The falling snow had nothing to do with the fall of the 49ers

The snow was unstoppable. So were the Buffalo Bills, as they dominated the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, winning 35-10. 

This wasn’t cause and effect. The weather had nothing to do with the result. If this game were played in Miami or even Milpitas, the Bills, who may be headed to the Super Bowl, would have won just as easily as they did in the game at their home stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. 

What’s happened to the Bills, possibly certainly seemed predictable. They have a great young quarterback, Josh Allen, who is from Firebaugh near Sacramento and, ironically, grew up to be a 49ers fan. He became the first player at his position—and only the fourth in NFL history—to throw a touchdown pass, catch a touchdown pass, and run for a touchdown in a single game. One of the other three was the Niners’ Christian McCaffrey who did it two years ago. He had been hurt much of this season, and then Sunday after returning, was injured again.

That mirrors what the 49ers have experienced since September—suffering from injuries when they weren’t plagued by mistakes. Now, after losing their third straight game, they find themselves in last place in the NFC West.

“We only scored one field goal in the first half,” said 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. 

And for all intents, the game—and sadly, the Niners season, was over right there.

“I’m very disappointed,” said Shanahan. “I thought we could better than that”

The Niners haven’t been able to run, partly because of McCaffrey’s injuries, and worse, they haven’t been able to stop the run. Buffalo stomped its way through for 222 yards and three touchdowns rushing. 

McCaffrey seemed on his way to a touchdown in the second quarter but was pulled down and hurt again. “He had a great week of practice,” Shanahan said of McCaffrey. “When he broke it open, it looked like he was going all the way, but he was tripped and that was when he hurt his knee and had to leave the game.”

Did that make a difference? Perhaps. Let’s say probably. The Niners were not going to win this game the way Allen and the Bills’ offense were going through the suddenly ineffective Niners' defense.

What has happened to the San Francisco team that made it to the Super Bowl last year is a haunting question. Yes, the inordinate number of injuries—Nick Bosa missed Sunday’s game—has been a factor. But, whether because key players have aged too quickly or there is another explanation, something is very wrong. The 49ers either come apart in the last quarter or like this game against Buffalo, get beaten badly. Good teams do have their off days, which is the reason nobody since the 1972 Miami Dolphins has finished undefeated. But these Niners have had too many off days.

The Niners particularly have had trouble on both offense and defense in the area near the end zone, which is known as the Red Zone, but Sunday with the snow it should be renamed the White Zone.

This Maverick is now a PGA tour winner

The last hole of the last PGA Tour tournament of the year, and the kid named for an auto brand finally finished first.

Maverick McNealy birdied the final hole Sunday at the RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia, to break through in his fifth year as a pro after great success at Stanford.

“A moment I’ll never forget,” said McNealy. Understandably.

In his career McNealy, now 25, didn’t exactly need to pull himself up by his Footjoys—his father Scott was one of the founders of Sun Microsystems—but like a true maverick he obeyed his own desires. And it has paid off in much more than the mere $1.368 million prize money he picked up in this event. Or the realization that he has now achieved every golfer’s goal, the win that gained him a place in the 2025 Masters. There's also the recognition every athlete strives for—something McNealy had already begun to earn, thanks to both his name and his game.

When you think of Stanford golf, legendary names like Tiger Woods and Tom Watson come to mind. McNeely, although sharing the Stanford record of 11 victories, is a long way from that category. However, with this win, he’s taken a significant step forward in his journey.

As you hear every week, winning on tour is incredibly difficult. Especially when you are identified as McNeely has been. Scott McNeely, now 70, a one-time auto executive in the auto industry before advancing to Silicon Valley power and wealth, had four sons and named each after cars: Maverick, Scout (who now is caddying for Maverick), Colt, and Dakota. Whether the other kids or their parents found humor in their names hardly matters when you reside in Portola Valley in an estate that boasts a hockey rink (Maverick is a skilled hockey player too), a golf driving range, a basketball court, and other recreational facilities, including a gym. 

Maverick had shown the quality of his game the last few years. Victory seemed inevitable and it was. McNeely said there was a reason.

“My parents have always treated me and my three brothers like a team,” he told Cameron Morfit of PGA Tour.com. “Everything I remember growing up is family-related. I miss playing college golf and being part of a team.”

“This year, I’ve felt like I had more of a team with me than at any point in my golf career. That, I think, has been a huge difference-maker for me.”

The current team he refers to includes instructors, advisors, accountants, and trainers, 15 people.

The idea that golf is an individual game isn’t quite true anymore, although it is still one person swinging the club. A year ago, McNealy had problems trying to make that swing. He tore a ligament in his left shoulder and was unable to play on tour. He underwent biomechanical analysis, stem-cell treatment, and worked on a new swing.

Obviously, it all worked.

Where do the troubled Niners go from here (aside from Buffalo)?

It wasn’t only that the Niners were without notable starters Brock Purdy, defensive end Nick Bosa, and offensive tackle Trent Williams due to injuries. It also was because the men on the field seemed to be as confused as they were incapable.

These Niners have evolved from a team that last season appeared in the Super Bowl—oh how far away that seems with the current circumstances—to one that appears incapable of stopping making penalties or even more critically incapable of stopping the opponent from making yards on the ground.

Statistics are sometimes misleading. Not this time. The Niners failed to record a first down until roughly midway through the second quarter. They gained only 44 yards rushing (while allowing 169). They were called for nine penalties, costing them 77 yards. The Packers had an unordinary five penalties for 44 yards. 

As you might surmise, the Niners coach Kyle Shanahan, having endured one of the most one-sided defeats in his coaching career, was less than thrilled.

“We missed way too many tackles,” said Shanahan. “The 1st half was the worst.” 

That’s when they fell behind 17-7. 

“We had three turnovers and they all turned into touchdowns,” emphasized Shanahan—as if on this Sunday, when the Niners dropped to a record of 5-6 and the bottom of the mediocre NFC West, he needed to be emphatic. What he needs to do is figure out how to restore the winning ways, something that may prove difficult. 

San Francisco next plays at Buffalo against a Bills team that is the only one in this season of 2024 to defeat the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. Purdy’s return certainly will help, not that the Niners didn’t get an impressive temporary replacement in Brandon Allen, who hadn’t been in a game for three years. He completed seventeen passes for 199 yards. 

It's the defense—formerly the backbone of the Niners—that needs fixing. Suddenly, they can't stop the run, and when that becomes a problem, a team is in serious trouble. The opponent simply calls one ground play after another, gaining yards and keeping the ball. In the end, on Sunday, the Packers controlled the ball for 36 minutes compared to San Francisco's 23. Hard to do much in football without the ball, except conjure up ways to get it and then give it away. The three turnovers—an interception, a lost fumble by Allen, and another by Christian McCaffrey—were part of the reason the Niners' offense was stymied. 

Where do the Niners go from this point? Do they regain some of their skills and their mojo? Or, because of what has transpired, does it get worse before it gets better? If it ever gets better?  

Amazing how long it takes to reach the top or close to it, and how quickly a team can tumble.

Was it the defense, the offense, or both that cost the Niners?

The San Francisco 49ers’ expectations of September have been overwhelmed by the failings of November. Head coach Kyle Shanahan used the word disappointing. He was specifically talking about the 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. But the word would apply to the 2024 season, in which an attempt to return for a second straight year to the NFL Championship game now seems very doubtful.

Whatever happens to teams that lose the Super Bowl is mysterious and deflating. Right now the Niners are 5-5, and almost certainly a doubtful participant in the coming Superbowl. The unavoidable factors on which football is known, offense, defense, special teams, and, perhaps heart—that propelled the Niners to success a year ago—have vanished. 

Yes, key players have been missing and bad breaks have been too prevalent, but good teams overcome the bad stuff. Which is the reason they are good teams.

The manner in which the Niners fell to the Seahawks giving up the lead they had taken with only twelve seconds to go, is all too indicative of a team that for whatever reason has lost its way.

This was the fifth time San Francisco failed to retain a fourth-quarter lead this season. They say good teams win the close ones. What this makes the Niners is up to the judgment of the individual, but so far they certainly seem to meet the standard of a good team.

“We had our opportunities to win this game,” said Shanahan, “but we didn’t get it done. Penalties just killed us.”

That the Niners were without their star defensive lineman, Nick Bosa, in the final minutes, after he incurred a hip injury, certainly did not help. Yet winning teams manage to survive the negatives.

Through the length of an NFL schedule with players crashing into each other game after game, there will always be injuries and missed games. It’s how you respond when key players are not on the field. One of those was Bosa. Another, unquestionably was George Kittle, the Niners tight end whose blocking and receiving are a major part of the offense. He was declared out even before the kickoff. Still, as Shanahan has pointed out, the Niners had their chances—opportunities he called them—and were unable to take advantage of them. It’s been that kind of year for San Francisco, a team often unable to do the right thing at the right time, or even at the apparent wrong time. 

The Niners were unable to move the ball on the ground. A month ago in Seattle, the 49ers rushed for 228 yards and beat the Seahawks. But Sunday, they gained only 131 yards. Was it because the offensive line has worn down or because Seattle was better on defense?

Some might point out that the reason the Niners were beaten by Seattle in this game was because of their defense. However, maybe if San Francisco picked up more yards with the ball, it wouldn’t have mattered how many they allowed when the other team had the ball.

It may be unfair to blame what the Niners couldn’t do with the ball on what the Seahawks could do with the ball, in other words finding fault with the offense rather than the defense.

In truth, it was a little bit of both. And that’s why the Niners are struggling and may not get to the postseason.

Will 49ers find it less stressful against Seahawks?

Yes, as you are aware, after three failed field goals, a muffed punt and a confrontation between a couple of teammates, the Niners crushed the hard-luck Tampa Bay Buccaneers down in Florida, where the guys on the telecast kept talking about the hot weather and the officiating.

The winning margin was provided by Jake Moody, who, after missing the previous two games because of an ankle injury and missing kicks in this one, hit the winning field goal with 0:00 on the clock.

The game was perhaps a bit too exciting for the 49ers, who had opportunities to make it easier on themselves.  However, what they did accomplish was pull off a 23-20 victory and get their record above .500. Now, they have a chance to go up a notch when they face the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday—a team they defeated just a few weeks ago in Seattle.

Christian McCaffrey played for the first time this season, and according to those in the know, helped make a difference. He gained 39 yards on 13 carries and caught six passes for 68 yards. 

“I feel good,” said McCaffrey, who was recovering from leg and groin problems.  

Quarterback Brock Purdy completed 25 of 36 for 353 yards, several of those in the final minute on third-down plays as San Francisco drove for the victory.  

It was a satisfying conclusion. However, anyone viewing on Fox TV would not forget that in the first half after one of those errant kicks, Moody was challenged (threatened? berated?) by Deebo Samuel, who was irked by Moody’s inability to get the ball through the uprights.

Both players eventually shrugged it off, using that familiar explanation that emotions become apparent in an activity where 200-plus-pound individuals spend hours pounding into each other.

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t offer much more about Samuel-Moody or whether Moody would remain the man responsible for field goals and PATs. Shanahan said he had no advice for Moody before the kick that would win the game. 

"What am I going to say to him?" Shanahan remarked. "'You better make it'? Does that help?"

Hard to say, and maybe it would hurt.

Warriors reminding us of what used to be—and could be again

And from out of the past come, yes, the Golden State Warriors, reminding us of what used to be and offering us a delightful possibility of what again could be.

Klay Thompson has moved on while Steph Curry and Draymond Green are competing with that ageless rascal Father Time as much as any opponent in uniform.

Still, there are the Warriors with the best record in the NBA.

On a Wednesday in Boston, where history has been made and titles won, the Warriors arguably played their best game of the season—brief as it has been—or any recent season since their championship years. With the sort of defense that is always emphasized by head coach Steve Kerr and responsible for their success in the glory years, the Warriors limited the high-scoring Celtics to 41 points in the first half and then managed a 118-112 victory.

That was only the second loss in nine games this fall for the league’s defending champions.

With the victory, Golden State supplanted the Celtics as the leader of the pack whatever that means with months to go. Yet, a 7-1 record with a 5-0 mark on the road is something worthy of mention. And so it is being mentioned.

Skeptics will say it is premature in November to become concerned of what eventually may result during June, months before the last game is played. However, a great beginning often leads to a great conclusion.

The San Francisco Giants were a disappointment. The San Francisco 49ers have struggled because of injuries. So maybe it’s up to the seven-time NBA champion Warriors, as the team logo brags, to bring the thrill back to the Bay Area once more.

Certainly,  Curry, who scored 27 points Wednesday—after a slow first half of 6 points—has achieved the rank of the region’s most recognizable and most enduring athletic figure.  

Curry will be 37 in March and missed a few games because of an ankle injury. Still, he throws up those jump shots with beautiful consistency.   

As you might imagine, Kerr was more than satisfied with the way the team played against the Celtics. 

“Everyone stepped up,” he said on the NBC Bay Area post-game show. “It was a total team effort.”

Meaning, people such as Draymond on defense, and Buddy Hield, who the Warriors acquired last summer in a deal with Philadelphia, on offense.

Also contributing significantly was Andrew Wiggins, who scored 16 points, and played meaningful defense.  

This Warriors’ progress may be unexpected but it certainly isn’t unappreciated.

The atmosphere at the Warriors’ home, Oracle Arena in San Francisco, is among the best in basketball. True, the fans are spoiled but that’s what happens when you are winning most of the time.   

The assumption is that they will be able to replicate at home what they have been able to accomplish on a very successful road swing. If that happens, the winter will be anything but cold.

Will Posey, Minasian find help for the Giants this week at GM meetings?

For the San Francisco Giants, the nightmare next door—meaning 350 miles down the coast—isn’t going anywhere.

The talented, highly paid, yet often despised World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, will be back with the same high-priced cast next season. And once again, Shohei Ohtani will be pitching again as well as hitting home runs and stealing bases.

That reality makes the tasks of the Giants’ new controlling executives, Buster Posey, president of baseball operations, and general manager, Zack Minasian, even more significant at this week’s general manager meetings in San Antonio.

And to make the situation even a little more difficult, the Giants have to figure out whether they want to re-sign Blake Snell, who opted out of his contract, in order to get more money. That’s not an unusual situation in the sporting world of the 21st century. But the people in charge, Posey, Minansian, and those who control the bankroll have to decide whether Snell is worth it.

Certainly Ohtani, who the Giants attempted to sign last spring, was worth what the Dodgers spent for him. You sensed when leaving the Angels, and joining the other team that uses Los Angeles as its identification, even though the Angels are in Anaheim, that the Dodgers would be very much one of the very best teams in the sport.

They turned out to be the best, not only winning more games during the regular schedule than any other team but also winning the most important games, the four in the World Series.

As Giants fans know all too well, the Dodgers have dominated San Francisco the last few seasons. L.A. has had an abundance of skilled players, and for the Giants too much success. 

So, how can that be changed? Who is out there that the Giants can acquire? The name Juan Soto, last a member of the Yankees, keeps popping up, and he certainly would be what the Giants could use, an outfielder with power.  However, there is little optimism.

The baseball aphorism is no team can have too much pitching, again verified in the World Series. Nor, too much defense. Just maybe if the Yankees don’t fumble, stumble, and drop the ball in that wretched fifth inning of Game five, the result of the series is changed. Then again, the better team usually wins, and clearly the Dodgers were the better team. 

The Giants had their own defensive problems the last couple of years, and their former GM, Farhan Zaidi, tried to make moves to correct those problems. You can’t keep giving teams four outs an inning, no matter how strong your offense is.

What Giant fans would like is a team that can field and hit, of course. Posey, the catcher on the Giants three World Series champions—and that seems so far away—knows well the significance of fundamentals. 

He also understands how a big bat would not only help the team but bring in the fans. Ever since the days of Babe Ruth, the power hitter has been the star. Yes, the Giants could use one along with one or two guys who can throw strikes. You have to start someplace if you ever want to overtake the Dodgers, as difficult as it seems. 

Nerve-wracking but successful: 49ers game against the Cowboys

Sure it was more nerve-wracking than preferred, but in the NFL you accept the fates the opposition and your defense provide, especially when the game concludes with a win that was most needed and satisfying. Especially when it comes against the oh-so-pretentious Dallas Cowboys.

On Sunday night, the Niners held on—that phrase is not meant critically, but emotionally—to a 30-24 victory at Levi’s.

History virtually dictates that the 49ers will somehow defeat “The Boys” because they usually do. However, this one, after the Niners came from behind and then almost came from ahead, was as difficult and exciting as any recent Niners-Dallas game. It also was as necessary as any game this season, with San Francisco coming in with a 3-4 record. Now they’re even and now they have a bye for the coming week which may enable them to continue their brief success and regain some of their injured players, primarily the running back Christian Mc Caffrey who still hasn’t played since the end of last season.

Look, there is still half the season to go, but you don’t want to settle down with a losing record, especially when you are only a few months away from competing in Super Bowl XVIII. And you got that very feeling from the post-game remarks by head coach Kyle Shanahan. He called the game a “gut check” which is strong language and a reflection of how important it was.

The Niners trailed early, 10-6, and then led 27-10, but the final margin was six after the Cowboys scored on a pass from Dak Prescott to Cee Dee Lamb with 3:36 to play. 

Whether the Niners were in danger of losing depends on the viewpoint, but they seemed enough in control that this one wasn’t going to get away as some games earlier in the season. Brock Purdy had arguably his best game after being criticized earlier in the week. In today’s game, he used his legs as well as his very accurate arm. He scrambled several times and also bursted away for 16 yards on one carry, ending up with a rushing total of 56 yards. He completed 18 of 26 pass attempts for 260 yards and one touchdown.

The defense kept us in it,” said Purdy, “and then we got going on offense.”

All this despite the lack of MacCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, who after spending time in the hospital because of pneumonia, injured his ribs carrying the ball in this game. Just another hurt player for a San Francisco team that has been affected by an enormous amount of injuries. 

If you turn on ESPN, you might believe the Cowboys are the only team in existence. Yes, they have their reputation, and their owner, Jerry Jones, is only too willing to discuss the franchise anytime there is a microphone within shouting distance.

The Niners have performed well against the Cowboys, winning the last four matchups. This rivalry—if you can call it that—is beneficial not only to both teams but also to the league as a whole.

“Going into this game we knew it was a big one, “ said Shanahan. 

Maybe bigger than the coach of a 3-4 team would admit. No worry, that’s old news. The record is back to respectability.

Niners’ Shanahan on loss to Chiefs: “We got our ass kicked today”

They were calling it a Super Bowl rematch. It was more like a mismatch.

"There's no way to sugarcoat this. We got our ass kicked today," said Kyle Shanahan, the San Francisco 49ers coach. 

The final score made it seem close, Kansas City Chiefs 28, Niners 18. It wasn’t. A more accurate reflection would come from the time of possession: Kansas City owned the ball for more than 35 minutes. It owns the 49ers seemingly forever, now having beaten San Francisco the last five times they played.

The Chiefs only defeated San Francisco 25-22 in overtime in Super Bowl LVIII last February, and yes, the 49ers could have won that game. They had no chance of winning this one, Sunday, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, as Shanahan so tersely pointed out.

Not only was it because of the three interceptions of quarterback Brock Purdy, who concedes he tried to force the last two of the throws. Indeed Purdy and the Niners were without three top receivers, Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel and then when he got hurt in the fourth quarter—apparently a torn ACL—Brandon Ayuik. The loss of those players understandably had a huge effect on the Niners' offense, but every team in the NFL has injuries. KC was without several players, and the best teams survive if not thrive.

The Chiefs indeed are thriving at 6-0. They are the only team in pro football still undefeated with the Vikings falling to Detroit earlier Sunday. So much for any thought that KC would have a letdown after last season's title.   

The Niners are 3-4. While the situation figures to improve if and when halfback Christian McCaffrey returns, along with several of the missing receivers, it will not be easy to return to the playoffs. 

So many things have gone wrong this year, including the inability to finish games. If the Niners are to regain their once-exalted position as one of the NFL’s leading franchises, Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys would be a good place to start. 

The Cowboys have had their own troubles, and have owner Jerry Jones giving various explanations. Long ago Dallas was labeled “America’s team,” and whether that was justified, the Cowboys have earned as much respect and disdain as any team in any sport. 

The Chiefs have simply gained admiration under coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. They just kept winning and on Sunday the Niners were their victim. Again.

KC did it with a defense that wasn’t overwhelming, just efficient. The Niners gained 384 net yards, compared to the 358 for the Chiefs, but San Francisco, as has been the case, could not turn yardage into enough points.

Purdy’s three interceptions were part of the reason. Turnovers hurt even the best teams, and it is obvious that San Francisco, now behind Seattle in the division, isn’t one of the very best teams at the moment. The Niners still have more than half of their season remaining, which could be good news if they figure out how to complete the drives and somehow keep players healthy enough to play.

Mets, Dodgers show that money is a key to the Postseason

So here in the wasteland of baseball—but ain’t the weather beautiful?—we try to accept the fact the Dodgers are where the Giants are not, in the postseason. And we wonder whether the new guy, Buster Posey, is as surprised by what has happened.

Or what hasn’t.

Now, as the newly appointed director of baseball operations, his task is clear: to do what his predecessor, Farhan Zaidi, could not—build a Giants team that can overtake the dreaded Dodgers.

Posey of course was an MVP catcher and a major contributor when (sigh!) the franchise from San Francisco finished ahead of the one from Los Angeles and every other team in the majors. One thing Giants fans must hope is that when Posey goes out to get players, he will be accompanied by a large amount of money.

Poverty doesn’t work anymore in baseball. The New York Mets have the largest payroll in the sport, and that’s the reason they are facing the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. Dodgers and Yankees are also among the top spenders. It’s been proven that, with rare exceptions in baseball, you get what you pay for.

The San Diego Padres thought they would be getting the place where the Dodgers are now, and they had a 2-1 lead over L.A. in the division series, but San Diego choked it away or got stopped by Dodger pitching that reminded people of the Sandy Koufax-Don Drysdale era of the early 1960s.

What might strike Giants fans as humorous is the way the Padres and their supporters have stolen a page from the book of Giants-Dodgers history. Before the playoffs, San Diego was flooded with posters and T-shirts with the words “Beat LA.”

Giants fans have chanted that for decades, to no avail, rather than a positive slogan like “Let’s go Giants.”

Early on, when the Dodgers recorded 33 consecutive scoreless innings, starting with the Padres and running on into the Mets, LA seemed unbeatable. It is hard to win when you don’t score, but one of the great cliches in baseball is momentum only lasts until the end of the game. The guy who hit a home run one day is quite likely to strike out three days the next. 

Even superstars can begin to struggle. The great Shohei Ohtani, who is a lock for National League most valuable player after hitting 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases, has only two hits in the two games against New York. Los Angeles Times columnist Dylan Hernandez tried to interview Ohtani after his hitless second game against the Mets Monday, but Ohtani wouldn’t talk. He had three hitless at-bats and now is 0 for 19 in the playoffs with the bases empty, but he is six for eight with runners on base. He is batting .222 in the postseason.

However, he and the Dodgers are in the Postseason. Unlike the team from San Francisco. Maybe next year… Buster Posey may have an effect.

Niners get the game they needed—for themselves and the fans

This was the game the San Francisco 49ers needed, maybe as much for themselves as their doubting fans and skeptical media. And this was the game the 49ers, calling down the echoes, grabbed in the most resounding and reassuring of ways.

True, the final score showed the Niners only in front 36-24, but from the opening moments you sensed they not only were going to win but prove that the talent and fire were still in the locker room and on the field.

They didn’t correct all the faults on display in consecutive losses to the Rams and Cardinals, but they once more reminded us of the exciting teams that got the ball into the end zone and stopped opposing runners when needed.

Playing at Seattle’s home, Lumen Field, against a Seahawks team that had its own problems, but still had a better record (3-2) than San Francisco, the 49ers showed plenty of offense (483 yards) and enough defense—including big interceptions by two rookie defensive backs, Renardo Green and Malek Mustapha. 

Maybe the game became a little uncomfortable for the Niners and their supporters, when the Seahawks, after trailing 16-0 late in the first half, closed to 23-17 late in the third quarter.

However, one never felt the Niners wouldn’t stay in control.

The belief that the Niners were among the NFL’s best teams had been restored, although we’ll find out more when they play the Super Bowl champion, Kansa City Chiefs, a week from Sunday. At the moment, we’ll be content with the fact that against the Seahawks the Niners seemed revitalized and very competitive.

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan, as disappointed in his team’s offensive output the previous two games as anyone—San Francisco had only one offensive touchdown against the Cardinals—was understandably thrilled by the way his team moved the ball, especially moving it into the end zone.

Shanahan was intent on opening up things, and that tactic worked beautifully, quarterback Brock Purdy throwing three touchdown passes, a 76-yarder to Deebo Samuel, and two to the ever-reliable George Kittle, 10 and nine yards. For a man known for his solid blocking that sets runners free, Kittle is impressive as a receiver.

“He made two very good catches,” said Shanahan about Kittle. “And Deebo really turned in a great play. We used him a lot.”

Purdy spoke about the team’s resilience after its stumbling start.

“I think that we all came together as a team,” said Purdy. “Both touchdowns were trust factors. We stuck together as a unit.”

Niners need a kicker, luck and a win

The San Francisco 49ers need a new placekicker. Surely they will have one before Monday is done. The 49ers need a victory. They may get that in a few days. The Niners likewise need a break. Who will guess when one might occur?

The intent is not to seek sympathy for the Niners, who over the past decades have had their share of good fortune and success. And even if that were the intent—nothing is normal in the business of pro sports—none would be provided.

But for all the things that went right through the years when the 49ers were winning, including last season when they came within a victory—albeit a very significant victory—of taking the Super Bowl, so much has gone wrong this screwball season of 2024.

Not only are the Niners stumbling along with a losing record of 2-3, but the situation seems to be even bleaker than the numbers. On Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco had built a 13-point lead over the quite mediocre Arizona Cardinals and then lost on a field goal with 1:37 remaining. Yes, the temperature climbed to more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit by the second half and yes the Cardinals train in the desert where temperatures are in that range daily, but good teams overcome such difficulties, which is why they are good teams. The Niners, on Sunday, could not. What the Niners similarly could not overcome was the loss of their kicker Jake Moody, who injured an ankle while trying to do what kickers and quarterbacks should be reluctant to do, make a tackle.

San Francisco after consecutive defeats to two other West Division teams, the Los Angeles Rams—blowing a big lead in that one—and the Cardinals, are in more than a bit of trouble.  They do have a chance to make a correction quickly when they play the Seahawks in a Thursday night game at Seattle. However, that could end up as another loss for the Niners, no matter who they pick up as their new kicker.

You’ve often heard the line that defense wins. And that’s not untrue, but you need a little offense, and it would be unfair to blame the defeat against the Cardinals on the D even though the Niners had built a large advantage. San Francisco scored only one touchdown on offense and was shut out in the second half. The Niners were without their All-Pro back, Christian McCaffrey, as they have been in every game this season, yet backup Jordan Mason has done more than an adequate job. It’s just like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces don’t fit with the Niner offense. San Francisco outgained the Cardinals 384 yards to 358. And yet, the Niners were unable to do what we’ve become used to them doing, taking the ball and getting it into the end zone when needed.

It was needed Sunday and maybe it will show up for Thursday’s game along with the new kicker.

Nobody said winning would be easy, but it has become very hard for the Niners the last few games.

Giants replace Zaidi (a baseball man) with Posey (a baseball player)

So the San Francisco Giants have decided to replace executive Farhan Zaidi, a baseball man, with Buster Posey, a baseball player.

And the question after consecutive losing seasons is not so much why but why not?

That Zaidi schooled in the beauty and agony of analytics couldn’t turn the Giants into winners in his five seasons as their director of baseball operations, probably wasn’t entirely his fault. Still, you can’t finish under .500 three years in a row and get pounded by the dreaded, despised Los Angeles Dodgers, without some consequences.

Posey, an MVP and star catcher of the Giants’ World Series Teams of 2010, 2012, 2014, was one of the most popular players of the recent era. Whether that popularity translates into success in the front office remains to be seen. After retirement, Posey, who has a young family and resides in Georgia where he grew up, has worked for the Giants in an advisory role. The plan was for him always to move up into a power position, but who knew it would be this quickly.

Everyone understands how dominant the Dodgers have been—although they only have one World Series title in the last few years—and that has made it unsettling for the Giants’ situation.  The San Diego Padres came along with the intent of catching L.A., and in the process have made life more difficult for San Francisco.

The Dodgers and Padres have slugged it out and as expected both are in the postseason.  However, the Giants failed to get to the playoffs and maybe even worse, were unable to win as many games as they lost. The Giants, indeed attempted to sign big-name free agents, including this year the remarkable Shohei Ohtani, but were unable to make a blockbuster deal that in retrospect would have given Zaidi job security as well as a place in baseball lore. Zaidi repeatedly said the Giants budget was large enough to sign Carlos Correa in 2023 or Ohtani in 2024 but those deals never came to fruition.

One of the frequent rumors in baseball is that top players don’t want to come to San Francisco for one reason or another, having nothing to do with baseball in particular, but the city’s reputation as a haven for the disenfranchised. And yet when Oracle Park is packed and fans are cheering, that seems to be less of an issue, as most likely it gets down to the team winning or losing. They stopped winning with Zaidi in charge. Will they be able to restart when Posey takes over?

We will know sooner than later.

49ers use a Belichick-type defense to beat his old team

You imagine Bill Belichick found a measure of appreciation the way his former team was defeated Sunday—if given the circumstances, not quite to the same degree Kyle Shanahan found in his current team winning.

Belichick’s historic success with the New England Patriots, the seven Super Bowl championships, was constructed on defense, although to be sure, no one doubts the contributions of a quarterback named Tom Brady.

The Patriots, now without Belichick and very much rebuilding, came to Levi Stadium Sunday, where the 49ers finally showed the type of defense needed to win in the NFL, defeating the Patriots, 31-13.

Quarterback Brock Purdy again played impressively for the Niners, but the difference as Purdy pointed out in the post-game interview, the defense missing the last couple of weeks—both defeats—was back and in full force. If that was the result of linebacker Fred Warner’s pre-game almost threatening inspirational speech to the squad, then so be it. Sometimes it takes a slap from more than the final score.

The Niners knew what to do. It’s just that they didn’t do it against the Minnesota Vikings or the Los Angeles Rams. Was it complacency or merely the unavoidable fact that teams do not play at the highest level each time out? 

“We were not playing the way we should,” said Warner.  

Quickly enough he turned his words into actions. In the opening minutes of the second quarter with San Francisco ahead 6-0, Warner picked off a pass from Jacoby Bissett and turned the interception into a 45-yard return for a touchdown. He injured his ankle on the play and did not return, but Warner said he would be fine—and after the pick-6 it was apparent the Niners also would be fine.

“The defense was awesome,” said Shanahan, “especially on 1st downs.”

San Francisco limited the Pats to a mere 216 yards on offense. New England had the ball for only 3 fewer minutes than the Niners, but couldn’t do much with it. The Niners had six quarterback sacks, in part because of the Patriots’ ineffectiveness but in part because of San Francisco’s needed aggressiveness. After all, didn’t the Niners give defensive lineman, Nick Bosa, $170 million for five years to help the defense play the way it finally did?

Purdy will be getting a new contract for next season and it is predicted to be enormous because quarterbacks, understandably, get better paid than anyone in pro football. But at the moment, however, Purdy is only talking about this season—and what has transpired.

“The offense and defense today were complimentary,” said Purdy, alluding to one category helping the other. “We distributed the ball.”

Jordan Mason, filling in beautifully for the injured Christian McCaffrey, rushed for 123 yards. Tight end George Kittle, known for his necessary blocking, made a spectacular touchdown catch and kicker Jake Moody was perfect on three field goal attempts.

So now the Niners seem to be revitalized, particularly on defense. They have many games left to verify that this is true, starting with the one against the Arizona Cardinals. If a game against the mediocre Cardinals verifies anything.

The A’s saga is over, however the sadness will always remain

And so, Major League Baseball in Oakland has come to an end. The final moment was recorded at 3:06 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday. The deceased was surrounded by a gathering of 46,889 at his former residence, the Coliseum. Death was attributed to a combination of financial stubbornness and political incompetence, a pattern too familiar when it comes to sports teams in Oakland.

Mourners are required to travel to Sacramento for viewing. There may be some satisfaction that the Athletics won the last game at what now is their former home, defeating the Texas Rangers, 3-2.

We have gone through the painful reasons for the disappointment. Does it make any of us feel better to despise the apparent chief villain in all of this, who forced the move, John Fisher?  Perhaps that caustic farewell speech he sent to A’s season ticket holders, very unsympathetic about the team’s move, probably is enough to not offer forgiveness.

You have read about the exploits of the players and managers who were so much a part of the A’s since they arrived from Kansas City in 1968. People such as Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Rolly Fingers, and Ricky Henderson.

Not to be forgotten, however, are those who never wore a uniform and to me are so much a part of this franchise. Steve Vucinich was the Oakland kid who became a batboy and then for decades, until retirement, was the clubhouse and equipment manager.

As the story goes, Vuchinich was trying to hook up with the A’s. Joe DiMaggio was a coach and vice president of the team. And when told that Vuchinich went to St. Joseph’s High in Alameda, “He’s Catholic?” said DiMaggio. “Hire him.”  

It turned out to be a great hire. 

Wednesday night he was interviewed on the A’s radio network about his historical 50-year career. Bay Area newspapers were known for saving money. They covered road games only because the team picked up the travel bill. But when the A’s arrived in Oakland, owner Charlie Finley wouldn’t go along with that idea. That meant only one person, the late Ron Bergman, of the then Oakland Tribune went on the road with the A’s. He was an intense, talented guy, not afraid to report the facts, and those facts included the fights inside the A’s clubhouse. He was the epitome of an honest journalist and admired by the rest of us who weren’t on the scene and jealous of Bergman’s items.

The A’s are fleeing, the Coliseum never again will be used for baseball, and we just have to accept the consequences. Life and baseball are both unfair. The line drives are caught and the bloopers drop in for hits. We learn to accept it. 

Still, to me, having no Major League Baseball in Oakland is unacceptable.

Was Niners' loss to Rams mystifying and mortifying?

It wasn’t so much who was missing. A great team, even a very good team, overcomes the loss of star players through injuries, inequities, bad breaks, and surprises—very tricky of the Rams to pull off that fake punt. 

Which the San Francisco 49ers did not. Which is why they are not a great team.

Yes, the Niners were without Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, but they did have a 14-0 lead early on, and then a 10-point lead with 6 ½ minutes to go.

And they were playing the Rams in Los Angeles where they never lose—at least more than the once they did in the playoffs a few years ago. And all the fans, as you could tell on television,  the red-shirts and jerseys and unstopping cheers at So-Fi Stadium, as always the majority of the fans were cheering for San Francisco.

Despite all this, the previously winless Rams on a 37-yard field goal with two seconds remaining by former Stanford kicker, Josh Karty, beat the 49ers 27-24. 

This was more mortifying than mystifying, perhaps. Teams losing Super Bowls, as did the Niners in February,  seem to disintegrate the following season. That doesn’t mean the Niners are doomed, but they are 1-2. No excuses even with the big injuries.

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan seemed as stunned as anybody. 

“There were a number of times we could have put them away,” said Shanahan on the Niners post-game telecast. “It was a frustrating game. We kicked a field goal and they came right back with a field goal.” 

In trying to raise the spirits of the 49ers faithful, Shanahan pointed out that the 49ers had a three-game losing streak last year and as we know they made it to the Super Bowl. And as we also know they didn’t win the Super Bowl. It is a tough league, the NFL, and while it takes a team a long time to climb to the top, it can tumble into the depths oh so quickly. That doesn’t mean the Niners are headed for a decline. But the little things that go right when a team is successful seem to go wrong when the defeats begin to mount. 

That doesn’t mean the Niners are doomed, and they could well recover from this inglorious start to the season, but losing to the Rams certainly is ominous. A win in L.A. seemed almost a given.

Even with McCaffrey, Samuel, and Kittle ailing and missing from the offense, it seemed to be the defense that couldn’t respond to the demands. In the first half, there was a sequence in which the Rams had the third down and 29 to go, LA seemed notably hopeless. But as we should have known from watching pro football through the years, situations and ideas change almost as quickly as teams do from one end of the field to the other.

Brock Purdy, the Niners quarterback, played even better than some would give him credit for. He completed 22 passes in 30 attempts for 292 yards and three touchdowns, all three caught by Jauan Jennings. Purdy also ran 10 times for 41 yards.

“No problem with Brock,” said Shanahan. “He played his ass off.”

There wasn’t much more to give or to say.

For Kizzire, at the Procore, sweet smell of success and sparkling wine

NAPA — Patton Kizzire arrived talking about a new mental attitude for his golf game that included hugging a tree or two.

He departed filled with the sweet smell of success and the pungent aroma of Mumm’s Napa sparkling wine on his attire.

He had been sprayed Sunday by several celebrating friends moments after completing his first PGA tour victory in six years, the Procore Championship at Silverado Resort.                                                       

He came into the final round with a four shot lead that made the rest of us think he would have no problems. But every stroke in every round can be a problem, no matter how good you are.

Kizzire shot a 2-under par 70, the last 18 holes, and his four-round total of 268, a cumulative of 20 under par, was five shots lower than David Lipsky, who finished 2nd after a 71. Patrick Fishburn (71) was third at 274.

The thinking among the rest of us was all Kizzire had to do was show up and not fall into a bunker. And that thought seemed particularly relevant when he eagled par five fifth hole to go to 20 under par. However as any wise golfer, he was careful and thoughtful.

“I was trying not to get ahead of myself today,” said Kizzire. “I knew that it would be difficult not to get ahead of myself with a four-shot lead heading into today. I wrote down in my yardage book, ’I am here, I am now.’ I kept going back to that and that helped me be disciplined and stay present. That was something that I just kept going back to and that’s what really helped me come out on top.”

Any win on tour is meaningful because it is so hard to come by. But this one was particularly significant at Silverado, on the same course in the same tournament, although it was then named the Safeway Open, in 2018, Kizzire missed tying for first by a single shot.

Golf is played as much in the mind as on the fairways and rough. You have to believe in yourself, and the little things, a missed shot, a bad break, begin to erode a player’s confidence. Although Kizzire is 38, and has been a pro quite awhile, he said he needed a new approach, and began working a month ago with a mental coach. 

Yes, her advice included walking barefoot and hugging a tree. 

“Well, there’s always doubt in anything,” he said. “If you listen to the doubt in life in general it’s never beneficial. You look at the positives in all things. There’s going to be obstacles and that’s just how it’s going to be. You’ve got to plan to attack those obstacles. I did a fantastic job of that the entire week.”

Kizzire’s lead was trimmed to two shots when Litsky birdied 11. 

“He hit an amazing shot in there,” Kizzire said. “That was a tough situation. Yes, I grinded, just kept reading in my book. Yeah, he applied some heavy pressure there and that was definitely a test.”

One Patton Kizzire passed beautifully.

No talk of tree hugs for Kizzire, just great golf to extend Procore lead

NAPA — Not a mention of trees hugged or unhugged from Patton Kizzire after his round on Saturday, which was perfectly understandable. This time his golf game said it all.

Kizzire took a one shot lead he established Friday in the Procore Championship before telling us relaxed activities such as embracing trees had improved his “mental approach, and hoisted it up to four strokes.”

He went out at Silverado Country Club and shot a bogey free 5-under par 67 for a 54 hole total of 198 and left his competitors someplace back among the Cabernet and Chardonnay grapes.

“Swing feels good,” Kizzire said in what is an understatement almost as large as his lead. “I’ve been a little bit more focused on the mental game because I think that allows my swing to work, so that’s been a good combo.”

There is no sure thing in golf, where an interchange of birdies and bogeys can erase strokes quickly—think of Greg Norman in the 1996 Masters—but you’d think Kizzire in his eighth year, seems in perfect position.

David Lipsky, the first round leader, is the man closest to Kizzire heading into the final 18 holes, shot a 2-under, 70 Saturday.

There is a 4 way tie at 13 under, among 2 Canadians Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners, and 2 Americans Greyson Sigg and Patrick Fishburn.

Kizzire, 38, has won twice on the PGA Tour in 2017 and 2018. And right here in the Napa Valley he missed by a shot in this tournament, when it was called the Safeway Open. 

On Friday he explained how a change of approach, one that included relaxing—and that was reflected in his jovial remarks about hugging a tree—had improved his game.

“I wanted to make a little bit of an adjustment with my golf game,” he had said, “mental game and physical game. It’s been really cool to just get organized and try to be more playful out there and be unflappable, that’s kind of my word.”

Unflappable, or remarkable, he seems to have taken control of his game. 

“I think what was wrong, you couldn’t see it in the stats,” said Kizzire. “I think the consistency comes from a solid mental foundation and allowing yourself to compete. So I have been working on that and that’s been a huge boost for me.”

So much of the success in any sport is in the mind, you have to think positively and believe in yourself. Through the decades, the athletes—golfers included—have tried everything to keep themselves sharp.

He told us Friday the key is “not letting yourself go the other way.”

Through three rounds of this Procore he has been definitely going the right way.

“Treeing” it up in the Procore, Kizzire takes the lead

NAPA — Golfers are known to try anything which will improve their game. Patton Kizzire has chosen to embrace trees, those items we’re told poetically only God can make—as opposed to the pars and bogeys created by man.

Now he’s hugging trees. 

Hey, whatever works, and in the first two rounds of the Procore it ’s been working for Kizzire. He shot a seven under par, bogey free 65 Friday at Silverado Country Club. That gives him a 36 hole total of 131, 3 under par and a one shot advantage over first round leader David Lipsky. Another shot back is Patrick Fishburn.

Kizzire doesn’t seem like one of those kids from the Berkeley Hills—he’s from Alabama and went to Auburn. But when he arrived for the media interview he, yes, became a tree hugger.

“I’ve had a little bit of time off,” said Kizzire. “I missed the Playoffs, so I wanted to make a little bit of an adjustment with my golf game, mental game and physical game.

“It’s been really cool to just get organized,” he continued, “and try to be more playful out there and be unflappable, that’s kind of my word.”

When asked if he had hugged a tree, Patton replied, "Oh, you know, not joking. I hugged that tree right there," pointing to one next to the first green.

Whatever his options for helping his game, tree hugging or not, Kizzire matches up well with Silverado. He finished 2nd in 2018, when the tournament was called The Safeway Open.

He said he was looking forward to bringing his “positive vibes and positive thoughts” back to the wine country.  So far, so good. 

“This is a good place,” he said, “this a great golf course, and I enjoy playing it.”

That’s not unusual.  Golfers like courses on which they play well, and it’s a two-way street. Or is that a two way fairway?

And they play well on courses they like.

“The first time I played it (2018) I think I should have won.  I had the lead with a few holes to play, and another guy, Brendan Steele, played really well at the end and beat me by a stroke.”

Steele, who is from Southern California, won the tournament twice. Obviously, there is a long way to go in this tournament and well positioned in fourth place, three shots back is the veteran Matt Kuchar, a multi-event winner over the years.

Still, the tree hugger, Kizzire, is confident. And why not?

“I know I can do it,” said Kizzire, “and I’m looking forward to the opportunity this weekend.”

It’s there, along with all the trees on the course.

Lipsky gets the Procore lead and a tough question

NAPA — David Lipsky got the first-round lead of the Procore Championship and the type of question that never would have been asked of golfers such as Scottie Scheffler or Tiger Woods:

If you take a long view on your professional career… how would you describe it?

Talk about putting a guy on the spot. What’s Lipsky going to answer that doesn’t make him sound disenchanted or like a misanthrope?

A journalist might say he’s been persistent and not unsuccessful, especially after learning that while at Northwestern Lipsky was undecided about what to choose for a career.

Or was the option of turning pro and as demonstrated from his 7 under par 65 Thursday at Silverado Country Club’s North Course, it wasn’t a bad choice. 

He was a shot in front of Martin Laird, and Patton Kizzire with Mark Hubbard, who failed to register in time and needed to qualify on Monday, coming in with a 67. Defending champ Sahith Theegala had a 69.

Lipsky is 36. He has won in Asia but on the PGA Tour.  He spent the last couple of weeks getting instruction from his old coach at Northwestern, Pat Goss. The advice apparently helped.  Lipsky had eight birdies and one bogey in the round that signaled the start of the fall season.

Lipsky’s best finish this year was a 9th at the Charles Schwab Challenge in May, a long time ago according to the golfing calendar. Then Thursday, on a course amidst acres of vineyards in America’s most famous wine area, he looked like a different competitor.

“I think that’s the funny thing about golf,” said Lipsky, “especially the level of golf we play on the PGA Tour. It’s just something small, these little things that can make the difference in your game.”

Lipsky grew up in Southern California but resides in Las Vegas—not unlike other golfers trying to avoid taxes.

“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out week in and week out. Sometimes you’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that, seems like it’s working out.”

Silverado, redesigned in 1967 by Robert Trent Jones II, is a resort course about 50 miles north of San Francisco. Accepting enough to be enjoyable for amateurs but tricky enough to provide a decent test for the pros.

The PGA Tour guys like it because the weather usually is beautiful—it was in the 80’s Thursday, and they and their wives or partners take advantage of tasting Napa’s vintages.

Lipsky said this week of the tournament he is staying with a friend from Chicago who owns a vineyard, name unknown.

If things go right, there will be more than a few glasses raised.