Will the 49ers Forever be a Day Late and a Dollar Short?
This is going to be hard to hear, but maybe fleshing out how we got here will not only be therapeutic, but beneficial to understanding the precarious position the 49ers now find themselves in.
Anyone who follows the NFL knows that Super Bowl windows open and close very quickly. The 49ers have one of the most popular and lucrative franchises in the NFL. With all this success and acclaim, it's still hard to believe that they haven't won the whole thing since the 1994 season.
It's one thing to lose, but it's the way they've lost in pivotal moments that make you scratch your head. There have been a handful of maddening plays that have kept this team from hoisting their sixth title. Two different eras with supreme talent and physicality have lost entire great seasons with one blunder that cost them in the most important games, whether it's the NFC Championship Game or the Super Bowl.
Kyle Williams is a name that lives in infamy in 49ers land. And let's not forget the once enemy turn friend Richard Sherman's exploits at the expense of Micheal Too- Slow-to-Run-Fades Crabtree. Then there was Greg Roman's total brain fart -- you've run the ball great all year with Frank Gore, but with the season on the line let's throw a fade to Crabtree -- not smart. How about Jaquiski Tartt dropping the potential game winning interception last year? Or Jimmy Garoppolo missing Emmanuel Sanders? Or blocking Hassan Reddick with Tyler Kroft? That was just stupid.
Imagine Williams doesn't drop the punt, Gore's allowed to finish the drive in the Super Bowl, Crabtree is actually a good receiver, Tartt catches with his hands, Garoppolo hits Sanders, Shanahan slides protection right to Reddick. Just imagine.
Two different eras, same big game mishaps. This latest one was the most egregious, because they were basically fighting with both hands tied behind their back. Now I'm hearing there reportedly was a rift between Shanahan and Garoppolo prior to the Championship Game. Which leaves you to wonder if Garoppolo wanted to suit up, but Shanahan was said no. Or vice versa. Imagine Garoppolo being available instead of the guy who fumbled the snap, Josh something.
This organization is flirting with disaster. If another Super Bowl window closes with no championship you're dangerously close to resembling one of those teams that had great talent but could never get over the hump. Don't turn into the Cowboys fanbase with that "we'll get 'em next year" mentality. That's just gross and not the 49ers way.
