Center Jonathan Goodwin isn’t looking at the 49ers’ playoff debut next Saturday with any “revenge factor” when he encounters his team from the previous five seasons, the New Orleans Saints. Idle this wild-card weekend, the 49ers learned their divisional-round opponent when the Saints raced past the Detroit Lions 45-28 on Saturday night.
Goodwin served as a guest Sunday on the “5th Quarter” on KPIX (Channel 5) following Sunday’s overtime win by the Denver Broncos over the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Note: All eight NFL division champions have advanced to the aptly named divisional round next weekend, and is anyone other than Urban Meyer wondering if Alex Smith might actually meet Tim Tebow in the Super Bowl?)
Here is what Goodwin had to say to show host Dennis O’Donnell:
How big is it to have home-field advantage for this game? “To not have to go down there and have to deal with the crowd noise, and to get that offense outside of the dome, hopefully it’s something we can take advantage of. It doesn’t guarantee us anything but why go down there and make things harder if it doesn’t have to be.”
What makes Drew Brees tick? “He’s a great competitor. He wants to win at everything. The one thing that makes him a great quarterback is he’s smart, he can read defenses well and he’s accurate. Anytime you can read a defense and know where to go with the ball, that’s a pretty tough combo.”
Did you guys learn from the 24-3 exhibition-opening loss at New Orleans? “I would like to think so, get down there and see what those guys are capable of, and see the different type of blitzes Greg (Williams, the defensive coordinator) might bring, it can only help. Sometimes mistakes are bad but you never know how they may help you in the future.”
On how the offensive line has progressed? “It’s been a drastic improvement. We’ve gotten to know each other better, and that’s key for offensive line play. It’s hard to come in and not know a guy and expect how a guy might react in certain situations. Our experience has been key for us and hopefully we can go in this weekend together for a good performance.”
What revenge factor do you have against the Saints? “Believe it or not, there’s isn’t any revenge for me. It’s not the story of where a guy got released or they didn’t make an attempt to bring him back. I chose to move on. I’m not going into this week looking at it as a revenge factor. I just want to win for my new team. I want these guys to see and experience the Super Bowl.”
What his keys to Saturday’s game are? “It’ll be important for us to be able to establish a good run game, and also to go out and protect the ball, so no turnovers. Defensively, if we can limit the big plays, I think we’ll be OK.”
Goodwin had similar things to say last week when asked in the 49ers’ locker room about the Saints. He’s kept in touch this season with some of his ex-teammates, many of whom texted him after officials nullified his potential touchdown catch on a fake field goal in Arizona. Goodwin and receiver Brett Swain are the only 49ers players with Super Bowl rings.
