[OutsiderFan]

I think there is a little bit of difference between the last play calls in the Rose Bowl and NFC CG.

While Shaw made a call that didn't work, he was in fact betting on the team's strong suit.  Now, you can say Stanford hadn't been successful running the ball all game long, so why would it work now, but all it takes is one time, and honestly, how many times had Hewitt been stuffed in those situations?

By contrast, Harbaugh (and Roman) called a play that relied on the weakest ability of the offense to execute.  Kaepernick's two greatest strengths are his legs and throwing "rocket balls" in tight windows.  Touch passes are not his forte.  Therefore, the fade pass is arguably the weakest component of the Niner's offense, and they called on this weakest capability to win the game.

When a call doesn't work, it's ripe for criticism, but as much as both calls didn't work, Shaw and Bloomgren at least went down with their best.  The Niners lost with their weakest hand. 

[OutsiderFan]

I think there is a little bit of difference between the last play calls in the Rose Bowl and NFC CG.

While Shaw made a call that didn't work, he was in fact betting on the team's strong suit.  Now, you can say Stanford hadn't been successful running the ball all game long, so why would it work now, but all it takes is one time, and honestly, how many times had Hewitt been stuffed in those situations?

By contrast, Harbaugh (and Roman) called a play that relied on the weakest ability of the offense to execute.  Kaepernick's two greatest strengths are his legs and throwing "rocket balls" in tight windows.  Touch passes are not his forte.  Therefore, the fade pass is arguably the weakest component of the Niner's offense, and they called on this weakest capability to win the game.

When a call doesn't work, it's ripe for criticism, but as much as both calls didn't work, Shaw and Bloomgren at least went down with their best.  The Niners lost with their weakest hand.