San Fransisco 49ers, The NFLs Golden team Options

[aek66]

I see where you are going with this: the Redskins faced a Bears team which had no choice but to play Walter Payton at quarterback for some crucial minutes as Steve Fuller received a knock and his scrubby understudy with a weird name: Lisch, proved to be the most ineffectual (back-up) quarterback of all time.


I had some time to hang out with McMichael like a year ago. He was a weird guy and it was really apparent that he was having tough time coping with the glory days being over. I had to cover my mouth when I realized nobody at the hidden bar where I was at even recognized him.

Between drinks we spoke about the eighty five bears and I asked him what the bears would have done against the dolphins had they met in the Superbowl instead of the less fancied patriots. He insisted that they were out for Marino's blood and that he would not have survived the first half. Have to love that kind of talk.

i think his 1st wife (former miss texas, i think) left him and took that nasty little dog he used to appear on t.v. with...so, maybe life's been a bit rough on him.

[Red Spartan]

He also stressed intelligence in dictating the game and "beating your opponent to the punch"....

Walsh was a boxer in his younger days, and often used boxing analogies to get his point across to his players. His boxing experience played a HUGE roll in regards to how he coached, approached and gameplanned the game....

[Giourkas]

^exactly, it wasn't about who's "stronger" like Ditka, it was about using intelligence with proper execution of technique to beat out your opponent... (dance like a butterfly and sting like a bee if you will)

[Red Spartan]

Opponent Preview: New England Patriots



It can never be too early to discuss who will face the San Francisco 49ers in the team’s second year under Jim Harbaugh. Throughout the offseason, we’ll take a team-by-team look at the 49ers’ 2012 opponents and the offseason storylines for each team. Up next are the reigning AFC Champion New England Patriots, who are scheduled to host the 49ers next season, as the 49ers will face all four teams from the AFC East in 2012.

Team: New England Patriots

2011 Record: 13-3 (7-1 home)

All-Time Series: 7-4 49ers

2011 Recap: Like the 49ers, the Patriots were close to claiming the Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2011, but were edged by the New York Giants 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI. The similarities between the 49ers and Patriots don’t stop there. Like San Francisco, New England won 13 regular season games and a division title. The Patriots marched into the big game reeling off 10 consecutive wins (eight regular season and two postseason contests), but a timely catch from former Giants wideout Mario Manningham (who signed a two-year contract with the 49ers this offseason) set up New York’s go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. Despite the difficult end to their season, Tom Brady continued his MVP-like play, all while helping tight end Rob Gronkowski become one of the league’s most feared pass-catchers. The Patriots’ passing proficiency made up for the deficiencies of the team’s 31st-ranked pass defense which gave up 293.9 yards per game and the 38-yard passing play to Manningham.

2012 Outlook: Addressing the contract situation of wide receiver Wes Welker stands as one of the team’s biggest storylines to track this offseason. Welker, 31, was designated as the team’s franchise player which prevented the Pro Bowl receiver from hitting the open market. Welker has yet to sign his franchise tag, making some in the media question if Welker would sit out the 2012 season. In response, New England re-structured the contract of Chad Ochocinco, re-signed veteran wide receiver Deion Branch to a one-year deal and signed veterans Brandon Lloyd, Donte’ Stallworth and Anthony Gonzalez to boost a receiving core suddenly being overshadowed by Gronkowski. The Patriots also lost starting running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis in free agency after the 26-year-old runner signed a three-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. Second-year backs Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley, both drafted in 2011, stand in line to replace Green-Ellis. Defensively, the team’s top pass-rushers could both potentially play with other teams in 2012. Linebacker Mark Anderson has already left town, signing a four-year deal with AFC East rival Buffalo. Meanwhile, veteran defensive end Andre Carter, who tied Anderson with 10 sacks to share the team lead, remains unsigned.

Three to Watch

QB Tom Brady: All things Patriots start and stop with Brady, the seven-time Pro Bowler, three-time Super Bowl champion and two-time Super Bowl MVP. Coming off his 12th season, one where he completed 65.6-percent of his passes for a career-high 5,235 passing yards with 39 touchdown passes against 12 interceptions, Brady’s importance only continues to grow. Factor in Gronkowski’s emergence, the additions at wide receiver and the lack of experience in the backfield, Brady’s role will be even more crucial to New England’s success in 2012. Brady is 1-0 all-time against the 49ers and missed the team's last meeting in 2008 due to a season-ending knee injury suffered in the season opener.

TE Rob Gronkowski: The Pro Bowl tight end (90 catches for 1,327 receiving yards) broke the NFL’s single-season touchdown record for tight ends, hauling in 17 scores in 2011. Gronkowski, however, suffered a major ankle injury in the AFC Championship game which hampered his production in the Super Bowl (two catches for 26 yards). The 6-foot-6, 265-pound matchup nightmare underwent surgery on his injured left ankle this offseason but remains in a walking boot.

G Robert Gallery: The former No. 2 overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft lasted one year in Seattle after signing with the San Francisco’s NFC West foe in the 2011 offseason. Gallery moved on quickly, signing a one-year deal with the Patriots this offseason seemingly to provide New England depth at both guard and tackle. With tackle Matt Light looking into early retirement and Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins recovering from offseason ACL surgery, Gallery’s presence figures to be a key for the Patriots in 2012.

2012 Opponents

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Road
Arizona Cardinals
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
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Seattle Seahawks
St. Louis Rams

Official site

[plato-ny]

i think his 1st wife (former miss texas, i think) left him and took that nasty little dog he used to appear on t.v. with...so, maybe life's been a bit rough on him.

She was Miss Illinois although she grew up in Alabama.

1984, return to the throne after having lost the 1983 NFC CG to the Redskins on a blown call, 15-1 (should have been a perfect season if not for another blown call)

The Niners of 1984 had a very good team but keep in mind the soft schedule they had.

[Giourkas]

http://www.thescore.com/home/articles/254307-adding-depth

The 49ers have added Brandon Jacobs to the roster! Good signing as we add anoter weapon and or more debth at RB given Gore has been banged up a lot lately with the 2 time SB winner!

[Red Spartan]

Hes good insurance for sure.... at Gores age, an RB can fall off drastically and quickly, so its good to have another solid back along with kendall hunter....and like the article states, hes good for short yardage situations..

I wonder why the giants let him go though....

[Giourkas]

The Niners of 1984 had a very good team but keep in mind the soft schedule they had.

The '84 team beat the Bears who the next year would be called one of the greatest, 23-0, then the Marino-led Dolphins (Best offense that year) 38-16 in the SB. That's 61-16 against two of the great teams of the era. They also beat the defending SB champ Redskins 37-31, and your Giants on 2 occasions (Regular season away: 31-10 and playoffs at home: 21-10). The Niners also beat the 10 and 6 Rams 2 times that year...The running game led by Craig and Tyler made this team unbeatable. First Montana would shell-shock them (100+ passer rating in 1984, but was just as lethal outside of the pocket), then Craig and Tyler would take over (The 49ers averaged over 150 rushing yards per game that year). Also, bear in mind that every starter in the '84 Niners secondary made the Pro Bowl.

[Red Spartan]

Only three NFL teams have ever gotten to the 18-win plateau in the league's history: the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, 1985 Chicago Bears and 2007 New England Patriots. While having an undefeated season is unmatchable, an 18-1 record is the next biggest achievement. So which of the three 18-1 team is the best? Let's compare.

Regular Season Strength of Schedule

3. 1984 San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers literally had no equal in the 1984 NFL season. Their opponents only won .413 of the time (85-121-2) in the regular season. The toughest opponent in the regular season is the early season match-up with the 11-5 Washington Redskins. Most of the other opponents, including a 3-13 Minnesota Vikings team, don't belong on the same football field.

2. 1985 Chicago Bears
The Bears faced off against "better" competition in 1985. At a winning percentage of .505 (97-95) in the regular season, the opponents were far too mediocre to even think about beating the Chicago Bears. The best team the Bears faced, the 12-4 Miami Dolphins, did blow them out, however. Other teams, like the divisional opponent 2-14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had no chance.

1. 2007 New England Patriots
Going undefeated in the regular season in 2007 was not easy for the New England Patriots. They had to battle against teams like the 13-3 Indianapolis Colts and the 13-3 Dallas Cowboys. Their opponent had a combined regular season record of 108-100 (.519). Fortunately, they do get occasion breaks in the schedule by playing the 1-15 Miami Dolphins twice.

link

Also,

On NFL.com theyve set up the top 64 single season teams of all time and faced them off in a march madness style bracket. They are at the final 4 currently.



Niners and cowboys lead the way with 6 teams each in the bracket.

Check it out round by round here - Bracketology

Pretty interesting....

On the NFL network they had brian billick on and they asked him to cast his vote for the 2000 Ravens vs the 1984 Niners. He voted Frisco. Why do i mention this? Billick was the coach of the 2000 Ravens

[aek66]

interesting stuff...it looks like the '76 raiders defeated the '85 bears and the '76 raiders are in the final against the 2000 ravens.

anyways, the 3rd round match up between the '85 bears vs. the '86 giants was played out...not on a computer or raider fans stuffing ballot boxes, but on the 1st monday night of the 1987 season. just like the voting, the bears won handily with mike tomczak as qb in a battle of the previous 2 super bowl winners.

as mentioned, jim mcmahon missed so many games that it will never be known if the bears could have competed with the 49ers for team of the decade.

[NYPAO13]

Im not a niner fan, but how can you get excited over the Jacobs signing? No burst, hes finished. 2 mil. for that? You got Gore, Hunter who i really like, even Dixon is better than Jacobs. Shoulda picked up an rb in the 6th round woulda been cheaper & probably better.

[plato-ny]

Jacobs wasnt even the #1 RB on a Giants team that had the worst rushing yardage in the league. His numbers have significantly declined the last 3 years. Too much money spent on him. The Niners already have a good running game

[Red Spartan]

Breaking news on the NFL network.

Apparently there are recordings of Greg Wiilams (Sains DC) talking to his players about putting K.Williams concussion to the test, Crabtrees ACL injury, and where/how to hit A.Smith to have the highest chance of knocking him out the NFC divisional final. They are talking about a potential lifetime ban for Williams if these tapes are legitimate, and if proof comes out that players were to be rewarded with cash bonuses.

The funny thing is that the only team to be dealt knock-out blows, and an hour of physical punishment was actually the saints in that game.... One of the most punishing defensive performances ive seen in a while....


Here are a few of the alleged quotes -

"Kill the head and the body will die. We've got to do everything in the world to make sure we kill Frank Gore's head. We want him running sideways. We want his head sideways."

"We need to find out in the first two series of the game ... that little wide receiver, No. 10 (Kyle Williams), about his concussion. We need to (expeletive) put a lick on him right now."

"(Receiver Michael Crabtree) becomes human when we take out that outside ACL."


This was the official Niner response....



You shall not pass....

[Red Spartan]

Heres an absolutely awesome youtube clip some guy made of the Saints-Niners game...

[Giourkas]

Nice vids RS! I hope those bounty fucks are banned for life as well....

[Red Spartan]

Preseason sched has been announced!


Friday, August 10th

6:00 p.m.

vs. Minnesota

Saturday, August 18th

5:00 p.m.

at Houston

Sunday, August 26th

1:00 p.m.

at Denver

Thursday, August 30th

7:05 p.m.

vs. San Diego

[Red Spartan]

Regular season sched has been announced. We got 5 primetime games including two monday nighters

1. @ GB
2. vs Detroit (Sunday night)
3. @ Minny
4. @ Jets
5. vs Bills
6. vs Giants
7. vs Seattle (Thursday night)
8. @ Arizona (Monday night)
9. Bye
10. vs Rams
11. vs Bears (Monday night)
12. @ Saints
13. @Rams
14. vs Dolphins
15. @ Patriots (Sunday night)
16. @ Seattle
17. vs Arizona

Not an easy sched by any stretch....

[Giourkas]

^Not at all, but I am confident that this bunch led by Harbaugh will meet the challenge...

[plato-ny]

The Niners schedule is the 7th easiest based on strength of schedule and 2011 records...

[Red Spartan]

Apparently we have drafted 7 pro bowlers on our current roster.

We are on the clock right now....