Fifteen minutes before kickoff of Sunday’s NFC Championship game, I walked into my friend’s house and asked, “What’s the status of Ted Ginn?”
Don’t roll your eyes – that was their reaction at the time, too. My buddies – and the world – found out later just how much of a factor Ginn’s gimpy knee would play in determining this year’s conference champion.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t fancy myself a prognosticator. In fact, my concern with Ginn’s availability had much more to do with what he could offer to the 49ers, not thinking that his absence would have a disastrous impact on my favorite team’s title hopes.
My thought process was simple.
San Francisco’s defense is dominant, loaded with playmakers like Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Carlos Rogers and Justin and Aldon Smith. I had no doubt that this unit could keep the Giants from lighting up the scoreboard.
It’s a different story on the other side of the ball, where Vernon Davis serves as the offense’s only explosive player. To offset New York’s reinvigorated pass rush, it seemed logical that bubble screens to Ginn, one of San Francisco’s shiftiest players, would be part of Coach Jim Harbaugh’s game plan. At the very least, the threat might make Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and company pause for a split second, giving Alex Smith an extra heartbeat in the pocket to attack the Giants defense. Playing without Ginn, 49ers wide receivers caught a single pass for three yards.
Ginn, of course, has made a name for himself on special teams since being drafted by Miami five years ago. He was the primary reason that the 49ers topped the NFL in kick and punt returns during the regular season. Remember, it was a pair of Ginn touchdowns in the fourth quarter of Week 1 that catapulted San Francisco to victory and on the way to its best season since 1997.
The trials of Kyle Williams, Ginn’s replacement, are well documented. In all fairness, Williams had as many punt returns on Sunday, 8, as he has had in his two-year career – and it showed.
Williams played with fire on a punt return in the third quarter, unnecessarily diving to field a bouncing ball in San Francisco territory. Not long after (foreshadowing, anyone?), Williams needlessly positioned himself in line with a rolling kick that glanced off his right knee, putting the Giants in position to score a go-ahead touchdown with 8:34 left in regulation.
It appeared as if Williams redeemed himself, returning the ensuing kickoff 40 yards to set up David Akers’ game-tying field goal with 5:39 remaining.
But then it happened.
Just over five minutes into overtime, Steve Weatherford squares to punt from the New York 42, Williams fields the kick at the San Francisco 20, jabs right and heads upfield. At the 23, Williams is stripped by Jacquian Williams and the ball is recovered (again!) by Devin Thomas. Five plays later, Lawrence Tynes splits the uprights on the same side of the field, and wearing the same number, that Matt Bahr did when the Giants surprised the 49ers in the 1990 NFC Championship game.
Game over. Season over.
I can only hope that the 49ers, ahem, return for a chance to go to the Super Bowl next year.
