Niners turn the lights out on Steelers, win biggest game of the century

Monday night was a big test for this 49ers team. With the entire world watching, visiting Pittsburgh seething at the chance to clinch the AFC #1 overall seed, these two proud franchises did battle. It was the first time in NFL history that two teams faced off with a combined 11 superbowl rings between them. It was an opportunity for San Francisco to prove, in front of the entire world, that they belong, that they are as good as their record and a win would improve their chances of obtaining the #2 overall seed in the NFC. 

Ben Rothlisberger, as everyone on the planet knew, was injured. He was a game time decision and just before kick off was cleared to start at QB. At this stage in the season every team is banged up and has players hurt, injured and or playing through pain. That's a fact of life in the NFL. On the opening possession, Big Ben limped his team down the field, completing passes with efficiency and it looked as though Pittsburgh would get in the end zone and take a 7-0 lead early in the game, but that's when Big Ben threw his first of 3 interceptions in this big game. The 49ers defense set the tone of the game in that moment and continued to pound away at the Pittsburgh offense, getting to Big Ben at will and making it nearly impossible for him to make plays. The defense has been incredible all season, but it was even more important last night, against a very good Steelers team and they handled this team with ease. Aldon Smith, who is likely set to be the defensive rookie of the year, man handled offensive lineman Max Starks, an 8 year veteran who had absolutely no chance at stopping the bull rush of Aldon Smith.

It's easy to focus a lot of energy on the defense because they dominated the game from the word go, but that wouldn't be fair to this offense. Alex Smith and the offensive line have taken a lot of heat in the past 4 weeks and for good reason. They allowed 18 sacks in the past 3 games and made Alex Smith's job almost impossible. Facing the second best defense in football was not an easy task, but the offensive line met the challenge and far exceeded expectations. They didn't allow a sack, they gave Alex Smith time to get the ball to his receivers and they created holes for the running backs all night. Alex Smith missed a lot of targets and left at least three TD's on the field and the team settled for field goals far too often again, but he manufactured touchdown drives in crucial moments of the game, made some amazing throws and deserves a lot of credit for doing more than managing the game and not turning the ball over. He faced the biggest challenge of the season, looked the Pittsburgh defense in the face and absolutely picked them apart.

ESPN "experts" were quick to point out that Big Ben was hurt, James Harrison didn't play and San Francisco didn't get the best Pittsburgh team last night. They failed to mention that San Francisco is playing without the captain of their defense, all pro signal caller Patrick Willis. The refused to acknowledge that Frank Gore is playing hurt and refused to make excuses, making damn sure he did everything within his power to give his team 150%, as he always does. They didn't want to accept the the offensive line of San Francisco has been banged up in recent weeks and didn't use that as an excuse and played better than they have all season and punt returner Ted Ginn Jr. left the game with an ankle injury early in the 2nd quarter. A quick note about injuries. If you are injured or hurt as a player, you have a choice. Play hurt or don't play at all. If you decide to play and things don't go your way or your performance was not up to par, you can't turn around after the game and claim that the injury prevented players from performing. It's actually pretty simple. If you play and you are hurt, good for you, but don't make excuses for your performance because things didn't go your way. Yes, Big Ben should not have played in that game but he did and he got killed. I didn't hear Frank Gore complaining after the game that he didn't perform better because he's been playing with a twisted ankle and bummed knee all season. The better team won the game and the excuses are falling on deaf ears this morning. San Francisco is playing at a very high level and will need to maintain that swagger as the head to Seattle this Saturday to play in a very loud and tough environment.

Have the Niners peaked?

Leading up to a brutal matchup versus the only team in NFL history with more superbowl rings than the San Francisco 49ers, fans are beginning to show concern. San Francisco has allowed 18 sacks in the last 3 games, more than it allowed during any 3 game stretch during it's previous 8 non winning seasons and it looks even worse than that while watching them play. Alex Smith takes the brunt of the criticism because A) he's Alex freaking Smith and B) when you are the QB, you take the heat when the team loses and get lots of praise when the team wins.

David Akers is set to break Jerry Rice's single season scoring record, a stat that makes many Niner fans cringe. We really don't care about Jerry's record being shattered, but we are very disappointed that it's being broken by a kicker because it highlights what we already know. This team leaves way too many points on the field, they settle for field goals far to often and our chances of beating playoff teams with field goals are not good. Early in the season we won games ugly, we won road games many thought we had no business winning. But now we have lost 2 of the last 3 and the team is not only injured, but not playing up to expectations of fans and of their head coach and his staff. Has the team peaked? It's easy to forget that this season was supposed to be a rebuilding season, with a new head coach, a new philosophy for running a football team and tempered expectations. That being said, this team got out fast and has overachieved, which leads fans to want more and more. Primarily because we are still living the dream of the super bowl parades and parties that followed, but this team is much different and we need to show some patience. To answer the question, no, they haven't peaked. I believe in this team and I know that they can play better, beat teams up in the trenches and make the fans proud, but I will admit that we now have very high expectations for this team. Sadly, with high expectations come even bigger letdowns and I won't be shocked when this team gets their butt kicked in the first playoff game in almost 10 years.

A long time coming

The San Francisco 49ers clinched the NFC West with a 26-0 win over a bad and beat up St. Louis Rams team yesterday and it's been a long time since Niner fans have been this happy. The celebrations seemed a bit less fruitful than some may have imagined, considering it's been seven long, sad years since this franchise tasted a playoff birth, but it comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed coach Harbaugh this season. His style is much different than any coach who has ever stalked the sidelines in San Francisco and he has goals that have not been met. Making the playoffs is obviously the first step to the Superbowl, but he also recognizes that just getting a ticket to the dance is not enough; not for these players, these coaches and definitely not for these fans. Harbaugh was calm and collected, as usual, after the game and gave us the same speech he has been giving all season. "We left a lot of plays on the field and we need to improve." This coming from a first year head coach who took over one of the proudest franchises in all of sports, when the team was down and out, playing some of it's worst football in franchise history. He stepped in with a very short amount of time, because of the NFL lockout, and got this team to play hard, to play with heart and to think of the team first, of themselves last. He is hands down the coach of the year and I am more impressed by his ability to coach under adversity than I am with his win loss record.


Sunday December 04, 2011 was also a historic day for 49ers running back Frank Gore. He passed the late great Joe Perry and became the franchises leading rusher. More importantly, Frank Gore is the face of this franchise and you can't find a face that better defines what this franchise has been through since he was selected 65th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. He was one of the great talents coming out of that draft, but was injured so frequently that many scouts and teams were unwilling to take a chance, but San Francisco did. Frank has played for losing teams in each of his 6 previous season and has rarely made a fuss about it. In fact, he was criticized by many for crying after a tough loss his rookie season. The man played injured, he has played hurt and he has never asked for anything other than an opportunity to play and his primary goal is to be the best teammate he can be. I have a great deal of respect for Frank Gore and yesterday was yet another example of his dedication and team first mentality. It has been a long time coming, but this man was patient and now he has a chance to do something special once the playoffs begin.

Congrats to the Niners, to the players, the front office, the ownership group that I have been extremely critical of and most of all, congrats to the greatest fans in professional football.