SEAHAWKS DOOMED 49ERS 17-7

 

By 

Scary Barry Rodriguez         

December 15,2014          

the Yorks and Harbaugh 

The San Francisco 49ers as a NFL franchise and team took a major hit yesterday , losing to the Seattle Seahawks in front of their screaming fans and watched by millions of television viewers. This loss was just the culmination of all the bad karma generated by the organization since the takeover of the team by the Yorks , John and Jed. This loss also closed the curtain on the Harbaugh era coaching the San Francisco 49ers !

Dennis Erickson

Mike Nolan

Mike Singletary

 

Steve Mariucci

When Dr. John York took over in 1998 he promptly alienated the press and tried using the Kmart approach by firing Steve Mariucci because he didn't want to pay him the going rate. What followed after this was many disastrous seasons under  the likes of Dennis Erickson, Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary. Dr. York still thinks because he once managed race tracks he knows better than professional football executives about how to run a NFL franchise. Jed York has held the title of team President since 2008 but big daddy casts a big shadow over him. Jed is just the front man !

Andy Reid

That coach Jim Harbaugh will get the boot I have no doubt. I have witnessed the York method of management from up close.In 2002, when Steve Mariucci was still the head coach , I was present in the locker room after the 49ers lost a game in which they were heavily favored ,to the the Philadelphia Eagles, then coached by Andy Reid. All  the 49er executives really liked Mariucci ,they  just looked down at their shoes as Dr. John York ( big bird ) angrily paced in the locker room. It was a sure sign that good old Steve was history ! Young Jed York has that same corporate killer look about him. What else can you say about apologizing to the fans via twitter after a loss !

 

Mayor Gavin Newsom

While all the coaching turmoil was going on the Yorks were negotiating with the officials in the city of San Francisco and Mayor Gavin Newsom about a proposed new stadium . It was no surprise that this process devolved into a pissing match between the " all show- no go " Mayor Newsom and the headstrong Yorks. Even though the Yorks had put the San Francisco 49er brand into the toilet they couldn't be blamed for the move to Santa Clara. It was just business. Mayor Newsom and his negotiating team handled themselves like Circus clowns !



 
As I covered some of the last games the 49ers played at Candlestick park , I would look up from the sidelines at all the loyal , longtime blue collar season ticket holders in the stands , certain that they wouldn't be part of the move south to Santa Clara. Later when I met the 49er ticket people to renew my own season tickets this was confirmed. The new season ticket prices were comparable to buying a new car !

Alex Smith

Colin Kaepernick

So then like the white knight riding in on his steed , comes coach Jim Harbaugh , to dispatch the villains ! He immediately rehabilitates the much maligned Alex Smith , taking him from the outhouse to the penthouse in short order. He is a coaching genius we think. Now the second act comes into play . Coach Harbaugh  had just been using the intelligent , obedient , grateful Alex as a place holder until Colin Kaepernick entered the picture.

 

Exit Alex Smith , enter the running and gunning , athletic Kaepernick , from mid season right to the Super Bowl ! Wow , its a fantasy torn right from the pages of a Hollywood movie script ! The future is bright , the team wins three NFC titles in a row, and the new Levi stadium is nearing completion ! What could possibly go wrong ?

Aldon Smith

Trent Baalke

Jerry Rice

Everything that could go wrong , did go wrong ! While all this winning was going on , it started to dawn on all the working press and the fans that coach Harbaugh much like former coach " Iron " Mike Singletary , was a top tier charm school drop out. His charm also extended to the 49er head office and to team General manager Trent Baalke. Slowly but surely the guys in the locker room , the players , started the whispers. Ex players like Jerry Rice started mouthing off without naming sources. Then it seemed as if a week couldn't go buy without players such as Aldon Smith being front page news for alleged criminal conduct. The carefully constructed Disneyland image of the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL became permanently shattered.

Greg Roman

"simple Kap"

Yet , if the 49ers could just win on the field all would be forgiven. The injuries started piling up which exposed the poor coaching of Harbaugh and Offensive coordinator Greg Roman. They had simplified the playbook , added offensive talent and tried to turn Colin Kaepernick into a pocket passer. Harbaugh , staked his reputation as a star maker on Kaepernick reaching the next level as a play making quarterback. The proof is in the pudding ! It didn't work ! Kaepernick is a physical specimen from the neck down but not a mental genius from the neck up ! Translation : He is " simple Kap ".




A few words on Colin Kaepernick are in order now. Young Colin , was ill advised to allow himself to be put on several magazine covers and indulge in an avalanche of unwarranted hype. The guy is in way over his head ! In the NFL , defensive units study film and make adjustments accordingly. To be a solid NFL starting quarterback requires being able to make quick reads of defensive alignments , handle the pressure and conduct oneself in an adult manner. Kaepernick , this season has failed on all these counts. If this was the U.S. Navy , with Harbaugh , as a fleet Admiral , lacking diplomacy and Kaepernick as the Captain of the flagship , all would be lost ! I wouldn't let Kaepernick captain a whale boat let alone a flagged battleship ! After every unsuccessful play in a pressure situation , the television cameras zooms in on his  wildly fluttering eyes ! He helplessly looks down at his wristband or pleadingly at the sidelines for help ! He has devolved as a quarterback !


Coach Harbaugh deserves all the credit for the poor performance of his coaching staff , the decision to t ry and make Kaepernick a pocket passer and for alienating the front office and many 49er fans. The 49er organization has to share in the blame for not properly vetting prospective players for character issues in their prior history. The real culprit behind the whole mess is the Yorks. They sold the greedy folks in Santa Clara on locating the team in their not ready for prime time town ! Now , Levi stadium will become an economic albatross around the neck of their city and county.


 
 

The big mouth Mayor of Santa Clara , Jamie L. Matthews , criticized the City of San Francisco for its sta dium security in October 2013 on the KNBR radio station. ( See my article dated October 30, 2013 " SANTA CLARA MAYOR SLAMS 49ERSTADIUM SECURITY ". ) On October 13, 2014 at Levi  stadium, two 49er fans were beat down by thugs in a Men's restroom. What an improvement ! Don't forget the great parking situation ! Before and after every game the traffic situation is out of control. If Santa Clara is the San Francisco Bay area Scary Barry is really Albert Einstein !

But I have digressed from my main point. From the very start of the York's tenure as the owners of the team the bad karma has followed them down to Santa Clara and Levi stadium. Two workers died during the construction of the stadium and in the first preseason game played there against the Denver Broncos on August 17, 2014 , a fan died of heat exhaustion ! The bad karma permeates all levels of the franchise . Its a dark shadow that won't go away.
 

Richard Sherman

The loss to the Seahawks was just a sideshow to the dysfunction of the entire 49er organization. The players have no compass. They have an overbearing coach , an immature quarterback more focused on his hip hop style then his playing performance , a stadium with a bad playing surface and ownership that thinks running an NFL franchise is the same as running shopping malls or racetracks . The Seahawks and Richard Sherman aren't the real villains in this tale of woe ! They just simply beat a clearly distracted team. Next season the coaches and many players will have left the team but the bad karma will remain !


 
My compassion is directed to the long suffering true San Francisco 49er fans , blue collar season ticket holders who now are left out in the cold. Also , I can empathize with the many blue collar players such as Frank Gore , who have toiled under many useless coaches and now find themselves in a futile situation not of their own making. There is no high tech solution to bad karma !

barryrodriguez (c) 2014. all rights reserved.

layout by magic merlin paul malolot.