How Could You Boo The Lambeau Leaper?

How could Green Bay fans boo Brett Favre in HIS house?

Wasn’t it primarily Favre who transformed this franchise from loser to victor?

How could what sounded like the majority of fans boo him when he trotted on to the field?

After all, he’ll go into the Hall with Green Bay’s own colors. Will they boo him then?

On the way to the stadium, Favre also saw some one-fingered salutes, yet he spoke with a smile and a slight laugh when recounting that after the game.

That’s class.

Up until about two years ago, I had been a Favre fan when he wasn’t playing against my Niners.

I admired him for coming back from a painful stomach problem that resulted from an auto accident, dealing honestly and very publicly with a prescription pill problem, helping his wife battle through breast cancer, and playing an out-of-this-world game so soon after his beloved father died.

And then the retirement-unretirement melodrama, the tears, the Fox interview, all the media attention, etc., and that bitterness from those past defeats to Green Bay came to the surface of this 49ers Faithful.

I jumped on the anti-Favre bandwagon.

Regrettably.

Watching him this year, and losing on a last-second bullet from Favre in Minnesota, reminded me of of this guy’s uniqueness.

I don’t think he is the best quarterback ever. It is enough to say Favre is one of the best ever. Where fans and “experts” put him is where they put him.

Tonight he showed what a champion should play like, and he showed how a champion should respond to what were really lame media attempts that basically begged him to say something controversial about Green Bay.

Call it being smart or showing class, or both, Favre didn’t bite.

I also admired him for the emotion he showed when asked how it felt like to talk to his former teammates and coaches after the game. He choked up.

Penetrating my thick head was the realization that this guy just wants to play ball, just like I did when I was much younger. Since he is a world-class athlete, he can do it.

So he sheds some tears. Big deal. He’s real.

And no one can say the guy isn’t tough. In fact, I’ll say this: Favre is the most-durable  quarterback of all time in any league.

It’s Favre’s emotion—that deeply felt love for the game and knowing Father Time is ticking—that led to the retirement drama.

No longer a Favre detractor nor a Favre naysayer, I can see that all the negative written about Favre says more about us than it does about him.

Lastly, I hope he takes Minnesota to the Super Bowl and gets another Lombardi. If any NFL player ever deserved it more, I cannot think of one.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Vernon Davis Exemplifies Singletary’s Mantras

For sports writers who doubt the efficacy of Coach Mike Singletary’s mantras that stress hard work, attention to detail, and an intense dedication to hustle, just check out Vernon Davis.

At yesterday’s game, I watched him cross the middle with two Rams trailing.

When Shaun Hill threw a strike to him, he muffed it.

Unlike the past few seasons, I just clapped my hands and said, “Next time, Vernon, next time.”

Later in the game, he came through with a tough TD reception.

Davis must have really enjoyed it when the fans at Candlestick erupted in cheers when he scored.

After all, he has not been used much as a receiver over the past few seasons.

In a feature published on the 49ers’ team website prior to the Rams game, Davis’ accomplishments this season were noted.

He has already shown improvement this year with three TDs, compared to 2008’s two.

Not only that, but his other stats are much improved: 17 receptions in four games compared to 31 total catches last year.

He has compiled 211 yards in four games to his 16-game total of 358 last season.

His yards-per-game average this year is 52.8, while having only a 22.4 YPG average for the entire 2008 season.

The guy is a stud as a blocker, and will do anything to contribute, just as the 49ers article pointed out:

“Ask him to run block last week against Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen – done – no questions asked. Asked frequently to help in pass protection a season ago – Davis obliged and was complimented by his head coach as one of the best blocking tight ends he’s ever seen.”

So why are things coming together this season?

“You grow,” the article quoted Davis as saying. “You’re developing not just as a player but as a person. When you develop as a person, you fine-tune yourself. You figure out that it’s not just about you, it’s about the team and the contributions you make on the field, helps the team.”

Davis also said he is having fun.

Well, Vernon, we’re having fun watching you!

I recommend reading the in-depth article.

 

 

 

 

 

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Candlestick Rockin’ Like DeBartolo Era; Thanks, Jed York!

The heartbreaking Minnesota loss should keep this team from becoming cocky and resting on its laurels.

Brett Favre’s game-winning magic made the 49ers realize they haven’t “won” anything yet.

It’s a 16-game season, and perhaps a playoff game.

Who knows?

But the ride has been awesome. Remember what Ronnie Lott once said?

(I’m paraphrasing.)

“It’s the journey, the camaraderie, the playing for something that’s important.”

That was then, and Ronnie Lott this week said the 49ers had to pummel the Rams after the loss to the Vikings. Well, the first half was flat, but these guys woke up in the second half.

As the photo shows, the 49ers humbled the Rams.

A shutout with Steven Jackson on the other team is still something special, no matter how bad the Rams are. If you aren’t seeing this 49ers team in person, you are missing something special.

Candlestick is rocking like the days of Lott.

If you can get a ticket, I suggest grabbing it.

Thanks, Jed York!

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

A Detailed Analysis Of Why 49ers Are Winning

“SHOW me; don’t TELL me.”

“I want winners.”

That’s it.

 

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Singletary’s Singular Vision Of “Show Me” Is Working

Today, after suffering more than I would have suffered had my wisdom teeth been pulled out by pliers without the benefit of pain relief by a blind dentist, I nearly had a cardiac when I heard the whimpering of pathetic-sounding 49ers fans.

They were on the radio telling the world who should have played this position, who shouldn’t have played that position, questioning timeouts, play-calling, etc.

I have this to say to them:

Woulda.

Coulda.

Shoulda.

Oh, one other thing: It’s a team sport.

You win and lose as a team, coaches, fans, players, cheerleaders, and crybaby fans and all.

As Coach Mike Singletary says, there are positives and negatives on every play.

I choose to focus on the positive that I saw displayed by a young, energetic, never-say-die 49ers team today.

I’ll take a hard-earned loss and the plentiful positives.

As for the negatives?

Well, if I had all the answers, I’d be the coach, now wouldn’t I?

So, whiney Niner fans, please chill.

We’re in first place.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

49ers’ Need New Color Scheme

It was a great preseason game to start off Coach Mike Singletary’s career as a true first-year coach.

Even though we lack a pass rush, and even though our quarterbacks are really pedestrian (though they try hard), I focused on some other relevant subjects at last night’s home game.

I noticed that pseudo-Raiders colors have invaded 49ers territory.

Now, maybe they are not silver and black, but they are darn close.

Try white and black.

First I must apologize to the 49ers management for my slight transgression at Candlestick.

When I saw that young fella in black, and what I thought was silver (my eyesight is no longer what it used to be), although it turned out to be white, I catapulted him over the railing.

I’ve always been the compulsive sort, kind of like fanatical animal-rights nutcases.

Anyway, the young man was OK.

It helped that he fell on that air pillow Jed York so graciously put there for me, knowing that the menace that is me would be in the stands last night.

I immediately realized my mistake when I saw him waving at me as he was losing altitude.

I thought I could make out a 49ers logo on his silver, err white and black jacket.

My suggestion so that such mistaken identities do not occur again is for the 49ers to at least put these ushers in 49ers throwback red and gold.

While they are at it, could they change the tribute to Bill Walsh that is in black and white to red?

You can leave the numbers in black, but there is something offensive about black and white in San Francisco land.

Lastly, York showed he really understands the 49ers and its fan base.

He showed us in the simplest of ways: the throwback uniforms.

It was truly wonderful to see them in the old colors, and I hope the 49ers discard the awful cardinal.

Oh, one other thing.

That Oakland Raider fan who held up his flag last night?

Well, Niner fans, unless you turn out next week, we’re gonna be outnumbered.

That would really be pathetic, so buy some tickets.

 

 

49ers’ Need New Color Scheme

It was a great preseason game to start off Coach Mike Singletary’s career as a true first-year coach.

Even though we lack a pass rush, and even though our quarterbacks are really pedestrian (though they try hard), I focused on some other relevant subjects at last night’s home game.

I noticed that pseudo-Raiders colors have invaded 49ers territory.

Now, maybe they are not silver and black, but they are darn close.

Try white and black.

First I must apologize to the 49ers management for my slight transgression at Candlestick.

When I saw that young fella in black, and what I thought was silver (my eyesight is no longer what it used to be), although it turned out to be white, I catapulted him over the railing.

I’ve always been the compulsive sort, kind of like fanatical animal-rights nutcases.

Anyway, the young man was OK.

It helped that he fell on that air pillow Jed York so graciously put there for me, knowing that the menace that is me would be in the stands last night.

I immediately realized my mistake when I saw him waving at me as he was losing altitude.

I thought I could make out a 49ers logo on his silver, err white and black jacket.

My suggestion so that such mistaken identities do not occur again is for the 49ers to at least put these ushers in 49ers throwback red and gold.

While they are at it, could they change the tribute to Bill Walsh that is in black and white to red?

You can leave the numbers in black, but there is something offensive about black and white in San Francisco land.

Lastly, York showed he really understands the 49ers and its fan base.

He showed us in the simplest of ways: the throwback uniforms.

It was truly wonderful to see them in the old colors, and I hope the 49ers discard the awful cardinal.

Oh, one other thing.

That Oakland Raider fan who held up his flag last night?

Well, Niner fans, unless you turn out next week, we’re gonna be outnumbered.

That would really be pathetic, so buy some tickets.

 

 

Michael Crabtree’s Tantrum Ensures Diva-Like Reputation

The 49ers may not have the best NFL receiving corps, but it is better than the team’s recent offerings.

If Jed York has learned anything from uncle Eddie DeBartolo, it’s a no-nonsense attitude.

Collegiate crybaby Michael Crabtree is probably wearing thin on York.

Think about it.

Crabtree now has the distinction of having earned diva-like status in the NFL, as he did in college, BEFORE he has even played.

Even me, a reasonable guy who never indulges in rank rants with an overdose of hyperbole, was willing to overlook a short holdout.

Yet when this epicene brat did not get his top-five money, poor little Michael threw a tantrum.

Get this baby a pacifier, please!

If Crabtree doesn’t accept, forget him.

After all, it will hurt him more than the 49ers.

Consider the fact that next year, rookies may face some type of salary restrictions.

He will still be a rookie, and he will get less than what the Niners are offering him.

Since he cannot work out for other teams during the year, he will be out of football shape next summer.

Questions about his speed will only intensify.

Much worse than that, however, is the fact that all NFL teams will no longer have to wonder about rumors of his diva-like sense of entitlement.

His actions will speak volumes.

Who wants to sign another Terrell Owens?

The worst that can happen to the 49ers is that they made a mistake, but after so many years of mistakes, we can afford even a big one like this.

Sometimes, things just go bust.

The question is, will Crabtree?

Is There Life Flight For Appallingly Poor Sports Columnists?

I uncontrollably spit nails and breathe fire every time I see a sports columnist use “finesse” to describe the 49ers.

It only shows the faults of public education, particularly in Los Angeles-St. Louis, Dallas, Oakland (by far the worst), and New York.

Unfortunately, it also shows social-engineering geniuses have a future because brainwashing can really be an exact science.

When such ignorance is displayed by the typically intellectually anemic Bay Area buffoons posing as sports columnists, I cannot describe on a family-friendly site what occurs to me.

It doesn’t smell like garlic, that’s for sure.

This morning’s bluster comes to you courtesy of yet another insipid columnist whose banal banter wasted nearly two minutes of my precious morning.

Yet, another blockhead’s lily-livered analysis ruined my breakfast with his over-sugared “piece” that is, at best, like calling a French entrée burned bacon.

Readers are weary of it.

Not to mention the deleterious gastrointestinal effects.

The San Francisco sports scrap that this guy writes for has never had a great sports section.

In fact, it even used to literally be dyed green, unlike its red bottom-line.

I feel his pain, however.

After all, when you cover a subject far too long, in that rat-race chase for the fleeting Nirvana of retirement, your writing becomes tedious and mundane.

A tunnel vision ensues.

The lost perspective is telling.

Yet no matter how sympathetic I am to this columnist’s sorry plight, a sports editor should know better than to offer such tripe. Especially when last year’s regular sports news coverage of the 49ers was so filled with ridiculous writing.

I cannot wait to see what these geniuses have in store for us this year.

So far, it’s the same old vapid stuff.

Unlike the mythical finesse, there are real football reasons for the franchise’s implosion prior to this year:

• Ownership (Not Jed York, who is refreshing)
• Coaching changes & really poor coaching  decisions
• Seven offensive coordinators in seven seasons
• No-name practice-squad-worthy, if that, quarterbacks
• General manager issues
• Signing a quarterback unfamiliar with the pro scheme and completely uncomfortable from below center
• Blown plays
• Changing offensive & defensive schemes
• Lack of fundamentals
• No receivers worth Pop Warner fame
• Frequent penalties
• Huge contracts that turn rancid

Forget finesse. That’s way too easy.

Plus, it’s now an overused cliché, but this rag’s old-time sports columnists haven’t been in journalism school for decades, so they don’t know this.

Unlike print journalism, the NFL demands performance.

Seniority means nothing.

Unlike the sports department I’m referring to, the 49ers have a leader in head coach Mike Singletary.

These sports columnists don’t understand Singletary and it shows, along with their low-football IQ.

They stereotype Singletary as one-dimensional.

They cling to their own fallacious reasoning that Singletary cannot adapt or toss his fire-and-brimstone soliloquies, as the situation requires.

But, that’s part of Singletary’s genius, and the sports columnists’ empty-headedness.

The soft-bellied sports columnists who cover the 49ers just don’t get him.

They are so cute that they think he likes them.

Yet he only tolerates the distractions that they are.

One last thing: Since when is defense finesse in the NFL?

Put the pads on these sports columnists and let’s see how long these weak-kneed wonders can last.

Make sure “Life Flight” is on standby.

Talk about whiff.

The newspaper I’m referring to needs to clean its house of its delicacy called 49ers beat sports writers and columnists.

It’s time for some red meat.

I’m tired of shrimp and fon-doo.

(The non-copyrighted Life Flight photo is from Wikipedia)

Magazine Profile Reveals A Young But Wise Jed York

In an excellent profile in Haute Living Magazine, writer Stephanie Wilson reveals a side of Jed York that 49ers fans are anxious to learn about.

It couldn’t have come at a more opportune time in the team’s history.

After nearly a decade of mediocre teams, it is time to move on, close ranks and look to the future.

This outlook was reinforced when I was reading the team’s website today and found this teaser to Wilson’s well-written profile:

“I am here by six every morning and stay until late at night,” {York} states, “because it’s not my team. It’s not my family’s team. It’s our fans’ team. Because if they are not supporting us, if they don’t believe in what we are doing, then our team doesn’t exist.”

That quote confirms what Eddie DeBartolo Jr., York’s uncle, said about the team’s new owner/president.

When DeBartolo voiced his confidence in York, that was good enough for me, as I’ve said, and I joined the Jed York bandwagon.

After reading Wilson’s fine story, my trust in DeBartolo was well placed.

Jed York gets it.

And that is key.

York sure sounds a lot like his uncle in the late 1970s.

After all, DeBartolo definitely understood the players, most of whom loved playing for him.

He also loved the fans, as he was one himself.

The fans loved him, and most still do.

Although I do not know either gentleman personally, from a fan’s standpoint, I can see a bit of Eddie D. in Jed.

I see intelligence. I also see a commitment to excellence, and a steadfastness to see this through to the end, which will hopefully be a restoration of a period of success.

Before Eddie was incredibly successful, the 49ers Faithful, who had not abandoned the team during the down years, looked upon him with anticipation, a bit of skepticism, but with a great deal of hope.

Kind of similar with Jed.

And, as with Eddie D., skepticism will fade with success.

Eddie D. was not only successful, but he was the most successful NFL owner in history.

Although Pittsburgh has won six Lombardi Trophiesunder one family’s ownership, DeBartolo is the only single NFL owner whose team has won five Super Bowls under his or her tenure.

Matching that achievement may be unlikely in this age of the salary cap, but do not underestimate York.

Wilson’s story shows this young man has what it takes:

“Jed York was born for this role. At only 28 years old, he is the owner and president of one of the most storied and celebrated football franchises in all of the NFL.

“While that story may have been a little bruised and beaten throughout the course of the last decade, it once was a tale of greatness, one of honor and class, valor and victory. And it is this young man’s destiny to get the story—and the team—back on track.

“There are two main characters in this narrative: The players and the fans. Without both, the 49ers could not exist, so in Jed York’s mind, both have to be treated with equal importance. His job is a delicate balancing act.”

So far, advantage to York.

He has illustrated he completely understands the team’s history, the players, the fans, and the fans’ frustration.

Wilson also points out one factor about York that I believe has led to an unfair judgment—one that I am not proud to admit I made because it embarrassingly reveals a prejudice on my part.

“While it is easy to focus on the baby-faced York’s relative youth, take into consideration that he also has 28 years of experience with the 49ers.”

York has the double whammy of being young and being a young-looking 28-year-old.

Those factors have unfairly intensified fans’, wrters’ and commentators’ criticisms of him, with many pointing out his age.

I include myself as one of those wayward critics.

If you are still among the cynical, which is understandable to an extent given the team’s difficulties this decade, perhaps Wilson’s story will change your mind:

“Jed grew up in football stadiums, both in the owner’s box and in the front office. While traveling around the country with his grandfather to cheer on the team, he had full knowledge that one day he would be the one calling the shots.

“‘As a little kid, I always wanted to carry on my grandfather’s legacy. This is obviously a piece of that legacy: making sure that we return the 49ers to the prominent level that my uncle brought them to in the ’80s and ’90s.'”

Upon reading Wilson’s excellent profile, I am even more buoyed by York’s maturity, regardless of his good, young looks.

The gentleman is intelligent, football is second-nature to him, he is a fan first, and he has worked his tail off to get a new stadium.

He’s paid his dues. Now let’s reward him with our support.

If you want to learn more about York, read Wilson’s lengthy but fascinating article.

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