Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
1) The 49ers winning the game in the 4th quarter last year in the NFC Championship fumble 2 punts. One in the 4th quarter and one in overtime to lose a narrow game. Miss the Super Bowl. (2011)
Result = Come up short. Lost year.
2) The following year the 49ers advance 1 step further but fall hugely behind 28 - 6 by the 3rd quarter. They didn't even play the 1st two quarters. Simply horrible. Then fight all the way back and have 1st and goal at the 7 with minutes left for a chance to win the Super Bowl. They then blow all 4 plays and questionable calls. (2012)
Result = Come up short. Lost year.
A top flight team that comes up short year after year. We have seen this before. It's the BUFFALO BILLS SYNDROME. Can't close the deal.
You only have so much window and I fear we are wasting it. Justin Smith is not getting younger and already is starting to show signs of injury and wear and tear. Frank Gore is getting older and has taken a pounding over the years. Dashon Goldson is a FA again. Do we Franchise him again? Will we let him go to save money?
Everybody thought Dan Marino would be in Super Bowl after Super Bowl. But he made it only once and never again. There is no guarantee we will be back.
A great deal of what you're saying is true. We can't just ignore it, because the fact of the matter is, we may never reach the Super Bowl again with this group of guys. It could legitimately be a decade or more before we're back again.
It's easy to say, "oh, we're so close, and we're retaining most of our team -- we should be fine." But guess what? A lot of teams can say that. The Falcons will be very dangerous next year. The Packers will be too. The Seahawks may very well win the division!
The playoffs are such a crapshoot -- even if you make it, a fluke turnover or a bad break can cost a team their season. That's why, even if we're a great team, it's tough to accept a loss in the Super Bowl, because it's incredibly tough to make it there in the first place, no matter how good you are. (Hell, look at the Ravens beating the Broncos and the Patriots -- both superior teams en route to the Bowl. Who's to say some inferior steam doesn't get hot and streamroll us next year if we make the playoffs?)
Part of me thinks, "yes, our window of opportunity just slammed shut." I'm not saying that to be pessimistic or dramatic, I'm saying that because that's the reality of the NFL in the salary cap era.
Let me say this though: Kaepernik does infuse a great deal of optimism into my thought process. There is absolutely no way that Alex Smith could've dug us out of a 28-6 hole. Absolutely no way. Kaep made many throws that Smith could only dream of, and he kept plays alive with his elite scrambling ability on a handful of occasions (the 14-yard TD run especially comes to mind). Very good chance that the drive stalls for a field goal if Kaep doesn't run that in. And the scary thing, Kaep is still pretty raw.