutely impossible dream of a game (thanks, Bill). Jimmy G did his best Brett Favre impersonation by chucking ducks, darts, wobblers, and some really good ones as the Niners fought back from a seemingly insurmountable 17-0 lead late in the 1st half. Shanny even got into the act by breaking out a Deebo Samuel reverse pass to the resurgent Jauan Jennings for a 45 yard TD pass.

Got to say, for all the vitriol being hurled by me and millions of other Niner fans, Jimmy led a fairly insignificant FG drive at the end of the 1st half. The turning point to the whole game appeared to be the Rams, facing 3rd and 1 late in the 2nd quarter, went empty backfield, and Stafford took a sack. THe Niners then smartly drive down the field for a FG that at the least gave the team some confidence that they could move the ball.

At that point, ugly Jimmy couldn’t hit the side of a barn, threw a duck of a pick to no one within 15 yards, and the run game was going nowhere. But, Jimmy went 4-4 for 53 yards after the defense forced a punt after the pick, giving Robbie Gould a shot for points with a 42 yard field goal.

The 2nd half was just flat amazing. The Niners roared out of the half with a 7 play, 65 yards drive with Jimmy going 3-3 for 50 yards, capped off by a 19 yard run by MVP Swiss Army knife Deebo Samuel. After a quick 3-and-out, the Niners struck again with an 11 play 64 yard drive, 10 runs, and a reverse-pass from Deebo to Jennings.

Bad Jimmy reared his head as he threw a pass behind Kittle for a juggling pick by Jalen Ramsey for what would have been a FG to take the lead, but instead resulted in a 9 play, 92 yard Ram drive capped off by interminable pest Kooper Cupp. After a 3-and-out, the straits looked dire.

Good Jimmy saved the best for last as the Niners forced a 3-and-out of their own and Jimmy led the team on a 88 yard drive, with 1:27 left, completing 3 of 4 for 84 yards and the tying score to Jauan Jennings. Great day for him.

OT saw Fred Warner finally win an OT coin toss! Good Jimmy drive the team to the Rams 6 with a solid mix of running and passing. Shanny got a little conservative down by the goal line, but I get it what with the earlier pick. Gould kicked the FG and as we all know, Ambry Thomas sealed the deal with the pick by Stafford under a lot of pressure.

Great great team win. Everyone filled unexpected roles. Mitch (I’m gone) Wishnowski was speared on a punt return in the 2nd quarter and never came back. After some really shitty punts. So Juice was forced to be the holder. He did a bang-up job as Gould didn’t have a problem with the extra points or the field goals. Points that were vastly important. Deebo of course had the TD throw. Jennings had some huge catches to go with his 6/94/2 TD day. Samuel had 4/95 yards, and it would have been awesome if he had scored a receiving TD to go along with the TD pass and run. Aiyuk had the biggest day catching 6 for 107.

But the best was saved for last as Ambry Thomas, the rook CB who really had his trial by fire this year, came up with the play of the game. Picking off Matthew Stafford on an underthrown deep ball to ODB for the win. Thomas by game 14 was finally getting his head around on passes, and has been improving dramatically. The pass was underthrown because the D line was killing the Rams offensive line and pressured Stafford into 2 picks and 5 sacks. AA had his best game in a while, getting 2.5 sacks. DJ had one, and Bosa, Warner, and Key all had half-sacks. Moseley’s return saw him get a pick late in the 3rd quarter.

The first game 17 in NFL history, with the added playoff spot adds lots on intrigue as wel would be out without it, but color me disappointed. All signs point to Jiminy Cricket starting. Not happy about that. I thought Lance’s game showed enough progress to allow him the chance to play a meaningful game. But no, Kyle rides with the dead horse, Jimmy G.

And make no mistake, this decision has NOTHING to do with Kyle’s perception of how well Lance grasps the offense. This is strictly Shammy’s bullheadedness getting in the way. Oh well. The hope is after the teams trade 1st quarter pick 6’s, Kyle makes the change.

On the good news side, our defensive backfield is finally back to full health and PI magnets josh Norman and Dontae Johnson will not be starting. Even Ambry Thomas, the guy who is playing well lately is off the COVID list. Al-Saair and Greenlaw are also possibles to play. I hope they can go full speed because they are desperately needed to stop the bubble screens and short shit teams kill us with.

This game will depend on how well Elijah Mitchell can run, and how much pressure we get on Matt Stafford. Do both well, and we can win.

Still think Shanny keeps his spell over McVay. 30-21 Niners.

Well, ALL of our defensive backs, minus benched PI magnet Josh Norman, are on the COVID list. There’s hope that some or all, even including Emmanuel Moseley, could be ready. Not a great scenario where it comes to playing the Rams. Throw into the mix the fact that Jimmy G got through his first practice since the Tennessee game.

Oh joy.

So, the starting QB is up for debate, the secondary is quarantined, and we face elimination with a loss on Sunday. In other words, the Rams are ripe for the picking. For whatever reason, Kyle Shanahan has won the last 5 games against Sean McVay. I mean really, Nick Mullens beat the rams last year? I suppose that should give me hope, but I have no idea.

My thought is to keep Trey in as the starter. He provides more mobility, and progressed nicely last game. He an throw deeper passes, and gives us a better chance to win. Sure, it was only one game, but Lance needs to gain experience on the playing field, and playing a game with this kind of impact will go a long way toward Lance’s development. Jimmy?

We know what Jimmy brings. Wild inconsistency. Hurt Jimmy is rarely good Jimmy.

Teams we face next season

Home

Washington (6-10)
Seattle Seahawks (6-10)
Miami Dolphins (8-8)
New Orleans Saints (8-8)
Los Angeles Chargers (9-7)
Kansas City Chiefs (11-5)
Arizona Cardinals (11-5)
Los Angeles Rams (12-4)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12-4)

Away

Carolina Panthers (5-11)
Chicago Bears (6-10)
Seattle Seahawks (6-10)
Atlanta Falcons (7-9)
Denver Broncos (7-9)
Las Vegas Raiders (9-7)
Arizona Cardinals (11-5)
Los Angeles Rams (12-4)

The Rebel alliance has been damaged but not destroyed, as a young Padawan, Lance Skywalker is learning the force and battling to control his emotions as the Empire tries to smash the resistance and keep the Separatist 49ers out of the playoffs.

Is Shanahan Yoda? Is Lynch Obi Wan Kenobi? OK, fuck that, but hey it was a nice start. Here we are, one game in, and Lance did have his rookie moments. So did Shanahan though. I hated the read-option handoffs early, and luckily Shanny got right away from that. So he can adjust on the fly. And, for once in a great while, the team played better in the 2nd half.

Sure, Lance was indecisive on when to scramble some times, and didn’t go hard for a 1st down on a scramble, but these are situations that he will learn by getting reps. Going through his read is a different matter, but even early, on a play designed to go to Kittle on the left side, he rolled right out of the designed play, in the end zone no less, and found Aiyuk for a short 12 yard gain, but it got us out of the shadow of the goal line, and was a play that Jimmy G usually starts tap-dancing to nowhere and takes a sack.

And the throw to Samuel for the 45 yard TD was straight on the money and is one that Jimmy G relentlessly struggle with. And the lob to Mitchell for the first TD was easy, but again, Jimmy misses that throw a lot. So, yeah, I’d love to see more consistent play from Lance, but I’ve been saying that about Jimmy G for 4 years now.

So, I’ll give Lance the benefit of the doubt on the mis-read pick as he IS a rookie. Jimmy G still makes these mistakes 7 years into his Jedi training. May the Schwartz be with you.

Let’s hope we don’t play like Betty White..

A true original. RIP, Betty.

And Dan (Mr uptight) Reeves died as well. The guy who shackled John Elway and lost a couple Super Bowls.

Shamahan thinks he’s playing it coy by not announcing Lance as the starter? Please. If Jimmy goes out there, he’ll be handing it off every time. Come to think of it, if Lance is out there, he’ll be running it every time.

I don’t know where we are going or what we are doing, but this season is a travesty, and this coaching staff is not giving me any comfort that they know what the fuck they are doing. I just hope that if they trip over their dicks at the finish line and don’t make the playoffs, Shanny and Co get the old heave-ho.

I ain’t holding my breath, but this season brought all the issues with Shanahan to the forefront.

A sad day for football, and a sad day in general. Local boy John Madden passed away yesterday at the age of 85. A life well-spent is a life well lived, and Madden embodied that to a T. His family moved to Daly City when he was a youngster, and he played alongside John Robinson at the JC College of San Mateo. He then went to Cal Poly SLO where he starred as an offensive tackle.

Drafted by the Eagles, he suffered a knee injury in camp that ended his career before it started. While trying to rehab, he spent a lot of time watching film with Eagles QB Norm Van Brocklin as he explained what was going on. His knee never recovered, so he took an assistant coaching gig in Santa Maria, CA. From there he went to SD State as their defensive coordinator and coached under offensive guru Don (Air) Coryell, who put that program on the map as a top small college school.

Al Davis hird him as his LBB coach in 1967, and by 1969 ws named head coach when John Rauch bailed on Dirty Al and went to Buffalo. Amazingly, Manned never had a losing season as a head coach for his 10 year tenure. He missed the playoffs only twice in that span, and won the 1976 Super Bowl over the Minnesota Vikings (“Old man Willie!”) 32-14.

Growing up a 49er fans, it was pretty much carved in stone that you didn’t like the Raiders. That’s just how it was. And while I hated the organization, I did dig a lot of the players. Ted Hendricks, Dave Casper, Daryle Lamonica, Lyle Alzado, Kenny Stabler, Phil Villapiano, Fred Biletnikoff, and especially the mad scientist keeping all the mayhem under some semblance of control, John Madden.

Even before the Miller Lite ads made him much more famous than his coaching career ever did, and he became the voice of the NFL for 38 seasons, he was a larger-than-life personality that wore his heart on his sleeve, and was fiercely loyal to those who played and bled for him and those he was close to.

Madden was portrayed in ads as the guy next door who it would be great to watch a game and drink a beer with, and he WAS the everyman coach, the blue-collar guy who was connected to his players, treated them like men, and imposed little rules other than ‘show up and come to play your ass off.’ This came to the forefront in the way Bud Grant had so tightly wound up his players for their Super Bowl games, that they invariably failed. Much like Bill Walsh after him, the drive to be a great coach, and the effort it took to produce a championship football team took a huge toll on him physically and mentally. The day-to-day stress was too much, so after 10 years he hung it up.

The rest, as they say, was history. So, come Sunday morning, as we watch the kickoff for whatever game happens to be on, raise a toast to the man, the coach, the announcer, and the legend, John Madden.

Rest in Peace.

Well, I was bummed that the team wouldn’t make the switch after yet another deflating performance by Jimmy G, but he done and gone hurt his thumb somehow. Sources say John Lynch was seen walking out of the training room with a hammer in his hand that he quickly threw away, but it is not verifiable. The tweet did go out however.

So, here we go, ready or not. The Trey Lance era will begin. Jimmy G’s torn thumb ligament and bone chip will keep him out for the rest of his contract, so he leaves the team on a sour note. But we have not come here to praise Garoppolo, but to bury him. The team and its middling playoff hopes now are in the hands of Trey Lance.

A playoff scenario that as of now we are not in control of. We are still a decent shot to get in, but should the Niners, the Eagles, and the Saints all win out and go 10-7, we somehow lose the tiebreaker despite our win over the Eagles. If the Saints lose, I think we have a much bigger shot to get in.

But hey, before I found out Jimmy got hurt, I wondered what would happen if we made the switch anyway. Jimmy obviously wasn’t consistent enough to take us far in the playoffs, and the thought was just make the switch, playoffs be damned. Let Lance take the wheel and drive.

So here we are. Let the fun begin. I just hope Shanny doesn’t get Lance killed by playing him wrong.

All I want for Christmas is a new quarterback. Not gonna get my wish tho. Funny thing is, we didn’t lose our spot, and we have the tiebreaker over the Iggles and Vikings, so we would really have to tank to miss the playoffs. Meaning 9-8 prolly gets us in. After that, who knows?

So, have a Merry Christmas folks, enjoy your loved ones and enjoy the football weekend.

Man, only 3 games left of this crazy season. And as this is likely one of Jimmy G’s last starts in a 49er uni, it is fitting to look at his last Tennessee game. The one where he led two late scoring drives to beat an actual good team fighting for their playoff lives in the Tennessee Titans back in 2017. It was the impetus to sign him to a big deal as he won 2 games before that one, and 2 games after go to 5-0 that season.

Those 4 years have been rough on Jimmy, with the knee injury, and late collapse in the Super Bowl, and the high ankle sprain last season. Which has led to the Trey Lance era next year.

But hey, let’s revel in Jimmy’s resurgence, hope it continues, and raise a glass for Steve (Skeebers) Beigel one last time. RIP, my friend.