The Front Row with MARK NELKE September 22, 2013
Item: A 49ers fan wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper complaining that Seahawks fans made too much noise during Seattle’s 29-3 beatdown of San Francisco last Sunday.
Thought: We are not all like that fan. Sure, the noise is annoying, but they feel like it helps their team win — though it works better when their defense is really good, like it is now.
What’s more troubling from the 49ers side is, for the second straight time, their group of adults was intimidated by said noise, and essentially rolled over.
Item: One day after 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick said the Seahawks “get away with a lot of things on defense,” Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman responded, “We got away with three picks, two fumbles, five turnovers,” according to the Seattle Times. “We got away with a 29-3 victory, it looked like. That’s the way it looked to me.”
Thought: Can’t really say much after a you-know-what whipping like that. However, it would be nice if said cornerback would play pass defense more with his feet, and less like a man trying to wrestle a bear to the ground. Other than that, that’s a defense good enough to win it all.
Item: The Idaho-Washington State football “rivalry” resumed Saturday night for the first time in six years. Every six years doesn’t exactly constitute a rivalry, but there is talk of them playing a little more often in the future. The Idaho Statesman reported the teams plan to meet again in 2016.
Thought: Playing every three years or so sounds like enough — enough where most players on both sides get to play in the game at least once, but not so much where it kind of loses its uniqueness. Of course, it’s mostly up to Idaho to improve to the point where the games are competitive, like they were in 1998 (WSU 24-16), ’99 (Idaho 28-17) and 2000 (Idaho 38-34).
Item: The Diamondbacks were upset that the Dodgers, after clinching the National League West, celebrated well after the game by climbing the outfield fence and jumping into the pool at Chase Field in Phoenix.
Thought: You’re the Diamondbacks — get over it! If you don’t want them to celebrate in your stadium, then beat ’em. Besides, it would have been just like the Dodgers of the current era for one or two of them to hurt themselves climbing said fence, and have to miss their first-round exit from the playoffs.
Item: Fresno State beat Boise State on Friday night for the first time since 2005, dropping the Broncos to 2-2. Boise State has only lost more than one game in a season four times since 2001. Chris Petersen lost just eight games in his first seven seasons as BSU head coach. Reason for concern?
Thought: When you play good teams, you might lose. You can’t play with Kellen Moore and Doug Martin and all the other standouts they’ve had forever. They’ll be fine.
Boise State’s biggest victory this year might be escaping The Conference Formerly Known As The Big East, and remaining out here in the Mountain West.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.