The 49ers Lost, But...

But next season is going to be special, even more special than this season was. 

The 49ers were still a dominant team when I was growing up during the ’90s. They routinely won 10 or more games each season, and every time they lined up in the red zone, John Madden would list how many weapons they had. Guys like Jerry Rice, Ricky Watters, William Floyd and Brent Jones. And yet they were always on the verge of being shut down until Steve Young inevitably scrambled his way to a touchdown or dump off pass for the score. Even with all those weapons, the Niners could only go as far as their quarterback could carry them.

Alex Smith might’ve been a reliable leader for the Niners, but he very rarely carried them. Jeff Garcia propped up his teams, but never quite far enough. Then there was Tim Rattay, Trent Dilfer and Shaun Hill. Those were dark days I think we’d all like to forget. But now we have Colin Kaepernick, and even when he struggles to manage the clock and check off his progressions, he’s shown that he can carry this team to within a handful of steps of a Super Bowl victory. 

When the new season starts, it’ll be the first time in years that we’ll have a quarterback under center ready to continue the winning tradition of No. 8 and No. 16. We may have just lost the Super Bowl, but I like our chances to win it next time.