Week 12 - 49ers vs. Cardinals

Well, the 49ers won! Bottom line - winning. Regardless of whom the opponent is. The Niners could well have lost had they not played a good game... and they played a good game. Bottom line.

Some fans predicted a Niner loss after last week's debacle. And remain unimpressed even with a victory this week. Ahhh... to be a sports fan. I certainly can fall victim to such a supersubjective, superbiased point of view of my favorite team. So here we stand: one game out of first place in the NFC West division. Who cares if our win-loss record is 4 - 7. It may not be nearly the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl, but simply making the playoffs is the fundamental goal. Just ask Takeo Spikes, who has yet to make a playoff appearance in all his years in the league. This is supposed to be his year to make the playoffs, with the 49ers. And it could still happen.

The next opponent? The Green Bay Packers, led by that could-have-been-drafted-by-the-49ers-back-in-2005 quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. At Lambaeu Field. Can the 49ers win? Well, they have shown themselves this season capable of coming close to defeating teams with winning records - but can they win? Not coming within a late-second field goal by the other team of winning (or at least overtime), but actually win? Well, that will be found out next game. Against a winning team and on the road - that's a test the Niners have yet to pass this season.

And this next game will be without heart-and-soul Frank Gore (fractured right hip and out for the rest of the season). Can the 49ers come up with an effective game plan that doesn't include him? Brian Westbrook finally got a chance to play extensively last night - will he be able to duplicate his stupendous level of play against the Packers? How will our beat-up offensive line do? Can the 49ers defense contain the Packers like they did the Cardinals? Okay Niners: don't tell me, show me.

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Much to-do is now being made about Arizona quarterback Derek Anderson. Television coverage showed him smiling on the sidelines when his team was losing badly to the Niners. Then a reporter called him on it during the post-game news conference, and eventually Anderson blew up and left the room. My take? I'm on Anderson's side. Hey, it's an unduly stressful time for a player to be losing so badly; he and his teammate were probably just trying to relieve some of that stress. It was a 'moment' - they weren't joking around throughout the game. We're all human, and the camera caught him at an easy-to-misinterpret moment. I think it's terribly unfair to attribute a lack of caring to him, and then to badger him about it afterwards. His reaction showed more to me about his passion for the game than sharing what was probably a gallows type of humor on the sideline with a teammate. No one likes to lose and to intimate otherwise stinks.

four years already

Today is a tough day for my family - it is the fourth anniversary of our beloved mother's death. One thing that has been helping is the website that my brother set up for us several weeks ago (and all our relatives - it is set up for all the extended family) to contribute to - primarily photographs... at least those are the most important things to me. This has had me sorting through a vast collection of photographs of our family, mostly from when we were children, back to when our father was still with us too. I find it soothing. Still, I am aware that each person reacts differently to painful events in their lives. One of my siblings and one of my cousins (that I know of) do not like to look at photographs that might stir up thoughts of their loss. I find myself appreciative of anything that reminds me of my mom's presence.

I am reminded of when I was taking a computer class the year after my mother's death. The day came when it was the one-year of her passing and I decided to miss class that day; I came back the next day and described to my classmate why I had been gone. So there we were standing outside the building talking and he told me that his father had died that very morning. He wanted to go to class to take his mind off of the sadness. We all deal with things differently and as best we can.

Week 11 - Buccaneers vs. 49ers

Jingle Bells, Batman smells, the Niners laid an egg...

Yup, the 49ers were shutout at home for the first time in 33 years. Thirty-three years! That's a big zero, zilch, no points, none whatsoever in a 21-0 loss. They never made it into Tampa Bay's red zone. Just once did they get close enough to even consider going for a long field goal. They chose not to.

Going into half-time, I wasn't worried - the Niners were still just down a touchdown, and I told myself that they simply needed to make some half-time adjustments to what Tampa Bay was doing. But yesterday, the team was overwhelmingly overmatched... nothing was working. I couldn't even tell if there were any adjustments made; all I knew was the results were the same. Awful and ineffective.

I'm not an X's and O's guy, and as has been written time and again by the sports media, neither is head coach Mike Singletary. Whether defense or offense, most head coaches have experience as a 'guru' of one or the other; for example, Bill Walsh was an expert when it came to the offensive side of the ball, and George Seifert came from the defensive side. Maybe it's time for 49er ownership to realize that not having an X's and O's guy as head coach is too much of a disadvantage to overcome. As patient as I've tried to be, I can no longer listen to Coach Singletary say that they have to 'look at the film.' Because looking at the (game) film hasn't been doing much good lately, has it? Isn't he able to derive any useful information from watching the games 'live' as they happen from the sideline?

For awhile now, people have been questioning the talent the team has as far as the players go. I still think there are some very good players on the 49ers. They just have yet to be utilized to their full potential. I remain convinced that Michael Crabtree is a star in the making - he simply hasn't been put in the best situations to utilize all that talent. And I don't know what happened to the Troy Smith that we all got so excited about, but I think it had more to do with lackluster game-planning rather than his ability. Maybe he needs more experience looking over defensive sets. But I think the team owes him at least some of the same amount of time to adjust as it has given to Alex Smith. But all in all, it's looking like they're back to Square One and have to undergo yet another 'rebuilding process.'

'Buster' - easy to say and spell

It's no wonder that Buster Posey is so popular among younger fans - his name is so easy for kids to pronounce and also spell. I was thinking the other day, say for instance, that he swapped out his name with teammate Nate Schierholtz. Now that's a tough name even for us adults to spell (did I spell it correctly?); imagine what it would be like for an 8-year old. Compare it to the name Buster Posey.

Staying on the catcher theme, imagine how a generation of Little Leaguers back in the 1970's decided that they wanted to be catchers because of Johnny Bench. That's a name that rolls off the tongue too, it's so (pardon the term) catchy. Going back a little further, I can't imagine that someone with the name Joe Garagiola would capture a child's wonder nearly as much, only because his name is so darned complicated and decidedly not as 'kid-friendly.'

"Johnny Bench"... "Buster Posey"... another awesome name: "Willie Mays"...

Yeah, I know, players can hardly choose their own names, but isn't it something when things work out like that?

the kicker is like the seeker

From what I've read in Harry Potter books (I haven't read them all), I've always thought that the idea of having a seeker position in Quidditch was almost dismissive of the rest of the game; I mean, what about all the tussling and battling that is happening throughout a match... and then it can all be made moot by the capture of a snitch?

Which got me thinking - are there any other sports that are similar? And right away I thought of the field-goal kicker in football. A hard-fought game that goes back and forth for four quarters, endless battles in the trenches between the lineman, acrobatic plays by the skill players, bone-jarring hits by the defense, and it all comes down to... the kicker. All the blood, sweat, and tears being laid out for the better part of sixty minutes, and the game is decided by, yes, the kicker. In quidditch, so much being put on the line by the majority of the team, but oh, yes, 150 points for securing the snitch. Well... okay... I guess. If those are the rules, those are the rules.

The faithful reader(s) of this blog know that I am a 49ers fan. Isn't it time to admit that 'The Catch' is a play that is wayyy overrated? Sure, Joe Montana threw the ball, Dwight Clark caught the ball, but that only tied the game. It was Ray Wersching, the kicker, that actually won the game. Come on, folks, let's give credit where credit is due, the kicker won the game.

It's commonly acknowledged that quarterback Tom Brady is someday going to be a shoo-in for enshrinement into the NFL Hall of Fame. For what?? For him so-called "winning" Super Bowls for the New England Patriots? Well, who actually won those games? Tom Brady? I don't think so... it was Adam Vinatieri, the kicker, who won those games for the Patriots.

I can imagine taking my son to a football game and saying to him, "Look son, the kicker is warming up on the sidelines. See? Yeah, just pay attention to him and ignore what's going on on the field. It all comes down to what the kicker does - the rest of the game hardly matters. He's like the Harry Potter of football!"

And as I'm writing this, I am reminded that the 49ers kicker, Joe Nedney, is injured and will miss this weekend's game against Tampa Bay. Oh boy, let's hope that the outcome of this game doesn't come down to... the kicker.

Week 10 - Rams vs. 49ers

Even after a succession of 'three-and-outs' in yesterday's game against the Rams, I wasn't feeling all that frustrated; the defense was keeping the game close, and I felt that it was just a matter of time before the offense scored some more points.

There really is a comfort level in having Troy Smith play quarterback. Not only does he say the right things during interviews, but he backs it up with his play. I was listening to the radio this morning, and somebody brought up what I have been saying (to myself if not on this blog): with Troy Smith, broken plays are opportunities to make something great happen. He doesn't panic; he's got the elusiveness to avoid the pass rush, he keeps his eyes down the field, and he looks for what's opening up amidst all the mayhem.

And how wonderful is it to see our receivers getting opportunities to make plays deep down the field, or Frank Gore catching wide-open passes on plays that turn out not to have been scripted? When I saw those two critical late game completions I was thinking what a great play call from the booth and it turns out that they were ad-libbed as the offense broke out of the huddle, a matter of Frank and Troy both being on the same page and seeing the same things. And that's what... after only three weeks or so of practicing together? Haven't we been going through entire seasons and off-seasons waiting for such chemistry to develop between Alex Smith and his receivers?

Accuracy. Troy throws catchable balls, usually in stride. Not only were our receivers getting open, but he hits them - you wouldn't believe how far less stressful that is to watch. And even if he throws a 'prayer,' our guys somehow make the play. It's such a shame that his touchdown pass to Vernon Davis at the end of the game was called back, because Vernon made a truly highlight reel catch, leaping up and reaching over the back of the defender and pulling the ball in. It was an awesome play that will be forgotten because the play didn't count. But just in making the throw, Troy gave Vernon a chance to catch the ball, and catch it he did. Another 'catchable' ball from Troy, which only builds upon the confidence among teammates.

Now maybe it's just Coach Singletary being coy with the media as last night he still wouldn't declare Troy Smith the starter for next weekend's game against the Buccaneers, but whether or not Alex Smith is cleared to go health-wise, Troy Smith must be given the chance to start again. Awhile back I too had given up on this season and was stating the 49ers needed to look ahead to what's best for next season. Well, they can now do both - do what's best for next season and beyond, and still make a play for the playoffs this season... all by declaring Troy Smith the starting quarterback.

It's fun watching the Niners again!

the Earth is flat!

Yesterday's blog entry reminded me of one of my all-time favorite album covers - Point of Know Return by Kansas. Besides people getting used to the idea of our planet's place within a greater Universe only several hundred years ago, there was also the concept that the Earth is round... yes, round, like an orange or something. That must have been something to fathom when that idea was first posited - or even now: hmmm... if the Earth is round, then why aren't we leaning to the side, huh, tell me that! Why aren't the people in Australia upside down?

Ahhh... too much to process!

Anyway, the Point of Know Return album cover is a beautiful rendition of what people must have imagined the ends of the Earth looked like not all that long ago...