From: mzimmers@netcom.com (Michael Zimmers)
Subject: Re: Ho Home field in the NFC
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 00:37:16 GMT

In article <1992Dec15.202756.1@vxcrna.cern.ch> bonvicin@vxcrna.cern.ch writes:

>In article <1992Dec14.002038.3238@netcom.com> Michael Zimmers writes:

>>In article <1992Dec13.235928.1@vxcrna.cern.ch> bonvicin@vxcrna.cern.ch writes

>>>It is possible that the 9ers are not much better this year than last year,

>>Are you nuts?  Ricky Watters by himself makes this a better team.

>Not really. An All-Pro RB is just as valuable as an All-Pro safety

Your point?  What all-pro safety did the Niners have last year?

>(like that old Raider guy...). Do you think a team ranked 27th against the
>pass (last time I saw rankings) can win the SB? Defense is what will make or
>break the 9ers playoffs.

I couldn't agree more with your assessment of defensive importance.  But
as I noted in another post, using just yardage to rank a team can yield
some very misleading rankings.  The Niners may not have the defense to 
win it all, but they're still better than last year.

>> The OL is playing better. 

>The OL without Barton is worse. Young was sacked ten times in MN.

No.  The OL is currently as good as last year.  When Barton returns,
they will be much better.  They'll even get better as Mann gets a
bit of experience under his belt.

>The offense has always been great. Special teams are mediocre as always. 
>They gave up the ball at the goal line. The other statements are certainly 
>true and important...

The offense is better this year than last.  By far.  The breakdown on the
punt notwithstanding, special teams is still far ahead of last year.
Cofer's percentage is way up.  Punting is improved.

>The 9ers were 2-6 last year in games decided by less than a TD. This year
>they are 6-1 or 7-1 (don't remember the score @Jets). This is the difference
>between a 10-6 and a 12-2 team. The defense is worse, and that is more
>important than the running game. Most other numbers (PF/PA, Yds, QB ratings,
>etc.) are similar. We have had help from turnovers in the last minutes to
>beat LA and NE, smart decision making by Hebert twice, a first down short
>by 2 inches, and Gannon playing a' la Hebert. Last year, one would get Hail
>Marys instead. Last year, we were really the only team that could stop
>the 'skins. This year, we are the best of a well balanced lot. A bad 
>break (like 1983) or bad game (1987, 1990) in the playoffs can easily happen
>with this team, unlike other 9ers teams of recent past. Let's just keep 
>our finger crossed and hope that Dallas and NO beat each other senseless.

Perhaps the source of our disagreement is that you're comparing this
year's team to last year's end-of-season squad.  You'd be close to 
valid in saying the two are comparable.

But last year's Niners stumbled, fumbled and bumbled through the first
ten games of the year, digging themselves a hole from which even the Boys
of December couldn't emerge.  This year's team has had two lousy games
and won one of them.  They are *better*.  It still may not be enough to
win it all, but they are better.



-- 
Michael Zimmers                                    |  Home:  408 996 1984
SoftHelp                                           |  Work:  408 996 1965
Software Solutions for Open Systems                |  Data:  408 996 1974
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