As the Horiuchi and the Tazumi family are as close to a 2nd family as a guy could have, keep your head up in these tough times. Things happen for a reason and they will unfold over time.

Now as a real reason for my post...
As a Niner fan, I'm sick of everyone thinking that the 49ers were supposed to return to glory this year. If you've really paid attention to the games, you'll noticed they are 10x's better then they were last year. Does there record reflect it? Not at all.

Things to note:

• In the media, they have a way more positive outlook then they have had in years. Though they are losing, they don't let that get them down. The last few years under Erickson, they had no passion, no faith, no drive. Nolan has really instilled a better attitude to these dudes.
• The team is essentially the same as last year with the addition of Alex Smith. What rookie has REALLY had success in his first year? You can say Rothlisberger (sp), but who can you name besides him? Marino? That was like 20 years ago, so point being is that QB's aren't usually successful in their first years. Shit, Aikman was winless his first year, Peyton won 1 game in his, so what are you really expecting? Getting rid of Rattay allowed the kid to get some game exposure. We all know Rattay wasn't happy anyway, so it works out for the best for both parties.
  
• Their O-Line is terrible. Look @ David Carr in Texas. Dude, can't do shit because he's getting sacked like 6 - 7 times a game. I think last I heard, he's projected to get sacked 100+ times. No QB can be successful getting hit, having that much pressure and no time to throw.
• A rookie QB is going to have a hard time if there is no running game. Barlow not hitting holes fast enough, OL being bad, and no WR threat = no respect for the passing game, so the Defense constantly puts up 8 - 9 man fronts. Puts a lot of pressure on a rookie QB to try and gain respect with virtually no weapons.
• The 49ers lost their best receiver in Eric Johnson. The dude caught 85ish balls last year and that's huge loss. I think I can count the # of balls the TE's caught this year on both my hands.
  
• Injuries - every team has them. But with a team that has just gotten over the salary cap "hell" that Terry Donahue has put them in, there wasn't really a chance to create depth. So the Niners are signing Joe Shmoe's off the street to play.
  
• For the most part, their Def is getting better week to week. Look @ the number of sacks they're getting, the pressure they're putting on the QBs, and stopping the running game. They were rough around the edges the first few weeks, but you can see week to week they're starting to play together as a team. The last few years, you definitely didn't see this. Bryant Young is playing like a mad man.
  
• They're one of the youngest teams in the league. Look at their veterans - Bryant Young and Johnnie Morton are the only ones that are in double digits in terms of years of service. A team needs more experience before they can get better.
  

I can keep going on and on with why the Niners are bad this year, but that's not the real point. Point A is if you're truly watching the 49ers and watching the nuances, you'll see they're improving. Point B is what were you expecting? If you thought the Niners were a playoff team, then you were smoking something really good. And just because Alex Smith makes a shitload of dinero, doesn't mean he's going to perform well off the bat. Please look at the Peyton Manning and Troy Aikman story because if Alex Smith turns out anything like those 2, I'll take a couple bad years, but once again you have to surround the kid with weapons. Manning has James, Wayne, and Harrison -> Aikman got Smith, Irvin, Novacek, Alvin Harper was good for a time. Alex Smith has an underachiever in Barlow, a #3 WR at best with Brandon Lloyd, and a bunch of no bodies.

To TRUE Niner fans, I say be patient. There were some years where management fucked up the team and it takes some time to repair. We are very spoiled with the teams with had in the 80's and 90's and we take that for granted. I think this is a HUGE problem with Bay Area fans in that we support the teams in the "good," but we do not support them in the bad. Look at the Giants attendance this year as case in point. Warriors and Sharks are the same. Oakland is a anomoly since they've been good and still no one attends.

There is a reason to be optimistic is my case in point. The reality is the Niners are terrible and they should be 0 - 8 right now, so the fact that they're 2-6 shows that there is some light to this season. Keep building, get some free agents and they may have something special. I don't see the Niners being a playoff team for at least 2 more seasons, so get ready for a rocky ride.

Give the kid some slack, look at past history and just know the odds are kind of against the 49ers against Smith being great, but politics and the fact that the draft this year wasn't "that good" made them choose Smith.

Ok, 49er love over....