A Rock

It seemed like a byproduct of the whole, "head down, next play" approach. The team was very good considering that was the strategy seemingly 100 percent of the time. I never sensed the team was prepared for adversity, and any opponent good enough to elevate the matchup to "big game status", is not going to be locked into that strategy like we were. It always bit us in the ass. Remember all those gadget plays from the "star wars offense", in 2015? That was all fine and good, but I'd have much preferred the team having some 4th and short plays ready to go rather than taking a timeout, letting their defense catch their breath, than committing a false start out of that timeout and punting anyway.

AJ and Chad with a ten year case of laryngitis starting in 2001.

Statistically this team has definitely had it's strong eras, but stats don't tell the whole story, do they? I believe it's the squandering of opportunities that has solidified the team's negative rep. For me it dates back to the two Super Bowl losses in the 80's. Certainly respectable performances by the team, but also heartbreaking, very winnable games. Mitigating circumstances like running backs going on crack benders, star linemen having their leg snapped by notorious, unchecked, chop blocking 49ers. There's many more examples of inexplicable self sabotage and just plain bad luck over the years. The Lewis era didn't help the rep of getting the minimum out of some strong contenders. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, and the bigger the stage the worse it seemed to be (see 2015). The team may not need to go all the way to get more respect, but not self destructing and having a little good fortune for a change in big games would help. A dramatic last minute playoff win could do wonders, even if the team got smoked the next week.

While it's a breath of fresh air to hear anyone in the hierarchy of this organization talk about this stuff, it's also odd how they're talking like they've stumbled onto something new. Any sport where the game ends when the clock expires, the coaching is extremely situational as you're trying to catch up or protect a lead. Always has been. If this is their way of saying they're going to do what was sorely lacking for years here, good. Hope they do.

What they've always loved is getting away with outrageously dirty bullshit on the field, and at worst paying a fine off the field. Unlike us.