July 29, 2012; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Randy Moss (84) during training camp at the 49ers practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-US PRESSWIRE

Randy Moss will indeed be on the field for the 49ers tonight when they face off against the Vikings in scintillating preseason action, but word has come down that Moss will not be in the starting lineup. Ted Ginn and Michael Crabtree will reportedly get the starts at wide out for Frisco, who totally revamped their receiver corps this offseason and are apparently still working out their depth chart. Free agent acquisition Mario Manningham was also snubbed for a starting nod in favor of the two longer-tenured Niners.

Going by Jim Harbaugh’s statements on the matter, it appears Ginn is being rewarded for a solid training camp by receiving a starting nod over Moss who has himself not been getting a ton of work in practice. In other words, there’s no reason to read anything into this other than that Ginn has worked his butt off and Harbaugh wants to acknowledge it. As far as I know Moss isn’t in Harbaugh’s doghouse or anything. And anyway it’s only a preseason game. Doesn’t mean anything that Randy is no better than #3 on the receiver depth chart as of today. We know that will change by the season opener. Moss is clearly the best receiver on San Francisco even at his advanced age and coming off a one year sabbatical.

Unless of course Randy ISN”T clearly the best receiver on San Francisco. There are reports from camp that Moss has been somewhat shut out by Alex Smith who as we know is not exactly the master of the deep ball, so maybe Randy just hasn’t gotten the best chance to showcase himself there. I’m sure the lack of action won’t peck away at Moss. He’s not the kind of guy who would shut it down entirely if he thought he wasn’t getting the ball thrown to him enough.

(Uh, good luck with that Harbaugh)

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Dig back through the annals of pro football, my children, and you will see that it is true.  The 49ers, from 1982-1995, were in the Super Bowl five times, winning it on all five occasions.

You will also note that two of those victories came against the Cincinnati Bengals.  Yes, Grasshopper, it is true:  the Bengals have actually been in the Super Bowl.

And did you also know, my students, that there used to be no internet?  No, I don’t know how we survived either.  We spent a lot of time rummaging through our friends’ fathers’ Hustler stashes, that’s about all I can remember.

But today’s lesson isn’t about the joys of pre-electronic, mysteriously-stained pornography:  It’s about the 49ers as they used to be.

Long ago, before you were born (yes, things happened before you were born), the 49ers were the proudest team in all the land.  They ran an offense called the West Coast (yes, the very same), developed and taught by a man named Bill Walsh, and executed by a quarterbacking genius named Joe Montana.

No relation to Hannah Montana.

Joe Montana was a hero to many a child, back when Ronald Reagan was president, and Mr. T had his own cereal.  He was our generation’s Tom Brady.  Except he wasn’t an asshole.

Actually, he was better than Tom Brady.  He won four Super Bowls, while Brady has only won three.  Of course, number of Super Bowl titles isn’t the only measure of quarterbacking greatness.  Otherwise people would think Trent Dilfer was better than Dan Fouts.

No, it was more than just the titles that made Joe Montana great.  It was the command.  It was the charisma.  It was the way his hair stuck out the back of his helmet.

And it didn’t hurt that, for two of those four championships, he was throwing to a wide receiver named Jerry Rice.

(more…)

No.  But, it was a nice dream, for a minute.