Rest in peace, Chris Henry.

I would like to observe a moment of silence for Chris Henry, who died this morning after suffering injuries from a fall yesterday. Henry was reportedly in a domestic dispute with his fiancé when he fell out of the bed of a moving pickup truck that she was driving. This is very sad.

A look of Henry's career stats:

Career: 5 Years; Rec: 119; Yards: 1,826; Avg: 15.3; TD: 21

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail??blogid=95&entry_id=53717

Fooch's Note: The 49ers issued a quick note with some comments from former Bengals' teammates of Henry.  I thought I'd leave this on the front page for a little bit (it remains as a FanPost as well).

49ers DT Justin Smith on former teammate Chris Henry's passing

December 17, 2009

"It's sad. He was a talented guy. When I played with him he was a good guy, quiet in the locker room. He kept to himself for the most part. From everything that it sounded like, he was getting back on track and this happens. My feelings go out to him and his family."

49ers LB Ahmad Brooks on former teammate Chris Henry's passing

December 17, 2009

 "I was sad to hear. You hate to see somebody go. He was a good guy. We've all made bad decisions throughout our life, but he grew from it, he learned from it and he had a family, so I'm definitely sad to hear that happen. I knew him very well. I'm just sad to hear that and I'll pray for him, I'll pray for everybody."

There's something about watching the 49ers look like a real football team that is hard to put into words. I mean, it's been nearly a decade. Steve Young has been out of football for 10 years. During that time, we've only had three winning seasons. And those don't even count because I said so.

Sure, I've watched plenty of other teams look like they belonged in the league. Between 1991 and 2004, the Bengals never had a winning season. THAT team has been to the playoffs since the last time the 49ers were any good.

The Houston Texans came into the league in 2002. They've never been any good. They have always sucked. Since they came into the league, they've won 46 regular season games. The 49ers have won 47 during that same period.

The Kansas City Chiefs are one of the worst teams in the entire league. They've won 9 games total in the last three years. Even they made the playoffs only four years ago. Their starting quarterback that season was Damon Huard. Let me give you a second to let that sink in. Damon Huard. Playoffs. Kansas City Chiefs. 2006. Damon Huard.

The Arizona Cardinals as a franchise have been to the playoffs twice since a strike shortened 1982 season. During that period - a period of 17 seasons - they've had four winning years. And one of those years they only won eight games. Their head coach was Joe Bugel for four years. That franchise was so inept that Joe Bugel lasted FOUR YEARS as their head coach. And they've been to the Super Bowl since the last time the 49ers were any good.

So when I look at the 49ers right now, and I see a team that plays like a competent football team, and I see them dominate the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football in front of the entire nation... well, I have a hard time putting that into words. So instead of putting that into words, I'll just give you the prediction scores.

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More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

lolwut?

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  vs.  

This is the third thread for tonight's 49ers-Cardinals game. This is the fourth-quarter edition. I wouldn't mind getting some insurance points here. How about you?

Especially since the Cardinals just scored.

(YES! BLOCK EXTRA POINT! TAKE THAT, ONE POSSESSION GAME!)

As was printed in the laudable San Francisco Chronicle (that's how you conjugate the verb "to laugh," right?), Moran Norris was given an award for his strong fundamentals. I'll excerpt it here, because paraphrasing would really do no justice.

Fullback Moran Norris was named to the initial "All-Fundamentals" team, a joint project by the NFL Players Association and USA Football, governing body for youth and amateur football. Norris and 25 others were named to the team for being fundamentally sound players and for their service to their communities.

Link.

It's unclear exactly what this is rewarding. I mean, fundamentals are pretty intangible when you think about it. But I don't think they're too far off. Moran Norris is a hard worker. He really tucks his shirt in the right way. Come game time, he's always at the stadium. His shoes are never on the wrong feet. When he's told to go play fullback, he lines up on the field just like he's a real fullback.

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Okay, I'm going to try to do this quickly. I don't like depriving you, but if I take too long getting this up, then I won't be able to watch Speed Racer tonight. And if I don't watch Speed Racer tonight, I might not ever watch it. And if I don't ever watch it, I'll never know what the deal is with Racer X. Who is that guy??? Why do they have a monkey??? Why in the crap does the car need to jump??? Inquiring mind needs to know!

I'm also going to take a tablet of acid and enjoy all the colors. Acid does come in tablet form, right? I don't know. I don't really have any acid. I wouldn't know what to do with it if I did. I don't know anything about drugs. Excuse me while I go inject myself with some marijuana.

But I plan on simulating the acid experience by watching Speed Racer.

So that's that.

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Norm Van Brocklin. Drew Bledsoe. Phil Simms. Joe Kapp. Alex Smith.

I'm trying to run with this whole 11 thing. It's week 11. Alex Smith wears number 11. My Spinal Tap Fan Meter Rating sits at 11. Of course, that's on a scale of 1-16, so take it for what it's worth.

No, there's really nothing particularly good about 11. Not with quarterbacks anyway. Well, unless you have the soft and fuzzies for Norm Van Brocklin. But come on, the dude didn't even have a QB rating in the 80s. Hall of Fame LOSER, am I right?!

Yeah, so... did you know that 11 is the atomic number for sodium? That's something. Na keeps me alive.

Ummm... The Canadian one-dollar coin has 11 sides. And that helps keep the Loony strong. Canada is weird.

11 is the first of the master numbers in numerology. I don't know what the hell that means. But it sounds important.

Holy crap... 11 is a terrible number. It sucks. Sorry, Alex Smith. I guess your fate really is sealed.

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I know that we're still a ways off from this whole thing, but I thought it would be entertaining to see what everybody is expecting to see happen when the Tim Lincecum show premieres before an arbitration judge near you (unless you're far away, or unless you're assuming that an agreement is reached on an extension). Since now we have what seems to be all of the pertinent information regarding Tim Lincecum... hey, why not?

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And at long last we arrive at the final installment of our Remembering the Genius series here on NinersNation. If you're just finding out about this segment now, Remembering the Genius is a temporary segment that we usually run on Wednesdays, but are getting up on Thursday this week largely due to my own carelessness. Arne Christensen, who posts here as arnec, interviewed David Harris about Bill Walsh, and we're running the interview here, while it lasts, which as it turns out is until today. You can read the earlier parts here.

And as before, I think it's important that you have this information and these links available every week:

Arne Christensen is the author of several e-books describing the Bill Walsh 49er teams, from 1979 through 1988, with a focus on the three Super Bowl winners. These e-books are available for purchase online. Arne also runs a blog about the 49ers' history, which can be viewed here. A few months ago he spoke with David Harris, author of The Genius (also available on Amazon), a biography of Walsh focused on his 10 years coaching the 49ers.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Arne for graciously allowing us to publish these on the website, and I'd like to thank David Harris for also supporting, and not to mention enlightening us with this interview.

Please enjoy Part 5, after the jump.

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