49ers Rock This Season!

[JonathanLB]

Man, two poor years as a 49ers fan, and already they're back on track for the playoffs. From 6-10 to 6-2.

ESPN rates the Niners B+ through the first half of the season.

The first-half MVP of the entire league? JEFF GARCIA -- San Fran!

Montana, Young, Garcia? You bet your butt! Everyone said that Garcia didn't fit and boy were we in trouble. Then, a funny thing happened, Garcia went out and ran one of the best offenses in the league last year (defense led them to a 6-10 record) and had one of the highest QB ratings and I believe the most TD passes too. Through the first half of the season, Garcia has the second highest QB rating, second highest completion percentage, tied for the most TD passes, and is stastically better at the same point in his career than BOTH Steve Young and Joe Montana.

Montana won multiple superbowls and is a living legend -- the greatest quarterback of all time, I would say without hesitation. Young is a personal favorite of mine, though, because when I was old enough to appreciate football I was watching the Niners and Steve Young the most (I first watched Montana, though).

The Niners are uniquelly fortunate at the quarterback position. They have always had the best and the brightest quarterbacks, a tradition which is definitely not ending anytime very soon.

If the Niners can build upon the team they already have, establish a better defense even than they have now, add another great receiver (Owens is already the best in the league -- Moss and Carter are becoming has-beens with those lousy Vikings), and start putting everything together, they could easily be a Super Bowl team.

People talk about how close St. Louis was to being 8-0. Yeah, whatever! The NINERS were close to 8-0 too. They lost by four points to St. Louis and can certainly beat that team (they will have another chance, but at St. Louis -- tough). Then they lost an OT game to the Bears that they never should have let get into OT. Niners were just a couple plays from being 8-0 and the league's best team. The ESPN power rankings with them in 8th place are grossly incorrect. The Raiders would stand no chance against the Niners and are ranked higher, same goes with Miami and several other teams.

With one of the best running backs around, Garrison Hearst, the best receiver in the NFL today, Terrell Owens, and the best quarterback in the game today, Jeff Garcia, the Niners have returned to prominence! :shootin

Kurt Warner is great, Garcia is better. Just give him time. This guy wants to prove he stands with Young and Montana and all he needs is a Super Bowl or two to prove it. :)

[Figrin D'an]

'k... someone likes the Niners... :)

IMO, the first half MVP is Jerome Bettis. Without him, there is no way that the Steelers are 6-2 and in first place in the AFC Central. Favre and Garcia are other candidates, Warner would be if he hadn't thrown so many picks in the last two games. Curtis Martin and Ahman Green are overlooked as well... Green actually leads the league in yards from schrimage (combined rushing/receiving).

I think the reason why the Niners are 8th in the Power Rankings is based upon their competition thus far this season. Their wins have come against Atlanta (twice), NY Jets, Carolina, Detroit and New Orleans. Other than New Orleans, which gave the Niners a hell of a game in San Fran, the rest of those teams are pretty bad, except for the Jets, which are decent. The remainder of the Niners schedule will really show us if they are for real or not. They play at St. Louis, host Miami and Philadelphia, and go to New Orleans (all will be very tough games).

As long as the Niners don't screw up bigtime, they should be a playoff team. It seems like the race for home field advantage in the NFC, though, is between the Rams and the Packers.

The AFC is too jumbled to judge at this point. Miami has looked good, but they got mauled by the Rams. The Raiders seemed to be the most balanced and complete team in the AFC, but then they gave up 266 yards rushing to Shaun Alexander and lost to Seattle. The Steelers are off to a good start, their passing game is still suspect. Right now, it's anyones race...

[JMK]

Glad to see the Dolphins having another strong first half. I hope they can stay strong in the second half and through the playoffs instead of getting blown out...

[JonathanLB]

The niners have yet another easy game coming up versus the lowly Panthers.

They have about five pretty hard games in a row, looking at their schedule, but if they can pull out 3 wins from those, maybe 4, they would really be doing well.

I thought this was still a rebuilding year, but in fact the Niners have a chance to go pretty far. They will make the playoffs in all likelihood and maybe even make it past the first round, you never know.

I think the Niners can beat any team on the right day with the right focus, but they're not the best team in the league of course.

The Rams, though, are not unstoppable. They are quite beatable.

[Jedieb]

I like the Dolphins, but they're going to fade. They do the same thing year after year. Sorry JMK. :(

The Rams are the best team in the league right now. When you turn the ball over 8 friggin' times and STILL have a chance to win a game then you're obviously a freakishly talented team. I like the Steelers in AFC. If I had to rank each conference it'd go like this:

NFC
1. Rams
2. Packers
3. Niners (It's nice to see San Francisco's Gay community have a hometown hero playing QB for them. It's soooo San Francisco!) ;)

AFC
1. Steelers
2. Raiders
3. Ravens

The Worst
1. My Cowboys
2. Panthers
3. The Bills (Stupid Bills they brought this on themselves. Surprise, surprise, Rob Johnson is out of the line up with an injury! How could this have happened?! Stupid Bills!
4. Lions (They're winless, but they can score some points.)

[JonathanLB]

You are funny Jedieb. :)

I am a huge Niners fan, I don't care if they have a super high number of gay people in the city. I mean, I have been there once or twice, and it's a pretty city despite the homos. Also, the Niners have a great history. They're a remarkable sports franchise and have been such a great team for so long, I mean before this recent rebuilding in the last two years, but even so look how quickly they are back.

Rams are the best team now, no doubt about it. I am just saying they are beatable, more so than I felt the Ravers were at the end of last season or the Titans, for instance, or the Vikings of several years ago, or the Broncos that same year. I mean, for "the best team" the Rams are not so amazingly good that other teams should roll over and die... If you get my meaning.

[JonathanLB]

Was that a game or what?! That was probably the best comeback of the entire season. It was incredible!

Miracle after miracle. Niners come back with one second left to tie the game, then win in OT! Man, Niners are awesome this season. Winners find a way to make it happen, and even though they were playing an inferior team and hadn't had a good day, they found a way to win.

[BUFFJEDI]

What there are HOMO"S in SAN.franO_o


I tell you the Niner's got so lucky agian the panther's. there luck can't hold forever.

[Jedi Master Carr]

You should have kept ranking the worst teams Jedieb, I would have included my Chiefs 5 worst. They are having a bad year too, they got Vermil and they got worst. I guess they are compltely terrible they have lost 4 close games some of them at the very end and the other problem is their QB, Green just has been erratic he throws a great pass and then throws an INT in the endzone. Oh well I guess if they don't prove next year both Vermil and the GM (he brought him in) will both be out.
I also think the superbowl is wide open you also go the Bears out there who have been playing great, the Jets and Patriots are surprises too but I think it will be St Louis vs Pittsburg right now. I am not sure if the Steelers can win with Stewart at QB, although he has surprised me a lot this year.

[JonathanLB]

Wrong team man. Niners aren't lucky, they are incredibly skillful. The Bears are lucky. That team is so lucky every week, it's incredible.

The Niners came back against the Panthers because Caroline is a terrible team, for one, and second, the Niners are very good this year at late-game heroics and they are led by an awesome QB, Jeff Garcia. The best in the league right now. Kurt Warner does not compare.

They are already talking about Garcia for MVP, and rightfully so -- he's the best.