SANTA CLARA — Call it what you want. Bad vibes, bad luck, a Super Bowl hangover, or simply a waiting game.
Maybe it was even a bit of all of them.
But no matter what the last six months and, in particular, the last six weeks were, we can all agree that things were trending in a less-than-optimal direction for the 49ers.
And that now, this team needs to put it all in the rear-view with a quickness.
It doesn’t matter what you think of the New York Jets. Are they contenders or the same-ol’ green and white mistakes?
Either way, they’re a real NFL team that’s coming to town in less than a week. Even with Nathaniel Hackett as their offensive coordinator, they’ll be ready to play.
Will the Niners?
Heaven knows they stand a better chance today than they did a week ago.
Yes, it’s time for a reset in Santa Clara. It’s time to finally, mercifully, turn our attention to the 17 — and, for the Niners, hopefully, 20 or 21 — games at hand.
Brandon Aiyuk’s ridiculous, sometimes embarrassing contract negotiation saga came to a head last Friday, with the receiver signing a new four-year deal. Trent Williams is in the fold again, too. He and the Niners agreed to the terms of a new deal on Monday, and the big man — on whose presence on the field the Niners’ Super Bowl aspirations hinge — arrived in San Jose via private jet early Tuesday morning.
Even the biggest distraction of them all, Ricky Pearsall’s attempted robbery bullet wound, is looking up, after the first-year wide receiver reportedly visited the team facility on Monday. (Pearsall will miss at least the first four games of the season. Given the dire circumstances, that’s a best-case scenario.)
Oh, and the Niners will have star running back Christian McCaffrey practice this week as well. That calf injury that sidelined him for nearly all of training camp is good to go.
What a weekend.
It’s as if Niners general manager John Lynch went out and bought the whole family’s Christmas presents on Christmas Eve.
And there’s a chance we’ll all be none the wiser.
That is, if they beat the Jets.
While optimism is warranted, the close calls could still have significant consequences for this team. There is the functional issue of the Niners putting out more than a month of mediocre-at-best practices with half-squads.
There’s a fair concern that Williams and Aiyuk might not be able to play in Monday night’s game. While both are “in shape,” there’s a difference between that and “football shape.” Less than a week of practice, which at this point is pared down—more mental than physical—might not be enough to put either on the field.
Then again, you can’t divide by zero, and less than a week ago, all signs pointed to their holdouts continuing into the regular season.
Having to worry about how much Williams and Aiyuk (and even McCaffrey) can play is a good problem to have, all things considered. The Niners are hoping they turn into champagne problems in February.
For now, being able to focus on football and not TikTok drama, market bubbles, and long-term salary cap ramifications is a good reason to celebrate.
Sure, the Niners might have paid some bills with credit cards. Aiyuk’s deal, in particular, saw a 25 percent markup from February to August—just call that the APR. But the due bills have been paid. There will be plenty of time to worry about those other bills when they come due after the season.
And yes, Aiyuk and Williams’ deals should have been done weeks earlier, if not months, earlier. The Niners gave both players nearly everything they wanted, so why did they prolong the inevitable?
But, hey, better late than never.
So let’s replace all that anxiety with anticipation.
We’re finally done talking about the business of football. Now, we can get down to the business of playing football.
And the goal in the South Bay remains unchallenged and unsullied (ok, a little sullied):
Super Bowl or bust. And that bust would be even bigger now.
The Niners are all-in in 2024 in an almost literal way.
And if that doesn’t get you feeling rowdy for Monday Night Football; if that doesn’t get your blood pumping in ways that are hard to explain to the casual fans in your life, well, I don’t know what to do for you.
