The Aussie Bandwagoners view of the 49ers

hi kombi,

that is pretty much my thoughts exactly (although you've detailed more than I would have) -I've only watched the first four pre season games, although I haven't seen much action from Kap, from what I could tell the protection was great and of course his plays suffered. he seems to be copping a fair bit of heat for it which seems a bit unfair, fingers crossed the offence comes good, as to me from what I've seen it is the main/only weak point of the team. the defence and special teams have been great. Other stand outs for me, Bowman - awesome, Hyde nice through the tight stuff. Hayne, his confidence is building and i look forward to him unleashing his physicality on the opposition, not super polished but that seems to be ok if he's used in the open spaces, keep the tight stuff to those who are lighter and more agile/nimble - where space and/or muscle required put Hayne in.

good idea for a thread, learning myself, the game and terminology - could be a good spot for the locals to explain some of the basics if questions arise for us bandwagoners.

GO NINERS!

Rusty

Originally posted by rustigsmed:

good idea for a thread, learning myself, the game and terminology - could be a good spot for the locals to explain some of the basics if questions arise for us bandwagoners.

GO NINERS!

Rusty

Thanks Rusty, that's what I'm hoping for, we can give our uneducated opinion on the team without being flamed and the locals can answer any questions we have.

Originally posted by FAS33:

pick 6 would be an intercept touchdown, what are your thoughts on the man himself mate?

But why is it called a pick 6?

My thoughts on the man himself are I love the bloke. Just didn't want to take away from the Hayne Plane thread. Have watched him since a junior being a Parra season ticket holder for a long time.

He is perfect for the return game and adds value as a gunner.
I see him as a reception type of RB not so much the tight stuff. Could see him also as a FB or maybe TE but needs to learn the game a lot more. That's his biggest challenge with time not on his side.
I hoped he was good enough to just make the team, but that's not Haynes way, he wants to be great at it and is doing everything right. But now the big show has started and am looking forwards to see how that unfolds.

Originally posted by Kombi:

But why is it called a pick 6?

I assumed "pick" was the term for interception, and 6 points for the TD.

Originally posted by frenz:

Originally posted by Kombi:

But why is it called a pick 6?

I assumed "pick" was the term for interception, and 6 points for the TD.

Ok cool, that makes total sense.

Originally posted by Kombi:

Originally posted by frenz:

Originally posted by Kombi:
But why is it called a pick 6?

I assumed "pick" was the term for interception, and 6 points for the TD.

Ok cool, that makes total sense.

Very good, mates. That's exactly what a pick six is.

This is so weird. But very, very, very cool. Such a great thing to have the influx of the ausies in our fan base.

Never saw this coming. But it's pretty cool. You guys are fvcking awesome!

9ers!!!!!!!!

You're a hard act to follow Kombi, you've probably covered most of what us Aussie football dummies are likely to have gleaned from the few games and news we've seen so far. Nevertheless, I'll throw my hat in the ring, here's what I (think I) know.

49ers have a very rich history of success and several players considered amongst the best, if not the best, have been 9ers. My awareness doesn't go back too far but I'll name the obvious ones, Montana, Young, Rice and Bill Walsh, who if I understand correctly, practically revolutionised the game in a way that changed it forever with the use of short passing plays.

Fans, at least here, represent a very broad spectrum of attitudes. Everything from almost total optimists (homers, I think) to severe pessimists (suicide posters, I think they're called in these parts). That's something I think Aussies would find a little hard to get their heads around, I know I did, just the level of doom and gloom. Aussies usually try to stay optimistic and loyal regardless of the outlook. A lot of the new Aussies will be Parramatta fans in the NRL and that club has endured a very long period without any great success, yet the fans stay loyal and still show up to cheer on the team.

Players are a bit tough to get a handle on for such new people as myself but some things are immediately apparent. The retirements of Pat Willis (edit: I mistakenly named Ray MacDonald, newb error haha) and Justin Smith register quite heavily on the radar. There also seems to be some attachment to the former punter Andy Lee, who has been replaced by Pinion. As for current players, Kap is obviously a massive focal point with the success of the team largely on his shoulders. As a uneducated newb I might be well off beam, but he doesn't seem all that relaxed to me. I haven't had a chance to go back and watch video of him from a few years back when things were going a little better to make a properly informed comparison so maybe I shouldn't make an assessment. Bowman is an obvious standout, making a good play on every snap he was involved in last week. Hyde looks smooth as a babies backside, looking forward to seeing him play and glad the 9ers have him rooming with Hayne as a mentor. Torrey Smith has, as you guys say, wheels, seeing him track the bomb that Kap landed a yard ahead of him in the first practice game was good to see apart from the obvious incompleteness. Purcell was another obvious standout in preseason and Bruce Miller because he had a massive influence on our man Hayne's very first noteworthy run. Reggie Bush showed he's still got some mojo left and it's obviously interesting that he and Hayne landed on the same team after all the turmoil.

Opinion on Coaching is impossible to miss around here. The fallout from Harbaugh being shown the door hits you almost immediately. Having come in after all that means that for us Aussies, it means practically nothing, sorry to Harbaugh adherents. Jim Tomsula is a guy I think most Aussies would find it hard not to like. He comes from a working class background and has worked his arse off to make it to where he has, much like many rugby league players do. He strikes me as very genuine and honestly cares about his players as human beings, not just footballers. I think the guys will play for him. He also was instrumental in getting Hayne to the club, which gets him an automatic tick of approval from most of us.

I haven't got much more and this is probably TL/DR material so I'm signing off for now. Cheers fellas.

Originally posted by Zealot:

I haven't got much more and this is probably TL/DR material so I'm signing off for now. Cheers fellas.

When invading a new country it's not only polite to show an effort in understanding their football culture but also to compliment the babes without touching or sullying them with crude comments.

Originally posted by Morgan49:

This is so weird. But very, very, very cool. Such a great thing to have the influx of the ausies in our fan base.

Never saw this coming. But it's pretty cool. You guys are fvcking awesome!

9ers!!!!!!!!

Well I'm glad us Aussies, Hayne included, are providing you Yanks with some entertainment and a change of pace at the very least!

9ers all day mate!

Suggestion for you Aussie guys.

Invest in the all 22 coaches film via game pass on NFL.com It will allow you to see the game in a much broader view than on TV. There is a thread on this site where a couple posters break down the film from the previous game to show how the plays developed, what worked what didn't. Combine the two things and you will start to get a much greater appreciation for what is going on.

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:
Suggestion for you Aussie guys.

Invest in the all 22 coaches film via game pass on NFL.com It will allow you to see the game in a much broader view than on TV. There is a thread on this site where a couple posters break down the film from the previous game to show how the plays developed, what worked what didn't. Combine the two things and you will start to get a much greater appreciation for what is going on.

The All22 Analysis thread stickied in NT help me GREATLY trying to learn the game. I'm still a noob, but no longer a complete noob. As for game pass... It's A$255 for Season Plus. That ain't gonna happen, unfortunately.

Originally posted by Morgan49:

This is so weird. But very, very, very cool. Such a great thing to have the influx of the ausies in our fan base.

Never saw this coming. But it's pretty cool. You guys are fvcking awesome!

9ers!!!!!!!!

Lol thanks, had to laugh at listening to the Gold Faithful podcast the other day. They talked how the downloads from around the world and that Australia was a clear second a mile ahead of UK, Canada and all the other countries.


Zealot love your posts on the Hayne thread and another quality one here, nice touch talking about the history.

Originally posted by Kombi:
Lol thanks, had to laugh at listening to the Gold Faithful podcast the other day. They talked how the downloads from around the world and that Australia was a clear second a mile ahead of UK, Canada and all the other countries.


Zealot love your posts on the Hayne thread and another quality one here, nice touch talking about the history.

Also, they said they have more listeners from Brisbane than Sydney. That surprised me!

First time I've watched a pre-season, so I'm not entirely sure how the transition to the big boys and their toys will go.

For me, the most telling passages of play were the the first march in the Dallas game, and the carnage in the game against the Broncos.

The first march in the Dallas game, which ended in a punt for 3. Really good series, and the D played well either side of it. I suspect many of the fears regarding the OL will prove to have been overstated. Of course the carnage in the game against the Broncos can be held up against that, but my impression was that the team was utilising that game as a weakness finder.

I went to a high school about half populated with Americans, so I'm familiar with the game at that level. Also got to see some of them become familiar with League, AFL and cricket, which was deeply amusing at times. Have also watched a couple of punters from the AFL make their way over and compete in that position; it's nowhere near as involving as transitioning into RB/PR is.

Anything much else I write is basically summarising what I've read here over the last month, so I'm not sure it would add much value. Really looking forward to (Tuesday)'s game; its a long break from Thursday the week before. After that, I expect much that is unknown will crystallise, and we'll see whether a 6-10 or a 10-6 season is more likely.

Enjoy the journey.