49ers Serve Crow To Those Who Were Ready To Declare Them Dead Meat

It’s an autumn pastime: waiting for the 49ers to fail. Spot a chink in the armor, go for the kill and see a franchise collapse. But for years, the 49ers have rebuffed the attacks.

This fall, it looked as if the 49ers were vulnerable. They lost to Carolina. Former teammates said the team was decrepit. Winning the division looked impossible. The Teflon era was over. The criticism was sticking.

So here we are, in the 13th week of the season, and the 49ers are flexing their muscles, positioning for the playoffs, vanquishing storied opposition such as Dallas and Miami.

You might have cold turkey in your refrigerator, but a lot of the rest of us are feasting on crow.

The last few weeks have revealed some of the reasons why this franchise continues to make doubters look lamebrained.

The first reason is the system. Bill Walsh, take a bow. But give credit to George Seifert and a coaching staff that suffers annual turnover. Newcomers tinker and fine-tune, but all accept the system as gospel. In this day of uncontrolled egos, that’s a major accomplishment.

Another key to success is the 49ers’ preparation.

The idiot factor says: “Hey, a monkey could succeed in that system. My grandmother could quarterback the 49ers.” If that were true, wouldn’t all the idiots be running it? Don’t you think even Rich Kotite could figure that out?

The system is backed up not only with talent, but also with hard work. Some teams allow players to skate during the week as long as they produce on Sunday. In the NFL, the phrase “game-day warrior” is usually a euphemism for “lousy practice player.” And for some teams, that’s OK.

Not the 49ers. If you don’t practice well, you don’t play well. Standards are heightened when superstars such as Jerry Rice - and earlier Roger Craig - practice as though performing for a panel of Olympic judges.

“I think we put a lot more emphasis on practice than other organizations,” tackle Harris Barton said. “We don’t go in pads a lot, but we go full speed. Timing is so important that we have to go at the speed of a game situation.”

So when George Seifert throws a backup into a starting role and says “the man has no choice” but to succeed, the assumption is the groundwork has been laid in practice.

Teammates credit Elvis Grbac’s success to his preparation. For two years, you could spot a solemn Grbac, his playbook apparently surgically attached to his arm, prowling meeting rooms. In practice, Grbac wasn’t goofing off - he seemed to be paying attention even when he wasn’t taking snaps.

“There are a lot of different plays to know,” Barton said. “You can’t go into a game situation scatterbrained.”

Grbac didn’t. In four of five starts, he performed almost flawlessly. The past two weeks have made him a part of 49ers lore - leading the team to more impressive victories than Steve Bono, Jeff Kemp or Matt Cavanaugh ever enjoyed.

The Elvis Era is over for the moment, but Grbac has proved he can step in when needed and that he can be the quarterback of the future, a tremendous psychological relief.

“It’s huge,” tight end Brent Jones said. “These days in the NFL, you hate to rely so much on one guy and worry that if he goes down, it will cause the whole team to self-destruct.”