49ersNews.com

by Tony Farmer

04.18.06—Leave him be. Please Niner fans, leave Kwame Harris alone.

Recently an article from Scouts Inc. featured a quote from an unnamed offensive lineman from the 2003 draft class. When asked “Do you like football?” The player allegedly answered, “It’s OK. I mean, I am pretty good at it, but I have a lot of interests, too. A lot of days, when I am getting ready for practice, I would prefer to be back home playing my piano.”

Because of the overwhelming circumstantial evidence, 49er tackle Kwame Harris is considered by most to be the source of the quote. This of course is not sitting well with Niner fans who’ve watched Harris and their team struggle since he was drafted in the first round.

No Respect
by Tony Farmer

January 3rd, 2005—  My buddy and I left Gillette Stadium shocked Sunday. No, we weren’t still trying to get over the fact that the 49ers held a 7-0 lead after the first quarter. And it wasn’t the fact that we just witnessed our favorite team wrap up one of the most embarrassing seasons in franchise history.

We were shocked that there wasn’t one negative word uttered to us the entire day. Yeah that’s right.

After running into three obnoxious wannabe Back Street Boys in Baltimore last year, who kept flashing money in an attempt to pay for our tickets so that we would leave their stadium, we knew anything was possible.

As an away fan in enemy territory you have to expect a little heckling. It’s Normal. I’ve had food thrown at me in Yankee Stadium. I once snapped a picture of a man in Texas Stadium and followed it up with: "I just want to show my family back home what a real ass hole looks like." Encounters like this are not strange, they are normal. And that’s why Sunday I felt like I was in a bizzaro world after receiving no heckling for six straight hours in Foxboro, Mass. I mean think about that.

Even as we threw a football and drank some cold beverages in the parking lot before the contest, there was nothing. Not a peep. In fact, one Pats fan even graciously served up a Coke for me and my buddy to chase our alcohol with. Umm.hello! We are 49er fans in your nest! I’m wearing my teams colors in your team’s house and you just gave me a soda? I mean, if that can hadn’t of been sealed I would have been wondering what he put in it.

As we walked into the stadium we were certain that we’d hear at least some heckling, but we were wrong. As we left "The Razor" after the 21-7 loss they refused to kick us while we were down.

"Hey, you guys had some good years." Can you believe this? Our team is now 2-14 (the worst record in football) and instead of rubbing it in our faces, some Pats fan actually somewhat consoled us. My head was spinning. I was confused.

Is it possible that the fans of New England are still riding high from a stunning Red Sox World Series victory? Perhaps they are still on cloud nine because after years of following a mediocre football team, they were now rooting for a dynasty. After all, two of enormous posters with "legends" on them on the outside of the stadium were Steve Grogan and Andre Tippett, and now the Pats are World Champions. Maybe it was still sinking in for Pats fans—I wish I knew.

My theory: My football team is so pathetic that other fans actually felt bad for us. They showed us pitty. In their eyes, our 49er Jerseys were actually white flags. To them the 49ers weren’t the franchise that won five super bowls and dominated the league for so many years. They were the team with a lame-duck head coach who can only beat the Cardinals.

It was eating away at me. On the car ride home I wondered if we would have been heckled if the 49ers were in the playoffs? I wondered how much fans of other teams got heckled in New England. I wanted to turn the car around and ask the guy who gave me a Coke why he was so polite to me? I wanted to ask Mr. "You guys had some good years" what the hell he was thinking. I wanted to get on the Gillette Stadium P.A. and ask "Why aren’t you heckling me? For the love of god, what is wrong with you people?"

Suddenly I realized that I was in a bizzaro world. Black is white, up is down, the Patriots are a dynasty and the 49ers are rebuilding. These Patriots are dominating like the 49ers in the 80’s and Tom Brady is even drawing comparisons to Joe Montana. While the 49ers will never hang a picture of Derek Smith or Scott Gragg on the outside of Monster Park, there was an eerie similarity between the old Patriots and the current 49ers.

I don’t like the bizzaro world. I’m not used to being treated like a Bengal’s fan. I want the respect back that 49er fans deserve. Call me sick, but I want to be heckled at the next away game I attend.

Fans of New England, I appreciate your hospitality, but I speak for all of Niner Nation when I say: Take your pitty, and shove it up you’re A-gap.

49ers are ‘all in’
by Tony Farmer

December 30th, 2004—San Francisco 49er fans should be hoping that General Manager Terry Donahue can hold his own at a poker table. With the NFL draft four months away, the 49er’s GM has just pushed his chips to the center of the table, and announced that he and the soon-to-be 2-14 Niners are all-in.

Reports in last week’s San Francisco Chronicle quoted Donahue as saying that he anticipates using the League’s No. 1 draft pick, rather than trade it for more draft picks. There are certain to be more stories like this published between now and April, but 49er fans shouldn’t be fooled. San Francisco has no intentions of being the first team to draft a player this April.

What motivation would Donahue have to put on his poker face this early? He wants to give the rest of the league the impression that he really does want to keep that pick so that other teams increase their offer when proposing a trade. If Donahue came out and admitted that he and the 49ers are desperate to trade the pick, then other teams might not be so quick to offer deals like the Chargers received in exchange for Eli Manning last season.

Trading higher draft picks for more draft picks during a rebuilding time is the 49er way. Last season, the San Fran traded down in the opening round and selected wide receiver Rashaun Woods. In 2000 the 49ers traded the No. 3 overall pick for the No. 12 pick (and eventually the No. 16 pick) for Julian Peterson.

Recent history and the situation that the Niners are in should tell 49er fans that trading the No. 1 pick away is a lock. It’s like death and taxes—or Jamie Winborn getting hurt.

Although many on the west coast won’t be happy when it’s announced that the No. 1 pick has been traded away, rest assured it’s the right move. After all, why invest so much money and cap space in one player when your roster has more holes than one of those stupid hats that Packers fans wear?

For those of you poker players out there, after a 2-14 season, Donahue and the 49ers are short stacked and the blinds are coming fast. Sit back and pray that another team falls for his bluff, and hands over some serious bargaining chips for our prized No. 1 pick, because what happens with that pick between now and April will decide whether you will bring a "First to six" hat to your next visit to Monster Park or a paper bag.

Disgusting
By TONY FARMER

The San Franciso 49ers are a joke. I don’t care that there were several terrible calls in Sunday Night’s 23-13 loss to Chicago. I don’t care that this team has lost several close games. I don’t care that San Francisco was missing several key starters on offense and defense. The bottom line is that this group of players is the laughing stock of the NFL.

If your running game only gets 62 yards on the ground against a team that ranked 30th in the NFL against the run, words like laughing stock become appropriate. When your coach fails to throw the challenge flag on two separate occasions, despite 49er fans across the country begging for him to do so, it’s time to stop using the excuses mentioned above. When you lose to a 1-5 team starting a rookie quarterback, then comparisons to the Bengals of the 1990’s make a little more sense.

Granted the 49ers offensive line is banged up, but come on. These guys couldn’t create a hole with five shovels and a detailed instructions. In Saturday’s game against the Bears that group made the 49ers’ quarterback look more like a Chicago hooker—everyone was getting a hit. Actually the hooker analogy is fitting because Dorsey was on his back all night.

As for Erickson’s non challenges. What went wrong? Are his glasses not thick enough? Was John York too cheap to hire an assistant in the booth to yell “challenge!” into Erickson’s head set? I wish I knew. When was hired, Erickson was referred to as an aggressive coach. So why does he hang on to his challenge flags like they are the last two life preservers on the Titanic? I can’t figure this guy out. How long is it going to take the 49ers’ brass to realize that Erickson (8-15 since 2003) belongs in the same sentence with Steve Spurrier, Pete Carroll and Rick Pitino. Those guys are all great in college, but terrible pro coaches.

The 49ers are rebuilding, so there should be a silver lining, a future to look forward to, but I don’t see it. Sure the 49ers have young talent, but they had that with guys like Terrell Owens, Steve Mariucci and Jim Mora Jr., only to kick them both out the door. Why should I believe in a franchise that Mariucci go for nothing, and Owens go for an injury plagued defensive lineman? Just take a look at the standings to see how those three guys are doing.

The only thing more predictable than the 49ers play calling Halloween was the ESPN announcers. I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve heard enough “trick or treat” references to last me till lets say 2043, right around the time the 49ers should be wrapping up their 6th Super Bowl title. And hey Chris Berman, I could have done without hearing for the 2,000th time how Sunday’s Packers/Redskins battle would decide the presidential election.

I paid $200 for NFL Sunday ticket so that I could watch every 49er game this season. I want a refund. If I wanted to watch a once-dominant team with no heart, I’d watch tapes of the Yankees in Games 4-7 of this years ALCS. There is no excuse for losing to the 1-5 Chicago Bears and their rookie (5th round) quarterback. I’m sick of shattering remotes because my favorite team looks like they could get run over by my high school team. For the first time in my life, I’m ashamed to be a 49er fan. And the worst part is that I don’t see this feeling going away anytime soon.

Erickson of a…
by Tony Farmer

Sept, 23rd, 2004—It’s only fitting that the 49ers opened up 2004 with two losses that they should have been wins. After all, the San Francisco was 1-6 in games decided by three points or less last year.

If football was played on paper, rather than on grass and turf, San Francisco was a playoff team last season. In the NFC the 49ers ranked third in total offense, and fourth in total defense but still managed to finish below .500. This season the Niners are 4th in total offense and 3rd in total defense in the conference, yet they are 0-2. That doesn’t even seem possible. But thanks to one man it was.

Dennis Erickson is not an NFL head coach. The guy was a great college coach and will always be a great evaluator of talent, but he does not belong on an NFL sideline.

Here are some mind-blowing statistics to back up my point. In his NFL career, Erickson is 38-44. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on the sub-par record because he inherited some young teams. Fine.

On the road is another story. Erickson is 13-28. Let me do the math for you, that is a .317 percent winning percentage, simply inexcusable.

One of the most important jobs an NFL coach has is to prepare his team for the road. Erickson clearly cannot do that at the NFL level. And lets not forget, this isn’t a one year thing, these numbers are after 5+ years of coaching.

An even more alarming statistic when it comes to the 49ers’ mediocre leader is his record in close games. In 19 games decided by three points or less, Erickson only won four of those games. That is a stomach turning .211 percent win percentage.

With the 49ers, Erickson is 1-8 on the road and 1-8 in games decided by three points or less. I mean shouldn’t a light bulb be going off over the heads of the 49er brass? Nobody’s luck is that bad.

Oh and for those of you (ok, us) Mooch supporters out there. Steve Mariucci was 10-6 on the road his final two years in San Francisco. Mooch also boasted a 9-2 record in games decided by four points or less. Sure, you could argue that Mooch’s teams had more talent, but have you ever seen a more underachieving roster than the 2003 San Francisco 49ers?

We’re talking about a team that featured three pro bowlers (Owens, Beasley and Peterson), two guys robbed of pro bowl selections (Newberry and Parrish) and several stars waiting to blossum. What is the best Erickson can do with that talent? 7-9. Give me a break.

In 2001 Mooch coached the 49ers to a 12-4 record when nobody gave them a shot at finishing above .500. That is what Erickson was supposed to do this year.

The 49ers have lost games in devastating ways in the last two years, botched field goals, botched extra points and most recently bogus officiating. But every team has bad luck and calls that go against them. Only the well-coached teams can overcome them.

‘The Future’ is Now
by Tony Farmer

Sept, 1st, 2004—I think I’ll always remember the first NFL game I attended. The Cowboys recorded a huge upset on the Niners 27-21 in Week 16 of the 2002 season. It should have been a day to forget, but I remember it well. One thing that’s still clear in my mind is Kevan Barlow’s entrance onto the Texas Stadium turf.

I was standing in a sea of about 50 Niner fans, crowded on the 50-yard line behind the San Francisco bench, a few hours before kickoff, and we had all been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Terrell Owens. When a tall, dark, muscular guy wearing a t-shirt and 49er pants entered the field, we started going nuts. One problem though: It was Kevan Barlow—and he just shook his head.

I felt bad, and so did the other fans wearing red and gold, I couldn’t help but think that he thought we were mocking him. Besides, Barlow was just a rookie backup at the time, I don’t even know that his nickname, "The Future" was even coined yet. All I could say was, "It’s alright, he’s gonna be nasty in a couple years." Some guy on my right agreed. "Dude, no doubt."

We, like most 49er fans had witnessed Barlow’s potential: His bruising running style combined with break-away speed that a 238 lb man shouldn’t have.

Well "a couple years" has turned into today. Barlow got a 1,000-yard season under his belt, he just inked a fat new contract and finally, he is the starter in San Francisco. "The Future" is now.

Not only does Barlow have a starting job solidified, but he is the premier weapon on a young offense, and I can’t wait to see the results.

If Barlow was publicly traded on the stock market, I would sell my home and invest every last penny in No. 32. Since he’s not, and I don’t own my own home, the best I can do is make him the starting back on my fantasy team. That, and guarantee everyone that I know he is going to have a tremendous career.

It’s always fun showing non-Niner fans Barlow’s stats from last year. They’ll give you that stupid look, like they just tried a foreign meat and realized it’s actually not that bad. I love it, It’s almost like we as Niner fans have this secret weapon that the rest of the league is going to underestimate—and hopefully pay dearly for it.

On 201 carries last season, Barlow racked up 1024 yards, which was good enough for a 5.1 yards-per carry. Some of the NFL’s premier backs like Priest Holmes (4.4), Deuce McAllister (4.7) and Shaun Alexander (4.4) didn’t even average five yards per carry last season. To put it in perspective, if Barlow maintained that 5.1 yard-per carry average, and he had as many carries as Jamal Lewis, then Barlow would have rushed for 1,973 yards last season. Not to shabby for a third-round pick huh?

There were reports from camp that the three-year veteran is in even better shape than last year. The Mercury News reported that Barlow has dropped eight pounds and is "noticeably more sculpted." As a life-long 49er fan, that news is making my mouth water.

Just incase the above report, and the numbers don’t have you drooling like me, consider the following quotes from Barlow in a story written by ESPN’s John Clayton.

"I’m ready to light it up," Barlow said. "They had a lot of confidence in me this year by giving me the big contract. That’s what I’ve been looking for. Now, I’ve got to deliver."

And: "My goal is to get 1,500 yards."

Clayton’s story also mentioned that Roger Craig thinks Barlow will eventually eclipse himself as the 49ers all-time leading rusher.

The pieces are in place for a monster year out of Barlow, and a long career after that. Finally San Francisco, "The Future" is now.

—This article is also featured on KB32.com, Kevan Barlow’s official website. Date published 09.05.04.

Owens is at it again
by Tony Farmer

03.06.04—Terrell Owens just keeps proving me right. A little over a month ago a wrote I couple columns about the former 49er wide receiver (that has a nice ring to it) on this site. Here are a few lines from one of them:

"According to Owens, Knapp and Garcia are to blame for his poor numbers and the media is to blame for his decaying image. Yelling in the face of Knapp, a man half your size, and embarrassing him doesn’t have to do with you your negative image—It’s the media. Making fun of Jeff Garcia and his arrest are not to blame for your negative image—It’s the media’s fault for the way they reported it."

"Of course, you don’t see it that way because you feel that nothing is ever your fault."

The main focus of the article was to point out how in Owens’ head nothing is his fault and everyone else is to blame for things that go wrong. Well, about a little over a month after my the column was published, the unthinkable happened: Terrell Owens and his agent David Joseph forgot to file the necessary paper work to make him a free agent.

If you read my column (or paid close attention to Owens’ Niners career) then what happened next didn’t come as a shock to you. Owens blamed the 49ers AND the NFL for the mistake. As one Sportscenter anchor put it: "shocking."

So next Owens gets traded to Baltimore, but only after he thought he was going to his favorite choice: Philadelphia. Like the spoiled kid in the grocery store that I compared him to in my first column, Owens starts to cry because he didn’t get exactly what he wanted. Among other things Owens said this on his website:

"YEH, THEY BACKSTABBED ME AGAIN, BUT I AIN’T GOIN AWAY LIKE THAT, I’LL FIGHT THIS N COURT IF I HV 2! MY RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED! AS 4 AS I’M CONCERNED, I LEFT MEMORIES N SAN FRAN BUT MY HEART IS N PHILLY!"

Ok, I have to admit—Owens doesn’t sound like a baby there. His threat to fight the trade in court reminds me more of a mature middle school student.

Now, Terrell Owens has made it painfully clear that he is not fond of the media. What I find extraordinary is how Owens comes running to the media when he needs them. I watched Owens desperately try to explain his point of view on "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" and "Sportscenter" I could do nothing, but shake my head when I watched him plead his case. Not because he was making a fool out of himself, but because he was being such a hypocrite. This is the same guy that refused to talk to the local media in San Francisco, now he is using the national media as his bull horn to get his point across. Can you say double standard?

I emailed a copy of my last column to Owens’ agent because on his boards Owens told me to watch game tape and get back to him. Joseph responded saying this: "I will inform him that you got back to him through me." Since I haven’t heard back from Owens, I can only assume that Joseph FORGOT to give him the message. It would be too easy to insert a joke here.

What is it going to take for Terrell Owens to realize that every time he opens his mouth (or types on his keyboard) he makes other teams want him less? The Jets, who were rumored to be somewhat interested in Owens, gave up the 42nd overall pick in April’s draft for the Titans’ wide receiver Justin McCareins. Why is it that McCareins commanded the 42nd overall pick and Owens only commanded the 51st pick.

Donahue was asked a similar question after the Owens trade. His response,"There just wasn’t much of a market. We contacted half the teams in the football league and this was by far the best opportunity that we had, and we were happy with it. We jumped on it as soon as we could."

There is a reason why there wasn’t a market for one of the best receivers in the NFL in his prime. Would you want to hire somebody who made fun of his former co-workers and called his former owner "A snake in the grass."

Fans only have to look as far as fellow wide receivers Keyshawn Johnson and David Boston to see how important off the field issues are to NFL owners. Boston had a career season for the Cardinals and everybody wondered how they could just let him walk out without even placing a franchise tag on him. Later, an article on Boston in ESPN the Magazine answered those questions, among other things Boston distanced himself from his teammates and showed a blatant disrespect towards coaches.

Keyshawn was benched by Tampa Bay last season and according to the associated Press the Bucs are willing to trade Johnson for "a late-round pick in 2005 or ‘06" even though they originally gave up two first round picks for Johnson.

Now, Owens mouthing off is not only driving down his market value it has also provided him with some new nicknames. "The Cancer" instead of "The Answer" and my favorite nickname from a member of this site "Tantrum Owens."

The thing that Owens needs to realize soon is that his words aren’t just providing us with nicknames and driving down his market value. His words are tarnishing his legacy. If his career ended today what would Terrell Owens be most remembered for? His incredible productivity on the field or his laughable activity off the field.

The last thing Owens said in his interview on ESPN was this: "I’m not going to go to Baltimore and act like I’m happy to be there when I’m not."

Terrell the truth is, that like the spoiled brat in the grocery store you won’t be happy until you get every last thing that you want: The city, the coach, the quarterback, the money and the ring. Take a trip to Canton and look around at the guys that were great AND got everything they wanted from this game. If you’d take my advice you’d notice that those guys have a quality that you lack. Class

Newberry: Ultimate Team Player
by Tony Farmer

Feb. 24th, 2004—When high-profile guys like Brett Favre and Steve McNair play through pain they get all the credit in the world, and deservedly so. But when guys like Jeremy Newberry ignore several injuries and put off surgery an entire season it’s not exactly front page news.

The 49ers’ center found out before training camp even started that one of the ligaments in his left ankle had degenerated to the point that it was almost missing. Hopeful that he could help lead his team to the playoffs, Newberry passed on surgery, which required the team doctor to remove a tendon from his wrist and put it in his ankle.

But even with the 49ers were officially eliminated from the playoffs, Newberry insisted on having surgery after the season. For months, Newberry practiced and played through the pain, even though he has been quoted as saying that he could barely walk on the ankle some mornings. In 2003, Newberry also played through a nagging right knee sprain. And regardless of what pro bowl voters thought, he played at a pro bowl level.

Between surgeries in the off season , Newberry also found the time to restructure his contract which gave the 49ers some much needed cap space in 2004.

What am I getting at here? Jeremy Newberry is the ultimate team player, and I think sometimes 49er fans take him for granted. Now, I’ve never heard a Niner fan say anything bad about Jeremy, I’m just saying the guy doesn’t get nearly enough credit for what he does.

You’d be hard pressed to find another player in the league that has Newberry’s mix of versatility, (he can play guard, tackle and center), loyalty, leadership, skill and durability. Since 1999, Newberry has started in 81 of the 49ers 82 games (including playoffs). The man very rarely draws penalty flags or allows sacks and on top of all that he is only 27-years old. What more can you ask for?

By the time Newberry’s career is over, he could be considered one of the greatest 49er linemen of all-time and that is saying a lot from a franchise which produced Harris Barton, Jesse Sapolu, Randy Cross and Guy McIntyre. Although it’s not clear right now who the 49ers starting quarterback or wide receivers will be next season, rest assured that when you see no. 62 on the field, you are watching greatness.

—This article was featured 02.04.04 on JNew62.com, Jeremy Newberry’s official website.

Owens Part II
by Tony Farmer

As many of you know, I wrote a column entitled “Owens is a spoiled brat.” In it, I was highly critical of the All-Pro receiver on many subjects—mainly the bashing of Jeff Garcia on Owens’ personal website.

During Owens’ most recent “Ask Terrell” segment, a staff writer Jeremy Burnham, sent Owens a link to the column and within about 20 minutes Owens responded with this:

“THE GUY IS AN OBVIUOS HATER, THOSE STATS R REDICULOUS, TELL HIM 2 GET THE FILM OF EVERY GM THIS YR, LOOK @ IT & GET BACK 2 ME! HE’S DESPERATE, EVEN BRINGIN UP MY ENGLISH GRADES, 4 WHAT, MY ENGLISH IS JUST FINE 4 WHAT I NEED 2 DO!”

Now if you surf on over to Terrellowens.com, you will not find this response nor Burnham’s original question, because both have been deleted from the board. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. Owens did respond and his response lasted at least an hour so there must have been some motive for T.O. or his moderators to pull it. Maybe Owens’ agent decided it was in his best interests, maybe it made Owens look bad. You can draw your own conclusion.

But since Owens was so kind as to read my column, I think he deserves a response. As for him calling my stats, “REDICULOUS” The stats are not ridiculous they are totally legit. Now, I understand that it may come as a shock to you Terrell, that you averaged 107.5 yards in games against teams with losing records and just 34.6 yards a game in all other games. Whether you like it or not, those are the facts. I encourage any Terrell and any other fan who doubts the validity of this statistic to head on over to NFL.com and click on Terrell Owens then click game logs. Do the math, it took me a few minutes, but that is how I obtained those interesting numbers. Do you get more credible than NFL.com when it comes to statistics?

As for Owens asking me to get the game fill of every game last year and then get back to him. Unfortunately my house was not on MTV’s “Cribs” and I do not have the luxury of a film room in my basement. However, I did attend two games this season in which you struggled the most. I saw you muster just 3 catches for 23 yards against the Ravens and later just one catch for 20 yards against the Eagles. I paid particular attention to number 81 in these games, and while sometimes Jeff Garcia was responsible for your poor performance, the overwhelming majority of the time, he was not. Of course, you don’t see it that way because you feel that nothing is ever your fault.

According to Owens, Knapp and Garcia are to blame for his poor numbers and the media is to blame for his decaying image. Yelling in the face of Knapp, a man half your size, and embarrassing him doesn’t have to do with you your negative image—It’s the media. Making fun of Jeff Garcia and his arrest are not to blame for your negative image—It’s the media’s fault for the way they reported it.

As for me being “AN OBVIUOS HATER” and “DESPERATE” What can I say? I am no hater, that is for sure. I used to be the biggest Terrell Owens fan there was. I stocked up on his rookie cards, invested in his memorabilia and even bought a number 81 Jersey. But somewhere along the line Terrell Owens’ head grew so large that he couldn’t see other peoples points of view. When he is right everybody else is wrong and there is no possible way that it’s any different. So, like many in Niner nation, I became turned off.

As for me being desperate because I brought up things like your English grades. I could have went on and about things to remind you that like Jeff Garcia, and everyone else on earth—you are not perfect. The only problem is that the length of my column could only be so long. If only I could afford a plane ticket to Houston and the $250 VIP ticket charge, we could discuss these matters and watch some game film in person at your super bowl party.

Owens is a Spoiled Brat

by Tony Farmer

You know when you go to a grocery store and there is always that one kid crying in an aisle because his/her parents wont buy them a candy bar? What usually happens next? The parents give in and throw the slab of chocolate on the register, and the kid is happy—until the next time.

With his demands that the 49ers cut Jeff Garcia or else, Terrell Owens reminds me a lot of that annoying adolescent.

During his tenure in San Francisco Terrell Owens has whined and thrown temper tantrums like a baby. The result: Owens has gotten his way like a spoiled brat. So I beg you 49ers….put him up for adoption.

Owens and Mariucci have their differences because Mariucci put his foot down and suspended him a game for his antics in Dallas. Owens became distant and acted increasingly immature until Mooch gave in and flew to Owens’ home in Atlanta. The two talked things over and things were great—at least for a little while. Mariucci swallowed his pride and took the initiative to smooth things over with Owens. Much like Garcia was forced to do with Owens earlier this season when Owens wouldn’t stop whining to the media.

Before the 49ers week 5 game with Detroit it was of course Garcia who took the initiative, approached T.O. at a team breakfast and said (in Garcia’s words), “Let’s just put this behind us and move forward and help this team win football games.”

It takes maturity and class to do what Garcia and Mariucci did. Two characters that Owens obviously lacks. Garcia and Mariucci both put the team first, they both wanted to settle their differences before it hurt the team. Apparently Owens was willing to let their differences effect the team—as long as he looked like a tough guy doing it.

As you know, Owens and Mooch continued to have problems and like the kid in aisle three who got his Snickers, Owens got his way and 49ers fired Mariucci. Are you starting to see the similarities?

My favorite Terrell Owens moment was when he threw a temper tantrum on the sideline and got in former offensive coordinator Greg Knapp’s face. Owens couldn’t wait until after the game like a mature adult, instead he screamed, “Everybody look at me.” Just another example of Owens immaturity.

This past week, Terrell Owens topped all of his aforementioned child like moments. On his website, Owens took very personal shots at Jeff Garcia. As you all know Garcia was arrested for driving under the influence. What Garcia did was wrong an many levels, and he knows that. For Owens to take shots at Garcia and kick him while he is down is absolutely gutless. Yes, it is even worst than screaming in the face of poor defenseless Greg Knapp, which by the way Owens never received any punishment for.

Incase you missed it. Here is a fans question and Owens’ response:

Fan: ‘Is Jeff Garcia invited to your super bowl party? heh. Will you be his back up driver?’

Owens: ‘OF COURSE, & I’LL MAKE SURE HE GETS BACK 2 HIS ROOM SAFE N MY LIMO ‘

And in response to that, a fan asked

Fan: ‘I know that you may not have gotten along too well with Jeff over the past couple years, but I think it was kind of low to mention his DUI. He made a mistake and I’m sure you have made some mistakes in your lifetime as well.’

And how does the classy Terrell Owens respond?

Owens: ‘Y IS IT LOW THT I MENTIONED HIS DUI, IT WAS ON THE NEWS ALL OVER THE BAY AREA & NATIONALLY, IT’S JUS FUNNY HOW THE MEADIA ? MY PERSONALITY & MY CHARACTER! NEVER HAD AN OFF THE FIELD PROBLEM, CONSIDERING THE MEDIA WANTS ME OUTTA HERE BEIN THT I’M A DISTRACTION 2 THE TEAM ACCORDING 2 THEM! SORRY IF I OFFENDED UR FAV QB! ‘

As I said, what Garcia did was wrong and I can’t stress that enough. But we all make mistakes and I would bet any amount of money that it won’t happen again. Nobody is perfect Terrell. I mean, judging by your responses on your website, your English grades at Tennessee-Chattanooga certainly weren’t perfect.

But incase you need a reminder Mr. Owens, here are a few more examples of how you are not perfect.

Terrell Owens in the 49ers’ eight games vs. teams with records .500 and under: 860 yards and six touchdowns. That is an average of 107.5 yards a game. Very impressive.

Terrell Owens in the 49ers’ seven games against teams with winning records: 242 yards and only three touchdowns. Yup as amazing as it sounds, Owens averaged just 34.6 yards a game in the Niners’ seven most difficult contests. If San Francisco needed big game production like that, they could have just picked up J.J. Stokes off waivers from the Jaguars.

Now Mr. Owens, who’s fault is that? Knapp’s? Garcia’s? Everybody, but you I’m sure. For somebody that wants a super bowl ring so bad, you don’t seem to show up when your team needs you the most. Why is that?

Atlanta and Philly have been the two main teams that Owens has mentioned he would like to play for. My final question to Terrell Owens: When you have a sub-par year with Mcnabb or Vick throwing the passes, who will you blame then?

Owen Pochman’s missed field goals, Cedrick Wilson’s brain fart in week two and Garrison Hearst’s devastating week six fumble. They all could have been erased Sunday. If the 49ers could have just beaten Green Bay in Lambeau, their season would have be salvaged. Now, instead of looking forward to the playoffs, 49er fans should look forward to the 2004 NFL draft. Barring a miracle the season is over. This game was THAT big.

Unlike the 49ers other excruciating losses, this one did not feature that one scapegoat. As a team, the 49ers choked and they didn’t deserve to win. Lets begin with the coaching staff.

There has been a lot of talk about drug testing players in the NFL lately—What illegal substance was the 49ers coaching staff smoking? Either Knapp or Eickson called a reverse on a critical 3rd-and-1 from midfield in the third quarter? A flea flicker on a two point conversion attempt might have been less foolish. Granted, that play didn’t cost the Niners the game, but it highlighted a day of bonehead decisions from the coaching staff.

Sticking with a nonexistent running game, despite being down two scores and having witnessing two Green Bay defensive backs leave the field with injuries is inexcusable. An 0-5 road record for a team with 5-6 pro bowl candidates is more than enough for me to point my finger at the coaching staff.

How does a defense yield nine yards on the ground one week, only to later allow Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport to combine for over 200 yards two games later? It is more than inconsistent, it is mind boggling. Everybody knew the Packers were going to run the ball in the second half, hell even Tony Siragusa pointed it out. But the 49ers still couldn’t stop it.

Todd Peterson’s missed field goal looked more like an extra point, but I have learned to accept it: Benedict Arnold is more reliable than the 49ers special teams unit.

Despite a season full of disappointment, like most 49er fans still fell for it. When Owens caught his touchdown with 1:45 left in the 3rd quarter, I could practically smell the comeback. Shame on us, we should have seen it coming.

"O" the Line
by Tony Farmer

I feel like I am the only person on earth who actually watched Sunday’s 35-7 blowout Sunday. No I am not referring to the majority of people who turned the channel to watch something more exciting like, Poker on ESPN. No I am not talking about the viewers who couldn’t watch the fourth quarter because FOX wanted to end their misery and switch them over to a more competitive game.

I am talking about the journalists who have written about the game and cast blame where it doesn’t belong. I am talking about Terrell Owens hinting that the 49ers should start Tim Rattay over Jeff Garcia.

Sure, Jeff Garcia looked awful. After he threw his first pick, I thought I was watching Neil O’Donnell in the Super Bowl. In the second half, Garcia had the opportunity to run the ball in the end zone, but instead settled for an incomplete pass.

But anyone who actually watched the game would know why Jeff Garcia didn’t look like hiself, and it’s the same reason that he hasn’t looked great all season. His makeshift offensive line is getting pushed around like those tackling dummies they use in practice. Actually, I take that back, the tackling dummies would have put up more of a fight than Kwamie Harris did on Sunday.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not about to put Kwamie in a class with Reggie McGrew, Jim Drunkenmiller and R.W. McQuarters just yet. Harris was drafted with the idea in mind that he would be ready to go by next year. San Francisco knew that he wouldn’t be ready for the NFL his rookie season, but his raw talent and potential was too hard to ignore, just read the scouting reports. I think Kwamie will make a fine tackle some day, but for now he shouldn’t be starting.

Think about it, Derrick Deese and Eric Heitmann are out of the lineup and the other three starting members of the O-line are on the injury report too. Not a single member of the 49ers offensive line is 100 percent. How do you think Garcia feels? The five guys that are supposed to be protecting him are either inexperienced or being held together by medical tape. Then to make matters worse, He has his go-to-guy and the media starting to point fingers at him. But Rather than point fingers back, Garcia handles it like a gentlemen and says stuff like, "We just have to keep working hard."

I wish somebody would have come up and yelled back in his face when he was screaming at Knapp. Owens is about 20 years too old to be throwing temper tantrums on the sidelines. Does he actually think that the 49ers would be better off with Tim Rattay at quarterback? Sure he performed better than Garcia Sunday, but doesn’t he realize that was after the game was already over? Doesn’t he realize that the Vikings defense was playing much more conservative at that point? Couldn’t he see that the defensive backs were giving him bigger cushions and the Vikings weren’t blitzing nearly as much? Before Sunday, I was on the fence when it came to resigning Owens, now I have a firm opinion. Let him go and sign his $20 million signing bonus some where else, it’s just not worth it. Especially when they have other free agents who don’t whine to worry about signing.

I have heard Garcia, Erickson and Knapp all be criticized for the 49ers not throwing the ball deep more often. If I could afford it, I would match that signing bonus just to hear Owens answer this question: How can you expect your quarterback to throw the ball downfield when he has a defensive end in his face the moment that he completes his five-step drop? Nevermind Tim Rattay and Jeff Garcia, I don’t think superman could throw the ball deep with that offensive line.

by Tony Farmer

I’ll be the first to admit that when the 49ers fired Steve Mariucci and replaced him with Dennis Erickson, I figured the Niners would regret the move late in the season. After seeing the 49erâs dismantle the Bears last Sunday, I must say I was wrong. Now I know, it was only the Bears and it is very early, but it wasn’t the margin of victory that impressed me the most about Sunday’s performance.

I absolutely loved how aggressive the Niners were on offense and defense. I loved how, although they opened the 4th quarter with a 39-7 lead, the first three plays to begin the frame were all pass attempts. On defense the 49ers didnât stop blitzing Kordell Stewart despite the fact that the game was well in hand. I canât stand it when teams take big leads and change to a more conservative game plan—that is of course unless we are talking about the New York Giants in the 2002 playoffs. I think whether you like Mooch or not, you know damn well that you wouldnât have seen his 49ers send cornerback blitzes with a 32 point lead. It may not be the most politically correct thing to say, but the truth is, most fans want to see it get to the point where their favorite team is (borderline) running up the score. Does Sunday’s blowout mean the 49ers are going to go 16-0? No. But Erickson certainly showed me that he is dedicated to his aggressive approach that we all heard so much about leading up to the start of the season. The end of the fourth quarter did feature heavy doses of Tim Rattay handing off to Jamal Robertson. But I think Rattay and Robertson would have seen a lot more playing time if the conservative Mariucci was still wearing red and gold. When I heard that Erickson was aggressive, I think I got the wrong idea. I pictured trick plays and the team going for it on 4th downs. And maybe we will see a little of that as the season goes on, but if the rest of the 49ers games are coached anything like last weekâs then this is going to be a fun team to watch.

Coach’s game balls:
Ok itâs time for CB Mike Rumph to finally get some credit. Less than a year after John Madden killed Rumph (deservedly so) for his atrocious Monday night performance against the Eagles. The Niners first round pick had a solid outing to begin the season. I have a read a lot about how hard Rumph has worked in the off season to improve on last seasons mistakes, and judging by what I saw Sunday, his hard work has paid off. No Bears receiver caught for more than 50 yards and Rumph contributed with five tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.

How often do you see a player that plays strictly on special teams lead a team in tackles? That is just what the 49er’s Terry Jackson did Sunday after collecting a team-high six tackles on punt and kickoff coverage. Jackson also recovered a fumble, but I canât recall hearing anything flattering about Jackson from the announcers during the game. I’ll be willing to bet you wonât hear anything about Jackson’s performance at all during the week, but next time you are watching the 49ers, do me a favor. Keep an eye out for #22 on special teams. This guy gets little publicity, but he is a valuable member of the Niner’s special teams. Do you remember having to look away every time the 49er’s were covering punts and kickoffs last season? The Dallas game comes to mind and there were so many more examples. Well if you were like me, then you saw 3rd string fullback Terry Jackson listed under "out" on the injury report a lot last year and thought "who cares". If this guy goes down again, it will be a major blow to the 49ers chances at the NFC West crown.