– Cameron Wallace is a blog contributor for Gold Star Games, a leading tailgate gear supplier.
When two teams of explosive offensiveness coupled with a hard-hitting defense come together, you get last night’s game between the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers. While I am a Giants fan, I wasn’t impressed with last night’s game in the least bit! When the Giants played last week, they made the efforts of the Packers look laughable. This week, they themselves were almost the joke.
I’m NOT a 49ers fan, due to the horrible things I’ve heard coming from 49er fans about their fan base and Candlestick Park, things they are PROUD of by the way! One of my friends, who is in his 60’s and has been a 49ers fan for a long time, told me of the antics of Candlestick Park! He told me they had fun doing things like starting fights, taking and burning memorabilia from fans of the opposite team and being generally rude, inconsiderate, and unsportsmanlike. I’m not saying they’re the worst, I’m pretty sure that still goes to the Raiders, but the 49ers are pretty bad.
However, when it comes to playing, the 49ers have it. They’re not always good, and their dynasty is LONG past, however they’ve had many playoff appearances, they’ve won five Super Bowls, and they have a pretty impressive roster of retired players. That said, there was no excuse for many of the things last night that cost the 49ers the game, and honestly speaking, the Giants have little to do with their failings.
I’d like to start with the Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty enacted after the 49ers first touchdown, the one called on #85-Vernon Davis. I can understand how one would get excited after scoring a touchdown, but did he really have to jump up on a camaraman’s stand? It was only the first touchdown of the game! Not only did he give the Giants fifteen yards with his silly behavior, he made himself look like a fool who can’t control himself! I could understand if it had been the winning touchdown, sending them off to the Super Bowl. That kind of excitement is hard to contain, but during the middle of the First Quarter it just looks boastful.
I’m confident that both teams were hurt by the number of penalties! Unsportsmanlike Conduct, Illegal Use of Hands, Unnecessary Roughness, Offensive Holding, False Starts… and the most avoidable was the Invalid Fair Catch Signal given to the Giants’ #36-Will Blackmon! I wasn’t even aware there WAS a penalty for that! How hard is it to just catch the ball? Even if he had tried to run it, he would have gotten more yards than he actually received!
The Giants received nine penalties for the game, just three less than the 49ers, losing sixty yards to the 49ers fifty. Yet, the penalty handed out most often was for delay of game, five times the entire game! I don’t think it’s too much to expect a team that can claim to be “Professional” to manage a play clock! Twenty-five to forty seconds isn’t all that long, but for millions of dollars and a Championship on the line, I think it’s ample time to say what you need to and hike the ball.
With both teams so highly praised this year, I was appalled to see them so over-rated. Perhaps it was the weather that made the ball so hard to hold onto, or maybe it was just the players having a bad day, but to me it looked like the 49ers couldn’t help but injure their own players and kick the ball to the other team, the Giants were begging for penalties and Eli Manning just looked lost on the field for most of the game.
Even with the Giants winning, sending them to the Super Bowl, their chances look slim when compared to the New England Patriots. With Tom Brady in peak condition, the Patriots are a formidable foe. Admittedly, the last time these two teams faced off in the Super Bowl, the Giants got lucky with that pass to David Tyree, leading to the touchdown winning the game, thanks to Plaxico Burress. Yet, neither of those players play for the Giants anymore. New York is going to have to step up their game, study their routes and PRAY for another win.
It’s only a matter of time before the Super Bowl, and with the teams decided, they have two weeks to rest up. We, as fans, hope for the injured to heal, and for the Super Bowl to be a good game, no matter the outcome. With Madonna headlining, at least we’ll get good music this year, unlike the featured Black Eyed Peas last year. I’m going to root for the Giants, even though their chances are slim, and the rest is up to them!