Here we go, guys. Next Sunday, eight months of bloglosophy and theoretical football give way to the reality show called The 2011 NFL Season. Gulp. Be still my little pea pickin’ triple by-pass thumper. It’s agony or ecstasy time.
Jeez, football gods. Can we go light on the agony this year? We practically O.D.ed on it last year.
After a weekend of furious Turk butchery, the 49ers roster for Game One against Seattle has been carved in sand. The team will open the season with 3 QBs, 5 RBs, 5 WRs, 2 TEs, 9 OL, 7 DL, 9 LBs, 10 DBs, and 3 Specialists. I’m assuming rookie FS Colin Jones will be waived to the Practice Squad to make room for newly signed ILB Tavares Gooden.
Most of us will be expecting to see two things above all else next Sunday: innovative play calling on offense and an aggressive game plan on defense. Anything that gives the impression there is a light bulb glowing on the sidelines, where darkness prevailed the past two seasons.
Back in fashion: thinking. It will no longer be considered pansy to out-think an opponent. Of course, it’s possible we will be out-thunk by them, but at least we will be engaging in the process, rather than ignoring it.
In carrying two rookie QBs as the backups to starting QB Alex Smith, Jim Harbaugh is gambling like only a coach with a free one year pass can afford to do. The message is clear. He will be trying to win this year, but is planning for next year as well.
A goodly portion of the blogopolis seems willing to consider this season a lost cause before it even begins. The extended lockout, the new coaches, the new systems, and the old QB have lowered the expectations to as few as six wins as an acceptable year, with most fans predicting a seven or eight win season — the type of season that has been almost perfected here in Ninerland — the so-so, meh season. The national pundits have the 49ers punked into last place in the division, or in some cases barely beating out Seattle for third place. The Rams are the popular choice to win the division, but nobody is predicting the 49ers as champions.
Seems like an excellent time to shock the world. The Nobody Saw It Coming year. It would take some luck on the injury front and the core 49er players proving that they are as good as they think they are, and have just been held back by third-rate coaches and medieval systems. In fact, if these core players do not exhibit their skills this year, a few of them will not be core players next year. Not in San Francisco, anyway. This team is either entering its prime or about to be dramatically restructured next year.
Some of you might say, “Get real, Skeebaloney. They don’t have a prayer.”
This opinion stands more chance of having merit than the rah-rah pom-pom approach, but it just don’t have no agony/ecstasy juice. I’m sorry. I don’t follow football to balance my emotional books. I mean, it’s a new season. There’s sixteen games to watch. It’s the NFC West. We won’t be eliminated from contention until December, at the very least. It’s Game One of the Harbaugh Era. We’re tied for the lead. The magic number is ten. Let’s go Niners!
Skeebs
What’s your deal?
Would really like to hear that from Carroll’s lips on Sunday post game.
Are you using paralipsis to suggest the Nolan coaching era was that of great thinking? Just what your pair of lips is saying, that this coaching staff should be better than Sing, but not Nolan?
I didn’t want to rile up NoFear. I’m counting on him to provide his post-game pictorials again this year. I’ll leave the Nolan bashing to Rob. He’s made a career of it.
I want soooo badly to see the niners kick the crap out of the seaguls…but the thought occured to me what if Seattle (Carrol) plans to tank the season to get Luck …just so he can piss of Harbaugh… i would hate for Seattle to get him. Seattle has no oline or qb… Seems strange Seattle went from division winner to bottom of the NFC west….and some of the other teams who will probubly have earlier picks already got their QB’s Panthers, bengals….
Scary thought, Tony.
The thing that worries me about the Seattle game is Braylon may get suspended, Crab isn’t ready, and we go into the game with Morgan & Ginn as our starting WRs. Not a thrilling prospect.
The great thing about the start of a new season, is that reality hasn’t set in and hopes are still sky-high. As a team we have been down so long that any measurable progress would be thoroughly welcome. Once again my hatred of the Ram’s, Seaturkeys, and Cardinals will surface like a long lost friend and I will be at piece. Once again the organization is taxing my brain with the QB situation but that will all be alleviated with competent play. Can I make my self believe it possible? I dunno.
Skeebs – We really need Braylon in there. Without him they will just load the box and come hard and heavy. I guess it will be a good test to see if Alex can make the quick decisions and handle the blitz. Not too confident here, but did like what I saw from Chilo the other night.
I’d like to see one trick play
in each half. Harbaugh didn’t show any reverses just straight forward plays. I believe in keeping the defense off balance and guessing
bullit- IMO, you don’t run reverses unless you see a trend of the edges pinching. If they stay at home all day a reverse does not get run.
Skeebs- In re to your 7:32 post, I’ll guarantee he’ll be searching for pictures of Sopoaga on the ground. AF was one of, if not his favorite player. Probably because Nolan brought him in? What say you my friend, NoFear?
I’m cooking lentil soup for the first time. Does anybody know if lentils make one fart like beans and split peas?
Lentil soup, Reno? On Labor Day? This is a day for all good American barbarians to sear large hunks of meat over a charcoal grill! 😉
I did that the last two days. I’m in recovery mode. It wasn’t the 7+ pound pork tenderloin that nailed me, it was the beer and whiskey. You should havwe been here, I would’ve got you some tequilla. Anyway, I’ll grill some chicken later on.
If you soak lentils for a day before cooking, they lose much of their fartability.
I’m waiting for Goodell to further cement his anti-Niner bias by waiting until the last minute to suspend Edwards. CNNSI had a great article this past week about Goodell’s ever-changing (and, perhaps, hypocritical) standards for suspensions.
As for the season, I’m not ready to declare that professional football has returned to the Bay Area, but I’m hopeful.
Good thing I didn’t pre soak the lentils, today I’m looking for fartability. I want to go to Repo Eds house later on and gas him out!
The Eagles just picked up Ronald Johnson and put him on their practice squad.
NOFEAR ‘
all i can say is …
whatever it is , i agree with what everyone here said !
except for what you just said !
BULLIT
good for johnson ! he looked like he was a gamer to me !
BERGER
” I’m cooking lentil soup for the first time. Does anybody know if lentils make one fart like beans and split peas? ”
NO , it doesn’t !
i’m sticking with 8-8 !
of course, with all due apologies to NOFEAR , imho we’re more likely to go 10-6 than we are to go 6-10 … if you get my drift !
oops i’m not so sure , but i think i may have said the same thing last year if i’m not mistaken ! (maybe WINDER can help me out here ?)
😉
rob – I can’t call it.
–
nofear – I am guilty of thinking Sing was a good choice, and it took me awhile to figure it out, however, I refuse to sit in the corner behind the potted plants. Lol.
NoFear- Ouch!
rob- I can’t get in touch with Repo Ed, and I have no gas. It all worked out. Unfortunately, my dog has gas.
It is one thing to be excited about a new head coach, but is quite another to keep latching on after everybody knows he sucks. Some hide behind the potted plants, some smoke them and just keep smoking them. Me, I choose to have a memory like a CB. After being burned by Nolan and Singletary, I am excited about Harbaugh. One of these coaches have to work out, right?
Yep Berger, that’s the way I look at it too. Odds are we’re gonna be right at some point.
NoFear:
Two numbers.
18-37
18-22
They both were in over their heads. History has proven that. let go of Teflon Mike’s coattails.
NoFear et al, I too appreciated the progress Singletary made on the interim assignment and, I looked at his resume as a player/leader as something the Team aspired to.
As most of us are intelligent adults, it didn’t take long to realize that what he succeeded at in the Locker Room never put up so much as a pillow fight on the sidelines, when it came time to outsmart the opposition.
I too am guilty of giving him more credit than he deserved but, I did appreciate how he turned VD and PW into better football players while he was here.
I see a 6-10 Season unless Alex turns into Superman.
However, like most opinions here, I will appreciate seeing a smarter Coaching Staff who keeps the guys fighting if/when the chips are down.
We’re younger and, (I can only hope), hungrier to prove that we weren’t as bad as we’ve looked the past couple of Seasons. That said, may Alex duck into a phone booth and surprise the sh!t out of me for once.
Which of course, I’m not going to hold my breath over.
just 5 days until game time !
phil-fan hope you don’t run into any giant crocs before then !
http://news.yahoo.com/filipinos-hunt-2nd-killer-croc-1-ton-catch-052749439.html
Singletary wanted winners. That just seemed to be a gammon with his 18-22 record.
Just thinking, we put two teams in the playoffs last year that had no business being there: Seattle and KC. We tried putting another one in (Bucs), but they came up a tie-breaker short. Nothing against philanthropy, but a little less generous behavior would suit me fine this year.
Yep I saw that on the news rob. That’s in an area I’ve never been to. Salt water crocs, ugh. Used to be some fresh water types around here but all hunted out now. North coast of Australia has same kind; bad news!
9-7 but then I’m a wild optimist group thinker type. Here let me carve that in sand Skeebs, lol. We know who wins the prize for most optimistic around here.
Yes a little less charity and a bit more killer instinct from the coaches to da players. I’m for it.
Important draft day tomorrow for Del’s fantasy league. You think this first time owner/coach of the “Monkey Eating Eagles” has a chance? About as much as swimming with crocs I think.
Maybe should have stuck with “Salt Water Crocs” or “Cobras” for the team name. Ya think?
49ers have released OLB Antwan Applewhite to make room for Tavares Gooden.
Too bad. Applewhite looked pretty good. But then again, LB is pretty much the strongest unit on the team . . .
Niners are 5.5 point favorites.
It’s been a while since they’ve been favored by more than a field goal.
The Vegas line for total wins is 8.
I am really curious how the Colts will perform without Manning at QB as he’s started for 13 years
and they might just prove to be mediocre without him. Their front office did not plan for this day.
How easy is it to be a sportswriter?
Matt Barrows has the 49ers better in 5 of 9 categories, yet they do worse than last year. He says 5-11. He says the Raiders are better in 3 categories, worse in 3 categories, and better now without Gradkowski as the backup at QB than they were last year. Huh? He predicts 9-7 for the Raiders.
I’m fairly certain the 49ers end up with a better record than the Raiders. Mainly because of their problems up front.
They both play in weak divisions, so that should account for 4-5 wins at least. Both should have better coaching. But both are depending on their O lines to provide protection. Both have inconsistent QBs.
The one thing that gives me hope for there Niners is the hope that they can beat the weaker teams they face. The Cincys and Clevelands. Take care of the division games and get a couple more, and 8-8 IS a distict possibility.
The national pundits, and even the local scribes, don’t give the 49ers much of a chance. But with good game planning, I think they can take care of the crappier teams they face. Teams like Pittsburgh and Baltimore are not going to be wins, but teams like Detroit, Tampa Bay, and even Dallas (coming off a crap-ass season) could be winnable.
The Colts will more than likely suck with Ichabod Collins at QB. They have been trying to groom Painter to be the backup, but apparently they aren’t sold on his progress.
Branch reports that Gooden was an OLB for 3 seasons at Miami, so that helps understand the release of Applewhite. Ravens were using Gooden as an ILB, but apparently the 9ers are converting him back to OLB.
Vegas had the 49ers over/under at 8.5 last year. So they even had the experts sold on their prowess.
Vegas is usually pretty close, so 8 looks like a good bet.
That may be what it speaks to, NF, but that won’t be the lesson drawn. that will be more gun regulations, more “zero-tolerance” for kids who even point a finger at another kid and make shooting noises (a suspension offense at many Cali schools including my kids’), and more power to the police rather than the public. So the police will continue to arrive on the scene just in time to cart away the bodies. In the dim-witted calculus of the moment, ‘guns = bad’ is about as nuanced and penetratively-thinking as our Lords in congress and the state capitol can get. Feudalism is back. Work for the man, give to the government, keep only a pittance, keep your mouth shut and be happy you even have a job. Can noblesse oblige for our betters in government and industry and bread and circuses for those on the dole be far behind?
Correction: 9ers are keeping Gooden at ILB.
Jaguars released Garrard. Pretty stunning move.
Sorry, NoFear, but your assessment of setting the lines is wrong.
_____
And here’s what a witness said:
“I had my pistol, but I wasn’t going to go up against an automatic rifle,” Ralph Swagler said.
Fantasy football drafts are TONIGHT. Yahoo! at 7:00; ESPN at 8:45. Both times are Pacific. Adjust accordingly.
You can bring all the goddamn guns you want to tonight’s proceedings. Hell, I even encourage the notion. Free extra ammo will be supplied by your humble host. Not to mention all the free drinks. Guns + alcohol = fun draft party. 😀
Vegas doesn’t make money being wrong, NoFear.
A number set too high or too low loses them money.
Look at Indy. They are at 10 wins. If you bet heavily now, and Manning goes down for the season, a ton of people stand to make a lot of money. Mainly because Ichabod won’t lead them anywhere.
In other words, NoFear, you willing to stand up against a guy with a automatic rifle with your .22 Derringer?
Shit, Dennis. What if I don’t show? I didn’t last year, and ended up with a pretty good team . . .
You’re not required to attend, Chuck. Just be sure you or someone else drops off your allotment of fire arms. Any extra beer would be much appreciated.
Troy Smith now playing for the Omaha Nighthawks.
Chuck, there’s still time (if you wish) to edit your pre-draft rankings. Just go to our league: http://games.espn.go.com/ffl/leagueoffice?leagueId=306244 click on “my team” and you’ll see “edit pre-draft player rankings” underneath your name in blue.
Don’t forget the goddamn guns and booze!
Looks like Rob will be rooting for the Omaha Nighthawks this year. 😛
No suspension for Braylon Edwards , , , So he’s yer #1 WR now . . .
No word on Crabs
No suspension for Braylon? Goodell is turning into a big pussy. I would have thrown Edwards into the klink (sic) for two games. The Col. Klink that is…
Actually Chuck, Braylon is listed as the “co-starter” with Ginn oppo of Morgan on the depth chart. Co-starter? That sounds like another big pussy to me as well. And I’m not talking Sal Bonpensiero from the “Sopranos” either.
PHILFAN !
lots of gators here ! had a 13 footer in the backyard once !
awesome creature !
CHUCK
imo applewhite was crappy , and wasn’t thrilled with it when we signed him !
how about offering a 4th and 6th for lance briggs ?
oh , and interesting article by barrows ! maybe he’s a little leary predicting a good season for the 9ers !
wonder why that could be ?
SKEEBS
thx i like the new guy better !
esp. at ILB which is where i wanted help !
btw remember how bad garrard was against us ? he sucks imo !
DENNIS !
IMO goodell owes us big time so not suspending edwards might not be such a big surprise !
DEL !
my internet is spotty 2nite , so i’m on auto pick !
at least i hope i’m on auto pick !
DEL
“Actually Chuck, Braylon is listed as the “co-starter” with Ginn oppo of Morgan on the depth chart. Co-starter? That sounds like another big pussy to me as well. And I’m not talking Sal Bonpensiero from the “Sopranos” either.”
is ted ginn starting ?
😉
Sorry to hear about the shooter in Carson (after reading here). Another untreated mental health case who is ‘danger to others’. Sad.
Grump you mean the noblesse oblige is NOT here already? I thought the Tea Party was a reaction to our betters in government? No, they are ‘terrorists’ daring to stand up and say ‘balance the f ing budget already’? Right. You don’t think the media is a tool of the State do you?
Del see you at 8:45 pm for draft. I dunno about da playas but I’m leaning towards ‘Crocodiles’ for my team name. Priorities, jeez.
Good news on Edwards. Maybe the NFL is finished punishing Eddie/9ers for his sins? Our new regime is doing a pretty good job of not shooting themselves in the feet. 9-7, shock the world!
OH del
no , it’s the charlotte stonecrabs ! the tamps rays’ minor league team ! they play about 15 mins. away from here !
I drafted Alex Smith, Justin Smith and Vernon Davis on my Yahoo league!
Good for you Bergs! I got schooled in the ESPN draft: my bench is all WR and RB due to not knowing to set the categories. Auto-Pick my ass! No D for me.
I forgot as usual. I had a decent team for a while last year without paying attention. . . .
Bull-effing-shit, Chuck. You didn’t forget, you chose not to participate as usual. I sent you at least three e-mails and an instant reminder over at Flav’s blog minutes before the deadline reminding you about tonight’s draft.
I guess you just have better things to do. Well, so do I. I thought after Berger drafted Alex Smith he had an ass kicking coming…you got a serious one coming…
Lol Dennis, I was there but still F ed it up. My butt kicking will come in the season I guess
I can say with aplomb that my pick of Alex Smith will prove to be a good one.
New post is up.