If your going to San Francisco, be sure to wear flowers in your hair

[tsylvester]

Sorry, couldn't resist, the little man that lives inside my head and has control of the juke box loves oldies....

Yes, the two best teams, record wise, maybe even true wise, meet up on Christmas night.

Ravens take one last long road trip of this regular season, and another game filled with distractions, at night, on Monday night, on Christmas, on Christmas week end, /night.

Several players are dealing with injuries, Stanley, Flowers, Hamilton, of course their speedy back is out for the season with a complete tear of his acl.

But it is a great test for the defense, get quick pressure, stay connected in coverage, especially early in routes.

A good test for this offense, give Lamar  time, one of the most sacked in the league. Get the running game going early to take the legs out of their pass rush...

Should be fun

[oldno82]

Hmmm...I don't know how much fun it will be in the end. I think the 49'ers are ripped and ready to have a showdown in their home stadium and then go home and spend Christmas night with their families, whereas our guys get to travel on a 5-6hr flight on Christmas Eve to face on Christmas Day what is arguably the best team in the NFL. Combine that with the downer about Keaton Mitchell and the other injuries we have, and I see us having our team ripe for a sound beating.

Hope I'm wrong, of course. I just have a bad feeling about this one.

[tsylvester]

Oh don't be a grinch, maybe Cindy Lu can thaw your heart! Miracles still do happen, this might not be the year without a Santa Clause

[oldno82]

Stanley and Moses, both nursing injuries (in Stanley's case concussion, ankle, and knee) will have their hands full with Bosa and company. Did read where Stanley practiced today.

[tsylvester]

This game will be like seeing presents under the tree, wondering what could be in them.

As long as we remember that it is the thought that counts, we will not be disappointed. Sure, there may be clothes when we wanted toys, but we needed the clothes.

11-3, 3 games this team lost when they were winning, I know that I keep harping on that, but there are not many teams in this league this year than can say they could bee undefeated, should be even.

And they did it against winning teams, again, not many teams can say that this year.

12-3, 11-4, bah humbug, it's been a great season no matter what happens Monday night.

[oldno82]

Oh, I agree it has been a very good season and it’s not over yet. We’re in the playoffs and anything can happen. There are still some cities that have never won a Superbowl or have lost a franchise. 
 

I just think this next game is going to be the toughest one yet and unfortunately we’re really banged up and traveling across the country on Christmas to play it. If we can pull out a win I’ll start thinking anything is possible for this team, this season..

[tsylvester]

Niners news, injuries

 

The 49ers ruled out defensive tackle Arik Armstead (foot, knee), linebacker Oren Burks (knee), tight end Ross Dwelley (ankle) and receiver Jauan Jennings (concussion) for Monday’s game against the Ravens.  This will be the third consecutive game Armstead has missed.  His foot injury is a concern given it’s similar to the foot injury he battled through last season.  “Yes, we’re concerned,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Saturday, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “We do think he has a chance each week, but I’d say it’s a little more the foot than the knee, something that’s bothering for a little bit. I’m just hoping the pain will go down.”  Armstead has 27 tackles, five sacks and 13 quarterback hits in 12 games.  The 49ers list defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (hamstring) and running back Elijah Mitchell (knee) as questionable.

[oldno82]

On our side, Flowers is questionable and it looks like Maullet and Armor-Davis are out. I really hope Flowers can play---we need him. I wonder if the foot injury is what limited him to one catch last week.

On another note, did you see where the Steelers dismantled the Bengals today? Mason Rudolph was a shot in the arm for them and it looked like Browning  was out of his league throwing 3 interceptions. That knocks the Bengals down a notch from competing with us. But it's a shot in the arm for the Steelers playing us in the last game of the season if Rudolph is as good as he looked today.

[tsylvester]

Yeah, that last playoff spot is a royal mess, as are those two teams.

What concerns me most about the Niners, the Ravens struggle defending the off tackle runs, especially to the weak side. They give up a lot of big runs there...  They also struggle coveting over the middle, giving up big plays there as well.

These are both places where the Niners excel.

As for Flowers, it depends on what the foot injury is, just a cleat on his foot, a bad bruise, or a lis franc injury, far more concerning.

[oldno82]

Please don't even mention the 'L' word for Flowers' foot injury. What is that, a two-year recovery time?

[tsylvester]

yep, depending on the severity and player. Bateman is proof

[oldno82]

I thought so...I've looked around at several sites and really can't find anything on the nature of Flowers' injury. Harbs had said it wasn't of any real concern early in the week but that was before he was listed as questionable. He did practice fully the last two days they held practice. So I guess we just have to wait it out until tomorrow.

In the meantime, hope you have a good holiday season!!!

[deeshopper]

Merry Christmas one and all. Keep those fingers and toes crossed tonight!

[tsylvester]

Wow, watching the game today, Chiefs vs Raiders, no body is focussed... hope it is not an omen for tonight

Merry Christmas

[oldno82]

Merry Christmas to all! And to all, a good night!. In San Francisco, too!

Bet Joe Flacco is having an elite Christmas Day this year!

[oldno82]

Feeling great about being wrong. I thought the 49'ers would have the Ravens for Christmas dinner. Instead, the Niners were the real turkeys.

What a great win! The Macdonald defense was fantastic. Hamilton, Roquan, Greene, Humphrey, etc. were all just stupendous. And Lamar started slow but picked up his game to lead the offense along with Zay Flowers and a rejuvenated offensive line to 33 points against the NFC leaders.

One game at a time have taken the Ravens to the brink of the first seed in the AFC!

[tsylvester]

Wow, what a nice gift to wake up to! Firstly, as we saw all day, funny things happen when players are a bit distracted, Christmas games are the biggest test in the regular season.

Now, all the talk will be about Lamar, and rightfully so, he was tremendous.

But that defense, that defense, oh- my- gosh.

The pass rush, the coverage, the good hands, they were like a pack of dogs, all night long. The vaunted Niner offense with all of their  toys was no match, it was like chum in the water for hungry piranha.

A win is a win not matter how close or impressive, a loss a loss no matter how close or badly beaten.

But 12-3, this team is taking it seriously, far more so than a few years ago when they were 14-1.

Wow...