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Posts: 1925
02/04/13 06:34 PM
Who's got it better than us? NOBODY!
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02/04/13 06:44 PM
Head Jackal
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02/04/13 07:16 PM
International Man of Mystery
02/04/13 08:15 PM
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hmmmmmm.....
02/04/13 08:17 PM
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02/04/13 08:18 PM
Niners, 'Bama & Biscuits
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02/04/13 08:26 PM
Grand Poobah
02/04/13 08:35 PM
02/04/13 08:43 PM
Colin Kaepernick has less than a full season of starting experience under his belt, but the San Francisco 49ers quarterback is already acting like a leader. Despite strong play throughout the playoffs, he was willing to take the heat for the Super Bowl defeat. "I feel like I made too many mistakes for us to win," Kaepernick said, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. He also mentioned the team's feeling as they were driving to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, saying, "I think that last drive when we got the ball and had time to go down and score a touchdown, we thought it was our game." Of course, the 49ers weren't able to convert on that drive, and the Baltimore Ravens secured the Lombardi Trophy. The non-call in the corner of the end zone on fourth down, which could have been holding or pass interference, will be debated for weeks, but the result will remain the same. Although there are a couple throws Kaepernick would like back, including the interception by Ed Reed that sailed high, it's hard to pin the blame on him. He still had a strong game overall against a defense that was clearly ready for the Pistol formation after two weeks of preparation. The second-year quarterback's emergence is the main reason why the 49ers reached the title game to begin with. He transformed the offense from serviceable to explosive, establishing himself as a rising star in the process. There's plenty of blame to go around for San Francisco, starting with a secondary that allowed too many key plays and conversions to Joe Flacco and Co. But all good leaders are willing to take the fall for their teammates. Kaepernick did, and deserves credit for it both inside and outside the locker room. It will probably take a couple days for 49ers fans to recover from the loss, especially after fighting back to within five yards of the lead. But there's still plenty to be excited about from this season. And it all starts with Kaepernick, even if you want to pin the final loss on him like he did himself.
02/04/13 08:48 PM
NEW ORLEANS - Colin Kaepernick finished 5 yards short of a Joe Montana finish, and close doesn't count when you're measuring immortality. Five yards short might as well be five million, because there's only one Montana and there are all kinds of guys who have fallen short. Nobody knew that better than Kaepernick himself in the minutes after the 49ers' frenetic 34-31 loss to Baltimore in Super Bowl XLVII. He came to his assigned podium. He sat in the chair. He answered the questions. And his entire mood was clear: The 49ers blew one, and the 49ers aren't supposed to do that in the Super Bowl. Any Super Bowl. Ever. How long will this sting, Colin? "For the rest of my life," Kaepernick said sharply. He added a slight questioning tone at the end of that answer, as if he wasn't 100 percent sure about the eternal pain of this one but could guess. Montana's drive to win Super Bowl XXIII is a piece of NFL and 49ers legend. And so are Montana's three other titles and the one by Steve Young. This is a forever-miss on Kaepernick's ledger; he's the first 49ers QB to lose a Super Bowl, and there's no getting away from it. But then the 49ers' young quarterback tossed in a note for the future, and to signify that the anger of this defeat will drive him and this franchise to larger things. What were you thinking after this game ended? "That we'll be back," Kaepernick said. And even in defeat, Kaepernick showed why he's probably right, and why he's probably most of the reason. Actually, Kaepernick could've one-upped Montana on Sunday - he was rallying back from a 22-point deficit, something Montana never did (or had to do). Kaepernick put up some nice stats (16 for 28 passing, 302 yards, 1 touchdown pass, 1 TD run, 62 rushing yards), and clearly was the 49ers' most dangerous offensive weapon for the third consecutive playoff game. And Kaepernick rallied the 49ers back from that 28-6 deficit early in the third quarter with a flurry of scores and big plays, all coming after a 34-minute delay caused by a Superdome blackout. "He's never shown any hints of being rattled, any hint of being uncomfortable on the football field - and he showed that exact kind of character today," 49ers left tackle Joe Staley said. "Our future is very bright with Colin." But Kaepernick, in his 10th NFL start, also threw a key interception on an overthrow of Randy Moss and looked generally shaky in the first half, which helped put the 49ers in that big hole. His interception was the first one ever thrown by a 49ers QB in a Super Bowl - and this is their sixth one. "I feel like I made too many mistakes for us to win," Kaepernick said. At the end, though, Kaepernick had a chance to tie it with a two-point conversion midway through the fourth quarter, and didn't (incomplete pass intended for Moss). Then the 49ers offense got the ball back with 4:19 left, down 34-29, with everything set up for glory. "On that last drive when we got the ball, we had time to go down and score a touchdown, we thought it was our game," Kaepernick said. It was an echo of Montana's epic drive in Super Bowl XXIII, when the 49ers got the ball back with 3:10 left, needing a TD to win, and Montana found John Taylor for the game-winner at the end. This time, you expected the 49ers to find a way to let Kaepernick run it, at least once. But on first-and-goal he handed it to LaMichael James; on second and third downs he threw incomplete to Crabtree. Coach Jim Harbaugh said the 49ers had one run-option called for Kaepernick in this series. Kaepernick said it was in before the timeout, when Harbaugh called the TO as the play -clock wound down. And on fourth down, Kaepernick said he audibled into the lob to Crabtree that fell incomplete after some bumping and grabbing by the Ravens' Jimmy Smith. Harbaugh screamed for a penalty, and it looked like there was plenty enough contact to merit a flag. But none came. Harbaugh said he felt Kaepernick played well in this game all the way through the final pass. "I think he was making good throws the entire game," Harbaugh said. "In my opinion (the last) series should have continued (if a penalty had been called)." Were Kaepernick's teammates surprised the QB didn't get a chance to run it at least once near the goal line? "A little surprised," safety Donte Whitner said. "But it's coach's call. I guess they wanted to get the ball to Crabtree." I asked Kaepernick if he was surprised he didn't get a run call, and he said the 49ers were just trying to find a play to get the TD. This was Kaepernick's chance to be a Super Bowl hero - almost certainly the MVP, and join the 49ers' QB gods. Instead, Baltimore QB Joe Flacco was the Super Bowl MVP, while Kaepernick slumped in his chair and answered questions about why he lost. "I didn't (do enough)," Kaepernick said. "We lost. So obviously it wasn't enough." He was 5 yards short - one play, one moment, and that's what separates the NFL gods from everybody else. Kaepernick almost crossed into Valhalla on Sunday, which can feel worse than never getting close at all. At least until you get the chance again, and then win.
02/04/13 08:53 PM
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02/04/13 09:45 PM
02/04/13 09:48 PM
Posts: 3953
02/04/13 09:53 PM
Colorado Springs
02/04/13 09:56 PM
Posts: 2641
02/04/13 10:21 PM
the Dude abides
02/04/13 10:30 PM
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