(By Daisy Barringer)
After a very short week, the (1-2) 49ers face off against division rivals the (1-2) Rams tonight in St. Louis. The short week + traveling across the country + the fact that the 49ers have been playing like crap + the fact that for some reason we consistently struggle against the Rams + injuries doesn’t bode well for the 49ers. But we’re there. And we have to play the game. So let’s put my frustrated attitude aside and check out what we have in store.
The Good
We can’t suck any worse than we have for the past two weeks? Does that count as good? It’s going to have to.
Frank Gore. I have no idea why the run game was totally abandoned in the second half of last week’s game, especially since Gore rushed for 105 yards in the first half alone, but it was and it’d better not be this week if we have any chance of winning because I don’t know if anyone noticed but our passing game is meh.
Our Defense. I’m kind of just putting this here because “The Good” is feeling really empty. I mean, they’re good or whatever, although they seriously need to step up the run defense. Crucial.
Sam Bradford. Bradford is under a lot of pressure to perform tonight. His last three games have been against teams with horrible pass defenses. Guess who actually has a good pass defense? That’s right: The Niners. Let’s hope he chokes.
The Bad
Injuries and absences. Aldon Smith’s in rehab. Nnamdi Asomugha and Patrick Willis both didn’t practice and it’s not looking like they’ll play. Vernon Davis was limited in practice, but who knows.
Colin Kaepernick. Kap has been playing like a QB who’s never started an entire NFL season. And that’s probably because he IS a QB who’s never started for 16 games. But ugh. I don’t know what’s going on with him (not a lot of options for receivers is one thing), but he needs to snap out of it and complete his passes. Like, now.
Receiving Corps. Surprise! Our opponents are onto the fact that Anquan Boldin can bring down the ball. So they’re covering him super well. The Niners need to get other receivers in the mix so that Kaepernick has more than one target.
Penalities. Just STOP getting them, Niners. There! Problem solved. (They should hire me.) Luckily, the Rams have also been getting a lot of penalties, so if we do continue to make stupid mistakes, hopefully it will all come out in the wash.
Morale. I mean, I don’t know how the 49ers feel, but it just seems like everyone’s really down in the dumps about how this team has been playing. (Rightfully so.) No one expected us to be 1-2 right now. OKAY NO ONE EXCEPT ME. I actually PREDICTED the Niners would be 1-2 right now. God, sometimes I hate when I’m right.
The Short Week. Never a good thing. The coaching staff didn’t have a lot of time to do a helluva lot of work, but I assume they just didn’t sleep, which is fine. They can sleep when they’re dead or when we win. Whichever.
The Rest Of It
Now is the time to turn this ship around. (Is that even a saying?) The 49ers have the talent. They have the coaching staff. Almost NOTHING has changed from last year. They 100% can do this. Many of us are frustrated, yes, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have faith.
The Rams aren’t that good. They’ve only won one game as well and had the 49ers played Arizona, the Falcons and Dallas, I think we’d be 3-0. They’re under pressure to win, but no one really believes they’re going to the playoffs. The Niners, however, still have a legitimate shot at making a run for it.
And Finally .
Sorry to beat a dead horse (probably not the best usage of that expression), but I just wanted to thank everyone who has reached out publicly and privately to ask how I’m doing and show their support after I was kicked and punched by a 49ers fan while leaving the game last week.
The update is that the police mislead me and never filed charges, despite the fact that I asked them to and that after taking my information they said “You probably won’t be called to court.” I’ve called the Bayview police department several times, but despite promises that my messages are getting the sergeant, I’ve not received a call back. I also reached out to my account manager at the 49ers who informed me that Candlestick security was in touch with the SFPD, but I’ve heard nothing back from them either. (I emailed yesterday and told her I’m moving on from the incident, so I no longer expect to hear anything.)
I was very shaken up on Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday I was exhausted, emotionally drained, and in a bit of pain. Yesterday I woke up feeling much more like myself and made the decision to just let the whole thing go. I wish the SFPD hadn’t lied to me. I wish someone had at least reached out from the Niners to ask how I was doing. I wish that Candlestick had better security and that fan safety wasn’t such a serious issue. Personally though, it’s not worth the fight. I could try, but we all know nothing would happen. It’s more important to me to move forward and be happy than to dwell on it.
Also, I want to acknowledge how terrible and guilt-ridden I’ve been over the fact that after the girl shoulder-checked me that I pushed her off of me. I regret that enormously and I know that had I just walked away, I could have avoided the entire situation. Unfortunately, instinct won over intellect. But it’s not something I’m proud of at all and I wish I’d reacted differently.
Lastly, I want to thank the media outlets - and especially SFist - who took the story seriously and helped draw attention to the ongoing problem that is fan safety at Candlestick. It’s a real problem. I love football so much. All I want is for people to be able to go to the game with their friends and family and have a good time.
ANYWAY sorry to get all serious there for a second. Back to the important stuff! The 49ers face off against the Rams tonight. We can totally do this despite the injuries and short week and the rest of it. I believe.
Watch San Francisco at ST. LOUIS tonight at 5:25 p.m. PDT on the NFL Network.
