December 5, 2011
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The Daily News1 It's all about the NINERS today!!!
2 I am amazed and know not what to say.
3 I knew going in that yesterday was going to be a blowout.
4 I didn't expect a shutout.
5 We knew going in that Frank Gore was going to emerge as the franchises all-time rushing leader.
6 Our awesome kicker, David Aikers had a record-busting 32 field goals this year.
7 I didn't like Patrick Willis going down, but his replacement, Larry Grant, wound up with six tackles and a sack.
8 Amazing defensive game, and amazing defensive season.
9 A little over a year ago I was calling for Singletary and QB Alex Smith to take their dog-and-pony show elsewhere. I was right about Singletary. Clearly one of the worst coaches in NFL history.
10 As for Alex? I'm going to have to go with the stats.
11 According to the Merc News' Cam Inman, Alex has done okay. Here is Inman:
Since Dec 1, 2010 Smith has goe 8-1 at home. He is 145 for 234 for 1,964 yards with 16 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a 105.4 passer rating during that stretch.
12 The difference?
13 Coaching. I said it all along. I actually never thought Smith would amount to anything, to be honest. He didn't have the instincts. He couldn't go vertical, and he became really excellent at rolling to the right and heaving the ball out of bounds.
14 Now he hits guys right in the numbers and they don't catch the ball. And that is improving at an unbelievable rate.
15 Jim Harbaugh has been an immense presence, everything Singletary wanted to be but couldn't.
16 Any coach who could slip away from a Gatorade drenching has the instincts of a cat.
17 I could go on. This defense is so real that they have allowed the fewest points of any defense in the NFL.
18 I don't want to go on and on, because it will take all morning, and I just haven't the time, but right now I want to raise a glass to the the 2011 San Francisco 49ers. I heard Candlestick thundering with "GO! NINERS! GO! NINERS!" right through my teevee.
19 I even didn't mind that the fans did the Wave, a Candlestick no-no! But they were clearly a younger crowd, and lost in the madness of what it used to be like every single week.
20 That may happen again, and in our own back yard.
21 Meanwhile, it was nice to see Candlestick rocking the way it knows how to rock.
22 So that's it for this morning. Even non-Niner fans have to give it to them. They are a fun, tough, hard-hitting team.
23 And they may start surprising a LOT of other teams.
24 A thunderingly wonderful win, and an amazingly awesome triumph for the team and its fans.
25 Congrats.
26 Peace.
~H~
