Jaguars 41, 49ers 3

49ERS WASHED UP

September 15, 1999 (NHS) -- Before the 1999 schedule was released several months ago, we here at NHS awaited the seemingly inevitable Opening Day gift for the Niners. Which bit of chaff masquerading as an NFL team would the schedule-makers serve up as San Francisco's first victim en route to another "Best Ever" campaign? Would it be Philly? One of the NFC West chunks of dog food? Or perhaps that really tough contest at Cincinnati?

Imagine our shock when the schedule came out and, lo and behold, the Niners were slapped with a tough one on Opening Day -- a contest at Jacksonville, one of the preseason favorites for a Super Bowl bid. We knew it looked too good to be true -- obviously something would have to happen between then and now to even out the contest. Maybe we'd see an injury to Jags QB Mark Brunell, or maybe Fred Taylor would be cut three days before the game for salary cap purposes, or quite possibly the NFL front office would simply force the Jaguars to forfeit the game to San Francisco for no reason other than the fact that the 49ers haven't won on the road against a winning team since 1996. Or maybe it would be the usual 49er Referee Huddle to decide the game in the 49ers' favor.

Well, for one half of football, the Niners got their break, courtesy of a torrential downpour which stifled both offenses and left the score at the half in favor of the Jags at 6-3. This, in a game that notorious Niner ass-kisser Chris Berman predicted would go to the Niners, 49-48. You go, Swami!

After halftime, though, the rains stopped, and the Jags' offense got started, rolling over the ineffective 49er defense to the tune of a 41-3 romp -- the worst Niner loss in years. When the mud had settled and the Niners had finished picking up their prone, battered bodies from the Jacksonville turf, they were left facing the reality of the 1999 season: that this is only the beginning, and the standard NFC West refuge that begins this week against New Orleans might not be able to save them from a year of total mediocrity.

And perhaps the greatest sign was the absence of any glaring bias on the part of the officiating towards the 49ers. Sure, the two instant replay decisions of the game -- one overruling a Jacksonville interception -- were decided for the 49ers, but that was to be expected after Al Michaels all but cried and walked off the set when an instant replay call went against the 49ers in the preseason. If the 49ers go on to face the season without their 12th man, the referees, talent alone certainly ain't gonna save them.

We only have limited space on the page here, but we'll try to address the main weaknesses of the 49ers as they were exploited by the Jaguars in the no-contest that happened on Sunday:

The running game, or lack thereof. Charlie Garner made a couple of decent moves and had one nice long gain, but otherwise was never a threat. Lawrence Phillips crapped out with an injury and left after getting only eight yards on three carries. The 49ers never even gave the ball to a fullback. If this is going to be the typical offensive effort from the backfield, then San Francisco's Best Ever wide receiver trio is going to have a lot of trouble getting open this year. Which brings us to...
The receivers. Sure, they're big, but they all came up small against Jacksonville. Terrell Owens had five grabs, but Jerry Rice only had two (for a whopping 8.5 yards per grab) and J.J. Stokes caught one for five yards. They all dropped at least one pass as well. The main problem with this trio is that there's no deep threat, and with no running game and no blazing WR on the outside, the nickel-and-dime passing schlock that the team has relied on for so many years is going to be much easier to defend.
The offensive line. Was anything more beautiful than watching arguably the most overrated lineman in football -- the untalented, useless Dave Fiore -- get used, abused and ultimately yanked?
Steve Young. He was absolutely abysmal, as his passes were fluttering, diving, carrying over receivers' heads, and pretty much going everywhere but the intended target. Sure, you can blame the first half on the rain, but Brunell was fine in the second half, while Young continued to chump it up, going 3-for-13 with a pick after the break. With his bread-and-butter, the dink pass, shut down, he once again proved he is a choke-artist in meaningful games.
The defensive backfield. These guys are so small that the Jags' receivers were literally dancing on their heads. Jimmy Smith cruised to a 139-yard receiving day and Keenan McCardell added 78 yards through the air. Hell, Reggie Barlow (who?) chipped in two catches for 41 yards, almost doubling the combined output of Stokes and Rice. Meanwhile, the San Fran corners were racing around like chickens without heads, looking for someone to cover. Perhaps that's the new dance they'll do without Merton Hanks. They'd better hope Craig Newsome provides some help.
The defensive line. They have some guy named Posey, but his name might as well be "Poser" to reflect the collection of filth the 49ers believe they can trot out and pretend are legitimate NFL players. Even future Hall-Of-Famer Brentson Buckner couldn't save them. And speaking of saviors, where was Charles Haley? We can't find him on the box score anywhere.
Special teams. The Niners got away with their typical arrogant negligence of their special teams in the punting department only. Their new punter, some guy named Stanley they luckily signed just days before the season, had a great average, but there's no way he's going to get 46 yards per kick all year. The real problem was the R.W. McQuarters fumble on a kick return that led to a Jacksonville TD. The Niners' return teams certainly do not inspire fear in the heart of their opponents.
Coaching. Steve Mariucci spent most of the game in a daze, watching his team get bitch-slapped right back to the airport tarmac, where their charter was waiting to return them to the Bay Area. He made very few adjustments; in fact, with Jacksonville outscoring the Niners 35-0 in the second half, it can be argued that he didn't make any adjustments at all as he continued his streak of being unable to win a meaningful game on the road. Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Jim Mora, Jr., was powerless to stop the Jags' attack. Sure, he hasn't been given much talent to work with back there, but still, he didn't do much to mix it up defensively. Overall, the coaching staff showed that when the going gets tough, they'll just pack it in and wait for the next NFC West opponent on the schedule.

Whoever he is, the driver of the 49er bandwagon is now looking around in shock and saying "Hey, where the hell did everyone go?" For the first time in recent memory, aside from a tiny smattering from the most idiotic of the bandwagoners and Steve Young's whining (see below), there were no lame excuses offered up for this dog of an effort -- no blaming the rain, or the wind, or the road trip, or injuries, or officiating, or the lack of a good deep-tissue massage parlor in the Jacksonville area. No, this time, the team, fans and media alike took this loss for what it was -- a complete ass-whupping at the hands of a superior team. Apparently, even the "Bay Area" media knows that while you can sugar-coat some losses, a 41-3 drubbing pretty much speaks for itself.

Still, while no excuses were offered per se, the feeling persists among the team that the game was a blip on the map, a weird trip to an alternate reality where the Niners go 5-11 every year, they throw the ball deep sometimes, their players are underrated and classy, and their Man of the Year former-owner gives to charity. The "A" word that seems to be applied to every 49er loss, "aberration", is being called forth. "It was just one of those days, but we have a history of coming back and playing well after bad losses," Mariucci explained, and he's right -- the last 15 times the Niners have lost by more than seven points, they've won the next week. But don't let the stat fool you -- it's not a tribute to the great resilience of the 49ers, but more a tribute to the fact they rarely if ever have to play two difficult games in a row. Next Sunday is the case and point, as they'll probably make it 16 when the Ricky Williams-less Saints to come to town for their annual pasting.

Young clearly ruffled after "old" comments, begins the annual whining

Along with most 49er fans, one usual passenger of the 49er bandwagon -- the media -- hopped off in classic style. The Associated Press said the 49ers looked "old and worn out", and highlighted the ages of Young and Rice, stopping just short of calling them over-the-hill.

Young responded to the critics also in classic style: by whining. Said Young in an interview Wednesday: "I'm not sure whether it was the lethargic start or the weather but ..." Ah, yes, the weather. He then went on to mention Garrison Hearst and Greg Clark as factors for why the running game is so poor, because what would any good 49er loss be without whining about injuries?

Finally, under the cowardly guise of sharing the responsibility for the loss, he directed an attack at his teammates' passion for the game, in particular aimed at the younger players on the team. "We need young players to make an impact. There's not a question about that. The rest of us, we've always been able to carry the load and we'll continue to just carry it."

Translation: "All our buddies in the media should relax, because even though our young guys suck, Jerry and I are still The Best Ever."

To his credit, and to our amusement, Mariucci didn't agree with Young's tirade. "I don't know what he's talking about," responded Mariucci. You know the 49ers are off to a bad start when even their spin machine is out of synch.

NHS: right again (mostly)

When discussing the overrated Brent Jones, we ended with a warning about his retirement: "The good news: we won't have to hear about him being the 'Best Receiving Tight End' anymore. The bad news: the guy that takes his place will take over that title immediately."

Well, we were partially correct. Take this ludicrous quote from Steve Young: "Greg Clarke is the best run-blocking tight end in football."

We'll leave that one for you to ponder.

Good things to come

As usual, the question following every meaningful game for the 49ers (which they coincidentally always seem to lose) is how many cowardly wins against bad NFC West teams will it take to get the bandwagon back up to full steam again? Will next week's game against the hurting Saints be enough to firmly establish them as supposed Super Bowl contenders manned by "best ever" players at every position? No, it looks as if after years and years even the media is ready to present the truth about the 49ers. ESPN's Tom Oates actually stated flat out "the 49ers are no threat to win the Super Bowl."

Naturally, even if the media treats the 49ers somewhat neutrally for a change, they won't admit that the 49er Facade has been going on for years, that the only thing keeping them afloat has not been talent, but rather their soft schedule and some generous officiating. They won't admit that a team reliant on these factors has no business being called a dynasty. More and more articles will appear praising the 49ers' past while ignoring the present. So stayed tuned here as the NHS will bring you the real grisly details of the 49ers' continued slow, painful, ugly (and for us, gleeful) death.

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