The Monday After...
by LooseCannon79 on Jan 16, 2012 11:02 AM PST
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PrintSo as I do most mornings upon waking up, I wiped the sleep out of my eyes, stumbled out to the living room, and turned on ESPN2's "First Take" (which on a side-note, I still prefer the original name of the show - "Cold Pizza"). This morning I was looking forward to the inevitable appearance of Steven A. Smith, who has notoriously been one of Alex Smith's biggest critics throughout the course of this season no matter what #11 had done to show that he's not "the same old Alex" all year long.
And while seeing Steven A., without even being asked about it, admit that he was having to eat crow about Alex Smith (and even throwing in an exuberant "WOW!" in describing his performance against the Saints on Saturday), I still got a chuckle as the morning of ESPN programming progressed, the focus of the analysis looking toward's this coming weekend's NFC Championship game between the 49ers and the New York Football Giants was still obviously biased toward's New York making their "run" to the Super Bowl.
Now while I'm not upset about this, as I feel like all of the doubt that the talking heads on television have had about not just Alex Smith, but the 49ers as a team, will continue to fuel this Jim Harbaugh led team as the Giants come back to Candlestick for the second time this season, I'm still left to wonder...
Is it really going to take a Super Bowl victory for these so-called "football experts" to TRULY acknowledge just what's happened in the city by the bay?
Even as I continue to watch SportsCenter this morning, the topics surrounding the NFL continue to be about Tim Tebow, whether or not Eli Manning is an "elite" quarterback, whether or not the Ravens' defense, and of course the big question - what went wrong in Green Bay? I'm sorry, but I feel like i'm being totally objective when I ask this next question...
Are the San Francisco 49ers NOT the biggest, most interesting storyline going in the NFL today?
This 49er team has done what nobody - even myself, as a staunch Alex Smith supporter throughout the years - could have ever imagined. This team that hasn't been in the post-season for nine seasons before this year is now one of four teams left competing for the ultimate prize in professional football, AND favored to advance to Indianapolis to meet the winner of the Patriots/Ravens game.
This 49er team, who finished the season last year with Jim Tomsula as their interim head coach (and please don't take that as a knock on Coach Tomsula - I LOVE that guy!) and once again just went home to watch the Seahawks of all teams continue on into the playoffs, now have a chance to go to the Super Bowl.
Yet still, those "football experts" ignore San Francisco.
The good news is, that after this coming weekend, I believe there will be no more ignoring this franchise who has been catapulted back into the consciousness of the National Football League when the 49ers send the Giants home to watch the Super Bowl with the other 30 teams that didn't get there this year.
Yeah, I said it...and I firmly believe it. After watching yesterday's game between Green Bay and New York, here's why.
I take nothing away from what the Giants did against the Packers yesterday. They made the plays they needed to in order to win the game and move on, and I was cheering them on the entire way as I wanted to see the NFC Championship Game played in San Francisco. But you can't ignore the obvious. The Packers put the Giants in position to win that game. They turned the ball over multiple times. The wide receivers dropped 8 passes that would have sustained drives, kept Eli and the Giants offense off of the field, and would have completely changed the complexion of the entire game.
Add the Packers' sudden ineptitude on offense to their absolutely atrocious defensive performance which included a ridiculous amount of missed tackles, very little pressure on the quarterback, and sub-par secondary play, and suddenly I'm questioning one thing. Did the Giants really win that game?
Or did the Packers lose it?
I believe that the answer to that probably lies somewhere in between, but at this point, it's irrelevant. The Giants won't be able to run the ball against San Francisco the way they did against the Packers, which will do what the Niner defense has done to opposing offenses all season and turn the Giants into a one dimensional offense. Add that to the special teams dominance that San Francisco has had over all teams (with the exception of the one hiccup of a game against Baltimore where even that unit struggled), and the way San Francisco's defense capitalizes on turnover opportunities combined with the way the offense protects the ball, I don't see any other outcome BUT San Francisco punching their ticket for a trip to Indianapolis in just under 3 weeks.
Is this a guarantee? Nothing's a guarantee in the NFL, as we have seen time and time again over the years - including this season as the Packers are currently cleaning out their lockers. But in my opinion, the San Francisco 49ers are the most complete team remaining out of the four left standing, and once again the Giants are going to come to Candlestick and have that reality reaffirmed to them.
In the end, all that really matters is what happens after 60 minutes of football this coming weekend. And finally, after a season that has already reached levels of "amazing" that truly can't be put into words...
Next Monday morning when I wake up, wipe the sleep out of my eyes, and turn on the television - maybe...JUST MAYBE...this San Francisco 49er team will finally be getting the respect that they've been denied all season long.
GO NINERS!
(And as I get ready to post this, of course, it was New York's "Hail Mary" at the end of the first half that got the nod as the top play of the weekend by SportsCenter, as Alex Smith's game winning touchdown BULLET to Vernon Davis was ranked at #4. Thank you for making my point, ESPN.)
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.
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I agree
Looking at some of the crap teams this year like the Bills, Browns, Jags, Chiefs, and Dolphins. If ANY if those teams next year went to the AFC Championship game sportscenter would go wild. Non stop talk about it.
Instead the 49ers are getting a quick thing on First take. They acknowledge their great year and turnaround but they are still just waiting for us to lose.
In all honesty I personally feel like we are going to lose next weekend. Not because we cant win but because ESPN has convinced me the Giants are a team of destiny that just cant be stopped because what happened in 07 HAS to happen this year. Theres no way it doesnt. Impossible. Luckily I know better then to bet against this 49ers team. Cant wait for the game.
Don't listen to them
The “talking heads” have been overlooking the Niners all season long, so I’m really not surprised when it comes down to it that it’s happening again. That team knows what they’re capable of, and really, that’s what’s most important. As long as they believe in what they’re doing, which I don’t think there’s any doubt about, then 49er football can absolutely take its show to Indy.
Who's Got it Better than Us?
by LooseCannon79 on Jan 16, 2012 1:41 PM PST up reply actions
Don't let them over cooked it for you , this is the way the Niners like it ...!!
I'm your " Huckelberry "...it's just my game ..( .AleX ) was asked , what do you think about all the game manager talk ... AleX i guess i just managed myself a VIctory ... Extend the Man ...!!
The Giants won’t be able to run the ball against San Francisco the way they did against the Packers, which will do what the Niner defense has done to opposing offenses all season and turn the Giants into a one dimensional offense.
You mean they won’t be able to average 3.5 yards a carry against us?
I kid, but only slightly. The Giants are already a one-dimensional offense. Last week they weren’t successful running the ball, rather, they passed for 9.8 YPA and that’s why they won.
I was thinking more of specific plays...
Like that ridiculous 24 yard run where they were able to get out of bounds after he crossed the field. Could you see that happening against the Niner defense? I think it’s more a matter of the missed tackles overall in that game.
But point taken. Even still, just in watching that game, I was seeing things and constantly saying to myself “not against our defense.” Maybe I’m a little overconfident, but so far, they haven’t given me a reason to second guess that yet.
Who's Got it Better than Us?
Week 10
Frank Gore got hurt early. Niner’s offense was in a major rut, settling for four FGs. Niners only put up 77 yards on the ground. Ted Ginn deflected the ball right to the Giants defender to end the Niners drive at the 24 yard line. All this and still the Niners were still up 27-13 midway through the 4th quarter. I can’t see the Giants winning this game.
All great points
And on NFL32 (or maybe it was NFL Live – all of those shows start to blur together because it’s all the same people rotating in and out of them lol) they were trying to say that it had to do with the defensive drop off of the Giants when Canty (I believe that’s who it was) went down halfway through the game.
The East Coast bias is just ridiculous.
Who's Got it Better than Us?
by LooseCannon79 on Jan 16, 2012 5:54 PM PST up reply actions
What about Jamie Dukes
You mentioned Steven A. What does Jamie Dukes have to say about alex now?
You know...
I haven’t seen him on lately…so I’m honestly not sure what he’s saying this week…lol
Who's Got it Better than Us?
by LooseCannon79 on Jan 16, 2012 7:40 PM PST up reply actions
I was angry tweeting at Scott Van Pelt today....
Since he was convinced that the Niner defense wasn’t great anymore because of the last 4 minutes of the game. He was going on about how that’s when great defenses step up their game. I (along with other Niner fans) pointed out that Drew Brees and the Saints were the league’s most prolific offense and threw the ball 63 times. Still no concession on his part.
Just last week Van Pelt and nearly everyone at espn were debating whether or not Brees deserved the MVP and openly salivating at an inevitable Saints-Packers showdown. Fast forward to today and the Saints have become a one dimensional opponent that can’t play defense… and yet still should have won the game but just ran out of clock.
National media, especially ESPN, will never allow the narrative to shift away from the locales they have an interest in. If your team is west of the Mississippi and not named the Lakers, USC or Dodgers you don’t matter. The collective media ignorance of this Niner squad isn’t new or surprising and it’s probably going to serve as added motivation.
by throwthedamnball on Jan 16, 2012 9:50 PM PST reply actions
When you said should have ran out the clock
It got me thinking. Alot of people are talking about how Alex should have gone down on that TD run saying we run out the clock and kick the game winning FG. Thats all well and good but there was still the 2 min warning and alot of time for Brees.
However what no one is talking about is Jimmy Graham. If he took a dive at the 1 yard line instead of going in for the TD they would be hosting the NFC title game not us. What a bone head move by him. It was under the two min warning and we had one time out left. Oh Well. Thanks Jimmy
Saints needed the TD
we were up by 5, what if Graham takes the dive and our red zone defense keeps them out? Media viewed it as common knowledge that Smith couldn’t pull off a game winning drive.
Absolutely
In late game, close situations like that….if you’ve got a wide open touchdown, you take it and then trust your defense. Granted, neither team’s defense held well the last few minutes, but there’s a reason the games are 60 minutes long – so if Van Pelt really said “The Saints just ran out of time” or whatever – that just makes him seem like an even bigger idiot than I already thought he was.
There are time limits on the games for a reason. The Niners scored more points within the allotted time. What’s so hard to understand about that? LOL
Who's Got it Better than Us?
by LooseCannon79 on Jan 17, 2012 9:45 AM PST up reply actions
That's what's so infuriating about the east coast media analysis...
all those ESPN guys (Mike Greenberg was blathering about Alex taking a knee today too), have all these caveats to the Niners victory over the Saints like, “Alex Smith and Vernon only won the game because Gregg Williams lives and dies by the blitz.” But in the same breath they’re ripping Williams for not blitzing enough on the last drive of the game?
All of this is to say that according to virtually all of the talking heads (aside from Mooch and maybe Trent Dilfer) believe that the Niners accidentally backed themselves into the NFC championship game. I was listening to the opening of this weeks BS Report podcast and Simmons and Mike Lombardi talked for an hour about the Packers, Giants, Patriots and Ravens before spending about 4 minutes on the Niners beating the Saints and ultimately deciding that the Giants would beat them.
This is a direct quote from Mike Lombardi on Simmon’s podcast:
“I mean Alex Smith was great and I’ve been hard on Alex Smith, he was tremendous… but it’s a high school throw to throw over a guy’s shoulder when it’s one-on-one coverage out there. I mean that’s not something that’s hard to for any quarterback. TJ Yates could make those throws.”
There it is. An NFL “expert” comparing Alex Smith’s game winning playoff performance to something any high school quarterback could do. And yet Eli Manning is being praised as an “elite” qb that could be better than his brother because he threw a wounded duck hail mary pass up for grabs (that’s twice now that his post-season “greatness” has been attributed to horrible last -second prayer throws). Simmons at least had the sense to note that it feels like the Giants and their fans are overconfident and this week has all the makings of a “nobody believes in us,” game for the Niners.
I hate ESPN.
by throwthedamnball on Jan 17, 2012 10:57 AM PST up reply actions
It sure seems like some people look really hard for reasons to be insulted.
Lombardi was talking about the long pass to Vernon that set up the touchdown. Leaving Vernon single-covered without safety help in that situation was moronic. Lombardi is right. He wasn’t talking about the game-winner, which IIRC he rightly praised. Since the comment came in the context of talking about the defense, it’s relevant. That was a horrible defensive play call.
Lombardi also, IIRC, specifically criticized the defense on the half-ending hail-mary.
I do find it interesting that Simmons often talks about “putting too much emphasis on last week’s performance” when trying to figure out the playoffs, and yet he often makes that mistake himself.
But yeah, most people outside of SF don’t seem to think we can beat the Giants. And I understand why – the Giants are playing really well right now. I’m nervous about this game, because I remember how close the last one was, how it felt like we scraped by and pulled off an upset against a better team. Yeah, that’s what it felt like to me. And we had a lot of those wins this season.
That’s awesome. But every time a team with a super bowl history is going up against the nobody-thought-they-would-be-there scraping by team, they focus on the big name. It’s par for the course. Look no further than Simmons podcast with Aaron Schatz before the Giants-Pats super bowl. It’s not personal.
And there’s nothing wrong with everybody assuming we can’t get it done. I’d rather be in this position than be the prohibitive favorite.
I like Simmons...
But you’re right – he tends to NOT be a “practice what you preach” guy. A buddy of mine chimed in on my facebook page about this post saying I made a strong case for why we need a “WSPN” lol
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by LooseCannon79 on Jan 17, 2012 11:32 AM PST up reply actions
I listened to the whole podcast
and I don’t recall Lombardi doing any praising of Alex Smith or the game ending throw other than the “tremendous,” comment that I quoted. The defense was horrible on that hail mary pass at the half, but nobody is detracting from Eli Manning’s performance because of it, where as Alex Smith’s performance is viewed as “less than,” since the Saints and Gregg Williams refused to double Vernon Davis.
I too like the fact that nobody thinks this team can win the big one and it will probably make the victory that much sweeter, but at a certain point some of these comments are downright insulting.
If Tim Tebow makes those plays instead of Alex Smith ESPN and NFL Network would dedicate entire 2 hour post game specials to just the last drive. Hell, if Joe Flacco makes those plays Lombardi is probably talking about how clutch a performer he’s become. Nobody would be talking about how a “high school,” QB could do it. You can’t say a guy played “tremendous,” and then qualify it with “but a high school QB” could perform at an equal level.
I’m not looking for reasons to be insulted, I’m just listening/reading the majority of the analysis of my team and I’m hearing a lot of backhanded compliments and ridiculous presumptions. I assumed Niners Nation would be a good place to vent the frustration.
by throwthedamnball on Jan 17, 2012 12:30 PM PST up reply actions
Funny , if you look at Mike Lombardi , that short squatty troll prolly can't even throw a Football ...!!
I'm your " Huckelberry "...it's just my game ..( .AleX ) was asked , what do you think about all the game manager talk ... AleX i guess i just managed myself a VIctory ... Extend the Man ...!!
This is second well written post I have read from you ... nicely done ..
… If …FOOCH doesn’t approach you to become a regular writer , I’d be stunned …!!
I'm your " Huckelberry "...it's just my game ..( .AleX ) was asked , what do you think about all the game manager talk ... AleX i guess i just managed myself a VIctory ... Extend the Man ...!!
Thank you
I was actually a journalism major in college, and specialized in opinion writing. I still enjoy it – I feel a bit rusty though, however this board has definitely given me the “itch” to write back :)
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by LooseCannon79 on Jan 19, 2012 11:11 AM PST up reply actions
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