--The Super Bowl did not turn out quite the way 49ers quarterback Shaun Hill had hoped. Prior to the Pittsburgh-Arizona NFL championship game, Hill said he preferred that neither team would win.
After all, the 49ers, Steelers and Dallas entered the game tied with five Super Bowl titles. And the 49ers play in the same division as the Cardinals.
"I don't want Pittsburgh to have more rings than us, and I'm (upset) that Arizona is representing the West instead of us," Hill said. "I can't watch any of it. It's kind of sad."
--In four playoff games, Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald averaged 7.5 receptions for 136.5 yards and 1.75 touchdowns. But the 49ers had no such problems with one of the elite receivers in the league. In two games, the 49ers held Fitzgerald to a total of 77 yards receiving.
Niners secondary coach Johnnie Lynn said the 49ers played Fitzgerald different than other teams because the Cardinals are a division opponent. Therefore, they could not afford to ever become predictable.
"We play him twice a year," Lynn said. "If you play zone the entire game, they'll kill you, so you have to change it up. We match up pretty well, and the people we have guarding him did a good job.
"They (the Steelers) allowed him to get inside and run. We'll try to re-route them and make things difficult. And another thing with (Anquan) Boldin and Fitzgerald, you have to tackle them. We have good tacklers in our secondary."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think this is the new millennium. This is 2009, and there is the 'wildcat' thing going on and there is a down-the-field thing going on. I don't think you can play one dimensional, never have." -- 49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye on the perception the 49ers will predominantly run the ball.
