Oh Dear

I can't take much more of this. Holy shit. I think I really hate Seattle now. I mean, like, everything about that goddamn city. Jesus christ what a bunch of cheap shot artists. My vocal cords are completely fried, and I think I'm going to be dead of multiple myocardial infarctions before the night is through. If this is how I reacted to a regular season game, WTF am I going to do in the playoffs?! Dear god.

Their defense is good, so it's tough to knock the 49ers' offense too much. I really enjoyed how they obviously made changes at halftime. I'm still not completely used to how professional this coaching staff is: they saw what they were doing in the 1st half was absolutely not working, fixed it, then drove right down the field when they needed to. Vernon Davis finally started making plays he should make, which was nice. I think he made his first 2 sideline catches EVER on that drive, and they were both oh so pretty.

This game was crystal clear evidence that the 49ers will really really struggle if their formula for winning gets effed with. If their run defense isn't rock-solid, they're in trouble. If they start making big mistakes on special teams, they are absolutely screwed. That blocked punt looked like it would be a dagger, and all through the first half the special teams were making stupid penalties we're just not used to seeing from them. Before that blocked punt, it was readily apparent that Tavaris Jackson was still Tavaris Jackson, and that the Seahawks were not going to score any more points.

That's an uncomfortable situation for me. I don't like having to rely on something to be nearly perfect in order for them to win, but sadly that's the reality until their offense gets better. I guess the good news is that the teams they will most likely face in the playoffs have worse special teams than the Seahawks.

I'm not sure if it's a super bowl winning formula or not, but I do know that they match up well against the Saints and Packers, and I'm looking forward to seeing those games alone in my home so that my friends and family don't have to be put through the way I'm going to act during those games. I'm already doing vocal exercises so I'll still be able to speak after them.

So

I think that's what they call a "decisive win". And no, I don't care about any of the caveats. That was an awesome win, and the most fun I've had watching this team in awhile. Wow. This defense is legit, dudes.

Expectations

Blah. My chronic BFS (battered fan syndrome) is acting up big time this evening. 10 years of mediocrity, failure, and inability to rise to big moments have left scars too deep for one season to heal. Sure, there was the Philadelphia game, but then we learned that Philadelphia sucks. Then there was the Detroit game, but then we learned that the Lions, while very talented, also probably suck, and can't get out of their own way.

Sure, those are games that pre-Harbaugh 49ers teams wouldn't have won, so that's something. But then there's the Ravens game. Short rest? Yes, and the travel schedule was insane. But if I'm honest that's when a little doubt started creeping in. That was a big game for this team, and they failed fairly spectacularly on offense. It was hard to not have flashbacks to previous "big games" in which this franchise always seemed to be unable to put in a good showing.

I'm a little less worried about last week's game, partly because it's becoming more and more apparent that Arizona (especially at home) is not as terrible as I would have thought, but mostly because in division games, that kind of stuff tends to happen. But still. That doubt is creeping in.

All of this is a way of saying: please don't screw me over tonight, guys. I know it's not the Steelers at 100%. Harrison is out and Reotehoshlsltburger is playing on half an ankle, but it's still The Pittsburgh Steelers and it's still in primetime. I want to believe the team has truly turned a corner and that they're capable of not just showing up for a game like this, but actually WINNING a game like this. But I can't do it! 10 years is a long time and it leaves a mark on the psyche. A win tonight would do a lot to alleviate those doubts. A depressing loss tonight and, despite the 10-4 record, they go back to being "those" 49ers. I will expect a swift first round exit from the playoffs. They will have shown that the moment was too big. They can't keep up with New Orleans. They can't beat a good team in a big game. In other words, they're the 49ers.

So please win, guys.

At LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG Last!

Just wanted to say something on the new stadium, which now looks like a certainty to at least happen, if not by 2014 then very soon after. Santa Clara has voted to cover 800+ million dollars of the proposed 1.something billion, and the owners just recently voted to expand the NFL's stadium loan program, which provides up to 200 million dollars to teams in "small" markets looking to finance new stadiums. Jed York seems to be confident that the 49ers will be the first recipients of this program.

I'm not crazy about the design of the new place:


Sure, it looks real pretty, but why doesn't everyone take a page from the Seahawks' playbook and design their stadiums to be a true home field advantage? Can you really not design for acoustics AND for revenue? I thought the whole point was to win football games. Meh, oh well.

I'm very excited that this franchise seems to have finally turned a corner towards being at least a sliver of what it once was. Jed York is, if nothing else, at least trying, and is serious about making this team good. He failed with singletary, but he hit a home run securing Harbaugh, and now looks like he will finally be the man who gets the 49ers the new stadium they so obviously deserve. Just another in a long string of good news items from a really really great season for us fans.

Hmm

Maybe everyone saying that the 49ers' offense isn't very good were on to something. That was horrendous to watch. Up to now the defense has been so good that it didn't matter, but in this game they just simply couldn't stop Larry Fitzgerald. The offense should have won this game but they couldn't make any plays when it mattered. Or when it didn't matter. They just couldn't make plays. The offensive line was terrible, Smith was vintage 2005 Alex: oblivious to the blitz and scattering his deep throws like so much shotgun buckshot.

It could be that the Cardinals' defense is good, and given what they did the last 2 weeks that's probably the case, but the fact remains that the 49ers just lost to Red Skelton. That's not good. They should beat this team with 2 hands and a leg tied behind their backs.

Maybe this will be a good thing in the long run, but I don't think this was a team in need of a game like this. This team didn't strike me as an entitled bunch that needed to be brought back to earth. I think they just weren't good enough on offense to win this game, and that's pretty scary for their playoff prospects. This was a crushing loss, because it means the 49ers HAVE to beat Pittsburgh next week. If they'd have won this game, they could afford that loss and still almost assuredly clinch the 2 seed. Now we need to root against the Saints and hope the offensive line figures its shit out in time to face a much much better defense than the one they just got destroyed against.

Blech. I was really hoping for 14-2.

THE CORONATION!! (kind of)

GO CRAZY, FOLKS! GO CRAZY!!!

There's plenty of time to dissect the aspects of this team that will cause problems if they're not fixed before the playoffs, but tonight is all about celebrating the fact that they WILL in fact be IN the playoffs!! The 49ers will be in the playoffs! What an amazing season.

For the first time I can remember as a hardcore fan of this franchise, I'm going to spend December worrying about playoff seeding instead of draft order positioning. The only downside is that now tonight I have to root for Jim Schwartz' smug ass to win a game against the main rival for the 49ers. If SF gets the 2 seed, they have a great shot to beat NO. If they fall to 3, they could really be screwed.

But enough of that! Back to the mirth! Back to the merry! THE 49ERS ARE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS EVERYONE!!!! What a great day for those of us who suffered through the terrible times!