Friday, December 03, 1999Niners turn into decliners
Even Bengals favored vs. SF
BY TOM GROESCHEN
The Cincinnati EnquirerThe San Francisco 49ers have fallen so far that even the Bengals, the worst NFL franchise of the 1990s, are a 3 1/2-point favorite to beat them Sunday.
Not only are the 49ers (3-8) learning how the other half lives, they now are the other half.
After winning five Super Bowls since 1981, after 16 straight winning seasons, the 49ers finally are paying for salary-cap-violations, some bad drafts and front-office turmoil.
Coach Steve Mariucci, who thought he had reached nirvana when the 49ers tapped him to replace George Seifert in 1997, didn't quite bank on this.
“Maybe I'll wake up and realize I'm back in training camp in Stockton (Calif.) and this has been a nightmare,” Mariucci said this week. “This is not what we anticipated or hoped for, but it's reality.”
Mariucci went 27-9 in his first two seasons, standard fare for the 49ers. But this year, with debilitating injuries to key men such as quarterback Steve Young and running back Garrison Hearst, the Niners have lost seven straight games for the first time since 1980.
Jerry Rice, the 49ers' future Hall of Fame receiver, reportedly lectured his teammates after an embarrassing 18-point loss to the awful Saints recently.
“After being dominant for so many years, you expect this would happen. But not this fast,” Rice told Cincinnati reporters in a teleconference this week.
Rice, Young and linebacker Ken Norton are among those whose work ethic used to inspire teammates. But Rice recently told CNN/Sports Illustrated's Peter King that many
49ers are happy just to be in the NFL and getting fat paychecks.
Rice wouldn't say that in this week's teleconference, but he said he will continue to work toward getting the 49ers back in the playoffs in 2000.
“We're going through some adversity,” he said. “The thing is, are we going to completely give up or try to come back and win some football games?”
The rest of the league knows this is the time to get the 49ers, whose run at the top sometimes was accompanied by a holier-than-thou attitude.
“If other teams are enjoying this, that's fine,” Rice said. “That's not important to me. Next season, we want to get back to the playoffs and try to win the whole thing again.”
The Bengals, more than most, would like to get in on the 49er bashing. They are 1-9 against the 49ers, including Super Bowl losses in the 1981 and '88 seasons.
“It's a great franchise. They're just going through some tough times,” Bengals quarterback Jeff Blake said. “For 17 years, they had their way. But I'm sure they'll be back.”
Right now, the 49ers are so down that the Bengals (2-10) actually must fight a possible letdown after upsetting Pittsburgh last week.
“We're not gonna take anybody lightly,” Blake said. “Especially the 49ers.”
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