tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26589965186605882122024-03-12T21:45:01.477-07:00NINER BOOGIEMalbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-15870971032193438552024-02-01T09:06:00.000-08:002024-02-01T10:26:15.217-08:00NFC Championship Game<p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">49ers 34, Detroit 31</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">There haven't been a whole lot of big 49er comebacks in their storied playoff history. Usually, and especially of late, they get ahead and stay there, or they win a pitched battle from start to finish. Yes, they overcame a 17-0 first-quarter lead to beat the Falcons in Atlanta in the 2012 NFC Championship, but that comeback began in the second quarter and by halftime it was a game again. No, this back-from-the-dead 27-point second-half eruption is truly unprecedented. The only other 49er playoff game it truly resembles is the 1957 NFL Western Conference playoff, in which the Niners memorably blew a 24-7 halftime lead and lost, 31-27... to the Detroit Lions. What goes around, comes around, even after 66 years. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Whew! Well, it was both exhilarating and a great relief. Seeing this team "roar back" with 17 quick third-quarter points to tie a game that seemed all but lost, then take full control of game and clock in a punishing fourth quarter that ended in delirious celebration, is tempered by the memory of those first 30 minutes, when the Lions pushed the 49ers around all over the field with their breakaway running game and a run-stuffing defense, enough so that at halftime it seemed almost a blessing that it was "only" 24-7. But after all, it is how you finish, not how you start, that matters.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">And so the San Francisco 49ers head off to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, their eighth 'Bowl, with a chance to tie New England and Pittsburgh with a record sixth Lombardi. They got there by keeping their poise against a tough young team that beat them up early, and if there's a reigning champion of poise, it is quarterback Brock Purdy. Yes, "Mister Irrelevant" has led his team to the Super Bowl, overcoming the skeptics, his own mistakes, and two tough defenses, not to mention two first-round QBs including a Number One pick. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The play that turned this game around came at 5:17 of the third quarter with the Lions leading 24-17. Jahmyr Gibbs, the rookie from Alabama who had already scored one touchdown and set up another with his elusive running, fumbled the handoff from Jared Goff. Arik Armstead recovered the loose ball at the Detroit 24, and the game belonged to the 49ers from that point on. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">A minute later, on second-and 11, Purdy scrambled away from the pressing defense, then ducked, dodged, and dived his way 21 yards down the field to the Lion 4. Two plays later Christian McCaffrey was in the end zone with his second touchdown, and despite the 24-24 score it was clear who was in charge of this game. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The defense immediately responded, holding Detroit to its first three-and-out, and Purdy then led a 7-minute drive down to the Lions 13, already well into the fourth quarter. Detroit's only two sacks of the game stopped the drive and Jake Moody atoned for an earlier missed kick by nailing a 33-yarder for San Francisco's first lead.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Much has been made of Lions coach Dan Campbell's aggressive go-for-it strategy, and how two second-half fourth-down attempts, both in 49er territory, failed and ultimately resulted in 49er touchdowns. But that is a big part of what got the Lions to this game in the first place, and Campbell can hardly be faulted for staying with it.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Having reached the 49er 30 halfway through the final period, Goff, who had a fine game himself, was forced to run for his life and throw the ball away on fourth down thanks to relentless pressure from Nick Bosa and Chase Young. Turnover on downs. The Lions chose to die on that hill, and they did. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Taking over on their own 30, the 49ers put the game away with two big, spectacular runs. First it was Purdy, another 21-yard dash through the open middle of the field on third-and-4. Then McCaffrey barreled his way down the right sideline to the three-yard-line, shedding defenders as he went and finally landing hard on his head out of bounds. He retired for the day, and in came Elijah Mitchell. He promptly scored the touchdown that made it 34-24 with three minutes to play, and Detroit was left with a long and costly 75-yard drive, Goff completing seven straight short passes at one point. Costly, because Campbell made his one genuine blunder by calling a run at the 49er 3 that was stuffed and cost his team a precious timeout with 56 seconds left. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Detroit scored, on Goff's first touchdown pass of the day, but the Lions never got the ball back. Purdy, taking the final kneeldown, leaped for joy as the clock ran out, holding on to the game ball as the exhausted but exhilarated crowd gave him a standing ovation. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Bright moment: Brandon Aiyuk's spectacular 51-yard "ladybug catch" at the Detroit six-yard line. A perfectly-thrown and -led deep pass from Purdy looked to be intended for defender Kildon Vidor, primarily because he had interfered with Aiyuk at the 20. As the penalty flag flew, Vidor leaped for and tipped the ball, which ricocheted off his facemask as he fell. Aiyuk, following, managed to keep his balance and to catch the ball, and was barely touched before he tumbled to the turf, then bounced up and into the end zone. For the first time in memory, the officials didn't even bother to consider whether the interference call would be refused-- they just announced that they'd picked up the flag. Two plays later Aiyuk got his touchdown catch on a perfect Purdy pass. After the game he credited his success, and the circus-style play, to a good-luck ladybug he'd spotted crawling on his shoe. This young man has a future in the entertainment business. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The stat line shows this game was about as even as it could be, with similar totals in first downs, passing yards, rushing yards, sacks, turnovers, and third down conversions. There were only five total penalties, none of them significant (thankfully, Aiyuk's catch saw to that). Looking closely, we're reminded that <i>when</i> turnovers happen is just as significant as <i>whether</i> they happen. And looking closer, we're reminded of Bill Walsh's adage that a successful running game in the fourth quarter is key to winning in the NFL. Fourth-quarter rushing yards: San Francisco 76, Detroit 14. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">And, of course, waiting on the other side of the ball in Vegas will be the Kansas City Chiefs, who thoroughly outplayed the snakebit Baltimore Ravens for the AFC title. Yes, it's a rematch, Kyle Shanahan's team against Andy Reid's, and given the way this postseason has gone for the 49ers so far, it's likely to be a thriller. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;">NFC divisional playoff</span> </b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>49ers 24, Green Bay 21</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Few, we trust, were surprised with the way Brock Purdy kept his composure, picked up his team, and "game-managed" a brilliant second-half comeback Sunday. Those who were evidently were absent the previous Saturday when he led the first fourth-quarter last-minute do-or-die comeback of his young career. Struggling with his accuracy, and with the Green Bay Packers' surprising defense, and with a steady winter rain, and without Deebo Samuel, who left early with a bad shoulder, Purdy had endured a desultory first half and his team was in the game only because of its stout defense.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Trailing 21-17 with just over six minutes to play, facing another hungry young team on a roll through the playoffs, Purdy took over the game. He calmly and confidently completed six of seven passes as the 49ers marched 70 yards in five and a half minutes to the winning touchdown. The play of the game was Purdy's heads-up nine-yard scramble down to the Packers 6 on second-and-11 with barely a minute left. The play seemed to take forever-- in point of fact it ate up 44 precious seconds-- as Purdy weaved left, then right, looking for receivers, then broke out of the backfield into the open and angled down toward the left pylon, staying in bounds after he was hit. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">McCaffrey scored on the next play and Green Bay's last-minute comeback attempt was snuffed out by Dre Greenlaw's interception of Jordan Love who, like Purdy, is completing his first full year as a NFL starting quarterback and looking good at it. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It's startling to realize that Green Bay, with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, was the NFC's top playoff seed just two years ago. This is a completely different and much younger Packer team, and they're back in the hunt after missing the playoffs for just one season.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Another reason for the 49ers to spend it all now-- the competition is closing in. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-11435269451000370002024-01-11T11:21:00.000-08:002024-01-11T11:37:43.701-08:00Week Eighteen<p> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Los Angeles 21, San Francisco 20</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Forty-one years ago almost to the day, the 1982 49ers' season ended with a 21-20 loss at home to the Los Angeles Rams, a game decided by a blocked extra point.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps Jake Moody, who missed the extra point that decided the game Sunday, and also missed a field goal, can take solace that Ray Wersching, the 49er kicker back in '82, played on two Super Bowl champions.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">So the Rams, who finished the season 7-1, earned a 10-win campaign and a date at Detroit, not Dallas, this coming weekend. The Goffs and the Staffords face off at 8:20 PM on Sunday night.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">They were pretty good with Carson Wentz at quarterback, a little better than were the 49ers with Sam Darnold. Both gave creditable auditions for "bridge QB" jobs next year in places like Washington, Las Vegas, New England, and possibly Denver. Wentz led the Rams from a 20-7 deficit to a fourth-quarter rally and win. Darnold made two good passes downfield trying to upstage him in the final seconds and give Moody a shot at redemption, but the game ended on a sack and fumble. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Of the 49ers' four possible playoff opponents next weekend, Philadelphia seems the most likely; we expect the Igs to snap out of their tailspin and beat Tampa on Monday night. Next likely would be the Rams, who we figure are even-steven in Detroit. The Bucs are a little less likely, and we give Green Bay no chance at Dallas. It's rather impressive the Packers made it at all.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Who would have considered the two winningest coaches in America, Nick Saban and Bill Belichick, both would step down (or be ushered down) within the same week? No less than eight NFL teams will be looking for new coaches, and among the fired we believe Mike Vrabel and Ron Rivera likeliest to find quick employment. Of the available jobs, Atlanta and the LA Chargers seem to offer the best chance for a quick turnaround, though the respective owners of those teams are a mile apart in reputation. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">And we trust everyone else is as appalled as we are that the NFL has decided, for the first time, to charge money to watch a single NFL game-- the playoff between Miami and Kansas City on Saturday night, available only on NBC's "Peacock" subscription streaming channel. At least they're obliged to carry the game over the air in the Miami and KC markets, for the hometown fans. The rest of us can apparently either pay up or suck eggs. We'll have ours Benedict with plenty of Tabasco. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-5564439461339653452024-01-04T07:34:00.000-08:002024-01-04T07:35:42.787-08:00Week Seventeen<p> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>49ers 27, Washington 10</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">No turnovers. A dominant fourth quarter. 184 rushing yards, most of them after halftime. 38 minutes of possession. 408 total yards against 225. In other words, pretty much what we expected the 49ers to do against a tough but undermanned opponent. And the purpose of the whole thing was quietly achieved: San Francisco clinched the top seed, home-field advantage, and the first-round bye for the first time since 2019, when they went to the Super Bowl and almost won it.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Leading only 13-10, the 49er defense opened the third quarter with three-and-out, followed by the offense launching a seven-minute touchdown drive that ended with Elijah Mitchell, not Christian McCaffrey, scoring the touchdown. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The last play of the third quarter decided the game. Charvarius (doesn't that sound like a Pokemon character?) Ward made a perfect break to intercept Sam Howell's pass at the 49er goal line, and the Commanders would not threaten again. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">You will never see a quarterback execute a play better than Brock Purdy did on his escape, rollout, improv, field direction, and deep touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk with 9:30 remaining. It capped a 95-yard (105 counting a needless holding penalty) drive after Ward's pickoff. Mitchell gained 28 of those yards as the team's lone running back after our MVP candidate was idled for the duration with a strained calf. It was 27-10, Purdy had 224 passing yards at that point, and the Niners went run, run, run the rest of the way-- 36 total carries on the day, averaging five yards a pop. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Now comes an essentially meaningless last-game showdown with the Rams, who also clinched a playoff spot Sunday, as we predicted they would in preseason. An LA win over the 49ers would ensure them the sixth seed and a date against the Lions in Detroit-- Matthew Stafford against Jared Goff. You know you want to see that one.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">As for the 49ers, two full weeks of R&R for many, likely including Trent Williams as well as McCaffrey. The first playoff game at Levi Stadium will be played on January 20 or 21. Don't that sound nice? </span></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-3522056653388551592023-12-27T10:40:00.000-08:002023-12-27T10:45:06.354-08:00Week Sixteen<p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Baltimore 33, 49ers 19</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Some takeaways from a good old-fashioned beating:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">The 49ers' ability to come from behind late in the game is still unproven. They've not done it once since last year's overtime win in Las Vegas. While it's true the Niners' preference and tendency is to jump ahead early and put the screws to the opponent, this remains a troubling issue with the postseason just ahead.</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">With that in mind, does anyone else think the game really turned for the worse with only three minutes gone? Brock Purdy had led the 49ers right down the field, hitting medium and deep passes almost at will against a fine defense, only to see what should have been a touchdown pass picked off in the end zone. Had the 49ers scored there, does anyone think they'd have lost at all, or not by more than 3 in any case? His other interceptions were due to batted and tipped balls, but this one rests solely on our young QB, who made the throw a half-second too late on the game's signature play.</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">Despite three first-half interceptions, it was still only 16-12 at halftime, anybody's ballgame. Then came the worst stretch of 49er football we've seen since 2020, 17 points in six minutes as the Ravens took complete control and never let go. The final 20 minutes were cringe-worthy as offensive linemen, including the linchpin Trent Williams, limped off the field and Purdy looked genuinely flustered, later taking a scary hit that gave coach Shanahan the excuse he needed to sit him down for the duration. </span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span>And don't overlook this: despite getting thoroughly pounded on the board, San Francisco outgained Baltimore in rushing (121-102), passing (308-241), total yards (429-343), and yards per play (6.3 to 5.4). The difference in the game was five interceptions. </span><span>By that measure, Baltimore was clearly the better team, but much of it was because the 49ers beat themselves.</span></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">The AFC is clearly the superior conference, with a ten-game advantage over the NFC in interconference play. (The 49ers are 2-3 against the other conference, 9-1 in the NFC.)</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">Sam Darnold can play quarterback in this league. Nice to know, even if it was the last thing we wanted to find out from this game. </span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">The road to the NFC top seed is wide open as long as five turnovers don't remain on the menu. </span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-90529831934978588182023-12-19T08:52:00.000-08:002023-12-19T11:26:54.913-08:00Week Fifteen<p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">49ers 45, Arizona 29</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span>W</span><span>ith half a dozen defensive regulars sitting out Sunday's game at Arizona due to various injuries, it was incumbent on the 49er offense to score often to avoid an avoidable upset by Kyler Murray and his merry band of Cardinals. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">And the 49er defense indeed looked, well, thin, and out of sorts, as Murray and his mates took the opening kickoff and marched 70 yards for a touchdown, Murray carrying much of the load and </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span>James Conner</span><span> </span><span> scoring the points. </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">But as they would throughout the game, the 49er offense answered back quickly. Brock Purdy, starting off a four-touchdown, zero-interception day with a 75-yard drive, generated 30 yards through the air and Christian McCaffrey accounted for the other 45. This is sounding very familiar, isn't it?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The defense, perhaps atoning for bad form earlier, then put up a spectacular score on Charvarius Ward's 66-yard return of an interception to complete the first quarter. The second period was a bit of a slog, each team punting once, the Cardinals scoring twice on field goals, and the 49ers reasserting control late in the quarter with a time-consuming drive to a McCaffrey touchdown and a 21-13 lead.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The 49ers scored their fourth TD to open the third quarter, and it slowly got out of hand in the second half as the 49ers rolled up and down the field, building leads of 35-16 and 45-22, and McCaffrey scored his 19th and 20th touchdowns of the season. The defense intercepted Murray twice more and sacked him three times, but consider this: the Cardinals put up 234 rushing yards, and 436 total yards, in a losing effort. That is not a number we want to see heading into the season's third Ultimate Showdown-- Christmas night at home against Baltimore, the only other 11-3 team in the league.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">As well as officially clinching the division, the 49ers' Week 15 aftermath was bolstered by the Buffalo Bills' demolition of the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday and by last night's last-minute upset of the Philadelphia Eagles by our old friends, the Seattle Seahawks, who stubbornly remain in the playoff hunt. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">San Francisco now has a one-game lead and holds all the tiebreakers, but for all the giddy talk about a Super Bowl preview and rematch, it still comes down to winning each game. And that means we need the return of the great 49er defense, if we expect to see a scarlet-and-gold Christmas. </span></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-49857875630248488412023-12-12T07:22:00.000-08:002023-12-12T07:23:12.764-08:00Week Fourteen<p> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>49ers 28, Seattle 16</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The official word this morning is that the 49ers are the first NFL team to clinch a playoff spot in 2023. Realistically, Sunday's solid win over the Seahawks essentially clinched the NFC West division title, too. The Los Angeles Rams, with a 4-1 division record, could theoretically win out and finish 10-7, and if the Niners were to collapse, lose the season finale at home to LA, and also finish 10-7, the Rams would win the division. Compute those odds if you've time to waste.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">San Francisco also leads the NFL in point differential-- whoops, no they don't. That leader would be Dallas, who became the second straight team to hammer the defending NFC champion Eagles Sunday night. To get that lead, the 'Pokes had to overcome their own minus-32-point differential against the 49ers. Congratulations are in order, if you've time to waste.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Brock Purdy showed off the strong arm and the deep ball Sunday, with an absolutely perfect 54-yard strike to Deebo Samuel, who caught it in stride-- he strides very fast indeed-- and continued on for the touchdown. Purdy added deep downfield completions of 30 and 45 yards to Brandon Aiyuk, and an old-fashioned 44-yard post pattern to George Kittle for the score that made it 28-10 and essentially decided the game. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The tally: 150 yards for Deebo, 153 for Christian McCaffrey (including a 72-yard burst on the game's first play), and 126 for Aiyuk. That's 527 total yards, 354 passing, 173 rushing, a 54% third-down efficiency, and you may be wondering, then, why only 28 points? A fair question. Only one turnover (an interception that served as a punt), three sacks, and five punts. One of those punts was preceded by punter Mitch Wishnowsky's 30-yard run off a beautiful fake, but a chop-block penalty nullified it. And, on defense, four more sacks and two more interceptions, and the tendency to shut the opponent down in the second half after a lethargic start.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">So is it that the 49ers are so good that they win going away even when they miss numerous scoring chances against a porous defense? Was it simply a letdown after the monumental Philadelphia game, meaning they're good enough to win regardless? Or does that failure to capitalize on those opportunities mask a real weakness that also explains the midseason losses which seem so long ago?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The next game, at Arizona, may reveal whether those are legitimate concerns or just needless worry. Classic trap game and all, facing a 3-10 club on their home field, a week before the AFC's best team, Baltimore, comes a-callin'. </span></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-72256201038252822832023-12-07T08:02:00.000-08:002023-12-07T08:04:13.475-08:00Week Thirteen<p> </p><h1><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: large;">49ers 42, Philadelphia 19</span></h1><div><i style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">“The precision-jackhammer attack of the San Francisco 49ers stomped the balls off the Philadelphia Eagles today by stomping and hammering with one precise jack-thrust after another up the middle, mixed with pinpoint precision passes into the flat and numerous hammer-jack stomps around both ends…”</span></i></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Just kidding. Even the late Hunter S. Thompson would have had no problem understanding that Sunday's demolition of the Philadelphia Eagles followed a far different script. But the outcome was similar. The 49ers imposed their will on a powerful opponent on its home field, and there was nothing the Eagles could do about it.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some observations:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Once again we showed our complete ignorance of how football games are won, as the 49ers not only didn't "get off first," they didn't "get off" at all in the first quarter, unless one means "get off the field." For 15 minutes Lincoln Financial Field looked like it might indeed be Brock Purdy's personal kryptonite. He was perfectly healthy this time, but you wouldn't have known it by the stat sheet: zero pass completions, zero first downs, minus-six yards. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yet the score at the end of the quarter was only 6-0. Despite Jalen Hurts leading his offense up and down the field, the 49er defense was magnificent in the red zone, and Philly only got two field goals for all that domination. Aware that the rest of the game belonged to the 49er offense, let's stop here and give that defense its due for keeping the game close when it easily could have gotten away.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">You will never see a more perfectly-executed play than the one that sent Deebo Samuel on his way to his third touchdown. The replay shows a veritable wall of white jerseys to the left, sweeping back the green suits like a series of bulldozers clearing the rainforest. Deebo angles to the right, and he's got an open field all the way to the end zone. The chalkboard X's and O's came to life right there. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Kyle Shanahan's lingering reputation for "freezing" in the critical moments of a game took a beating Sunday. He continually surprised a good Philadelphia defense with sudden unexpected formations and plays when it was still a contest in the third quarter. The play that broke it open-- Samuel's second TD-- had every defender out of position and grasping at jerseys. Utter futility. And check Deebo's incredible power/speed burst as he saw the open goal just ahead of him. A man that size accelerating that fast? Almost seems unfair, doesn't it?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">In this game, Jalen Hurts proved he is the MVP, and not just because Christian McCaffrey and Purdy might split the vote. The only reason the Eagles were even in this game over the last 35 minutes is because of Hurts-- his athleticism, his arm, his downfield vision, his toughness. In a bizarre twist on last year's NFC championship, it was Hurts leaving the field with an injury instead of Purdy. But he came back, and he kept battling to the end. Philadelphia has a good-- we can't say great-- offensive line, but the 49er defense shredded it all day and Hurts had to bail out on almost every single pass play. He held the ball forever since most of the time no one was open downfield, but tenaciously avoided all but three sacks which could have been a dozen. With no running game, except for Hurts' own scrambles, the whole Eagles' offense was he and the fine receiver A.J. Brown. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">We love Brock Purdy, but he is backed by a tremendous defense and game-changing players like Samuel, McCaffrey, George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk. Jalen Hurts is the sole difference-maker for the Philadelphia Eagles. With him, they're a Super Bowl contender; without him, they're just another 6-6 team trying to make the playoffs. He's got our MVP vote.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The 49ers can clinch the division this Sunday with a win over the Seattle Seahawks, and they own the tie-breaker with Dallas and Philadelphia, who square off this weekend. After four straight wins, the postseason picture looks a little brighter in Santa Clara. </span></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-37852935065504971462023-12-01T06:32:00.000-08:002023-12-01T06:32:45.213-08:00Week Twelve<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: large;">49ers 31, Seattle 13</span></h1><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Well, we know now how Brock Purdy reacts when disaster strikes: he shrugs it off, gets back to work, and leads a 64-yard fourth-quarter drive to the clinching touchdown. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">After the 49er defense had sacked Geno Smith for the third time, early in the third quarter Sunday, Seattle had to punt trailing 24-3 and barely in the game, with almost no offense to show for it. But the Seahawks special teams downed the ball at the 49er 4-yard-line and Purdy tried to pass his way out of it. One, over the middle to Deebo Samuel, bounced off the receiver incomplete. The next, intended for Christian McCaffrey, bounced off the receiver and right into the arms of one Jordyn Brooks, who returned it for an easy touchdown. The grumpy, muttering crowd at Century Link Field erupted with its trademark ear-shattering howl, and it was a new ballgame. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Purdy immediately went back to the well and calmly completed two sharp passes, again right over the middle, before overthrowing George Kittle on third down. Seattle put together a six-and-a-half-minute drive-- a 34-yard Smith completion followed by ten plays that gained 43 yards and included the 49ers' fourth sack-- to a field goal and a two-score game with three minutes left in the third. The 49ers switched over to the running game, moving 30 yards but stopping short of field goal range when a crowd-aided false start killed a fourth-and-short opportunity.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Still 24-13 when Purdy got the ball back four minutes into the fourth quarter. He promptly did his "system quarterback" routine-- until he didn't. That means a short pass followed by four pounding straight-ahead runs runs through the defense, McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell alternating, and with three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust now established, Purdy dropped back and rifled a 28-yard laser shot to Brandon Aiyuk, who caught it in stride and literally rolled into the end zone. Control re-established and game over, though there were eight minutes left to play.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Now the 49ers head into the upcoming Ultimate Showdown at Philadelphia. Somewhat surprisingly, they are slight favorites; the defending NFC champions have shown both fortitude and remarkable good fortune in recent wins that saw them outplayed. For the 49ers to outplay the Eagles this Sunday, they need to get off first, as they did in Seattle, and they need to establish a power running game in the fourth quarter, ditto. That's presuming a close game, of course. And four more sacks will certainly help! </span></div>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-21279994354448222352023-11-20T06:58:00.000-08:002023-11-20T07:00:55.158-08:00Week Eleven<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">In even quicker succession:</span></h1><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>49ers 34, Jacksonville 3</b></span></h1><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>49ers 27, Tampa Bay 14</b></span></h1><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The bye week clearly was a tonic, or we can all say it was. These last two weeks have shown complete dominance by the 49ers, over one very good team and over one average team with a good defense. In both games Brock Purdy has been lights-out. The one scary pass he threw, early in the game against the Jaguars, was caught by Brandon Aiyuk for a touchdown instead of intercepted by any of the three defenders encircling him. With that out of the way, Purdy since has been a model of efficiency, with the occasional "wow" factor, such as the 76-yard bomb to Aiyuk yesterday that carried 60 yards in the air and still led the fast receiver as he caught it in stride. Purdy posted a perfect passer rating in yesterday's game. And though the Bucs' aggressive defense sacked him four times, he also carried the ball for a 13-yard run to a first down late in the fourth quarter that effectively ended the game.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The 49er defense turned one of the league's finest young quarterbacks, Trevor Lawrence, into a pumpkin last week, with five sacks and two interceptions. Tampa's Baker Mayfield fared a little better yesterday, though he was sacked four times and threw a critical fourth-quarter interception into the end zone. That's all credit to Mayfield, who had no running game to depend on. He spread the ball around to nine different receivers and was able to sustain drives. But again and again the Bucs failed to score as the defense came through when needed.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Bad news: Talanoa Hufanga may have torn his ACL, which means he'd be out for the season. Ji'Ayir Brown, who stepped into the breach after the injury, led the team with three passes broken up, and it was he who picked off Mayfield in the end zone to thwart Tampa's last threat. He'll need to do more of this if he's to be the starter going forward.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Good news: Everyone else looks to be healthy and in peak condition. And, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Seattle Seahawks yesterday, rallying for 10 late points. This leaves the 49ers alone in first place in the NFC West, with the upcoming Thanksgiving night game at Seattle looming large. </span></p><p><br /></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-73635379630021264162023-11-02T12:15:00.002-07:002023-11-02T12:16:05.496-07:00Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind<p><span style="font-size: large;">In quick succession:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cleveland 19, 49ers 17</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Minnesota 22, 49ers 17</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cincinnati 31, 49ers 17</b></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Well, it's a long way from undefeated and sittin' on top of the world, isn't it? Over the past three weeks, the 49er defense has been shredded on the ground, Brock Purdy has thrown more interceptions than touchdown passes, Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams have been absent from the field, and "What's wrong with the 49ers?" has become a healthy discussion topic on the sports shows and networks. Old suspicions about Kyle Shanahan's ability to make in-game adjustments and to trust his quarterback in "crunch time" have resurfaced. Purdy's ability-- not his execution, his <i>ability</i>-- to lead the team from behind late in the game has been questioned, and open concerns about his "ceiling" having been prematurely reached are now prime currency among the worriers. Seattle is in first place in the division and over the past month they've looked like they belong there. Still ahead are two games against that outfit, plus road games in Philadelphia and Jacksonville, and a home game against Baltimore, who may be the best team in the AFC. You can look at the nine remaining games and reasonably posit a 9-8 finish and no guarantee of even making the playoffs. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">All in all, it appears the bye week arrived just in time. True to form, John Lynch went right out and got the best player available through trade, Chase Young from Washington. Despite the presence of Nick Bosa and Justin Hargrave, the 49er pass rush has been more heard-about than heard-from this year, and no one seems to know why. Young brings great and proven ability to the defensive line, and this team is, at least ostensibly, built around that dominating line-- when it dominates, that is. It's not just a lack of pass pressure, it's been the alarming tendency of opponents to run right through it and on into the secondary at critical times. Cincinnati converted so many third downs last Sunday we actually had to look at the stat sheet to see if they hadn't made them all. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Statistically, the 49ers still look pretty good; near the league lead in most positive categories, not too far negative in any. Sweeping through the first five games of the season will do that, of course; and it's also worth a reminder that no matter how excruciating it was to watch this team agonizing through the last three losses, they still had every opportunity to win the Minnesota game and really should have won the Cleveland game, undone only by rookie kicker Jake Moody's misfire. If a team is, as Bill Parcells, used to say, about as good as its record, the 49ers are still a winning team. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It's a sense of balance that's missing; this team is built to win by doing everything well in general without relying on anything exceptional in particular. To hear Shanahan and Lynch describe it, no more than a few adjustments here and there, some impact players returning to the field, and a big old dose of common sense are all that's needed. This league is wildly unpredictable from week to week and there are a lot of weeks to cover, and continuity has a tendency to be a sometime thing. The 49ers win when it isn't. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><br /></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-50925898682015138022023-10-11T09:34:00.002-07:002023-10-11T10:11:35.758-07:00Week Five<p><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <b>49ers 42, Dallas 10</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Still undefeated, that's one thing. But to deliver an absolute skunking to a team widely considered a genuine rival and Super Bowl contender-- well, that's another. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pardon us, but what part of the 49er machine <i>didn't</i> function at optimal level on Sunday night? The secondary? Two interceptions, and from Dallas' fine stable of receivers, only one touchdown catch. The linebackers? Fred Warner was the player of the game, with a highlight-film interception, and seemed to be everywhere at once, while Dre Greenlaw made hit after crushing hit throughout the game. Defensive line? Four sacks, and a grand total of 57 rushing yards for Dallas. Offensive line? <i>One</i> sack, 170 rushing yards. Run game? Mr Touchdown, also known as Christian McCaffrey, had his obligatory one, to go with 78 total yards. Rookie Jordan Mason, the backup's backup, had 70 yards, including a TD, and averaged nearly 7 yards a carry. Kyle Jusczyk, the throwback fullback, caught all 4 passes thrown his way and he scored a touchdown, too. Neither Brandon Aiyuk nor Deebo Samuel joined in the scoring fun, but together they put up 170 more yards. And, of course, George Kittle. .The Irrepressible One scored three times, each one a celebration in his inimitable style. Finally we have Brock Purdy: 252 yards, four touchdowns, and a perfect-touch, on-the-run, downfield scoring pass to Kittle for the game's first points. It set the tone for the rampage to follow. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Don't expect it will always be this easy, but savor it nonetheless. Now comes Cleveland, in their house, with another good defense claiming to be the NFL's best. They're good, all right, but people, we saw the best on display Sunday night.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There were six interconference games this weekend, and the AFC rebounded with four wins. The Miami Dolphins, led by their defense for a change, rolled over the New York Giants while Joe Burrow regained his form as the Cincinnati Bengals outlasted Josh Dobbs and the Cardinals, who have made a habit of fading late in games. The defending champion Chiefs defeated Minnesota, and the Raiders defeated the Packers, who for the first tine in over two decades look like just another team. On the other side, the Saints hammered the New England Patriots, who are looking worse than "just another team," and the scrappy Atlanta Falcons managed to defeat the Tennessee Titans. The conferences are now even-steven.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Most divisions are settling around .500, but once again the NFC West is looking strong at 11-8. The Los Angeles Rams are better than anyone thought they would be. They gave the Eagles a fine battle for three quarters Sunday, and if the Cardinals can learn to keep away from late-game mistakes, this division could seriously unbalance the NFC playoff picture. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Trivia question: When was the last season neither the New England Patriots nor the Green Bay Packers made the playoffs?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-18440301273174923332023-10-03T06:53:00.000-07:002023-10-03T06:53:51.853-07:00<p> <b style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Week Four</span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">49ers 35, Cardinals 16</span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The conventional NFL wisdom that claims running backs are replaceable and interchangeable evidently hasn't taken Christian McCaffrey into account. Jumping headfirst into the early-season MVP sweepstakes, McCaffrey scored four touchdowns Sunday, gained 106 yards on the ground and another 71 through the air, and generally made things impossible for a Cardinals team that played well and kept it close for most of the game. </span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For his part, Brock Purdy could hardly have been better, completing 20 of 21 passes for 281 yards as he won his eighth straight regular-season start. And for those skeptics who don't believe he's got the arm, check out the highlight reel at 7:35 of the second quarter. You'll see a laser shot downfield, 50 yards in the air, that was not only completed to Brandon Aiyuk but actually <i>led</i> the speedy receiver, who had to reach out ahead to haul it in on the run. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And all this is made possible by a 49er offensive line that looks much improved from a year ago. Arizona's only real defensive strength is their pass rush, but they just couldn't get to Purdy even when they knew he had to throw. And as for run blocking-- well, watch McCaffrey's four TDs and a couple of his big runs. The man has a nose for the end zone and the open lane, but check out those downfield blocks.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was a clean game, no turnovers, no controversial calls, no ugly personal fouls. The Cardinal offense, led by Tennessee alumnus Josh Dobbs, played well against the 49er defense, held the ball for half the game, and gained nearly as many yards. Dobbs, whom some thought was a give-up choice at QB when Kyler Murray was ruled out, is playing better each week. We wish him well and hope he'll do Big Orange proud. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now comes the first showdown of the season-- those beloved Dallas Cowboys, Sunday night at Levi. Purdy, McCaffrey, Deebo, Kittle, Jusczyk and company facing mighty Micah Parsons and his crew. Dak Prescott trying to make up for two bad playoff performances against a defense that has been his Kryptonite so far. Ought to be a good one.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWf5gX-qCcurHXojmXmheByipNF7w5Uid-L_u0Ztr1YfqYC3LqkiadWAjgBCu5BVCF4edAeUcQfJD2zRlaBd7x1Qq_KsISEE6GUkx_UYuI7pT9TNngjh1zRPOISPXlwbkIUkP1G0o3xPnr3sIJ7jvMmcM_DIhvenOPDoiSrT4DBY1xZ8qaevo9QrMHtDr5/s2560/Russ%20Francis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2560" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWf5gX-qCcurHXojmXmheByipNF7w5Uid-L_u0Ztr1YfqYC3LqkiadWAjgBCu5BVCF4edAeUcQfJD2zRlaBd7x1Qq_KsISEE6GUkx_UYuI7pT9TNngjh1zRPOISPXlwbkIUkP1G0o3xPnr3sIJ7jvMmcM_DIhvenOPDoiSrT4DBY1xZ8qaevo9QrMHtDr5/w400-h225/Russ%20Francis.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">RIP to Russ Francis, the maverick tight end who loved to fly. We remember when he "buzzed" the old 49er training camp in Redwood City, infuriating Bill Walsh. But come Sunday, there he was, blocking like a Pro Bowl tackle and grabbing passes over the middle and rumbling downfield. He was one of a kind, he helped the 49ers win a championship, and while he may have left us doing what he loved best, he's still gone too soon. Blessings to his family.. </span></div>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-10312157750487071222023-09-28T08:59:00.003-07:002023-09-28T09:00:05.987-07:00<p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Week Three</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">49ers 30, Giants 12</span></b></p><p>It was the home opener, and the better team won. Watching the two quarterbacks, it's clear that Daniel Jones is a real talent, and there's just no way to tell how good he might be if he had a good, consistent offensive line in front of him. Not having Saquon Barkley also had to hurt. As for Brock Purdy, it's clear he is absolutely imperturbable and doesn't let mistakes bother him. Not having Brandon Aiyuk had to hurt, especially in the first half, when Purdy missed several downfield throws. But he adjusted, getting the ball to George Kittle and Deebo Samuel in the second half, and both showed their "beast mode" moves as the 49ers put the game away with their trademark physicality.</p><p>Now comes another home game, against the Cardinals, who until last week were widely considered one of the league's weakest teams. This has all the earmarks of a "trap" game, as Arizona is coming off an almost embarrassingly dominant win over previously-unbeaten Dallas and now faces another undefeated team rated among the NFL's best. With those same Cowboys lurking in a prime-time showdown a week from Sunday, this one could be cause for a little worry-- among us fans, that is. We doubt the team will worry half as much, or overlook this one.</p><p>In the interconference battles, the AFC won all four last week (Bengals over the Rams, Bills crushing Washington, the Chargers' last-minute win over the snakebit Minnesota Vikings, and KC pounding woeful Chicago). ). The NFC now holds a two-game advantage after three weeks. </p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-59410946270364982872023-09-18T12:54:00.002-07:002023-09-18T12:54:45.681-07:00<p> <b><span style="font-size: large;">Week Two</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">49ers 30, LA Rams 23</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The 49ers are still undefeated in the regular season when Brock Purdy is their starting quarterback. That's going to come to an end eventually, and the Rams gave their best effort to make it happen yesterday, but in the end the better team won. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We were right about this year's Rams, though; this team is tough to beat. It's easy to forget how good a coach Sean McVay is, and how adept he and GM Les Snead are at recognizing coachable talent.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /> </span><span>The Rams won the first half of the game, but when coach Shanahan went for the TD with one second remaining before halftime and got it, we had feeling the second half would belong to the 49ers, and it did. Deommodore Lenoir </span><span>intercepted Matthew Stafford twice, Christian McCaffrey was brilliant again, and Brandon Aiyuk's first-quarter injury was not as serious as we feared. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span>Now a short week, and the New York Giants in town without Saquon Barkley. Daniel Jones put on a terrific show yesterday in the big comeback, but how will he and his offense fare against this defense without their most explosive player? </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The NFC continues to dominate the interconference games. The Washington Commanders turned back Denver in a thriller and the Dallas Cowboys won another blowout, over the Rodgers-less New York Jets. That's 6-0, NFC, after two weeks.</span></div>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-52248973664581100592023-09-13T11:25:00.002-07:002023-09-13T11:25:57.342-07:00<p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Week One</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">49ers 30, Pittsburgh 7</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">This one was over quickly. Any concerns about Brock Purdy being tentative, easily fatigued, or even ineffective after offseason shoulder surgery and a quick recovery were put to rest on the first series, which set off a 7-play drive to the young QB's first touchdown pass of the season. It was all 49ers, on both sides of the ball, from that point on, as they rolled up a 20-0 lead in the first 25 minutes. At that point the Steelers had a total of minus-4 yards. Kenny Pickett then led a long, 12-play, 95-yard drive to make it 20-7 at the half, but any Pittsburgh fan's hopes of a turnaround died a quick death in first minute of the third quarter.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you can only see one highlight reel from this game, it's got to be Christian McCaffrey's 65-yard broken-field explosion, with Brandon Aiyuk and Ray-Ray McCloud leading the way with downfield blocking reminiscent of Jerry Rice and John Taylor. Beautiful! And that play settled it. Pickett padded his stats in garbage time but never did Pittsburgh threaten to score again. Nick Bosa, he of the mega-contract, was such a force you rarely saw him; double- and triple-teamed throughout, he left lanes wide open for his teammates to pick up five sacks.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">And remember all the preseason concern about rookie kicker Jake Moody? 6-for-6, with three field goals and three PATs. After all, in the preseason the Steelers looked like potential champions and the 49ers like actual chumps, too. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The NFC won all four of the interconference matchups this weekend, starting with Detroit's sensational upset of defending champions Kansas City on Thursday night. Sunday saw the Saints edge the Tennessee Titans in Derek Carr's New Orleans debut, Philadelphia slugging out a 25-20 win at New England, and the 49er victory. .</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">We were pleased to see the Los Angeles Rams shred the Seattle Seahawks, of course; nobody expected the 2021 champions to do anything but compete for last place considering their massive roster turnover. Now the 49ers head down south to SoFi Stadium for their first matchup, and we expect the Rams to provide an exciting game-- but not <i>too</i> exciting, if you know what we mean.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-48554398002605641912021-02-07T07:18:00.016-08:002021-02-07T07:26:47.645-08:00Congratulations-- and Best Wishes<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pBHsD9B25tY/YB_4Fsuht-I/AAAAAAAACTs/hATCtHAUoHEAbIILQOq0nLWnVGNy0tQbgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/Pro%2BFootball%2BHOF.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pBHsD9B25tY/YB_4Fsuht-I/AAAAAAAACTs/hATCtHAUoHEAbIILQOq0nLWnVGNy0tQbgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Pro%2BFootball%2BHOF.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021 was announced last night, and Peyton Manning, Calvin Johnson, John Lynch, Charles Woodson, Drew Pearson, Alan Faneca, Bill Nunn, and Tom Flores are the eight new enshrinees. All of them are deserving-- Manning excessively so, as his induction was a foregone conclusion a decade ago. As much as anyone, he defined the modern quarterback position, his teams made the postseason 13 out of 14 years, and he is, as of today, the only quarterback to win the Super Bowl with two different teams. Like Manning, Johnson defined his position-- the oversized yet amazingly athletic receiver who can outrun, outjump, and out-muscle his way to the ball. His type is all over the league now, and he was the prototype. Pearson's game was a whole different thing-- he was a master of the Paul Warfield school of pass-catching: elusive, always getting open at the right time as if he were invisible until the ball arrived. Like his rivals Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, he played his best on the game's biggest stage. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Fans as we are of defense (and, of course, the 49ers), our man Lynch's selection honors not only him, but one of the greatest defensive teams of our lifetime. Speaking of defense, Charles Woodson played eighteen-- eighteen!-- years in the defensive backfield. He started 251 out of 288 games in those 18 years; in his last season, at age 39, he started all 16. He was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection at a position where even the best players rarely last nine years. And Alan Faneca could, and probably should, have been the first offensive lineman honored as Super Bowl MVP for his tremendous play in Super Bowl XL. If it were up to us, a guard, tackle, or center would be enshrined every year. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Bill Nunn's honor comes too late for his own satisfaction, though not his family's; and in this era of hyper-awareness of such things, consider it was Bill Nunn who focused on scouting the historically black colleges, such as Grambling and Alcorn State, that brought some of the greatest players in NFL history to the Steelers. He spent 45 years with the Steelers and now will be honored with them as long as the game is played.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And Tom Flores. He gave 34 years of his life to pro football; like Mike Ditka, he was a Super Bowl player and coach. He led the Oakland Raiders to a world championship and, three years later, the Los Angeles Raiders to another. Same team, essentially, but in between those two championships he somehow maintained a culture of professionalism (shall we say, pride and poise?) while all around the team raged controversy, lawsuits, insults, jokes, and general craziness. In a game where winning is the only thing, Tom Flores' coaching career more than measures up.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span><span> </span></span><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xbjpu13bzXk/YB_-HOQBdyI/AAAAAAAACUA/7SCUgBKc_J0MG09FVmROZS09o1ol4LzqgCLcBGAsYHQ/s180/Holmgren.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="120" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xbjpu13bzXk/YB_-HOQBdyI/AAAAAAAACUA/7SCUgBKc_J0MG09FVmROZS09o1ol4LzqgCLcBGAsYHQ/w133-h200/Holmgren.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-97rdwfw_dHY/YB_-HHLsWAI/AAAAAAAACT4/oougQOm9SKwmu7lrpx0oYBJy1xqeGG9_ACLcBGAsYHQ/s180/M%2BShanahan.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="120" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-97rdwfw_dHY/YB_-HHLsWAI/AAAAAAAACT4/oougQOm9SKwmu7lrpx0oYBJy1xqeGG9_ACLcBGAsYHQ/w133-h200/M%2BShanahan.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PopG-NG9N4E/YB_-HGJvzDI/AAAAAAAACT8/_daFAyR3oTQQxoRDxD0mnOrN1bOB7bsgACLcBGAsYHQ/s180/Vermeil.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="120" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PopG-NG9N4E/YB_-HGJvzDI/AAAAAAAACT8/_daFAyR3oTQQxoRDxD0mnOrN1bOB7bsgACLcBGAsYHQ/w133-h200/Vermeil.jpg" width="133" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Q. What do these men have in common? </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mike Holmgren, on the left, took not one, but two teams with a long and discouraging history of losing, and transformed them into Super Bowl teams. He coached in three Super Bowls, and won one. He also coached three Hall of Fame quarterbacks with great success.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mike Shanahan, in the center, transformed a proud but struggling franchise, one branded as a perennial Super Bowl "loser," and won back-to-back Super Bowls. He also revived the career of one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game, a first-ballot Hall of Famer. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Dick Vermeil, on the right, also took not one, but two teams with a long and discouraging history of losing, and transformed them into Super Bowl teams. He took a third underachieving franchise and revived it, too, though he didn't make the 'Bowl. And he, too, launched the storybook career of a Hall of Fame quarterback. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A. None of these men are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We were ruminating this morning about Andy Reid, the great coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, who face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV later today. Whether his team wins or loses this game, Andy Reid, we concluded, is going to the Hall of Fame. And that got us to thinking about men of similar accomplishment who ought to be there, but aren't. These three men above. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bill Cowher is in the Hall of Fame. Tony Dungy is in the Hall of Fame. George Allen is in the Hall of Fame. They all deserve it, with two, one, and one Super Bowl teams to their names. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But if the Super Bowl is the ultimate pro football coaching achievement, then winning back-to-back Super Bowls, and coaching two different teams to the Super Bowl a decade apart, surely qualifies a coach among those who've achieved the most. It's time to give these three great coaches their due.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Dick Vermeil is 84. Let's not wait too long.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-52836040422459797172021-01-11T10:02:00.000-08:002021-01-11T10:02:11.545-08:00Cleveland Rocks<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l3_OD64n8JU/X_yPeZp_99I/AAAAAAAACRc/FvQOIFgDlEcrFUz_LyRBwumlYBMMGV9SQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/Cleveland%2BRocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l3_OD64n8JU/X_yPeZp_99I/AAAAAAAACRc/FvQOIFgDlEcrFUz_LyRBwumlYBMMGV9SQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/Cleveland%2BRocks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"><span> </span></span>Back in the day, the Cleveland Browns were football royalty, and the Pittsburgh Steelers were pissants. </p><p><span> </span>The best thing you could say about the old Steelers was that at least they were a tough bunch: "Maybe they can't beat you, but they'll beat you up." The <i>worst</i> you could say varied, but it was said loudly and frequently in Pittsburgh taverns on Sunday afternoons during autumn. Pittsburgh had been in the NFL since 1933. The team had nearly gone under during the war-- not once, but twice. In 1943 they'd had to combine forces with the cross-state Philadelphia Eagles to field a squad unaffectionately known as the "Steagles." The following year they'd merged depleted rosters with the Chicago Cardinals; represented as "Card-Pitt" in the standings, they'd quickly become known as "Carpets" because the rest of the league walked all over them to the tune of an 0-10 record. And while other franchises had their own moments of embarrassment tucked away in the past, they also had conference titles and league championships by their name. The Pittsburgh Steelers, after 36 years in the league, had nothing. </p><p><span> </span>And there to remind them, every year, were the Browns, and their legendary coach, and their proud fans, and their 24 consecutive winning seasons and eight league championships.</p><p><span> </span>Cleveland dominated the All-American Football Conference the year the team and league were founded, and they continued to do so for the AAFC's entire four-year existence. Merged into the NFL in 1950, the Browns promptly won the league championship that year too, and over the next five seasons they won the Eastern Conference each year as well as two more NFL titles. They won another league championship in 1964, and added five more conference titles by 1969. Even when they didn't finish first, they contended. At the time of the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, the Cleveland Browns had never had a single losing season in their quarter-century of operation.</p><p><span> </span>Who might have expected that all this was about to change? Perhaps only one man-- a burly, quiet, but immensely powerful and intelligent former Browns lineman hired to coach the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969: Chuck Noll.</p><p><span> </span>The fortunes of the two teams diverged almost precisely at the moment when Noll took over and the Super Bowl became synonymous with the league championship—the 1970 merger. Noll’s Steelers made the postseason for the first time in 1972, which was also the Browns’ last postseason appearance for eight years.</p><p><span> </span>And so the reversal began. During those eight years the Steelers won four Super Bowls, Pittsburgh became known as the “City of Champions,” and Cleveland Browns fans slowly and grudgingly became used to a completely new experience—losing on a regular basis. How it must have galled those raised on the Cleveland postseason perennials of the 1950s and 1960s to endure seven straight years of finishing third or fourth in a four-team division, not to mention records of 3-11, 4-10, and 6-8. Even when the 1976 team won 9 games, they couldn’t make the playoffs. In that first Cleveland postseason drought, they won a total of 46 games, while the Steelers won 77—and those four Super Bowls.</p><p><span> </span>Things got better in the 1980s, somewhat. With Sam Rutigliano and Marty Schottenheimer coaching the team, Cleveland made the playoffs seven out of ten years, including five in a row from 1985-1989. During those years, the Steelers languished at or near the bottom of the division. But those years were also when the Browns developed their “snakebit” reputation—“The Drive” in 1986, “The Fumble” in 1987, for example. By contrast, Steelers fans could still look back on “The Immaculate Reception” and “John Swearingen’s Call” as evidence their championship team was favored by the football gods.</p><p><span> </span>The 1970s had been bad for the Browns. But the 1990s ushered in a veritable apocalypse of badness. In the midst of postseason droughts that lasted four, seven, and then seventeen seasons, Art Modell kidnapped the team and took it to Baltimore, the franchise sat in limbo for three years, and the only coach to lead Cleveland to a playoff win in nearly 30 years—Bill Belichick in 1994—went on to unimaginable glory in New England. And—by the way—the Pittsburgh Steelers became the first team to win six Super Bowls during this time. The other team to win six? Belichick’s Patriots, of course.</p><p><span> </span>It’s sad but generally true that one-sided rivalries tend to lose their bite over time. Sure, “I’m takin’ da Brahns to da Supa Bowl,” remains a running (sorry about that) joke in Steeltown lavatories, but lately it’s the Baltimore Ravens that have become Pittsburgh’s main rival. Considering the Ravens were built from the ashes of the Cleveland Browns, it was yet another Rodney Dangerfield moment for the loyal fans in the city on the lake.</p><p><span> </span>So as the 2020 Cleveland Browns ran all over Heinz Field last night, scoring four touchdowns in eight minutes and 48 points overall to knock the despised Steelers completely sideways and out of the playoffs, we can’t help but wonder if this presages a second turn of the wheel in one of the NFL’s greatest rivalries. </p><div><br /></div><p><br /></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-41693178356667155542021-01-06T06:50:00.002-08:002021-01-06T06:50:47.337-08:00Patrick Willis-- MIA<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RvupR6GK9R8/X_XKnA3NrBI/AAAAAAAACQ4/-yDicnjA8n8Hg9MZhBNtH6LAMXvdKSudACLcBGAsYHQ/s540/Willis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="540" height="396" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RvupR6GK9R8/X_XKnA3NrBI/AAAAAAAACQ4/-yDicnjA8n8Hg9MZhBNtH6LAMXvdKSudACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h396/Willis.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p> <span style="font-size: medium;">As if the recent election results weren't bad enough, today we have a real voting scandal.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Somehow, the great Patrick Willis was not included among the 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection process. Seriously.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">He became eligible this year, as did Troy Polamolu and Reggie Wayne, who were included. No slight intended to those excellent players, but Willis' impact on the games and seasons in which he played, and on the teams for which he played, was as great or greater than theirs. He was the captain, leader, and most outstanding player on the league's best defense from 2011-2013. He faced off against the Hall of Famer Ray Lewis in Super Bowl XLVII, a contest between two of the greatest ever at their position, and he more than lived up to the high standard set by his opponent. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We have no doubt Patrick Willis eventually will be enshrined in Canton. We're just disappointed it won't happen this year, and we're more than disappointed that the voters believed they could find 15 candidates more worthy than he. In fairness, we believe Polamolu is an excellent comp for Willis; both had an oversized impact on the game and both defined the great defensive teams they represented. Perhaps in a year or two they'll be voted in together. It would fit.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But this, today, is an oversight that needs to be corrected. It reflects badly on the judgment of those who made the choices. Come on, people. You're supposed to be experts. You can do better. Now please, do better next time. The man deserves the honor, and everyone knows it.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-44695022247913370862020-11-02T09:33:00.000-08:002020-11-02T09:33:23.625-08:00TuaTa Time<p>OUR never-ending search for the catchy title phrase has hit a new low. But Martin Gramatica needs to give the kid a break. First start, facing Aaron Donald and a good defense, he didn't lose the game, and his teammates won it. Miami, as 49er fans found out already, is an improving team. Let's see what Tua can do over the rest of this year before we make any pronouncements-- and let's remember how many interceptions Peyton Manning threw in 1998. His team went 13-3 the next year.</p><p>2020, the year that just keeps on taking, saw George Kittle and Jimmy G execute limpoffs in yesterday's predictable-if-execrable loss at Seattle. A week after running the once-mighty Patriots off their own field, the 49ers reverted to "Miami mode," albeit against a team a lot more powerful than the Dolphins. 8-8 is beginning to look realistic, if not optimistic.</p><p>The team with the largest point differential in the NFC is... drumroll please... the Tampa Bay Bradys! If Tom wins a ring with Bruce Arians, will the "system quarterback" critics finally shut up? We may consider ourselves fortunate that the 49ers will not face the Buccaneers this season. Dallas and Washington-- six weeks away-- look like the only oases in the football Sahara ahead of us.</p><p>If the season ended today, Seattle, New Orleans, Green Bay, and Philadelphia would be the NFC division champions. Arizona, Tampa, and the Rams (by tiebreaker) would be the wild-cards, with the 5-3 Bears left out in the Chicago cold. In the AFC, it'd be the undefeated Steelers, defending champions KC, Buffalo, and Tennessee in the divisions, with Baltimore, Indianapolis, and Cleveland the wild-cards and the Raiders and Dolphins on the outside looking in. Of course, the bye weeks skew all this into trivial speculation at the moment. </p><p>Along with Fred Dean and the legendary Don Shula, pro football lost Herb Adderley, Jimmy Orr, and other greats this year. But baseball's list-- first Al Kaline, then the sudden sad trifecta of Bob Gibson, Joe Morgan, and Whitey Ford-- was an especially harsh reminder of the transience of this life and the mortality of us all. </p><p>We will have more to say about our memories of Fred Dean in a follow-up post that's been especially hard to put together.</p><p>And finally, please vote tomorrow. Vote for the President and his allies. Yes, he's an uncouth, boorish, "uncultured" man, a man who speaks before he thinks all too often, a man peculiarly and especially vulnerable to the traps of rampant egotism. He's also a man who set a cushy life of accomplishments aside to volunteer for a thankless job serving his country, and who has persevered through a campaign of personal hatred unseen since the time of Lincoln. His deeds tower over his reckless words like Kilimanjaro over the plain. </p><p>If you must support a Presidential candidate who looks and acts like your favorite cousin, then please vote for Jo Jorgensen (and you might also find she makes a lot of sense). But please shun the career hack who's sold himself out to the Chinese Communist Party, to the Deep State fixers, and to the radicals who expect to run rampant over and through any thought of a "Biden Administration." President Trump, the walking contradiction, the orange man of action, "is not the good guy America wants. He's the bad guy America needs. He's Batman!"</p><p>Well, not really. But he's the man nonetheless. Vote for the real America first. Thank you.</p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-83822991330243056902020-09-18T08:05:00.001-07:002020-09-18T08:05:45.026-07:00Bold As Love<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-awkn4zRR6A4/X2TMjgCfdyI/AAAAAAAACMI/AtwEhYQ79U8P46l66DDpEob15lwzWdaPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s474/hendrix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="474" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-awkn4zRR6A4/X2TMjgCfdyI/AAAAAAAACMI/AtwEhYQ79U8P46l66DDpEob15lwzWdaPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/hendrix.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">September 18, 1970 was fifty years ago today, the day Jimi Hendrix died in London at age 27. We were not well acquainted with sudden death at age 14, and the news came as a real shock, a slap in the face; our initial reaction was disbelief: "Not </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Hendrix</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">. He </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">can't</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> die." We were still pretty well insulated from the harshness of the adult world, and completely unaware of the dangerous, treacherous "rock star" lifestyle; our naive belief was that these demigods walked on air, immune from mortal risk. But we'd also been studying music for six years and we already knew Jimi Hendrix was touched by musical genius. You couldn't help but hear it; his searing, emotional, and, yes, intensely patriotic deconstruction of the "Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock remains a masterpiece today and was no less so then. We'd rather listen to the man make music than fix where he stands among the greats, but many call him the greatest of electric guitarists, and we've no reason to dispute it. What makes this moment today especially sad is considering how far, how immeasurably far, he might have taken his genius beyond such considerations if he had had fifty more years to do so. </span></p>Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-37619187143258949522020-05-06T05:56:00.000-07:002020-05-06T05:56:44.075-07:00Don Shula<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YAC8WlCQrGQ/XrKwRX0NCDI/AAAAAAAACCk/6_eY0ao2ldAgJwsUKGNxn3zdvWoxh2LDACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Shula.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YAC8WlCQrGQ/XrKwRX0NCDI/AAAAAAAACCk/6_eY0ao2ldAgJwsUKGNxn3zdvWoxh2LDACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Shula.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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All he did was win. Don Shula, who passed away Monday at 90, defined the role of the winning professional football coach over four decades and a record 347 wins. In his 33 years as a NFL head coach, his teams had a total of two losing seasons while reaching the postseason eighteen times. His Baltimore Colts played in the NFL championship game in 1964, his second season; in 1995, his last, his Miami Dolphins qualified for the AFC playoffs. <br />
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Don Shula's 1972 Miami Dolphins remain the only undefeated championship team in pro football history. While some are always ready to downgrade that achievement, the fact remains that no other team, whether playing a 10- or 12- or 14- or 16-game schedule, whether facing weak or stiff conference competition, regardless of rule changes or prevailing style of play, has done it. One team, well aware of its chance to make history or fail in the attempt, did it. Don Shula's team.<br />
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He wasn't an innovator, a revolutionary, or a game-changing trail-blazer. What he was was a football coach: a man who, year after year, took the best players he could find and made them into a winning team. In a hundred years of professional football, no one has done it better. <br />
<br />Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-61249722504571532712020-04-06T06:18:00.000-07:002020-04-06T06:19:25.315-07:00We're Optimistic....., there WILL be a NFL season in 2020. Whether it will start on time and produce a full slate, we can't say, but we'll never hold with the Chicken Littles and doomsayers and Newsomes who seem to get a perverse kick out of national crises like this CCP virus pandemic.<br />
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Now, given the enforced idle time and no sports on the tube, we are using this interlude to upload some of our old typed 49er pages from years past. Look to your right and you'll see "Archive:" pages slowly appear, from 1981, from 1988, and from the George Seifert years. Some of them are reportage on playoff games, others are musings on the future of the 49ers, and a few may contain little more than damned foolishness. But there they are, unedited, and we apologize in advance for some of the irregular sizes and typefaces. These are scanned pages uploaded as jpegs, which is time-consuming enough without purchasing editing software and massaging the text. And editing would produce an irresistible impulse to correct some of our more boneheaded pronouncements (Jim Druckenmiller, the next great 49er QB?) and that would be-- well, it wouldn't be sporting, would it?<br />
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So enjoy, or ignore at your pleasure, this window into a world the San Francisco 49ers ruled for almost two decades. And please, stay safe.Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-72705951957235570792020-02-05T05:10:00.000-08:002020-02-05T05:10:11.029-08:00Hats Off<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6e_D03PdFjE/XjmKqm26wII/AAAAAAAABzo/lCn8hUfC4So9vdwBiLmGpfHkD5VdW3lxQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Tyreek%2BHill%2BCatch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="269" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6e_D03PdFjE/XjmKqm26wII/AAAAAAAABzo/lCn8hUfC4So9vdwBiLmGpfHkD5VdW3lxQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Tyreek%2BHill%2BCatch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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With a little more than seven minutes remaining in Super Bowl LIV, Patrick Mahomes dropped back to pass on a third-and fifteen from his own 35-yard line, and, as it had been all evening, the San Francisco 49er pass rush descended upon him. Nick Bosa was essentially tackled on his direct path to the QB, but DeForrest Buckner looped around and crashed into Mahomes just as he launched what looked, for all the world, like a last-ditch desperation downfield heave.<br />
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Freeze that frame for a moment. With seven minutes to play in the Super Bowl, the 49ers had indeed "kept Mahomes from taking over the game." In fact, they had gone a long way toward taking him <i>out </i>of the game. Kansas City had not scored a touchdown since the first quarter. At the moment he threw that pass, Mahomes had fewer passing yards than had Jimmy Garoppolo. He had been intercepted twice, sacked three times, and had not thrown one touchdown pass. The 49ers had indeed "compressed" the Chiefs' possession time to less than 23 minutes. And they held a 20-10 lead; "close,"certainly, but in control. There had been missteps along the way, but at the time it looked as though Kyle Shanahan's team would get by with them. A few moments prior, the officials had ruled, correctly, that Tyreek Hill trapped what had looked like a first-down catch in 49er territory. The challenge by coach Shanahan had just been upheld. It is not a stretch to say the Chiefs, at that moment, were in, or at least near, the final extremity, the point at which a game can become irrevocably lost.<br />
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And then, as we all know, Hill, whose track-star speed and that of his teammates had not yet been a factor in the game, suddenly made it so. He blew past three defenders and was so wide open he was able to wait for Mahomes' mortar lob to land in his hands, and he still had time to make a spin move and gain more yards, which he would have save for a solid tackle by Jimmy Ward, the man beaten on the play. That's how quick he is, that's how quickly it happened, and that's how quickly this game turned.<br />
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It wasn't a done deal by any means at that point, but it was a different game, and a different Chiefs offense that lined up at the 49er 21-yard line on the next snap. Mahomes tried for the end zone and missed, he then tried for the quick slant but short-armed it into the turf. On third down he went over the middle to Travis Kelce in the end zone and Tarvarius Moore broke it up. There was minimal contact but Moore face-guarded Kelce with his back to the ball, and drew the flag. Mahomes, who had scored on a one-yard keeper in the first quarter, rolled right and found Kelce for the touchdown and it was a 20-17 game-- and it was also a new game, one that would turn for the first time on the fortunes of the 49er offense, not their defense.<br />
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The first crucible for that offense began with six minutes left and a three-point lead. The most belligerent and effective rushing offense in football had 80 yards, three timeouts, and plenty of clock to compress the game down to a mite. Raheem Mostert, who had 36 rushing yards to his name after gaining 220 against Green Bay, punched right up the middle for five. Thirty seconds later it was fourth down and the 49ers hadn't gained a centimeter, two Garoppolo passes, to the overcrowded right side, having fallen incomplete. It was the first three-and-out of the game for the Niners, and they could not have picked a worse time for it.<br />
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Kansas City's next possession, starting at that familiar 35, was essentially one big play again, but there was nothing desperate about this one. Mahomes sailed a beautiful rainbow pass to the fleet Sammy Watkins, who easily outran Richard Sherman and made a perfect over-the-shoulder catch. Only the sideline limited him to 38 yards. From the 49er 10, Mahomes made one of his few planned runs to pick up six, taking a hard hit in the process, and then Damien Williams, one of the Chiefs' unsung heroes of the game, took a short pass to the corner pylon. Maybe he scored, maybe he was out of bounds; in any case the touchdown call stood, and in any case it did not decide the outcome. The Chiefs had the lead, 24-20, but the 49ers, again, had the ball, the clock, and the best running game in the NFL, which the Chiefs had not been able to stop.<br />
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The second crucible, with 2:39 remaining, saw Mostert break right through that soft run defense for 17 big yards. Jimmy G followed with two razor-sharp passes to George Kittle and Kendrick Bourne, and with 1:49 remaining and a first down on the KC 49, the game was in the 49ers' hands. One more rushing play, and Andy Reid would begin burning timeouts. A few more rushing plays, and Jimmy G would be in the red zone, with his chance to "pull a Montana" and win or lose the game on his and his coach's terms.<br />
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It didn't happen. It didn't happen for Kyle Shanahan three Super Bowls ago in Atlanta, and it didn't happen for him here. With Mahomes where he needed to be, on the sideline, with Reid and his reputation for indifferent clock management defending a slim lead against the clock as well as the opponent, the 49ers called four successive pass plays and not only didn't gain yardage, they lost yardage-- and lost time. The first two pass attempts were well-defended. On third and ten Emmanuel Sanders was wide, wide open over the middle, open enough to take it 49 yards to the Lombardi Trophy. Frank Clark, who could have been the Super Bowl MVP, got in Garoppolo's face. The pass sailed yards over Sanders' reach. On fourth down, Clark sacked Jimmy G; the Chiefs' only sack of the game reverberated far more loudly than the 49ers' three. It was over.<br />
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And so, on the biggest stage of their lives, with the game on the line and their team trailing late in the fourth quarter, the fortunes of the two quarterbacks diverged. Mahomes was asked to win the game, and he obliged, with yet another stirring comeback performance that belies his tepid 78.1 passer rating. He showed the poise of a veteran, shrugging off the first three quarters, the pressure of the best defense he'd ever faced, and the pressure of tremendous expectation. He may not be unstoppable, but he's unsinkable, and our hats, as promised, are off to him. He made the plays. He's the best in the game.<br />
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Jimmy Garoppolo also was asked to win the game, and it's fair to ask whether that was necessary. The 49ers rushed 22 times in the game, against 31 pass attempts. Jimmy G's numbers after three quarters were 17-of-20, 183 yards, one TD, one interception. But they look like this in the fourth: 3-for-11, 36 yards, one sack, another interception. Even if you discount the last two throws in garbage time, it's pretty bad. On the two most important drives of his life, he was 2-for-7 plus a sack. He didn't make the plays. But should he have needed to make so many of them? On those "drives," out of nine plays, the 49ers ran twice. Twice. For 22 yards. 11 yards per attempt. The best rushing attack in football was not asked to win the game-- or even to help win the game.<br />
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The final minute was a desultory reminder of the Atlanta fiasco; Williams, running to the edge on second down and working to stay in bounds, found himself all alone down the left side for a gimme touchdown. Garoppolo's second interception and the obligatory kneeldowns followed, and the Kansas City Chiefs, after fifty years of waiting, hoisted their first Vince Lombardi Trophy. (The trophy did not exist in 1969, when they won the fourth "World Championship of Professional Football," still informally called the "Super Bowl" and unencumbered by Roman numerals.) Do they deserve their fourth league championship? You bet they do. They're the better team.<br />
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And so we move on, waiting 'til next year, and all that.<br />
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Deebo Samuel, whom we thought might end up the 'Bowl MVP, did his part, with three carries on the 49ers' version of the "Jet Sweep" for 53 yards as well as five catches for 39. We would expect Steve Spagnuolo is awfully relieved Number 19 wasn't called upon more often in the second half.<br />
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The 49er pass rush lived up to its reputation, and the most startling development of the game, even acknowledging his winning heroics, was Mahomes' scattered, frustrated play for most of the evening. Constantly pressured, he couldn't stand in the pocket nor had he time to look deep over the middle, his sweet spot. Again and again he was flushed out and obliged to scramble, Russell Wilson-style, and make late throws to the sideline. That simply is not the Chiefs' game, and during the third quarter we were saying things like, "We're making these guys play like Seattle! Even if they win, we've taken them completely out of their game!" Ultimately, the final seven minutes proved that would not be the case, but regardless, Nick Bosa and DeForrest Buckner, who got the big third-quarter sacks, as well as Arik Armstead, Sheldon Day, Dee Ford, and Solomon Thomas, all did their part. <br />
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We can say the same for Fred Warner, who was in perfect position to intercept Mahomes' ill-advised third-quarter pass. It immediately followed Bosa's sack and a recovered fumble, and was thrown hastily under heavy pressure. Warner also made one of the game's best solo tackles, throwing Mecole Hardman for a six-yard loss and killing a Kansas City drive at the 49er 46 two minutes before halftime. And at the time it seemed Tarvarius Moore's heads-up interception on a deflected pass, eight short minutes after Warner's pickoff, might have been the play that decided the game. Keep in mind Mahomes threw five interceptions all season and none in the AFC playoffs.<br />
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George Kittle had a quiet day by his standards. But it's the play he didn't make that everyone will remember, With a minute left in the first half, the ball on the 20 and the score tied 10-10, coach Shanahan, aware the 49ers would receive the second-half kickoff, decided to let the clock run down to 20 seconds, perhaps intending to ensure Mahomes would not get another chance before the long halftime break. Reid at first obliged, but then he called timeout with third down coming. Jimmy G promptly zipped a perfect pass over the middle to backup halfback Jeff Wilson for a first down at the 45. Shanahan then finally called a timeout, and with 14 seconds left Garoppolo made him look like a bloomin' genius with perhaps his best pass of the night, a deep sideline shot that Kittle grabbed before going out of bounds at the Kansas City 13. Safety Daniel Sorensen had grabbed at Kittle as George turned downfield, Kittle pushed back, then pushed back again. He was flagged for offensive pass interference, killing the play and a certain score. Any hope of "let 'em play" or "the defender initiated contact" this time went by the board. But bad call or not, it was a generally well-officiated game, and it's worth noting Kittle himself didn't complain about it afterward. For his part, Shanahan was a lot more incensed over a non-call on a sideline hit on Garoppolo later in the game than he was about this one.<br />
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The idea of "deferring" after winning the coin toss is for a team to come out in the second half, march down the field, and score. That choice paid off beautifully for San Francisco. Not only did the 49ers hold Mahomes & Co. to three-and-out on the game's opening possession, their five-and-a-half-minute drive to open the third-quarter may have been their best of the game. Jimmy G was 5-for-5, Deebo Samuel broke a 14-yard run, and Robbie Gould gave the 49ers the lead they'd hold for the next 20 minutes. On their two scoring drives in that glorious third period, Garoppolo was 8-of-9 for 94 yards, and his best completion of the night was a 26-yard over-the-middle beauty to Kendrick Bourne. Their second-quarter touchdown drive was a portrait in balanced offense, too: four rushes for 38 yards and three passes, all complete, for 42 yards and the touchdown to Kyle Juszczyk. We suppose coach had these drives in mind during the game's final five minutes, but we also know he knows his situational football. Well, that's enough of that.<br />
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Indeed, much has been made about how Kyle Shanahan and Jimmy Garoppolo will deal with this, losing a game that not only seemed eminently winnable but was, even after the Chiefs' offense found itself. And more will be made about the 49ers' chances of coming back to the Super Bowl next year and winning it, or whether they'll endure a season of disappointment and near-misses, as did the Rams in 2019. That's not our thing and we won't dwell on it. <br />
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But we've always liked the Kansas City Chiefs, ever since that great win over Minnesota in the fourth Super Bowl, and we have no problem congratulating a great organization, a great team, a great coach, a great fan base, and the game's greatest quarterback. Enjoy the spotlight, Chiefs; it's been a long time coming, and it's well deserved. See you next season.<br />
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Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-1701584277412002492020-01-29T05:04:00.000-08:002020-01-29T05:04:56.911-08:00February Rush<i>"A pass rush in the fourth quarter is the key to winning NFL football."</i><br />
Bill Walsh<br />
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<i>"(W)ith 9:38 showing on the clock their passing attack was over, finito. The team that uses the pass to set up the run went Big Ten. No more passes, not one. Seven straight running plays."</i><br />
Paul Zimmerman on Super Bowl XVI<br />
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<i> "We didn't know what to expect, given the mentality of their coach. Plus, he had that extra week to prepare them." </i><br />
Reggie Williams of the Cincinnati Bengals after Super Bowl XVI<br />
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<i>"Our four linemen are going to have to do it without help... Oh, we'll mix in a stunt or a blitz, just to keep from being static... But out front four guys are going to have to have the game of their lives."</i><br />
Coach Bill McPherson, the night before Super Bowl XIX<br />
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Rush the football and rush the quarterback. Will that formula, properly executed, be enough for the 49ers to beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV on Sunday? It had better be.<br />
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We've seen it played out time and again. When a game is hyped as "the unstoppable force meets the immovable object," look to the other side of the equation for the keys to victory.<br />
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Patrick Mahomes is the "unstoppable force." The game's most gifted and prolific quarterback leads an offense that can score at any time, in any situation, whether on a long, dispiriting drive or a sudden quick strike downfield. They will face the "immovable object," the game's most dominating and consistent defense, a defense that is back at the full strength that made it the talk of NFL early this season while Mahomes was dealing with a dislocated kneecap. Something's got to give, right?<br />
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Likely both will give. Mahomes will make plays, probably a few plays no one else can make, and his offense will score points. The 49er defense will make plays, probably more pressure than Mahomes has seen all year, and some hits in the secondary that will make his receivers long for the defenses of Tennessee and Houston. <br />
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But it says here the game will be decided by what happens when Mahomes is on the sideline and the team in white has the ball. Will Jimmy Garoppolo pilot the 49ers to victory with another Bob Griese impersonation? Or will Jimmy G and his receivers uncork those big plays, often immediately following a sack or a penalty, that broke the backs of good defenses in New Orleans and LA? Will Raheem Mostert, or Matt Breida, or a recovered Tevin Coleman charge through lanes wide enough to admit EZ-Pass customers, to the point that the KC defense reaches the brink of despair? Or will George Kittle break Jerry Rice's Super Bowl game receiving records in a ferocious display of skill and will, leaving would-be tacklers strewn across the field like dominoes? Can the 49ers hold the ball on offense for 35, even 40, minutes? Will the last half of the fourth quarter see a relentless pass rush, one that Mahomes has handled all day, suddenly overwhelm him, as the realities of too many yards and points to gain plus not enough clock left suddenly break the game decisively our way? For goodness' sake, will it go into overtime and will Jimmy G then "pull a Brady" and win the game with an unanswerable TD drive, as happened to Mahomes and the Chiefs a year ago?<br />
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Kyle Shanahan has had two weeks to prepare for this game, and the execution of his game plan by his offense, we say, will decide the outcome. We also say, watch out for a not-so-secret weapon named Deebo Samuel. A few big plays from that multi-talented rookie could go a long way toward bringing a sixth Lombardi Trophy back to San Francisco.<br />
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<u>That Was Then, This Is Now</u><br />
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49er fans of a certain age will remember the last time the team faced an all-world record-breaking phenomenon of a young quarterback in the Super Bowl. That was Dan Marino, of course, with his Miami Dolphins and his 55 touchdown passes, reaching Super Bowl XIX while staid NFL stalwarts such as Tom Landry and Chuck Noll positively gushed over Marino like teenyboppers at a Justin Bieber meet-'n'-greet. As we recall, that one turned out OK; Joe Montana had the game of this life and, even more importantly, the 49er front four turned Marino into a sack-absorbing interception-throwing statue. He completed exatly <i>one</i> deep pass downfield over four quarters, and it took a circus catch by his receiver to haul it in. That play helped keep the game competitive through halftime-- until a brutal three-and-out ending with an emphatic sack opened the third quarter and decided the outcome right then and there.<br />
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Times have indeed changed. Some of the many hits Marino endured that longest afternoon of his career would be flagged as "roughing-the-passer" today. Some of the aggressive coverage the 49ers' All-Pro secondary dished out would be flagged as "illegal contact" or, worse, "hit on a defenseless receiver" today. Andy Reid's offense is not as one-dimensional today as was Don Shula's then (and by necessity, we quickly note; the great coach would have designed a balanced attack if he had the players to do it). Mahomes, as we all saw last weekend, can break out and run for twenty, thirty yards or more when he has to, as Joe Montana himself did that day in 1985. Mahomes is much more a <i>combination </i>of Montana's and Marino's skills and athleticism than he is a carbon copy of Number 13. <br />
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No, the reason for all this blather is simply to deflate the idea that any one player, no matter how great, is unstoppable. What does it mean to "stop" Mahomes? It's unlikely any defense can stop him from gaining yards and scoring touchdowns. But until proven otherwise, we believe there <i>is</i> a defense out there that can keep him from taking over a game, and the only defense left with that capability is the 49ers'. If the San Francisco offense can compress Mahomes' opportunity window to 25 minutes or less, and if the game is close in the fourth quarter, we believe "stop" will be defined in the simplest manner: not allowing him to generate enough points to win the game. <br />
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And if all those things happen and Patrick Mahomes <i>still</i> makes the game-winning plays-- well, then we'll have to rethink this whole "unstoppable" business after we doff our hats.<br />
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But unless and until that moment comes, we believe it will be a Niner Boogie on Super Sunday!Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2658996518660588212.post-86212581057506163822020-01-23T13:25:00.002-08:002020-01-23T13:25:55.206-08:00Clash of the Titans III<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As Aaron Rodgers dropped back to pass for the last time in the 49ers' NFC Championship win over Green Bay, with offensive linemen falling like trees around him and red shirts closing in from all directions, we were somehow reminded of the valiant but doomed leadership of General Robert E. Lee, leading his bedraggled, beaten army of 8000 or so away from the wreckage at Sailor's Creek and toward an encampment of over 100,000 enemy soldiers. He wasn't ready to quit, not yet, and neither was Rodgers, despite having been sacked for the third time two plays earlier, despite no timeouts, despite a 17-point deficit. Rodgers ignored the pressure and heaved a beautiful rainbow pass downfield, but it was off-target and Richard Sherman made the easy interception that turned a contest into a celebration. The San Francisco 49ers are back in the Super Bowl!<br />
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And so are the Kansas City Chiefs, and as people who know us well have heard many a time, the Chiefs are our second-favorite team and our favorite from the old AFL of our childhood. And it was as an AFL team, the last one standing in fact, that the Chiefs last played for the world championship, in the fourth "NFL-AFL World Championship of Pro Football," as it was called then, concluding the 1969 season and the storied history of their league with a shockingly (to some, that is) one-sided victory over the NFL's best, the Minnesota Vikings. It's been fifty years for Kansas City, and only seven for the 49ers, but is there any doubt the Big Game will, this time, feature the NFL's two best?<br />
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"Clash of the Titans" is the nickname we bestowed upon Super Bowl XIII between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys, the two best teams of the 1970s, who met to decide which one would be the first team ever to win three Super Bowls. Five years later the Los Angeles Raiders and the defending Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins were so dominant in their conferences during the regular season that their meeting in Super Bowl XVIII had an air of inevitability. The same could be said for the 49ers-Miami matchup a year later. And now we have, for those with a fondness for legends, Joe Montana's first team against Joe Montana's second team. We missed out on "Joe versus Steve" in 1994, but in 2020, as Joe himself said the other day, "I guarantee my team will win this game!"<br />
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So we're not about to work up any animosity here for our opponent, a team that for awhile seemed to be a "rest home" for former 49er quarterbacks. Joe, Steve DeBerg before him, Steve Bono and Elvis Grbac after him-- all of them led Kansas City into the playoffs. Years later Alex Smith did the same. Whoever wins this game will deserve it-- as long as it isn't decided on a call or non-call, that is. Banish that thought!<br />
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It could be argued-- it is being argued-- that neither of these Super Bowl teams defeated their conference's best opponent to get here. The 49ers played the Packers and the Vikings, not the Seahawks and the Saints, while KC avoided the omnipresent Patriots and the top-dog Ravens. But that's missing the point. Both these teams were the most exciting, complete, and dynamic teams in their conferences all year long. The Kansas City defense hit a slump mid-season, but emerged as one of the strongest units in football down the stretch. The 49er defense likewise dropped off after a sensational start-- but after their first bye in 14 weeks, the unit came roaring back well-rested at full strength, as the Vikings and Packers will sadly testify. A year ago, "everyone" wanted to see the Los Angeles Rams and the Chiefs reprise their incredible 54-51 Monday night epic in the Super Bowl; "everyone" was disappointed. We're not aware of anyone who expects to be bored on February 2.<br />
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The contrast here is between the Chiefs' explosive passing offense featuring the amazing Patrick Mahomes, and the 49ers' unstoppable run game featuring Raheem Mostert-- unless it's Matt Breida or Tevin Coleman, that is. Mahomes certainly showed his matchless ability to turn a game around in a manner of minutes; he did it in back-to-back weeks, erasing 24- and 10-point deficits like a six-foot sixth-grader after spotting his classmates a lead in a game of "Horse." The 49ers' great offensive front-- we're talking Laken Tomlinson, Mike Person and Ben Garland as well as tackles Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey, plus the twin hammers of Kyle Jusczyk and George Kittle-- pounded one very good defense and another good defense into submission before halftime in each playoff game.<br />
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As we've said before, when the focus is on one side of the ball, look to the other side for the keys to victory. That's going to be a little harder to do here, so we'll push it out to next week.<br />
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Bright moments:<br />
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Mostert, obviously, taking over the game as the premier ballcarrier of the weekend, doing a "Derrick Henry" on the Packers. That may be a tad unfair to Henry; last Sunday he didn't have lanes through which to run as Mostert did. But the point is, the "journeyman" back <i>ran through those lanes</i> on the way to his record four-touchdown game and a place in the record books behind only the Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson.<br />
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Kittle caught one ball. It was the biggest catch of the night, a 19-yard gain on first down with eight minutes to play and the Packers having cut the lead to 14. Green Bay had thrown everything they had on defense into stopping the run in the fourth quarter, and they had been successful, forcing a critical three-and-out on three running plays after their failed onside kick. At the time, Jimmy Garoppolo-- hey, we finally mentioned his name!-- had not thrown a pass since the second quarter. This one let the air out of the Packers' tires, and three minutes later Robbie Gould's third field goal with 3:36 left made it 37-20 and turned Rodgers into General Lee, full of fight but out of time.<br />
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Robbie Gould! The ageless one still hasn't missed a field goal or extra point in the postseason, and he capped three drives that totaled 11 minutes with nine critical points, including the clincher.<br />
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DeForrest Buckner diving onto Rodgers' fumble at the 49er 25, late in the second quarter. Green Bay had just put their first drive together, running the ball 4 times for 27 yards after Rodgers hit on a beautiful downfield pass. Knowing who was at quarterback for the Packers, not a few of us were already mentally preparing for a 17-7 game. 60 yards and four minutes after the turnover, it was 20-0 instead, and then...<br />
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Emmanuel Moseley, who didn't even start a week ago, anticipating Rodgers' pass and beating Geronimo Allison to the ball on the interception that rendered the game un-competitive for the next 20 minutes. It was 27-0 at the half and 34-7 after three.<br />
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That man Deebo! Young Samuel, emerging as a star in this league, running the "Jet Sweep" <i>twice on the same drive</i> for 43 yards. He also caught two passes for 46 yards.<br />
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Eight passes. Who does Garoppolo think he is anyway, Bob Griese?<br />
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<u>Eli's Going</u><br />
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Eli Manning retired this week after 16 years with the New York Giants. If you'll remember, he was even more heralded coming out of college than was big brother Peyton. Now, having wisely decided to let his legacy speak for him, he walks away with his health intact, and the Hall of Fame debate begins.<br />
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To us it's a no-brainer. As Bill James said regarding qualifications for the baseball Hall of Fame, it's not that <i>there is a player</i> with Eli's qualifications who is in the Hall. It's that there is <i>no </i>player with Eli's qualifications who is <i>not</i> in the Hall of Fame. Yes, Jim Plunkett won two Super Bowls at quarterback, as did Eli, and he is not in. (We hope that will be rectified soon, while Mr Plunkett is still alive.) But only Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Tom Brady, and... <i>Eli</i> <i>Manning</i> have won multiple Super Bowl MVP awards. There would be no precedent for denying him entry into the Hall of Fame, though it may take a few years before it happens.<br />
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<u>The Las Vegas Raiders</u><br />
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Well, they made it official yesterday, and we all may be grateful they didn't bastardize the name to "Vegas Raiders," which sounds like a bad TV movie from the early 1970s.<br />
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Laying aside the issue of Roger Goodell's warm embrace of public sports betting at this time-- who knows, he may be on to something, no one could possibly "fix" a game these days without the word getting out, and we trust his penalty for attempts at such would be harsh and merciless-- the move is not nearly as shocking as Al Davis' flight to Los Angeles 37 years ago, though the reasons for it are largely the same.<br />
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Oakland is a mess. The city government is a joke, with a mayor who ought to be in federal prison and likely depends on illegal votes to stay in office. The Coliseum Board remains answerable to no one but themselves. There is every chance they will lose the A's, too, though we hope not to an out-of-state location.<br />
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The population of the East Bay, with Oakland as its demographic center, is about 2.2 million as of the 2018 census. Greater Las Vegas, one of the fastest-growing cities in America, is about the same. And Las Vegas receives almost <i>one million visitors per week </i>on average. Per <i>week!</i> Think any of 'em are football fans? Think fans from Green Bay, Boston, Baltimore, and Atlanta won't want to go to Vegas for a weekend <i>and </i>see their favorite team?<br />
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For the Oakland faithful, airfare to "Sin City" is about $100, so we're told. Consider that most season tickets are shared by groups these days. It's easy to imagine eight guys or four couples from the East Bay divvying up the eight home games into two weekend trips to Vegas each. And that's without having to sit in the decrepit Coliseum, park in Oakland, or ride BART. We expect the Raider fanbase in Oakland to handle this with enthusiasm. They'll still be the home team.<br />
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<br />Malbuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.com0