Last weekend the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Seattle Seahawks 30-28. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Green Bay Packers 45-31. The 49ers will play the Falcons in Atlanta next Sunday at noon.
The Baltimore Ravens upset the Denver Broncos 38-35 at Denver. The Ravens kicked a field goal in overtime to win the game. The New England Patriots defeated the Houston Texans 41-28. The Patriots will play the Ravens next Sunday in the second game.
The winners of next Sunday’s games will be Conference Champions and will meet in the Superbowl.
In the 49ers v. Packers game it became a National Coming-out Party for the 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. He ran for 184 yards, setting an NFL record for rushing yardage by a quarterback. He passed for 264 yards. All of this greatness came after the first play of the game when he rolled to his left and threw awkwardly across his chest for an interception. But, he didn’t panic or go into a shell; he was almost serene on the gridiron. He was smooth and each play was in the moment, and he didn’t push anything that wasn’t there.
Frank Gore rushed for more than 100 yards. Michael Crabtree caught nine passes for 119 yards. David Akers who had been in a slump went through a week of competition to play in the game and made a 36-yard field goal. Justin Smith’s elbow was in a brace, but he played a gutsy game and was effective. Patrick Willis was terrific with two sacks. And, Randy Moss earned his paycheck this season by mentoring Crabtree into becoming an excellent pro receiver.
But one play was a dream coming alive. Vernon Davis was running deep down the sideline but was saddled with good coverage. Kaepernick threw a pass to Davis that was so beautiful that it seemed that silk had floated on to a velvet pillow. Because Davis didn’t have to move his hands, the defensive corner didn’t know the ball was coming or he could have batted it away.
Plus, Alex Smith has been graceful in the way he has handled his demotion. In a newspaper interview, Smith spoke eloquently about Kaepernick’s ability, saying essentially that physically Colin Kaepernick had it all but that he had it all mentally as well. He processed information rapidly and was decisive. The Atlanta Falcons play in a dome, so he will have to learn some hand signals in this week of practice.
I had never been to Turlock until last summer. I was taking the Highway 4 interchange between Highway 5 and Highway 99 by way of Stockton. I took a wrong turn but I thought as long as I am going south, it doesn’t matter. After about 12 to l4 miles, I came to Turlock and some nice people pointed to the right lane to take me to Highway 99 south. If I had seen Kaepernick play like he did Jan. 12th, I would have stopped and drank some of the water!
Three weeks before the end of the NFL regular season, R.G.III (Robert Griffin III) sprained his knee. But his backup at quarterback took his place and did a good job and won the game. The Washington Redskins had solidified their playoff position. Except for pride, the last game would be played in a way to get “healthed up.” But R.G.III wanted to play and his head coach Mike Shanahan let him play. His knee wasn’t given needed rest. In the first playoff game, R.G.III’s knee suffered torn ligaments. Dr. James Andrews, the “go to” guy for elite athletes, said he wasn’t asked by Shanahan if R.G.III could play. Shanahan earlier had said Dr. Andrews (the Redskin’s game day doctor) had cleared him to play.
Mike Shanahan was once the finest offensive coordinator in the NFL. I thought when he was with the 49ers. Then he went to the Denver Broncos, and he worked to bring Jake Plummer to Denver from Arizona.
At Arizona, Plummer’s weak linemen had allowed him to be treated like a piñata. Like Jim Plunkett long ago being drafted by a weak New England Patriot’s team and beaten like a piñata for years, his body and confidence were shaken. A young Al Davis brought him to the Raiders and allowed him to recover on the bench for a while. When he was the “old” Plunkett again, he became the starter and won a Superbowl.
I thought this could happen to Jake Plummer when Shanahan brought him to Denver. Shanahan thought it would be a three-year project to make it to the Superbowl. But, Shanahan’s kid showed up as his offensive coordinator. I thought it was nepotism toward an entitled kid. Mike Shanahan has made some decisions since the kid’s arrival in Denver that is unworthy of him.
Jake Plummer is a treasure of an athlete raised on spring water and snow melt in the mountain country of Idaho. He made many memorable runs while playing college football in Arizona. It wasn’t just speed but he dodged tacklers with his nimbleness. He got the nickname “Snake.”
He improved the first two years in Denver. I thought the Broncos would go to the Superbowl in Plummer’s third season in Denver. But, after the kid came, they drafted Jay Cutler to start and Plummer quit the game. John Gruden, the former Raider coach and Tampa Bay Superbowl winner loved Plummer. Gruden tried for three years to get Plummer to come back to the NFL and play quarterback for him. Plummer never budged an inch. He wanted to live a life of integrity.
Shanahan’s son is his offensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins. I think he can talk Shanahan into incorrect decisions.
Shanahan should not have allowed Robert Griffin III to play in the last game of the regular season. He should let his son be the coordinator of another team.
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ADDENDUM. More signs of the Apocalypse as witnessed by football fans at Saturday's game between the Niners and the Packers at Candlestick Park.
• Comment #1: As a Packers fan who attended the game, it was definitely getting rowdy in the 4th quarter. I left with about 3 minutes left (when the Niners sewed it up with another TD), but the fans were pretty obnoxious. A few fans tossed garbage at me from above as I headed out to the concourse. I ended up covering up my Packer gear before I headed out the parking lot as I saw a few Packer fans get berated aggressively by some thuggish-looking 25 years olds. Sadly, there were a bunch of 40 and 50 year old Niner fans acting just as poorly. I actually sat near some nice Niner season ticket holders who I traded friendly barbs with throughout the game. I was also lucky enough to be near a lot of Packer fans; one blog mentioned around 10K in Packer fans which seemed about right since a good chunk of my section was Packer fans). Anyway, I've been to 5 Packer/Niner games at the Stick and it gets progressively worse each year. I realize as opposing fans you will get some people yelling at you, but when it turns aggressive I have a problem with that. The Stick will never hold a candle to Lambeau. Good luck to your team the rest of the way. Cheers.
• Comment #2: These “fans” who go to 49ers games just to shoot their mouths off; intimidate others, etc. are getting nastier. Lots more women are getting into full on brawls in the parking lots, goaded on by their friends and their boyfriends. Just charming. Anyone fortunate enough when they were younger to have made a team, earning the right to wear a jersey, either for their school or Pop Warner etc. knows how pathetic it is seeing grown “men” wearing jerseys of Niners or other players, while they do all the stuff that would get them kicked off any real team — mouthing off, starting fights, showing disrespect for themselves or anyone else. The great Ronnie Lott had it right in his Hall of Fame induction speech, when he said it all comes down to respect; for oneself and for others. These disrespectful losers take the fun out of going to a game — period. This will change with the new stadium. Anyone who caught Giants games at the 'Stick (especially those weekend night games vs LA) saw lots of fights and people making drunken jackasses out of themselves. This changed dramatically with the opening of an amazing ballpark (and of course the hefty prices to pay for it). Yes, there are still idiots who go to Giants games at AT&T; but they're not tolerated and they certainly don't become part of a game the way they used to, the way these miscreants affect 'Niners games these days. It stinks that good folks with less cash won't be able to go to many if any games at the new stadium. People paying a ton for seats in a new and state of the art stadium won't allow their “experience” to be ruined by these losers. If the hefty prices don't keep this “element” out, I'm sure stepped up security, there to protect hundreds of millions in public and private investment, will.
• Comment #3: My sister and brother in law were at the game. Crowd control was a joke. People were being crushed and trampled. Cops just stood by and watched. Big thugs pushed through the crowds, pushing people to the walls. People stood in their seats almost the whole time. My sister tried to sit down, but a guy behind her stood right behind her with his cholum as her headrest. Young gal next to her had her $40 burger and fries launched out of her hands by some idiot behind her. She had fun, but talked about insane crush and total lack of respect by other fans. She's thankful the 49'ers are playing in Atlanta as she had tickets to next weeks game. I'll stick to the idiot box thanks.
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