Niners could be turning the page--back to 1981

 They keep winning. The excitement keeps growing. Isn’t that the way it should be?

   Isn’t that the way it was the magical year of 1981 when the 49ers turned the corner, went from the team that never could to the team that that always did, the team of the decade.

  Now it may be time to turn the page, back not forward, back to the days of Super Joe and Dwight Hicks and the Hot Licks, back to memories which make one think of possibilities.

   So the Niners are 5-0. No one expects them to get to the Super Bowl, much less win it. The same way in ’81 no one expected this franchise which in the 35 years since its founding hadn’t won a championship of any sort.

  Those’81 Niners had a third-year coach who was an offensive—well, the word “genius” was used quite a bit, over time, at least. Those ’81 Niners had a defense which, thanks to Dan Bunz and Hacksaw Reynolds, made a couple of huge goal-line stands. Those ’81 Niners kept winning while the doubters kept waiting for them to lose.

  Shanahan isn’t Bill Walsh (either is anybody else) but that’s irrelevant.  He’s doing what Walsh did, taking a team that was a loser (well, since 2016) and making it a winner—with the assistance of that defense,  that young quarterback (Jimmy Garoppolo, 24 of 33 for 243 yards) and a running back somewhat unrecognized ( Tevin Coleman, 18 carries, 45 yards and a touchdown).

  Yet, the way the Niners won this game against a good Rams team (It did get to the Super Bowl in February) is exactly the way the Niners won the game the week before against a bad Browns team. By stopping the other guys.

   The observation has been made here and everywhere: You win on defense. As the late John McKay, who went from Rose Bowls with USC to virtual self-immolation with the expansion Tampa Bay Bucs, who lost their first 26 NFL games, correctly pointed out, “You win on defense. If the other team doesn’t score you’ll never get worse than a 0-0 tie.”

  The Rams scored Sunday on their opening drive to lead the 49ers, 7-0, with much of the first quarter unplayed. And then they never scored again. Even when they had the ball inside the Niners’ one.

  The Rams were 0-for-9 on third down. The Rams were 0-for-4 on fourth down. Jared Goff, the Rams quarterback, the kid from Cal and Marin Catholic High, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, didn’t even throw for 80 yards.

  Yes, the Rams were without their top running back, Todd Gurley and a few other injured players. But good teams overcome the problems, which is why they are good teams. Maybe the Rams don’t belong in that ranking. Without question, the 49ers do.

  The season has weeks to go. There are two games against Seattle, and those could be ones that derail the Niners. However, that shouldn’t derail the fans.

   “Faithful then, faithful now,” is the phrase painted on Levi’s Stadium, words meant to link past, the glorious ‘80s and 1995 (Steve Young’s Super Bowl season) with the present.  Kind of humorous. A few years ago, maybe around 2010, the Harbaugh years, those in charge tried to dissuade the media from using that slogan.

  But it’s back. So are the Niners. Those who stayed faithful or have become faithful should find that faith and dedication rewarded. The Coliseum Sunday was full of red-shirted Niners fans, as was Anaheim Stadium in the 1980s when it was home to the Rams, and the Niners were the best in pro football.

  They haven’t reached that level at the moment—the Patriots keep rolling—but the Niners are heading in the right direction.