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.

Elitist mentality has returned to San Francisco

Thanksgiving night was the biggest challenge this Niners team has faced all season and the Niners flat out got their ass kicked in every aspect of the game. Some fans latched on to coach Harbaughs excuse machine, claiming the short week and cross country flight would prevent them from playing their A game. Last time I checked, professional football players don't travel Southwest, despite the "your bags fly free" promotions. They fly on chartered jets, shack up in 5 star hotels and get treated like royalty. Yes, if guys were banged up in the game versus Arizona, then likely guys were not playing at 100%.

I don't want to spend much time on the game itself, because sadly, I didn't get to watch much of it. What I'd like to talk about today is the mentality of some of our fans. Some of the fans have reverted back to the mid 80's and 90's, a time in Niners history when the team was favored by double digits every week, went on the road in the west coast time zone, east coast time zone, against good teams and bad and beat the living crap out of teams regardless of when and where they played. This team is not that team. Not only are they not made up of future hall of famers they way those old teams were. This is a team that had 10 seasons of mediocrity, a number of 10 loss seasons and practically gave up once the team was losing a game. The entire franchise was a complete disaster and they were clearly a laughing stock in the NFL. Jim Harbaugh has changed the mindset and focus of his team, in a very short period of time, but let's keep in mind that he has only been around for half a football season. It's easy to forget this because the team has been playing so well, winning games on the road and si.com had them ranked #2 in their power rankings going into the game at Baltimore. Let's not lose sight of the fact that this franchise is in the process of rebuilding their reputation, rebuilding the winning mentality of it's players, coaches and fans.

All of that being said, I am guilty at times. I am overly critical of Alex Smith when he doesn't play well and refuse to give him credit when he does play well. I still want to see Steve Young on the field, dropping back to pass, avoiding the pass rush and refusing to take a sack and rushing toward contact, beating up linebackers before he takes a vicious hit fromt he safety because he refuses to slide. That's what is still fresh in my mind as a Niners fan it's very difficult to accept anything less, but this team isn't the team I watched growing up. It's a new team, with new coaches and players trying to make a name for themselves and I need to embrace that because despite a tough loss to a very good Baltimore Ravens team, we still have an opportunity to clinch the division this coming weekend and that's a beautiful thing, if I allow myself to accept it, which I probably won't.

Play of the game

The final play of the Niners/Giants game on Sunday was truly incredible. Yes, Justin Smith got his hands up and blocked that ball, preventing a completed pass. But, if you watch the play again, you will see Giants tight end Jake Ballard, who made two great catches during the game and runs 6'6" 275 lbs. covered by Patrick Willis, the best linebacker in the entire league. Willis didn't just cover him, he was all over him. He stuck with Ballard's every move and prevented Manning from being able to make a big play to tie the football game. Patrick Willis was quoted in the San Francisco chronicle recently, saying " To be on track the way we are, to be able to be winning, I'll do whatever it takes. I don't care if I have to go back and play in the middle of the field." Well, that's EXACTLY what he did on the final play of the most important game in Niners football this decade. He covered the guy that was going to get the ball, he made sure that there was absolutely no way the ball would be completed to his guy and he put his teammates in a place to make a big play, which Justin Smith did.

Willis was asked about his stats (he is on pace for a career low 123 tackle season) and it was brought to his attention that his stats were down and he wasn't on track to have as many tackles as in years past. He said "It's not about the tackles or sacks or stats, It's about winning, that's what we're doing and that's what I am all for." Often times we hear players say that and then with their actions on the field, they tell us a different story, but not Willis. He's the team MVP on defense, he's the captain of men, but he's the consummate team player on a football team that has proven that this is not about one guy, it's about everyone on this team pulling in the same direction, doing what's best for the team.

Seeing is believing

Leading up to the week 10 matchup between San Francisco and The New York football Giants, I was anxious, excited, nervous and uncertain of our chances to beat a very good football team. Eli Manning is a top flight QB in the NFL and our defense hasn't face anyone like him this season. Across the sports world, specifically on the East coast, we are lead to believe that the Giants are the better football team and San Francisco is just not good enough to win this game. As much as I wanted to believe this team would win, but honestly, I was doubting our abilities. Alex Smith has been a player that fans have blamed for the dreadful offensive play over the past six years and I was starting to think that the old Alex Smith would eventually show his face. As a fan, I always want my team to win; as a Niner fan, I expect my team to win. That includes all the seasons when we lost ten plus games, when Mike Nolan and Mike Singeltary were coach, it didn't matter. During yesterdays game, I still had this feeling deep inside my gut that lead me to believe that we would lose.
As the game began to unfold, I started to think that maybe this team was different. Maybe they would step up when the game got tough and when New York started to drive the field, score points and inflict their strengths on this great defense. I kept thinking that they would find a way to lose this game, as they have so many times before. I was unable to sit still, the stress was overwhelming, I was screaming at the TV, yelling when things went bad and fist pumping and screaming at the top of my lings when the team made big plays to shut down the Giants. It was easily the most incredible football game I have watched in the last ten years. All of that being said, I needed to see this team win a big game, when times were tough and a great QB was trying to rip victory from our hands. I needed to see Patrick Willis sack Manning, I needed to see Carlos Rogers step between the ball and the Giants receiver and take the ball away. I needed to see how this team responded when Manning threw a touchdown pass and put the pressure on Alex Smith to score again. All of things I saw, lead me to believe that this team has what it takes to make a deep run in the playoffs and cause problems for the elite teams in the NFL.

Paterno and school president fired; Investigation begins

I put a few soap boxes together this week, stood atop them and shouted for Paterno and the entire athletic department to be fired, effective immediately. Last night a board of trustees in Pennsylvania ended the 61 year career of college football legend Joe Paterno and fired the school president, Graham Spanier. This is the first step forward and the first clear sign that Penn St. is taking this matter seriously.

I understand that we live in America and the phrase "innocent until proven guilty" has been uttered by many in the past few days in regards to Paterno and also to the man charged with over 40 counts of sexual assault on minors, Jerry Sandusky. In this particular case, after reading all the grand jury testimony, of which I consider to be the facts, I believe that Sandusky is guilty until proven innocent. This case has brought up a lot of emotions that I'm not used to feeling when writing about sports. Before I read the grand jury testimony, I was shocked and frustrated. After reading those documents, I became angry and wanted to hurt all the people named in those documents. I felt deep sadness for the victims of these terrible crimes and somehow wanted to step up on their behalf and do something, anything to help. The reality of the situation is far more complicated than that. All I can do is have a voice, express my concerns and help make others aware of how serious this matter really is.

Two of my friends, who don't sit in front of a computer all day as I do, feel strongly that Joe Paterno is innocent and did everything he was supposed to do as a football coach. As I was trying to help them understand and asking them to read the grand jury documents, I had to come to terms with the idea that not everyone sees this the way I do; not everyone wants to know every last detail and not everyone feels the deep sadness and anger that I do. That's a tough pill to swallow, but I am doing my best to accept that this is a case that has rocked the entire country, not just the sports world and not just a small town in Pennsylvania.

The investigation was literally set in motion within the last 24 hours and this case will get much uglier before we have a resolution. We will definitely have more questions than answers in the weeks, months and years to come. The violence that broke out last night was a simple reminder that college students are not as smart as they think they are. The streets filled with cops, cars and news vans flipped over, a city burning because the football coach of their college was fired. Were those people really out in support of former coach Paterno or have they been wrongly inspired by the occupy movements taking place across the world? I believe it's the latter and that makes this even more disturbing. I will continue to follow this case, with a heavy heart and open eyes because This is not about players taking money from boosters, it's not about Terrell Pryor driving a brand new car for each day of the week and it's not even close to what many called the "tragedy" of recruiting violations at USC. In my mind, it's not about football, coaches, legacies or wins, it's about protecting our children and standing up when we know something just isn't right, instead of looking the other way.