The Grant Napear Show - December 11, 2012
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The story of the professional athlete overcoming a troubled past to make it to the pros is not uncommon. What makes LaMichael James story so unique is that he has been on himself for most of his life, and even after reaching the pinnacle of football, his past will continue to remind him how lucky he is.
The visiting Miami Dolphins knew that they would have their hands full against the San Francisco 49ers. The game was close for most of the day, but due to another strong defensive performance by San Francisco, aided by one big Miami mistake, the 49ers were able to outlast their opponent and remain the second seed in the NFC playoff picture.
Staring up at the sunny San Francisco sky, Marcus Thigpen peeked down at a pair of hard-charging defenders. By the time he looked back up, everything became blurry.
An injury report is rarely exciting, but this week 49ers should be hopeful that A.J. Jenkins may be called upon due to a (relatively) minor injury to Mario Manningham. If the rookie is not on the field at some point it will mean more snaps for Randy Moss, and indicate that Jenkins has not shown his coaches that he deserves to be playing.
After suffering just their 3rd loss of the season last week, its important for the 49ers to avoid a losing streak on Sunday. Standing in their way of getting back in the winning column will be the Miami Dolphins, who have played well in spots, but overall have not had a good season. This one does not appear to be close on paper, but the 49ers proved just last week that there are no easy victories.
Nobody really thought that once the Seattle Seahawks named Russell Wilson the starting quarterback that they had a shot at making the playoffs this year, let alone winning the division. But with only four games left in the season they are right in the hunt, and have the attention of the 49ers, who have come out this week and made it clear that they plan to finish the regular season strong.
When the 49ers drafted running back LaMichael James, both he and the team probably didn't figure that he would not play through the first 12 weeks of the season. There is still no ETA on when he will play, but with an injury to Kendall Hunter, the team figures to turn to the rookie who can offer the team the same things that Hunter did to help make the offense so effective.
Ahmad Brooks has paid his dues to make it to the NFL. Part of it was his own doing, but his path to get to the professional level as been difficult and unique. However, with football in his blood, he has worked hard to earn a spot with the San Francisco 49ers.
