49ers Blog: Never Give Up
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) "Never, never, never give up." - Winston Churchill
OK, quoting the Prime Minister amid England's darkest hour might not be the most appropriate analogy, but since 49ers fans are at war with Jed York, I'm pulling out all the stops.
It's hard enough to put up with losing. It's tougher when Jim Tomsula plays not to win. That's what I saw in Seattle.
San Francisco trailed the Seahawks 29-13 with 3:09 to go and facing a fourth-and-eight from their 11-yard line. It was a two-score game. Jim Tomsula called on his punting unit and the 49ers kicked it back to Seattle. Game, set, match.
If the 49ers fail to convert on 4th and eight, the Seahawks get the ball on the 11-yard line. Perhaps they score a touchdown and win the game 36-13. So what? Does 29-13 look better in the morning paper? On Twitter?
After the game, Tomsula said he hoped the 49ers defense would hold and the 49ers could use their timeouts and blah, blah, blah. Surely he watched some guy named Thomas Rawls run right through his defense all afternoon.
Blaine Gabbert looked more than capable of completing an eight yard pass. He was one of the few positives in an otherwise completely unforgettable effort. He was 22-34, 264 yards and one touchdown.
After the game, offensive lineman Alex Boone complimented his quarterback. "You come up here with that noise, the guy throws the ball, not afraid to take a hit, that's important. That's how you win games up here," said Boone.
How you don't win games is punt the football down two scores with 3:29 to go. You don't wave the white flag, throw in the towel, or whatever proverbial sign of surrender you choose.
49er fans have endured two seasons of finger-pointing, Harbaugh this, Harbaugh that, front-office leaks, retirements, lousy drafts and the list goes on. What they deserve is a team that, at the very
least, fights to the end.
A team that never, never, never gives up. Right now, they don't even have that.
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