Fourth quarter nightmare. -- 49ers Paradise Forum

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Subject: Fourth quarter nightmare.

Author:
Sydney From Syd's Corner.

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Date Posted: 10:50:06 12/31/02 Tue

What a difference a half makes, in a game that has no ramifications should we win or lose the St. Louis Rams received a gift from the San Francisco 49ers in being allowed to explode in the fourth quarter and show that they still reign dominance over us. Even though we had other priorities in resting the starting lineup and getting healthy for wild card weekend we had this game wrapped up and dropped it like a rock tossed over a lake.
The convincing first half had me jumping up and down as I watched the dominant first drive orchestrated by Jeff Garcia at his best, the offensive line was incredible in man-handling the St. Louis defense all the way down the field. Even after coming off short with three points from this drive didn�t bother me as I knew that with such ball control we would return for seven.
And we did under back-up quarterback Tim Rattay who played very well in the first half and directed two touchdowns drives that put us up 17-0 at halftime. We looked invincible as we dominated every aspect of the game throughout the first half as Rattay and Tai Streets established a connection for two impressive scores. It had me excited to see that this connection was producing in the mold of Garcia to Owens, and it totally impressed me that Streets once again defined himself as the only receiver capable of playing beside Terrell Owens.
The second half came and it was like a light switch went off, Mike Martz was not about to lie down and take this deficit lightly, and with Jamie Martin at quarterback he accomplished everything he wanted to. St. Louis kicker Jeff Wilkins started the scoring onslaught in the third quarter after an impressive St. Louis drive by Martin they were on the board with three points.
The San Francisco defense played very well as they continued their trend of being a contributor in every game with two interceptions one by Ronnie Heard and the other by Tony Parrish. They also registered three sacks in this game and played very aggressive, the only notch that they couldn�t overcome was the mistakes made by the San Francisco offense in the second half and the passing attack in Jamie Martin.
It was very disheartening to see the St. Louis offense right from the start in the fourth quarter march down the field and go on a scoring frenzy with a touchdown pass to tight end Manumaleuna. And then an equaling impressive drive down the field by Martin with a touchdown passes to Issac Bruce.
After that the turning point was sounded as Garrison Hearst was stripped of the ball at the 49er 19-yard line and returned for a touchdown and then if that wasn�t enough Hearst fumbled the ball and caused another touchdown by Martin to tight end Conwell as the grand finale.
What was a surprise to me afterwards was the time at 1:53 why the 49ers chose to run the ball and run out the clock versus throwing the ball down the field in an attempt to score. We had virtually nothing to lose at this point and could have by all accounts manufactured a touchdown and then an on-side kick. The possibility was there even though it was far fetched but there nonetheless. It seemed Mariucci was content in taking the loss and packing up and going home with minimal injuries to start the post-season against the New York Giants.
Do I agree that we should�ve lain down with almost two minutes left? Absolutely not as I believe that a scoring opportunity existed and we should have at least made a better attempt by passing down the field with a hurry up offense. But what am I to know? Obviously Mariucci chose to wash his hands of this meaningless game even though it would�ve been a great morale booster going into the playoffs and pack up and go home. His evaluation of the team at that point were his own and he chose to not further more possible injuries and call it a game, the context of that decision is debatable as most fans I�m sure would�ve liked to have seen an effort of greater magnitude.
For now we must put the thought of this game behind us, and I pray that all of the players especially dejected Garrison Hearst can do the same. His mistakes in this game were very apparent but I hope that he will rebound with a great effort this coming Sunday. It would be a shame to have lingering effects from this game haunting the boundaries of player�s minds as they concentrate on the Giants.

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