A Little Perspective, Please?

I am a fifty year old 49er fan. I watched Joe Montana win his first Superbowl in front of an old 20 inch color TV in the recreation room at Homan Hall at Fresno State with fifty other students who had gathered to watch the big game. I lived through the glory years. I lived through the good times and died just a little during the bad times. In the words of the radio announcer from a League of Their Own: "I have seen enough to know I have seen too much."

We're 1-2. We just lost to a team we shouldn't have lost too. We just didn't lose. We got our butts handed to us. Our best pass rusher is a drunk headed off to rehab. Our 2nd year QB looks like he's never seen, let alone thrown, a football before. Our best running back is peeved at his head coach. Our best linebacker got hurt and may miss a few games. Things are looking bad.

I'm here to tell you that I have seen this before. I have seen it all. And I'm here to tell you "don't worry." Things are going to be alright.

In 1982, I watched a Super Bowl defending champion get smashed the following season, shortened by a strike year, where they finished 3-6. "Big deal," you say? "They were on strike!" Well, to be brutally honest, most of the 49ers weren't. Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Freddie Solomon and many others crossed those picket lines in defiance. End result? A bunch of replacement players smashed their collective teeth in. Montana couldn't complete a pass to save his life. Our defense was swiss cheese.

An even better example came in 1988. The 49ers stumbled out of the gate to a 6-5 start. This included a 9-3 loss to the RAIDERS, people. Think about it! A team comprised of Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Roger Craig and so many others put up a measley three points against THE RAIDERS. Think that made the beat writers happy? There were whispers that Bill Walsh had "lost his touch" as head coach. There were "rumors" that he'd "lost the team."

That '88 team, by the way, would recover and go onto win the Super Bowl. It was Bill's final year. George Seifert replaced him and a year later the 49ers were back in the big game where they proceeded to absolutely DISMANTLE John Elway and the Denver Broncos in the most lopsided Super Bowl ever played.

Don't try to tell me that it was a different game back then. It wasn't. The rules were, for the most part, the same. A pigskin was a pigskin. The QB was still the QB.

The point I'm trying to make here is this: We've stumbled out of the gate to a 1-2 start, just as we did in 1981 when we won our first Super Bowl. And, just like 1981, we've looked terrible to boot.

Don't worry about it. Tomorrow is another day. Jim Harbaugh hasn't forgotten how to coach. Trust me when I tell you that he hasn't "lost the team." CK7 hasn't forgotten how to play the position of QB. Greg Roman is still a fine Offensive Coordinator.

We're 1-2. In the big scheme of things? It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether Seattle won or lost. We can't control what they do. So when a sportscaster makes a snide remark of referring to Seattle's QB as "the best QB in the NFC West," smile a bit and let it roll off your shoulders.

This is a long journey. We're just getting started. Smile. Today is a new day.

I hear you bill but we have a major issue that cannot be overlooked.

OLB, DT, WR

Our pass rushing strength, run stopping strength, and pass catching strength is, well...gone. Neither will be fixed today, tomorrow, or Thursday.

we cannot stop the run



didn't read your post, but yea, we suck

Stopped at "I'm a fifty year old"



Just kidding . Nice post. I needed to read something like this.

Thanks buddy. Nice post.

Nice post Bill

Nice post man. I'm hoping they can bring it all together. Honestly the worst part about it is Aldon going to rehab. Insult to injury. It does kind of seem like everything is falling apart for the entire world to see. Only time will tell.

Originally posted by billbird2111:

I am a fifty year old 49er fan. I watched Joe Montana win his first Superbowl in front of an old 20 inch color TV in the recreation room at Homan Hall at Fresno State with fifty other students who had gathered to watch the big game. I lived through the glory years. I lived through the good times and died just a little during the bad times. In the words of the radio announcer from a League of Their Own: "I have seen enough to know I have seen too much."

We're 1-2. We just lost to a team we shouldn't have lost too. We just didn't lose. We got our butts handed to us. Our best pass rusher is a drunk headed off to rehab. Our 2nd year QB looks like he's never seen, let alone thrown, a football before. Our best running back is peeved at his head coach. Our best linebacker got hurt and may miss a few games. Things are looking bad.

I'm here to tell you that I have seen this before. I have seen it all. And I'm here to tell you "don't worry." Things are going to be alright.

In 1982, I watched a Super Bowl defending champion get smashed the following season, shortened by a strike year, where they finished 3-6. "Big deal," you say? "They were on strike!" Well, to be brutally honest, most of the 49ers weren't. Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Freddie Solomon and many others crossed those picket lines in defiance. End result? A bunch of replacement players smashed their collective teeth in. Montana couldn't complete a pass to save his life. Our defense was swiss cheese.

An even better example came in 1988. The 49ers stumbled out of the gate to a 6-5 start. This included a 9-3 loss to the RAIDERS, people. Think about it! A team comprised of Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Roger Craig and so many others put up a measley three points against THE RAIDERS. Think that made the beat writers happy? There were whispers that Bill Walsh had "lost his touch" as head coach. There were "rumors" that he'd "lost the team."

That '88 team, by the way, would recover and go onto win the Super Bowl. It was Bill's final year. George Seifert replaced him and a year later the 49ers were back in the big game where they proceeded to absolutely DISMANTLE John Elway and the Denver Broncos in the most lopsided Super Bowl ever played.

Don't try to tell me that it was a different game back then. It wasn't. The rules were, for the most part, the same. A pigskin was a pigskin. The QB was still the QB.

The point I'm trying to make here is this: We've stumbled out of the gate to a 1-2 start, just as we did in 1981 when we won our first Super Bowl. And, just like 1981, we've looked terrible to boot.

Don't worry about it. Tomorrow is another day. Jim Harbaugh hasn't forgotten how to coach. Trust me when I tell you that he hasn't "lost the team." CK7 hasn't forgotten how to play the position of QB. Greg Roman is still a fine Offensive Coordinator.

We're 1-2. In the big scheme of things? It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether Seattle won or lost. We can't control what they do. So when a sportscaster makes a snide remark of referring to Seattle's QB as "the best QB in the NFC West," smile a bit and let it roll off your shoulders.

This is a long journey. We're just getting started. Smile. Today is a new day.

Much respect to you sir. Exactly what Im thinking, it's too early to panic rite now although we do have a LOT of work to do and some major issues to resolve. I still feel like we can bounce back strong and make a great run this year. It's only the 3rd week of the season and we have 13 more games to play, that is a lot of games to play and get back to where we were. When we start losing 4 games in a row then I'll start to worry. Niner fans lets keep the faith and keep believing in our boys! You win some you loose some. Gooooooo Niners!

I'm trying to remain positive for a few reasons:

-The Giants and Packers won the SB as wildcard teams just a few seasons ago. No one expected them to do that.

-What happens in the beginning of the year doesn't reflect what happens at the end of the year.

-Everyone struggles at one point. It would be foolish if you thought this season was going to be a cakewalk. Eventually Harbaugh and Co. would have to face adversity and a losing streak would happen. It is impossible to be dominant every game. We were spoiled when we went 13-3 .

-If there is any coach who can right this ship, it is Jim Harbaugh.

-The Ravens just last year had a 3-game losing streak. Guess what happened? Oh yea they won the SB. Just get in!

-The Steelers last season had a 4-game win streak and looked to be the clear favorites for the AFC North. They ended up going 8-8 and losing the division.

My point is, let the bad s*it happen now. Let the Seahawks have their glory because when the 49ers right this ship, they are not taking any hostages! Usually whoever wins the SB, they have faced adversity earlier in the season to help them get to that point. Remember last year when we got blown out by Seattle? They used that loss to get to the SB. This team is resilient. Let Pete Carroll keep smiling because when we string together some wins and they start losing, it will be that much sweeter!

NFL the ultimate reality TV.

We have Harbaugh, best coach in NFL history. Nuff?

billbird, you the man. Hopefully people actually read this instead of just making snide comments.

Not worried. Harbaugh and company will get this team fixed.

From your lips to gods ears!!!

Good post - I'll add a couple of additional gut-level thoughts:

1) While I know we are a good football team, we obviously are not at the moment. It is possible, given the trends of great teams over the years, that this is going to turn out to be a "mulligan" of a season. Whether we like it or not, this is the norm. How many teams put together title runs three years in a row? It is the natural course of things. Throw on major injury issues, a youngster who clearly is not yet mature enough to handle his incredible success, a rough patch of games to open the season, and whatever else you want to add and you have the 2013 49ers. There are many tough games to play yet this season and it won't take long for us to be out of the running for the division (if we're not already). However, we just need to make it in via wild card with healthy players and a rededication to what got the team to where it is. Undisciplined penalties, lack of passion, and being manhandled two weeks in a row will either be a wakeup call or this team will just implode. This is when we're going to learn what we truly have with Harbaugh. This is where he earns his money (or not).

2) Let's look at the upside should the season continue down this horrible path (we are staring at a very real possibility of 1-3 after St. Louis Thursday). Some years back, the San Antonio Spurs turned a mulligan season (injury to David Robinson) into Tim Duncan. The Colts did the same after Manning's injury and wound up with Luck. Freakish injuries/seasons, while brutal in the short term, had incredible long-term positive consequences. What could that mean for us? We know that we are going to have difficulty signing a number of veterans. A year like this with subpar performances either makes them easier to sign (i.e., for less) or easier for us to let them walk. The youth movement becomes much easier after a disappointing year. With a boatload of picks on tap, the timing is right.