San Franscisco 49ers: Nine(rs) for the Faithful

With a regular season record of 11-7 and claiming the NFC West division led by quarterback Jeff Garcia, the Niners answered Mike Alstott’s two-yard touchdown with a 24-yard field goal by Jeff Chandler. Chandler did it again in the second quarter from 40 yards out, in between Joe Jurevicius’ and Rickey Dudley’s touchdowns. The first half ended with another touchdown from Alstott, giving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a 22-point lead heading into the second half, which was not as eventful as the first half. Tampa Bay paved their way to a 31-6 victory with Martin Gramatica’s 19-yard field goal in the third quarter, holding the visiting team scoreless in the second half.

That was nine years ago. That was the last time the San Francisco 49ers made an appearance in the postseason. Until this year. This Saturday, January 14th, the Niners led by quarterback Alex Smith will host Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints for the Divisional Championship Game at the Candlestick Park. It is an important day that the Faithful have been patiently and eagerly waiting for with frustration, to say the least, for Nine. Long. Years.

During the wait, the Niners and the Faithful have had to endure a dramatic and somewhat difficult nine years. After that January 12, 2002 loss at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida, despite a winning record, head coach Steve Mariucci was fired – not by John York, but by then-General Manager Terry Donahue. Former Seattle Seahawks’ head coach Dennis Erickson was signed to a five-year contract. However, after a 7-9 record in 2003 and a 2-14 (the worst ever in the NFL amongst all 32 teams) record in 2004, both Erickson and Donahue were terminated and the organization brought in Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. He was soon relieved of his head coaching job and replaced by assistant head coach Mike Singletary in 2008, who went on to lose his job in December of 2010 after a 7-9 season.

During these nine years, they endured heartbreaking losses – perhaps the most devastating of which was losing Hall of Famer and former head coach Bill Walsh to leukemia – and somewhat questionable gains. After a preseason game in Denver, the team lost Thomas Herrion due to a heart disease in 2005. Nolan picked quarterback Alex Smith for his inaugural draft as opposed to picking home grown Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers went on to win the Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers while Alex Smith – who played poorly and inconsistently, having been plagued by injuries and not having an offensive coach – sat at home.

The Niners also signed key players with the likes of three-time Pro-bowler running back Frank Gore, who led the NFC in rushing with 1,695 yards and eight touchdowns in 2006; highest-paid defensive player, cornerback Nate Clements – who now plays for the Cincinnati Bengals; five-time Pro-bowler linebacker Patrick Willis; one time Pro-bowler tight end Vernon Davis; and let’s not forget the glass wide receiver, Michael Crabtree, who was the first round #10 pick in 2009.

They also had great accomplishments in those years. In 2003, they finally swept division arch rival St. Louis Rams for the first time since 1998, swept division rival Seattle Seahawks in 2006, and finally got rid of drama queen Terrell Owens in 2003. Despite scoring an impressive 85 touchdowns during his tenure as a Niner, he also brought unnecessary and negative attention to the team both off and on the field. Good riddance!

Nine years later, here we are. The present. Otherwise known as the Harbaugh Era. And what a great start to an era indeed! To turn the team around in his first year as the team’s head coach and believing in his quarterback Alex Smith. If Harbaugh didn’t speak highly of him and if it wasn’t for the shortened off-season, I highly doubt Alex Smith would be wearing a red and gold uniform today. Former Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh is what this team needed. He believes in his players. He saw possibilities, not failures; advantages, not limitations. His huge personality gave the team that edge and energy they’d been lacking for years. He gave his players the trust in each other that they hadn’t had in the past seasons. He gave Alex Smith the confidence he lacked. He gave them a new beginning.

As much as I like Harbaugh – who in my opinion is the better of the two Harbaughs – I can’t give him all the credit because he didn’t come alone. He brought with him his most valuable imaginary player, Freddy P. Soft. Freddy, as he sits on each and every single one of Harbaugh’s player’s shoulders, whispers into their ears, telling them how great they are; Freddy, whose presence reminds his players to remain humble and keep reaching for greatness. Judging by how they ended the regular season (13-3), it’s apparent that the players listened to Freddy good and hard. Seems like Freddy spoke more closely to one key player that stood out during the regular season. That player is none other than rookie Aldon Smith from the University of Missouri. Show Me state reppin’ in the West Coast! The rookie outside linebacker had a very impressive regular season with 14 sacks. Yes, 14 sacks. He will be the one to watch this Saturday while he and the Niners defense take on the Saints strong offense.

This long-awaited game will be a battle between the Niners’ aggressive and dominating defense cultivated in the Harbaugh Era and the Saints explosive and high-scoring offense, led by their strongly and extremely accurate quarterback Drew Brees. Brees shattered Dan Marino’s 5,084 yards of passing record that was set in 1984 by throwing 5,476 this season. Which is way above Alex Smith’s 3,150 yards for the regular season. Clearly nowhere near Brees’ numbers. However, the “more physical” and “bigger built” Niners defense, as described by Brees, has been consistent all season and rarely missed tackles. Playoffs-experience wise, the Saints have the edge. The Saints team consists of 39 players who have postseason experience compared with the Niners eight, including center Jonathan Goodwin who is sporting a shiny Super Bowl ring he won playing with the Saints two years ago.

Regardless of all the stats and info I just provided, despite the fact that the Saints are favored to win by three and a half points, and putting aside the contrasts in their styles – this game took nine years in the making for the Faithfuls. Again, Nine. Long. Years. This time, they’re all waiting for a different ending than the one they had back on January 12, 2002. This time, they’re not the visitors. This time, they hope to score in the second half. This time… it will be different.


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