We often talk about the same few guys around here – Jim Harbaugh, Trent Baalke, the Smiths.
But for the most part, the entire organization is thriving, and many 49ers don’t get the credit they deserve.
So let’s address that. Here are five unsung heroes.
Joe Staley – He struggled at the beginning of last season, but so did the entire 49ers offensive line. They didn’t have an offseason, so it took them until about October to get comfortable in Harbaugh’s West Coast offense. When they did, Staley played at an elite level for the first time in his career. He gave up six sacks, but four of those came in games No. 2 and 3. After the Bengals game, he was a dominant pass protector. Also, the Niners averaged 5.2 yards per carry running behind him, which was the seventh-highest mark in the NFL. Staley was awarded with a Pro Bowl selection, and he was recently ranked the 67th best player in the NFL in a vote by the players around the league.
Isaac Sopoaga – He plays only on running downs. He doesn’t rack up stats. He doesn’t beat his man. He doesn’t collapse the pocket or hit the quarterback. But he absolutely shuts down runs up the middle. Do not try to run through Sopoaga. He’s 330 pounds and he’s one of the strongest players in the NFL – you cannot move him. The Niners top-flight defense is built around stopping the run, and although they have two All-Pro inside linebackers, Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman, those guys couldn’t make all the tackles they do if they didn’t have an anchor in the middle of the defensive line tying up blockers. For this team, Sopoaga is the perfect anchor. He allows the Niners defense to be as great as it is.
Jim Tomsula – The best defensive line coach in the NFL, Tomsula is also an undefeated head coach, winning his one game as the Niners interim head coach after Mike Singletary was fired in 2010. The team was genuinely excited to play for him that one day, which indicated how much respect he has within the organization. Tomsula has the ability to spot talent and to coach it up. The Niners hired him in January 2007, and just three months later he convinced general manager Scot McCloughan to draft Ray McDonald in the third round. Now, McDonald is a Pro-Bowl-caliber defensive lineman. Tomsula urged the Niners to sign Justin Smith as a free agent in 2008. Smith was a coming off a dismal two-sack season in 2007 for the Cincinnati Bengals. In his first season with the Niners he recorded seven sacks, and the next three seasons he made the Pro Bowl. Now, he’s considered one of the best players in the NFL. Tomsula gets huge credit for bringing the most out of Smith. Tomsula also deserves praise for helping Sopoaga become one of the best nose tackles in the league. Give him credit, as well, for Aldon Smith – who do you think coaches the pass rush in practice? Tomsula. His current projects are Ricky Jean Francois (2009 seventh round pick), Will Tukuafu (2010 undrafted free agent) Demarcus Dobbs (2011 undrafted free agent) and Ian Williams (2011 undrafted free agent). The Niners did not draft a defensive lineman in April because the organization trusts Tomsula can develop those four guys. His track record suggests the Niners made a wise choice.
Tom Rathman – The running backs coach since 2009. Shrewd, likeable, and the players want to play for him. He was the Niners fullback in the ‘80s under Bill Walsh. He’s the link to the glory days. Since he’s started working with Frank Gore, Gore has scored 26 touchdowns, averaged 101.3 yards from scrimmage per game and cemented his reputation as the best blocking tailback in football. Rathman also coached up rookie Bruce Miller instantaneously into a Pro-Bowl fullback last season – Miller played defensive end in college. Rathman demands that his running backs are tough and complete – power runners, outside runners, blockers and pass catchers – and he gets what he demands.
Ed Donatell – The defensive backs coach, Donatell had already been a successful defensive coordinator in the NFL before he signed onto Harbaugh’s coaching staff last year. In Donatell’s first season as the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons back in 2004, he improved their defense from the worst in the league to 14th best and the team went to the NFC Championship. In 2009, Donatell became the defensive backs coach for the Denver Broncos and they finished the season ranked No.3 against the pass. Donatell knows exactly what he wants in his secondary and he gets great results. In training camp last year he identified Tarell Brown as his starting right cornerback over Shawntae Spencer, even though Brown had started just five games in four years, while Spencer had started 72 games for the Niners since 2004. It was the right call – Brown’s career took off last season.
These are the guys in the trenches, the hands-on guys, the workers. Are they any others that you can think of?
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Brian Jennings! Longest tenured player on the team. Been one of if not the best snapper in the game for his entire career, a skill that is totally overlooked and unappreciated until you have some joker that doesn’t know what he’s doing in there.
Give this man his credit, it’s more then earned.
+1
+1! His name is never mentioned, so you KNOW that he’s doing a bang up job.
Funny, we all know that Bruce Jenning is the best in the business but Harbaugh brought in some competition for him, which he didnot appreciate.
Amen.
Good call on Brian Jennings!
Fangio gets his props but still worth mentioning.
In a list of top 10 (I extended it) from the last blog, I’d have Brian Jennings in there. Our ST is the best. And Jennings is the key for the FG/Punting unit. He messes up, the whole play is shot. He never does. The keystone of our best unit needs more articles (Grant) about him.
I agree 100 percent!
On Jennings Tony romo says wuh? LS holder?
Man I really hope Jim Tomsula stays and wins superbowls with the talent we have. Much props to JT glad he and Tom are with the staff. I could take losing Greg Roman next season but would hope to keep these coaches for a few more rally like them.
Love JT too!!! Players love him and you gotta love the Mafioso way he wears his shirts
Whitner needs some love too. Alot of the stuff he does on the back-end goes unoticed but the main reason Goldson and Rogers had Pro Bowl years wasn’t because of the pass-rush, it was because of Whitner.
I wouldn’t say he goes unnoticed. Just ask the players who meet him on the field. He doesn’t always get the credit he deserves, but I don’t think he’s an unsung hero. He’s a highlight reel waiting to happen.
I agree with you on everyone except Rathman. Rahman gets more kudos than the others on this list. I would agree on adding Jennings to this list. He’s mentioned, but hardly ever as a reason when the Niners win.
After watching a small Bio on Tomsula I really like this guy. He is the old school coach that stays late and gets there early. He lives football. And I hope all that Blood Sweat and tears gets him a promotion soon. Ill miss the guy, but Morgan Freeman from the movie Shawshank said…”“I have to remind myself that some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright”
As far as TR he’s another underrated coach. Which is good, because we’ve got some youngters that need some coaching before he leaves. Great article Grant, good change of pace also.
The strength and conditioning coaches did an unbelievable job last year of keeping the players healthy despite the lack of an offseason.
What about the all important water boys? Underrated if you ask me. Those guys have important jobs. A player could easily cramp up if the waterboy isnt there with a cup in hand when needed. Cmon these guys are vital to the team. =-)
The waterboys were removed from consideration due to giving the ref in Baltimore a drink during a break after the chop block call : )
LOL…..Didnt know those dirty waterboys did that. Well long live the Gatorade jugs, and the men who get their own drink. I would like to nominate the Gatorade jug then. CHEERS! lol
Don’t discount the water boys, they are the best in the business, they are the best aimers in the league. They practice all year round, to get the squirt in the center of each player’s mouth, they need to do that in all angles of the field, these men are professional water aimers. They also measure each player mouth to gently squirt the water gently down their throats, which avoids choking. Jim Harbaugh calls them real men , they are more then water boys.
Our waterboy’s are the best squirter’s I’ve ever seen…
I would include the scouts for the team as well. They seem to have a knack for finding talent where everyone else has looked.
lol at Jack squirter comment.
These water boys or as JH calls them real men get trainning to be the best in the business. They hang their certificates on a wall, just like a Dr. would.
What about DW… I think he is a huuuge part of this offense. Though he’s not glamorous, he does his job and does it well. It hurt us a bit that he wasnt healthy in that NFC Title game. Guy is a baller.
+1
bout time sopoaga gets his due respect. so funny how even when people realize an admit how good he is, they still wanna trade him just cause he isnt young. people need to realize you dont stay young forever just cause you arent a rookie doesnt mean u arent good
Not a great pass rusher when A Franklin was here, but I think he found his nitch. He has done a great job in the middle. NO RUNNING on this defense and I.S is a big reason why no one did.
Grant,
Great read! I am happy to see that you recognized both the players and the guys who spend the extra time in developing them.
Doc
Ayyy, What’s up Doc?
Great read GC
ESPN Esspy awards has the Saints/49ers game as a nominee. Get over to the website and vote for it. Because there wasnt a better game last year in ALL sports than that one.
It has a tough challenger in Game 6 of the World Series. I’ve voted a few times for the Vernon Post Game myself . Let’s get the Best Game Espy for our Niners!
Good to see Ed Donatell on the list. He’s one of the best DB coaches around. The 49ers DBs last season played great, aggressive football, and for the most part were very technically sound. Grant credited him with getting the most out of Tarell Brown, but he also got the best out of Rogers, while getting a rookie (Culliver) and undrafted FA (Brock) to be good contributors. He also allowed Goldson to play his natural game and got a Pro Bowl season out of him in return. Great job. I guess that’s why Harbaugh/ Baalke didn’t let him speak to other teams this offseason.
Not sure that is why, but after seeing what happened to this team after Norv Turner bolted on us late in the Offseason in ’07(pre Training Camp) would you allow someome to come in and monkey with our team chemistry? I know I wouldn’t. It’s not like Harbaugh didn’t see it. That was as public a breakup could be without it actually turning ugly. ;) lol
Andy Lee. I know he’s a pro-bowler in all, but that dude kept our opponents deep in their territory, even when our offense came up short. He does gets more mention that Brian Jennings (and the Gatorade jug)….but had he not kept us on the winning side of the field position game, David Akers doesn’t have a shot at owning the NFL record for FGs made, and we don’t go 13-3, and the offense’s short comings become much more glaringly obvious.
HAS EVERYONE LOST THEIR MINDS?!?
What about the Gold Rush Girls?!? Come on now… I get to see em rehearse every Sat at my SS 24 Fitness and they are truly the secret to this years success =)
lol. True dat. They know me in sec 35. Wheew
@benny
I’m not doubting. But how long can this thread be before it becomes rated MA?
Jim Leavitt. Everyone thinks the linebackers have so much talent that they don’t need coaching, but I believe Leavitt was as important as Tomsula and Donatell in making the Niners D one of the best last season.
I have to agree with this one. Jim Leavitt is a hell of a coach. Not sure I want to rank any of these guys ahead of or behind anyone else. This is a great group of coaches and they actually produce. I got kind of tired of hearing about how great Jerry Sullivan was as a coach and then his WR group always performed horribly. At some point good coaching should be reflected on the field through the play of the players. With Leavitt, he has the luxury of superior talent but he should get credit because they produce. I’m extremely happy he will be back next year.
I hate to argue against Leavitt because this might happen to me :
http://cardinaldominance.ning.com/profiles/blogs/usfs-jim-leavitt-chokes-and
Honestly though – the 49ers have so much talent at linebacker that it’s hard to give Leavitt a lot of credit. They were also fantastic in Singeltary’s regime. Sometimes talent supersedes coaching.
Niners roc thats best said
Good read Grant
Mark Uyeyama
Thanks for the name Razor! Mark Uyeyama and his strength and conditioning staff are truly unsung heroes. They make sure the players are able to be Mighty Men each and every week. The fact that so few players missed time last year is a testament to their work and a big part of why this the team put up 14 wins last season.
Sopoaga is a far better pass rusher than many people realize but in our 3-4, the NT doesn’t rush the passer. He set a junior college record with 31 sacks but that just isn’t his job here.
This is what Tomsula said about him last December: “Isaac didn’t grow up…in the third grade he wasn’t playing Pee Wee. He was running around with a rugby ball. So we moved him – I talked to him then about moving to the end spot. I just wanted to take some of the stuff off him, and let him just play. And now, as he’s been moved back in there, that’s one I guy I tell ya who is just doing a heck of a job, I mean really doing a heck of a job. And I put a lot on those guys, I really do. And he studies. Isaac’s one of those guys, if I ever showed you his notebook, it’s phenomenal. The way he writes and the notes and just how detailed he is in paying attention to things. He’ll come in in the morning and he’s got questions. He’s been writing, he’s been watching film and he works reeeeeally, really hard at it. It’s hard to play that spot. It’s hard to do both.”
“The only fat guy in that room needs to be me. I’m not into the fat guys. And I don’t mean that wrong, but you know what I’m saying – the big, heavy, you-need-to-be-350-lbs.-to-play-nose-guard types. No you don’t, you need to be strong and you need to be able to move.”
People forget how mobile from the middle Dana Stubblefield and Bryant Young were and how exceptionally strong they were. Yeah I know Stubby got caught up in the whole BALCO thing but before then he was one of the best Linemen this team put on the field post Bill Walsh era. To me this is what Icebox is. A guy that isn’t some Stay-Puft Marshmallow guy, but one that knows how to occupy blockers very well. Everyone wants Sacks which are great an all but those come 1 out of 3 or 4 Rushing Attempts max. If the Defense is averaging 4 Sacks a game for any team that’s lights out. Although you can still lose the game when you have a productive Sack day. Case in point Championship game. Our Defense gets 6 Sacks and their Defense gets 3. We lost. Should have Won but our guys Lost. Now if you look at the Tackles? The 9er Defense outplayed the Giants Defense. They couldn’t Run because there are guys that can occupy Blockers and force 3 and out with Mike and Ike cleaning it up.
Do I want Sacks? Hell yeah I do. But honestly Sacks aren’t the end all be all to whether a team Wins or Loses. Gimme that stout Run Defense all day long and twice on Sunday. ^_^
I say KW …Giants said so …agree?
Larry Grant. They didn’t miss a beat with him filling in for the best inside linebacker in the world last season.
Agreed.
Grant,
Excellent article and I agree form start to end.
An awful lot of boot licking for an 870 word pre-4th of July blog post. Do they mail you their soiled loin cloths when you actually put some effort into your writing?
I’m trying to figure out what about this post seems to have offended you.
Tomsula, Donatell, Sopoaga, Rathman and Staley all did great jobs last year without a lot of attention.
You could argue that Staley isn’t really unheralded but I wouldn’t call that “boot-licking”.
I wouldn’t use the word offended, I’m picking(jokingly) with the people praising GC for this blog article. Thas all. Problem with these posts is you cant see my poo eating grin.
Teddy Ginn Jr.
The first 49er to have back to back returns for Touchdown in both Kick and Punt Return duty. He may not even be an average Receiver but his yards per return are near the top of the league with only Devin Hester having a better average. We saw exactly why the 9ers need a guy with his skills and speed Returning kicks. He may not break one every time he touches the ball but it was his return average that set the Offense up in good field position more often than not.
Also, I think you should check your game logs Grant. Icebox DID play on Passing downs as more and more teams were forced to throw on 1st and 2nd downs when All Day was not on the field. This led to Smith being put on the field during Run situations later in the season and Haralson being kept on the Sideline. Also Icebox was used in Ironman duty as an extra lead blocker as well as hauling in a well thrown Pass from Alex Smith.
Alex Smith should also be included here for what he did with this team during the lockout. What he did was one of the biggest factors in why this team was as successful as it was. If Morgan and Edwards don’t go down for most of the season with injury I think that more Productive Passing days would have been the norm rather than the exception to the rule.
You can say what you want about our Defense(I won’t disagree too strenuously either) but the teams we faced(Detroit, Cinci, Tampa etc) a lot of those teams were having good to great starts until they faced the 9ers and lost personnel or had weaknesses exposed by both every facet of this team. Detroit pretty much just squeaked into the Playoffs because of this. The Eagles? It’s not like our team unexpectedly drew the Hackensack Pop Warner Champ every week. Hell our team didn’t even see a second Division game til after the Midway point of the season. The Baltimore game was a badly scheduled game. No way a Team from one side of the country should play another team on the other side on 3 days rest. I think had our squad had at least 5 days between games that game has a different outcome.
Anyway these are two guys that should have been listed and weren’t imho. -_-
Agree wth your records comment.
We faced a lot of winning teams last year. We beat them. They fell apart. Ending with a below .500 record.
Everybody thinks we had a weak schedule based upon the ending W-L record of our opponents. They weren’t bad until we beat them.
Add to that our division foes who stank to start the year, and had losing records when they played us, but were among the hottest teams when we did face them, and last year was not easy. A lot harder than the final records indicate.
I suspect this year will be easier. More so because our best unit (D) goes against the opponents best unit (offense) this year. And defense beats offense. Last year we played a lot of good defenses. That didn’t help our learning on the fly WR weak offense look good. This year, we face more weak D, and strong offenses. This favors us more so than last year even.
Hey, I agree with both of you. Last year was a hard slog against very good teams. I don’t get all the “This season is going to be so much harder…” “Look at that schedule…”, “The Niners will have to step it up several notches to have the same success…” “Our offense needs to come alive…”, “Make or break for AS…” etc comments. If they play as well as last season, and (very important) stay healthy in the playmaker positions, they will be just fine.
Ribico….Living on the east coast you should know like us west coast fans that traveling over there or here is a very difficult task. We didnt have those east coast games last season. Our division is shaping up to be tougher. Last season we had some mini miracle wins with big T.O’s and late TD’s at the right times. Dont expect that again. Smith is in another make or break season, Id say bigger than ever. He has NEVER faced this much pressure before. The winning expectations are back in SF. He is loaded with weapons. Every excuse for his failures before are now gone. And he’s working with a year to year contract. Id bet he’s still peeved over the Manning situation.
The defense is under big pressure to duplicate what they did last season. Its not going to be a cake walk. Offenses have another year to scheme against them. They will also have to bring it bigger and better than last season. One article wrote “The 49ers are no longer the hunter, but the hunted” Teams will be playing their best football against us now. To play like last season would be OK, if it was the first year doing it. They MUST play better than last season to win it all. Cant argue your opinion on it, but when it gets here you will see. The 2012 49ers WILL be better than last season, and it WILL be on the offensive side of the ball.
@ninermd:
We didnt have those east coast games last season.
Huh? Did they move Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington DC some place else?
Dont forget Detroit and Cincinnati. We had a brutal road schedule last year and this year is no better. This is the NFL where parity reins!
MD, you talk about Alex having a pressure year, that could be said for a lot of players. Dont pin it all on Smith to have a productive year. Vernon, Moss, Gore, Crabtree, and about 10 other guys need to have big years. Why is it always just Alex?
Scwetty,
You thought relocation was limited to the teams? Good “hanging” out with you yesterday. Trying to stay in the air conditioning today.
>>Last season we had some mini miracle wins with big T.O’s and late TD’s at the right times. Dont expect that again.
I’m not. But I’ll trade some of those “miracles wins” for last minute breakdown losses (Dallas – the fumble lying on the ground just waiting to be jumped on. Rams – tighten up some of that secondary tackling. NYG playoff game – i’m betting the winning point differential off TOs won’t happen again *this season*).
In other words, a wash.
>>Our division is shaping up to be tougher.
On paper. Weren’t the Rams and their “elite” QB supposed to run away with the division last year?
>>We didnt have those east coast games last season.
And as Claude posted… What? We had, always will have, our share of east coast games. I’ll match last year’s Cincy (playoff team), Philly (a good team until they played us), Detroit (playoff team), Washington, Baltimore (playoff team, ridiculous 3 day break) games with this year’s Packers (early season – a real break), Minnie (pfft), Jets (In the bag, as I’ll be there!), Pats (by this point in the season, may be a giveaway) games.
@Jack:
Talcum powder would have taken care of that problem.
And I’m not buying the “one team sneaking up on another team” argument/meme. Maybe in the first 1/4 or first 1/2 of the season… Maybe. But with the technology, game film, and gigantic coaching/scouting staff available to each NFL team, no one “sneaks up” on anybody. If that does happen, the team “snucked up on” should fire their entire staff on the grounds of incompetence.
Ribico,
You’re willing to trade “miracle wins” for breakdown losses. Really?…..we lost to the Rams? Philly at 1-2 was a good team when we played them?
Dude, I know it is HOT back there. Stop hanging out with Schwetty…seek some cool air and try to get yourself together, LOL…
Ribico,
I agree with you. This constant babble about the schedule being harder is BS. Every season is hard. Last year the Niners played the best Division in the AFC. This year they play arguably the best division in the NFC. So what? Every year the schedule is hard and this year is no exception, but the idea this year is harder than last year is simply mindless hype.
Jack, my point was if you argue some Niners wins were due to bounces of the ball that won’t happen again then inversely, some (most) of the losses were bounces of the ball and also won’t happen again. Yes, it’s a wash. Capice?
Philly, even at 1-2, was picked to win the division. If you listened to the experts. They still had them winning the division up until they were mathematically eliminated. Why not? They had a “balling”, “elite” QB, went on a FA tear, NYG had a history of 2nd half collapses, etc. My point is that we are scheduled to play “tough” teams this year. Just like the “tough” team that Philly was last year, except they weren’t so tough after all, were they? As it will invariably turn out with some “tough” opposition this year as well.
Capice Rib : )
Got it the first time. The scheduling is what it is. The bigger deal is those bounces going our way.
For all of those who like to romanticize how similar 2011 was to 1981, remember how ’82 turned out…just sayin.
We are cool, Jack. ;) And so is this indoors A/C.
The one big difference between ’81 and ’12 invalidates the similarities, IMO. If we are talking end of season, ’12 was much more like ’83. And we all know what happened in ’84 :)
Oops, I meant the ’11 season … Don’t want to get to far ahead of myself.
“Last season we had some mini miracle wins with big T.O’s and late TD’s at the right times. Dont expect that again.”
Oh. You mean like the 1981 Niners beating “America’s Team” in the title game in which JM threw up a pretty high pass, and DC reached up towards to the moon to bring it down.
If somehow comeback wins don’t matter much or are not indicative of good play, someone here has a major issue with the greatest QB of all time.
Wins are wins. The good ones find ways to win more than not. That means looking good when it counts when you stank for the first 55 minutes. If you put that much stock into the score and not the win, I suggest soccer. Scoring goals is a major tie-breakers that is often used to seperate two teams with identical records. into the next round. The same is not nearly so true of football. Wins are what matter. not scores.
@ribico
“If they play as well as last season, and (very important) stay healthy in the playmaker positions, they will be just fine.”
If the offense plays like they did last year, their results will be better than last year. Last year we played a lot of tough defenses. Defenses which stopped a lot of teams, not just us from scoring a lot.
This year, we face the likes of the Pats/GB defense. Compare them to the Pitt/Baltimore D, and…well….you can’t. Beyond the fact that each team sports a defense. Same skill gets better results against bad defenses than against good defenses. And this year, we play a lot of bad defenses (from last year).
Add to that the notion that our offense is a lot better this year, and, well, I hope you have enough money saved up to make the trip back west to the title game this year.
:- )
Ribico and Claude……3 true east coast games last season. Bal being the only playoff team. What team that we played last season compares to N.E, GB, and N.O? I would even throw Chi in there too.
Dal? Nope
Pit? Nope
Cin? Nope
Philly? Nope
These 3 games are also on the road. And with our division BEING tougher next season. You guys are crazy. Ribico….Remember our division like everyone else had a short offseason too. Carrol has some talent up there and we normally dont fare well up north, Arz and their defense will be a very good one with another season with their new DC, Stl isnt a real threat, but they are division rivals. REMEMBER WHEN THE CRAPPY 49ERS WOULD WIN SOME GAMES AGAINST THE VERY GOOD SEAHAWKS AND CARDS??? Its because anything can happen in division games. I like the fire. And I think we will do well, but ONLY if we step up our game on the Offense, and that means ALEX SMITH!!! This schedule IS tougher than last seasons. I think you two are a minority in this thinking.
Very true Rib. I feel sorry for the NFL of this team duplicates ’84. DOMINATION!!!
DS94everXev says:
July 5, 2012 at 2:16 pm
“Last season we had some mini miracle wins with big T.O’s and late TD’s at the right times. Dont expect that again.”
Oh. You mean like the 1981 Niners beating “America’s Team” in the title game in which JM threw up a pretty high pass, and DC reached up towards to the moon to bring it down.
Yeah and they went on to win THE SUPERBOWL, STUPID. So whats your point? Where did I discredit the only reason youre on here…Alex Smith? Ds…..How mant winning drives does Smith have in his playoff career? 1. Which was very nice. Now Ill let you answer this one, How many does Montana have in the playoffs and Superbowls? “que the jeopardy music……………………………………………….. Gawd you’re Pathetic. Oh and I thought you werent reading my posts anymore??? Stalk much? Wheew
FDM says:
July 5, 2012 at 12:02 pm
MD, you talk about Alex having a pressure year, that could be said for a lot of players. Dont pin it all on Smith to have a productive year. Vernon, Moss, Gore, Crabtree, and about 10 other guys need to have big years. Why is it always just Alex?
FDM……..I was responding to Ribico’s opinion on our team. Thats my stance on the schedule and on the pressures of Smith. I also agreed about PH with Ceader. So why are YOU picking one opinion to call me out on? I should ask you FDM. Why is it always just Alex?
Now for your other part of the post I would like to further my horizons with an answer on the rest of the team. Vernon, Moss, and Gore. Have had proven monster seasons. PRO BOWL ONES AT THAT….. Now MC i do believe he is in the same boat as Alex, but a wr isnt the leader of an offense. You know the QB is. So yes FDM Smith first and then MC needs to show up and have an awesome season. Now if I stated they WOULDN’T, Please feel free to pick that opinion apart. Have a great day FDM and GO 9ERS!!!
md
Your whole purpose in life is to ruin other lives. Makes sense now.
If you don’t like what I read, you are seriously screwed up for you keep on reading it. Go back in your hateful world until you can get thru a post without, well, being you.
md,
Off the top of my head Montana had 3 come from behind playoff wins as a 9er…
’81 Cowboys
’83 Lions
’88 Bengals
Did I miss any?
MD,
Your problem is you’re singling out the best teams on our schedule this year while missing the fact they make up 1/4 of the overall schedule. Last year the Niners faced 5 teams over 500 outside their division. This year they face 5 teams who were over 500 outside their division.
Last year they faced 5 playoff teams. This year they face 5 playoff teams from last year.
The biggest difference between this year and last year is the defenses they faced last year were far better than the teams they’ll face this season. Chances are the Packers and Pats will improve in that area, but that doesn’t change the fact the defenses were much tougher on last years sched.
If you want to say we face some teams higher on the pole this season, that is fair, but the overall quality of last years schedule was as good or better than this years will be. That’s not to say I’m predicting 13 wins again, because I’m not, but the schedule as it’s own entity is no harder this year than last year after the top 3 teams we face, and is probably easier after you get past those 3.
Lol Ds……Thats all you got? I ruin others lives? How because of an opinion? WOW! Thats a pretty weak person. Hey, stick to your words and you should be alright. Its funny because I get along with most on here, because I have a clear and fair way of thinking. Sorry Ds, if I pull those rose colored glasses off of your face. Continue reading though.
Rocket…….Better defensive or better offensive teams dont matter. Team wins do, Remember? We know what kind of teams we played last season, but there isnt a team we didnt play last season that are tougher than those 3, and what’s your opinion on our division? Better? worse? or the same as last season?
I’m here for football md. You’re not. You are here becasue it is the last place for you to act like yourself and jerk others around in our society and have it be acceptable.
If you want to get into that, good for you.
Congrats, you win the pissing contest. You made your family proud.
Judging from rockets reply though, you aren’t winning the football side. That is why you revert to those childish antics of yours.
Ds….You’re here for football? Ha ha haaa NO You’re here for Alex Smiths honor. Dont fool yourself. You dont know squat about football. Stick to online stats and wild guesses. And the quick 49er history your cubby little fingers type up in a hurry. And a far as Rocket………Ho in the world did he rebuke my take? He and I and Ribico and anyoe else can “GUESS” how tough it will be, but we wont know till the end of the season. I do know that if you compare winnng% fom last seasons teams thi year is TOUGHER! Thx try again Ds….. Now beat it.
Jack Hammer says:
July 5, 2012 at 2:57 pm
md,
Off the top of my head Montana had 3 come from behind playoff wins as a 9er…
’81 Cowboys
’83 Lions
’88 Bengals
Did I miss any?
VERY GOOD JACK!!! Except Ill accept the comeback in KC also, since we’re talking about the individual.
Dont forget his 33 total comebacks
His 31 4th q comebacks
His 3 Superbowl MVP’s
His 0 Int’s in the Superbowl
And his “127.8 qbr in Superbowls…….The qbr that the Smithers love to bring up.
So now Jack can you answer for ds this question since it likes comparing a Legend to a Lemon. And totally bails out on the subject.
How many does Alex Smith have?
*Now for all of the Smith fans fuming right now. The lemon tag go’s for EVERY QB but a handful that compare to the greatest. So take it easy, I still have faith in Smith* Just makes me sick that a certain alien still brings the greatest into the Smith debate.
The biggest difference between this year and last year is the defenses they faced last year were far better than the teams they’ll face this season. Chances are the Packers and Pats will improve in that area, but that doesn’t change the fact the defenses were much tougher on last years sched
…Rocket
Rocket…….this makes no sense. , NYJ,AND CHI, are known for having good defenses also. Mia isn bad either. And secondly We didnt face offenses we will see this season last season also. Our 3 tough road games are the 3 best offenive teams also. If you dont think we will need to score a lot of points in these gaes you’re crazy.
And Im stll aiting on your opinion on our division. Im thining the NFC West isgoing to be a tough division
Ummm, that’s a tough one md…gonna guess 1?
Smith can’t sniff Montana’s jock to this point in his career. You are an idiot to compare the two.
Hammer this is for you Buddy
http://youtu.be/DvOHbxBAEN8
md,
you make, as well as, make up points.
>>Remember our division like everyone else had a short offseason too
But no other team was installing a complete new staff/system like we were.
>>What team that we played last season compares to N.E, GB, and N.O?
Baltimore, easily. The year before they CRUSHED NE in the playoffs. This year they were right there with NE until the refs and Cundiff handed the game to the overated Pats. GB will be a test, no doubt about it (if we lose that one, watch mass hysteria reign around here), as will NO (depending on what apres-scandal team/coaches show up). New England – so late in the season, our playoff seeding might be set – that game could be a rest the starters after the first two series type of deal.
>>Its because anything can happen in division games.
If it comes close to anything to a split on division games, we don’t deserve to be going anywhere near the Superbowl. I’ll be shocked if that happens.
>>If you dont think we will need to score a lot of points in these gaes you’re crazy.
NYG held Packers to 20, Pats to 17 (the elite Brady led team scored as much as that woeful 1-13 third down QB led 49ers. Huh. Imagine that). In the Playoffs. With everything on the line. md, you don’t think our defense is as capable as the Gints’?
@ribico
That would require 3 things of md
1. Not hate AS.
2. Not hate those like AS.
3. The defense wasn’t given a large enough lead forcing AS to comeback.
Well, he’s 1/3 the way there.
“But no other team was installing a complete new staff/system like we were.”
The Rams were installing a new offense, and the Cards were installing a new defense…
Understand that everything was new for the 9ers, but this thought that they will benefit more than other teams due to a full offseason is a myth.
The 9ers will benefit more from the better offensive players then they will from extra practice time.
MD,
Rocket…….this makes no sense. , NYJ,AND CHI, are known for having good defenses also. Mia isn bad either.
Last season we faced 6 of the top ten defenses in the final rankings. This season going by those rankings, we’ll face one. There is no comparison.
And secondly We didnt face offenses we will see this season last season also. Our 3 tough road games are the 3 best offenive teams also. If you dont think we will need to score a lot of points in these gaes you’re crazy.
You are Deviating from the subject again MD. I’ve said nothing about how much we have to score and clearly stated we face some teams at the top of the league this season. What you need to remember is a schedule’s strength is not measured by 3 games; it is measured by 16 and the overall strength of this schedule is easier than last year once you get past those 3 teams. There is no doubt these games will be difficult to win, but after having watched how well the Ravens did against the Pats with a similar defense to ours, and how well we played the Saints, I think we’ll be ok. The offense will have to be on top of their game though; no question about it.
And Im stll aiting on your opinion on our division. Im thining the NFC West isgoing to be a tough division
I think it’ll be better but not by much. The Cards still don’t have a QB. The Seahawks still don’t have a dependable Oline and the Rams are starting over with a new HC. The potential is there, especially defensively for this division to be tough, but then again division games are tough every year. The Rams were terrible last season yet it was a struggle to beat them in the final game.
MD,
Ribico and Claude……3 true east coast games last season.
You’re splitting hairs here. There were 5 games played in the Eastern time zone which is the key; not an extra half hour on the plane. Early starts are what kill the West Coast teams and the Niners overcame that very well last year.
@rocket:
ninermd did more than split hairs. He made the incorrect statement that the 49ers did not play any east coast games last year. When ribico and I pointed out his mistake, he started talking about quality of opponents.
It’s a classic ninermd “debating” technique: make an [absurdly] incorrect factual statement in support of your position; if anyone calls you on the incorrect statement, change the subject and act like the error never occurred.
No doubt about it Claude. There are many on here who can’t deal with their opinions being blown up by the facts. I guess it would be boring if everyone used common sense though wouldn’t it?
Donatell get’s my vote for sure,
I know that your Front 7 works in Tandem on the field with the backend but C’mon people…..Did anybody see the 49er Secondary being as good as it was before the 2011 Season?
Actually I saw it being that good. Unfortunately Manusky tried to overwork the bend but don’t break philosophy by staying on the Sidelines and not making the necessary adjustments but one time a game. Half Time is a good opportunity to coach up your unit on the things you see the other team doing in the first half and what they’re probably going to do to counter what you’re calling. Instead there was none of that. As it is Manusky is out of a job(no longer with San Diego) and we got rid of some good productive pieces.
Nate Clements was not as bad as all that. We just didn’t have the Safeties getting it done and scheme had A LOT to do with that. The only reason Nate is no longer with the team was money. He was gonna make too much on the years that were remaining on his contract so he was let go to get Nnamdi and that fell through. Then it was Joseph and then finally Rogers. It had nothing to do with Nate as a cover corner. If Taylor Mays didn’t get a Start over that crybaby Mike Lewis I’m not sure we would have had to go out and get Whitner. But I’m glad that happened. Still think Mays was raw and with a solid Coordinator coaching him up he would have been good enough to stay with the team longer than ONE season but he was traded so we won’t know anything of what could be. Brown was fairly solid before Donatell was hired. Reggie Smith had his moments as well, and Goldson has always been the guy we see delivering the big impact shot. Just injured more than he was healthy. Last season was the first productive season where he was healthy through the entire season. So yeah I did know. I did know that the scheme was more to blame than the personnel. Our Defense was damned good before last year. A change in scheme is what made all the difference in the world.
Not to break my arm patting myself on the back or anything but I’d been saying this for quite some time. Anyone that has read anything I’ve written can tell you I’ve been nothing if not consistent in this regard. ;)
Well, since you all have already covered the points I was going to make, I’ll just say Happy Independence Day!
Have a happy 4th Tuna. :)
Really good read, Grant, thanks! You wrote that Staley “struggled at the beginning of last season”. Shoot, I’d say the whole damn line struggled for the past 9 seasons, and when one of them has to come out and say, “We don’t suck”, you KNOW they suck. My question is, what was it that turned Staley from a struggling player to a Pro Bowl player? Do you have an idea, Grant? Does Joe say anything about what changed things for him?
CJ SPILMAN….should have been a ST probowler last yar..ALL HEART ALL INTENSITY ALL HUSTLE + TALENT …..TRUELY UNSUNG
@freeze
+1+1+1+1+1+1+…oh forget it.
Let’s just say a whole lot of 1′s.
Jed York.
After many misfires, the youngster looks to have emulated his uncle and hit the jackpot!
Kyle Williams. Best hands in the playoffs!
God I wish my dad had a sweet journalist gig that he could get me a job too, cause I’m a 1000 times more interesting then Grant.
I second that : p
I call BULLSHIRT! If you’re all that interesting, then how about writing something interesting, as opposed to just taking a cheap shot? Given your grammatical “skills” (just read what you wrote: “…I’m a one thousand times more interesting”) and the fact that you don’t even know the difference between “then” and “than”, I’m guessing your self-assessment is likely a bit optimistic. Keep reaching for that dream, man. Probably better to do it silently, though.
@ Rusty
Thanks for the chuckle. I share your assessment.
Good read. Regarding Staley. He *was* great last year but since made the the PB, I’d have to consider him a sung hero ;)