That was easily the best game the 49ers have played all year, outside of maybe against Detroit but the Lions barely count as an NFL team. To dominate an 8-4 that had beaten two playoff contenders on the road like that is just an amazing confidence booster. What's more is that the 49ers did it without their best player for the entire second half and with their second best defensive player for the entire game. A little more than a month ago this team was dead in the water with a lame-duck coach and a turnover prone quarterback and now they are playing with a fire and intensity we haven't seen in a long time. I know this is stupid because it is in the past but I am torn right now. Part of me wishes that Shaun Hill had been the starter since week 1 because if he had been we would probably be 8-5 and playoff bound right now but, on the other hand, Nolan wouldn't have been fired in that situation. But I guess when I think about it long term I am happier that O'Sullivan was the quarterback in the first half of the season because we were going nowhere with Nolan at the helm. With Singletary, however, we could go far.
- I admit I have been one of the loudest voices crying out against Mike Martz but I can't say anything at all about the game he called yesterday. Whenever the 49ers did something wrong on offense it was on the execution, not the play call. On the opening drive of the game we were moving right the field until the Robinson fumble and on our next possession we did it again except we didn't give the Jets the ball, though we did fumble. On those first two drives we totaled 131 yards and 7 first downs, had only one play go for negative yardage, converted 2/2 third downs, held the ball for over 9 minutes, and Shaun Hill only threw 1 incomplete pass. We really should have been up 14 nothing at the end of the 1st quarter. The best part of Martz's playcalling, however, was his third down playcalling which I consider to be the most important aspect in judging an offensive coordinator. On the third downs that the 49ers didn't convert the play calls were excellent but the team didn't execute. As much as I would like to I can't put that on Martz. Yesterday he called the screen passes, dump-offs, and quick slants that most of us have been calling and they worked to perfection, like we thought they would. If I had to grade him on yesterday's game it would obviously be an 'A'
- Shaun Hill has just been great for us since last year. Listen to these numbers. In 7 starts he is 5-2 with 215 passing yards per game, 15 touchdowns (2 rush), 5 interceptions, a 62% completion percentage, and a 95 passer rating. The two games he lost have been on the road against 8-5 teams and we should have won 1 of those. Yesterday was not the best game of the 7, statistically, but it was the best game if you ask me. He was extremely accurate, always found the open man, got rid of the ball on time, avoided the rush, and only made one mistake. Some of his passes were just fantastic and, maybe it is just me, it seems like his arm is getting stronger and stronger with every week. His only mistake was a bad one and I don't know what he was thinking but one mistake in 42 drop backs isn't a bad percentage. His numbers on third down were as follows; 10/13, 94 yards, 1 TD, 7 first downs passing, 8 rushing yards, 1 first down rushing. On two of the three third down completions that we didn't convert he got us within 1 yard of the first down marker and we went for it and converted.
- Before he got hurt Frank Gore was having a great game. I know 14 carries for 52 yards and 3 catches for 13 yards w/ a touchdown may not look like a great game on the stat sheet but he was able to gain yards even when there wasn't a hole. If you take away the two times he was tackled for a loss, both of which were completely the fault of the offensive line, he carried the ball 12 times for 56 yards, which averages out to 4.6 yards per carry, in basically a half of play. Considering how good the Jets run defense has played this season that is great. DeShaun Foster was considerably worse when he took over for Gore. I thought with extended play he might be able to get something going but he didn't. If Gore can't go next week, knock on wood, Thomas Clayton has to be promoted from the practice squad and take Foster's place. Michael Robinson should also get more carries. That fumble was inexcusable but he made a nice cut back on the 13 yard screen pass and blocked surprisingly well when he was asked to.
- Isaac Bruce has been a great signing for us. Not only is he clutch (5 third down catches, 4 conversions) but you can obviously see he is having a huge effect on the younger receivers, especially Jason Hill. Every time I see Hill catch a pass I think he is Bruce because of his smooth route-running and great hands. He has been almost as clutch as Bruce since he started seeing significant playing time. Bryant Johnson had a good game with 6 catches and a great touchdown catch but unless he steps it up in the last three weeks of the season he just hasn't done enough to deserve a new contract with Hill, Josh Morgan, and even Dominque Zeigler emerging and Bruce still having a year left on his contract. It was good to see Arnaz Battle back, because a lot of you know he is one of my favorite 49ers. I'm not sure if he played any offense, though, but I was just glad to see him in uniform.
- That was a great catch by Vernon Davis on the deep pass down the middle that Shaun Hill underthrew a little bit. In all honesty I am not sure I would ever see Davis go down and help his quarterback out like that but maybe that means he is becoming more of a team player. Even though he still isn't getting many passes thrown his way he is still contributing as a dominant blocker. Considering his small size compared to other tight ends I am surprised he is such a great blocker. Delanie Walker ran a great route on the touchdown that was called back but was still outplayed by Davis, one of the few times that has happened this season if you ask me.
- Pretty much every member of the offensive line had their best game of the season. Eric Heitmann held his own against the Pro Bowl bound Kris Jenkins and got more of a push on running plays then most of us expected, David Baas made a few mistakes in pass protection but was great at pulling on running plays, one of the two sacks allowed by the 49ers (the other was a coverage sack) was partly Chilo Rachal's fault but other than that a few other plays he looked good, Adam Snyder was getting no push when run blocking and allowed a defender to make a tackle for a loss twice but played better than he did against the Bills, and Joe Staley continues to dominate. Staley did commit a holding penalty that got a touchdown called back but other than that he was fantastic.
- As much as I have been against Martz I have probably been more against Manusky. I was just tired of him hoping our defensive line could put pressure on the opposing quarterbacks by themselves and giving them all day to throw because it wasn't working. Every time the QB would eventually find someone open. But yesterday that wasn't a problem for a couple of reasons. One was because the defensive line was actually getting pressure by themselves but the other was because he called a lot of blitzes and well designed blitzes at that. My theory is that Manusky was scared to secondary would get picked apart easily by Brett Favre without Nate Clements if Favre got time, maybe he got the idea by actually watching film of the 49ers this year, so he gambled and took pressure off of the secondary with a lot of blitzes. I know it seems like a stupid and kind of obvious thing to do but apparently Manusky didn't realize it until yesterday. Manusky also didn't have the linebackers playing 10 yards off the ball for most of the game, like he did against Buffalo. He needs to keep that gameplan for the rest of the season and then he might not get fired.
- Like I already said, the defensive line played great yesterday. Justin Smith was just manhandling D'Brickashaw Ferguson the entire game and the Jets noticed it. They didn't run the ball to the left one time all game and Smith only had one tackle, which was that late sack, but had a ton of QB pressures and forced Favre to step up into Parys Haralson a couple times. Aubrayo Franklin had by far his best game as a 49er. He actually pushed the pocket and held the point of attack for most of the game. Isaac Sopoaga got pushed out of the play a few times allowing big gains by Thomas Jones and Kentwan Balmer played poorly whenever I saw him in. He plays with almost no leverage. It seems like in college he got away with just overpowering opponents because he obviously has great strength but until he learns he can't do that in the NFL he won't do anything in the NFL.
- No high tackle numbers for Patrick Willis and Takeo Spikes today but isn't that a good thing? Both made a few good tackles still. Willis stopped Leon Washington short of the first down on 3rd and 6 with a great open field tackle and then forced an incomplete pass with a vicious hit on Brad Smith that will probably draw a fine. Whenever I saw Manny Lawson he was shadowing Dustin Keller and he did a great job holding Keller to 2 catches for only 14 yards, his worst game since he became a starter by far. Parys Haralson and Roderick Green both had some success rushing the passer and Haralson also added a couple of tackles at the line of scrimmage.
- I cannot believe how good the secondary played without Nate Clements. A lot of it has to do with the front seven actually putting pressure on Favre but even on quick and short passes everyone had good coverage. Tarell Brown and Donald Strickland both did a great job filling in for Nate Clements and Walt Harris shut down Lavernous Coles. Michael Lewis and Mark Roman didn't make any plays but they didn't need to because Favre was so off target with his deep passes.
- The special teams coverage was excellent outside of the Leo Washington touchdown that got called back. Washington had 3 punt returns for only 4 yards and averaged only 23 yards per kickoff return. After his first bad punt Andy Lee really "boomed" the other three allowing the coverage team to get down there. Delanie Walker wasn't great on either of his kick returns but he wasn't bad and Michael Robinson had that one long kickoff return to set up a field goal. I'd like to see MRob returning kicks more. Arnaz Battle muffed his first punt but was good on the other two returns.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Week 13@ Buffalo Positional Analysis
- As much as I would like to blame the playcalling for the offense's poor performance, because I hope Martz is gone next year, I can't. Martz called a pretty good game. He gave the ball to Gore a lot even though the running game wasn't really working and he only got "pass-happy" once, early in the third quarter. I am still waiting for screen passes to Gore, Davis, and Delanie Walker because teams continue to bring tons of pressure against us and stack the box. That is really the only criticism I have of Martz today. I could go after his third down playcalling, because we only converted 3/11 after that first great drive, but a lot of those failed conversions were on execution, not the play call.
- Shaun Hill once again played an efficient game and made plays when he needed to. 161 yards passing may not seem good but 7 yards per attempt is and there were also a few dropped passes. He didn't turn the ball over at all and even though he fumbled twice he fell on them. Of the three times he was sacked none of them were his fault and he used his legs to avoid a few more would be sacks.
- Looking at the box score one might think that Frank Gore had a bad game but in actuality he played okay but not great. He was hit in the backfield on at least half of his 24 carries and it was pretty amazing he got the yards he did because the Bills were stacking the box every play to stop him. Those two fumbles that he had were both just stupid. On the first one he just dropped the ball and fell on it instantly as he was going down so it didn't even mean anything and the second one was just a bad break. I really want to see Michael Robinson get more touches because he can make plays but I don't think it will happen anytime soon.
- We still don't really have a #1 receiver that teams respect and slide coverage to most of the game but Jason Hill and Isaac Bruce are both playing well. Bruce's route-running is still phenomenal and he completely schooled that corner on his touchdown and Jason Hill just has a knack for getting open. When Josh Morgan comes back those 3 will be a decent set of starters. Bryant Johnson continues to disappoint, though. Dominique Zeigler saw more passes thrown his way than he has all season but had a couple of drops.
- For the life of me I can't see the pass interference on Vernon Davis' long touchdown catch. At first, at full speed, it looked like there might have been but on the replays I don't see anything. Oh well I guess. I said earlier that I want to see more screen passes thrown Davis' way but that isn't Davis' fault. He is such a good blocker we could probably move him to right tackle and get better play out of him than we do out of our current right tackle but that will be addressed in the next paragraph.
- The trade we did last year to get Joe Staley is paying dividends. Since Hill took over at quarterback he has been lights out and hasn't only not allowed a sack but he given up almost no QB pressures. I think part of his play is because Hill gets rid of the ball on time, unlike O'Sullivan, but most of it is his development into a dominant franchise left tackle. On the flip side the right tackle, Adam Snyder, was pretty bad. It's kind of sad because he has been playing well since he took over for Jonas Jennings/Barry Sims but he just played awful today. All three of the sacks the 49ers allowed were on him, in my opinion, and he gave up a few more pressures to go along with his poor run blocking. Chilo Rachal is already developing into a very good right guard, especially in pass protection which a lot of people didn't expect. Considering his size, David Baas hasn't really been the run blocker he is supposed to be. I believe his contract only runs through this season and unless he picks it up I don't think he will be resigned. Eric Heitmann is a very good pass blocker but probably the worst run blocker on our offensive line.
- The defensive strategy and playcalling were pretty much the main reasons why the defense gave up so many yards, along with the lack of a pass rush. For some reason that I will never know Manusky had the linebackers playing almost 10 yards off the LoS on almost every play and only blitzed a handful of times, if that. Most of the time Lynch was 5 yards downfield before a defender even had a chance at him and under those circumstances of course he is going to do well. Manusky needs to go after the season.
- I can't really blame the defensive line for Lynch's great game or the lack of pressure on Edwards and Losman because I already know that they are not good enough to put pressure on opposing QBs with 4 guys and you can't expect 4 guys to get past 5 offensive linemen and make a tackle. I have to acknowledge how well they did late in the game, though. They, especially Justin Smith, were relentless and came through in the clutch. It was good to see Ray McDonald making some plays after disappearing after having such a great preseason but he isn't a capable starter. Smith and Isaac Sopoaga are the only players we have that are capable of starting on the defensive line. The announcer kept on saying Aubrayo Franklin was having a good game but I must have been watching something else because I saw him getting blown off of the ball.
- Patrick Willis is easily a top 3 middle linebacker in the league. 14 total tackles, a forced fumble, a knocked down pass, and a couple of quarterback pressures on the day. Takeo Spikes had a great game as well and if Willis wasn't on this team he would get some Pro Bowl recognition. Manny Lawson was on the field for most of the game but Manusky had him playing farther back than even the other linebackers and he was in coverage a lot so it is hard to tell whether or not he had a good game.
- Nate Clements really made up for getting burned [b]once[/b] by Owens and didn't let Lee Evans beat him deep once and only gave him a few short passes, the 22 yarder was when Walt Harris was on him. Speaking of Walt Harris, he isn't very good anymore. Both Tarell Brown and Donald Strickland outplayed him today in my opinion. Our free safeties, Mark Roman and Keith Lewis, still suck. Roman can't cover or tackle which lead me to want to ask why he is even on the field and Lewis just doesn't have a free safety mentality. He wants to hit someone and doesn't think about coverage or assignments. Michael Lewis had a solid game. He wasn't beat deep but he didn't help in run defense much either.
- The return game really suffered with Allen Rossum out and we need him back but the coverage teams were great. That might have been because Andy Lee and Joe Nedney were both on top of their game and booming kicks even in the inclement weather. Lee was instrumental in this win, pinning them back deep quite a few times.
All in all, while I am not happy about how ugly the game was, I am happy we won. We are the first west coast team to come east and win so that has to mean something and beating a playoff caliber team on the road is impressive. I don't want to hear that Edwards leaving the game is why the Bills lost either because Losman played better than Edwards did in the first half.
- Shaun Hill once again played an efficient game and made plays when he needed to. 161 yards passing may not seem good but 7 yards per attempt is and there were also a few dropped passes. He didn't turn the ball over at all and even though he fumbled twice he fell on them. Of the three times he was sacked none of them were his fault and he used his legs to avoid a few more would be sacks.
- Looking at the box score one might think that Frank Gore had a bad game but in actuality he played okay but not great. He was hit in the backfield on at least half of his 24 carries and it was pretty amazing he got the yards he did because the Bills were stacking the box every play to stop him. Those two fumbles that he had were both just stupid. On the first one he just dropped the ball and fell on it instantly as he was going down so it didn't even mean anything and the second one was just a bad break. I really want to see Michael Robinson get more touches because he can make plays but I don't think it will happen anytime soon.
- We still don't really have a #1 receiver that teams respect and slide coverage to most of the game but Jason Hill and Isaac Bruce are both playing well. Bruce's route-running is still phenomenal and he completely schooled that corner on his touchdown and Jason Hill just has a knack for getting open. When Josh Morgan comes back those 3 will be a decent set of starters. Bryant Johnson continues to disappoint, though. Dominique Zeigler saw more passes thrown his way than he has all season but had a couple of drops.
- For the life of me I can't see the pass interference on Vernon Davis' long touchdown catch. At first, at full speed, it looked like there might have been but on the replays I don't see anything. Oh well I guess. I said earlier that I want to see more screen passes thrown Davis' way but that isn't Davis' fault. He is such a good blocker we could probably move him to right tackle and get better play out of him than we do out of our current right tackle but that will be addressed in the next paragraph.
- The trade we did last year to get Joe Staley is paying dividends. Since Hill took over at quarterback he has been lights out and hasn't only not allowed a sack but he given up almost no QB pressures. I think part of his play is because Hill gets rid of the ball on time, unlike O'Sullivan, but most of it is his development into a dominant franchise left tackle. On the flip side the right tackle, Adam Snyder, was pretty bad. It's kind of sad because he has been playing well since he took over for Jonas Jennings/Barry Sims but he just played awful today. All three of the sacks the 49ers allowed were on him, in my opinion, and he gave up a few more pressures to go along with his poor run blocking. Chilo Rachal is already developing into a very good right guard, especially in pass protection which a lot of people didn't expect. Considering his size, David Baas hasn't really been the run blocker he is supposed to be. I believe his contract only runs through this season and unless he picks it up I don't think he will be resigned. Eric Heitmann is a very good pass blocker but probably the worst run blocker on our offensive line.
- The defensive strategy and playcalling were pretty much the main reasons why the defense gave up so many yards, along with the lack of a pass rush. For some reason that I will never know Manusky had the linebackers playing almost 10 yards off the LoS on almost every play and only blitzed a handful of times, if that. Most of the time Lynch was 5 yards downfield before a defender even had a chance at him and under those circumstances of course he is going to do well. Manusky needs to go after the season.
- I can't really blame the defensive line for Lynch's great game or the lack of pressure on Edwards and Losman because I already know that they are not good enough to put pressure on opposing QBs with 4 guys and you can't expect 4 guys to get past 5 offensive linemen and make a tackle. I have to acknowledge how well they did late in the game, though. They, especially Justin Smith, were relentless and came through in the clutch. It was good to see Ray McDonald making some plays after disappearing after having such a great preseason but he isn't a capable starter. Smith and Isaac Sopoaga are the only players we have that are capable of starting on the defensive line. The announcer kept on saying Aubrayo Franklin was having a good game but I must have been watching something else because I saw him getting blown off of the ball.
- Patrick Willis is easily a top 3 middle linebacker in the league. 14 total tackles, a forced fumble, a knocked down pass, and a couple of quarterback pressures on the day. Takeo Spikes had a great game as well and if Willis wasn't on this team he would get some Pro Bowl recognition. Manny Lawson was on the field for most of the game but Manusky had him playing farther back than even the other linebackers and he was in coverage a lot so it is hard to tell whether or not he had a good game.
- Nate Clements really made up for getting burned [b]once[/b] by Owens and didn't let Lee Evans beat him deep once and only gave him a few short passes, the 22 yarder was when Walt Harris was on him. Speaking of Walt Harris, he isn't very good anymore. Both Tarell Brown and Donald Strickland outplayed him today in my opinion. Our free safeties, Mark Roman and Keith Lewis, still suck. Roman can't cover or tackle which lead me to want to ask why he is even on the field and Lewis just doesn't have a free safety mentality. He wants to hit someone and doesn't think about coverage or assignments. Michael Lewis had a solid game. He wasn't beat deep but he didn't help in run defense much either.
- The return game really suffered with Allen Rossum out and we need him back but the coverage teams were great. That might have been because Andy Lee and Joe Nedney were both on top of their game and booming kicks even in the inclement weather. Lee was instrumental in this win, pinning them back deep quite a few times.
All in all, while I am not happy about how ugly the game was, I am happy we won. We are the first west coast team to come east and win so that has to mean something and beating a playoff caliber team on the road is impressive. I don't want to hear that Edwards leaving the game is why the Bills lost either because Losman played better than Edwards did in the first half.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Week 10 @Arizona Positional Analysis
First let me just say that was the worst officiating sustained through an entire game that I have ever seen in my life. The officials were throwing flags on penalties that weren't there (i.e. the offensive pass interference called on Anquan Boldin), picking them back up, changing their minds (the pass interference on Bryant Johnson on the "tipped ball" play), and missing obvious penalties (like the facemask on Michael Robinson on the last play. The 49ers didn't do themselves any favors with terrible clock management and stupid penalties that actually happened but with proper officiating they still would have won that game.
- As a whole the offense was much better than it had been with J.T. O'Sullivan. Looking at the penalties and turnovers an uneducated observer might not think so but it was. We converted 50% of our third downs for the first time all season and Martz's playcalling wasn't stupid. He ran Gore 23 times and tried to throw it to him a few more. There were only a few long-developing, 7 step drops and quite a few quick slants. I just can't excuse the clock management at the end of the game, though. There were 45 seconds left when Jason Hill got down to the one yard line and we took 25 seconds to spike the ball. That is inexcusable. Then we should have spiked the ball with 4 seconds left and gotten a new play in. The refs messed up those last few plays but the 49ers messed up more.
- Just as the whole offense was better than in was with O'Sullivan so was Shaun Hill. He was the reason we converted so many of our third downs. When he ran for the first down late in the first half and lost his helmet I think we all saw shades of Steve Young. His three turnovers were bad but they didn't cost us the game and all of them have simple explanations. On the fumble he just never got the ball cleanly from Heitmann, which is probably because hasn't practiced with him enough, on the first interception
- Every time I do these game write-ups I have to type something about Frank Gore but I really don't know what to say anymore. The only bad game he has had this season is @ the Giants but other than that he has been great an Monday night was no exception. He was popping off 4 yards or more on almost every one of his carries even when there was no hole to run through. Gore did drop a couple of passes, including a swing pass on 3rd down that would have been a big play, but when you judge a player and he has one bad play for every 25 good ones I think that means he is a great player. Gore was also great in blitz pick-up. It was good to see Michael Robinson get involved but I would like to see more of it, and not on the game deciding play. I like MRob but he shouldn't be carrying it in that situation. Does DeShaun Foster even suit up anymore and if he doesn't then why not bring Thoma Clayton up from the practice squad and get him some carries. A running back rotation with Gore running 22 times and Robinson/Clayton splitting 15 carries to go along with 20-25 passes a game from Hill would greatly improve our offense.
- I have been saying for a while that Jason Hill impressed me more in the preseason than Josh Morgan but for some reason he hasn't been getting playing time. In the past two games he has gotten his chance and made the most of it. Ten catches for 122 yards and a touchdown in two games is good for anyone but it is especially impressive how good some of the catches and runs afterwards have been. If not for two great moves by Hill on our last drive we wouldn't have even been in position to win the game. Even though Hill was better Josh Morgan was still good himself. Those two look like they could be our #1 and #2 receivers of the future. Dominique Zeigler, who was as good as those two in the preseason as well, had a good catch and ran on that late 3rd and 25 and I saw him open a few other times when he was him. Maybe he can be our #3 down the road. Neither Isaac Bruce nor Bryant Johnson did anything Monday night and unless his performance picks up there is a very small chance that Johnson will be in San Francisco next season.
- After Vernon Davis caught that touchdown before the half I was estatic but then he committed a typical unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and I hated him again. Then he pulled up when he could have caught another touchdown and I hated him even more. I want him to do well for the rest of the season and build on that next year but if he keeps up the pace he is going at right now I don't know if he will be around next season. Davis is a great blocker, though. At this point he has probably even surpassed Billy Bajema as a blocker. Delanie Walker did nothing but I would like to see him, as well as Davis and Gore, get more screen passes thrown their way so they can run after the catch.
- The offensive line was definitely better than it had been all season. Adam Snyder was much better at right tackle than Barry Sims had been and David Baas was better at left guard than Snyder was. Baas did have some pass protection issues, as did both Eric Heitmann at center and Tony Wragge at right guard. The Cardinals seemed to be attacking the middle with blitzes all night long. At left tackle Joe Staley was only beat once but on the play he pushed his man back enough to allow Shaun Hill to step up into the pocket and complete the pass. Chilo Rachal got in for a sometimes and made some great blocks, one on Gore’s long sweep to the right and the other when he pushed his man 7 yards downfield on Morgan’s touchdown. I guess what the scouting reports said about him, that once he locked up it was over, were true. It seems like every week I say we should have a different offensive line configuration but this time I think I have it. Staley-Wragge-Baas/Heitmann-Rachal-Snyder. We still need an upgrade at right tackle and left guard but right now that gives us the best line, I think.
- I am going to take some heat for this but I am going to say again that the defense played better than the offense again Monday night. Sure they allowed 29 points and were cut up but Kurt Warner but they made plays when it mattered the most and completely shut down Tim Hightower. They held Arizona to 30% on third down, forced field goals for most of the game, stopped the Cardinals from going up by 7 points by stopping he two point conversion, and gave the offense the ball back with great field position with a chance to win the game. The problem that allowed Warner to carve us up was the same problem as usual, no pass rush. I'm now conviced that Manusky is, and was under Nolan, running the defense because we have the same vanilla gameplan, don't blitz at all and hope the front four gets pressure on the opposing QB. It isn't working and yet we still continue to do it.
- The defensive line played great against the run, which when you look at them is really what they are built for. None of them are really pass rushers. On the positive (?) side, our defensive line has pretty much been the most consistent part of our team all year. Justin Smith holds up against the run and sometimes pressures the passer, Isaac Sopoaga holds the point of attack but rarely pushes anyone back and takes up double teams, when Kentwan Balmer plays he holds the point of attack admirably, Ray McDonald will sometimes beat a weak right tackle off the edge, and Parsy Haralson and Roderick Green are both good situational pass rushers. Yep, pretty easy to predict how our defensive line will play.
- With every week that passes I love the Takeo Spikes signing more and more. He is just playing lights out football, especially against the run. It seems like every time we stop a back close to the line of scrimmage Spikes is in on the tackle, along with Patrick Willis of course. Willis has been playing even better than Spikes and at least as good as he did last season, if not better. P-Willy is definitely Pro Bowl bound. (I didn't see Manny Lawson in at all, did he play? After such a great game against Seattle I would have thought he would be in on every play)
- It is officially time for Walt Harris to be replaced as Anquan Boldin abused him all night long. Tarell Brown played well and he should probably be promoted to the #2 corner. Nate Clements proved that he doesn't need any help covering a team's #1 receiver. He was in man coverage with Larry Fitzgerald for pretty much the whole game and didn't let him catch anything except short 4-6 yard gains. Nate's 5 yard bumps were more like Fitzgerald running into a wall. Mark Roman is pretty much the worst free safety in the league at this point. He can't cover one-on-one, he can't play zone coverage, and he can't make tackles. Michael Lewis wasn't much better, at least this week. He got embarrassed on a pump fake multiple times and missed a few tackles himself which is very unlike him.
- The special teams was one of the main reasons we were in the game at the end. Allen Rossum had a couple of good returns, including the last punt return, that set us up with great field position. Then there was obviously the kickoff return for a touchdown during which MRob made not one but two great blocks. Joe Nedney's kickoff from the 15 right before halftime was a thing of beauty and so were the rest of his kicks. The coverage teams just have not played up to the level they are capable of this season but still, they haven't really allowed any returns that cost us the game.
- As a whole the offense was much better than it had been with J.T. O'Sullivan. Looking at the penalties and turnovers an uneducated observer might not think so but it was. We converted 50% of our third downs for the first time all season and Martz's playcalling wasn't stupid. He ran Gore 23 times and tried to throw it to him a few more. There were only a few long-developing, 7 step drops and quite a few quick slants. I just can't excuse the clock management at the end of the game, though. There were 45 seconds left when Jason Hill got down to the one yard line and we took 25 seconds to spike the ball. That is inexcusable. Then we should have spiked the ball with 4 seconds left and gotten a new play in. The refs messed up those last few plays but the 49ers messed up more.
- Just as the whole offense was better than in was with O'Sullivan so was Shaun Hill. He was the reason we converted so many of our third downs. When he ran for the first down late in the first half and lost his helmet I think we all saw shades of Steve Young. His three turnovers were bad but they didn't cost us the game and all of them have simple explanations. On the fumble he just never got the ball cleanly from Heitmann, which is probably because hasn't practiced with him enough, on the first interception
- Every time I do these game write-ups I have to type something about Frank Gore but I really don't know what to say anymore. The only bad game he has had this season is @ the Giants but other than that he has been great an Monday night was no exception. He was popping off 4 yards or more on almost every one of his carries even when there was no hole to run through. Gore did drop a couple of passes, including a swing pass on 3rd down that would have been a big play, but when you judge a player and he has one bad play for every 25 good ones I think that means he is a great player. Gore was also great in blitz pick-up. It was good to see Michael Robinson get involved but I would like to see more of it, and not on the game deciding play. I like MRob but he shouldn't be carrying it in that situation. Does DeShaun Foster even suit up anymore and if he doesn't then why not bring Thoma Clayton up from the practice squad and get him some carries. A running back rotation with Gore running 22 times and Robinson/Clayton splitting 15 carries to go along with 20-25 passes a game from Hill would greatly improve our offense.
- I have been saying for a while that Jason Hill impressed me more in the preseason than Josh Morgan but for some reason he hasn't been getting playing time. In the past two games he has gotten his chance and made the most of it. Ten catches for 122 yards and a touchdown in two games is good for anyone but it is especially impressive how good some of the catches and runs afterwards have been. If not for two great moves by Hill on our last drive we wouldn't have even been in position to win the game. Even though Hill was better Josh Morgan was still good himself. Those two look like they could be our #1 and #2 receivers of the future. Dominique Zeigler, who was as good as those two in the preseason as well, had a good catch and ran on that late 3rd and 25 and I saw him open a few other times when he was him. Maybe he can be our #3 down the road. Neither Isaac Bruce nor Bryant Johnson did anything Monday night and unless his performance picks up there is a very small chance that Johnson will be in San Francisco next season.
- After Vernon Davis caught that touchdown before the half I was estatic but then he committed a typical unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and I hated him again. Then he pulled up when he could have caught another touchdown and I hated him even more. I want him to do well for the rest of the season and build on that next year but if he keeps up the pace he is going at right now I don't know if he will be around next season. Davis is a great blocker, though. At this point he has probably even surpassed Billy Bajema as a blocker. Delanie Walker did nothing but I would like to see him, as well as Davis and Gore, get more screen passes thrown their way so they can run after the catch.
- The offensive line was definitely better than it had been all season. Adam Snyder was much better at right tackle than Barry Sims had been and David Baas was better at left guard than Snyder was. Baas did have some pass protection issues, as did both Eric Heitmann at center and Tony Wragge at right guard. The Cardinals seemed to be attacking the middle with blitzes all night long. At left tackle Joe Staley was only beat once but on the play he pushed his man back enough to allow Shaun Hill to step up into the pocket and complete the pass. Chilo Rachal got in for a sometimes and made some great blocks, one on Gore’s long sweep to the right and the other when he pushed his man 7 yards downfield on Morgan’s touchdown. I guess what the scouting reports said about him, that once he locked up it was over, were true. It seems like every week I say we should have a different offensive line configuration but this time I think I have it. Staley-Wragge-Baas/Heitmann-Rachal-Snyder. We still need an upgrade at right tackle and left guard but right now that gives us the best line, I think.
- I am going to take some heat for this but I am going to say again that the defense played better than the offense again Monday night. Sure they allowed 29 points and were cut up but Kurt Warner but they made plays when it mattered the most and completely shut down Tim Hightower. They held Arizona to 30% on third down, forced field goals for most of the game, stopped the Cardinals from going up by 7 points by stopping he two point conversion, and gave the offense the ball back with great field position with a chance to win the game. The problem that allowed Warner to carve us up was the same problem as usual, no pass rush. I'm now conviced that Manusky is, and was under Nolan, running the defense because we have the same vanilla gameplan, don't blitz at all and hope the front four gets pressure on the opposing QB. It isn't working and yet we still continue to do it.
- The defensive line played great against the run, which when you look at them is really what they are built for. None of them are really pass rushers. On the positive (?) side, our defensive line has pretty much been the most consistent part of our team all year. Justin Smith holds up against the run and sometimes pressures the passer, Isaac Sopoaga holds the point of attack but rarely pushes anyone back and takes up double teams, when Kentwan Balmer plays he holds the point of attack admirably, Ray McDonald will sometimes beat a weak right tackle off the edge, and Parsy Haralson and Roderick Green are both good situational pass rushers. Yep, pretty easy to predict how our defensive line will play.
- With every week that passes I love the Takeo Spikes signing more and more. He is just playing lights out football, especially against the run. It seems like every time we stop a back close to the line of scrimmage Spikes is in on the tackle, along with Patrick Willis of course. Willis has been playing even better than Spikes and at least as good as he did last season, if not better. P-Willy is definitely Pro Bowl bound. (I didn't see Manny Lawson in at all, did he play? After such a great game against Seattle I would have thought he would be in on every play)
- It is officially time for Walt Harris to be replaced as Anquan Boldin abused him all night long. Tarell Brown played well and he should probably be promoted to the #2 corner. Nate Clements proved that he doesn't need any help covering a team's #1 receiver. He was in man coverage with Larry Fitzgerald for pretty much the whole game and didn't let him catch anything except short 4-6 yard gains. Nate's 5 yard bumps were more like Fitzgerald running into a wall. Mark Roman is pretty much the worst free safety in the league at this point. He can't cover one-on-one, he can't play zone coverage, and he can't make tackles. Michael Lewis wasn't much better, at least this week. He got embarrassed on a pump fake multiple times and missed a few tackles himself which is very unlike him.
- The special teams was one of the main reasons we were in the game at the end. Allen Rossum had a couple of good returns, including the last punt return, that set us up with great field position. Then there was obviously the kickoff return for a touchdown during which MRob made not one but two great blocks. Joe Nedney's kickoff from the 15 right before halftime was a thing of beauty and so were the rest of his kicks. The coverage teams just have not played up to the level they are capable of this season but still, they haven't really allowed any returns that cost us the game.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Mid-Season Grades
Now that half of the 49ers schedule has been played it is time to grade each aspect of the team. I love how our bye week splits our schedule perfectly in half because the team gets rest at the perfect time and it gives me time to write this long review and it gives you guys something to read during the bye week. Without further ado let's get to the position-by-position review and analysis.
Quarterback (Grade: D-)
The only thing that stopped me from giving J.T. O'Sullivan an 'F' is that he did have a couple of good games, though it was against terrible teams in Detroit and Seattle. Outside of those two games he was about as bad as a quarterback could be. He finished his season with 17 total turnovers (11 interceptions, 6 fumbles, plus 5 fumbles that the 49ers recovered) and while he did put up decent touchdown, yards, and yards per attempt numbers, 8 touchdowns, 1678 yards, 7.7 yards per attempt, but every quarterback in Mike Martz's offense has done that so it isn't much of an accomplishment. Neither his 58.4 percent completion nor his 74 passer rating helped his cause. As if his bad stats weren't enough he held the ball way too long and took sacks that he didn't need to. I am okay with a quarterback trying to make a play outside of the pocket, to an extent, but when you are two yards away from the sideline and there is a defender bearing down on you you have to get rid of the ball and not lose yardage for your team.
Runningbacks (Grade: A-)
Some of you might ask why I am giving Frank Gore an 'A-', well I'm not. Frank Gore by himself gets an 'A+', 629 rushing yards (4th in the league), 4.6 yards per carry, 940 yards from scrimmage(2nd), 5 total touchdowns, 32 receptions, and 311 receiving yards (2nd among running backs), but the rest of the backs did so little they bring the grade down. As much as I love Michael Robinson he just didn't do much. It was because he didn't get enough touches and that isn't his fault so I probably could cut him some slack but I'm not. Deshaun Foster has been a disappointment and I say that even though I only thought of him as an insurance policy in case Gore got hurt. When Foster has gotten carries he has done nothing with them. Zak Keasey seems like a waste of a roster spot even with his good special teams play because he does nothing on offense. With Shaun Hill at quarterback we should see more running in the second half of the season and hopefully it is with MRob
Tight Ends (Grade: C-)
Now a 'C-' might seem like a high grade considering the numbers our tight ends have put up (322 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown) but both Delanie Walker and Vernon Davis, I list Walker first because he is better than Davis in my opinion, have contributed in blocking. Davis has been especially impressive when blocking. I have seen him lock up on Pro Bowlers, such as Patrick Kerney, and block them like he was a Pro Bowl tackle. Much like it should be with the running backs we should see more production from the tight ends with Shaun Hill in because with his weak arm, no offense, we will see a lot of underneath passes that give Walker and Davis a chance to run after the catch and we know that the can both do that very well.
Wide Receivers (Grade: C)
It's really hard to judge the receivers because, just like quarterbacks, they put up good numbers in Martz offense's. Both Arnaz Battle(318 yards) and Isaac Bruce(399 yards) are over 300 yards right now and have had a 100-yard game. Bruce is tied for 3rd in the league in receiving touchdowns with 4. Before he got hurt Bryant Johnson was looking good and hopefully his hamstring will be healed after the bye so he can continue that. Josh Morgan had that one good game against the Giants and Jason Hill looked good in the second game against Seattle. Both look like they have a ton of potential and hopefully a quarterback that throws the ball to his own players instead of the other team can bring it out.
Offensive Line (Grade: D+)
I admit that I have jumped all over JTO for taking too many sacks but even if you take the ones that are his fault away the line certainly hasn't been good in pass protection. Barry Sims has easily been the worst of the bunch. I think that according the sites that track sacks allowed Sims has allowed the most of any 49er offensive lineman, even though he didn't play he first game, but even some of the ones that he wasn't credited for have been his fault because when he got beat JTO had to step up or roll left right into on of the other offensive linemen's man. The second worst lineman was Adam Snyder at left guard but that isn't his position so I expected that. Like a lot of 49er fans I think Snyder is a perfect fit at right tackle but he never gets a chance to play it for some reason. David Baas replaced Snyder against Seattle in week 8 but he wasn't much better. His footwork was bad and his pass protection suffered for it. On the bright side his run bocking was a vast improvement over Snyder's. At center Eric Heitmann has been solid outside of a few times when he has been pushed back into the quarterback's face. Tony Wragge started off the season pretty well but has gotten progessively worse with each game but he is still a serviceable right guard until Chilo Rachal is ready to start. The best offensive lineman has been Joe Staley, though that isn't a huge accomplishment. Considering this is his first season a left tackle I am excited about how good he can be with some experience. There have been a few times when he made a mistake, like week 8 when he didn't even realize Julian Peterson was blitzing, but he has been in the top half of the league when it comes to left tackle rankings
Offense Coaching (Grade: D+)
Mike Martz has been a huge disappointment. After week 3 against Detroit I thought he had changed his ways and realized he should run the ball 30+ times a game but it looks like he was just trying to piss off the Lions, who said he wouldn't run the ball. Every time the opposing team gets even a slight lead, even with a lot of time left, he almost completely abandons the run. Frank Gore only has 22 4th quarter carries and the 49ers have been within 10 points with 10 minutes left in the game in every game this season except for last week against Seattle. You don't even want to get me started on the 3rd down play calling but suffice to say it has been bad, 31 percent conversions on third down.
Offense (Grade: C-)
The offense as a whole has been bad but it hasn't been nearly as bad as last year. Even with JTO's constant turnovers he stil moved the ball some and Frank Gore is having a great season. The stats are bad but likeI said, not as bad as last year. 19th in passing yards, 19th in rushing yards, 22nd in total yards, 13th in yards per play, and 19th in points. None of those are great but at least none of them are bottom 5. The only offensive categories we are in he bottom 5 in are turnovers and time of possessin but those can be put squarely on JTO's shoulders.
Defensive Line (Grade: C)
When it comes to stopping the run the defensive line has been good. While they have given up 112 yards per game (19th) on the ground they have only allowed 3.6 yards per carry (6th). The problem is the same as last year. The offense can't stay on the field so the other team gets a lot of carries. Justin Smith is having a solid season with 40 total tackles, 3 sacks, and an interception and Parys Haralson (4 sacks) and Roderick Green (2 sacks) are both peforming well as situational pass rushes. None of the defensive tackles is playing great but Isaac Sopoaga has been good. Ray McDonald looks great in the preseason but hasn't done much in the regular season. Kentwan Balmer hasn't gotten a lot of playing time but whenever I have seen him he has looked solid to good. Aubrayo Franklin has been pretty much awful.
Linebackers (Grade: B+)
Patrick Willis is picking up were he left off last season which is playing at an All-Pro level. He is 2nd in the league in total tackles with 71, 1st in solo tackles with 57, has 1 sack, has knocked down 8 passes, and has an interception which he returned 86 yards for a touchdown. Takeo Spikes is playing almost as well himself. He has 48 total tackles, 3 interceptions, and a forced fumble. Manny Lawson didn't get much playing time because Nolan was stupid but when he finally got the chance to play the whole game against Seattle he was great notching 6 solo tackles for -3, -1, 1, 10, 2, and 0 yards as well as a sack. When he is in the game the 49ers run defense is dramatically better and the opponents tight end does nothing.
Secondary (Grade: B)
Considering they have been playing with almost no pass rush the secondary has been pretty good. They have allowed 217 passing yards per game (18th), 7.1 yards per pass (17th), 18 plays of 20+ yards (12th), and a passer rating of 82.1 (13th). Those numbers themselves don't warrant the 'B' grade but like I said, there is no pass rush so they are more impressive. Nate Clements doesn't have great numbers this season but that is because no one is throwing his way. I have only seen a handful of passes completed to his man when the 49ers are in man coverage. Walt Harris has been extremely up and down. At some points he looks like an All Pro but other times he gets burnt like a rookie. Michael Lewis is doing what he does, making plays near the line of scrimmage and playing solid in coverage. Mark Roman is just playing terrible and has gotten burned at least once in every game this season. The back-up second year players, Tarell Brown and Dashon Goldson, have really done well whenever they have played, especially Brown. Both will probably be starting next year in place of Walt and Roman. I haven't seen much of Reggie Smith.
Defensive Coaching (Grade: D-)
The coaching is the second biggest reason why the defenses numbers are so bad, the first being JTO. For some reason whoever is controlling the defense thinks that our defensive line is good enough to pressure the opposing quarterbacks without blitzing anyone else. Well that obviously isn't true but they still refuse to bring pressure even when it seems like every time pressure is brought something good happens. Then there is the decision to keep Roman starting over Goldson even though anyone with eyes could tell you that Goldson is better. The third down defensive playcalling is almost as bad as the offensive. On 3rd and 20 they give the quarterback all day to throw and eventually someone gets open and on 3rd and 1 they blitz to the outside instead of up the middle. It is just stupid.
Defense (Grade: C)
Even if the stats don't show it the defense has been better than the offense. They may have allowed 28.8 points per game (31st) but that is because the other team gets the ball in 49er territory so much because of JTO's turnovers. They are 19th in the league in total yards allowed, 18th in passing yards allowed, 19th in rushing yards allowed, and 15th in yards per play. If the offense could stay on the field those ranks would get drastically better and hopefully that will happen after the bye.
Special Teams (Grade: B)
The special teams has been good but not great like last year. Allen Rossum has been great on punt returns averaging over 20 yards per on 4 returns and solid on kickoff averaging 26 yards per on 31 returns. Andy Lee's average and net average are both down about 4 yards from last year but a lot of that is because the coverage team hasn't been nearly as good as it was last year. Joe Nedney is really booming kickoffs allowing the coverage team to get down there and make the tackle after minimal gains and he is 17/19 on field goal, matching his totals from last year already.
Quarterback (Grade: D-)
The only thing that stopped me from giving J.T. O'Sullivan an 'F' is that he did have a couple of good games, though it was against terrible teams in Detroit and Seattle. Outside of those two games he was about as bad as a quarterback could be. He finished his season with 17 total turnovers (11 interceptions, 6 fumbles, plus 5 fumbles that the 49ers recovered) and while he did put up decent touchdown, yards, and yards per attempt numbers, 8 touchdowns, 1678 yards, 7.7 yards per attempt, but every quarterback in Mike Martz's offense has done that so it isn't much of an accomplishment. Neither his 58.4 percent completion nor his 74 passer rating helped his cause. As if his bad stats weren't enough he held the ball way too long and took sacks that he didn't need to. I am okay with a quarterback trying to make a play outside of the pocket, to an extent, but when you are two yards away from the sideline and there is a defender bearing down on you you have to get rid of the ball and not lose yardage for your team.
Runningbacks (Grade: A-)
Some of you might ask why I am giving Frank Gore an 'A-', well I'm not. Frank Gore by himself gets an 'A+', 629 rushing yards (4th in the league), 4.6 yards per carry, 940 yards from scrimmage(2nd), 5 total touchdowns, 32 receptions, and 311 receiving yards (2nd among running backs), but the rest of the backs did so little they bring the grade down. As much as I love Michael Robinson he just didn't do much. It was because he didn't get enough touches and that isn't his fault so I probably could cut him some slack but I'm not. Deshaun Foster has been a disappointment and I say that even though I only thought of him as an insurance policy in case Gore got hurt. When Foster has gotten carries he has done nothing with them. Zak Keasey seems like a waste of a roster spot even with his good special teams play because he does nothing on offense. With Shaun Hill at quarterback we should see more running in the second half of the season and hopefully it is with MRob
Tight Ends (Grade: C-)
Now a 'C-' might seem like a high grade considering the numbers our tight ends have put up (322 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown) but both Delanie Walker and Vernon Davis, I list Walker first because he is better than Davis in my opinion, have contributed in blocking. Davis has been especially impressive when blocking. I have seen him lock up on Pro Bowlers, such as Patrick Kerney, and block them like he was a Pro Bowl tackle. Much like it should be with the running backs we should see more production from the tight ends with Shaun Hill in because with his weak arm, no offense, we will see a lot of underneath passes that give Walker and Davis a chance to run after the catch and we know that the can both do that very well.
Wide Receivers (Grade: C)
It's really hard to judge the receivers because, just like quarterbacks, they put up good numbers in Martz offense's. Both Arnaz Battle(318 yards) and Isaac Bruce(399 yards) are over 300 yards right now and have had a 100-yard game. Bruce is tied for 3rd in the league in receiving touchdowns with 4. Before he got hurt Bryant Johnson was looking good and hopefully his hamstring will be healed after the bye so he can continue that. Josh Morgan had that one good game against the Giants and Jason Hill looked good in the second game against Seattle. Both look like they have a ton of potential and hopefully a quarterback that throws the ball to his own players instead of the other team can bring it out.
Offensive Line (Grade: D+)
I admit that I have jumped all over JTO for taking too many sacks but even if you take the ones that are his fault away the line certainly hasn't been good in pass protection. Barry Sims has easily been the worst of the bunch. I think that according the sites that track sacks allowed Sims has allowed the most of any 49er offensive lineman, even though he didn't play he first game, but even some of the ones that he wasn't credited for have been his fault because when he got beat JTO had to step up or roll left right into on of the other offensive linemen's man. The second worst lineman was Adam Snyder at left guard but that isn't his position so I expected that. Like a lot of 49er fans I think Snyder is a perfect fit at right tackle but he never gets a chance to play it for some reason. David Baas replaced Snyder against Seattle in week 8 but he wasn't much better. His footwork was bad and his pass protection suffered for it. On the bright side his run bocking was a vast improvement over Snyder's. At center Eric Heitmann has been solid outside of a few times when he has been pushed back into the quarterback's face. Tony Wragge started off the season pretty well but has gotten progessively worse with each game but he is still a serviceable right guard until Chilo Rachal is ready to start. The best offensive lineman has been Joe Staley, though that isn't a huge accomplishment. Considering this is his first season a left tackle I am excited about how good he can be with some experience. There have been a few times when he made a mistake, like week 8 when he didn't even realize Julian Peterson was blitzing, but he has been in the top half of the league when it comes to left tackle rankings
Offense Coaching (Grade: D+)
Mike Martz has been a huge disappointment. After week 3 against Detroit I thought he had changed his ways and realized he should run the ball 30+ times a game but it looks like he was just trying to piss off the Lions, who said he wouldn't run the ball. Every time the opposing team gets even a slight lead, even with a lot of time left, he almost completely abandons the run. Frank Gore only has 22 4th quarter carries and the 49ers have been within 10 points with 10 minutes left in the game in every game this season except for last week against Seattle. You don't even want to get me started on the 3rd down play calling but suffice to say it has been bad, 31 percent conversions on third down.
Offense (Grade: C-)
The offense as a whole has been bad but it hasn't been nearly as bad as last year. Even with JTO's constant turnovers he stil moved the ball some and Frank Gore is having a great season. The stats are bad but likeI said, not as bad as last year. 19th in passing yards, 19th in rushing yards, 22nd in total yards, 13th in yards per play, and 19th in points. None of those are great but at least none of them are bottom 5. The only offensive categories we are in he bottom 5 in are turnovers and time of possessin but those can be put squarely on JTO's shoulders.
Defensive Line (Grade: C)
When it comes to stopping the run the defensive line has been good. While they have given up 112 yards per game (19th) on the ground they have only allowed 3.6 yards per carry (6th). The problem is the same as last year. The offense can't stay on the field so the other team gets a lot of carries. Justin Smith is having a solid season with 40 total tackles, 3 sacks, and an interception and Parys Haralson (4 sacks) and Roderick Green (2 sacks) are both peforming well as situational pass rushes. None of the defensive tackles is playing great but Isaac Sopoaga has been good. Ray McDonald looks great in the preseason but hasn't done much in the regular season. Kentwan Balmer hasn't gotten a lot of playing time but whenever I have seen him he has looked solid to good. Aubrayo Franklin has been pretty much awful.
Linebackers (Grade: B+)
Patrick Willis is picking up were he left off last season which is playing at an All-Pro level. He is 2nd in the league in total tackles with 71, 1st in solo tackles with 57, has 1 sack, has knocked down 8 passes, and has an interception which he returned 86 yards for a touchdown. Takeo Spikes is playing almost as well himself. He has 48 total tackles, 3 interceptions, and a forced fumble. Manny Lawson didn't get much playing time because Nolan was stupid but when he finally got the chance to play the whole game against Seattle he was great notching 6 solo tackles for -3, -1, 1, 10, 2, and 0 yards as well as a sack. When he is in the game the 49ers run defense is dramatically better and the opponents tight end does nothing.
Secondary (Grade: B)
Considering they have been playing with almost no pass rush the secondary has been pretty good. They have allowed 217 passing yards per game (18th), 7.1 yards per pass (17th), 18 plays of 20+ yards (12th), and a passer rating of 82.1 (13th). Those numbers themselves don't warrant the 'B' grade but like I said, there is no pass rush so they are more impressive. Nate Clements doesn't have great numbers this season but that is because no one is throwing his way. I have only seen a handful of passes completed to his man when the 49ers are in man coverage. Walt Harris has been extremely up and down. At some points he looks like an All Pro but other times he gets burnt like a rookie. Michael Lewis is doing what he does, making plays near the line of scrimmage and playing solid in coverage. Mark Roman is just playing terrible and has gotten burned at least once in every game this season. The back-up second year players, Tarell Brown and Dashon Goldson, have really done well whenever they have played, especially Brown. Both will probably be starting next year in place of Walt and Roman. I haven't seen much of Reggie Smith.
Defensive Coaching (Grade: D-)
The coaching is the second biggest reason why the defenses numbers are so bad, the first being JTO. For some reason whoever is controlling the defense thinks that our defensive line is good enough to pressure the opposing quarterbacks without blitzing anyone else. Well that obviously isn't true but they still refuse to bring pressure even when it seems like every time pressure is brought something good happens. Then there is the decision to keep Roman starting over Goldson even though anyone with eyes could tell you that Goldson is better. The third down defensive playcalling is almost as bad as the offensive. On 3rd and 20 they give the quarterback all day to throw and eventually someone gets open and on 3rd and 1 they blitz to the outside instead of up the middle. It is just stupid.
Defense (Grade: C)
Even if the stats don't show it the defense has been better than the offense. They may have allowed 28.8 points per game (31st) but that is because the other team gets the ball in 49er territory so much because of JTO's turnovers. They are 19th in the league in total yards allowed, 18th in passing yards allowed, 19th in rushing yards allowed, and 15th in yards per play. If the offense could stay on the field those ranks would get drastically better and hopefully that will happen after the bye.
Special Teams (Grade: B)
The special teams has been good but not great like last year. Allen Rossum has been great on punt returns averaging over 20 yards per on 4 returns and solid on kickoff averaging 26 yards per on 31 returns. Andy Lee's average and net average are both down about 4 yards from last year but a lot of that is because the coverage team hasn't been nearly as good as it was last year. Joe Nedney is really booming kickoffs allowing the coverage team to get down there and make the tackle after minimal gains and he is 17/19 on field goal, matching his totals from last year already.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Week 5 vs. New England Positional Analysis
- Martz was ridiculously outcoached by Belichick, who had an answer to everything Martz tried. The sad part is that I could of outcoached Martz with the game he called. The playcalling was so predictable it would have been easy. First down, 5 yard run by Gore; second down, 3 yard run by Gore; third down, long developing pass play instead of a 3 step drop. All the Patriots had to do was bring pressure on third down and they did it. The offense only converted 1 third down out of the 9 they tried and only had 1 drive of more than 5 yards, including 5 three and outs.
- J.T. O'Sullivan didn't play as poorly this week as he did last week but it was close. At least this week he didn't turn the ball over in the red zone or take sacks when he didn't have to. He still had quite of few costly mistakes. The one that stood out was the interception deep in our own territory on the first 49ers drive of the 2nd half. The Patriots had just had a 10-play, 6 minute (the defense only allowed 34 yards and forced a punt, though) drive to start the 3rd quarter and the defense was tired and needed a break, instead JTO threw an interception 38 seconds later and forced the defense to come back onto the field with their backs to the wall at their own 24. Of course the Patriots scored a touchdown on that. I am amazed that the defense almost stopped them. Then there was his last interception with about 3 minutes left when he tried to force something that wasn't even close to there. San Francisco still had all 3 timeouts left and was only down by 9 at that point. Throw the ball away, pin the Patriots, and hope the defense can get you the ball back. Outside of those 2 plays he was inaccurate for most of the game.
- There wasn't nearly enough Frank Gore to judge his performance. When he got the ball he was great as always but Martz didn't give him the ball enough. I don't know why Martz abandoned the run in the 3rd quarter when we were only down by 3 and then 10. Gore's touchdown catch was great but outside of that he didn't have any highlights. Even though he didn't touch the ball I would like to take this time to talk about Michael Robinson. He is a great athlete and can throw the ball and there are so many things he can do. It bothers me that he isn't used more on offense when he should be used at least as a short yardage back.
- Isaac Bruce didn't catch many passes but when he caught one it was a big play. Two of his three catches were for touchdowns and the other was for 38 yards. After yesterday he has 4 touchdown catches on the season. It seems that he still does have something left in the tank. Two weeks ago at New Orleans I thought the receivers were having trouble getting seperation and that is why none of them had a good game, except for Arnaz Battle. Yesterday I don't think that was true. I saw quite a few plays when Battle and Bryant Johnson were running around wide open and JTO didn't see them. Still, neither of them played well as they both dropped a pass that could have been a big play. As I said last week, Josh Morgan and Jason Hill are a year away but I am excited about seeing what they can do when they get the chance.
- I am not going to say Vernon Davis had a bad game this week because I saw him open almost every time he went out for a pass. It is not his fault he was only targeted once. He stayed back to pass block most of the time and he did a good job. Delanie Walker, on the other hand, was bad. That first pass he dropped on the opening drive would have gone for 20+ yards and on JTO's first interception it looked like Walker might have ran the wrong route.
- At least the offensive line was terrible this week. Early in the game they were allowing some pressure, because the Patriots did blitz a lot, but they gave JTO enough time to get rid of it and in the second half they made some adjustments and looked good. I cannot tell if it is because the rest of the offensive line sucks or he is just really good but Joe Staley looks like a Pro Bowler. He pretty much threw Jarvis Green around whenever he was in and held his own against Richard Seymour. Eric Heitmann was also surprisingly good against Wilfork, at least in pass protection as he wasn't pushed back. Adam Snyder is a failure at guard and there was obviously a reason that the Raiders didn't want Barry Sims anymore, he sucks. Why not just try Snyder out at right tackle? Both Tony Wragge and David Baas got playing time at right guard and neither was bad but Wragge was a little bit worse.
- I'm sorry but I just don't know what else to say about Nolan's defensive gameplan. He just doesn't know what he is doing. For some reason he had Nate Clements playing Moss deep yesterday and the Patriots saw it and just threw it to Moss short. Nolan failed to adjust to this. Finally Nolan did decied to bring some pressure and it was working because the defense was giving Matt Cassel almost no time to throw. But on third downs Nolan went right back to his Prevent-Big Nickel defense, or whatever he calls it, and Cassel had all day to find an open receiver for a first down.
- Even though the 49ers have basically switched to a 4-3 they still need a big, run clogging defensive tackle for short yardage situations. Isaac Sopoaga is a quick guy that can push the pocket on passing plays but he is not strong at the point of attack and can get pushed back. Kentwan Balmer might develop into the type of defensive tackle we need but he seems too similiar to Sopoaga. Ray McDonald is basically a cheap version of Sopoaga. Ronald Fields and Aubrayo Franklin are both back-ups at best. Justin Smith continues to look like a good signing. He was putting a lot of pressure on Cassel and was solid against the run. Roderick Green and Parys Haralson are both great situational pass rushers, especially Haralson, but neither is a consistent 3-down DE.
- That was the second best game of Patrick Willis' young career, imo. Fourteen solo tackles, including ones for 0, 2, 4, 2, 4, 2, 0, 3, 0, and a sack. He is a beast in every sense of the word. Takeo Spikes is starting to look like a great signing after starting off the first couple of games slowly. He had 9 tackles within 4 yards of the LoS and made a great interception, for the second straight week. The 49ers played with only 2 linebackers for most the game yesterday so Willis and Spikes were the only linebackers that did anything. Tully Banta Cain got in a play a few times but nothing spectacular. When Manny Lawson gets back, and if Nolan is smart enough to play a 4-3 with he, Willis, and Spikes at the linebacker positions, the 49ers will have a very formidable linebacking corps
- What is up with Walt Harris? For the first three weeks of the season he was great, and I mean Pro Bowl caliber great, but the last two weeks he has gotten burnt quite a few times. Randy Moss ran right by him when he slipped on that long touchdown. It was hard to judge Clements' performance yesterday because Nolan had him playing 20 yards off the LoS but he was right with Moss on his interception. Mark Roman continues to fail miserably as he got abused on short passes by Wes Welker but at least he didn't allow anything deep. Michael Lewis was good against the run and wasn't asked to cover much seeing as Donald Strickland was on the field so much. Strickland got owned on moves by Moss on all 4 of Moss' catches outside of the touchdown.
- I think it is safe to say that Andy Lee is back, don't you? I mean an 82 yard punt, and it traveled almost every yard in the air, an average of 56 yards, and a net average of 46 yards. Joe Nedney wasgood on kickoffs. Allen Rossum had a good day on kickoff returns but didn't get any chances to return any punts.
Overall, I am very disappointed in the coaches. At this point I am basically praying that Mike Nolan is fired during the week but I know he won't be. But my hopes are high because if the Eagles blow us out and we are 2-4 going into the bye, which is probably what will happen, there is a very good chance he will be fired. Don't get me wrong, I would never hope the 49ers lose but this is about as close as I will ever get.
- J.T. O'Sullivan didn't play as poorly this week as he did last week but it was close. At least this week he didn't turn the ball over in the red zone or take sacks when he didn't have to. He still had quite of few costly mistakes. The one that stood out was the interception deep in our own territory on the first 49ers drive of the 2nd half. The Patriots had just had a 10-play, 6 minute (the defense only allowed 34 yards and forced a punt, though) drive to start the 3rd quarter and the defense was tired and needed a break, instead JTO threw an interception 38 seconds later and forced the defense to come back onto the field with their backs to the wall at their own 24. Of course the Patriots scored a touchdown on that. I am amazed that the defense almost stopped them. Then there was his last interception with about 3 minutes left when he tried to force something that wasn't even close to there. San Francisco still had all 3 timeouts left and was only down by 9 at that point. Throw the ball away, pin the Patriots, and hope the defense can get you the ball back. Outside of those 2 plays he was inaccurate for most of the game.
- There wasn't nearly enough Frank Gore to judge his performance. When he got the ball he was great as always but Martz didn't give him the ball enough. I don't know why Martz abandoned the run in the 3rd quarter when we were only down by 3 and then 10. Gore's touchdown catch was great but outside of that he didn't have any highlights. Even though he didn't touch the ball I would like to take this time to talk about Michael Robinson. He is a great athlete and can throw the ball and there are so many things he can do. It bothers me that he isn't used more on offense when he should be used at least as a short yardage back.
- Isaac Bruce didn't catch many passes but when he caught one it was a big play. Two of his three catches were for touchdowns and the other was for 38 yards. After yesterday he has 4 touchdown catches on the season. It seems that he still does have something left in the tank. Two weeks ago at New Orleans I thought the receivers were having trouble getting seperation and that is why none of them had a good game, except for Arnaz Battle. Yesterday I don't think that was true. I saw quite a few plays when Battle and Bryant Johnson were running around wide open and JTO didn't see them. Still, neither of them played well as they both dropped a pass that could have been a big play. As I said last week, Josh Morgan and Jason Hill are a year away but I am excited about seeing what they can do when they get the chance.
- I am not going to say Vernon Davis had a bad game this week because I saw him open almost every time he went out for a pass. It is not his fault he was only targeted once. He stayed back to pass block most of the time and he did a good job. Delanie Walker, on the other hand, was bad. That first pass he dropped on the opening drive would have gone for 20+ yards and on JTO's first interception it looked like Walker might have ran the wrong route.
- At least the offensive line was terrible this week. Early in the game they were allowing some pressure, because the Patriots did blitz a lot, but they gave JTO enough time to get rid of it and in the second half they made some adjustments and looked good. I cannot tell if it is because the rest of the offensive line sucks or he is just really good but Joe Staley looks like a Pro Bowler. He pretty much threw Jarvis Green around whenever he was in and held his own against Richard Seymour. Eric Heitmann was also surprisingly good against Wilfork, at least in pass protection as he wasn't pushed back. Adam Snyder is a failure at guard and there was obviously a reason that the Raiders didn't want Barry Sims anymore, he sucks. Why not just try Snyder out at right tackle? Both Tony Wragge and David Baas got playing time at right guard and neither was bad but Wragge was a little bit worse.
- I'm sorry but I just don't know what else to say about Nolan's defensive gameplan. He just doesn't know what he is doing. For some reason he had Nate Clements playing Moss deep yesterday and the Patriots saw it and just threw it to Moss short. Nolan failed to adjust to this. Finally Nolan did decied to bring some pressure and it was working because the defense was giving Matt Cassel almost no time to throw. But on third downs Nolan went right back to his Prevent-Big Nickel defense, or whatever he calls it, and Cassel had all day to find an open receiver for a first down.
- Even though the 49ers have basically switched to a 4-3 they still need a big, run clogging defensive tackle for short yardage situations. Isaac Sopoaga is a quick guy that can push the pocket on passing plays but he is not strong at the point of attack and can get pushed back. Kentwan Balmer might develop into the type of defensive tackle we need but he seems too similiar to Sopoaga. Ray McDonald is basically a cheap version of Sopoaga. Ronald Fields and Aubrayo Franklin are both back-ups at best. Justin Smith continues to look like a good signing. He was putting a lot of pressure on Cassel and was solid against the run. Roderick Green and Parys Haralson are both great situational pass rushers, especially Haralson, but neither is a consistent 3-down DE.
- That was the second best game of Patrick Willis' young career, imo. Fourteen solo tackles, including ones for 0, 2, 4, 2, 4, 2, 0, 3, 0, and a sack. He is a beast in every sense of the word. Takeo Spikes is starting to look like a great signing after starting off the first couple of games slowly. He had 9 tackles within 4 yards of the LoS and made a great interception, for the second straight week. The 49ers played with only 2 linebackers for most the game yesterday so Willis and Spikes were the only linebackers that did anything. Tully Banta Cain got in a play a few times but nothing spectacular. When Manny Lawson gets back, and if Nolan is smart enough to play a 4-3 with he, Willis, and Spikes at the linebacker positions, the 49ers will have a very formidable linebacking corps
- What is up with Walt Harris? For the first three weeks of the season he was great, and I mean Pro Bowl caliber great, but the last two weeks he has gotten burnt quite a few times. Randy Moss ran right by him when he slipped on that long touchdown. It was hard to judge Clements' performance yesterday because Nolan had him playing 20 yards off the LoS but he was right with Moss on his interception. Mark Roman continues to fail miserably as he got abused on short passes by Wes Welker but at least he didn't allow anything deep. Michael Lewis was good against the run and wasn't asked to cover much seeing as Donald Strickland was on the field so much. Strickland got owned on moves by Moss on all 4 of Moss' catches outside of the touchdown.
- I think it is safe to say that Andy Lee is back, don't you? I mean an 82 yard punt, and it traveled almost every yard in the air, an average of 56 yards, and a net average of 46 yards. Joe Nedney wasgood on kickoffs. Allen Rossum had a good day on kickoff returns but didn't get any chances to return any punts.
Overall, I am very disappointed in the coaches. At this point I am basically praying that Mike Nolan is fired during the week but I know he won't be. But my hopes are high because if the Eagles blow us out and we are 2-4 going into the bye, which is probably what will happen, there is a very good chance he will be fired. Don't get me wrong, I would never hope the 49ers lose but this is about as close as I will ever get.
Friday, October 3, 2008
New England Patriots @San Francisco 49ers Preview
Going into last week I thought we would win easily against the Patriots but now I am not sure. The terrible gameplan by Mike Nolan and crucial turnovers by J.T. O'Sullivan cost us the game. I still believe that the 49ers can win this game but it is gonna be tough. Bill Belichick is a masterful gameplanner and the Patriots haven't lost a game after their bye week in 5 years.
49ers offense vs. Patriots defense
Right now New England's defense is really showing it's age. They are terrible against the run, giving up 140 yards per game (25th) and they aren't much better against the pass. They are allowing opponents to complete 70% of their passes and have only forced two interceptions. The usually good pass rush only has 6 sacks through 3 games (23rd). Frank Gore iis leading the league in yards from scrimmage with 525 (369 rushing, 4.9 y/c, 3 rushing TD; 15 receptions, 156 receiving). The 49ers are not going to need to do any direct snaps for him to have a big game. I would like to see the 49ers line Michael Robinson up behind center, though. He played quarterback in college and he was pretty good so if he was back there it would probably confuse the Patriots. For the 49ers to win this they are going to need better play from J.T. O'Sullivan. Last week he threw two interceptions in the redzone, fumbled once deep in 49ers territory, and held onto the ball way too long which led to 6 sacks. JTO needs to play like he did against the Lions, safe. He needs to get rid of the ball on time, not try and force things that aren't there, and run when the play breaks down. Hopefully Bryant Johnson is fully healthy because he looked slow last week. Isaac Bruce and Arnaz Battle picked up the slack for him but it obviously wasn't enough. Vernon Davis is pretty much officially a bust so I am not expecting much from him. He will probably get open deep a couple of times and drop sure touchdowns.
Patriots offense vs. 49ers defense
When I read that Manny Lawson was out for this weeks game I almost cried but then I remembered he only plays special teams. Mike Nolan sure is stupid. He is so stupid that he will probably keep the defense in the 4-2-5 for most of the game even though the Patriots are obviously going to try and run the ball if the game is close. Sure Laurence Maroney and the rest of the Patriots running backs aren't great but it isn't that hard to run on a nickel defense with only a couple of good defensive linemen missing it's best run defender, even though Lawson hasn't played much defense since week 1. If the Patriots stick with there short passing game and screens I am not worried about the 49ers not blitzing because that means they won't overpursue. But if Belichick is smart enough to change his offensive strategy back to what it was when Tom Brady was quarterback then we are screwed. Matt Cassel will have all day to throw, because the 49ers don't blitz, and Randy Moss and Wes Welker are two of the best receivers in the league at getting seperation. After a while they will get open, Cassel will see them, and we will get killed through the air just like last week against New Orleans.
Summary
I am not overconfident about this game but I do think the 49ers will win. Frank Gore will have a huge game (150 total yards and a couple of touchdowns), JTO will throw for about 230 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT, and no 49er receiver will have more than 70 yards. The defense will get a few sacks and a couple of turnovers. Matt Cassel will throw for less than 200 yards and will not have more than 1 touchdown. The Patriots running back will break 100 yards combined but average less than 4 yards per carry. 49ers: 27 - Patriots: 13
49ers offense vs. Patriots defense
Right now New England's defense is really showing it's age. They are terrible against the run, giving up 140 yards per game (25th) and they aren't much better against the pass. They are allowing opponents to complete 70% of their passes and have only forced two interceptions. The usually good pass rush only has 6 sacks through 3 games (23rd). Frank Gore iis leading the league in yards from scrimmage with 525 (369 rushing, 4.9 y/c, 3 rushing TD; 15 receptions, 156 receiving). The 49ers are not going to need to do any direct snaps for him to have a big game. I would like to see the 49ers line Michael Robinson up behind center, though. He played quarterback in college and he was pretty good so if he was back there it would probably confuse the Patriots. For the 49ers to win this they are going to need better play from J.T. O'Sullivan. Last week he threw two interceptions in the redzone, fumbled once deep in 49ers territory, and held onto the ball way too long which led to 6 sacks. JTO needs to play like he did against the Lions, safe. He needs to get rid of the ball on time, not try and force things that aren't there, and run when the play breaks down. Hopefully Bryant Johnson is fully healthy because he looked slow last week. Isaac Bruce and Arnaz Battle picked up the slack for him but it obviously wasn't enough. Vernon Davis is pretty much officially a bust so I am not expecting much from him. He will probably get open deep a couple of times and drop sure touchdowns.
Patriots offense vs. 49ers defense
When I read that Manny Lawson was out for this weeks game I almost cried but then I remembered he only plays special teams. Mike Nolan sure is stupid. He is so stupid that he will probably keep the defense in the 4-2-5 for most of the game even though the Patriots are obviously going to try and run the ball if the game is close. Sure Laurence Maroney and the rest of the Patriots running backs aren't great but it isn't that hard to run on a nickel defense with only a couple of good defensive linemen missing it's best run defender, even though Lawson hasn't played much defense since week 1. If the Patriots stick with there short passing game and screens I am not worried about the 49ers not blitzing because that means they won't overpursue. But if Belichick is smart enough to change his offensive strategy back to what it was when Tom Brady was quarterback then we are screwed. Matt Cassel will have all day to throw, because the 49ers don't blitz, and Randy Moss and Wes Welker are two of the best receivers in the league at getting seperation. After a while they will get open, Cassel will see them, and we will get killed through the air just like last week against New Orleans.
Summary
I am not overconfident about this game but I do think the 49ers will win. Frank Gore will have a huge game (150 total yards and a couple of touchdowns), JTO will throw for about 230 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT, and no 49er receiver will have more than 70 yards. The defense will get a few sacks and a couple of turnovers. Matt Cassel will throw for less than 200 yards and will not have more than 1 touchdown. The Patriots running back will break 100 yards combined but average less than 4 yards per carry. 49ers: 27 - Patriots: 13
Monday, September 29, 2008
Week 4 @New Orleans Positional Analysis
I might as well get this out tonight because I am so mad right now if I don't get this off of my chest I might explode.
- The third down play calling was getting on my nerves for most of the game. Instead of trying quick passes, because the offensive line wasn't playing well, Martz had J.T. O'Sullivan performing 7 step drops. I don't even want to get started on the red zone play calling so I won't but suffice to say it was very bad
- JTO just had an awful game. All season he has been holding onto the ball too long, I would estimate that at least 8 of the 19 sacks we have allowed are completely his fault with a few more partly his fault, but at least in other games he was making plays. Today he just wasn't doing anything except throwing inaccurate passes nowhere near his receivers. The worst part about him taking the sacks is that is makes it seem like the 49ers offensive line is terrible, which it isn't. He padded his stats in garbage time to make it look like he did well but those two red zone interceptions cost us a game that we were still in at the beginning of the 4th quarter.
- It can't be said enough that Frank Gore is the best player on the 49ers. He can run, he can catch, he can block, and he is a team leader. Through 4 games he has 525 yards from scrimmage (369 rushing, 156 receiving). He seemed like he might be having that fumbling problem early in the season but he has fixed that. I honestly see no problem in his game.
- I have said for a while that Arnaz Battle has the ability to be a good receiver if given the chance, today he proved that. He is a great possession receiver, 12 of his 15 catches have come for first downs, and he is clutch. Isaac Bruce had another solid game but Bryant Johnson was quiet. Josh Morgan is talented but he needs to develop, same thing with Jason Hill.
- Introducing Vernon Davis, the invisible man! Coming in at 6'3'', 250 pounds of pure muscle with blazing speed, Davis has an uncanny ability to do absolutely nothing! But, in all seriousness, he isn't doing anything. Delanie Walker, a 6th round draft pick I believe, is doing just as good as Davis.
- While Joe Staley continues to do well at left tackle the rest of the offensive line is average at best. Adam Snyder and Eric Heitmann both had okay games but Tony Wragge and Barry Sims were terrible. Hopefully Chilo Rachal is developed by next season and David Baas comes on strong but we would still need help at center and right tackle. I have said all along that Snyder should be playing right tackle but the coaches seem like they would rather watch him struggle at guard. I hope that by the end of the season the starting offensive line will be Staley, David Baas, Eric Heitmann, Chilo Rachal, and Adam Snyder. That would give us the best offensive line of the players on our roster, I believe, but we still would need upgrades at center and right tackle.
- Another games, another day when I complain about Nolan, and I am now convinced it is him, being way too vanilla. In my preview of the game I said that if Nolan doesn't blitz and allows Drew Brees to sit back there all day that we would get picked apart and it happened. I don't care who the receivers are, give Brees enough time and he will find an open man. Nolan doesn't seem to realize that our defensive line is nowhere near dominant enough to get pressure on a QB by themselves, and you would think that after 3 games of them not doing it he would have.
- Despite the defensive line not being as dominant as I would like to see Justin Smith is still looking like a good signing. For all intents and purposes it seems like we are playing a 4-3 defense now so Isaac Sopoaga had a solid game as well but he is by no means a dominant defensive tackle. Other than those two we could use an upgrade at every other position on the defensive line. Neither Aubrayo Franklin, Ronald Fields, or Ray McDonald are good enough starters and would all be better off as back-ups. Parys Haralson and Roderick Green are good situational pass rushers off the egde but neither is starting material either. Kentwan Balmer is developing nicely and looks to be ready to start soon enough
- I cannot begin to explain how angry I am that Manny Lawson is not playing many defensive snaps. What part of him being one of the best defensive players on the team does Nolan not understand? If Lawson's injury on that kickoff turns out to be serious I am going to be so angry. Patrick Willis is having another All-Pro season. He had two tackles for a loss (9 total tackles), one QB pressure that forced an incomplete pass, one knocked down pass, and a fumble recovery. Takeo Spikes definitely has his best game of the season, especially towards the beginning of the game, but he still wasn't great.
- The only players in the secondary that played well were Michael Lewis and Nate Clements. Lewis was all over the field making tackles, knocked down two passes, and that forced fumble was beautiful. Clements locked down whoever he was covering and made two tackles for a loss. Looking at that long catch by Henderson is really looked like, in my opinion, that Nate thought he had inside help because he stayed outside. When he realized Roman wasn't over there he sped up and made a great play to save the touchdown and then Lewis got us the ball back of course. Other than that I didn't see any mistakes that Clements made. Both Mark Roman and Dashon Goldson were getting beat like crazy
- I have to take back what I said about Allen Rossum's kickoff return abiltiy last wek because he was great this week. Andy Lee was actually hanging his punts high, except for one, allowing the coverage units to down them or force fair catches. Joe Nedney had a good day kicking field goals of 38, 49, and 47.
Unlike the loss in week one I cannot say that this one doesn't hurt. The 49ers were in this game up until the 4th quarter and this game wasn't just lost just because of stupid mistakes like week 1. JTO and the coaching staff, mainly Mike Nolan, cost us this game. I really thought we could win this and win next week and go into the bye week 4-2 after a loss to the Eagles. I still think we will beat the Patriots, though
- The third down play calling was getting on my nerves for most of the game. Instead of trying quick passes, because the offensive line wasn't playing well, Martz had J.T. O'Sullivan performing 7 step drops. I don't even want to get started on the red zone play calling so I won't but suffice to say it was very bad
- JTO just had an awful game. All season he has been holding onto the ball too long, I would estimate that at least 8 of the 19 sacks we have allowed are completely his fault with a few more partly his fault, but at least in other games he was making plays. Today he just wasn't doing anything except throwing inaccurate passes nowhere near his receivers. The worst part about him taking the sacks is that is makes it seem like the 49ers offensive line is terrible, which it isn't. He padded his stats in garbage time to make it look like he did well but those two red zone interceptions cost us a game that we were still in at the beginning of the 4th quarter.
- It can't be said enough that Frank Gore is the best player on the 49ers. He can run, he can catch, he can block, and he is a team leader. Through 4 games he has 525 yards from scrimmage (369 rushing, 156 receiving). He seemed like he might be having that fumbling problem early in the season but he has fixed that. I honestly see no problem in his game.
- I have said for a while that Arnaz Battle has the ability to be a good receiver if given the chance, today he proved that. He is a great possession receiver, 12 of his 15 catches have come for first downs, and he is clutch. Isaac Bruce had another solid game but Bryant Johnson was quiet. Josh Morgan is talented but he needs to develop, same thing with Jason Hill.
- Introducing Vernon Davis, the invisible man! Coming in at 6'3'', 250 pounds of pure muscle with blazing speed, Davis has an uncanny ability to do absolutely nothing! But, in all seriousness, he isn't doing anything. Delanie Walker, a 6th round draft pick I believe, is doing just as good as Davis.
- While Joe Staley continues to do well at left tackle the rest of the offensive line is average at best. Adam Snyder and Eric Heitmann both had okay games but Tony Wragge and Barry Sims were terrible. Hopefully Chilo Rachal is developed by next season and David Baas comes on strong but we would still need help at center and right tackle. I have said all along that Snyder should be playing right tackle but the coaches seem like they would rather watch him struggle at guard. I hope that by the end of the season the starting offensive line will be Staley, David Baas, Eric Heitmann, Chilo Rachal, and Adam Snyder. That would give us the best offensive line of the players on our roster, I believe, but we still would need upgrades at center and right tackle.
- Another games, another day when I complain about Nolan, and I am now convinced it is him, being way too vanilla. In my preview of the game I said that if Nolan doesn't blitz and allows Drew Brees to sit back there all day that we would get picked apart and it happened. I don't care who the receivers are, give Brees enough time and he will find an open man. Nolan doesn't seem to realize that our defensive line is nowhere near dominant enough to get pressure on a QB by themselves, and you would think that after 3 games of them not doing it he would have.
- Despite the defensive line not being as dominant as I would like to see Justin Smith is still looking like a good signing. For all intents and purposes it seems like we are playing a 4-3 defense now so Isaac Sopoaga had a solid game as well but he is by no means a dominant defensive tackle. Other than those two we could use an upgrade at every other position on the defensive line. Neither Aubrayo Franklin, Ronald Fields, or Ray McDonald are good enough starters and would all be better off as back-ups. Parys Haralson and Roderick Green are good situational pass rushers off the egde but neither is starting material either. Kentwan Balmer is developing nicely and looks to be ready to start soon enough
- I cannot begin to explain how angry I am that Manny Lawson is not playing many defensive snaps. What part of him being one of the best defensive players on the team does Nolan not understand? If Lawson's injury on that kickoff turns out to be serious I am going to be so angry. Patrick Willis is having another All-Pro season. He had two tackles for a loss (9 total tackles), one QB pressure that forced an incomplete pass, one knocked down pass, and a fumble recovery. Takeo Spikes definitely has his best game of the season, especially towards the beginning of the game, but he still wasn't great.
- The only players in the secondary that played well were Michael Lewis and Nate Clements. Lewis was all over the field making tackles, knocked down two passes, and that forced fumble was beautiful. Clements locked down whoever he was covering and made two tackles for a loss. Looking at that long catch by Henderson is really looked like, in my opinion, that Nate thought he had inside help because he stayed outside. When he realized Roman wasn't over there he sped up and made a great play to save the touchdown and then Lewis got us the ball back of course. Other than that I didn't see any mistakes that Clements made. Both Mark Roman and Dashon Goldson were getting beat like crazy
- I have to take back what I said about Allen Rossum's kickoff return abiltiy last wek because he was great this week. Andy Lee was actually hanging his punts high, except for one, allowing the coverage units to down them or force fair catches. Joe Nedney had a good day kicking field goals of 38, 49, and 47.
Unlike the loss in week one I cannot say that this one doesn't hurt. The 49ers were in this game up until the 4th quarter and this game wasn't just lost just because of stupid mistakes like week 1. JTO and the coaching staff, mainly Mike Nolan, cost us this game. I really thought we could win this and win next week and go into the bye week 4-2 after a loss to the Eagles. I still think we will beat the Patriots, though
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