San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Will scoring rampage continue vs. Seattle?
In the first game against the Seahawks, Charvarius Ward kept DK Metcalf in check in man coverage. Do we see that again, or does Metcalf expose some cracks in the Niners’ secondary?
Ann
Killion:
Charvarius Ward is having a fantastic season and coming off an outstanding game in Philadelphia with four pass breakups. But keeping a player of DK Metcalf’s ability in check in two straight games is a tall order. I believe the entire Seahawks team was frustrated by its poor performance at home against its bitter rival, and that Sunday’s game will be far more competitive.
Eric Branch:
The 49ers surely will stick with what was successful: Ward traveled with Metcalf exclusively before suffering leg cramps late in the third quarter, the biggest reason Metcalf was limited to a season-low 32 receiving yards on three catches. But that lockdown performance could be hard to replicate. Metcalf didn’t practice because of a toe injury leading up to their Thanksgiving game (plus QB Geno Smith was four days removed from suffering a triceps injury) and he has won his matchup against Ward in the recent past: Metcalf caught four of five passes for 85 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown, with Ward covering him in the 49ers’ wild-card win in January.
Michael Silver:
It all depends upon what co-defensive coordinators John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan decree. Yes, that was sarcasm, though tinged with truth: Ward said after the Thanksgiving game that the decision to have him travel with Metcalf was made after Lynch and Shanahan discussed it, presumably overriding defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. That said, whoever’s calling most of the defensive shots (and that’s almost certainly Wilks) has been on a roll lately. The Seahawks likely will move Metcalf around in an attempt to free him up; however, given Geno Smith’s groin injury, it’s also possible Drew Lock will be the one trying to get him the ball.
A question for the fantasyfootball degenerates out there: Which 49ers’ skill position player is your pick to click? Deebo Samuel has been on a roll, but could it be the turn of Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk?
Killion:
I am not a fantasyfootball degenerate. I never play fantasy football. I defer to my esteemed degenerate colleagues. But I would always pick McCaffrey because he scores in every game he plays (except for one).
Samuel. This isn’t recency bias on the heels of his 138yard, three-touchdown, fantasypalooza performance against the Eagles. It’s based on the 49ers’ opponent. In six career games against the Seahawks, including last season’s wild-card win, Samuel
Branch:
has 39 catches for 626 yards, 134 yards on 14 carries and has scored six touchdowns. That said, no one should be removing McCaffrey, Kittle or Aiyuk from their starting lineups (I know, duh). They combined for 247 total yards and two touchdowns against the Eagles while Samuel went bananas.
Play the Niners’ defense if you’ve got it — this might be a Drew Lock game. On the offensive side, I’d look to Kittle and McCaffrey as the most likely point-compilers … not that any of it matters to the dude actually calling the plays (Shanahan) or running the offense (Purdy), who are striving for the opposite of fantasy-football success: score by any means necessary.
Silver: Breaking away from this week’s matchup for a moment, what’s your favorite Robbie Gould memory now that the placekicker has called it quits?
Killion:
My favorite memory of Gould was Jan. 22, 2022, in Green Bay. Treacherous conditions. Freezing cold. Snow on the field. Seconds ticking off the clock. The crowd howling for him to miss. The ball probably felt like kicking a frozen turkey. Gould nailed the 45-yarder, no problem. It was dramatic. It was clutch. It was an example of why Gould is arguably the greatest postseason kicker of all time. And 49ers fans must hope big Gould moments like that don’t come back to haunt them in the postseason.
As Gould mentioned in his Players’ Tribune article announcing his retirement, he made a habit of inventing slights if none existed to keep him properly
Branch:
fueled and focused throughout his 18-season career. And his penchant for being aggrieved for dubious reasons seemingly extended to reporters, including … me! That is, we had an up-anddown relationship during Gould’s six seasons with the 49ers. Still, it wasn’t all contentious. In 2019, I wrote a story about his relationship with his younger brother, Chris, who was then a special-teams coach with the Broncos, and Robbie was appreciative and perhaps even touched. Alas, the warm-andfuzzy moment didn’t last.
When it comes to kicker-payback games, Gould is an all-timer. It’s almost as if he has a direct karmic channel to the football gods. Stung by his exit from Chicago, Gould returned to Soldier Field in 2017, his first year with the Niners, and scored all of S.F.’s points, going 5-for-5 on field-goal attempts. The last of those, with four seconds remaining,
Silver:
Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle gave the Niners a 15-14 victory, after which Gould naturally trash-talked the Bears’ sideline. He was also present at Soldier Field for the double-doink by one of his ill-fated successors, Cody Parkey, which doomed the Bears to a loss in the playoffs after the 2018 season. Gould witnessed the errant kick from a luxury suite across from the right upright. Of course he did.
Finally, predictions, do the 49ers let this become a trap game, or do they take down the Seahawks and keep chugging toward the playoffs?
Killion:
The 49ers learned about trap games the hard way in Cleveland. This should not be as treacherous a pitfall: The 49ers are at home, their body clocks won’t need to be reset, the weather is supposed to be dry. Still, the rested Seahawks were humiliated by the 49ers a little more than two weeks ago and will be eager for redemption. But I’m back to
Stephen Brashear/Associated Press thinking the 49ers are the best team in football so:
Seahawks 21. Branch:
49ers 30,
The Seahawks (6-6), on a three-game losing streak that has jeopardized their playoff chances, will arrive desperate and rested, last playing Nov. 30. Meanwhile, the 49ers are coming off a circled-on-the-calendar game. with the Eagles and just beat Seattle by 18 points — on the road. Still, my sense from my time in the locker room this week is that the 49ers are keenly aware of how their 42-10 win over the Cowboys in Week 5 created a sense of invulnerability that played a role in their subsequent three-game losing streak. Seattle will keep it close and cover — the 49ers are 10.5-point favorites — but will lose their fourth straight (including playoffs) to the NFC West rival they recently owned.
49ers 27, Seahawks 19.
Silver:
Pete Carroll, the pride of Greenbrae, is so good at this. Even when seemingly overmatched, he has a knack for keeping the Seahawks competitive — remember how Seattle took a lead into halftime of the two teams’ playoff matchup at Levi’s in January? Things got away from the Seahawks on Thanksgiving night, but I expect this matchup to be much closer. The 49ers are the better team, but they’re going to have to fight for everything, even if Drew Locks plays.
49ers 24, Seahawks 23.
It’s holiday gift-giving time, and the gift we’re giving to Bay Area sports team owners is the gift of suggesting gifts they can give to the fans who support their teams, allowing those owners to wallow in money and fame.
Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher
John, because you’re going to be around next season — we mean your team will be around; we have no idea where you’ll hang your hat — give A’s fans the gift of entertainment.
You have assembled an organization capable of losing games at an epic clip, 112 losses last season. Impressive! Also depressing, to the players, A’s fans and baseball in general. Here’s how you can make next season’s spectacle more entertaining, and actually save money: an all-rookie, minimum-salary roster. Yes, your A’s will lose more games than ever, but watching rookies struggle and sometimes succeed will be more fun than watching low-paid journeymen plod.
Rookies represent hope, which is what you have taken away from your team. Give some back!
Your rookie squad’s enthusiasm and energy will be infectious. The daily David versus Goliath spectacle will be riveting. Each victory will call for (cheap) Champagne. You could bring in camera crews and make the season a reality show.
It’s gimmicky, but so is what you’ve been doing, which is pretending to field a real baseball team.
If you worry that an allrookie team might catch on and lure fans to the Coliseum, undercutting your efforts to portray Oakland as a lousy and unsupportive baseball town, simply triple your ticket prices and parking fees. And bring in more possums. Empty stands will make the spectacle even more theatrical. With the money you save, John, tear down the Coliseum’s Mount Davis. We got you an estimate, it would cost about $10 million, and what a lovely parting gift. You could conduct the demo operation during games; everyone loves to watch a wrecking ball in action.
San Francisco Giants principal owner Charles Johnson
Oh, my goodness, Charles, this is such a golden opportunity for you! And so easy.
All you have to do is buy the shuttered Anchor Steam brewery on Potrero Hill, purchase the brand, and bring that beloved brew back to life. Anchor Steam, owned by Sapporo, shut down operations this year and announced that the two buildings, and the brand, are for sale. You can get both the buildings for around $40 million. The price for the brand is unknown, but you have dough.
“Everybody’s rooting for somebody to step up and buy the whole package, to bring back Anchor Steam Beer in some form,” said Sam Singer, who is heading up PR for the sale. “If someone comes along and makes an offer for the whole kit and kaboodle, (Sapporo) would be thrilled.”
The way to a baseball fan’s heart is through his or her beer-entry portal. In recent years, Charles, you haven’t exactly been killing it in terms of earning the affection and respect of Giants fans. This is your chance.
Many Giants fans think of you as the absentee owner who spends their ticket and beer money trying to elect people who want to attend lynchings and who rail at the threat of space lasers.
By buying Anchor, an idea proposed by reader Mike Muir, you would re-create hundreds of blue-collar jobs, give San Francisco a jolt of pride, and help reverse the city’s doom loop. Hey, one variety of Anchor Steam Beer could be named Doom Loop.
San Francisco 49ers President Jed York (son of team owner Denise DeBartoloYork)
This is an easy one for you too, Jed. It will cost you a few dollars, no doubt, but you’ll still have enough income to get by on the mean streets of Los Altos Hills, and you could regain the respect of 49ers fans.
Simply dismantle the arm of your business dedicated to controlling, bullying and shortchanging the folks of the city that gave your team a new home, Santa Clara.
Buying control of a city council is a bad look. The secret meetings with those council people, the lack of transparency with the city that actually owns the stadium, they send out a disturbing message.
You are sitting on the NFL’s story of the year, Jed, your team speeding toward the Super Bowl. It would be a shame if you arrive and the national media fixates on the unflattering backroom wheeling and dealing.
Give your fans what your uncle Eddie DeBartolo touted and you have espoused: winning with class.
Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob
You’ve already given Bay Area basketball fans a great gift, Joe, by landing a WNBA expansion franchise.
It’s something you’ve wanted for a long time, and so have local fans.
Now all you have to do is make your new team a women’s team. Your general manager and head coach, and most key people in the new organization, should be women. Women coaches and administrators have been overlooked and underappreciated forever, but that tide is slowly turning and you need to be riding that wave.
For a general manager, we suggest Alana Beard, the retired WNBA guard/forward who would have headed up operations for a WNBA team in Oakland, had the African American Sports and Entertainment Group landed the Bay Area WNBA franchise. Beard’s qualifications are superb.
For a head coach, you have to at least consider Tara VanDerveer. If she’s too old at 70, don’t tell the pollsters who have her current Cardinal team in the nation’s top 10, that despite Stanford’s rejection of the modern tools of collegiate athletic survival.
Maybe VanDerveer has no desire to coach a pro team, but you have to kick her tires. And there are plenty of other great candidates.
You have a solid track record in women’s basketball, Joe, having been a primary investor and team owner in the American Basketball League (1996-98), which preceded and set the table for the WNBA.
Keep that ball rollin’, Joe.