After briefly discussing the hopeful retirement of Berrt Farve, bignerd and I had a brief back and forth about who would become San Francisco's biggest individual rivalry. I figured this topic would be a nice follow up to Fooch's post regarding the 49ers team rivals; determining San Francisco's individual rivals should be equally entertaining. My first choice was Aaron Rodgers, for obvious reasons, while bignerd felt Darnell Dockett would be deserving of public enemy number one. Sure Dockett is a public enemy, but I don't think he deserves the number one status for several reasons. The biggest reason? The Cardinals are just 2-4 against the 49ers during Dockett's career, and Dockett ain't no Kevin Greene-type. Bignerd mentioned that Rodgers hasn't done enough to warrant the title either, something I can definitely agree with. Let's see if we can figure out just who might be San Francisco's biggest enemy, shall we?
Darnell Dockett
He tweets a lot of smack, and has already established a rivalry with Vernon Davis because of it. Dockett is going to have to perform incredibly against San Francisco in the coming season for him to warrant our hatred. After Davis and Co. punk him twice, Dockett will likely shut his trap. This just doesn't have the media hype potential that other rivalries could have. Stat Line versus the 49ers: 6 G, 3 sacks, 1 INT, team wins 2, team losses 4. My verdict: Not deserving enough. Oh Snap. [Andrew's Edit: Dockett has actually played 12 times against San Francisco, and the Cardinals are 6-6 in that span. My bad]
Aaron Rodgers
This would be a media hoopla that journalists could get behind with Rodgers being the QB passed over in favour of current 49ers QB, Alex Smith. With the recent success of Rodgers (and success might be an understatement), it won't be hard to hate this guy, especially if Smith flops this season. However, at this point Rodgers hasn't done enough against the 49ers on the field to become such a highly ranked enemy. Stat Line versus the 49ers: 1 G, 344 Pass Yards, 2 Pass TDs, 0 INTs, team wins 1, team losses 0. My verdict: If he starts beating the 49ers on a regular basis, yes, until then, maybe.
Matt Hasselbeck
The Seahawks QB has made a career out of beating the 49ers, Matt Hasselbeck has lead his team to a 10-4 record versus San Francisco. He's flown under the radar for so long because of his lovable nature, his non-threatening demeanor, and most of all, his ugly bald head. We shouldn't let that stop us from crowning Hasselbeck as public enemy number one though. What should stop us is the fact that the QB will be 35 in September, and there's probably not much time left in his career. Stat Line versus the 49ers: 14 G, 3210 Pass Yards, 23 Pass TDs, 12 INTs, team wins 10, team losses 4. My verdict: 2004 was a brutal season watching Hasselbeck carve up the Niners, 2005 wasn't easy either. He may be old, but as long as he's in the in league, I'd be willing to give him the honour.
O.J. Atogwe
Hey, why not? Atogwe is dating Coach Singletary's daughter, and it seems like each interception he's had against the 49ers has had an impact. With a recently signed deal with the Rams, I think it would be fitting for O.J. to become a big enemy. Sadly, I'm afraid if the Rams improve significantly much of our (I'm talking about us Niner fans) hatred will be turned towards Sam Bradford. After all, nothing spells bitter like seeing a first overall draft pick pan out. Stat Line versus the 49ers: 5 G, 3 INTs, team wins 2, team losses 3. My verdict: He'll have to have some pretty notable performances in upcoming games to get himself on the radar. Either that, or cheat on Sing's daughter.
Ok Niners Nation, the ball is now in your court: who do you think should be Public Enemy Number One? (You know, should Brenda finally retire)