Forty-Niners and etc

After watching Colin Kaepernick under perform yesterday, it occurred to me that his under performance mirrored the entire teams performance. The 49ers are not a good pro football team. They might do well against Texas A&M, but probably not against Ohio State or Alabama. Where's the talent? Where is the enthusiasm? Where is the chutzpah? Is Carlos Hyde a premier running back?
Do we have outstanding receivers? Can the offensive line protect the passer or open holes for runners? There was so much space between the defensive backs and the opponents' receivers, the at 77 years old I could have caught Alex Smith's passes. Really, I'm not kidding; this is an awful team. If Trent Balke and Chip Kelly aren't seeing this, they need magnifying glasses. I still believe Kap has what it takes, but all of a sudden he's become a "work in progress." When I read in this morning's sports page Chip Kelly responding to the question of whether Kap will be his starting QB for the next game with a "Yeah, we'll see," I almost fainted. Are you  kidding me? Would you even consider putting the ball back in Blaine Gabbart's hands? Then, I thought, I wonder if Chip isn't an example of the Peter Principle. Great college coach, but over his head on the pro level.

Unlike the 49ers, the Raiders have the talent. So what is missing? Experience? Yes, they are young and need to go through the College of Hard Knocks. And perhaps, they need their coaches to supply them with some hard knocks. I always worry when a coach, on any level, is referred to as a "players' coach." The image I always get is a coach who wants to be pals with his players, which is a doomsday strategy. Give me a coach that "kicks ass" fairly and across the board, and I'll show you a coach players respect. Of course, unless the player is a weenie and a drama queen. Enough said, anybody who's ever played sports on any organized level knows the best coaches are those who hold their players to the highest standards.

It's time for Tony Romo to retire and leave his Cowboys in the capable hands of stunningly talented Dak Prescott. I have never been a Cowboy fan, but this Texas team has got everything it takes to win the Super Bowl.

Don't you love Drew Brees, passing Payton Manning's record of 15 plus 400 yard games. Makes you wonder why the Chargers traded him. Phillip Rivers for all his athleticism doesn't have that "Je n'est ce quoi" that Brees possesses.

Can't help cheering for the Sam Bradford led Minnesota Viking's, the only team in the NFL without a loss. Great come-back story for Bradford if he can keep it up. Another reason to be pulling for Bradford is that he is of Cherokee descent, one sixteenth on his dad's side from his great grandma, Susie Walking Stick, a full blood Cherokee. An NFL star Native American. You bet.

Hey, let's hear it for LeBron James, working to provide greater benefits and pension funds in the new CBA for older, retired NBA stars that were not the recipients of the great largess NBA players get  today. 

My pick for the Super Bowl: Dallas Cowboys vs New England Patriots.

Why I Never Played Football    by Tom Meschery

It's not that I lacked courage,
I was big and weighed enough to make
a decent tight end or with a little work
an offensive lineman or a fullback.
What I couldn't see myself doing
was getting dirty, playing in mud
or freezing in snow which, back then
when I was young,is what you had
to endure. Perhaps these days
with covered stadiums I'd think
differently. Still, there was bound
to be more blood playing football,
yours or somebody else's, than
 playing another sport. Gold
for example.See how clean
those guys are out on the links,
how civilized in their cardigans,
in their neatly pressed trousers?