Nick Canepa on the week in sports – The San Diego Union-Tribune
Sez Me …
Just where does Anthony Lynn get off going off?
He was a part of the problem he didn’t come close to solving.
If you own the largest building in the world, millions of empty square feet, Lynn could walk in alone and have no room to talk.
But on this Championship Sunday — in which Lynn has a role as 49ers running backs coach, and Justin Herbert none, except as a member of the audience — Justin should at least listen to his first coach with the NFL Team That Used To Be Here (aka The Judases/L.A. Lodgers).
And then ask himself: “Can I ever win a Super Bowl with this (dis)organization? Am I doomed to be a Dan Fouts or Philip Rivers numbers-maker, maybe make the Hall of Fame one day, bust my ass for years, and just go home to my pipe and slippers and relax on my millions?”
Lynn, whose Niners face the Eagles today in the NFC championship game, failed as Judases head coach and was fired in 2020 after four years in charge. He served as Detroit’s offensive coordinator in 2021, failed, again entered the NFL Recycle Bin, and was hired by Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco (and watched the Lions’ attack grow significantly in his absence).
Still, comparing the Judases and 49ers organizations, he told the L.A. Times’ Sam Farmer: “This organization will do whatever it takes to win. Resources up the (ears). That was different for me compared to what I was going through in L.A. So it’s just like, man, this is what it’s supposed to be like. I forgot how that felt.
“When I got here in May, I told Kyle: “Man, you have established quite a culture here.”’
If, indeed, culture must be constructed, it has to start with the head coach, which Lynn couldn’t build in Inglewood. He was a bad head coach. He coached wins into losses. And, while Shanahan very well may get it done this time, despite being the genius culture-maker, Kyle never has been a part of any championship organization in his many stops, all as an assistant except this one.
And let’s not forget his incredibly poor play calling as Atlanta’s OC vs. the Patriots at the end of Super Bowl.
The 49ers haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1995. The Cowboys, with their money and Beverly Hills facility, must have a culture, no? Their last visit to the jeweler was in 1996. The Rams won it all last year. This season they stunk it out. Sudden culture deprivation?
Culture smulture.
Since Lynn fell in the NFL’s vineyard, the only sound he’s made is the squashing of sour grapes, making bad vino the Unsocial Media may prefer to the usual Kool-Aid.
Not that Anthony is dead wrong in his opinions of his former employer. Some can’t be disputed.
Fredo Spanos & Sons managed to get terribly lucky with Herbert (remember when Lynn wanted to bench Justin after his historic debut?), but you can count the things they haven’t screwed up on a molecule.
Herbert’s the only reason to believe they can do anything great, and it’s obvious, as talented as he is, he can’t do it alone. Justin may never get there. Fouts and Rivers weren’t cold cuts, and they couldn’t make the Big Sandwich — in some cases with more talent.
Herbert’s rookie contract has one year remaining, with a fifth-year option the team no doubt will activate. But some of the best QBs are moving on, or getting restless.
Justin has some thinking to do. Does he want to continue to be a part of a team that blows 27-0 playoff game leads? If Fredo doesn’t sell, Herbert has to look into the transfer portal while it’s open.
He probably will get a $500 million-plus deal. But, even in L.A., where stars are coveted, he isn’t big box office and may never be.
Hollywood film editors leave the NFL on the cutting room floor. …
The Doomsday Clock says it’s 90 seconds to midnight. So hurry and finish the column. …
Keep hearing the Judases may give Keenan Allen The Big Haircut. If they let him go, it might be their biggest mistake since drafting Ron “The Beast” Billingsley over Alan Page, the NFL’s first defensive MVP (one of two), later a Minnesota Superior Court judge who should have brought them to trial. …
Make all you want of Patrick Mahomes’ gallant Willis Reed moment, but if Jax hadn’t been indicted for Chargering, the Jaguars would be a step away from Glendale. …
Mahomes damages a leg, is limping, and Doug Pederson doesn’t order extra pressure. Even the better coaches get brain flatulence. It won’t happen today. …
Every QB is a system quarterback. Isn’t Mahomes? All I know is, when he got hurt, Chad Henne came in and drove K.C. 98 yards for a score. …
The Jets hire Wilson QB expert Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator, hoping he can resurrect Zach’s game as he did Russell’s. …
The Cowboys finally have figured it out, firing six assistants who shouldn’t have been canned. …
Consider me totally against removing sideline chain gangs in favor of technology. One of my favorite things about football is watching the officials make bad spots. …
The ground can’t cause a fumble, but if you catch the ball it can cause an incompletion. The worst ground rule is the “surviving the ground rule.” …
Chiefs LB Willie Gay when asked what impresses him about the Bengals’ offense: “Nothing.” Another guy who really studies game film. …
George Kittle on his carnival catch vs. Dallas: “I did it for the ratings.” Bloody marvelous. …
Assumption is the root of all bad calls by officials, coaches, players and humans in general. Stupidity is second, but gaining in popularity, especially when idiots assume. …
Rob Parker echoes my longtime thought: Scott Rolen received 10 percent of the vote the first year he was eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame. What did he do in the following five years to get to 76 percent? …
There’s an anti-procrastination train roaring across the country and picking up passengers at a station near you. Seriously. But I’m waiting for the next one. …
Michigan has removed 40 seats from its Big House to punish the remaining Brady Hoke fans. …
The magnificent “Casablanca” turns 80. Never, ever gets old. …
RIP, Billy Packer. He could drive you crazy with his ACC leanings, but he knew basketball. In the 1975 NCAA Regional semi, he spotted the hole in Jud Heathcote’s Montana defense before John Wooden (whose UCLA Bruins would win it all here a few weeks later) caught on. Three-point game. …
A former president suggests building a dome over the U.S. (don’t know about Hawaii and Alaska) to prevent nuclear attack. I’m OK with the roof, but only if it’s retractable. …
SANDAG makes the Ham & Egger Restaurant look like a Michelin 3-star. Do public servants ever think about serving the public? …
I like Philly and Cincy today. But don’t go by me. I placed a bet on Sham at the 1¼-mile mark in Secretariat’s Belmont. …
Just heard the moon is the closest it’s been to Earth in 1,000 years. No wonder I’ve been feeling so romantic.