The Shame of An Ineffective Punt Returner

Well, Super Bowl XLVI has officially begun(it begun Sunday night actually) with a reamatch of one of the greatest Super Bowls ever played. No one will ever forget David Tyree's superhuman catch; with the ball pinned between his head and helmet AND Rodney Harrison doing his best to preserve the Patts perfect season. If only Tyree would have been returning punts for the Niners instead of Kyle Williams, those reservations for Indianapolis might look a little different. Now in full disclosure, I am a die-hard 49ers fan, no matter how painful its been the last couple of years, and as a die-hard fan would like to offer some perspective on what Kyle Williams did to the franchise and its fans Sunday evening. He in effect perpetuated the losing that has followed the 49ers since their last Conf. Championship in 1994. After 17 years, 6 coaches(Mariucci, Erickson, Nolan, Singletary, Tomsula for one game, and Harbaugh), countless draft picks that didnt pan out, and too many offensive coordinators to count, this was their shot. Dont get me wrong they had a great sason, but in the topsy-turvy world of the NFL. there are no guarantees that they'll get this opportunity again anytime soon. The 49ers have been excellent on special team all year which is evident by Akers and Lee both going to Honolulu (even though I know they'd trade that in for a chance to be actually practicing for the next two weeks.....how much do kickers practice anyway???). And looking at the injury report you would have never assumed Ted Ginn Jr.'s absence would have a game altering effect but it certainly did. In his stead, there stood Kyle Williams. Mr. 6th round pick, 2nd Team Pac-10 punt returner(wow!), Arizona State also rand Kyle Williams. Forget the play that essentially ended the game, the fumble in his own territory. The muffed punt that hit his knee was an even more atrocious offense. Any ST coach or anyone whose played footbal for that matter, knows that if you're not gonna return the punt, to get out of the way. Everyone on offense yells out "PETER" and you get outta there. And after the fact, Williams had to nerve to act like it didn't touch him and made no efforty to go after the ball. Am I wrong or are there more camers at Champ. games than at any pother point of the season? Did he not know they would be able to review it? Inexcusable, Now the fumble was just that, a fumble. Credit the Giants for causing it, especially Devin Thomas who recovered both the muff and the fumble for. But in that spot, with a chance to go to the Big Dance you gotta secure the ball. Now I know the organization doesnt want to place this all on his lap and have been vocally supportive in his defense. "We win as a team we lose as a team. With class" said 49ers owner Jed York. And the offense's inability to move the ball consistently or convert a single meaningful third down (1-13 for the whole day) certainly didnt help. But even with all that the 49ers were about to take possesion of the ball with 6+ minutes in OT left at home. All you need is FG range at that point. The defense manned up and shutdown the Giants for the majority of 2nd half and overtime. Williams owes his teammates, the city of San Fransico, and the 49ers faithful a personal apology for his ineptitude. And the sad thing is he has/had a future as a starting WR for San Fran. But after this I don't know if he can recover from this emotionally or if the Niners even want him back next season. And for the all the fans thats all we have to look forward to-----next season. So enjoy your Super Bowl sports world. I dont know if Ill be able to watch knowing how close we came. For his sake I hope Williams is watching and taking notes on the finer points of fair catching.