Niners running toward the Super Bowl

By Art Spander

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — This was back in the 1980s, when another 49ers team of another era — a very good one at that — hit the road and got hit, 17-3, in a playoff game by the New York Giants.

The Niners were unable to move the ball against the defense and the weather.

That was when the New York coach, Bill Parcells, sneered at the system of Niners coach Bill Walsh, giving it a name, contending in so many words, “Back here when it gets cold and windy, that West Coast offense doesn’t work. You’ve got to be able to run the ball.”

It doesn’t really matter what the conditions are. A team always needs to run the ball. Maybe not as emphatically as the Niners, the 2020 Niners, did Saturday, defeating the Minnesota Vikings, 27-10, in their NFC Divisional playoff win, but run frequently and consistently.

For all the talk about how the NFL has morphed into a passing league, the run remains the essence of football. You take the ball and virtually shove it through the other team. Then do it again. And again, building your momentum and wearing down the opposition.

Never mind balance, this is battering. The Niners ran the ball 47 times. In one third-quarter-sequence, they ran it eight plays in a row and scored.

It was football out of the 50s, the old Woody Hayes game at Ohio State, three yards and a cloud of dust. It was boring. It was beautiful. It was successful.

It also helped keep the ball from the Vikings; the time of possession was a highly disproportionate 38 minutes and 27 seconds for the Niners compared to 21 minutes and 33 seconds for Minnesota.

“I think 47 rushes is pretty good, right?” was Niners tight end George Kittle’s assessment. “I personally feel we don’t run the ball enough every single week.”

They’ll have another chance Sunday in the NFC Championship game against either Seattle or Green Bay, each of which the 14-3 Niners defeated during the regular season.

San Francisco was the No. 1 NFC seed in the postseason, so it didn’t have to be cute — why take chances when you’re favored? — only dominant.

“We’ve been playing good football all year,” said Kittle. “People keep telling us we’re not very good.”

What they can say now is the Niners are one game away from the Super Bowl.

And one reason is the young quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who obviously passed infrequently (the Niners throwing a mere 19 times, completing 11 for 131 yards).

But on this afternoon when Levi’s Stadium hosted its first postseason game, and when the seats at last were packed with fans, many chanting “Defense, defense,” Garoppolo showed a skill unknown for many quarterbacks.

On one of the 47 runs, a run by Debo Samuel, Garoppolo was a blocker.

“I saw an opportunity,” said Garoppolo. “He was a little off balance. Had to get a pancake.” That’s the term for flattening a potential tackler.

On the other side, Niners cornerback Richard Sherman figuratively flattened all Vikings hopes with an interception, which led to the repetitive runs that resulted in the third-period touchdown.

“It’s that complementary football,” said Garoppolo, linking the defense to the offense and the offense to the defense.

And having the crowd linked to everything. It’s been a while since the Niners created so much excitement in Northern California. Since the last Super Bowl victory, the Warriors became the best team in the NBA and the Giants won three World Series. Now we've got the Niners renaissance.

“I was pumped up with the defense,” said Niners coach Kyle Shanahan, who then spoke of the offense.

“We had a pre-game goal,” said Shanahan. “We thought the team that got over 30 runs would win this game.”

It did, easily.

“We knew coming into the season we had a chance to compete in every game,” said Shanahan. “Now I can’t wait to watch these games Sunday to find out who we’re playing.”

Kittle has a day like no Niners tight end ever

 SANTA CLARA, Calif.—The 49ers have been pummeled lately, not  only on the field, where it’s most noticeable, but in the media for their first-round draft picks from 2017. Solomon Thomas, who has underachieved, and Reuben Foster, who’s been arrested for domestic violence.

 But in the fifth round of that same draft the Niners made what now appears to be a brilliant choice, George Kittle, who can catch anything but with speed belying his position as tight end is difficult to catch—as his 85-yard touchdown play Sunday made clear.

   Ted Kwalick played tight end for the Niners. So did Brent Jones. But they never had a game like Kittle. His 210 receiving yards on seven catches in the 20-14 upset of the Denver Broncos was a team record and only four yards short of the NFL mark of 214 set by Shannon Sharpe in 2014.

And all of Kittle’s catches Sunday were in the first half.
  “He’s dynamic,” Niners cornerback Richard Sherman said of Kittle. “I don’t think he gets enough credit for how athletic he is. His lateral movement is deceptive. He’s got a ton of speed. He’s just guys one-on-one.
  “He goes out there full speed and plays as d as anybody I’ve ever met, and not just in the pass game. He’ll pancake guys (as a blocker). He’ll run and never complain about anything.  He can block 20 times in a row and not complain. He’ll catch 20 passes and be the same guy. It’s infectious.”

  It’s also understandable. A fifth-rounder is always trying to prove himself, especially when as a receiver he came from a program, University of Iowa, that like so many Midwest schools, throws reluctantly.

“Maybe they just ran the ball at Iowa,” quipped Sherman.

 They don’t just run it with the Niners, but they run it now and then. San Francisco had 84 yards rushing—as opposed to 305 passing. Denver had 103 rushing and 171 passing. Yes, as much as Kittle and the offense, including free agent quarterback Nick Mullens were big part of the their overall record to 3-10, the defense was a key. As always in a win.

 In the first half, the Niners held the Broncos to 65 yards and zero points. And as has been pointed out so frequently, and meaningfully, if the other team doesn’t score you can’t lose. It they only score 14 in the second half after you’ve built a 20-0 lead it’s also very hard to lose.

  Kittle had 210 yards receiving by himself before the half.

Asked what happened in the second half, Kittle gave the answer coaches most like to hear, “We won.”

  Sherman said he ranks Kittle with Travis Kelce as the NFL’s best tight end. And indication the off-season work Kittle has put in is paying off.

"Obviously I want to be the best as a tight end," said Kittle told ESPN during training camp. "I get on the field, I feel like it's an opportunity to show that I can play football and I'm good at my job and I deserve to keep my job. ... There's comparisons everywhere, but if I can go out and show that I'm the best me, and I can ball and prove to myself that I can play really well and prove to Coach [Kyle] Shanahan and my tight end coach that I'm playing well and I'm the best one and they need me, then I'm satisfied."

They were satisfied Sunday. So was Kittle.

  “All the confidence is coaching that gives me opportunities,” said Kittle.

  “When you capitalize on those and you get the ball, it jus builds confidence. You start feeling it, and then you have the quarterback getting you the ball. That’s all that really matters.”

   Not all, but remember he’s only in his second year.