Conor Allen

Last Sunday, I ended up on the floor.  Trailing the Washington Football Team 23-15 near the end of the 4th quarter, the 49ers had just picked up 22 yards on a great Kendrick Bourne catch for a first down to keep the game alive, when offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey was called for holding. The penalty negated the gain and one failed completion later the game was effectively over.  Seconds before I had been standing up cheering. Then, I tumbled in disappointment. It's been that kind of season.  But the good thing about being on the floor is that once you've hit bottom, you can only go up.  And by going up I mean you get off the ground, ignore any looks of pity from your girlfriend, walk over to a different screen in your house, and pull up the NFL Films YouTube channel.  I DEVOUR these videos. I watch them when I'm sad. I watch them when I'm happy. I watch them before games on Sunday to get excited, and I watch them on Tuesday afternoons because I have nothing better to d

As the 49ers prepare to take on the Washington Football team this Sunday at "home" in Glendale, AZ, I'm finding my thoughts drifting to Washington starting quarterback Alex Smith. I should be thinking about San Francisco. I should be calculating their probabilities of a playoff berth. I should be pondering whether posting up in Glendale for a month or more could actually help their focus, eliminate distractions. I should thinking about Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel and Raheem Mostert and what happens when they link up with a healthy Jimmy Garrappolo in a Week 17 victory over Seahawks. A 48-0 win to end the regular season as the best 9-7 team in football, followed by an incredible playoff run that culminates in a Super Bowl re-match with the Chiefs... sorry I'm drifting again. Back to today and the realities of being 5-7.  It's easy to drift in 2020. Time has no meaning. Football games are played on Tuesday afternoons at 2. Players test positive. Players test nega