Niners will return...

Sorry Dallas...tough luck on Romo.  But you still don't have a defense.  Still, this upcoming game will tell.  Philadelphia: when she is good, she is very, very good; but when she is bad, she is horrid.  Still Dallas...that awful defense!

Niners have the #1 defense in the nation.  Offense: great backs and receivers.  Line is strong.  Kaepernick is strong, but in a difficult position.  He doesn't have the rating of last year, because the coaches are pressing him to stop taking the run risks and throw.  (He has a gun for an arm.)  So, he's in transition.  He needs to play with more certainty.  At times, he looks conflicted: with the run option, he always before had the default to goooooo.  But now, he has gotta settle in and make sharp, intelligent decisions.  Overall, the Niners are peaking at just the right time.  So, I'm liking it.

But Phoenix scares the piss outta me.  What a defense!  Chewed up Seattle, even though it ended up only one score difference.  Alas, Palmer can make some baaaaad decisions, himself.  I know, he spent a season with my Raiders.  But that defense!  Wow!  Bidwell...whoever thought he'd field a good team.

Kansas City has more-or-less folded.  I like the old Philly coach...I also like Smith, tho he should never have gone #1. (Niners should have taken Rogers outta Berkeley, right out of the gun.)  I feel good about Indianapolis, but Luck needs maybe another year of maturity.  New England...now the old man of the AFC.  They still have Brady...but who is around him??  Denver is the hottest thing in the League, 'cept maybe my Niners.

Prediction: Denver v. Niners.  Result: Niners 31; Denver 20. The story of the game will be the Niners' linebackers smothering Manning's receivers, esp. Willis, and Bowman, and Smith rushing...and the Niners' run game up the middle. POW!   

Wait a minute, you are offering condolences on the loss of Tony Romo?

Condolences.

I will say this as only someone who has watched this team since they sucked back in the '80s can say:

Tony Romo is the most overrated quarterback in the NFL.

Sure, he's talented, and he can really look great when he feels like it. The problem is, he's too content being good. He doesn't want to be great, even though he probably could be, and thus he's worse than bad -- he's OK.

Every time I see him smile after throwing an interception, I want to be there, on the field, to punch him right in the smile. He doesn't do what he's paid millions of dollars to do, which is win. Sure, he can win against bad teams, or when there's nothing at stake, but when it really matters ...

Well, I'll just let these fine gentlemen in one of my favorite videos do the talking for me:

   Yep, he is like a charmed fool. But now the Cowboys have to pull up poor ole Kitna for this next game. Far, far away from the days of Staubach and Troy Aikman.

Told you that Phoenix was good.

How did the Niners win that one?  Offense was lousy.  Well, a win is a win.

Okay, Niners won are are in the playoffs. Still, we have to take on Seattle, in Seattle. That's a chore.

Ben, sorry about the Cowboys. The way Jerry stormed outta his box, you'd thought heads were going to roll.

Well! The Niners went to Green Bay and beat the Packers in what is the coldest game in NFL history.

But it doesn't leave a fan feeling real good. They nearly lost the game late in the 4th quarter. Sure, the got the ball at the right time and moved down for a last second field goal, but they could have gotten it with more time on the clock, or lost the ball in an interception or fumble. There but for fortune...and all that.

Again, the defense is flawless. But the offense appears tentative and inexperienced. But that is because the QB is inexperienced and tentative. He'll get better no doubt, but in the meantime he is really, really green. I don't like to state negative things, but we could lose any day.

Screw Jerry. He's everything wrong with that team, and we should have seen it coming even during the Jimmy Johnson era. Not that Landry didn't need to scoot, but Jones is just evil.

Yeah, those little gaffes don't leave you feeling good about their longevity, do they? Still, it's better than, you know, not making the playoffs at all  ::rambo:: ::rambo:: ::rambo:: ::rambo:: ::rambo:: ::rambo:: 

Jerry is arrogant beyond belief.  When Dallas lost to Philly, and knocked the Cowboys out of the playoffs, Jerry couldn't be bothered to watch.  They panned his box...he was leaving even before the game was over.

In the upcoming Niners game against the Sea Hawks, I put my money on Seattle.  I think that Kaepernick will probably be the better QB when he matures, but right now Wilson is more advanced.  Let's not forget Pete Carroll...he was red hot at USC, and he isn't slipping any.  He and Jim Harbaugh are the best coaches in the game--with brother John not far behind.  Too bad Harbaugh and Carroll don't get along, but that goes back to their Stanford and USC days.  Carroll acted pretty cavalierly in the PAC-10...now PAC-12.

But the Niner's defense could pull it out.  Erm...so could Seattle's defense.  They're good too.