Guess What,
Jim? We’ve Got it Better Than You.
By Superfan
Huge
win. Incredible win. Big time statement win. And yet, for some reason, it has me kind of
worried. It could just be the cynical
fan in me, but just recently we had a huge, dominating win on the road before
facing a tough division opponent, and it didn’t work out too well. Plus, most experts are now putting us at one
or two in their power rankings. I’d be
happier if everyone went back to not respecting us. There’s something inherently wrong with me
for thinking that, isn’t there? But
still, it’s all I can do to not be troubled by this weekend. And I’m sure I’m not the only fan hesitant to
take all of this sudden praise. Give our
shoulder its chip back, please.
I’m
sorry. This is a time to be celebrating
a huge win in a very tough place. I’ll
save the bulk of my cynicism for the Yankees right now. HOW ‘BOUT THEM GMEN!! How about that pass rush finally showing
up! And so much for not being able to
run the ball at the ‘Stick!
Thanks have to go in part to 49ers’
Coach Jim Harbaugh. Never wanting to be
outdone, not even by a taken-out-of-context-quote from an opponent’s
coordinator, Harbaugh just had to go and shoot his mouth off. Good.
His immaturity and lack of professionalism made for great bulletin board
fodder for our Gmen. Didn’t see our
coaching staff having to influence any officiating on Sunday, buddy. Maybe if you worried less about being a
rah-rah guy and more about your x’s and o’s, you wouldn’t lose these big games
in such ugly fashion. Who’s got it
better than you? We do - and we have the
rings to prove it. As for Justin Smith,
well…Justin, meet Kevin. Bet you’ll
remember who he is now. His offensive
gameplan allowed the first 100-yard rusher against you at home in 44 games. (I know, I know, no one rags on Gilbride as
much as I do. But it’s kind of like your
sibling. You can make fun of your little
brother all you want - chances are he’s a pain in the ass - but if someone else
makes fun of him or gives him a hard time, watch out…that’s my brother you’re
talking about!)
Bottom
line, Jim Harbaugh and his 49ers love to talk about how good they are and how
lucky we were to have beaten them in the NFC championship game last year. Meanwhile, Tom Coughlin’s Giants simply go
out and show people why they’re the defending champs. Well Coach Harbaugh, as a great rapper once
said, “relax and take notes.” Let
Coughlin show you how grown-ups do it.
The San Francisco
Treat(ment)
Love the
city of San Francisco. Easily one of the
best in the country. Landed with cousins
Larry and Charlie Friday night and was treated to a delicious Japanese dinner. Saturday morning we got up and walked across
the street from our hotel to the Ferry Building. Later we walked a few blocks over for some
great Dim Sum. After more fun SF
spectating and watching the Irish beat Stanford in glorious fashion, we capped
the day with dinner at Zuni Café.
They’re famous for the chicken they serve there. Not bad, but certainly not worth the
hour-long wait. If you’re going to make
someone wait over an hour for a chicken, there better at least be fireworks
coming out of it. Or a picture of a
naked lady on the plate it gets served on.
Something.
The next
morning was an early rise for gameday.
Larry, Charlie, Charlie’s friend George and I got to the stadium and
parked plenty early, watching most of the early games at our seats on the big
screen. With great anticipation we
waited for the stadium to fill up and the game to get underway.
The whole first quarter was a nail-biter,
chock full of those damn chants 49er fans make when they get a first down. But come the second quarter, that all
changed. The Giants’ fans could be heard
above everyone else, as the once-friendly/overconfident hometown fans could be
seen trying to fit their feet in their mouths.
Man you fans should’ve heard the stuff they were saying before
kickoff. You’d think this was an exhibition
game being played after they’d just won the super bowl. And the looks on their faces when Ahmad
finally broke off those big runs? I’d be
less shocked to see Charlie Sheen offering a stripper an overcoat.
In an effort to beat traffic (Larry
might be laughing at that statement if he’s reading this right now), we left at
the beginning of the fourth quarter. It
was just after 4, and we had a flight out at 6:55. Nearly three hours before takeoff - should’ve
been plenty of time, right? Wrong! Unbelievably bad traffic getting out of there
- we weren’t out of traffic until 5:40.
And yes, we missed the flight and had to reschedule for a flight out
Monday morning. So we got an extra night
in SF, and I got a half-day of work on Monday.
Was still a pain, but fortunately Larry did a great job of managing the
madness. Next time I might just book the
10pm flight, and wait the extra few hours.
All in all though, it was an
amazing trip with amazing company. Larry
and Charlie - thanks again for a terrific weekend! Love you guys - you’re the best!
Yes, Fans, We’re
Still the Defending Champs Until Further Notice…
Losing two
close games to division rivals doesn’t change that. Nothing but someone else winning the super
bowl will change that. Thanks for restating
it for everyone though, Carlos Rodgers.
And how about Victor Cruz? Yeah what Ahmad did in SF was amazing and
relatively unprecedented, but remember in the offseason when everyone said
Cruz’s season might’ve been a fluke, and he’d be shut down once the rest of the
league finally got its hands on tape of him?
Well, through the first six weeks of the season he’s tied for 9th
in the league in receiving yards (496) and tied for 2nd in receiving
touchdowns (6). On Sunday, he did it
against one of the league’s best cover corners.
Not a fluke - the salsa is here to stay.
What a difference a pass rush
makes. JPP and company were all over
Alex Smith, and it’s no coincidence that he threw three picks against us. All in all, a fantastically coached and
played game for Big Blue. Onto the
awards:
Offensive Player of
the Game - Ahmad Bradshaw. First
opponent to rush for over 100 yards in Candlestick in the Jim Harbaugh era. Scored the first rushing touchdown the 49ers
defense has allowed all season. Need
another reason? (Honorable mention - Giants offensive line)
Defensive Player of
the Game - Jason Pierre-Paul. Like
Peter King in this week’s MMQB article, this could’ve just as easily gone to
Antrel Rolle. But seeing JPP come alive
against such a great offensive line (2 sacks) was huge for all Giants
fans. It’s amazing what his pressure
does for every other facet of our defense, and how much better it makes them.
Special Teams Player
of the Game - David Wilson. We have
our fearsome kick returner. That return
at the start of the second half basically ended any hopes the niners ever had
of coming back against us.
Non-Gmen Thoughts
of the Week:
- · Hell yeah, Irish! Keep this up!
- · Ouch, Nationals. Very ouch.
- · Cam, I hope wherever you were on Monday you were sporting eye black and carrying a football around. Because I know you didn’t have the Giants winning the matchup this year, either ;)
- · Great article this week on SI.com about whether it’s still fun to be a Yankees fan. And I agree, it isn’t anymore. We don’t win the World Series, it’s a failure. We win the World Series, big deal we were supposed to. No more joy in it. Another good point raised - yeah he did great things, but what in the hell is Steinbrenner doing among the likes of Mantle, Gehrig, Ruth, or DiMaggio in the new stadium memorial? You were an owner, not a Yankee. That whole family needs to get over themselves and realize the Yankees’ legacy goes back long before they had anything to do with it.
- · On a more somber note, horrible news about Jeter. You’re the greatest thing to happen to baseball in a long time, and you deserve to exit on your own terms. Here’s to hoping you stick it out a little while longer. This franchise isn’t the same without you.
- · While in SF, we bought souvenir license plate frames and a few other fun tchotchkes at an officially licensed sports shop. Put them in the trunk of the rental the night before the game. A couple of days later, when we left for the airport, they were gone. Never touched them once after putting them in the trunk. That’s right - we have a very legitimate reason to believe we were robbed by a hotel valet in San Francisco.
Looking Ahead:
As I stated
earlier, we can’t take this game for granted!
Don’t forget this team swept us last year with Rex Grossman at the helm. RG3 happens to be quite the upgrade based on
what I’ve seen so far. We have to keep
this momentum rolling from October right into November. No taking the foot off the gas pedal. To talk all things Giants, you can e-mail me
at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, find me
on Facebook under the user name “Gmen Superfan,” or follow me on Twitter under the
handle “@gmensuperfan1.” Until next
week, GO GMEN!!
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