woes of a bay area sports fan

gosh, it's been a rough fall and winter in bay area sports.  the sharks are under a 500. the niners up and down season has become a nose dive. the season hadn't felt right from the start and the heart of the team wasn't all there.  yes, we had a ton of injuries, but there were bright spots with folks off the bench - jordan mason, who eventually got injured. cmc returned briefly only to head back to injury reserve. what was most disheartening is deebo pushing a teammate and then barking about not getting the ball to drop a potentially game winning TD last thursday. that has been the niners season. do we ask too much of our stacked team? probably. niners could be better mentally because i think that's where we need to make the biggest strides. 

now to the warriors. i'm starting to think i'm bad luck because they only seem to win when i'm not watching. that loss to the rockets (image above of controversial game winning call) really hurt. then we got pummelled by the mavs and yes klay beat us. they were shooting lights out and we weren't too shabby keeping up with them.  just not enough. so tomorrow is the debut of dennis schroder and it couldn't come at a better time. here's to hoping for a little push before all star week.

niners win

From The Bay to Tampa Bay, we see you Faithful. pic.twitter.com/DhzSFLLG4b

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 10, 2024

welcome back cmc! sorry i didn't see much of your plays since i was stuck in the chaos of brooklyn's costco. i did manage to catch ricky pearsall's first nfl touchdown before i headed out of the house. i suffered watching gamecast on my phone and honestly it looked to be very frustrating with jake moody missing three field goals.  it got so frustrating that deebo samuel put a hands on long snapper taybor pepper. i really don't love when teammates get on teammates.  needless to say i wasn't confident when moody was up to kick a game winning field goal, but he redeemed himself.  we finally got a back-to-back win.  wow, this season has been rough and next week is another BIG game at home against our division rivals, seattle seahawks. our division is so tight and we will have to get better. 

niners win

 

photo: getty images

wow this was a wild one. is it wrong that i immediately get ptsd when we are up 13 points? we still aren't converting in the red zone, which is concerning. we are getting by with back-up running backs as jordan mason went down in the first half. enter isaac guerendo, who rushed for 99 yards on 10 carries. george kittle got not one, but two "receiver" type catches. the d was giving me heart palpitations all through the second half, but they got it done thankfully. two rookies got interceptions in the game, malik mustapha and renardo green. next man up mentality is definitely great to see, but we need to tighten up our second half. it was better last night and vets nick bosa and fred warner did their things as leaders. i'm hopeful for this example of perseverance, however there is a TALL order next with the kansas city chiefs.

niners win

 

photo: David Gonzales-Imagn Images

it's been a while since i've been able to post about a niners win and last week's loss really hit HARD. the viks loss was deserved, and we weren't playing our best. i reassured myself that it's still early and the team is still coming together. better to get the cobwebs out early than later in the season. i loved how the defense came out today. fred warner(pictured above) with a pick six. he truly is defensive niner of the season so far. the offense looked better with deebo and kittle back in the mix, but jordan mason is still hitting ground hard and jauna jennings continues his great catches.  so i'm feeling optimistic and hoping warner was resting the second half without any serious injury. it was also nice to watch the game televised nationally.

niners win

photo: David Gonzales-Imagn Images

another season, another hope we get to the BIG GAME. i'm not sure i can endure another heartbreak but here i am back with niner nation. i was feeling pumped when fred warner peanut punched a forced fumble in the opening minutes of the game. then, the rest of the first quarter was field goals that should have been touchdowns. of course, we are rusty along with cmc, dre greenlaw, and talanoa hufanga inactive. i felt like this would be a good test with former niner defensive coordinator, now jets head coach robert saleh cooking up a decent plan against his former team. BUT let me introduce you to rookie running back jordan mason (pictured above). wow, what a debut that earned him ice from deebo and a leia from huf. i love my team through hard times and defeat. here's to more victories this season. viks this sunday!

2023 nfc champs!

 

photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

wow, WOW! it's taken me a few days to process the fact that we are going to the super bowl. we earned this ticket by coming back down 17 points at the half. i looked up the score from the beyonce bowl to remind me that the niners have generated huge points down the line.  everything clicked in the second half and the defense finally showed up. gosh, i hope we have a better start in the super bowl. it will be a rematch of super bowl 2019. kansas city has a stronger defense, which brock will have to contend with. i 100% believed brock is better than jimmy g and trey lance back when. here's hoping mr. irrelevant can finally shut up the haters. 

niners to nfc championship game

 

photo: espn

in truth i was only able to watch a bit of the 3rd quarter and the culminating 4th. i'm a little thankful i didn't have to watch that first half, but from the few highlights i saw the rain was effecting brock. apparently, this happened against the browns too. i missed the deebo hit that took him out early. it felt like a groundhog day experience from week 6, BUT the niners persevered and i was elated (though my heart could barely take it). i did witness both of dre greenlaw's HUGE interceptions. man did i miss him and so glad he was able to go yesterday.  the defense kept the packers to field goals in the first half which was pivotal. green bay's rookie kicker anders carlson missed a 42-yd field goal late, which gave the niners the momentum to push for that conclusive winning drive. wow, brock!  after a pretty rough game, you were able to put it together when it counted the most. bravo! so we play the lions on sunday in the nfc championship.  i'm glad all the niners acknowledged their mistakes and so much to work on this week leading into the big game. bang bang niner gang!

clinched #1

photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images

after the christmas loss to the ravens, we bounced back with a win over the commanders.  i wasn't able to watch but gamecasted the plays and scoring via my trusty espn app while shopping at costco. it sounded tighter than it should have been that first half but the boys took care of business in the second. i hadn't paid too much attention to the playoff seeding scenarios, but knew we had to take care of business to get that number one. the cowboys beat the lions on sunday, which generally i hate to see the cowboys win but it was in our favor. then, minutes after our victory the cards were taking care of the eagles. thanks cards for that and now we have the #1 and a bye. we have the rams for our final game of the regular season but we can largely rest key players. brock purdy bounced back from the 4 interception rout from baltimore. cmc went out in the third with a calf thing. doesn't seem serious but we will rest him next week ashe hasbeen our workhorse all season. i'm loving the locker room mentality staying locked in for the endgame - a super bowl. they are citing improvements that still need to be made and not resting on laurels. most of all they express their genuine love for the team and their unselfishness. it reminds me of another bay area team near and dear to my heart.

niners win

 

photo: ezra shaw/getty images

i didn't think i'd be able to watch the game, as the east coast rarely airs the west coast match ups. i was able to stream it via fox sports. it was way closer than i thought i'd be at the end of the first quarter. seattle had their back-up qb, drew lock playing. i was nervous this might be the trap game after the high of beating the eagles, but the niners realigned in the 2nd quarter to dispel my worries. there was an amazing trick play by punter mitch wishnowsky, which got called back. that's 3 of 5 wins for the bird gautlet.  the cards are next, and then the ravens on christmas night. thanks to the cowboys (never thought i'd type that) win against the eagles, the niners have the #1 spot in the nfc. we still have four more games to secure home field advantage.

niners WIN

 

photo: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

what a win! i was a nervous wreck in the first quarter, but held faith as my niners denied touchdowns not once but twice. our defense was on, despite some early missed tackles on 3rd downs. it was what the nfc championship last year could have been. eagles were coming off two very mentally draining close wins against kansas city and buffalo. niners had a nice 10 days to rest and prep. what is likely a preview of a possible second nfc championship match up still has 5 more weeks of matches.  we still have more birds to get through - seahawks, ravens and cardinals. i'm glad brock purdy was able to have the competitive outing without injury. jalen hurts had to step off the field in the second half, which gave the eagles a mere glimpse of what the niners dealt with in last year's championship game. he was able to come back and commend him playing to the final minutes even when their loss was cemented. three touchdowns for deebo samuel to back up all that trash talk in the off season was a nice icing on the cake. there's plenty of football left and a home field advantage to play for. would be interesting to see philly play at levi.

niners win

photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images

gobble gobble, niners win!  there was a moment in the third quarter when brock purdy's pass was tipped for a pick six where i thought we might have a problem. there was nothing to be worried about as the defense took care of the match not allowing a single touchdown. time to rest up and get back to the BIG game against some other birds, the philadelphia eagles. it's a rematch of last year's nfc championship and arguable the most anticipated match of the niner season. hopefully, we protect purdy well against the stifling eagles d-line, and our d manages a few sacks and picks of our own. 

thank goodness, niners win

 

photo: ap

deep sigh of relief. the niners are back to winning, and convincing at that.  the defense looked great and the addition of chase young had nick bosa giddy.  so giddy they tag teamed on a sack that lead to a fumble. sadly, christian mccaffrey's streak of consecutive touchdowns ended at 17 weeks, though it's not to say he didn't try.  cmc jokingly replied:

cmc you do NOT suck. let's start another streak in tampa. 

5-3

i've waited to type my thoughts on the niners' three game slide. i thought that loss against the browns would be motivation to be better but sadly our tough as nails defense has somehow disappeared. yes, brock purdy threw more interceptions and fingers are getting pointed his way BUT i argue it's the defense that needs to step up. i only see fred warner doing the thang and where is nick bosa?  i need more sacks. i'm thankful for this bye week and hopeful we turn it around against the jaguars. this is all leading up to a heavy back-to-back-to back bird onslaught. seahawks on thankgsiving with only three days after playing the bucs. then, we have a possible preview of a nfc championship rematch against the eagles. as if the nfl schedulers couldn't do us more dirty, we play the seahawks AGAIN. rest up niners and lock in.

5-1

 

what a heartbreaking loss. after brock purdy marched us down to a decent field goal position, rookie kicker jake moody shanked the winning field goal. it's easy to lay the blame on him, but the cleveland browns' defense was on yesterday. we had way too many penalties, and the first time purdy had significant pressure all game. i would say one late call at 3rd and long for the brown really costed us the game. that call gave the browns the eventual lead.  SIGH!  i do like that this was a hard fought loss, but nervous about the health of deebo samuel and christian mccaffery.  this loss's sting will fuel us into the rest of the season and lessons will be learned.  

5-0

photo: AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn

i grew up hating the cowboys, so needless to say going into last night i had the same nervousness that comes with our longtime rival. after the first of three touchdowns by george kittle, the people's tight end, i was settled. it was a fun rout and the defense looked scary good, especially from captain fred warner. he forced a fumble, got an interception, and a sack.  

4-0

 

photo by: ap photo/godofredo a vasquez

i was afraid to post or write anything about this amazing start to the season, but here i am possibly jinxing it as we are about to play our historic rival, the dallas cowboys, sunday night. i couldn't let this occasion pass without given major props to christian mccaffrey aka cmc. four touchdowns yesterday!!! he has been the workhorse of the team these past four games. brock purdy has been holding it down at qb and hoping he gets another win against dak prescott and those cowboys this weekend. let's gooooooo, niners!

niners win

 

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

i was nervous going into this game and some fellow faithfuls asked why. well it seems like a game, where is seems too easy.  that first half got me worried that the d hadn't practiced, but the second half was another story.  i forget that opponents o-line tend to tire out against the onslaught of out relentless defense.  then seattle started to beat themselves with penalties.  that was game. so now we wait for tomorrow's night's winner from the cowboys-bucs match up.

niners win

photo: USA Today

cmc lit it up today.  sadly, wasn't able to watch it live due to my east location. it's been a tricky season so far navigating injuries, but the boys finally got some choice offensive. so much sweeter continuing our streak of regular season wins against the rams.

niners win!

Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

niners make it three straight wins and giving this faithful dreams of a wildcard possibility.
 

niners win!

 

photo: @49ers instagram