They are on an incredible winning streak at home right now. They’ve clinched the first playoff spot in the NFC and it appears that they could be clinching home field advantage in the playoffs with another win or two.  That’s a good thing for them because they certainly are a different team when they play on the road, although they’ve only lost one game so far this season.  I have been impressed with their performance this season.  That includes the thumping they gave the New Orleans Saints on Monday night. Jumping out to a 17-0 first quarter lead just about guaranteed a victory for the Seattle Seahawks.  What all this doesn’t guarantee right now is a trip to New York for the Super Bowl.  They have been exposed in some of their games this year and though their record doesn’t show it they do have lapses both on offense and defense. They seem to forget their identity.  If that happens down the stretch they could lose that home field advantage and maybe the NFC West, but they have a pretty sizable lead going into the final four games of the season.

It helps that the 49ers are starting to look more balanced on offense.  With the return of WR Michael Crabtree from an achilles tear in May it seems to have rejuvenated QB Colin Kaepernick. The St. Louis Rams are a good defense, but the Niners were able to expose their flaws and Kaepernick had a good performance throwing the football.  Can this continue to finish the season with games against the Seahawks, Buccaneers, Falcons and Cardinals? It’s certainly possible.  They are the defending NFC Champions and they still boast one of the best defenses in the league and have a pretty good leg up on their competition that is stumbling behind them.  Health and consistency will be keys for the 49ers as it will be with their rivals the Seahawks.  If San Francisco beats Seattle this Sunday it could be an interesting finish in the NFC West.

To be this obvious is really a disservice to cheaters.  It’s hard to say which one was more obvious.  Mike Tomlin on the sidelines (pictured above) or Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd clearly telling his player to “hit me” that resulted in Kidd’s cup being spilled on the basketball court.  Both of them are dumb for doing it and were rightly punished with fines for their actions.  Is that to say they won’t do it again or something similar to get their way?  Absolutely not.  Coaches have done things that can be called cheating or getting an edge on the competition, but that’s with far fewer television cameras watching their every move.  I’d expect this kind of stuff at the high school level or at some college venues with fewer eyes.  During a nationally televised game?  Hardly.  A lot was discussed about their actions, but only reaction was that it was stupid and they were caught doing it.  Trying to pass it off as if nothing was done, like Jason Kidd did made it even worse.  Tomlin knew he was screwed, judging by his smile after the play.  He is a more seasoned coach and should know better, but Kidd is a new head coach and was a desperate play to steal a win.  Whatever the reasoning behind it the key to cheating is not getting caught.  That’s usually an easy thing to remember.