October 14, 2012
With just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith took the snap, dropped back to pass and immediately saw Giants linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka rushing toward him, as if Kiwanuka were running straight down Nob Hill.
Smith tried to retreat, spinning and turning as he went backward, but there was no escape. Kiwanuka smothered Smith, lingering over his twisted body for just a moment as the Giants’ sideline exploded. Across the field, 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh — hands placed firmly on his hips — could only stare.
The sack could be seen as the knockout blow from the Giants, although in many ways it came much earlier. After two epic games with San Francisco last season that both hinged on late dramatics, the Giants shredded the 49ers, 26-3, on Sunday in a performance led by their resurgent defense.
“The defense played outstanding,” quarterback Eli Manning said. “We were just waiting for them to play like we knew they could play.”
Kiwanuka’s sack was one of six for the Giants — Jason Pierre-Paul had two — and safety Antrel Rolle recorded two of the Giants’ three interceptions. The Giants stifled a 49ers offense that entered the game tied for third in the N.F.L. in scoring and that became the first team in league history to record 300 yards passing and 300 yards rushing in one game, in a blowout of Buffalo a week ago.
Given those credentials, it seemed unlikely that the 49ers might end up as the lowest-scoring local team in action Sunday — the San Francisco Giants played the St. Louis Cardinals here in the National League Championship Series later — but as the fans at Candlestick Park filed out midway through the fourth quarter, most likely hoping to beat traffic and get home in time for first pitch, that grim reality was impossible to ignore.
“We came out here with great purpose,” Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said. “I think the defense finally decided they were going to go out there and play — and they did.”
The Giants’ offense, which has so often carried the team, was inconsistent, twice failing to get into the end zone after forcing turnovers but ultimately doing more than enough. Manning passed for just 193 yards and a touchdown, but running back Ahmad Bradshaw flourished for a second straight week, rushing for 116 yards on 27 carries: a worthy follow-up to his 200-yard performance against Cleveland last week.
“Ahmad is tough,” Coughlin said. “You’re going to have to hogtie him to get him down.”
Victor Cruz caught six passes for 58 yards, Domenik Hixon had 78 receiving yards, and Hakeem Nicks, playing for the first time since Week 2 because of an injured foot and knee, returned with three catches for 44 yards.
The Giants’ most productive offensive player was kicker Lawrence Tynes, who connected on four field goals (and two extra points), though one other field-goal attempt was blocked.
The blowout dampened a matchup that was expected to be emotional. Though the teams are separated by roughly 2,500 miles, the rivalry between the Giants and the 49ers has taken on almost a divisional feel recently. Sunday’s meeting was the third between the teams in less than a year, and the increasing familiarity has, not surprisingly, led to a measure of contempt on a variety of levels.
On the lighter side was the good-natured trash talk between Giants players and their former teammate Mario Manningham, the receiver who joined running back Brandon Jacobs in bolting for the 49ers over the off-season. (Jacobs was inactive Sunday.) Manningham, who finished with five catches for 72 yards, said he had stayed in close touch with Nicks, and the two certainly engaged in some banter this past week. As Manningham said, “nobody is going to say their team is going to lose.”
But that sort of repartee was tame compared with the back-and-forth between Cruz and 49ers cornerback Carlos Rogers. The two have a feud that dates to last season, when, after recording an interception, Rogers mocked Cruz’s trademark salsa dance. Cruz labeled the act disrespectful and excoriated Rogers in his autobiography, which was published in July.
In the buildup to this game, Rogers initially said he might reprise his not-so-well-intentioned tribute but then recanted after he was informed, he said, that the dance was designed to be a testament to Cruz’s late grandmother. Once Rogers learned of the family connection, he said, he decided that his mockery was in poor form — though he missed an opportunity to show his restraint when he dropped what would have been a critical interception five minutes into the third quarter.
The controversy apparently did little to faze Cruz, who happily demonstrated the authentic version of the dance after catching a 6-yard touchdown pass from Manning in the second quarter.
That sequence, which capped a 67-yard drive and punished San Francisco’s Smith for an ugly interception, drew a disgusted reaction from Harbaugh, who waved his hand and shook his head as the Giants celebrated.
Harbaugh’s frustration was not surprising because he was at the center of the most notable exchange of words between the teams. For whatever reason, Harbaugh was particularly miffed after Kevin Gilbride, the Giants’ offensive coordinator, said to reporters that 49ers defensive lineman Justin Smith “gets away with murder” in terms of holding and twisting opposing linemen.
Harbaugh had his own sessions with reporters later in the day and released a statement through the 49ers in which he labeled Gilbride’s assertion an “absurd analogy.” He also accused the Giants’ coaches of trying to influence the officials.
As it turned out, the officials were the least of Harbaugh’s concerns. The 49ers’ offense, which had been so dominant this season, was out of sync throughout the second half. Trailing by 20 points with about three minutes to go in the third quarter, Harbaugh opted to go for it on fourth-and-15 from the Giants’ 34.
The crowd, which had been so quiet, revived itself temporarily only to watch as Smith’s pass to Vernon Davis came up nearly 7 yards short. As Smith stared forlornly, the fans then booed their team’s once-vaunted offense off the field.
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Victor Cruz was born on November 11th, 1986 according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Cruz_(American_football)
November 11th, 1986
11 + 11 +1+9+8+6 = 46 = his life lesson = Making history.
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November 11th, 1986
11 + 11 = 22 = his core number = Lucky.
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November 11th, 1986
11 +1+9+8+6 = 35 = his “secret” number = Strength in adversity.
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November 11th, 1986
November 11th
11 + 11 +2+0+1+1 = 26 = his personal year (from November 11th, 2011 to November 10th, 2012) = Popular. Fans. In the news. Making headlines.
26 year + 10 (October) = 36 = his personal month (from October 11th, 2012 to November 10th, 2012) = Crushing the competition.
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using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
Victor Cruz
493269 3938 56
his path of destiny = 56 = Finesse.
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comprehensive summary and list of predictions for 2012:
http://predictionsyear2012.com/
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https://www.createspace.com/3411561
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Sex Numerology available at:
https://www.createspace.com/3802937
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numerology behind the news 