There's not much that can be said after that debacle. I just hope that was rock bottom, because it's really hard to imagine a worse performance than that. While watching every second of one of the worst offensive displays I've ever seen, I was able to devise a number of solutions to some of the problems that are ailing the 49ers (offensive and otherwise). Here's a sampling, in no particular order: * Larry Allen should retire and be replaced by Adam Snyder. * Justin Smiley should be benched and replaced by David Baas. * Derek Smith should retire and be replaced by Brandon Moore. * Trent Dilfer should retire and be named assistant quarterbacks coach. * Jim Hostler should be fired and replaced by one of any number of small kitchen appliances. LET'S HOPE this finally alleviates some of the Alex Smith criticism. With any kind of decent offense around him, he could be a Pro Bowl quarterback. He should be nominated for sainthood for moving the ball AT ALL the past three weeks. Let's also hope the injury to his right shoulder doesn't keep him out more than a couple of weeks. Speaking of which, let's just keep Smith on the bench next week, regardless of the injury. Let Dilfer get banged around against another former team (and one of the best defenses of the past decade) and regroup during the bye week. I LOVE the 49ers' defense. Absolutely love it (except for Derek Smith). Nate Clements is worth every penny. I just hope all this extra work doesn't tire them out by November. And I genuinely feel bad for them having to make up for an offense that continues to party like it's 2005. I ALSO LOVE the 49ers' special teams. They were fantastic, and the offense wasted absolutely every break the special teams gave it (including a blocked punt and a recovered surprise onside kick at the start of the second half). AND OF COURSE I love Frank Gore. If he was frustrated last week, he might need a good suicide hotline number this week. He showed today that he still has the burst he had last year. He just can't ram his way through a half-dozen unblocked defenders. MY ESTEEMED COLLEAGUE Eddie suggests that the Chargers should fire Norv Turner so the Niners can bring him back as offensive coordinator. I'd like to second that motion. MY ESTEEMED COLLEAGUE Chris now has the unenviable task of rewatching this game play-by-play for this week's "Film Room" segment. I wouldn't blame him if he called in sick on this one.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Kneejerk Knotes: That was rock bottom, right?
Breaking the Huddle: Making a statement
There was a time when winning the NFC West was considered a given for the 49ers. After all, they were crowned division champion 13 times from 1981 to 1997.
Since '97, they've only captured the division once (2002). Today, they have the opportunity to stake claim to it once again by beating last season's champion, the Seattle Seahawks. QUARTERBACKS Matt Hasselbeck is off to one of his best starts as a pro, throwing for 751 yards with five touchdowns and only two interceptions. Normally a very accurate passer, occasionally Hasselbeck will take a chance — something he probably picked up from his former mentor, Brett Favre. Last time Hasselbeck faced the 49ers, it wasn't one of his best performances. He was sacked three times and threw two interceptions in a 24-14 loss at Seattle. That very matchup was probably Alex Smith's best all-around game of his short career. In fact, Smith appears to like the Seahawks. He had five total touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) against them last season and didn't throw an interception in two games. Smith showed signs of coming around late against the Steelers last week. Let's hope that continues into this week. Advantage: Seahawks RUNNING BACKS Honestly, I've never liked Shaun Alexander. I consider him the second coming of Emmitt Smith, not because he's light on his feet and dances a mean mambo, but because I believe he's a product of his offensive line. Two years ago, with perennial All-Pros Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson manning the left side of the line, Alexander was barely even touched as he compiled a then-record 27 rushing touchdowns. That offseason, Hutchinson left for a greener pasture, and Alexander hasn't been the same since. The holes that were there for Frank Gore last season haven't been there this season. Playing Seattle could go a long way in getting the ground game back on track. Last year, Gore torched the Seahawks for more than 400 total yards. After being completely shut down last week against the Steelers, I expect Gore to come out firing on all cylinders. Advantage: 49ers. WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS 49ers offseason acquisition Darrell Jackson gets a chance to prove to Seattle how big of a mistake it was to trade him, let alone within the division. Look for him to be very fired up. With Vernon Davis out, Delanie Walker will be called upon to make a few plays. He's up to the task. The Seahawks wideouts are interchangeable. Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch (13 receptions, 199 yards and a touchdown) has been Hasselbeck's favorite target the past two weeks, but Nate Burleson and Bobby Engram can be counted on to make plays too. Advantage: Draw. OFFENSIVE LINE There's been much criticism thrust upon the 49ers' offensive line over the past week, most of it deserved. I expect Larry Allen and Co. to come out early and establish dominance at the line of scrimmage early in this one. Jones headlines a solid group for Seattle. Hasselbeck has only been sacked five times this season. Advantage: Draw. DEFENSIVE LINE Patrick Kerney got off to a fast start for Seattle this season, collecting 1.5 sacks Week 1 against the Buccaneers. Since then he's been quiet. I consider the defensive line the weakest link in the Seahawks' defense. The 49ers D-line, however, had progressed nicely so far, especially with the resurgence of Bryant Young. I expect these two units to have a large impact on the outcome of the game. If the 49ers' O-line can dominate, then Gore will have his first monster day of the season. And if San Fran's D-line can get pressure on Hasselbeck, freeing up the linebackers, then this might not be a close game at all. Advantage: 49ers. LINEBACKERS If the D-line is the Seahawks' weakness on defense, then the linebackers would be their strength. Julian Peterson (officially a Seahawk now) and Lofa Tatupu make up one of the best linebacking tandems in the NFL today. Both have a nose for the ball and a knack for making plays. The 49ers counter with rookie sensation Patrick Willis. If there's something he hasn't done so far, I'd like someone to let me know what it is. For the 49ers group to become even more dangerous, though, there has to be more Brandon Moore, less Derek Smith. Advantage: Seahawks. SECONDARY Both teams are solid in the defensive backfield. Nate Clements has been the force the 49ers hoped he would be this season. The Seahawks counter with Marcus Trufant and Deon Grant. I'll be surprised if there's many huge passing plays today. Advantage: Draw. SPECIAL TEAMS Both teams feature playmakers on special teams. Burleson is always a threat to return one for Seattle, while the 49ers picked up Michael Lewis (Hooray Beer!) this week to take the place of Brandon Williams (good riddance). San Fran hasn't had a return man the caliber of Lewis since probably John Taylor or Deion Sanders. The kickers, Josh Brown and Joe Nedney, haven't missed a field goal this season. Advantage: Draw. COACHING Until I see more production on the offensive side of the ball, I'm going to consider offensive coordinator Jim Hostler a liability for the 49ers. Mike Holmgren is nothing of the sort for Seattle. It seems, though, Mike Nolan and his staff figured out how to beat the Seahawks last year. Let's hope it carries over to this season. Advantage: Seahawks. PREDICTION 49ers 28, Seahawks 21 — I expect the 49ers' offensive line to set the tone early. This is as close to a playoff game as you can have in Week 4. Last year's experience and this season's defense will lead the way for San Francisco. Clements or Willis will make a play late to seal the victory.
Fantasy Fury: Week 4 preview
Before I bring the Fury this week, I have two words for you: Bye week.
I know, it normally makes me cringe, too, but this week not so much.
Outside of New Orleans' Drew Brees and Reggie Bush, your team shouldn't be counting heavily upon anybody on a bye this week, and the Saints needed a break to regroup. Jacksonville, Tennessee and Washington could take every week of the season off and I wouldn't notice. But for future reference, the matchups are beginning to matter even more. How you play the next seven weeks will either put you in position to challenge for your title or drop you so far out, you're be more focused on the new season of "24" then fantasy playoffs. Here's a preview of what you should expect from Week 4's matchups: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, 1 p.m. — 49ers running back Frank Gore and Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck are must-starts this week. Gore toasted Seattle in San Fran's two victories last year. Expect him and the offensive line to get on track this week. Hasselbeck is off to a solid start thus far. I believe the 49ers defense will be able to contain the run so any success Seattle has will come through the air. Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Packers gunslinger Brett Favre will break Hall of Famer Dan Marino's touchdown record this week, so have him in your lineup. The Vikings will start running back Chester Taylor after he missed the past two games, but don't start him. Rookie sensation Adrian Peterson is the better play. St. Louis Rams at Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Both quarterbacks are solid plays. The Cowboys' Tony Romo is making an early case for fantasy MVP, while the Rams' Marc Bulger still has WRs Torry Holt and Drew Bennett. Bulger may be protected by the most unrecognizable group of lineman in NFL history, but St. Louis isn't going to pound the ball with rookie tailback Brian Leonard ( who's filling in for Steven Jackson), so take a shot this week. The Rams will definitely have to. New York Jets at Buffalo Bills, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Running backs Thomas Jones (NYJ) and Marshawn Lynch (BUF) will both have big games. Expect 100-plus yards and at least a score from both. Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions, Sunday, 10 a.m. — The Bears' defense is banged up going into the Lions' den. DT Tommie Harris, LB Lance Briggs and CBs Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher are all out. In the past, it wouldn't matter, but this Detroit team can move the ball. Expect WR Roy Williams to finally walk the walk against the wounded "Monsters of the Midway." Start Chicago's defense if your league gives special teams points. Devin Hester is a bad man. I actually expect this to be a shootout. Oakland Raiders at Miami Dolphins, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Expect Raiders QB Daunte Culpepper to exact revenge on the Dolphins for cutting him. Also, go with both running backs: LaMont Jordan and Ronnie Brown. Houston Texans at Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Before the season, I wrote down Matt Schaub to have a monster game this week. I don't see how that's possible without WRs Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones, but he still should be solid. The Falcons will pass a lot, so Joe Harrington and Co. might be useful if you're in a pinch. Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns, Sunday, 10 a.m. — The Ravens' defense will see the real Browns offense this week, but Baltimore's offense won't provide many fireworks, so expect a close, low-scoring affair. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Panthers WR Steve Smith is the one must-start in this matchup. Expect the Bucs defense to show its age this week. Pittsburgh Steelers at Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Steelers tailback Willie Parker is a must-start, while the Cards' Edgerrin James will see little to no room to run. Also, Pittsburgh wideout Santonio Holmes is a sleeper this week with Hines Ward sitting this one out. Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Mark my words: LaDainian Tomlinson will finally go off this week. Expect 200-plus total yards and multiple scores. The Chiefs' Larry Johnson, on the other hand, will have to wait another week. Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, 1 p.m. — The Broncos always get behind early at Indy. That could bode well for people starting Jay Cutler and Co. Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants, Sunday, 5:15 p.m. — Anyone have any more questions for Mr. McNabb? I didn't think so. Start McNabb and his partner in crime, Brian Westbrook. Also, WR Reggie Brown is my sleeper of the week. NFC East matchups are always fun. New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals, Monday, 5:30 p.m. — Tom Brady gets on my nerves. He's having the year of a lifetime. He just had a baby with Bridget Moynahan and he's dating Giselle. None of that has anything to do with fantasy sports. You already know who to start in this matchup: Everyone, with the exception of Bengals running back Rudi Johnson (hamstring).
START: 49ers WR Darrell Jackson.
SIT: Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander.
START: Packers WR Donald Driver; Packers defense.
SIT: Vikings QB Kelly Holcomb; Packers RB Brandon Jackson.
START: Cowboys RB Marion Barber; Cowboys defense; Cowboys WR Terrell Owens; Cowboys TE Jason Witten.
SIT: All Rams not listed above.
START: Jets defense; 49ers WR Darrell Jackson.
SIT: Bills QB Trent Edwards; Bills WR Lee Evans; Jets QB Chad Pennington.
START: Lions QB Jon Kitna; Lions WR Calvin Johnson; Bears QB Brian Griese; Bears RB Cedric Benson; Bears WR Bernard Berrian.
SIT: Lions RB Tatum Bell; Lions RB Kevin Jones; Bears WR Mushin Muhammad.
START: Raiders WR Jerry Porter; Raiders defense.
SIT: Dolphins QB Trent Green; Dolphins WR Chris Chambers.
START: Texans TE Owen Daniels; Texans defense; Falcons WR Roddy White.
SIT: Falcons RB Warrick Dunn; Falcons RB Jerious Norwood.
START: Ravens RB Willis McGahee; Ravens TE Todd Heap.
SIT: Browns QB Derek Anderson; Browns RB Jamal Lewis; Ravens QB Steve McNair; Ravens WR Mark Clayton.
START: Panthers defense.
SIT: Bucs QB Jeff Garcia; Bucs RB Cadillac Williams.
START: Steelers defense; Steelers TE Heath Miller; Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald.
SIT: Cardinals QB Matt Leinart.
START: Chargers TE Antonio Gates; Chargers QB Philip Rivers; Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe.
SIT: Chargers WR Vincent Jackson; Chiefs RB Larry Johnson; Chiefs QB Damon Huard.
START: All Colts; Broncos RB Travis Henry.
SIT: Both defenses.
START: Giants QB Eli Manning; Giants WR Plaxico Burress; Giants TE Jeremy Shockey.
SIT: Giants RB Derrick Ward; Giants defense.
START: Brady sickens me.
SIT: Bengals RB Kenny Watson.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Win the West: Week 4 predictions
Things have gotten a little more interesting in the 49ers Observer "Win the West" competition — sort of like they have in the real NFC West. The three prognosticators that entered last week with perfect 5-0 records (James, Eddie and Chris) all lost at least two of last week's four games. So now we've got three guys at 7-2 and three guys at 6-3. That spread won't change at all this week, as all six of us chose all three five-ring-holders (49ers, Cowboys and Steelers) to win. Hopefully we're right. This outcome would leave the 49ers a game ahead of Seattle for first and give them a 3-0 record in the division, and it would further relegate the Cardinals and Rams as also-rans in what was supposed to be a very competitive division. Here are this week's picks: James (7-2) San Francisco 23, Seattle 20 Dallas 34, St. Louis 10 Pittsburgh 17, Arizona 14 Chris (7-2) San Francisco 27, Seattle 14 Dallas 31, St. Louis 21 Pittsburgh 21, Arizona 17 JR (7-2) San Francisco 45, Seattle 20 Dallas 41, St. Louis 14 Pittsburgh 28, Arizona 20 Eddie (6-3) San Francisco 28, Seahawks 21 Dallas 38, St. Louis 24 Pittsburgh 31, Arizona 21 Ben (6-3) San Francisco 24, Seattle 21 Dallas 31, St. Louis 14 Pittsburgh 30, Arizona 21 Nick (6-3) San Francisco 20, Seattle 16 Dallas 34, St. Louis 13 Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 10
Nolan's goal coming into view
To give you a little background about me and perhaps validate my opinion in some way, I played high school football for a very, very bad team. So bad that if you had any ability whatsoever, it usually meant you were playing both ways, and I was no exception (even without much ability). At a strapping 6-1 and 200 pounds, I was the second-biggest starter on both our offensive and defensive lines.
Pretty intimidating, I know. So over the last several years during the 49ers' struggles with futility, I could identify with how the psychology of losing game after game affects the play of the team. The program I played in hadn't posted a winning season in over 10 years, and even though we had a decent enough pool of athletes in the school, we couldn't field a team capable of winning or even competing with schools in our division. Losing becomes a cancer when it becomes expected, and that's precisely what happened to our beloved franchise in the recent past. Enter Mike Nolan. At first glance, it was hard to formulate an opinion on the hiring of a rookie coach to take the reins of a team that had just posted a 2-14 mark and was in total disarray. Truthfully, my heart really went out to the guy. Who would want to walk into a situation that at the outset is completely devoid of any chance for success? Nolan did so with aplomb, and his mission statement from Day 1 (winning the NFC West) hasn't changed a single note. I remember when he first made that comment and both laughing and feeling somewhat patronized by his optimism. Did he really expect us to believe the 49ers could win the division? Well, on the weekend of an early but important matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, one that will clearly indicate who's the boss of the division, nobody's laughing now. I've never been to a 49ers practice. I don't get to see how the coach carries himself in day to day operations, but I know that one thing he's definitely brought to the team is swagger. It's made itself most evident in the defense so far, and we've seen some flashes of it from the offense at times, but not nearly as consistently. On the defensive side of the ball, Nolan's area of expertise, we've seen a dramatic change this season. When finally given the freedom to bring in more talent via free agency and after a couple of successful drafts, we can see the identity begin to take shape, and I've never seen anything quite like it almost 20 years of being a "49ers Observer." This defense is beginning to resemble that of the Baltimore Ravens teams that Nolan put his signature on as well, and they can really be a lot of fun to watch. One of the things that I always look for in a matchup between two football teams is who can get more physical. As a player, I knew that the first series of downs were absolutely crucial. I wanted to hit my opponent as hard and as violently (and sometimes illegally) as I possibly could, so that for the rest of the game, he'd be thinking about me before the snap instead of his assignment. This is why when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers matched up against the Raiders in the Super Bowl, even though I really wanted to see Jerry Rice get himself another ring, I knew it wasn't going to happen. Tampa was just bigger, stronger and meaner than the Raiders, and it showed. Same goes for the Ravens and the Giants during Ray Lewis' MVP campaign. The Ravens just punched the Giants right in the mouth and New York never recovered. As we all know, both championship games ended in a rout. For the first time in memory, the 49ers are becoming one of those teams that can out-physical their opponents and win by forcing mistakes. We've already seen examples of this against the Rams and Cardinals, when even though the offense was doing next to nothing, the defense was forcing turnovers, scoring points, and creating opportunities. Some say the Niners got lucky in those games, and that's partly true, but I've always believed that luck is the meeting of opportunity and preparedness, and when the defense created opportunities, the offense was prepared to capitalize just enough to win the game. It was a different story against the Steelers in general, as their defense was able to beat on our offense and create those same opportunities for their benefit. Herein lies the key to the 49ers offensive woes. Last season, behind the leadership of Larry Allen, San Francisco's resident Bad Mother-f'er (this belongs to him), they weren't just running on defenses, they were punishing them. For whatever reason, that hasn't happened so far this season, but I think that it could return at any moment and will quickly turn things around for the better. Football is so much about playing with emotion and energy, and perhaps a game like this against the division rival Seahawks will light a flame underneath Larry's considerable backside and he and his cohorts will just start pummelling people. In this game against the Seahawks' undersized but speedy defense, I really think this kind of turnaround could take place. If the 49ers commit to the run early and stick with it, you know that the defense is going to get tired of having to deal with the big uglies that San Francisco will keep throwing at them over and over again. Once they wear down, it opens everything up for Alex Smith and the passing game to make plays. Once that part of the offensive game plan is able to aggressively go after the defense's weaknesses, the team will be that much closer to becoming complete and balanced, ready to compete with any and all teams in the league. This is definitely the biggest game of the young 2007 season for San Francisco. If the 49ers are able to manhandle the Seahawks' defense like they did last year, combined with the more punishing play of the defense, I really think this could turn into a blowout, and I think I speak for all of us as 49er Faithful when I say that we live for blowouts. I hope they become a weekly occurrence, in a positive way of course, for us again.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Film Room II: Steelers blitz summary
The first two games of the season it was no secret that the 49ers were going to give the ball to Frank Gore early and often. In 2006 they were able to sneak up on teams who weren't expecting such a punishing ground game. Thus far in 2007, teams have apparently learned their lessons and are now stacking the line and sending blitzers on what seems like every play.
While I was assembling this week's defense-based Film Room article, I also went over the Niners' snaps on offense and took notes on all the blitzes that the Steelers sent. Here are the statistics I came up with: FIRST HALF SF Plays: 14 run 18 pass Total: 32 Pittsburgh blitzes: 7 with 5 rushers 3 with 6 rushers 1 with 7 rushers 2 with 8 or more Total: 13 SECOND HALF SF Plays: 7 run 19 pass Total: 26 Pittsburgh blitzes: 11 with 5 rushers 4 with 6 rushers Total: 15 If you consider that Pittsburgh did not send more than four men on the Niners' last four-play drive at the end of the game, that's 15 blitzes out of 21 plays in the second half. Adding both halves together, we get 28 blitzes out of 58 plays, which is a whole lot of blitzing. The Steelers were also very creative when they send just four rushers, as they utilized lots of pre-snap movement and bluffs. Here's the full run-down: *1st Half, 1st Series 3rd and 5 SF30: Smith rolls left and throws a 12 yard strike to Darrell Jackson for the first down. Pittsburgh goes with 2 down linemen and sends 3 linebackers. Alex doesn’t get the play off until 0 shows on the play clock, so two Steeler linebackers get running starts at the left side of the line. One goes outside Jennings and is cut-blocked by Gore. The other runs right into Larry Allen and goes nowhere. The right side of the line (incl. Davis) holds up against the other 3 guys. Total: 5. 2nd and 2 SF50: Gore runs left for 1 yard. San Francisco lines up with two TE’s (Bajema and Davis) both on the right side. Bajema motions left and the Steelers promptly overload the left side. They send both OLBs, both SILBs, and SS Polamalu – a total of 8. Again, they all take off as the play clock expires, overwhelm the line and stuff Gore in the backfield. There was no particular breakdown. Jonas Jennings in particular owned his guy. It was just too many people to block. It was amazing Gore got back to the LOS at all. Total: 8. 3rd and 1 PIT49: Smith scrambles right for 4 yards. The Niners come out with 2 TE’s and 2 HB’s (Gore and Norris). The Steelers promptly bring 9 men into the box – everybody but Polamalu and one CB who is out wide on Jackson. They all key on the left side and come on the snap, which thankfully occurs with 4 seconds left on the play clock so the Steelers can’t get a running start. Smith takes off on a bootleg to the right, with Norris out 5 yards in front of him. The linebacker on Norris has some trouble deciding if he should stay in coverage or come up to make the tackle. He stays in coverage, and Smith runs for the first down. Total: Um, most of them I think. 1st and 10 PIT45: Smith throws a screen left to Davis for 31 yards. The Steelers bring an OLB and an ILB. Larry Allen and Jonas Jennings end up on the ground, but Smith somehow has enough time to get the ball out on a screen. Vernon Davis makes the catch and takes off down the sideline with Polamalu giving chase, but he doesn’t even get close – Vernon is faster. Davis finally gets horse-collared by the Steelers FS Smith, who had an angle. This was obviously a penalty, but it wasn’t called. Total: 5. 1st and 10 PIT14: Gore runs up the middle for no gain. Pittsburgh didn’t blitz on this play, but I wanted to note it because they did have 8 men in the box. It would have been a good time to call play-action. 3rd and 10 PIT14: Smith throws incomplete over the middle intended for Davis in the end zone. Pittsburgh has a lot of pre-snap motion on this play, and they on the blitz 3 linemen, 2 linebackers, and a corner who sprints around the right side of the line. Everyone is blocked except the corner, and Smith throws the ball a bit early due to the pressure. The ball was arguably still catchable, but Davis wasn’t watching. Total: 6. *2nd Series 1st and 10 SF22: Play-action, Smith throws left to Davis for 1 yard. The Niners line up with 3 WR’s, a TE (Davis) strong left, and Gore in the backfield. The Steelers line up in their base 3-4 and blitz all four linebackers. They bite on the play-action, but the SOLB goes unblocked. Smith, under pressure, throws toward Davis who is forced to jump as the pass is high. Polamalu, in man-to-man, immediately hits Davis in the thighs and brings him down. Total: 7. *3rd Series 2nd and 10 PIT22: Gore runs left for 1 yard. Pittsburgh in the base 3-4, brings their WOLB and SS Polamalu, who makes the tackle. I don’t think Gore saw him, because if he bounced this outside, he’d still be running (everyone was blocked). Total: 5. 1st and goal PIT10: Gore runs up the middle for 2 yards. Pittsburgh in the base 3-4, brings both OLB’s. Total: 5. 2nd and goal PIT5: Gore runs left for 1 yard. The Steelers bring both OLB’s and SS Polamalu. Hampton blows up this play. He didn’t stop to read gaps for an instant, he just ran to his right (toward Jennings) as soon as the ball was snapped and clogged up the hole. In fact, almost all the Steelers sprinted to the right side of the field off the snap -- it looked like they had our playbook on this one. Total: 6. *4th Series 1st and 10 SF8: Smith throws incomplete right. The Steelers bring 2 blitzers: the SOLB and the CB #24. The CB chases Smith into the back of the end zone and he throws the ball away. Total: 5. 2nd and 10 SF19: Gore runs up the middle for 2 yards. Pittsburgh blitzes both ILBs and the SOLB. Hampton angles for Larry Allen right off the snap, which of course is the direction the Niners are running. Also, it doesn’t help that WOLB Farrior knocks Smiley on his butt and there are linebackers everywhere. Total: 6. *5th Series 2nd and 5 SF37: Smith throws incomplete short right for TE Walker. Pittsburgh sends an OLB and an ILB, both of whom get a running start because again the ball isn’t snapped until about 0 shows on the play clock. Smith hesitates, then throws the ball away as Farrior closes for the hit. It seemed like Alex was anticipating the blitz and intended to throw a timing route, but the OL actually picked it up fairly well. Total: 5. 3rd and 5 SF37: (Shotgun) Smith throws incomplete short middle for TE Davis. Pittsburgh lined up with 2 down linemen, and tried to overload the left side of the line with an LB and two DB’s. Smith pointed them out before the snap to Allen, then Jennings, Allen and Hicks picked up the blitzers brilliantly. The pass was catchable, but Davis wasn’t ready for it. Total: 5. *6th Series Pittsburgh did not send any more than 4 rushers on this series. They managed to get pressure on Smith because they were pretty creative disguising their looks, bringing 6 and 7 players to the line before the snap and then dropping them all back into coverage. *2nd Half, 1st Series 2nd and 2 PIT47: Gore runs outside right for 6 yards. The Steelers bring both OLB’s and an ILB. They’re pretty much all picked up – good job by the OL and TE’s (Walker & Davis). If Farrior doesn’t shed Smiley’s block, this is a touchdown. Gore knew it too, as he thumped the ground with his fist after being tackled. Total: 6. 1st and 10 PIT41: Smith throws a screen left to Gore for 7 yards. The Steelers bring both OLB’s on this play. Gore made something out of nothing, as he was basically surrounded when he caught the ball. Total: 5. 1st and 10 PIT29: Smith sacked by Woodley for -3 yards. Pittsburgh brings both OLB’s, an ILB, and drops a DE into coverage. OLB Woodley flies around the right edge unblocked to make the tackle. This was Gore’s fault, as he stayed back to block but didn’t see Woodley in time. Total: 5. 2nd and 14 PIT32: Smith throws incomplete short left (pressured). Pittsburgh blitzes their WOLB and the SILB. The pressure comes when DE Keisel doesn’t bite on the play-action and basically just runs right for Smith. This looked like it was a screen designed for TE Walker. Total: 5. 3rd and 14 PIT32: Smith throws incomplete deep middle (intended for Davis). This is the now infamous 22 yard “incompletion” to Davis in the seam. The Steelers line up with one down lineman (Hampton), though DE Keisel is on the field standing like an LB. They have an LB come a yard behind the LOS and spy Smith, while the OLBs, Hampton, and Keisel come on the blitz. Gore and Jacobs chased FS Clark across the field for the tackle when they thought he’d recovered a fumble. Davis had also popped up and was nearby with Smiley when the tackle was made. Total: 4 (creative, though). *2nd Series 2nd and 9 SF21: Smith throws short left to Walker for 3 yards The Steelers bring both ILB’s and drop their OLB’s into coverage. The Niners line picks it up alright, but Smith dumps the ball off to Walker who goes nowhere. Total: 5. 3rd and 6 SF24: Smith throws short right to Battle for 11 yards. The Steelers line up with 1 down lineman (Hampton), and Kiesel standing as well as 4 LB’s crowding the line. One of those LB’s drops into coverage, and the rest come on the blitz. Smith, running right, makes a great throw to Battle for the first down. Total: 5. 1st and 15 SF30: Smith throws sideline right to Jackson for 17 yards. Pittsburgh brings, along with their 3 down linemen, one OLB and one ILB, all of whom are picked up by the OL. Good job on this one. Total: 5. 1st and 10 SF47: Smith throws sideline right to Jackson for 20 yards. Coming on the blitz are the SOLB and SS Polamalu. Both are picked up brilliantly by Norris and Gore. Total: 5. 1st and 10 PIT33: Robinson runs up the middle for 2 yards. The Steelers bring both OLB’s and Polamalu on the snap. Polamalu and Harrison are in the backfield instantly. Robinson avoids them by plowing into LB Foote and DE Kirsche. Total: 6. 2nd and 8 PIT31: Smith throws incomplete deep middle. Both OLBs and one ILB come right as the play clock expires (the ILB gets a running start, then pauses, then continues). Smith is hit as he throws, and the ball flies out of the endzone (Jackson was open). Heitmann is responsible for the pressure (the ILB blew past him). Total: 6. 3rd and 8 PIT31: Smith is sacked for -9 yards. Pittsburgh lines up with 2 down linemen and 3 linebackers standing at the line of scrimmage. Allen and Jennings both block the wrong man, and LB Haggans sprints through the line unblocked to make the initial hit, while Farrior comes in to clean up. Jennings actually ends up not blocking anyone on this play (the guy he went for ended up running around the edge and into RB Robinson). Total: 5. On Pittsburgh’s ensuing drive, we see shots of Allen and Jennings stomping furious up and down the sideline. Battle and Dilfer seem to be consoling Jennings, patting him on the back and talking. Reading lips Hal-9000 style, we can see Battle says, “Come on, man.” *3rd Series 1st and 10 SF37: Smith throws incomplete short right. Pittsburgh lines up in what looks like a 4-1-6 dime. They send their ILB and a DB on the rush. Total: 6. 2nd and 10 SF37: Smith throws short left to Jacobs for 5 yards. Pittsburgh sends the 4 men on the line plus the ILB. Total: 5. 3rd and 5 SF42: Smith throws short left, INTERCEPTED by McFadden, run back for a TOUCHDOWN. Pittsburgh sent 4 rushers on this play and used one LB as a QB spy to keep Smith from scrambling. Poor Larry Allen looks like he’s moving in slow motion this whole play. McFadden runs right by him. But then, Larry doesn’t get paid to tackle. *4th Series 1st and 10 PIT46: Smith scrambles up the middle for 25 yards (5 rushers) Pittsburgh sends 2 down linemen, their 2 middle linebackers, and one defensive back. Total: 5. 1st and 10 PIT21: Smith throws sideline left to Jacobs for 21 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Pittsburgh lines up with 1 down lineman, and overloads the right side of the line with an LB, the dime back and SS Polamalu. DE Keisel runs straight past Smiley (to Smiley’s right), gets chipped by Heitmann (who realizes Smiley made a mistake and runs to make the save), and gets one arm on Smith before Alex steps up and throws a nice pass into the corner of the end zone. Total: 5. *5th Series This drive consisted of 2 handoffs to Keasey. No pass rush.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
In the Tunnel: First look at the Seahawks
A big factor leading to all the optimism for 49ers fans this season was that San Francisco was victorious against the Seattle Seahawks twice last season.
Seattle went on to win the NFC West by the slimmest of margins (and come within a field goal of the NFC championship game) as the 49ers failed to carry their momentum into a postseason berth. Nevertheless, the seed had been planted. What better step to take in Mike Nolan's goal to win the West than sweep the current division champions? The Seattle Seahawks have been the only consistent benchmark for success that the Nolan Ver. 2.0 Niners have had (here's Nolan Ver. 1.0), and seeing how they fare against an always well-prepared Mike Holmgren team this time around will tell us a lot about where the power lies in the division and just how far these 49ers have come. The Seahawks have built the foundation of their success on former MVP running back Shaun Alexander and the precision passing of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. Any 49ers fan from more than 10 years ago will see an awfully familiar looking scheme coming from their opponents this week. Holmgren and the Seahawks run possibly the purest version of the Walshian West Coast offense in the NFL today. It's predicated on short, high-percentage passes and precision route-running by recievers who can run after the catch. They've been operating this system for a long time now with the primary players intact, thus it's seldom they make many mental errors during a game. The Seahawks have a talented and capable offensive line. Last year they had to deal with the loss of all-world left guard Steve Hutchinson, and rookie Rob Sims had his growing pains. Shaun Alexander's performance suffered directly because of the change and the subsequent injuries that hindered the squad's overall production. This line is a fairly athletic group that can move in space and make blocks at the second level. With the exception of all-pro left tackle Walter Jones (who is a beast), none of these guys are listed above 312 — so pure power running definitely isn't their forte, but pulling and trapping is. In the passing game, Hasselbeck largely negates any protection breakdowns with short drops and a quick release. He's old enough and savvy enought that it's unlikely too many defenders will get to him consistently. Alexander is generally the starting point of the Seahawks' gameplan, and although he's not the same back that brought home the MVP hardware two seasons ago, he's still a threat. He's a little nicked up already with a broken wrist, so it remains to be seen how much of a workload the offense will put on him this week. But we do know he will be starting, and he will be wearing a cast. Hasselbeck has been the hand-picked signal-caller of Mike Holmgren's offense for several years now, and he rarely makes poor decisions within the system. Last year, the 49ers only saw him once as he sat out the midseason game with a knee injury and backup Seneca Wallace played in his place. Either way, the results were the same, but it can't be overlooked that Hasselbeck is a dangerous quarterback who can make throws and move around in the pocket to avoid the rush. He can be rattled, though, so if the defense can put him on the ground a few times, it may pay dividends as the game wears on. The Seahawks recieving corps boasts 3 productive players in Deion Branch, Nate Burleson and Bobby Engram. The Seahawks' preseason starter, D.J. Hackett, is sidelined with an ankle injury, but the combined experience and talents of these three other veterans means the Seahawks aren't stressing too badly about getting Hackett back. Branch in particular had a big game against the Bengals last week, and Burleson is a deep threat that needs to get rid of the dropsies to really become a top wideout. The only thing this group lacks is height, as only Burleson is over 6 feet. Veteran tight end Marcus Pollard also brings a considerable amount of pass catching ability, or should I say reliability, to the table and has provided Hasslebeck with a nice safety valve to dump to when necessary. There are really only a few things you need to know about Seattle's defensive unit. They are fast as hell, but they can be moved around in the running game. None of the guys that operate in the Seahawks' 4-3 defense are huge, imposing figures, but they can run and swarm to the ball. Last season, Frank Gore hung over 400 yards in two games against this defense, and we're not going to see anything terribly different except for the addition of safeties Deon Grant and Brian Russell and defensive end Patrick Kearney, and the subtractions of defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs and defensive end Grant Wistrom. Wistrom left in the offseason and Tubbs is rehabing a knee injury that will keep him out long term. Obviously, there are some concerns about the run defense, and that starts with the play of the defensive line. Losing Tubbs last season was huge — there's no way I can stress that enough — and the addition of Kearny doesn't exactly feel like an upgrade or downgrade over Wistrom, so in short this isn't a real strength for the Seahawks. They're somewhat more effective rushing the passer, but if the running game is established early, it will force them to stay honest. The linebacking unit is punctuated with stars Julian Peterson (I think we all remember him, f'ing sissy) and Lofa Tatupu, two guys who can really run and cover well in the passing game. Leroy Hill is entering his third season and appears to be the direction to run in when looking for a weakness. With the aformentioned additions in the secondary and the solid play of corners Marcus Trufant, a real burner, and Kelly Jennings, the Seattle pass defense is strong to say the least. They are somewhat smallish at the corners, with neither player reaching 6 feet, so it may be advantageous to keep the routes short and try to get around them after the catch. I like the way the 49ers matchup with the Seahawks in most regards. Passing against them will be difficult, but the Niners have had a hard time with that anyway. I really want to see them pound away with the running game and wear these guys out. Hell, even if they platooned in Baas and Snyder to keep fresh (and big) bodies on the field, I like the matchups that they're getting. I expect a high output from Gore once again here and a victory for the home team.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Line of Scrimmage: A must-win game?
This week in Line of Scrimmage, JR and Ben look ahead to this Sunday's big NFC West matchup between the 49ers and the Seahawks. It's an important game, as the teams both enter 2-1 and appear to be the only legitimate contenders for the division title. But does all that make this a must-win for the 49ers? YES: Okay, okay, I know the season is still young and the 49ers just lost on the road to a superior team only two years removed from a world championship. Nobody really expected them to win that game. Sure, it was possible, but the simple fact that they didn't get embarrassed is enough to get by another week. Things could get considerably uglier if they give us a repeat performance in Week 4, though. If the team were to go 2-2, they'd still be in close contention for the NFC West, but the mental impact on the players and fans would be profound. This isn't the big, scary AFC North anymore. It's the warm and fuzzy NFC West, where, so far, the 49ers have had success. I'd go so far as to say many Niner fans expect to win this game for the simple fact that they won twice last year against Seattle. Combine that with the 49ers playing at home, and you've got an all but guaranteed victory, right? This is the curse of high expectations. I know we haven't had to deal with this for a long time, but if the 49ers lose to the Seahawks, there's going to be a lot of questions surrounding the abilities and dedication of this team. Has the new talent brought in during the offseason been worthwhile? Does Nolan have them on the right track? Have they taken steps backward instead of progressing? Questions like these can be like dynamite in the head of a young NFL player. Alex Smith can't afford to have doubt creep into his mind and make him question his reads. The defense can't expect to give up plays on third down. They can't hesitate and see what the offense does first. They have to anticipate and react to things on the fly. The psyche of a football team is a fragile organism, it must be maintained or you'll end up like the New Orleans Saints — all the talent is in place, but the specter of doubt has invaded that locker room, and it's up to the coaches and the vocal leaders on that team to root it out. Two losses in a row, especially one to the division rival Seahawks, could severely damage the mental progression we've seen so far. — JR NO: Let's be honest. It's Week 4 of the NFL season. Is it a must-win for the New Orleans Saints? Maybe, since they're sitting at 0-3 and missing Deuce McAllister for the rest of the season. But I don't watch the Saints — I watch the 49ers. And if you had told me the Niners would be 2-1 to start the season before the year started, I would have done a dance. The Steelers game was a rout, no doubt about it. And yes, the Niners have more than a few things to work on before saying they're a truly good team. But to say they have to beat the Seahawks in Week 4? I don't think so. Let's look at the schedule for a second. After they play the Seahawks, the 49ers get Baltimore, the New York Giants, New Orleans and Atlanta before playing the Seahawks again. Let's say they go 2-2 in those games. That leaves them at 4-3 when they travel to Seattle. If they go 3-1 (which is a distinct possibility) then they're 5-2 heading up north. Either way, I like their chances. Let's turn this argument on it's head for a second. What if this is a must-win for the Seahawks? They're 2-1 with a date against Pittsburgh next and Shaun Alexander ailing as usual. If you ask me, the Seahawks are in far more dire shape than the Niners. — Ben
Film Room: Sopoaga and Franklin
This week’s Film Room spotlight is on the Niners' twin titans in the middle, nose tackles Aubrayo Franklin and Isaac Sopoaga. Franklin missed the entire preseason with a sprained knee suffered in training camp. In the absence of his major competition, Sopoaga took the opportunity to show how far he’s come in learning his position. On film, Franklin looks like he weighs about 20 pounds more than Sopoaga, but the big Samoan looks an inch or two taller and far more athletic. I don’t recall either having their name mentioned even once in the telecast, but that’s usually not a big deal for a nose tackle, as their work is not often very flashy. Rather, their job is primarily to occupy blockers — the more, the better. So how did they hold up against the Steelers vaunted offensive line? Read on and find out: The first thing I notice while reviewing the game is this: As they fade out into the commercial, the network plays a rock tune with highlight images of Roethlisberger and the subtitle, “BIG BEN UP NEXT”. *1st Half, 1st Series 1st and 10 PIT16: Parker runs left for 13 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin is engaged by the RG Simmons after the C Mahan swims past and goes to block a linebacker. Aubrayo knocks the Simmons on his butt, but Parker sidesteps and runs into the secondary. 1st and 10 PIT29: Roethlisberger is sacked for -4 yards, and FUMBLES. SF recovers. Franklin shoves C Mahan back a yard and drifts left, but it’s a play-fake. OLB Navies swoops in, knocks the ball out of Roethlisberger’s hands and recovers it (DE Young was right there as well). *2nd Series 1st and 10 PIT25: Roethlisberger throws short middle to Parker for 9 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin bull-rushes the RG Simmons about 7 yards into the backfield, then gets blocked in the back (arguably the side) just as he closes within a yard of Roethlisberger, who evades and dumps the ball off to Parker (tackled by Douglas after 9). No penalty. 2nd and 1 PIT34: Parker runs up the middle for 5 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin is double teamed by the C Mahan and RG Simmons. He holds his ground, but is only able to get one arm on Parker who runs past. 1st and 10 PIT39: Parker runs up the middle for 5 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin is engaged by the RG while the C swim-moves past him (again), and goes out to block LB Willis. Parker runs over the hole between the C and LG. 2nd and 5 PIT 44: Parker runs outside right for 1 yard. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin is blocked by the C, but manages to drift left and clog up the hole (along with BY). Parker tries to bounce the run outside and Willis drags him down by the jersey. 3rd and 4 PIT 45: Roethlisberger throws deep middle incomplete. (neither Franklin or Sopoaga were in on this play) *3rd Series 1st and 10 PIT9: Roethlisberger throws short left to Miller for 15 yards. Franklin, singled up against the C Mahan, pushes about a yard into the backfield before Roethlisberger gets the pass off. Willis comes on a blitz and clocks the RG Simmons pretty good (he seemed to be the weak link on the Steelers line in the first half). 1st and 10 PIT24: Parker runs left for -3 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin drifts right and is engaged by the RG, but the play is over pretty fast because DE Douglas explodes off the ball, through the LT Smith’s block, and makes the tackle. 2nd and 13 PIT21: Parker runs left for 8 yards. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel Franklin stunts toward the LG Faneca and Sopoaga goes behind him toward the RG Simmons. Simmons follows Franklin and sends him sprawling with a shove from the side (he lands right at Parker’s feet). Banta-Cain spins past the LT's block and loses contain on Parker who says “thank you very much” and speeds through the hole. Weirdness – ILB Smith jumps on C Mahan’s back and gets carried a couple yards on this play. *4th Series 1st and 10 PIT20: WR Wilson runs right then back left for no gain. Formation: Base 3-4 Sopoaga holds his ground and shoves the C back about a yard, then drifts toward the RT Colon (which is the direction Wilson is running). Willis flies in and cuts Wilson off on the right side of the field, but gets cut-blocked by the FB Davis. Willis pops up and still has time to make the tackle, but then he gets blocked by TE Miller, sheds him, and gets blocked by the FB again. As Wilson comes back across the field, CB Clements flies into the frame and makes an amazing open field tackle. 2nd and 10 PIT20: Parker runs right for 23 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Sopoaga holds up at the point of attack and clogs up the middle. DE Young hits Parker in the backfield, but doesn’t wrap up. Parker escapes and bounces the run outside, making OLB’s Banta-Cain and Navies look silly trying to keep up. In Banta-Cain’s defense, he was fighting off TE Miller’s block at the time. 1st and 10 PIT43: RB Davenport runs up the middle for 1 yard. Formation: Base 3-4 Sopoaga holds the point of attack and forces Davenport to redirect outside where he’s swarmed by defenders. Note: This play was nullified by an illegal formation penalty. 1st and 15 PIT38: Parker runs left for 2 yards. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Line: Banta-Cain/Young/Franklin/Sopoaga) Sopoaga runs outside the LT and gets taken out of the play. Franklin drifts right and clogs up the hole, forcing Parker right into the arms of ILB Smith who makes a nice solo tackle. 2nd and 13 PIT40: Roethlisberger throws incomplete left. Neither Franklin or Sopoaga were in on this play, I just wanted to point it out because it started out looking like a 4-1-6, but DE/LB Moore backed off the line while SS M. Lewis and FS Roman came on the blitz. Moore gave TE Miller a nice pop within the 5 yard hit-zone and stayed on him in man coverage. Note: This play was nullified by the questionable illegal contact penalty on CB Clements. Roethlisberger raised his arms and complained, then started nodding and clapping when he saw the flag. This inspired in me undying hatred. 1st and 10 PIT45: Roethlisberger throws middle to Miller for 10 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Sopoaga fights for hand-position with the C Mahan and goes nowhere. Actually, it looks like they’re playing patty-cake. This play seemed to be Willis’ fault, as Miller went uncovered and it looked like Willis realized it was his job and turned to give chase. 3rd and 1 SF26: Davenport runs up the middle for 3 yards. Franklin is pancaked by the C Mahan and LG Faneca. Sopoaga gets 2 yards into the backfield against LT Smith, but he’s walled out of the play by the entire left side of the line. 1st and 10 SF23: Parker runs right for 3 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin holds his ground against the C’s block, extends his arms to create space, and then drifts toward the play. Banta-Cain makes a nice tackle, fighting through TE Miller’s block. 2nd and 7 SF20: Parker runs left for 5 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin holds his ground against the C and an initial shove from LG Faneca, then fights through the blocks and trips up Parker. 3rd and 2 SF15: Direct snap to WR Ward for 6 yards. (Neither Franklin or Sopoaga in on this play) 1st and goal SF8: Roethlisberger throws short right to FB Davis for -1 yard. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin fights against blocks from C Mahan and RG Simmons, disengages, and flows down the line toward the play. Clements flies in to make the tackle before anyone else gets close. Great play. 2nd and goal SF9: Roethlisberger throws short right to TE Tuman, TOUCHDOWN. Franklin, blocked by the RG Simmons, pushes about 2 yards into the backfield and raises his arms as the ball is thrown, but it’s too little too late (Roethlisberger throws from about 7 yards in the backfield). *2nd Half, 1st Series 1st and 10 PIT20: Parker runs left for 5 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin gets a good push on the C Mahan and moves down the line toward the LT Smith, clogging up the hole and forcing Parker outside where DE/DT Douglas makes the tackle. Parker gets 5 yards after a generous spot. 2nd and 5 PIT25: Roethlisberger scrambles to the right for 18 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin is double-teamed by C Mahan and RG Simmons. He pushes them about a yard and a half back, then redirects toward LT Smith just as Roethlisberger runs through the hole where the RT was. Watching OLB Banta-Cain give chase on this play is painful due to the lack of effort. DE Young also missed an ankle-tackle which would have held the play to a gain of 5. D. Smith, covering RB Parker (matchup nightmare here), shed RB Parker’s block and chased Roethlisberger out of bounds. 1st and 10 PIT43: Parker runs left for 5 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin moves toward the LT and clogs up the running lane, forcing Parker to cut the run downfield before he’d have liked to. DE Young and ILB Willis make the tackle. This is the kind of play injured OLB Lawson blows up in the backfield from behind all the time. Banta-Cain was unblocked on the backside of the play, but pretty much jogged in pursuit. 2nd and 5 PIT48: Parker runs right for 5 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin is blocked out of the play by the Center. RB Parker runs over RT Colon for another chunk of yardage. 1st and 10 SF47: Davenport runs left for -2 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Sopoaga, pushing toward the LT Smith, tosses RG Simmons aside like a ragdoll but then trips over TE Tuman. Tuman, incidentally, was ragdolled himself by DE Marques Douglas who knifed into the backfield to bring Davenport down for a 2 yard loss. Great effort by Douglas. On this play, ILB Smith tried to take LG Faneca head-on. He lost. 2nd and 12 SF50: Parker runs left for 2 yards. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Line: Young/Franklin/Sopoaga/Banta-Cain) Sopoaga pushes C Mahan about 5 yards into the backfield, taking himself out of the play. The RG, Simmons, tries mightily to move Franklin out of the play, but fails. Franklin and Young effectively broke this play, forcing Parker left when the run was obviously designed to go right. Willis actually missed a tackle on this play. That’s sort of like seeing Jerry Rice drop a pass. Banta-Cain showed better effort on this play, chasing Parker down alongside CB W. Harris. 3rd and 10 SF48: Roethlisberger throws left to TE Miller for 31 yards. Formation: 3-2-6 Dime Neither Franklin or Sopoaga were in on this play, but I wanted to point it out. FS Roman comes on a blitz and should have a sack, but he’s obviously blocked in the back by the Center. In fact, it’s obvious it’s kind of ridiculous. Bryant Young also has a shot, but the RT trips him. He promptly falls on Roman’s ankle (Roman was limping afterward). The refs miss the two penalties in the backfield but manage to call an illegal contact penalty on CB Hudson, which is declined. Afterward, the announcers talk about how the Steelers should throw the ball at Roman to take advantage of the injury. 1st and 10 SF17: Roethlisberger throws incomplete right to Miller. Sopoaga, though he’s double-teamed by the C and RG, pushes about 4 yards into the backfield anyway. The play is initially called a catch. Coach Nolan challenges the play and wins, as Miller’s foot landed out of bounds. 2nd and 10 SF17: Roethlisberger throws incomplete short middle. Formation: Base 3-4 Sopoaga is blocked by the C who holds him off with help from LG Faneca. This is the play where Willis bodyslams WR Hines Ward. Roman crushes him on the very next play, and I bet Mark was still angry about the block in the back robbing him of the sack. 3nd and 10 SF17: Roethlisberger throws incomplete short middle. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Neither Sopoaga nor Franklin were in on this play) *2nd Series 1st and 10 PIT19: Roethlisberger throws short left to FB Davis for 10 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin goes nowhere, as he’s blocked by C Mahan with some help from RG Simmons. 1st and 10 PIT29: Parker runs left for 1 yard. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin gets blocked by the C, but stands him up and shoves him toward LT Smith and into the hole. Parker has nowhere to go. 2nd and 9 PIT30: Parker runs right for 3 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin holds his ground against a doubleteam from the C and RG. DE Young does a great job fighting off the RT Colon and TE Miller, who gets tossed to the ground. OLB Navies also held his ground well, allowing ILB Smith to make the tackle. 3rd and 6 PIT27: Roethlisberger throws short right to Holmes for 15 yards. (Neither Franklin nor Sopoaga in on this play) 1st and 10 PIT42: Roethlisberger throws right sideline to Holmes for 22 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin reads run on the play-action and pretty much goes nowhere on this play. Banta-Cain misses an easy sack by trying to arm-tackle Roethlisberger instead of wrapping up. In Tully’s defense, he was shoved in the back by LG Alan Faneca, who he beat on the play. 1st and 10 SF36: Parker runs up the middle for 2 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Sopoaga demonstrates perfect technique on this play, standing up the C, finding the RB Parker, then tossing the C aside and making the tackle. 2nd and 7 SF34: Roethlisberger throws incomplete short right. Formation: Base 3-4 Sopoaga splits a double-team (the RG and C), slices into the backfield, and Roethlisberger proceeds to slip out of the tackle and throw the ball away. Fields was also nearby, but he was held by the back of his shoulder pads by RT Colon behind him at the end of the play, and then he got blocked in the back by the Center. This was obviously intentional grounding, but it went uncalled. Not only was there no receiver in the vicinity of the throw, Roethlisberger wasn’t even close to being out of the pocket. The RT lined up on the right hash mark, and Ben was easily a yard or two left of it when he threw. All the announcers (Moose, Goose, and the other guy) were surprised it wasn’t called. 3rd and 7 SF34: Parker runs left for r yards. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel. Neither Sopoaga or Franklin were in on this play. I just wanted to go over it because it was probably a fumble. When Parker was tackled, he landed on Marques Douglas and his knees and elbows appeared off the ground when the ball came out. It was hard to tell from the angle they showed, but it looked close enough that it shouldn’t have been whistled dead. *3rd Series Note: Haralson came in for Navies at OLB on this series. 1st and 10 PIT20: Parker runs over RT for 13 yards. Formation: Base 3-4. Sopoaga stands the C up but doesn’t go far. Seems like everyone gets blocked on this play, and Parker makes a nice cut to get downfield. Banta-Cain’s jersey is grabbed a little, but overall it's just a good play by the Steelers. 1st and 10 PIT34: Roethlisberger throws short right to FB Davis for -1 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Sopoaga holds the point, then runs down the line toward the RT and beyond toward the FB. Willis makes the initial hit, but Sopoaga runs over and gets in on the action as well. 2nd and 11 PIT33: Parker runs outside right for 5 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Sopoaga holds his ground then follows the flow of the play toward the RT then the sideline and makes an assist on the tackle. Banta-Cain should have made the stop in the backfield for a loss, but Parker slipped the arm-tackle. 3rd and 6 PIT 38: Roethlisberger throws middle to Holmes for 18 yards (Spencer covering). Formation: Who knows (Line: Douglas/Fields, many LBs standing up) 1st and 10 SF 44: Parker runs outside right for 5 yards. Formation: Base 3-4 Franklin is blocked out of the play by the RG. Keith Lewis gets his first non-special teams tackle on the season, bringing Parker down in the open field. Lewis looks very excited to finally see the field. 2nd and 6 SF39: Parker runs over RG for a gain of 4. Formation: 4-4-3 Interesting formation on this one. The DB’s are M. Lewis, K. Lewis, and Clements. The LB’s are Smith, Willis, Navies, and Banta-Cain. The down linemen are Young, Franklin, Sopoaga, and Franklin. Banta-Cain is lined up outside Young’s shoulder standing up. Franklin gets blasted off the ball by the C and the LG Faneca. Sopoaga, blocked by LT Smith, is too far away to be a factor in the play. Willie Parker gains an extra 2 yards at the end of this play by falling on a Niner (Douglas, I think) and rolling forward before hitting the ground. After that, Parker stands up and beats his chest like he's King Kong or something. 3rd and 2 SF35: Roethlisberger throws sideline right to Miller for 17 yards. Formation: 4-4-3 Franklin collapses the pocket about 4 yards, but it doesn’t matter much because Roethlisberger is in the shotgun. Sopoaga gets forced outside by the RG. Young was held and then shoved from behind after getting past his man. No call. 1st and 10 SF18: Parker runs outside left for 1 yard. Formation: 4-4-3 Sopoaga and Franklin are walled out of the play by LT Smith and LG Faneca. K.Lewis and N. Clements combine for this tackle. A great effort by both. Willis went one-on-one with Faneca and held up just fine. In fact, he spun off the block and headed back for the ball carrier and would have made the tackle if Clements or Lewis hadn’t. Faneca ended the play flat on his belly. 2nd and 9 SF17: Roethlisberger throws incomplete short left. Formation: 4-4-3 (Sopoaga shifts to LDE, with Franklin at LDT) Neither Sopoaga or Franklin go far, as this was a quick strike for the endzone. 3rd and 9 SF17: Roethlisberger throws incomplete short right. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel (Neither Franklin or Sopoaga are in on this play) *4th Series, following onside kick 1st and 10 SF46: Davenport runs outside right for 5 yards. Formation: 4-4-3 Franklin gets blown off the ball by the C and RG Faneca on this play. Sopoaga stands his man up (LT Smith) and drifts toward the ball, but the play is to the other side of the field. 2nd and 5 SF41: Davenport runs over RT for 2 yards. Formation: 4-4-3 Franklin stands his man up and flows toward the RT, clogging up the middle nicely. Sopoaga is pushed back 2 yards by the doubleteam of Faneca and the LT. Marques Douglas takes a hilarious flying leap onto the pile at the end of this play. 3rd and 3 SF39: Davenport runs over LT for 39 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Formation: Base 3-4 Sopoaga stands C Mahan up, then sheds the block, but only gets one arm on Davenport who runs through the gap where LT Smith and LG Faneca have manhandled Marques Douglas. Banta-Cain bites on the fake end-around and doesn’t recover in time to get close enough for the tackle. M. Lewis misses a shoestring tackle. W. Harris goes for the strip instead of the tackle, and the Dump Truck scores. In The End ... Upon close review, I felt that Sopoaga clearly had a better game than Franklin, but that Douglas had a monster game and played the best of the defensive linemen. Sopoaga always seems like the strongest man on the field. Several plays per game I see him throw blockers aside like they were children. It's hard not to see that and get excited about his future. Franklin is huge out there, but other than his size there isn't anything about his game I can really point to and say is excellent. Neither gets off the ball lightning quick down after down, but Franklin seems the slower of the two. I don't intend to start a controversy, but it does seem that Sopoaga is a bit beyond Franklin at this point. Next week's Film Room spotlight is yet to be determined, but some people have suggested Heitmann and Smiley. If there are any players in particular whose snaps you would like to see analyzed like this, please post their names in the comments.
Formation: Base 3-4
Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel
Formation: Base 3-4
Formation: 3-2-6 Dime
Formation: 4-4-3
Formation: Base 3-4
Formation: Base 3-4
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
How it feel to be B-Will?
I once asked a fellow 49er fan at my sports bar about wide receiver Brandon Williams and what he thought B-Will could contribute to the Niners this year as their punt returner.
He simply replied, "Motion for the fair catch, I guess." It's quickly becoming old news, but 49ers sixth-string wide receiver and fair-catch guy Brandon Williams was released today. In his place, the 49ers have signed Michael "Beer Man" Lewis (yes, another Michael Lewis), who formerly played with the Saints from 2001 to 2006. The new Michael Lewis is known as "Beer Man" because he drove a beer truck before getting a tryout with the Saints and making the roster at the ripe old age of 29. Hooray beer! (I'm totally going to yell that every time the Niners return a punt for the rest of the season. You readers out there as 49er fans are obligated to do the same. Don't let me down.) Meanwhile, Brandon Williams (also known as B-Will, a wannabe rapper name if I ever heard one) now joins Bryan Gilmore as another unemployed former 49ers wide receiver released in 2007. If you are getting the idea that I don't like Mr. Williams, well, you're 100 percent correct there, friend. Ignoring his muffed punt against the Rams two weeks ago, the guy never produced like a third-round draft pick should (other past third-round picks on the Niners' roster include Frank Gore, Adam Snyder and Jeff Ulbrich). Williams never caught a pass on offense outside of the preseason, and the guy is the worst kind of modern athlete in my eyes. Why do I believe B-Will deserves such scorn? This is one reason. Here is another. You know what the rest of the 49ers are doing at night while Brandon is shooting homemade rap videos in his kitchen? I can't be 100 percent sure, but I would bet Frank Gore is watching game tape, Smittay is studying his playbook with the Dilf, and Manny Lawson is bowling with Marcus Hudson (which is always better than making homemade rap videos in your kitchen). All I'm saying is that if you aren't starting in the NFL, but you are signed to a team and on the active roster, you should be focused and busting your ass to get on the football field and turn heads ... not rapping. I never thought Brandon Williams had that kind of focus, whether he was wearing No. 17 or the cursed No. 81 (previously worn by former 49er wide receivers Terrell Owens and Antonio Bryant). So on that note, thanks for coming Brandon. Here is your new home. Say "Hi" to Quincy Carter for me. Oh, and HOORAY BEER! Tell your friends. I want all of Monster Park screaming it by Week 8.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Hit List: Dedicated to the Whiners
This week in Hit List, we take a look at the Niners' 37-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and provide a guide of sorts for how fans should properly cope with the defeat. GREETINGS, Observer readers. Nick here with a special Monday morning Hit List for your reading pleasure. Like most 49er fans, I watched Smittay and his crew lose their first game of the season to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday morning. In short, it was a pretty competitive game, and the 49ers offense played much better than my pessimistic side would have predicted after the Niners barely edged the Rams in week 2. I left my local sports bar on Sunday feeling disappointed by the loss, but encouraged by what Hostler and Nolan were attempting to do with the offense. Yet, as I sit in front of my computer and browse the internets regarding all things 49ers, I'm extremely surprised by the general fan reaction to this game. For many of the 49er Faithful, Sunday's loss has somehow warranted the trading of half of the offense to the Redskins and starting Trent Dilfer by Week 8. I'm not exactly sure what these fans were expecting of the Niners against one of the best teams in the league (I was fully prepared for the worst outcome possible), but apparently some were hoping the San Francisco 49ers would morph into the Indianapolis Colts over the course of a week and destroy the Steelers by a great margin. Needless to say, such expectations proved to be kind of delusional. Thus, today's special edition of the Hit List is a guide for all the 49er fans out there who are calling for Alex Smith's head on a stick, or for the future offspring of Vernon Davis to be cursed with the mark of the beast. As a public service, I give you The Week 3 Guide to Losing for Forty-Whiner Fans. Consume, digest, floss, and enjoy. THE COMPLAINT - Alex Smith is a bust and is the main reason the 49ers are playing poor on offense in 2007. THE REALITY - It's difficult for Alex Smith to put up Tom Brady numbers when the 49ers offensive line can't seem to hold back a four-man rush this season, let alone a massive blitz with 245 pounds of linebacker by the name of James Farrior coming at Smittay full-speed. It also doesn't help when your Pro Bowl running back is contained for only 39 yards on the day (it's hard to fool your opponent with play action when you can't move the ball on the ground in the first place). Alex Smith deserves a big thumbs up for his performance in Pittsburgh, especially for the heart he displayed when hollering at his offensive line midway through the game to give him some much needed pass protection. And did you leave the TV on long enough to see that TD pass to Taylor Jacobs at the end of the game? Smith can play, but he's still young. Fans out there calling for Dilfer need to give Smittay a bit more time to realize his full potential. I, for one, believe he can be the quarterback we all want him to be. As of now, he just needs some help from his offensive line. THE COMPLAINT - Frank Gore has regressed and his Pro Bowl season was a fluke. THE REALITY - My editor James here at the Observer said it best — there is a big elephant in the room that was supposed to be one of the 49ers' strengths as football team in 2007. The offensive line is just not getting it done. There have been massive breakdowns in protection across the entire line over the past three weeks, and it is safe to say this isn't the same group of gigantic men 49er fans grew to respect during the 2006 season. Their lackluster performance is hurting both Gore's running and Smith's passing. The only solution is to pray that there is improvement as the season continues or that one of the Niners' heralded backups in Adam Snyder, David Baas or Tony Wragge can step in and step up. Otherwise, against good defensive teams, you can expect Frank Gore to be contained all year. THE COMPLAINT - Vernon Davis is a liability and should be jettisoned into space. THE REALITY - No. Seriously, just stop. Click-Clack showed why he is the 49ers' best receiver Sunday with great all-around play. The man may drop a pass here and there, but when VD gets into the open field, he becomes a liability for whatever defense is trying to stop him. His clutch catch in the third quarter against Pittsburgh would have put the 49ers in position to put 6 on the board but was negated by a terrible call by the officials. One thing you can argue as a Niner fan is that referees seem to never give San Francisco any breaks regarding close calls ... at least since about the time Mariucci left town. Don't ask me why, but the past two-plus years have been very frustrating for the 49ers and poor officiating. THE COMPLAINT - Jim Hostler is a poor offensive coordinator and should be blamed for the Niners problems on offense. THE REALITY - Yes and no, and here's where things get tricky. In his first year, Hostler is no doubt inexperienced regarding the coordinator duties. I think his biggest faults are not pushing Smith to throw farther downfield on a regular basis as well as not using Gore effectively by calling the plays that suit Gore's strengths as a running back. People have also called Hostler (and Nolan as well) conservative with the offensive play-calling, which I believe was accurate after the Niners' first two weeks of the season. However, against Pittsburgh, the 49ers came out throwing on their first drive, allowing Smittay to hit Delanie "D-Love" Walker, Darrell Jackson, and Vernon Davis with some well-timed passes. The final numbers on the day were 19 runs and 35 passes for the 49ers offense. Granted, the Niners were playing from behind most of the day, but allowing Smith to throw the ball more (and also with the plays Hostler was calling) was a big step forward in building up the confidence of the entire offensive unit. The main problem now isn't the plays Hostler is calling (besides the way he uses Gore), but getting the offensive line to run the plays well. Hostler gets a moderately-sized thumbs-up for his performance in Pittsburgh, but I hope his improvement continues. [On a side note, I want to ask again if Hostler just doesn't like to pull the guards on the runs with Gore. That means shifting Larry Allen to the outside after the snap to help Gore get around the edge. It worked like a charm last year, but maybe Hostler knows something I don't. All I know is that the 49ers' running game doesn't look very creative. I definitely miss Norv Turner in that respect.] And with that, I'm outta here. I'll be back Saturday with another Hit List to prepare you guys for Sunday's game against Seattle. You can learn more about my general feelings regarding the Seahawks right here. To close, here is who I liked and didn't like Sunday against the Steelers: Manny Lawson wants you to sign his knee brace: Nate Clements, Patrick Willis, Hannibal Navies (it's clear he's no Manny Lawson though), Mark Roman, Vernon Davis, Alex Smith, Andy Lee, Joe Nedney and defensive coordinator Greg Manusky (he's so refreshing after suffering through the tepid Billy Davis era). Trent Dilfer wants to have a word with you: Larry Allen, Derek Smith (without Lawson, we're stuck with him for the rest of the season), Tully Banta-Cain (who must REALLY using like the spin move in Madden 2008), Brandon Williams (he'll be cut in 2008, guaranteed) and, sadly enough, Ashley Lelie. [EDIT: Wow... I called that one. 49ers wide receiver/punt returner Brandon Williams was waived today. Former Saint Michael Lewis was signed by the Niners and will probably replace B-Will this weekend on special teams. I hereby endorse the move. Good job Nolan.]
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Kneejerk Knotes: Elephant in the room
Maybe it wasn't all Jim Hostler's fault after all.
The 49ers' offense finally "opened up" like everyone was hoping for in Sunday's 37-16 loss to the Steelers. Hostler's play-calling was creative and mostly pretty good, Vernon Davis was a major factor until getting hurt, and Alex Smith looked like a real NFL quarterback in as hostile an environment as you can find in the NFL.
So where did things go wrong for the 49ers? The same place they went wrong against Arizona and St. Louis — on the ground. Aside from one big run in St. Louis, Frank Gore has looked nothing like he did while leading the NFC in rushing a year ago. Has he lost a step? Doubtful. The problem for the 49ers has really been the offensive line's inability to create holes for Gore, who gained just 39 yards on 14 carries in Pittsburgh. Is it at all possible that Kwame Harris' absence is hurting the running game? It hurts to even say such a thing, but Harris has always been regarded as a good run blocker. I don't think Joe Staley has necessarily been bad, but maybe the 49ers really did lose a little in exchanging Kwame's run blocking for an upright quarterback (which Staley has mostly provided). Or maybe Larry Allen is finally beginning to lose a step in his old age. I don't know where the problem is, but there's clearly a problem. I think the play-calling has been over-criticized, while the lack of a run game has been given a free pass as a reason for the 49ers' struggles. It's easier to get creative in play-calling when you have a potent ground game, and it's easier to be a great quarterback when teams have to stack the box to stop the run. The 49ers' running game is no longer scary, and that will have to change before this offense really gets untracked. THAT SAID, IT'S hard not to be encouraged with the way the 49ers played on Sunday. The offense came out with one of their best opening drives in recent memory despite the aforementioned hostile environment. And without one aberration on special teams — when the 49ers' usually outstanding kick coverage team gave up a TD to Allen Rossum — San Francisco would have been down just 10-9 going into the fourth quarter. The way the offense moved the ball, they should have had more points. But they settled for one field goal after another and never regained the lead they grasped on that first drive and lost on Rossum's return. The defense kept the Steelers in check until the very end, when they finally wore down under the weight of an increasing deficit and the Steelers' strong offensive line. But make no mistake. Despite what turned into a lopsided final score, this was not the Chiefs game or the Bears game or even the Chargers game of last season. This team was not completely outclassed and did not fold under the pressure of a noisy crowd and a long road trip. They were competitive and legitimately had a chance to win the game. They're obviously not quite on the same level as the Steelers, one of the top teams in the dominant AFC, but they're not so far off. I LIKED WHAT I saw from Alex Smith in the waning moments. As soon as he threw his first interception of the season to Bryant McFadden, the game was over. But he hustled and brought McFadden down with a physical tackle (albeit a yard into the end zone). He then came back and put together a nice drive that included a gutsy 25-yard run that more than doubled Gore's best effort of the day and culminated with his first touchdown pass of the season to Taylor Jacobs. WITHOUT DISSECTING FILM like my esteemed colleague, Chris, it's hard to make an accurate assessment of any one player. But it sure looks like Derek Smith is a liability on defense. I've seen him miss critical tackles and be a step slow on some big pass plays, and with the improved level of talent on the field, these mistakes have become glaring. I don't know for sure that Brandon Moore would do a better job, but I think the time might be coming to give him the chance. As for the bigger linebacker concern of the day, it appeared as though Hannibal Navies did a decent job in place of Manny Lawson. He did get beat around the edge by Willie Parker (a play Lawson's speed probably would have negated) but he also sacked Ben Roethlisberger and forced a fumble early on, giving the 49ers great field position (which sadly turned into yet another field goal). VERNON DAVIS HAD his best game of the season, catching four passes for 56 yards and having a big third-down conversion overruled in an odd call, but he left the game with a left knee sprain. Let's hope this minor injury doesn't turn out to be like the supposedly "minor" one Manny Lawson suffered in practice last week.
Win the West: Week 3 predictions
Last week was another good one for the 49ers in the NFC West standings. They won, of course, and they did it against a divisional opponent for the second consecutive week.
The Cardinals also beat the Seahawks, meaning the 49ers are already the only team in the NFC West with two wins and no losses against divisional teams. They have quite an opportunity this week. If they can somehow pull an upset of the Steelers, they could take a two-game lead in the division with the Seahawks and Cardinals also facing difficult AFC North opponents. But it won't be easy. In fact, only two of the five die-hard Niner fans on our staff (James and Eddie) picked the 49ers to win today. Those two faithful fans, though, are also 5-0 on the season. I'm just saying. James (5-0) San Francisco 23, Pittsburgh 18 Baltimore 35, Arizona 17 Tampa Bay 26, St. Louis 21 Cincinnati 34, Seattle 24 Eddie (5-0) San Francisco 19, Pittsburgh 14 Baltimore 23, Arizona 13 St. Louis 41, Tampa Bay 28 Cincinnati 37, Seattle 34 Chris (5-0) Pittsburgh 20, San Francisco 13 Baltimore 27, Arizona 3 St. Louis 31, Tampa Bay 28 Cincinnati 24, Seattle 17 JR (4-1) Pittsburgh 30, San Francisco 17 Baltimore 26, Arizona 20 St. Louis 34, Tampa Bay 27 Seattle 35, Cincinnati 30 Ben (3-2) Pittsburgh 28, San Francisco 17 Baltimore 17, Arizona 14 Tampa Bay 24, St. Louis 21 Cincinnati 40, Seattle 24 Nick (3-2) Pittsburgh 27, San Francisco 13 Baltimore 23, Arizona 13 Tampa Bay 20, St. Louis 16 Cincinnati 27, Seattle 23
Breaking the Huddle: VD is the cure
Anytime you get two storied franchises together on the same playing field, it's a treat. The 49ers and Steelers have 10 Lombardi trophies between them, and both are off to 2-0 starts.
Critics are calling the Niners lucky and saying Pittsburgh hasn't played anybody. Sounds like both teams will be looking to make a statement today. This should be one of the best games of the week. QUARTERBACKS Ben Roethlisberger looked ready to take his game to another level Week 1 against Cleveland when he passed for four touchdowns. Week 2 he was solid, not spectacular, against Buffalo. The thing about Roethlisberger is when he's in a rhythm, he's hard to stop, but he can be rattled and will throw a couple of passes a game that scream to be intercepted. Alex Smith hasn't done much this season numbers-wise. However, I believe he's a victim of conservative play-calling. If the game plan allows him to take some shots this week, then we might finally see something worthy on the stat sheet. Big Ben may already have a Super Bowl ring, but Smith is closer to being the straw that stirs his team's drink. The Steelers rely on Roethlisberger not screwing up, while the 49ers will need Smith to make plays in order to be successful today. Advantage: Draw RUNNING BACKS Most of the big plays in today's game will come from the featured running backs. Frank Gore has three consecutive 100-yard efforts against AFC teams, while the Steelers haven't given up 100 yards to a tailback in 27 straight games. Fast Willie Parker may be the most dangerous back in the league when it comes to catching screens out of the backfield. One of the best matchups of the game will be Parker's speed versus the speed of the Niner linebackers. Expect both backs to have solid performances. Advantage: Draw. WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS If the 49ers do not feature Vernon Davis early, it could be a long day. His presence and any success he has early on will free up space for Gore and Co. to do their thing. So far, it seems Jim Hostler has tried to use him much like the Saints have used Reggie Bush: Get the ball in his hands as quick as you can as close to the line of scrimmage as possible. Until you open up the passing game with some seam patterns, though, quick screens will not be effective. Also, it wouldn't hurt for the 49ers to allow Ashley Lelie on the field. It doesn't matter if he has problems running routes or not. Last time I checked, a fly pattern wasn't very hard to run. For Pittsburgh, you have to respect Hines Ward, and Santonio Holmes is quickly becoming one of the best deep threats in the game. Advantage: Draw. OFFENSIVE LINE Both offensive lines are standout groups. So far this season the 49ers haven't spent much time running behind their mammoth left side of Larry Allen and Jonas Jennings. Expect that to change today. The matchup of Pro Bowlers Alan Faneca and Bryant Young will be key. Advantage: Draw. DEFENSIVE LINE Interior lineman Casey Hampton is the type of defensive tackle you need in a 3-4 defense. A line like the Steelers' is what the 49ers hope to develop. Young, who's off to a fantastic start, unlike his alma mater Notre Dame, will need to continue getting to the quarterback to take the pressure off of the linebackers, who will be without Manny Lawson for the rest of the season. Advantage: Steelers. LINEBACKERS If there was a position the 49ers could handle taking a hit like Lawson, it was at linebacker. Every week that passes Patrick Willis looks more and more like a Pro Bowler this season. Brandon Moore, who I fully expect to take over for Lawson, will play a large role in covering the Steelers' screens. When was the last time Pittsburgh didn't have a good linebacking corps? I can't remember either. The 49ers will have their hands full with Clark Haggans, who has a sack in each game this season, and rock-solid James Farrior. Advantage: 49ers. SECONDARY The way the 49ers' defensive backfield is playing, I'd take them over anyone outside of Denver. Troy Polamalu is a beast for the Steelers, but the rest of the bunch is basically solid. Nothing spectacular. Advantage: 49ers. SPECIAL TEAMS The 49ers' coverage teams have been outstanding this season. The return game has not. This may be Brandon Williams' last chance if he screws up another return. Steelers kicker Jeff Reed has made and missed his share of game-winning kicks. This game will be close and missed field goals could come into play. Advantage: 49ers. COACHING It seems everyone on the Niners staff has excelled this season with the exception of offensive coordinator Jim Hostler. If he opens up the offense this week the 49ers will be better off for it. Mike Tomlin is the second first-time head coach San Francisco has faced this season. That also bolds well for the Niners. Advantage: 49ers. PREDICTION 49ers 19, Steelers 14 — The 49ers defense should be able to keep the Steelers' offense in check. That puts the pressure on the offense to finally make some plays to help keep the defense fresh and off the field. This is one of those matchups that comes down to time of possession. Which ever team is able to keep the other's defense on the field longer should go to 3-0.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
I'm not worried — and you shouldn't be, either
I watched the Pittsburgh-Buffalo game last night to "scout the competition," as it were. OK, maybe I was trying to find out if I should put money on the game, but it still made for an interesting viewing.
Anyhow, the first thing that jumped out at me about Ben Roethlisberger is his size. I haven't seen him play that much (other than in the Super Bowl, where he was horrid), so it was kind of startling. He is listed at 6-foot-5 and 241 pounds, but he looks like 250 or 260. He isn't nearly as smooth or athletic as Alex Smith, but like Alex and a lot of other tall quarterbacks (Vince Young), he's faster than he looks — because he's so big, he covers more ground in one step than smaller players cover in two. In the second series of the game against Buffalo, Roethlisberger stepped up and threw a bomb intended for Santonio Holmes, who was double-covered. Buffalo's FS came away with an easy pick. Since I've read their message boards, I know Pittsburgh fans really want to believe they have one of the top quarterbacks in the league, but the truth is that Roethlisberger is not nearly in the same league as a Peyton Manning, a Tom Brady, a Carson Palmer. In fact, he doesn't even belong in the same sentence as those guys. He is plodding and awkward in comparison, and his windup is slow — definitely slower than Smith but not as slow as, say, Byron Leftwich. Pittsburgh has a great line, though, and they make Ben look like an above average quarterback. In the game against the Bills, Roethlisberger threw two kinds of passes very well: short sideline routes and screens. He threw maybe three mid-range 15-25-ish yard passes, but not with the accuracy of, say, Marc Bulger. He has a strong arm and throws a pretty deep ball, but he really has trouble throwing on the run. He's not a Brett Favre type of quarterback who can magically sling perfect cross-field 30-yard bullets for touchdowns while on his heels and with three linemen in his face. Did I mention I hate Brett Favre? Overall it wasn't a very impressive game for Ben. With the Steelers in the red zone in the second quarter, he had FB Dan Kreider open on third-and-goal for an easy touchdown pass. He threw it at the guy's feet. As a result, the team had to settle for a field goal. That wasn't the only time the Steelers had trouble in the red zone — they kicked four field goals in the first half alone. In fact, on Roethlisberger's only touchdown pass of the game, he threw an ankle-level ball to his 6-7 backup TE Matt Spaeth. The Steelers were lucky the rookie made the catch, because it wasn't an easy one. Two things Roethlisberger actually did really well against the Bills were the pump-fake and play-action. He pump faked a lot last Sunday, sometimes twice on the same play, especially in the red zone. Sometimes those will draw defenders away from a receiver long enough for the quarterback to find an open man. And his play-action fakes are good enough to fool the cameraman. But Ben doesn't carry the Steelers on his back, and he never has. Look at the statistics: In the eight games Pittsburgh won in 2006, they averaged about 26 pass attempts per game. Of the 2006 playoff teams (not that the Steelers made the playoffs or anything), only the Chiefs, who split the season between Damon Huard and Trent Green, averaged fewer pass attempts per win (about 24). In contrast, the Patriots, Bears and Seahawks all averaged about 30 attempts per game in their wins. The Giants, Eagles and Jets averaged about 31. The Cowboys 32, Saints 33 and the Colts about 34. Even Baltimore, supposedly where quarterbacks go to die, threw almost 32 attempts per victory. The only team other than the Chiefs to average fewer than 30 attempts per victory was the Chargers with 28.5. The Chargers and Chiefs also had the top two running backs in the AFC last year. The Steelers had the third. In their Super Bowl winning season (2005) and the year prior (2004), they leaned on Roethlisberger even less. So clearly, the Steelers live and die by the run. They have never asked Ben to carry the team; just to minimize turnovers and take the occasional deep shot. Unless he transmogrifies into Peyton Manning overnight, he is not going to beat anyone on his own. On the other hand, RB Willie Parker and the offensive line have carried the team to victory on their collective back many, many times. Come Sunday, if there's someone to fear on Heinz Field, it's Fast Willie Parker — who is, in fact, very, very fast. It remains to be seen if he's fast enough to run circles around a guy like Patrick Willis. Kickoff is barely a night's sleep away. I can hardly wait.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Fantasy Fury: Week 3 preview
What if LaDainian Tomlinson is a victim of the Madden Curse?
But you ask: "Eddie, how could that be? Vince Young is this year's victim. He's on the cover, plain as day." That's true, but what if there's a Final Destination-like scenario playing itself out?
Tomlinson turned down the Madden gig. The witches and warlocks over at EA Sports originally wanted the single-season touchdown king to grace the cover. Maybe the curse is stalking LT the way death followed the characters in those God-awful movies. Maybe there is reason to panic at the disco! Or maybe you should just back up off the panic button and sit your cup down. Don't trade Tomlinson just yet. I have a feeling the kid's gonna make it after all. Here's a preview of what you should expect from Week 3's matchups: San Francisco 49ers at Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Something tells me points are going to be hard to come by in this one. Both defenses could be solid plays this week. Tailbacks Frank Gore and Willie Parker are must-starts every week. They'll have to earn every inch this week, but both should still perform adaquately. Neither team's QBs or WRs excite me, but both TEs could score. Look for Vernon Davis to have his best game of the season (which isn't saying much). Arizona Cardinals at Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, 10 a.m. — While the Cardinals have been a much improved team thus far, this is still the Ravens defense at Baltimore. If you have better matchups, play them. If not, hope Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin or Edgerrin James can add a score to their meager yardage totals. Tight end Todd Heap and running back Willis McGahee are solid plays. Expect each to find the end zone and do the heavy lifting for the Ravens' offense. Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Tom Brady (47-for-59, 79.7%, 576 yards, 6 TDs, 1 Int., 134.2 rating) is in the midst of what appears to be his signature season. For those of you that have been handcuffing him to Randy Moss (17 receptions, 288 yards and 3 TDs), continue to do so. This is not a good matchup for Buffalo. If you have other options, consider giving them a go. Detroit Lions at Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, 10 a.m. — There will be fireworks in Philly. Expect Donovan McNabb and Jon Kitna to come out firing. Detroit wideouts Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson are both off to decent starts. Both should find the end zone. Brian Westbrook should turn in his usual (150 total yards, TD). Plus, my sleeper of the week is Eagle wideout Reggie Brown. Expect a breakout game from the former Georgia Bulldog. Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans, Sunday, 10 a.m. — The Texans are one of the biggest surprises this season. Expect a dose of reality. Matt Schuab will be without his favorite target, Andre Johnson (14 rec., 266 yards, 3 TDs), which could lead to a very vanilla offense. Never sit your Colts. Never. Miami Dolphins at New York Jets, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Why Miami halfback Ronnie Brown is splitting carries with Jesse Chatman completely escapes me. Until Cam Cameron figures out how wrong that is, sit Brown. I expect a heavy reliance on the pass from both teams. Laveranues Coles and Chris Chambers will be the beneficiaries of that. Minnesota Vikings at Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Larry Johnson told Herm Edwards he wanted 40 carries and Edwards just might give them to him. Fantasy owners rejoice! Well ... hold on a sec. If there's one thing the Vikings do, it's stop the run, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a higher scoring fantasy defense in the first two weeks. Expect Johnson to have his best game of this short season, but don't expect water into wine. On the flipside, expect Adrian Peterson to continue his march to offensive rookie of the year. San Diego Chargers at Green Bay Packers, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Before the season, if you would have told me Packers running back DeShawn Wynn (11 carries, 58 yards, 2 TDs) would have outperformed fantasy God Tomlinson (35 car., 68 yards, TD) two weeks in I would have reported you to Homeland Security. Green Bay's defense is good, but we're talking about facing the inevitable here. Tomlinson will have a big day and unlike Johnson in KC, fantasy owners should never question whether to start Tomlinsont. Brett Favre is a good start here as well. The Chargers' secondary was exposed last week against the Patriots. Expect the old man to come out slinging it. St. Louis Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, 10 a.m. — This is Week 3's Cincy-Cleveland matchup. The Bucs can't rely on their defense any more. Expect Steven Jackson to have his first monster game of the year. Marc Bulger will capitalize on the eight-man fronts for his usual (250-300 yards, 2 TDs). Jeff Garcia and Joey Galloway will challenge the Rams secondary the way the Panthers did in Week 1. Both are good starts. Cincinnati Bengals at Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, 1 p.m. — This will be a shoot-out. All the usuals should be started, especially Shuan Alexander, who could be in store for huge numbers after what Jamal Lewis did to the Bengals last week. Cleveland Browns at Oakland Raiders, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Browns QB Derek Anderson won't match what he did last week, but Raiders tailback LaMont Jordan might. Josh McCown's days are numbered as starter in Oakland, but he could be very productive this week. I'd stay away though unless you're desperate. Expect Jordan and Cleveland's Lewis to carry the load for both teams. Expect both to top 100 yards and get a score. Jacksonville Jaguars at Denver Broncos, Sunday, 1 p.m. — At this point, none of the Jaguars are worth starting. Broncos' running back Travis Henry, the Denver defense and kicker Jason Elam are all worthy of being in your lineup, though. Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Panthers receiver Steve Smith (15 rec., 271 yards, 4 TDs) is off to a monster start. His matchup with Falcons Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall is the best of the week and the only interesting part of this game. Carolina should roll, so start QB Jake Delhomme and pull a Romeo Crennell — flip a coin on DeShawn Foster and DeAngelo Williams. New York Giants at Washington Redskins, Sunday, 1 p.m. — These appear to be two teams headed in opposite directions. I believe Redskins running back Clinton Portis will exploit the Giants' banged-up defense for more than 100 yards and multiple scores. Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears, Sunday, 5:15 p.m. — A matchup of last year's NFC representative and this year's frontrunner. The two QBs are at the opposite ends of the spectrum as far as starts this season. Cowboys signal-caller Tony Romo has matched his start from last season, throwing for six touchdowns so far and running for another while leading the NFC in passer rating at 119.3. The only starting QB in the NFC with a lower passer rating than Rex Grossman (55.1) is Tarvaris Jackson (40.0). Don't count out the "Good" Rex showing up Sunday night. He's running out of chances. Marion Barber is a touchdown machine. Start him! Tennessee Titans at New Orleans Saints, Monday, 5:30 p.m. — The embattled Saints march home for an energy boost. Expect a different team this week than the one that was whooped by the Colts and Buccaneers. Expect Deuce McAllister to be the catalyst for it, too. Sean Payton obviously hasn't figured out how to feature Reggie Bush in the offense, so expect him to resort to last year's game plan: Pound the rock early with Deuce, and open up play-action passing. New Orleans' defense has been a step above its levees, so Vince Young is a solid play this week. Expect a breakout performance from Young on Monday Night Football or expect him to break his leg, Theisman-style. I don't know ... the Madden Curse is like the Dark Side. It clouds everything.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Manny's out — who'll man up?
The 49ers have suffered their first significant injury of the season, as starting outside linebacker Manny Lawson has torn his ACL and is now lost for the season.
This is a very disappointing occurrence, as Lawson had been playing with marked improvement over last year. He looked more sure of himself, while also playing more aggressively. The tandem of Lawson and rookie inside linebacker Patrick Willis provided the 49ers' linebacking unit with a lot of athleticism and speed. So who will replace Lawson? It appears as though veteran Hannibal Navies is likely step into the starting role for the time being, and second-year player Parys Haralson will also factor in significantly. Neither player has the exceptional combination of size and speed that Lawson has, but they should be able to effectively fill the role. Navies is a capable veteran that played in six games with the team last year and is entering his ninth season in the league. His most productive year came in 2003, when he started every game for the Green Bay Packers and recorded 86 tackles and one sack. He's held his own in the league for a long time but has never been a huge force defensively. For his career he has only 3.5 sacks, so his speed off the edge leaves something to be desired. He is stout against the run and has the intelligence to handle the assignments given to him and play mostly mistake-free, but he's definitely not the dual threat that Lawson was. Haralson, drafted last season after playing defensive end at Tennessee, has a lot more upside, but he is obviously still raw when it comes to playing linebacker in the 3-4 scheme. He should be much more dangerous rushing the passer than Navies, but it remains to be seen how well he can do in coverage and against the run. I can envision him coming in on passing downs to help the rush, but if any offensive coordinator in the league is worth his salt, he'll recognize that any blitz is probably coming from that direction. Thus, it will be more difficult to disguise any blitz packages during the course of a game. I'd prefer for the younger player get some playing time and learn the position in a trial by fire than go with a stopgap and someone who we know won't ever be a special linebacker. However, coach Mike Nolan's decision will ultimately come down to who gives the team the better chance to win at the time. Knowing that the next game against Pittsburgh will be a grueling one, I can see why Navies would get the nod. The 49ers can ill afford to give up any free yards to the Steelers this weekend. It likely has to be a low-scoring game if they are to stay in it, and it's hard to imagine the Steelers' defense having a meltdown and giving up many points. Therefore, it's hard to throw a second-year player onto the field after having missed most of his rookie year and ask him to be on top of his game mentally — even if he is the more athletically talented. There's also the possibility that Nolan shuffles things up as the season progresses. Veteran Jeff Ulbrich has played the outside position in his career, and Brandon Moore does have decent speed to get to the passer and can play strong against the run. Both of these players are slotted for the ILB positions, but there's something to be said for having the most talented players on the field whenever possible. Losing Lawson is a definite setback, but of all the 49ers' units, they might be deepest and most prepared to handle the loss at linebacker. We all know that injuries are part of the game and that championship teams have the depth to overcome them. Now we'll see just how close the 49ers are to being that kind of team.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
In the Tunnel: Biggest test so far (duh)
There are only three teams in the NFL that have won the Super Bowl five times: the Cowboys, Steelers, and the 49ers. This week, the latter two will square off on Pittsburgh's home field, and both of them come into the game undefeated after two weeks of play.
Pittsburgh still closely resembles the teams that won those Super Bowls (right down to the uni's) back in the 70s, and many of the components that brought them their most recent championship two seasons ago are still there. It's pretty simple, really. When you play the Steelers, you can count on a tough running game that with a dangerous back and an experienced offensive line, and you can count on a punishing defense that suffocates the run with its 3-4 scheme and gets pressure on the quarterback with well-timed blitz packages. In short, the 49ers better buckle their chinstraps and bring their mouthguards, because they're in for one hell of a fight (even the fans aren't always safe). The Steelers had a pretty serious Super Bowl hangover last season. Ben Roethlisberger damn near killed himself and never seemed to get in sync while leading the league in interceptions. The running game had to deal with the loss of Jerome Bettis, their short-yardage specialist and goal-line bowling ball. Willie Parker did step up his game and became a legitimate star in this league, but Bettis' production near the end zone would be tough to replace for any team. Furthermore, it just looked like Bill Cowher had nothing to prove anymore. Some of the intensity was gone, so the execution and attention to detail was gone as well. It seems to me that every year that goes by, it becomes harder and harder to repeat as Super Bowl champs. The Steelers found this out the hard way. This season however, new coach Mike Tomlin (pictured) appears to have a chip on his shoulder, and they have roared out of the gate and pretty much decimated the two teams they've faced so far. Granted it was the Browns and the Bills, which aren't exactly the strongest squads right now. But they aren't the worst, either, and the Steelers made them look absolutely silly — so much so that Cleveland's Week 1 QB got his ass traded to the Seahawks a few days later. Defensively, they've been outstanding. Offensively, they haven't been entirely prolific, but they certainly are taking advantage of the opportunities that their defense is giving them. So far, the Steelers' defense has tallied as many sacks as they've allowed points (10), their turnover ratio is +4, and they're currently ranked third in the NFL in yards allowed. Defensive coordinator Dick Lebeau has remedied the problems of last year so far, as the pass defense has tightened up and the run defense remained strong. One stat that stands out amongst all of them though, is the number of tackles star safety Troy Polamalu has collected thus far: two. Take a moment to absorb that. Two tackles. This low number indicates that, first of all, runners aren't getting to the second level on the Steelers' front seven at all, and enough passes aren't getting completed that Polamalu has to make a whole lot of tackles. Plain and simple, the Steelers' defense is a disruptive force. Hostler and the 49ers' offense will have to devise some new looks to get around this crew. Otherwise, expect a lot of black (or yellow?) helmets crowding the line of scrimmage and an even more pathetic yardage total than the 49ers had the last two weeks. On offense, the Steelers are still sticking to the running game to handle their heavy lifting. "Fast" Willy Parker has elite speed and can break a tackle or two before he gets loose. Wide receivers Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes provide alternatives for the passing game, as Ward can make the tough catches in traffic and Holmes provides the deep threat that keeps the defense honest. Basically, don't look for Walt Harris to man-up on Holmes too often. Heath Miller also provides a nice big target for Roethlisberger at tight end. He's already got six catches and one touchdown this year, so he must be accounted for. Let's hope the 49ers' young but athletic linebacking crew learns quickly about how to deal with respecting the run and guarding against the play-action pass, because I'm sure they'll see it more than once. The Steelers are a much more complete team and further along in the process of building for a championship than the 49ers. As I mentioned before, it's been less than two years since they were hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, and they weren't exactly an old group of veterans at that point. A lot of these players have a lot of gas left in the tank, and if you think they don't listen to all the accolades their AFC rivals are getting, you've got another thing coming. San Francisco is a promising young team, but I think the veteran leadership of Pittsburgh and the home-field advantage will be simply too much to overcome. It'll be a hell of a win if I'm wrong, though. Let's hope for that.
Line of Scrimmage: Whither Click-Clack?
In this week's Line of Scrimmage, Ben and JR debate the ways in which tight end Vernon Davis is being used. Is he being misused by Jim Hostler and the offensive brain trust?
NO: Often, the tight end serves in a check-down role for a quarterback. Few and far between are the Tony Gonzalez/Todd Heap/Antonio Gates types that can be counted on as game breakers. When Vernon Davis joined the 49ers last year, he was billed as the guy Alex Smith could turn to when he was in trouble. So much for that idea. So, if the 49ers drafted Davis with the purpose of being a go-to guy, why am I arguing that they aren't misusing him this season? Because he hasn't proven anything. Hurt for most of last season, Davis needs to work his way into the flow of the offense before Smith can count on him to make big plays. Granted, there is little flow to work into at the moment, but Smith is relying on the weapons he knows can produce (Frank Gore, Darrell Jackson) when he needs a big play. So far, nobody knows what Davis is capable of. I have no doubt that, one day, Davis will become an integral part of the 49ers' offense. For now, I want to see Mr. Click-Clack blocking, slipping out into the flat and making broken plays turn into yardage. The best role a tight end can play is as a security blanket and, so far, Davis has done nothing to warrant a big role, even if the offense is seemingly devoid of playmakers. — Ben YES: How can you even think the 49ers aren't missing out on a HUGE advantage by not finding a way, any way, to get the ball in this young man's hands? Coming out of Maryland, all we heard about him was his freakish size and athletic ability. For goodness sake, if the guy is 250 and runs a sub 4.4 in the 40, you get the ball to him behind the linebackers and the defense suddenly has a big problem. Good offensive football is all about the mismatches you can generate. The difference between competitive teams and great teams is their ability to find the weakness in their opponent and exploit it with sharp execution. Normal linebackers should NOT be able to cover this guy, and if a corner or safety match up, they better have help to make the tackle if and when he comes down with it. Sooner or later, he'll break free. At the outset of the season, I was hoping to see one certain type of play that seems to be an all but guaranteed medium range gain. Alex Smith, a mobile quarterback, fakes a hand off to our biggest weapon Frank Gore, the linebackers bite on the play action to challenge the primary weapon while Smith bootlegs to the strong side, where Davis has run a delay route into the flat 5 yards deep. Whether in man or the zone, Smith and Davis moving to the same side should be able to allow Smith to throw it where only Davis can get it. Once he has the ball, the defense has a big problem. I haven't seen that play executed exactly yet, but then again I don't get to watch tape. A lot of Frank Gore's success hasn't been because the offense's play-calling has been so good that the defense doesn't know what's coming. It's because of superior execution by the blocking personnel and Frank's ability to make plays. You know if you stick with him long enough, he'll bust off a big gain because of his tenacity and will to just not go down. The 49ers' offense could have a similar situation with Vernon Davis. If the offense puts the ball in his hands a minimum of five times a game, the odds are with them that he's going to break something for a long gain, and at worst, he'll come down and gain at least a few yards. We got a glimpse of it last year, and now it's just a matter of getting him the chances. Please, Mr. Hostler, throw a few extra pages in the playbook that get the ball to The Duke. We've been waiting to see what he can do since Draft Day '07. — JR
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Film Room: Spotlight on Joe Staley
This season is still young, but it’s obvious to even casual observers that the 49ers' offense has issues. In two games they have displayed a troubling lack of execution, but the team has had a few breaks fall their way. So the Niners have come away with two narrow victories thanks in no small part to Herculean efforts by the defense.
Since Sunday many people have criticized the team for running over the right side of the line when the left side has two outstanding run blockers in LT Jonas Jennings and LG Larry Allen. The right side of the line certainly doesn’t have the strongest man in the NFL, but it does have RG Justin Smiley, who is known throughout the league as an excellent player. Outside Smiley is the newcomer, rookie RT Joe Staley who beat out Kwame Harris in the preseason.
In this week’s Film Room, we’ve tracked Staley throughout the entire game to see how he’s measuring up to Jennings or even Harris. (1st Half) First Series 1st and 10 SF20 – Frank Gore runs outside left for 2 yards (Larry Allen pulls). Staley sprints out to the 30 to setup for downfield blocking, but the run is stuffed so he isn’t able to do much. 2nd and 9 SF21 – Alex Smith throws sideline left to Darrell Jackson for 11 yards. Staley completely walls off DE Leonard Little. (Called back on facemask penalty on LT Jennings) 2nd and 20 SF10 – Gore runs over C/RG for 2 yards. Staley blocks DT Glover back a yard, releases and then pancakes LB Chillar. 3rd and 18 SF12 – Gore takes a draw up the middle for 13 yards. Staley lets Little get a step on him (purposefully), then pushes him out of the play. Second Series 1st and 10 SF34 – Smith throws deep left incomplete (Jackson). Staley completely neutralizes Little on this play. 2nd and 10 SF34 – Gore runs over LG/LT for 3 yards. Staley blocks down left and pushes Glover back about three yards. 3rd and 7 SF37 – Smith throws short right incomplete (Gore). Little gets a step on Staley and puts some pressure on Smith, who still manages to throw the screen. Third Series 1st and 10 STL39 – Smith throws short right to Gore for 3 yards Little tries to speed around the edge, but Staley gets him in time to shove him out of Smith’s face (about 2 yards away). 2nd and 7 STL36– Smith throws left to Jackson for 10 yards. Staley helps Heitmann neutralize Carriker as Smiley pulls right on a play-action fake. 1st and 10 STL26 – Smith throws short left to Davis for 19 yards. Staley blocks Glover out of the play on another play-action fake. Davis blocked Little at the line for a second, then threw him aside, ran out left, and made the catch. Great play on his part. 1st and goal STL7 – Gore runs up the middle for 6 yards. Staley pushes Glover back about 4 yards on this play. He looked like a monster on this one. 2nd and goal STL1 – Gore runs up the middle for no gain. Staley basically dives forward and gets no push on this play. Allen ended this play in the end zone, but Jennings was turned to his side. Still, I’m not sure how Gore didn’t score on this one, because it seemed he had plenty of space. 3rd and goal STL1 – Gore runs up over LG/LT for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN. Staley cut-blocks Glover on this play. Fourth Series 1st and 10 STL27 – Smith throws deep right to Jackson for 34 yards. Staley blocks Carriker for about 4 seconds on this one, then Carriker gets past and comes within maybe 2.5 yards of Smith at the time of the throw. 1st and 10 STL37 – Gore runs outside left for a loss of 3. Staley bumps Carriker on his way past to block LB Chillar. As a result of the bump, Carriker gets pancaked by Heitmann. Jennings was beat by DE Johnson on this play, but it didn’t matter much because Witherspoon came through the hole unblocked to make the tackle. 2nd and 13 STL40 – Smith throws short right to Battle for 9 yards. Staley neutralizes Little on this play. Smith literally had all day. 3rd and 4 STL32 -- Smith is sacked by Bartell for -13 yards. Staley again completely neutralizes Little. In fact, Little starts pointing at Smith after the play ends to get Staley to stop blocking. Bartell came unblocked on a blitz from the nickel spot. This one is probably on Allen who seemed to block the wrong man. Fifth Series 1st and 10 SF47 -- Smith throws short right to Gore for 1 yard. Staley easily keeps Little 5 or 6 yards away from Smith, but Little disengages from the block and sprints across to the opposite side of the field to make the tackle. 2nd and 9 SF48 – Smith throws incomplete long right (Battle). Staley blocks Glover out of the play. It’s not even close. Little went on a delayed stunt and probably got a hit on Smith because Smiley went to help Heitmann creating an open lane. Battle did not drop this one – Bartell tipped it away. Davis looked pretty open on a post route underneath, as he had the inside angle on the safety. 3rd and 9 SF48 – Robinson bounces a draw outside for 4 yards. Little takes an inside angle against Staley and kept Robinson from getting to the running lane. This looked like Staley’s fault to me. (2nd Half) First Series 1st and 10 STL44 – Gore runs over RG for 2 yards. Staley neutralizes Little on this play. Witherspoon shed Smiley’s block in about half a second and flew in to make the stop. Carriker was also in on the tackle, having beat Heitmann on the play, but this was more on Smiley. 2nd and 9 STL43 – Gore runs over RT for 4 yards. Staley blocks Little back about a yard. By the time Little sheds the block, Gore has run past him and straight into Witherspoon who was unblocked. 3rd and 5 STL39 – Smith is sacked by Hall for -5 yards. Staley seemed to block the wrong guy on this play, but Smith also held on to the ball for a good 4 seconds. Second Series 1st and 10 SF20 – Smith throws incomplete right (Jackson). Staley bumps Little, who then gets plowed by LG Allen and Gore who have come running over on play-action. James Hall tipped this pass at the line. 2nd and 10 SF20 – Smith throws middle to Jackson for 17 yards. After about two seconds, Little sheds Staley’s block, but the ball is already away. 1st and 10 SF37 – Smith throws short left to Battle for 8 yards. Little gets nowhere against Staley on this play. 2nd and 2 SF45 – Gore runs up the middle for 1 yard. Staley blocks Hall out of the play. Not his fault it didn't go further. 3rd and 1 SF46 – Norris runs over RT for 2 yards. Staley pushes Glover back a good 2 yards. This first down was largely due to Staley’s effort. 1st and 10 SF48 – Jacobs runs left for -8 yards. Staley keeps Carriker from getting anywhere near this play. This play got blown up by CB Bartell because Heitmann pretty much ran right past instead of blocking him. Heitmann knew it too because he was sulking a little afterward. 2nd and 18 SF40 – Hicks runs over RT for 7 yards. Staley with help from Smiley gets about a 5 yard push on Carriker. Great block. 3rd and 11 SF47 – Smith throws short middle to Hicks for 9 yards. Staley does a good job recovering after Little gets a step on him, but Smith holds on to the ball for about 4 seconds. Little comes free and gets about a yard away as Smith throws. 4th and 1 STL43 – Gore runs up the middle for 43 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Staley shoves Glover to the ground, goes to block LB R. Smith, and is the first player to greet Gore in the endzone. Third Series 1st and 10 SF18 – Gore runs over C/RG for 4 yards. Staley blocks down left and picks up LB Chillar. Chillar sheds the block and dives at Gore, but Gore sidesteps him on his way downfield. 2nd and 6 SF22 – Smith throws incomplete short left (Gore). Staley ends up blocking SS Atogwe. Atogwe gets nowhere for about 2 seconds, then Staley turns left like he knows it’s a screen and wants to run and block downfield. 3rd and 6 SF22 – Smith throws incomplete short middle (Battle). Staley makes a nice blitz pickup on LB R. Smith and pushes him around and behind QB Smith, out of the play. Fourth Series 1st and 10 SF17 – Gore runs over RG/RT for -1 yard. Staley blocks LB Chillar downfield about 7 yards and completely out of this play. This one wasn’t on him. 2nd and 11 SF16 -- Hicks takes a draw up the middle for 3 yards. Staley neutralizes Glover on this play. 3rd and 8 SF19 – Smith throws short center for 11 yards. Staley walls off LB R. Smith. 1st and 10 SF30 – Smith is sacked for -4 yards. DE Adeyanju gets a step on Staley, but Staley keeps him out of the play for about 4 seconds. Smith hangs on to the ball for 5, so Adeyabju, Hall, and Glover converge on him. The replay showed Staley obviously holding Adeyabju by the jersey (not called). Hall and Glover were credited with the sack. 2nd and 14 SF26 – Gore runs over RT for 1 yard. Staley helps Smiley push Glover completely out of the play. Larry Allen pulled right and came rumbling through the hole but he whiffed on a block against Witherspoon, who came in to make the stop. 3rd and 13 SF27 – Smith throws short right to Davis for 5 yards. Staley completely stonewalls Little on this play. Smith had all day. He actually could have held the ball longer. On 4th down Lee punts the ball and Hall fumbles it (and likely the game) away. Hudson recovers. 1st and 10 STL26 – Gore runs over LT for 1 yard. Staley blocks DE Johnson about three yards down the field. Larry Allen pretty much pancaked Carriker on this play. Gore didn’t go anywhere because the Rams had 9 men in the box and overloaded the Niners left side. 2nd and 9 STL25 – Gore runs outside right for 3 yards. Staley goes to block Witherspoon, but pretty much all the other Rams linebackers go unblocked and Gore goes nowhere. The Niners were forced to take a timeout before this next play because G David Baas, playing TE, didn’t know where to line up. 3rd and 6 STL22 – Gore runs over RT for no gain. Staley blocks Little out of the play, but LB Draft flies in and absorbs Norris’ block, allowing Witherspoon to make the tackle. Fifth Series Before the play, Smith takes a timeout. This was either because he didn’t like the defense or because the formation was screwed up, but it’s impossible to know which. 1st and 10 STL43 – Gore runs over RT for 8 yards. This play was called back on an illegal formation penalty. Vernon Davis was technically responsible for this penalty as he backed off the line, then moved back up after Smith yelled and pointed. It seemed like the formation was illegal by design though, as Hostler did not seem angry and was seen questioning the line judge after the play, then nodding and saying, “Oh”. 1st and 15, STL48 – Norris runs over C for 2 yards. Staley blocks down left on Carriker and gets a decent push. 2nd and 13, STL46 – Gore runs up the middle for 2 yards. Staley neutralizes Little and keeps him from getting anywhere near this play. 3rd and 11, STL44 – Gore runs left for -2 yards. Staley and Smiley double-team Glover and drive him back about 8 yards. Unfortunately, Staley’s block doesn’t matter much because Little blows past Baas and runs the play down in the backfield with help from LB Chillar. Addendum Upon second viewing, it seemed that the issues with the offense were an overall lack of execution by almost everyone involved. There were plenty of dropped passes, missed assignments, poor blocks, and one beast of a TE who didn't get many looks. While Staley wasn't dominating, I think that tracking him through the game reveals that he wasn’t a liability either. In fact, he’s holding his own pretty well and definitely hasn’t been prone to the mental lapses of his predecessor. Staley showed impressive quickness keeping up with a man who has averaged about 11.5 sacks the past six seasons. Going up against Leonard Little in your second NFL game is not an easy task, but Little did not have a sack in this game. Another thing immediately noticeable was on the first snap of the game, when it was obvious that Staley is going to be an asset blocking downfield. This shouldn’t be discounted, as downfield blocks are often what spring running backs for long gains, and I don’t think Harris had the footspeed to get there to help. Actually, I don’t know that many tackles in this league have that kind of footspeed. The 49ers are going to run a lot of plays to the left this year, so I imagine Staley may get the chance to do this sort of thing fairly often.
Staley tries to block down left but actually has trouble finding anyone to block.
The Film Room Spotlight for week 3 is as of yet undecided. Please post your suggestions in the comments.
Read more on this article...Monday, September 17, 2007
Ugly, sure ... but what if it keeps working?
There's no hotter topic in Ninerland right now than the lack of offensive success the team has found in its first two games.
It's an even hotter topic than the 49ers being 2-0 for the first time in a decade. When was the last time 49er fans could be upset with a win? This team really is making strides, isn't it?
It cannot be argued that these past two victories have required some outstanding play from the defense and maybe a lucky break or two, but there were unlucky breaks in both games, too. You can't give luck all the credit, and somehow the offense has done just enough to pull out victories despite being ranked dead last in the NFL in total offense. But as Matt Barrows points out in his blog today, this might be just what coach Mike Nolan has in mind. Nolan has always been a defensive coach, and I think he takes great pride in winning games with defense. Think back to his nine victories over the past two seasons, and most of them (Rams, Bucs, Rams in 2005; Rams, Vikings, Lions, Seahawks at home in 2006) were ultimately decided by last-minute defensive stands. Many of those stands were necessary because the offense turned conservative and couldn't create more than a one-score lead. But as Barrows points out, Nolan has seen this method work before. His last stop before San Francisco was Baltimore, where the Ravens had won a Super Bowl with an outstanding defense and an offense that just barely did enough to get by. It worked. They won. It was never pretty, but they won a damn Super Bowl. Nolan has built a team in that mold, and the fact that he's being this conservative with an offense that actually has talent (unlike those Ravens) makes it hard to ignore the comparison. Which begs the question — what if the 49ers' next Super Bowl team looks like that Ravens team? Are 49er fans so spoiled that they won't accept a winner unless it the wins come by chucking the ball all over the field and rolling up 40 points a game? Could we get to the end of a Super Bowl run and still complain that the offense wasn't good enough? I can't answer these questions, even for myself. I want nothing more than for the 49ers to win a Super Bowl, but I might have mixed emotions if it doesn't feel like the Super Bowl teams I remember. I hope I'm wrong, and I think the journey we've all gone through with this team would make it feel even more special, regardless of how it looks. In the meantime, let's just hope we get to answer all these questions sometime this century.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Kneejerk Knotes: Nolan reverses last year's errors
Not going for it on fourth-and-one last year in St. Louis might have cost the 49ers a win. It certainly cost them some momentum in what could have been a playoff run.
Faced with another fourth-and-one — albeit under entirely different circumstances — coach Mike Nolan opted to take his chances with a strong offensive line and one of the best backs in the league. The move paid off, as Frank Gore pushed his way through the line, shook off a tackler and showed a burst not yet seen on a 43-yard touchdown run that turned out to be the critical play in San Francisco's 17-16 victory over the Rams on Sunday. Though this was certainly an easier call to make, given the fact that the 49ers were trailing and clearly needed a spark on offense, Nolan still could have gone conservative and punted. But that was never the plan — as soon as the previous play ended one yard short of the first down, the 49ers hurried to the line and forced a Rams timeout. After the timeout, they still went for it, and an inspired Gore took over. What a game for Gore, still mourning the loss of his mother earlier this week. His first touchdown seemed like tribute enough, but the second was truly magical. THE OTHER PROBLEM the Niners ran into last year was not pressuring Marc Bulger enough on the Rams' game-winning drive. The 49ers looked a little tentative on the final drive, but they did just enough (and they brought all kinds of pressure the drive before). Give Nolan some credit for this one. WHERE IN THE WORLD was that secondary we saw last week? After shutting down perennial 49ers nemeses Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, the 49ers were powerless against their other nemeses, Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce. Walt Harris looked particularly awful, often getting completely turned around in coverage and giving up a huge cushion to receivers all day. And while the 49ers didn't always get great pressure on Marc Bulger, it's hard to blame the pass rush when they accounted for six sacks and nearly knocked Bulger out of the game. Since we've already seen great things from the secondary and Harris in particular, I'm going to chalk this up to an off-day and hope they get better next week. I DON'T THINK you can put the blame for the 49ers offensive struggles in any one spot. It just seems like every play, one aspect or another breaks down. The receivers don't get open. A lineman gets beat on a pass rush. A running back misses a blitz pick-up. Alex Smith holds the ball too long. I don't think the play-calling was necessarily that bad today, nor was it all that terrible last week. It's just going to take some time for the offense to start to click. They're as far away from being a good offense as some might want to believe. IT'S TIME FOR Brandon Williams to go (at least to the practice squad). The only legitimate argument I've been able to make for keeping him around is that he's sure-handed on punt returns. But he completely misplayed one in the first quarter, and his muff led to a Rams touchdown. I understand not wanting to put one of your better receivers in danger, but the Niners did it with John Taylor for years. Arnaz Battle is by far the best punt returner the 49ers have, and he need to be back there. He's sure-handed and he's explosive. Get the ball in his hands. AS MUCH AS I like bringing in Brandon Moore on third downs, I think it's only a matter of time before he replaces Derek Smith in the starting lineup. Smith, fixed eye or not, has lost something. His inability to bring down Marc Bulger for that sack, which allowed Bulger to shovel the ball to Steven Jackson for a significant gain, was almost inexcusable. MIKE SINGLETARY NEEDS to teach his young linebackers how to catch. Both Manny Lawson and Patrick Willis had excellent games, but both dropped potential third-down interceptions that could have prevented two field goals and saved the 49ers six points. THEY MIGHT NOT have been the prettiest of performances, but guess what? These 49ers know how to win. They're 2-0 for the first time since 1998, and they're only going to get better as their young players mature and their newcomers assimilate into the system. The playoffs are now a realistic goal, and we should all thank Nolan for that.
Breaking the Huddle: Sorry ass Rams indeed
The 49ers started off the season by winning a game they would have found a way to lose last year. The Rams started off by be being dominated by a team that dominated them last year.
I believe that's indicative of where these teams are headed.
Throw in a season-ending injury to All-World tackle Orlando Pace, and it's easy to see San Francisco is visiting St. Louis at the right time. QUARTERBACKS Week 1 was a perfect reminder of why the 49ers drafted Alex Smith No. 1 overall. Unfortunately, it was also a painful example of how far he still has to go in his development. Smith's 86-yard drive with a little under 3 minutes left in Monday night's opener against the Cardinals was masterful. His efficient passing and playmaking ability with his legs, not to mention the arctic breeze that apparently runs through his veins in pressure situations. On the downside, the other 57 minutes of the game was complete crap. He looked hesitant and indecisive. I think it was opening day jitters and believe he'll bounce back this week against the Rams. Marc Bulger, on the other hand, will be without his bodyguard, Orlando Pace. That should bode very well for the Niners' pass rush, but I expect Bulger to perform well, probably with the help of screens to Steven Jackson in order to slow the defense down. Regardless, Bulger has never been dominant against San Francisco in St. Louis. Not once has he recorded a 300-yard day or thrown for more than two touchdowns. I expect both quarterbacks to bounce back from sorry performances in Week 1, but Bulger has the slight edge with his experience. Advantage: Rams RUNNING BACKS Like Smith and Bulger, Frank Gore and Steven Jackson underperformed in Week 1. Look for both to come back with a vengence. Gore, however, will be playing with a heavy heart since his mother passed away Wednesday. I expect him to push himself to the limits in this one and I expect his teammates to do the same. While Gore's line will have extra motivation to spring him loose today, Jackson will be lucky to recognize who's blocking for him. Who the hell are Milford Brown and Adam Goldberg? Exactly. Advantage: 49ers. WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS The 49ers receiving corps didn't do much Monday night outside of my personal hero, Arnaz Battle. Look for a more vertical passing game this week and bigger contributions from Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lelie. Lelie is still on team, right? Funny, because I don't remember seeing him Week 1. The Rams will have Drew Bennett in the lineup, which should help take the pressure off of an 80 percent Torry Holt and 80-year-old Isaac Bruce. I don't expect Rams tight end Randy McMichael to be involved much, but it's imperative the 49ers get Vernon Davis in the flow of the offense early. I expect Davis to find the endzone at least once. Advantage: 49ers. OFFENSIVE LINE The 49ers' line was under pressure from the beginning against the Cardinals. I expect an inspired effort this week against the Rams. Rookie Joe Staley will have the key matchup against St. Louis defensive end Leonard Little. If Staley can win the battle, the 49ers could have a nice day offensively. The Rams' line lost its best player and its heart and soul in Pace. If they get off to a bad start, Bulger and Jackson will pay the price. Advantage: 49ers. DEFENSIVE LINE Too often, the 49ers defensive lineman allowed Cardinals QB Matt Leinart to escape the pocket when they had him dead to rights. They can't do that against Bulger, because he'll make them pay. If they can hold their ground, the rest of the defense becomes that much more dangerous. Although, it's too early to tell if they can. The Rams have the makings of an explosive D-line in Little, La'Roi Glover and rookie Adam Carriker. The matchup of Glover and Larry Allen should be a heated one. Advantage: Rams. LINEBACKERS Patrick Willis is a beast and my early favorite for defensive rookie of the year. I believe he'll develop into the type of player, if left unchecked, that can take over a game by himself. He may already be that player. Brandon Moore was a bright spot Monday night. I fully expect him to get his starting position back from Derek Smith sooner than later. With Moore and Willis in the middle and Tully Banta-Cain and Manny Lawson on the outside, the 49ers have one of the top five most athletic linebacking corps in the league. Will Witherspoon is a player for the Rams, but the rest of the group leaves much to be desired. Davis will be a problem for them. Advantage: 49ers. SECONDARY The 49ers secondary, without a doubt the most impressive aspect of the defensive performance in Week 1, completely shut down Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. They should be up to the task against the aging Rams squad. St. Louis' best player, Tye Hill, is banged up, so that's a problem. Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith were able to make big plays against this unit. The 49ers should take advantage. Advantage: 49ers. SPECIAL TEAMS The 49ers' coverage teams were very good Monday night. Which goes to show you, a football team with depth usually has solid special teams. This development will go a long way in helping the Niners make the playoffs this year. For the Rams, former 49ers kicker Jeff Wilkins is a weapon indoors. Advantage: 49ers. COACHING Advantage: 49ers. PREDICTION 49ers 31, Rams 21 — Frank Gore will lead the way and the 49ers will play inspired ball to start 2-0 in the division. The 49ers' defense should make some big plays with the Rams being hendered by injuries.
Mike Nolan returns to the site of his biggest blunder as 49ers coach. I expect redemption. Speaking of redemption, Jim Hostler must be more creative with the play-calling or we could be looking at a repeat of last week. Scott Linehan is a much more seasoned play-caller. Look for him to keep 49ers defensive coordinator Greg Manusky on his toes. Manusky looked up to the challenge in Week 1.
Win the West: Week 2 predictions
Last week was quite a successful one for us prognosticators here at 49ers Observer. Ok, so the 49ers winning helped, since we all picked them. And it also helped that Seattle was playing a pushover in Tampa Bay. The only game that caused any trouble at all was Carolina-St. Louis, as the Rams turned in a surprisingly putrid showing that they'll hopefully repeat today. Still the combined record for the five of us was 16-2. Not too shabby.
In case you missed the premier of "Win the West" last week, the five staff members of 49ers Observer are making their predictions each week for every game involving NFC West teams. This is a big week for the division, as all four teams are matched up in just two games. All but one of us — we'll just call him Ben"-edict Arnold" — think the 49ers will beat the Rams today, but only two of us are taking Seattle over Arizona. That might be a bit of wishful thinking, because if Arizona wins, the 49ers could take sole possession of first place in the division (and it would give a little more weight to the 49ers' win over the Cards last week). Without further ado, here are our picks for this week (including our records for the season so far). James (3-0) San Francisco 23, St. Louis 16 Arizona 27, Seattle 26 Ben (3-0) St. Louis 27, San Francisco 21 Seattle 28, Arizona 17 Eddie (3-0) San Francisco 31, St. Louis 21 Arizona 34, Seattle 31 Chris (3-0) San Francisco 27, St. Louis 20 Arizona 21, Seattle 17 Nick (2-1) San Francisco 23, St. Louis 20 Seattle 27, Arizona 16 JR (2-1) San Francisco 27, St. Louis 17 Arizona 27, Seattle 24
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Hit List: Unanswered questions for Nolan, Hostler
Every Saturday, 49ers Observer brings you Hit List, a list of things worth pondering concerning the San Francisco 49ers.
This week, we take a look at some unanswered questions regarding the Niners offense as they head into their week 2 match-up against the sorry ass St. Louis Rams. GREETINGS, Observer readers. Nick here again. Like most of you, I had the pleasure of watching the 49ers defeat the Arizona Cardinals in thrilling fashion on Monday night. I was, of course, very content that Smittay, Battle, and their crew of upstarts could pull out a miraculous win over Leinart, James, and their crew of underachievers. It was a truly thrilling victory, complete with a final offensive play-call by the 49ers that was so incredibly stupid that it defied logic in working perfectly. Yet, upon turning off my television that evening, I could not shake the dark feeling in my gut that the 2007 San Francisco 49ers could be in serious trouble this year when some REAL opponents come knocking at Mike Nolan's door. The plain fact of the matter is that the 49ers offense played like crap on Monday night except for the final drive of the game. I'll even claim that the Cardinals looked like the better team offensively that night, mostly due to adequate performance by running back tandem Edgerrin James and Marcel Shipp. Mike Nolan must have left Bill Walsh field that night knowing that the 49ers got away with one. If Arizona doesn't put their defense in prevent during the Niners final drive of the game and continues to blitz, the Cardinals limit Alex Smith's yards on the ground and win the game. If Arizona cornerback Eric Green falls on Battle's fumble in the end zone or pushes it out of bounds, the Niners turn the ball over and the Cardinals win the game. Had the Cards been smart when the chips were down, 49er fans would probably be singing a completely different tune heading into week 2 against the Rams (which would go something like, "Oh please, oh please, don't go 0-2 before we face the Steelers in Pittsburg"). All this week, I have done my best to treat the 49ers win on Monday like a loss. Yes, I know "a win is a win," but Monday's win was like King Leonidas in 300 winning the battle Battle of Thermopylae because Xerxes' men forgot to bring enough arrows to the battlefield (pretty clever what I did there, eh?). After witnessing the wretched awfulness that was the 49er offense on Monday night, I just have a few questions for both Mike Nolan and 49ers offensive coordinator Jim Hostler, and I need answers Sunday against St. Louis. 1. PROTECTION OF THE SMITTAY - Are the right moves being made to protect Alex Smith against the blitz? Should the 49ers use more "mass protect" type of plays in order to give Smittay more time in the pocket when passing under pressure? Can Smittay and the offense run audibles efficiently or is the offensive playbook just too vanilla for those audibles to work anyway? 2. TIGHT END FRUSTRATION - Is Vernon Davis really being worked into the play-calling as much as he can be? Was the problem Monday that Smittay just wasn't getting the protection he needed in order to hit Click-Clack with some crisp passes? And why the hell are we throwing ANY passes to tight end Billy Bajema, who functions primarily as the 49ers BLOCKING tight end (Bajema was probably Smith's 2nd or 3rd option on the play, but still)? And what happened to those cool plays in the preseason where Delanie Walker was lined up as the F-back? 3. THE WEST COAST OFFENSE IS DEAD IN SF - Why were the 49ers trying short passes to full back Moran Norris when Nolan's 49ers have been built for down-field passing? Is it so hard to run a post, in, go, or flag route to Darrell Jackson or Arnaz Battle? Does Hostler just hate to throw the ball more than ten feet in the air? Would it not be a good idea to throw a deep ball at least once a quarter to Ashley Lelie? ...which brings me to my next question. 4. ¿DONDE ESTA ASHLEY LELIE? - Why is Ashley Lelie collecting his salary sitting on the bench? Is Taylor Jacobs really that impressive that he beats out the best wide receiver of the 49ers 2007 preseason for playing time? Is Nolan that much of a hard head that he won't take a chance and put Lelie on the field, even for the sake of distracting the opposing offense? Is it too far fetched to say that Ashley Lelie could potentially be the best wide receiver the 49ers have on the team in 2007? 5. USING YOUR GORE CORRECTLY - Does Jim Hostler know how to run the ball with Frank Gore? Does he know what it means to "pull your guards?" Does he realize he needs to use Larry Allen as a primary blocker on the edge in order to spring Gore for more than a 3-yard gain? Does he know that the 49ers had a much better ground game in 2007 running left rather than running right? 6. THE QUESTIONS NO ONE WANTS TO ASK - Does Mike Nolan have any clue regarding how to command this team on offense with Hostler? Is every play where Alex Smith starts rolling/scrambling to his right just the result of another poor play call or is it because of hesitation by Smittay (when Alex unnecessarily rolls out and throws the ball out of bounds, it drives me up the wall)? Is the problem Smittay himself, the lack of protection Smittay gets, or the fact that no coach on the 49ers has ever called offensive plays for a professional football team in their entire lives? 7. THE EVEN BIGGER QUESTION NO ONE WANTS TO ASK - Are the Niners completely screwed when they have to fly to Pittsburgh next weekend to play the Steelers? In next week's HIT LIST, I'll hopefully have some answers regarding these questions after the 49ers play a very injured version of the St. Louis Rams this Sunday. The truth is that the 49ers have both the talent and the opportunity to destroy the Rams in style due to injuries on both sides of the ball for St. Louis (I'm taking the 49ers defense this week in fantasy football). As I leave you guys, here is a list of who I liked and didn't like in Monday's game against Arizona: "Killa" Keith Lewis will give you a free haircut: Patrick Willis, Walt Harris (he made me eat crow from my take regarding his preseason play against the Bears), Nate Clements, Manny "Man-Law" Lawson, Brandon Moore (win your job back already), Bryant Young, and defensive coordinator Greg Manusky. Cody Pickett wants to be your new roomate: Darrell Jackson, Alex Smith, Joe Staley, any of the 49er fans that left Monster Park early after the Niners punted for the final time with six minutes left in the game, and offensive coordinator Jim Hostler.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Fantasy Fury: Week 2 preview
Well that was interesting. Players like Chris Brown and Ronald Curry were fantasy studs Week 1, while Steven Jackson and Larry Johnson made a case to be booted off the island.
Here's your vocabulary word for the week: redemption. The act of redeeming or something redeemed. It also means salvation from sin, which is what players like Johnson, Jackson and Drew Brees committed this past week. Will these once proud fantasy heroes redeem themselves this weekend, or will they continue to cause fantasy owners everywhere to drop F-bombs like they're Dick Cheney, one of three survivors of a nuclear holocaust along with Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton, having to restart the human race. Tune in next week, same bat time, same bat channel, to see what happens ... here's a preview of what you should expect from Week 2's matchups: San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams, Sunday, 10 a.m. — One would expect Jackson to rebound from his subpar week, but I'm here to tell you ... the 49ers' defense is no joke. With Orlando Pace done for the season and Marc Bulger's mediocre history against San Francisco (only two 300-yard games, neither in the dome), St. Louis will rely on Jackson to keep the pressure off of Bulger. The good news for the Rams is the Niners pass rush had trouble with Arizona and Edgerrin James was able to find some decent runs. In the end I expect Jack-o to match Edge with close to 100 yards and a score. Bulger, however, could have some problems. Expect him to return to form as the schedule gets easier for St. Louis. For the 49ers, I expect Frank Gore to have a monster game, partly due to the fact he has had plenty of success (4 TDs in last three games) against the Rams, but mostly to honor his late mother, who passed away on Wednesday. We're all with you, Frank. Expect Alex Smith to carry over the success of Monday's heroics to this contest. The Rams secondary was victimized against Carolina. I expect Darrell Jackson and Vernon Davis to get in the end zone this week. Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Fantasy owners, start your Bengals! Period. Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, 10 a.m. — The Bills are a step up in competition for the Steelers (beat up on the Browns last week), but not by much. "Big" Ben Roethlisberger tossed four scores last week, but expect "Fast" Willie Parker to do the heavy lifting this week. Denver's Travis Henry ran through Buffalo last week, and expect Parker to pick up right where Henry left off. Don't the Steelers have very vanilla nicknames? Fast and Big ... come on guys, you can do better than that. Anyway, Marshawn Lynch showed he belonged last week with a solid 90 yards in his debut, but this matchup isn't very good. The one fantasy rule that includes Buffalo is this: The Bills might only score a touchdown, but that touchdown is probably a long score from Lee Evans. Keep that in mind. New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, 10 a.m. — The Saints will rise again! The Bucs defense is both old and tired. Brees and the gang will dominate. All Saints are good starts. No Buccs are. Plain and simple. Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers, Sunday, 10 a.m. — The Panthers finally looked like the team everyone expected to see last year in Week 1. A solid defense with big plays on offense. Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith are great starts, while you might want to bench Matt Schaub this week. Better days are definitely ahead for him. Andre Johnson remains a must-start though. Atlanta Falcons at Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Honestly, I don't like any Falcons this year. Michael Vick, unfortunately, was the straw that stirred their drink. Having Joe Harrington as your QB is rock bottom in the NFL. The Jaguars, however, are a solid unit. Fantasy Hall of Famer Maurice Jones-Drew should rebound this week with a couple of scores and some decent yardage splitting time with "Friends don't let friends draft" Fred Taylor. Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans, Sunday, 10 a.m. — All Colts should match their totals from the opener against the Saints. Chris Brown, when healthy, has always been a solid start. He's just not very healthy, so start him and hope for the best. Vince Young should do better than Brees did, if only for his play-making ability on the run. Green Bay Packers at New York Giants, Sunday, 10 a.m. — I expect this to be a one-sided, old-fashioned, butt-whoopin' ... by the Packers. No Eli and a banged-up defense does not bold well for the G-Men. Brett Favre should be able to take advantage, even without the weapons that Tony Romo had, and the Packers defense should carry the day. Jump on the Legion of Doom's "D" bandwagon while you can. A.J. Hawk and Co. will only get better from here on out. Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Start everyone except the defenses. These teams always put up points on each another. I expect the Cardinals defense to come back to Earth, which will mean big things for Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck, and the Arizona All-Pro duo of Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald should rebound from being shutdown by the Niners' Nate Clements and Walt Harris. Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions, Sunday, 1 p.m. — Adrian Peterson is the start of this game. We may be seeing the emergance of the NFL's next great back in Peterson. Tatum Bell had a nice start against longtime foe Oakland, but if there's one thing the Vikings do, it's stop the run. So expect the Lions to go to the air early and often, which could mean big numbers for Jon Kitna, Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson, who didn't look like a rookie at all in Week 1. Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins, Sunday, 1:15 p.m. — I don't advise starting anyone for the Dolphins if you can help from it. The Cowboys, however, are a different story. Everyone is a good play outside of the injury-plagued defense, if you have a better option. New York Jets at Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, 1:15 p.m. — Expect an angry Ravens team after their Monday night loss to future Hall of Famer Chad Johnson and the "Bad News" Bengals. Willis McGahee is a solid start for Baltimore, but you might want to bench all your Jets for a week. Even with a banged up Ray Lewis, you wouldn't like the Ravens defense when they are angry. Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos, Sunday, 1:15 p.m. — The Broncos secondary can shut down anyone, especially the likes of Ronald Curry and Jerry Porter. If the Raiders are going to have a chance, it will be by establishing LaMont Jordan. Also, if you hope to toss Daunte Culpepper into the starting lineup, wait for a better matchup. This could be ugly. The Raiders defense is very good, but I believe Jay Cutler and Travis Henry will both have solid games. You should never bench Javon Walker. Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago Bears, Sunday, 1:15 p.m. — This is when the good Rex Grossman stands up — against subpar teams like the Chiefs, when everyone is calling for his head. Expect WR Bernard Berrian to benefit the most. If the Bears can hold LaDainian Tomlinson to 25 yards rushing, there's no hope for Larry Johnson, and unfortunately for fantasy owners, LJ usually doesn't pass the ball much. Unless you have extreme depth at RB, though, you have to go with Johnson. Great players find ways to succeed, like Tomlinson did. San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots, Sunday, 5:15 p.m. — While most eyes will be turned towards the sideline to see who's caught on Patriots candid camera this week, they might miss what could be the game of the year. Expect Tomlinson to rebound from a "horrible" game (still had two touchdowns!). For the Patriots, Tom Brady is a solid start, but don't get too excited about Randy Moss just yet. He had a similar start to his Raiders career. Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles, Monday, 5:30 p.m. — NFC East games tend to end up one of two ways: an unexpected shootout (See Dallas v. N.Y. Giants last Sunday night) or a defensive stalemate. I expect the stalemate in this one although I believe Donovan "Hi, Mom!" McNabb will bounce back and have a solid game as he continues to get healthy. The Redskins still have too many question marks on offense to recommend any of them as starters this week.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
In the Tunnel: Same ol' sorry ass Rams
Since the departure of Mike "The Molester" Martz, I've heard the phrase "these aren't the Rams of old" thrown around quite a bit. Whenever I hear that, though, I don't think about Kurt Warner tossing bombs to Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, I think of Tony Banks getting absolutely brutalized every week and Tim Harris proclaiming, in a quote that now lives on forever, "Different town, same ol' SORRY ASS RAMS!"
I remember when the 49ers beat the Rams no less than 17 straight times, spanning over eight years, people! Those are the "Rams of old" that I think of. That Super Bowl win was an aberration, and I'm delighted to say that we may be seeing a return to the previous kind of futility for the NFC West rival. If Week 1 was any indication, this team is in big, big trouble. These days, all conversations about the St. Louis Rams begin and end with running back Steven Jackson. Pegged to be the No. 2 fantasy player in most draft previews that I saw, Jackson has all the tools to be a huge factor in any game he plays. However, in Week 1, Carolina's exceptionally physical front seven really put a whipping on him and forced him to cough up the ball twice, equaling his fumble total from all of 2006. All of a sudden, Superman looks more human. The Rams say they're not worried, but do you really think they would tell us if they were? Jackson is a dominant runner — we know this — but no man can do it alone, and the Rams offensive line is looking pretty rough these days. Left tackle stalwart Orlando Pace has just been shut down for the second consecutive year after injuring his shoulder, and right guard Richie Incognito is very iffy for this coming weekend with a bad ankle. The Rams also jettisoned veteran guard Adam Timmerman in the off season, so they'll be playing with a lot of different faces in the huddle. Things are so muddled at this point, the Rams' official depth chart doesn't even list the left tackle position, and Incognito is still listed as starting. Think this doesn't make a difference? Take a look at Shaun Alexander's production after the loss of Steve Hutchinson. That was only one guy, albeit a really dominating guy, and Alexander couldn't hold up to the abuse of tougher inside running. Jackson still must be accounted for, but for the second week in a row, the 49ers will be facing a less-than-intimidating offensive front. The Rams passing game is still respectable, but not like it once was. Quarterback Marc Bulger and receivers Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce still form an experienced and intimidating trio, but nobody's calling this unit "The Greatest Show On Turf" anymore. Holt and Bruce have both clearly lost a step, and I've never seen greatness from Bulger, even though he can put up big numbers. The Rams brought in wide receiver Drew Bennett in the offseason from the Titans, and he does provide a dangerous third option, but in Week 1 against the Panthers he caught only three balls. A good pass rush should rattle Bulger and force him to make some throws into coverage, and I like the matchups the 49ers are getting for the most part, especially from a speed standpoint. Defensively, you need to know one thing and one thing only about the Rams. They SUCK against the run. The Rams gave up over 180 yards rushing to the Panthers last week and seemed to get gashed week in and week out all of last season. They drafted defensive lineman Adam Carriker out of Nebraska this year to help remedy that problem, but he's still a ways off from being the cure for what ails the Rams' D. The Rams run the 4-3 defense, and their entire front seven is simply not very big. Not one of their three starting linebackers is listed at over 242 pounds, and only one of their defensive lineman is over 300 pounds (Carriker). The average weight of the 49ers' offensive line is 319 pounds. In some matchups, the Rams are giving up almost 60 pounds man-to-man with the 49ers' linemen, and as I've said before, "Mass kicks ass." The Rams aren't exactly stifiling in the pass defense department, either. Their two starting corners have started fewer than 20 games total, and in looking at their Week 1 statistics, the Rams' defensive backs are making just too many tackles. Too many tackles means that your opponent is running and getting into your secondary, and receivers are catching the ball and running as well — not good things. As I said last week, I'll be sorely disappointed if the 49ers' offense doesn't take advantage of some of the opportunities that the Rams will give them. It's just a matter of execution. Playing on the road is always tough, and the Rams are a division rival, so there's little chance that the 49ers will catch them with their guard down. But they are dealing with some untimely injuries, and they've done little to solve their most glaring problems from last year. I think if there was a good time to have to play the Rams on the road, it's right now while they're still reeling from the injury to Pace and coming off a disheartening loss to the Panthers. If the Niners' offense gets rolling, and by that I mean Gore gets running, then this one could turn into a good 'ol sorry ass Rams story.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Film Room: Moore vs. Smith, etc.
This week in Film Room, the spotlight is on outside linebacker Manny Lawson. Also, there's been some controversy over Derek Smith starting over Brandon Moore at inside linebacker. So rather than make an argument one way or another, I've tracked both of them through each defensive play. 1st Series 1st down: W. Harris picks off Leinart, returns it 20 yards to the AZ 7. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RG. Lawson reads pass and drops back into coverage. Doesn’t see Harris catch the ball, but quickly realizes what’s going on, turns around and hustles down the field to help block. D. Smith sits down in zone coverage at midfield, does not block on the return. 2nd Series 1st and 10: Shipp runs for 14 yards over RT. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over LT. Lawson charges into the backfield on the snap, but Leinart, Arrington (in motion) and Shipp are all there and he doesn’t see the ball fast enough to react as Shipp runs past him. D. Smith lines up on the LT’s side, but he doesn’t make it through the trash fast enough to be a factor. Truthfully, this play was Patrick Willis’ fault. He thought the ball was going inside when it was going outside. He hesitated for a second, and that was a second too long. 1st and 10: James runs for 8 yards over RT. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside LT, Smith over LG. Lawson reads run, stands his ground against the TE (play not to his side). D. Smith gets blocked by the LG, slides towards the play, doesn’t make the tackle. Trips over Willis and takes a spill as the play ends. 2nd and 2: Leinart shovels to James, who makes the catch but fumbles. Arizona recovers. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel, Smith over RT, Moore at RDE. D. Smith reads pass, drops into coverage. James catches the ball right in front of him. Smith is close enough to paw at the ball once, but amazingly does not make the tackle as James runs away from him. Luckily Willis is there. Interesting formation on this one with Tully Banta-Cain, Aubrayo Franklin, Isaac Sopoaga and Bryant Young as the four down linemen. Banta-Cain broke through a double team for the pressure. W. Harris had the ball in his hands, but dropped it and the Cardinals fell on it. 1st and 10: Arrington runs over LT for a loss of 2. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RT. Lawson comes unblocked on a blitz (along with Michael Lewis) and chases the play down from behind, tackling Arrington in the backfield for a 2 yard loss. D. Smith reads run, slides toward the ball, but gets pancaked (sort of) by RG Deuce Lutui. 2nd and 12: James runs over LG for a gain of 2. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel, Smith over LT. D. Smith sits out at midfield and lets the action come to him, but TE Pope (all 6’7” of him) comes and blocks him out of the play. 3rd and 10: Leinart throws a long incompletion down the middle of the field. Formation: 3-3-5 Nickel, Lawson at LOLB, Moore at MLB Lawson drops into coverage. B. Moore lines up as RDE, but before the snap stands up and runs out to MLB. Then he comes on a blitz to the left side of the line but is walled off by a double-team of the LT and FB. This is a potentially great formation for the Niners. Banta-Cain was at LDE, Franklin at LB, Young at NT, and Moore at RDE. Franklin came in before the snap and put his hand down in a 3-point stance at the NT spot, Young slid out to RDE, and Moore dropped back to MLB. The backers were Lawson, Moore, and Willis. Interesting way to disguise the nickel by Manusky. 3rd Series 1st and 10: James runs up the middle for 5 yards. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RT Lawson reads run and goes up against TE Leonard Pope. He holds his ground, but doesn’t really get in on the play. Smith takes on the FB’s lead block, slides to his right and gets an assist on the tackle. 2nd and 5: James runs over RT for a gain of 1. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RG Lawson, up against TE Pope, stands his ground on a run to his side which goes absolutely nowhere. Smith drifts forward and basically jumps on the pile after Franklin makes a great play to shed C Johnson’s block and make the hit on Edge at the line of scrimmage. 3rd and 4: Leinart from the shotgun passes short right to Boldin for 5 yards. Formation: 4-1-6 Dime, Moore at RDE B. Moore gets a good push against RT Levi Brown, but C Johnson slides over to help and Moore can’t break the double-team. 1st and 10: Leinart passes short left to WR Fitzgerald for 2 yards. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside LT, Smith over LG. Lawson plays containment in the flat, but Clements wraps Fitzgerald up instantly, so there’s no chance for anyone else to be in on it. Lawson was the next closest to the play. Smith reads short pass or screen and heads after Leinart, but doesn’t get very close as the LT gets in the way. 2nd and 8: Leinart scrambles left for a gain of 4. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over LT Lawson drops into zone coverage. Smith comes on a delayed blitz, gets held by the LT, but still manages to get off the block and chase Leinart out of bounds. 3rd down: Leinart scrambles left for 1 yard. Formation: 3-2-6 Dime, Moore over Center Moore sneaks up on the left side and blitzes with Willis. As he closes in for the sack, Arrington goes for his knees on a cut block. Moore gets up and pulls Leinart down by the jersey. Great play, should have been a sack. On the ensuing punt, Lewis runs into the kicker giving Arizona another first down. Mike Nolan is not amused. 1st down: James sweeps right for a gain of 4. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RG. Lawson drops back from the line before the snap, in man-to-man coverage on Boldin. Boldin comes out and blocks him, but he holds his ground until Levi Brown comes and helps out to push Lawson back. Smith drifts toward the play, gets blocked by RG Lutui, but forces James to make a cut right into the waiting arms of Willis and Sopoaga. 2nd and 6: James runs over the LT for a gain of 12. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside LT, Smith over LG. Lawson reads run and stands his ground, but the LT grabs jersey and James runs past. Smith drifts to his right (the offense’s left), runs around a block, but only gets one arm on James’ leg as the RB barrels past. 1st and 10: Boldin lines up at QB in the shotgun, takes the snap and runs right for 14. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RT. Lawson draws a double team and gets pushed out of the play. Smith reads the play perfectly and has a clear shot at Boldin about 4 yards past the line of scrimmage, but Boldin exposes Smith’s limited range and just plain out-accelerates him. Truth is, Willis or Moore probably would have made this play. 1st and 10: James runs over the LT for a gain of 2. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside LT, Smith over LG. Lawson stands his ground, sheds the TE’s block and makes the tackle. Great play. Smith is neutralized by LG Wells' block. 2nd and 8: James runs up the middle for a gain of 2. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside LT, Smith over RT. Lawson drops into coverage. Smith drifts to his left (offense’s right) and slides in to make a nice tackle. 3rd and 6: Leinart throws for WR Johnson, pass broken up by FS Roman. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel, Lawson over LT, Moore outside RT Lawson drops into middle zone coverage. Moore stunts around Young, but gets double-teamed by C Johnson and RG Lutui. He fights his way around them, but far too late. Banta-Cain had nice pressure on this play, but Leinart spun away at the last second. He definitely should have had a sack here for a loss of about 8, though. 4th Series 1st and 10: Leinart throws center to TE Pope for a gain of 5. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson 3 yards off the LOS covering Boldin, Smith over LG. Lawson bumps Boldin at the line, drops into coverage, assists on the tackle. Smith reads pass, sits down in zone coverage, wraps Pope up instantly after the catch. 2nd and 5: James runs over RT for a gain of 5. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over LG. Lawson pinches down toward the Center, but the run is behind him. Smith drifts toward the play unblocked and is less than a yard away from James, but James runs right by him without getting touched. 1st and 10: James running left, cuts inside for a gain of 6. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside LT, Smith over LG. Lawson gets blocked at the LOS, but doesn’t budge an inch, forcing James to cut inside. Smith drifts toward the play, but can’t get through the trash after James makes the cut. LG Lutui comes in and cheap shots him from the blind side even though the play is past them and basically over. 2nd down: Leinart passes right to TE Pope for a gain of 1. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RG. Lawson comes off the edge on a blitz, but Brown slides out and walls him off. Smith drops into midfield coverage and is about two yards away when Clements makes the tackle. 1st and 10: James runs left for a 7 yard TD. Formation: 4-4-3, Smith over LG Smith reads the play perfectly, but instead of plugging the hole he runs right into Soap and the LT. James runs past for the TD. Note: Willis was hit by a pulling guard. He shed the block, but got pancaked by the FB who was next through the hole. He still managed to grab James’ legs and drag him down, except James fell a yard deep into the endzone. Clements latched on too, but James was already falling forward. 5th Series 1st and 15: Leinart throws a screen Boldin in the right flat for a gain of 7. Formation: 3-4, Lawson over slot, moves outside RT, Smith right by Banta-Cain over LT Lawson comes on the snap, but Leinart gets the screen out behind him. Manny spins and runs toward the play, but isn’t a factor as Boldin is tripped up by W. Harris after gaining 7 yards. Smith comes on a blitz, engages the LT Gandy, slides nicely off the block in the direction of the ball, but the play is over before he gets close. 2nd and 8: Leinart throws center to Fitzgerald for a gain of 6. Formation: 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over Center. Lawson drops into man coverage with TE Pope. Smith drops into zone coverage at midfield, tackles Fitzgerald by the ankles. People complain about Smith making ankle tackles, but this was actually a good play as he saw the ball in the air from a couple yards away and ran in for the stop. 3rd and 2: Leinart scrambles but gets sacked by Banta-Cain and Douglas for a loss of one. Formation: 4-1-6 Dime, Moore at RDE Moore bull rushes RT Levi Brown, pushes him back about three yards, disengages as he sees Leinart on the move and gives chase only to get a shove from the blind side by Cardinals LT Gandy. Arizona got a 1st down off a phantom illegal contact penalty on CB Spencer. Even Fitzgerald had no idea what the flag was for -- he saw it in the air and turned to the referee with confused body-language. Nolan was so not amused. CB Hudson came on a nice blitz and speed-rushed around Gandy for the pressure that got Leinart running. 1st and 10: Leinart scrambles left for a gain of 6. Formation: 4-1-6 Dime, Moore at RDE Moore is pretty much stonewalled by RT Brown, but gives chase when he sees Leinart on the run. He was too far away to be a factor on the play. DT Douglas should have had a sack on this play, but RG Wells shoved him in the back as he broke through towards the QB. Adding insult to injury, Wells then put his head down and went for Douglas’ legs, but missed. Banta-Cain was responsible for collapsing the pocket with a nice bull-rush on LT Gandy. 2nd and 4: Arrington runs up the middle for 2 yards. Formation: 4-1-6 Dime, Moore at RDE. Moore rushes upfield, but it’s a draw and he’s out of the play. ILB Willis outright abused Arrington on this solo tackle. Golic and Ditka then praised him effusively. 3rd down: Arrington runs right for a gain of one. Formation: 4-1-6 Dime, Moore at RDE Moore gets pancaked by Boldin on a brutal crack-back. K. Lewis almost blocks the ensuing punt. End of the half. Second Half 1st series 1st and 20: After two consecutive false starts, Leinart throws incomplete short middle. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RT Lawson gets chipped by TE Pope, then blocked by RB James. Smith comes unblocked on a delayed blitz and is a step away from Leinart before the throw. 2nd and 20: After Willis blows up the play, Leinart dumps a screen to Shipp for 7 yards. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RG Lawson drops into zone coverage, runs all the way across the field and devastates Shipp by the left sideline. Smith comes on a blitz right behind Willis, crashes through C Johnson’s block, chases Shipp after the ball is thrown, dives at Shipp’s ankles but belly-flops to the turf. Good play, but marred by his inability to run with the RB. This is the play that Willis flew through and destroyed. 2nd and 24: Arrington runs up the middle for 5 yards. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel, Smith over LT Smith drops into zone coverage, reads run and comes over a step behind Willis who makes the tackle. Afterward he points at Willis and slaps him five with body language that seems to say, “See? Just like I told you, kid. Great job.” Great line by Mike Greenberg, “To call this series ugly would be an insult to ugly series everywhere.” C Johnson was injured on this play. 3rd and 19: Leinart throws incomplete short left. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel, Lawson at ILB, Moore over RT Lawson drops off the screen into deep coverage. Moore spins past Brown, chases down Leinart and throws him to the grass. This should have been a sack and a safety, but Leinart half-threw the ball as he was going down. There was no intentional grounding flag even though he was between the tackles, as the ball was vaguely in the direction of the fullback. Great play. 2nd series 1st and 10: James runs right for 1 yard. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RG Lawson busts through the TE‘s block and tackles James right at the line of scrimmage. Smith reads run, but gets caught in trash. 2nd and 9: Leinart throws left to Boldin for a gain of 6. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel, Smith over LT Smith drops into mid-zone coverage, breaks toward Boldin as the ball is thrown and arrives a half-step behind Spencer who makes a clean solo tackle. Interesting blitz here, with Young, Sopoaga, Franklin, and Banta-Cain as down linemen. Willis comes on the snap over the RT Brown while Banta-Cain picks his hand up on the snap and drops into coverage. 3rd and 8: After a false start, Leinart throws incomplete short right. Formation: 3-3-5 Nickel, Lawson at MLB over center, Moore at OLB over LT. Lawson drops into coverage. Moore comes on the snap side by side with Willis, but the overloaded blitz causes a pile and Moore can’t find a way around it. Meanwhile, the replacement Center pancakes him with help from LT Gandy. Manusky sent Moore, Willis, and Banta-Cain all simultaneously through LT Gandy, but Banta-Cain knocked over LG Wells with a spin move and Wells created a small pileup that ultimately prevented Willis and Moore from reaching the QB. Good idea. This play will be a sack for a loss one of these games instead of a pileup. 3rd series 1st and 10: Leinart throws short center to Bienemann for 6 yards. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RG Lawson drops into coverage, but closes instantly on the TE after the catch and assists Roman on the tackle. Smith comes unblocked on a blitz, but the ball is gone by the time he reaches Leinart. 2nd down: James runs left for 3 yards. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over LG Lawson holds his ground against TE Pope’s block, but the run is to the opposite side of the field. Smith slides toward the play but gets walled off by C Sendlein. 3rd and inches: Leinart sneaks up the middle for 1 yard. Formation: Pinched 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over C. Lawson and Smith both angle toward the center, but the Arizona line outpushes the Niner line. 1st and 10: Leinart throws incomplete short right. Formation: 3-4 Under, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RT. Lawson drops deep into man coverage on TE Pope. Smith drifts out to cover the flat. 2nd and 10: Leinart throws incomplete right. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over LT Lawson stunts through the middle and pressures Leinart out of the pocket. Gets pushed in the back just as he gets close. Smith drops into middle zone coverage. This was the play when Willis ran up and blew Leinart away. 3rd and 10: Leinart throws left to Johnson for 12 yards. Formation: 3-3-5 Nickel, Lawson over the slot WR, Moore at MLB. Lawson drops into man coverage and shows up a step away as Spencer makes the tackle. Moore comes on a blitz, bull-rushes LG Wells back into Leinart’s face and gets an arm up as the ball is thrown, but he doesn’t bat it down. 1st and 10: James runs up the middle for 1 yard. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RG Lawson holds his ground against TE Pope’s block, but doesn’t go anywhere. Smith hops over a stumbling G, but the play is over too quick for him to be a factor. 2nd and 9: Leinart throws incomplete deep center. M. Lewis drops the interception. Formation: 3-4 Over, Lawson over LT, Smith over C. Lawson drops into mid-zone coverage. Smith comes on a blitz and blows up RB James in the backfield, but doesn’t get to Leinart in time for the sack. Good pressure, though. 3rd and 9: Leinart throws long and incomplete to the left. Hudson drops the interception. Formation: 3-2-6 Dime, Moore at ILB over C. Moore shows blitz, but drops into mid-zone coverage. Clever formation here, and it was the only time Moore dropped into coverage all game. 4th series 1st and 10: James up the middle for 6 yards. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside LT, Smith over LG Lawson gets both double-teamed and held (no call) as James runs through the LG. Smith reads the play correctly and comes up for the stop, but gets pancaked by TE Pope. In his defense, the block was kind of a blindside. 2nd and 4: James runs left for 10 yards. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel, Smith over LT. Smith gets spun on a block by the C, but recovers and trips up James as he passes. 1st and 10: Play-action, Leinart throws middle incomplete. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside LT, Smith over C Lawson is blocked by the TE Pope. May have been in man-coverage on him. Smith bites a little on the fake, but drifts to zone coverage. 2nd and 10: James runs left for 2 yards. Formation: 3-3-5 Nickel, Smith at OLB outside LT Smith stands his ground against TE Pope’s block, clogs up the running lane pretty good. Very creative formation by Manusky here. Young, Franklin, and Sopoaga were on the line with Banta-Cain and Smith as the outside linebackers and Willis on the inside. End of the 3rd Quarter 3rd down: Leinart dumps the ball off to James who runs for a gain of 13. Formation: 4-1-6 Dime, Moore at RDE Moore gets a good push against a double-team, but doesn’t go far enough to bother Leinart who is back in the shotgun. 1st and 10: Flea flicker, Leinart throws a deep incompletion into double coverage. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RG Lawson bites on the flea-flicker and goes to tackle James. By the time he realizes it’s a pass, the ball is gone. Smith doesn’t bite and stays in zone coverage. 2nd and 10: Leinart throws middle to Pope for 5 yards. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RG Lawson sprints past Pope unblocked, but Leinart throws the ball almost instantly. Smith comes on a blitz and gets his hands in the air as the ball comes out, but doesn’t knock it down. 3rd down: Leinart throws middle incomplete. Formation: 4-1-6 Dime, Moore at RDE Moore gets upfield quick, but Leinart is in the shotgun and gets rid of the ball quickly. 5th series 1st and 10: James runs left for 3 yards. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside LT, Smith over LG. Lawson stands his ground against a block. James runs to his side but has to cut because Lawson clogs the lane. Smith drifts right and comes up to make a solid assist on the tackle. 2nd and 7: James runs left for 6 yards. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson over slot WR, Smith over RG. Lawson drops into coverage. Smith reads run, closes to make the tackle but gets blocked in the back by C Sendheim (no call) and James cuts away from him. 3rd and 1: Leinart takes it on a QB sneak for the first down. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over LG Smith and Lawson are too far from the play to make a difference. 1st and 10: James runs up the middle for a loss of 3. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RG Lawson crashes upfield through Pope’s block and stops James in the backfield for a loss. Smith reads run and sheds RG Lutui’s block nicely, but Lawson has made the tackle before he even reaches the line of scrimmage. 2nd and 13: Leinart is sacked by Young for a loss of 4, but there’s a flag. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel, Smith at ILB over LT Smith reads pass and drops into zone coverage. This was the phantom 15 yard facemask call. 1st and 10: James runs right for 3 yards. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RG Lawson forces Brown back, gets held (no call), but James turns inside and gets 2 yards. Smith reads run but gets caught up in trash. Lawson probably would have stopped this play in the backfield but Brown held on Manny’s right arm and prevented him to reaching out to make the tackle. 2nd and 8: James up the middle for 5 yards. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel, Smith over RT Smith takes on RG Lutui’s block but can’t get away. 3rd and 3: Leinart scrambles left for 20 yards. Formation: 4-1-6 Dime, Moore at RDE Moore stunts to the right and tries to bull-rush RG Lutui, but goes nowhere. 1st and goal: Play-action, Leinart throws complete to Boldin for a 5 yd TD. Formation: 4-4-3 Goal line Everybody bites on the fake. Everybody includes Smith and Lawson. 6th series 1st and 10: James runs left for a loss of 2. Formation: 3-4 Over, Lawson over LT, Smith over RG Lawson stands his ground and helps wall the line. Smith hovers right and gets blocked again by RG Lutui. 2nd and 12: Leinart throws left, a WR screen to Fitzgerald for 15 yards. Formation: 3-4 Over, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RT Lawson reads run and holds his ground, but the play is a screen to the opposite side of the field. Both he and Smith are non-factors. 1st and 10: Banta-Cain throws James in the backfield for a loss of 5. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over RG Lawson bursts through the backup TE’s block and chases the play down from behind, but it’s over just as he arrives. Smith drifts right, but is a nonfactor on this play. 2nd and 15: James runs left for 3 yards. Formation: Base 3-4, Lawson outside RT, Smith over C Lawson crashes down and shoves a double team back into the play, but doesn’t make the tackle (D. Smith and M. Lewis do). Smith sheds Lutui’s block runs right and assists on the tackle. 3rd and 12: James up the middle for 3 yards. Formation: 3-3-5 Nickel, Smith at OLB outside RT Smith holds his ground, but doesn’t factor into the play. Last Series 1st and 10: Leinart throws an interception deep left to CB Spencer. Formation: 4-2-5 Nickel, Lawson deep at ILB/DB. (Note: Haralson at RDE) Lawson pretty much just backpedals on this play and tries to keep everything in front of him. Final Analysis
I THINK IT'S probably obvious that Manny Lawson held up well in the first game of his second season. Derek Smith seemed to play much better in the second half than in the first. I thought Moore had a great game throughout. Either way, the controversy continues.
Line of Scrimmage: Is offense a concern?
In this week's Line of Scrimmage, JR and Ben debate whether or not 49ers fans should be worried about the poor play of the offense against the Arizona Cardinals.
YES: Be afraid, be very afraid. The 49ers' offense isn't the strength we thought it was — at least it isn't yet. Should we really be all that surprised though?
Despite the obvious talent upgrades at a few skill positions and the perceived depth of the offensive line, it really looks like the offense, not the defense as I've said before, is the real work in progress. Offensive Coordinator Jim Hostler looked pretty timid and scattered in his play calling. Time and again I shouted at my TV to "POUND THE ROCK BETWEEN THE TACKLES!!" but it seemed Hostler thought that would be a little too obvious or didn't want to put Frank Gore in that position without any real preseason work. Instead, we saw a lot of passes on first down go incomplete or for a scant couple of yards, leaving the offense with second-and-long, in which case they would come out in a three wide receiver set, and THEN they'd run the ball without any fullback for no gain. Frustrating, to say the least. Hostler needs to pick a base offense and stick with it. The way I see it, this team is built to run the ball first and pass second. Just because Alex Smith got a few new toys to play with doesn't mean they should get away from what they do best. Against the Cards, not a defensive juggernaut by any stretch, it looked like the Niners were less than committed to pounding away with the run, landing some good body blows, setting up the knockout punch by getting them to creep the safeties in, and then throwing deep. If this offense doesn't commit to being what it is, then we'll see these frustrating performances for quite some time. They need to define themselves by doing one thing so well, that even if opposing teams know it's coming, they're not going to stop it. With the obvious talent of Frank Gore, and the strength of the left side of the offensive line (mass kicks ass), the 49ers can control the clock, chew up yards and wear down their opponents. This is what they're built for. Mr. Hostler, please just let them do their jobs. — JR NO: There's no doubt in my mind who should be blamed for the 49ers' poor performance on offense against the Cardinals. It's Jim Hostler, plain and simple. I agree with JR that Hostler's play-calling was poor. Having said that, I'm encouraged about the offense as a whole. If Frank Gore was at 100 percent (trust me, he wasn't), pounding the rock would have been a prudent play. I'm thankful that Hostler didn't go that route, because losing Gore in game one would spell disaster for the Niners. The pieces are there. That's why I'm not out-of-my-mind disappointed in the offense. What the 49ers need now is to put those pieces together. Vernon Davis, where art thou? Mr. Click-Clack was non-existent in Week 1, and that's unacceptable. Smith was throwing more to Billy Bajema at the end of the game than he was to Davis. That can't happen. I'm also not quite sure who's going to emerge at wide receiver out of a group that I'm not too inspired by. Can Lelie be a big-play guy? Battle is solid, but he's not going to make every big play. Put the pieces together and the Niners have a good offense. Take them apart (as they did last night) and it's very ordinary. If Hostler can get his act together (a big if, I know) and Gore is healthy, I think the 49ers have the potential to score with a lot of teams this season. But I've said it once and I'll say it again: It starts and ends with No. 11. When Alex Smith comes to play, the 49ers will be great. — Ben
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Kneejerk Knotes: Oh, what a night
First off, sorry for the lack of updates to the site and thanks to Ben for posting some quick postgame reaction. I was at the game and was unable to get to the site until this morning.
As for the game, all I can say is wow. No point rehashing all the details ... you all saw it. The offense was abysmal for 90 percent of the game. The defense was great for 99 percent of the game, and everyone was great in the last three minutes of the game.
As I stood there at my seat, with the 49ers starting at their own 14-yard line with less than 3 minutes to play, I couldn't help but think of Super Bowl XXIII. After all, this was Bill Walsh's night and the first game ever on Bill Walsh Field. Thoughts of history permeated the entire evening. The score in that game was 16-13, not 17-13, and that drive was a few yards and a few seconds longer, but the similarities to me were striking. I didn't want to believe that something special was going on, but once the Niners got to around midfield and still had plenty of time on the clock, I couldn't help myself. The drive was a work of art, and Alex Smith was the artist. Ok, so I hated the play-calling on first-, second-, third- and fourth-and-1 (JUST GET THE FIRST DOWN ALREADY!!), but Smith's improv at the last second was reminiscent of his play in the second Seattle game last season, when he shook off a would-be sack and found Frank Gore for the clinching touchdown. His pass to Arnaz Battle at the end was a thing of beauty, and when Darrell Jackson landed on Battle's heart attack-inducing fumble, I was even more certain that Walsh had his hands in this one. And as bad as the play-calling was earlier in the drive, the final call was Boise State-worthy. It was an ugly win, and a difficult win. And Walsh wouldn't have wanted it any other way. The final drive was one he would have been proud of, and we should all be proud that this young team had the moxie to pull it off.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Well, that was exciting
So, the first game is in the books. Here are a few immediate reactions:
Jim Hostler got an F from me for three quarters and 13 minutes. Before the last drive the 49ers had 109 yards of total offense. 109!!! Against the Cardinals!!! What in the world? In the final drive though, Hostler figured things out. What guts it took to call that sweep with Arnaz Battle for the touchdown. As a matter of fact, you can praise Alex Smith all you want (and trust me, I think that final drive is going to go a long way in his development), I want to give a little love to Arnaz Battle. The guy is one of the best blocking wide receivers in the game and he's out there making blocks, scoring touchdowns, doing whatever it takes to win. Give Arnaz the game ball. Yes, I'm giving Alex Smith some love. His scramble for a first down on the final drive was genius. I can't possibly believe the Cardinals secondary is good enough to stifle the passing game that many times in the course of a game but give Smith some credit, he knew when to hold em and when to fold em. If Smith can exhibit that type of presence all year, the 49ers are going to be just fine. The defense was just golden. What I was most impressed with was its ability to shut down two very formidable wideouts in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. You shut those two guys down and Edgerrin James has a much tougher time finding yards. Matt Leinart isn't the world's best quarterback but Nate Clements, Shawntae Spencer and Walt Harris were fantastic out on the corners. I would be remiss if I didn't mention possibly the defensive MVP for tonight, Patrick Willis. I mean, come on. The guy was everywhere. Finally, the win was the most important thing, don't get me wrong. But the way the 49ers did it tonight is the single thing I'm most excited about. Good teams win those ballgames. The 49ers of last year don't win that game. They would have folded under the pressure. This is going to go a long way to building confidence and I can't think of a better way to start the season.
Breaking the Huddle: Niners have the edge
It's time to rock 'n' roll! The 2007 season finally becomes official for Niner fans tonight, in primetime no less.
The last time the 49ers graced the Monday Night Football stage was in November of the 2003 season, a 30-14 rout of the Pittsburgh Steelers at Candlestick (that's the name of the stadium, no matter how much money corporations want to spend).
So, I guess you're wondering how the 49ers and Cardinals matchup ... I'm glad you asked. Here's a breakdown of Niners and their NFC West opponent: QUARTERBACKS I expect to see the Alex Smith who led the 49ers on five consecutive scoring drives to open up the preseason, not the Smith who could barely lead his team to a first down in the final two contests. Personally, I write the final two preseason games against the Bears and the Chargers off due to not wanting to show your hand before the games count. Smith averaged 239 yards against the Cardinals last year in two close defeats, so we know he can move the ball through the air against Arizona. The thing he didn't do last year, which could serve him well tonight, is attempt to make plays with his legs, like he did last year on the road against Seattle. He had zero rushing attempts last season against the Cardinals. I wouldn't mind seeing him on some naked bootlegs early on in order to set up some rollout opportunities to Vernon Davis later in the game. The 49ers used to do that unmercifully with Steve Young and Brent Jones. Smith's counterpart, Matt Leinart, came out last year slingin' it early and often in San Francisco. He was 9-of-13 for 162 yards and a touchdown (a rating of 137.3) before he left the game due to an injury. Critics say Leinart and Smith don't have the arm strength, but I've seen them both make the throws those same critics say they couldn't make. Leinart is a winner, no question, and Smith has the potential to be a cerebral assassin, a la Peyton Manning, as he continues to develop. These two guys are the future of the position in my eyes. I expect both of them to perform well tonight. Advantage: Draw. RUNNING BACKS Frank Gore, when healthy, is only eclipsed by LaDainian Tomlinson at his position when it comes to taking over a game. Edgerrin James used to be a gamebreaker, but no longer. James is entering into the twilight of his career — not to say he can't still be productive. He can, it's just that Arizona's big plays are provided by their passing game. Both backs are dangerous catching the ball out of the backfield, however we won't find out how Gore's hand will affect him in this regard until he tests it out in the game. Gore had 1,023 yards in the final eight games last season. If he picks up where he left off, the 49ers could cruise. Advantage: 49ers. WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS Outside of the secondary, the 49ers improved the most at wideout in the offseason. Darrell Jackson, Ashley Lelie and Jason Hill combined with Arnaz Battle and Vernon Davis provide the Niners with the most talent at these skill positions since the days of Rice, Owens, Stokes and Jones. I expect plenty of plays in the passing game. The Cardinals showcase the best wide receiver tandem in the game this side of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald always seem to light up 49er secondaries, and somehow Bryant Johnson gets lost in the shuffle. Throw in Leonard Pope (6-foot-8, 258 pounds) and Leinart will have no problem finding targets. Advantage: Cardinals. OFFENSIVE LINE The Niners could easily have a few representatives from this line in Honolulu. This massive (Jonas Jennings, Larry Allen), athletic (Justin Smiley, Joe Staley) group features depth at every position. The right side of the Cardinals line is solid (Al Johnson, Deuce Lutui and Levi Brown), but the left side is weak (Reggie Wells and Mike Gandy). Arizona also is cursed with no depth, so any injury could make things very difficult. Advantage: 49ers. DEFENSIVE LINE While the O-Line is set, the D-Line is the 49ers' biggest question mark. It's an interesting mix of veterans and youngsters. The cornerstone is still 14-year vet Bryant Young, but he's been hampered all preseason with injuries. Likewise, offseason acquisition Aubrayo Franklin has been injured, but they both should be ready to go tonight. Rookie Ray McDonald and third-year interior lineman Isaac Sopoaga could play huge roles in the Niners' 3-4 transition if the injuries continue. The Cardinals still play a 4-3 base defense and feature three playmakers on their line: Bertrand Berry, Darnell Dockett and Gabe Watson. Rookie Alan Branch is out with a broken hand, but the Cards still have the makings of a dominant front four. Advantage: Cardinals. LINEBACKERS The Niners may have found the leader of their defense for years to come in Mississippi's Patrick Willis. I'm not sure, but he might have made every tackle in the preseason. The last draft pick on the defensive side of the ball I was this excited about was B.Y., and he turned out pretty good. With Man-Law and the addition of Tully Banta-Cain, the Niners have added speed and depth to an already athletic linebacking corps. Also, look out for the demotion to light a fire under Brandon Moore. Parys Haralson also has a bright future. Outside of Karlos Dansby, the Cardinals are seriously lacking in playmakers at this position. Advantage: 49ers. SECONDARY In the preseason, it appeared first-string offenses stayed away from Nate Clements' side of the field. If that carries over into the regular season, he was worth every penny. With him and Michael Lewis, the Niners now have the makings of a very physical secondary. Throw in Pro Bowler Walt Harris (67 percent of the world is covered by water, the rest is covered by Walt Harris) and what was once a glaring weakness could become one of the best units in the conference. Arizona's Adrian Wilson is a one-man wrecking crew. The 49ers will be wise to keep their heads on a swivel, but the rest of the bunch aren't special. Antrel Rolle still hasn't developed into the shutdown corner people expected he would coming out of The U. Advantage: 49ers. SPECIAL TEAMS Neither team is electrifying on special teams outside of their kickers. Neil Rackers and Joe Nedney have been solid. Arizona has a rookie punter named Mike Barr. His inexperience could come into play. Advantage: Draw. COACHING Mike Nolan and his trusty sidekick, Hall of Famer Mike Singletary, have been the guiding lights in the 49ers' resurgence. The question mark here is Nolan's new coordinators: Jim Hostler and Greg Manusky. Will Hostler be able to continue Smith's progress? Will Manusky be able to manufacture a workable 3-4 scheme? I think the answers are yes and yes. Hostler is picking up where Norv Turner left off, which will make the transition for Smith seamless. Manusky studied under Wade Phillips at San Diego, which bodes well for the Niners. Ken Whisenhunt is a first-time head coach, and there's always a transition period, which usually lasts more than the preseason. I think if there is a coach that can turn the Cardinals franchise around, it's Whisenhunt, but it's going to take some time. Ask Nolan. Advantage: 49ers. PREDICTION 49ers 38, Cardinals 27 — The 49ers' defense is more talented and will come up with the plays and stops as needed. Look for this to start out an aerial show, but when the fourth quarter comes around and the Niners have the lead, Mr. Gore will take over.
Key matchups: 49ers vs. Cardinals
Editor's note: This is only the start of a full day of 49ers Observer coverage of the 49ers' season opener tonight against the Arizona Cardinals. Chris was kind enough to break down some of the key individual matchups in tonight's game. Later today, Eddie will bring you "Breaking the Huddle," a full position-by-position breakdown of the game. And tonight, whenever I get home from the game, I'll write up "Kneejerk Knotes," with my gut reaction from the 49ers' performance. So come back often, and enjoy the game. — James ILB Patrick Willis vs. RB Edgerrin James Vitals: Willis (6-1, 242), James (6-0, 220) Willis is the rookie and James is the veteran and three-time Pro-Bowler, but this matchup could end up being very one-sided in Patrick’s favor. Why? James has only just turned 29, but he’s slowed a lot over the years — especially following his injury in 2001. For a guy who ran a 4.38 at the combine, he sure doesn’t break out on a lot of long runs. His career best is 72 yards, which came in his rookie season (1999). Since then his best run was a 43-yarder in 2003. Last year, his longest was 18 yards. Clearly, James is not a home-run threat. Willis, on the other hand, is known for his speed and quickness running sideline to sideline, so don’t be surprised if he and fellow linebacker Manny Lawson combine for a few stops in the Arizona backfield come Monday night. Another thing to consider in the Willis vs. James matchup is Arizona’s offensive line. Offensive describes them about perfectly. When head coach Ken Whisenhunt landed the Arizona gig, he brought along former Pittsburgh line guru Russ Grimm. Grimm is supposed to whip the Cardinals linemen into shape, but he’s not a miracle worker. The Cardinals' line has long been neglected, and it’ll be another year or two before they can turn things around. Between James’ lack of speed and the underachieving line, it’s going to be difficult for the Cardinals to establish any kind of running attack. James did not perform well against the 49ers in 2006, averaging 3.2 yards per carry while rushing 55 times for 178 yards and 1 touchdown. He also caught four passes for 16 yards, giving him 194 all-purpose yards in two games against the San Francisco defense. Advantage: Willis. RB Frank Gore vs. ILB Gerald Hayes Vitals: Gore (5-9, 223), Hayes (6-1, 249) Gore, the 49ers' third-round draft pick in 2005, is coming off a Pro-Bowl season and just signed a new contract. To the 49ers faithful, he needs no introduction. He is a quick and brutal runner who has the strength to go between the tackles and the agility to run outside. Hayes was a third-rounder in 2003 and recently signed a big contract extension (5 years, $21 million, $8 million guaranteed), so it’s obvious the Cardinals' front office thinks highly of him. Known for his strength as a run-stopper, he was voted co-captain of the defense along with Adrian Wilson. Hayes did well against the 49ers in last season’s opener, notching six tackles, one sack and two tackles for a loss, but he missed the second game with an injury to his ribs. This could actually be a much better matchup than it looks at first glance. Arizona’s defense stops the run (16th in 2006) much better than they stop the pass (30th in 2006). Gore scored four touchdowns against Arizona last year but did not run wild and rack up huge yardage totals. He had 27 attempts for 138 yards on the year, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. The area where Gore excelled against the Cardinals was in the passing game. He caught 12 passes for 118 yards (9.8 avg), giving him 256 all-purpose yards against Arizona’s defense. Hayes, however, figures a lot less into the passing game matchup than Cardinal OLBs Karlos Dansby and Calvin Pace do. Advantage: Draw. DE Bryant Young vs. RT Levi Brown Vitals: Young (6-3, 305), Brown (6-5, 322) B.Y. is aging and may be in his last season, but he’s still strong as an ox and has a good first step. Brown was Arizona’s first-round pick this year, and obviously comes up short as far as experience is concerned. The initial reports out of Arizona’s training camp about Brown were not good, but he played well enough in the preseason. His strength is run blocking, but he can be a liability in pass blocking because he doesn’t have the quick feet required by top-tier NFL tackles. Fortunately for Levi, Young is a bull-rusher and not an edge-rusher. Advantage: Draw. WR Darrell Jackson vs. DB Eric Green Vitals: Jackson (5-11, 206), Green (5-11, 195) Honestly, as 49ers fans, we really have no idea what to expect out of Jackson. We know he’s good, but he’s missed 13 games the past two seasons with injuries. He did not play much in the preseason and rested a lot at training camp. He’s been given the benefit of the doubt up to this point because he’s a proven veteran. So his road test comes in the regular season, starting tonight. Green and Jackson match up physically, but Darrell has abused the Cardinals over the past five seasons. Seriously, Cardinal fans hate Darrell Jackson, and for good reason: In five seasons he’s played eight games against them and racked up 45 receptions for 829 yards and five touchdowns, including 11 catches of 20+ yards and seven catches of 40+ yards. Green, the Cardinals' third-round pick in 2005 out of Virginia Tech, is far less proven than Jackson, though he is probably faster (4.38 in the 40). This will be his first year as the starter in Arizona, having won out in the offseason over the other cornerback that Arizona drafted in 2005, eighth overall pick Antrel Rolle. Green was benched last year by Arizona's former head coach, Denny Green (no relation), after giving up a long pass to Ashley Lelie — who happens to be a Niner this year. After regaining his starting spot, he was benched again a couple weeks later after giving up two long touchdowns against the Cowboys. Green is confident coming out of this year’s training camp as the starter, but teams have picked on him in the past. Unless he’s improved dramatically, he’ll probably get picked on a lot this year too. All things considered, this could be the 49ers' best matchup. Jackson could have a huge day. Advantage: Jackson. RT Joe Staley vs. RDE/OLB Bertrand Berry Vitals: Staley (6-5, 306), Berry (6-3, 264) Berry has done well against the 49ers, piling up five sacks in the past four games, mostly against Kwame Harris. His biggest problem has been injuries, as he’s missed 14 games in the past two seasons. This season he’s completely healthy, has dropped a good 10 pounds, and at age 32 he’s not ready to punch his AARP card quite yet. Berry will be going up against Staley, a rookie who won the starting spot from Harris and has played well in the preseason. Berry’s strength is his velocity and suddenness as an edge rusher, but this plays well into Staley’s strength, which is pass blocking against quick edge rushers like Berry. But Staley is the rookie, and in this league they like to go after rookies. Fortunately, he’ll have help from from second-year TE Vernon Davis and probably TE/FB Delanie Walker on occasion as well. Either way, Staley has his work cut out for him. Though injured, Berry has been excellent when he’s played recently. You have to expect that will continue. Advantage: Berry. RCB Walt Harris vs. WR Larry Fitzgerald Vitals: Harris (5-11, 199), Fitzgerald (6-3, 226) I’m a Walt Harris fan, but this matchup doesn’t look good. As much as Darrell Jackson has owned the Cardinals, Larry Fitzgerald has owned the 49ers. The past three years he’s caught 37 balls for 598 yards and three touchdowns. That’s 99.6 yards per game on average. When the Cardinals came to town, Harris was busy covering Anquan Boldin while Fitzgerald racked up 226 yards on 13 catches with a touchdown in two games largely against Shawntae Spencer. Boldin is a smaller receiver than Fitzgerald and matches up differently, so it’s hard to predict how well Harris will do against Fitzgerald. Another thing to take into consideration is that Walt Harris turned 32 this August, and he’s playing a position where speed is a premium. Fortunately, Fitzgerald is not a burner at the WR spot, but he does have 4 inches and 27 pounds on Harris. No matter how good Walt is, at his size and age you have to worry about a matchup like this. Advantage: Fitzgerald
This could be a great battle to watch, as it’ll be strength against strength all night. Young typically does very well in these matchups, but Brown is a stout young player with a high pedigree.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Expectations? Nah, just sit back and enjoy the ride
The San Francisco 49ers are better than they have been in at least three years, maybe four. That much is clear.
But how much better? Enough to finish at 8-8? Enough to make the playoffs? Enough to win the Super Bowl? We don’t know that yet. We won’t know it tomorrow. And we probably won’t know it by Halloween.
This could very well be 1981 all over again. Third year with a new coach, offense built over time, defense rebuilt overnight. It could be. Or it could be that the 49ers have a year to go before they can ascend to the elite of the NFL. It could be that this team, no matter how much better it might be than last year’s, could still wind up around .500. Such is the nature of rebuilding, and such is the nature of today’s NFL. There’s really no telling what a team is going to do before the season starts. Regardless of all the possibilities, though, everyone seems pretty much in agreement of what’s likely for the 49ers this season. And what’s likely is a record somewhere around 9-7, a chance to win the division and a good chance of at least making the playoffs as a wild-card team. Most will be disappointed if the 49ers do not make the playoffs this season, given their obvious improvement last year and the numerous off-season acquisitions they’ve added to the mix. But this is a process, and the 49ers really could be a year away from really seeing how good they can be. The spotty play of the defense in the preseason should serve as a reminder that with as many as five new starters and a new coordinator, it could take the defense anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months to really start clicking. The offense shouldn’t be that far behind, but Alex Smith is still developing and has not reached his potential yet. And while he has some talented new weapons, they’re still NEW weapons, and it might take him a while to get comfortable with all of them. He still has to get a relationship established with Vernon Davis, who missed significant time due to injury last season, let alone newcomers like Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lelie. He also has a new coordinator, though hiring Jim Hostler from within should help ease the transition. It might be too much to expect this team to steamroll through the NFC West (where every team thinks they’ve improved themselves) and to the top of the conference this season. But imagine next year. Smith will be in his fourth season and should be well established as a real NFL quarterback. Vernon Davis will have learned more of the intricacies of route running and how to maximize his play speed. Frank Gore will be hitting his prime. Rookies like Patrick Willis and Joe Staley will be on their way to Pro Bowl careers. The defense will be playing as a unit, knowing where everyone is on the field at all times. That will be the Super Bowl year. For now, let’s just temper our expectations and enjoy watching this team continue to grow and mold together. I think it’s reasonable to expect the 49ers to win half of their games, so let’s only really get upset if they don’t do that. Anything above that should be seen as a bonus. I, for one, would be completely ecstatic for the 49ers to just make the playoffs this year, even if they get blown out in their first game. Just getting there would mean so much after the horrible years we’ve all just experienced. Here’s a unit-by-unit breakdown as we head into tomorrow’s season opener. Quarterbacks: Alex Smith looks ready to take another step forward this season after posting 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions last year. We should start to see him become more comfortable in the pocket and more consistent as a passer, and I think he’ll be one of the top 10 or 15 quarterbacks in the league by season’s end. Smith became the first 49ers quarterback to take every snap for an entire season last year, and it’s hard to expect that to happen two years in a row. Fortunately the 49ers have an able backup in Trent Dilfer, who has more than proven he has what it takes to manage a team. It’s likely that Dilfer will be called upon at some point this year, and it’s nice to have someone like that waiting in the wings. Running backs: Will Frank Gore come back to Earth, or will he ascend to the stratosphere with a 2,000-yard season? The former is more likely, given his injury history. But if he stays healthy, it’s not hard to see him challenging for that sacred milestone. Expect a strong start out of Gore, who sat the entire preseason with a broken hand and kept his legs fresh. I’m still not sure who the backup to Gore is, but the combination of Maurice Hicks and Michael Robinson could be serviceable for a week or two at a time. If Gore misses any significant time, though, it’s going to make things very difficult on Smith and the rest of the 49ers’ offense. Moran Norris could be a Pro Bowler at fullback this year if Gore has a big season. Wide receivers/tight ends: All the attention is on Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lelie, but this could really be a breakout year for Arnaz Battle. He’s already shown he’s sure-handed and strong after the catch, and now he’ll have some other offensive weapons to take some of the pressure off him. Maybe this is the year he finally becomes the John Taylor-like player I’ve been expecting him to be. Jackson will be a major key to the offense and needs to stay healthy. He’s good enough to instantly become Smith’s favorite target, even if the two are new acquaintances. I expect Lelie to be the No. 3 receiver no later than Week 3, and he could give the offense an added dimension of speed. Speaking of speed, tight end Vernon Davis is going to break out in a major way this year. He looked good in limited time last year, and now he’s actually getting comfortable with route-running. That’s a scary thought. Offensive line: This was the strength of the team last year and got even stronger thanks to the addition of rookie Joe Staley (and the subtraction of Kwame Harris). There’s also better depth now, thanks to Harris joining the bench and the improvement of David Baas. The starting lineup of Jonas Jennings, Larry Allen, Eric Heitmann, Justin Smiley and Staley is fantastic, and the 49ers can cope with an injury or two with guys like Harris, Baas, Adam Snyder, Tony Wragge and Patrick Estes on the bench. Nolan has always said the offensive line will be a top priority for him, and the unit has gotten better each year he’s been here. When Smiley and Harris are free agents next offseason, we’ll see how committed Nolan really is to the line (either by resigning them or replacing them with solid free agents and draft picks. Defensive line: This is really where things start to get a little fuzzy. Many draftniks have already pegged the D-line as the No. 1 priority next April, and with good reason. It’s not that the 49ers don’t have good players here — it’s just that they’re all either unproven or on their last legs. The key to having a successful 3-4 defense is at nose tackle, and the 49ers still aren’t quite sure what they have in that area. Aubrayo Franklin was brought in from Baltimore to be the starter, but he missed the entire preseason. Isaac Sopoaga finally looked like a real player in Franklin’s absence. Hopefully a combination of the two can get the job done. At defensive end, veterans Bryant Young and Marques Douglas will open the season as the starters. They’ll be pushed for time, though, by youngsters like Ron Fields and rookie Ray McDonald. But until the 49ers sign or draft some truly reliable linemen, they’ll be relying on a rotation of pretty average parts. Linebackers:This is clearly one of the most improved areas on the 49ers’ roster. Rookie Patrick Willis appears to be a star in the making and could very well be Ray Lewis by the time it’s all said and done. Free-agent acquisition Tully Banta-Cain will get a chance to start after years as a backup in New England. He’s one of the 49ers’ only true pass-rushing threats. Rushing the passer will be the biggest key to the 49ers’ success on defense. They don’t have many great individual rushers, so they’ll have to rely on Greg Manusky’s schemes to get the linebackers clear shots at the quarterback. With the speed of Willis and second-year outside linebacker Manny Lawson, one would hope they’d be able to generate a decent pass rush. That speed should also help the 49ers in coverage, and the run defense should get a boost from the return to health of Derek “Don’t Call Me Cyclops” Smith, who will be seeing out of both eyes this year. With players like Brandon Moore and Parys Haralson coming off the bench, this unit has excellent depth, as well. Defensive backs: Speaking of depth, the 49ers suddenly have it at what had been one of their weakest positions. Their depth in the secondary came from three sources. The most obvious was Nate Clements, who was given a historic amount of money to leave Buffalo and head west. His presence instantly improves the 49ers’ secondary by allowing Shawntae Spencer to become a nickel back and by freeing up the safeties from having to help so much in coverage. The 49ers also signed safety Michael Lewis from the Eagles. Lewis will be strong in run support and will move Keith Lewis back to his ideal role as a backup safety and a special teams ace. And they drafted Tarell Brown from Texas in the fifth round. Brown has first- or second-round talent but slid because of character concerns. He’s stayed on the straight and narrow so far, though, and he could certainly challenge for a prominent role as early as next season. He should already be the No. 4 corner. Special teams: The kicking game should continue to be a strength as long as Joe Nedney and Andy Lee are around. Those two are as solid and reliable as they come. Punt returner Brandon Williams is solid, too, but fans (who’ve seen far too much of Devin Hester) are growing impatient with his lack of big plays. He’s sure-handed and seems unfazed by the winds of Candlestick, but needs to become more explosive in the return game and show something as a receiver to justify remaining on the roster next season. Coaching: One giant question mark here. Mike Nolan clearly has the 49ers on the right path and has completely changed the culture within the organization. His game management has been suspect, though, and it’s hard to know how much of that was his fault and how much was the result of having to baby-sit incompetent coordinators. Hopefully we’ll have a better feel for this by the end of the season, but that’ll only be the case if first-year coordinators Jim Hostler and Greg Manusky prove to be, well, competent. And we just don’t know yet. Keep your fingers crossed. These guys could be the key to the whole season.
Win the West: Our picks for Week 1
When Mike Nolan took over the 49ers after Dennis Erickson's miserable 2-14 debacle, he raised a few eyebrows and became the butt of a few jokes by posting a "Win the West" banner at 49ers headquarters in Santa Clara.
The banner included images of the helmets of each NFC West team, with red X's through the Seahawks, Rams and Cardinals. It seemed silly at the time, but now Nolan's goal doesn't seem so far off.
The 49ers have their sights set on the playoffs this season, and to get there, they're probably going to have to win their division. Since the NFC West is expected to be one of the NFL's most competitive divisions, every game is going to count. So we're going to count every game. From now until the end of the regular season (or until the 49ers are eliminated from playoff contention, which hopefully won't happen ... ever), I and the rest of the 49ers Observer staff will make our predictions for every game involving NFC West teams. We'll keep track of whose predictions are most accurate, and at the end of the season the winner will get ... um ... crowned champion in front of hordes of faithful 49ers Observer readers. Or something. Anyway, here are our picks for this week. We're calling the scores of each game, too, though they'll have no bearing on our little contest. Feel free to make your own picks if you'd like. JAMES (0-0): Carolina 24, St. Louis 16 Seattle 34, Tampa Bay 20 San Francisco 37, Arizona 27 BEN (0-0): Carolina 28, St. Louis 21 Seattle 31, Tampa Bay 17 San Francisco 27, Arizona 21 EDDIE (0-0): Carolina 31, St. Louis 28 Seattle 34, Tampa Bay 21 San Francisco 38, Arizona 27 NICK (0-0): St. Louis 20, Carolina 17 Seattle 27, Tampa Bay 16 San Francisco 24, Arizona 20 JR (0-0): St. Louis 35, Carolina 24 Seattle 42, Tampa Bay 10 San Francisco 33, Arizona 27 CHRIS (0-0): Carolina 20, St. Louis 17 Seattle 21, Tampa Bay 10 San Francisco 24, Arizona 14 CHECK BACK THIS time next week for our Week 2 picks and a look at how we all did in Week 1.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Hit List: Trash-talking in 2007
Every Tuesday, 49ers Observer brings you Hit List, a list of things worth pondering concerning the San Francisco 49ers.
This week, we take a quick look at the 49ers' opponents for 2007, but from a slightly different perspective. Namely, what is a 49er fan to do if he must engage in a bit of trash talking with an opposing fan? The Observer has the proper ammunition for whatever team's fan is steppin' to your grill. GREETINGS, Observer readers. Nick here, and before I jump into this week's Hit List I think I should provide a bit of my own biographical information for you. I am a huge 49er fan, born and raised in San Mateo. Seven years ago, I moved down to Los Angeles for school, and L.A. is pretty much my new home now. Living in L.A., I have to travel to my local sports bar in order to watch the Niners every Sunday with all the rest of the various NFL fans. Now, most would expect L.A. folks to be mostly Raiders, Chargers or Rams fans, but the real truth is that Los Angeles is a huge melting pot when it comes to NFL fandom. On any given Sunday, there will be at least one fan of every NFL team at my sports bar, wearing their team's gear and screaming at the appropriate television for their squad to pull out a win. Off the top of my head, the biggest contingents of fans I see at my bar regularly include Jets, Browns, Bears, and Bengals fans. I am usually the only 49ers fan.* So given the 49ers' mediocre-to-poor showing over the past five years, you can imagine the amount of trash-talking I've had to endure from other football fans since Mariucci, Garcia and Owens packed their bags and went their separate ways. It only got worse when I started wearing one of these to the bar every Sunday instead of my old No. 80. Personally, I am not a big trash-talker, mostly because I find there is something to like about every NFL team once you get over your biases (fantasy football helps, too). But in L.A., football fans can be ruthless to one another, and thus I have learned to be prepared for the worst if the insults should fly my way. So with that, I give you Nick's Intelligent Guide to Trash Talking for Niners Fans in 2007. Below is your proper ammunition if another fan brings you some serious anti-49er heat during the season. Read it carefully, commit it to memory, and use it wisely. Arizona Cardinals - Remind them that Sun Devil Stadium used to consistently sell more tickets on Sundays to fans of their opponents than to Cardinals fans (it's only with the new stadium that locals actually go watch the Cards play live now). Feel free to poke fun at their O-line, as well. Try not to get into a Leinart vs. Smith argument, but if you do, remind them of how much of a douche bag Matty is concerning his parenting skills. You can also mention that he currently pays $15,000 a month in child support. Way to be a role model, Mr.Leinart. St. Louis Rams - I'd say take a shot at Leonard Little, who killed Sunsan Gutweiler while driving drunk in 1998. To make things worse, Little was arrested AGAIN for drunk driving in 2004 ... and he remains a free man being paid to play football in the NFL. Remind them that when our players screw up, we get rid of 'em. Simply put, Leonard Little is a turd and deserves the worst. Pittsburg Steelers - This is a tough one, because I have nothing against the Steelers. They have a great, diehard fanbase, a winning tradition older than that of the 49ers, and their former head coach was the ultra-kick ass Bill Cowher. Take the easy way out and crack a few jokes about Ben Roethlisberger's bike mishap, and suggest that maybe Charlie Batch is a better quarterback anyway. Mentioning former quarterback Kordell Stewart is always guaranteed for a good reaction as well. Seattle Seahawks- Remember how I said I usually don't have a hard time finding something to like about every NFL team? Well the Seattle Seahawks are the exception to that rule. I hate that team more the Dallas Cowboys and any other team in the NFL (though the New England Patriots are a close second). The thing I hate the most about the Seattle Seahawks are their fans, the self-proclaimed "12th Man". The truth of the matter is that Seahawks fans didn't really care about their historically terrible team until Qwest Field was built in 2002 (replacing the Kingdome), and attendance didn't even peak until Hasselbeck got the 'Hawks in the playoffs in 2003. And that "12th Man" title? Texas A&M created it 80 years ago. The Seattle Seahawks and their new generation of supporters are the worst kinds of fans in the NFL — generally uninformed, completely fair-weathered, and completely oblivious concerning the actual skill level of their team. Seriously... Pittsburgh won. You lost. Move on. Baltimore Ravens - Remind them that if Steve McNair goes down, Kyle Boller is next in line (and their season is doomed). Also, Ray Lewis may or may not have killed some people back in 2000. New York Giants - You know it. They know it. Everyone knows it. While you're watching the Niners play the Giants, do the following: Take a drink of your beverage, sigh, and slowly repeat these words every time the Giants have to punt: "Man, Eli Manning." Put some shameful desperation in your voice, like you just watched a sad puppy get thwacked with a whiffle ball bat because it had an accident on the rug. The truth is that Eli Manning would rather be playing squash than playing football in the NFL. You know it. They know it. Everyone knows it. New Orleans Saints - Ask them if they remember who the Saints starting quarterback was before Drew Brees and Aaron Brooks. Most of the bandwagon Saints fans I ask in L.A. have no clue (it was East Carolina's Jeff Blake). It literally took a hurricane for the Saints to get theirfanbase back. Yeah it's harsh, but it's true. Atlanta Falcons - Take them back to the 2001 NFL Draft, and tell them that instead of Michael Vick they could have taken LaDainian Tomlinson. If that fails, just mention Joey Harrington, but know that the anti-Smittay comments are bound to come soon after. Carolina Pathers - Chris Weinke. Minnesota Vikings - Tarvaris Jackson. Brooks Bollinger. Kelly Holcomb. Smittay owns all three of these spectacular athletes every Sunday. And then be sure to remind them about that boat cruise. Cincinnati Bengals - Do I need to spell this one out for you? Also be sure to bring up how you really want the Niners to go all the way this year as a fitting tribute to the memory of coach Bill Walsh. Then follow that up by recalling your favorite two Walsh moments in 49er history ... Super Bowls XVI and XXIII. Whether or not they realize what you are talking about is also a good test of how much of a Bengals fan they really are. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Let's be serious for a moment: your responsibility as a Niner fan is to respect and defend Garcia Mania at all times. No excuses. And no, the man isn't gay ... not that there's anything wrong with being gay. I'm just surprised how many people jump on the "Garcia is a homo" bandwagon when, of all people, Terrell Owens is the one who started the whole thing (I also support T.O. to this day as well. Niner Alumni are always family, except for Brandon Lloyd and Kevan Barlow). With that said, just make fun of Chris Simms and be done with it. Cleveland Browns - Let's face it... the Cleveland Browns kind of suck. I believe in about two more years they will be a much better team thanks to Brady Quinn and a much improved offense, but that's a ways away. With the Browns in 2007, keep it simple. Head coach Romeo Crennel is on the hot seat this year, and if the Browns start to tank early in the season he might not make it to December (not to mention that there are already rumors that formerSteelers coach Bill Cowher might replace him in 2008). Just tell your neighborhood Browns fan that at least Nolan will make it through the season. Crennel could very well be out of a job by Week 7 or 8 if things go bad, unless Quinn gets to start by then and saves Romeo's big butt. So that's it guys. I hope I have given you some ideas for this season in case someone at your local bar decides to shoot their mouth off concerning Year 3 of the Alex Smith Experiment. Just remember, when in doubt, mention the 5 rings and just continue watching the game. Take care, and go Niners. * There is a 49er bar in west LA called the San Francisco Saloon, but I never go there. My two best buddies are fans of the Eagles and Packers, so on Sundays we go to a bar where all of our games can be seen under the same roof. If you live in LA and want to meet up to watch a 49er game, send me an e-mail.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Fantasy Fury: Week 1 preview
It's settling to know that while this crazy world continues to spin out of control, time-honored traditions still hold true.
First, Peyton Manning (288 yards, 3 touchdowns against New Orleans Thursday) is money — so money, in fact, he currently has a higher exchange rate than the U.S. dollar and Japanese Yen. Second, the Saints suck! All of Drew Brees' (192 yards, 2 interceptions) fantasy owners (unfortunately, I'm a victim, too) must have had visions of Peyton's papa Archie running around with no one to throw too and fans sitting in the stands with paper bags covering their shame. Today you belong to one of two groups: Owners with Manning, his blankie Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne or Joseph Addai, in which case, you're off to a good start; or owners with Brees, Reggie Bush, Deuce McCallister and Marques Colston, in which case, the paper bags are under the sink. Here's a preview of what you should expect from Week 1's matchups: Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers, Monday, 7:15 p.m. — This should be the game fantasy owners expected the Colts-Saints game to be. An old-fashioned Wild West shootout with plenty of stats to go around. All skill position players are great starts, especially Frank Gore. You can almost hear him salivating, wanting to finally see some live action. He had four rushing touchdowns in two games against the Cardinals last season, and their defense hasn't improved much. For Arizona, expect Anquan Boldin to produce slightly better than Larry Fitzgerald. It seems Boldin's best is usually saved for the Niners. Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans, Sunday, 10 a.m. — For those of you contemplating sitting Larry Johnson, don't. Herm Edwards said he's going to probably hold LJ to around 20 touches. First off, 20 touches is plenty enough for Johnson to torch the Texans' defense. Second, Edwards is a liar. If Johnson gets into a groove, Herm is going to ride him until the proverbial "wheels" fall off. For Houston, the Matt Schaub-Andre Johnson connection should have no problem picking apart the geriatric ward known as the Kansas City secondary. Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, 10 a.m. — The one thing the Vikings do well is stop the run, so Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood will be useless this week, especially without the threat of Michael "Con" Vick. I wouldn't rely on quarterbacks Joe Harrington (a grown man shouldn't call himself Joey) or Tarvaris Jackson either. The Vikings' defense might be a sleeper, but if you have other options, use them. Miami Dolphins at Washington Redskins, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Two teams that will have to establish their offensive identity this season. Both defenses could be very good this year, though, or they could be injury-riddled by Week 4. Look for the Dolphins' Ronnie Brown and the Redskins' Chris Cooley to be the offensive stars of the game. Also, we should finally get a good read on Clinton Portis. Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills, Sunday, 10 a.m. — This game has the makings of a laugher. The Broncos are solid from top to bottom. Quarterback Jay Cutler, wideout Javon Walker and running back Travis Henry are solid plays, along with their defense. You might want to avoid the Bills altogether. I expect Lee Evans to have his share of monster games this season, but this won't be one of them. Carolina Panthers at St. Louis Rams, Sunday, 10 a.m. — The Panthers seem to have the Rams' number. They've won the last three matchups, including a 15-0 decision last season in Charlotte. The last time they played in the Dome was the 2003 divisional playoffs: Carolina, 29-23. I expect St. Louis to come out with a heavy dose of Steven Jackson in hopes of setting up play-action for Marc Bulger. Torry Holt is still not 100 percent and Isaac Bruce is just plain old, so expect Randy McMichael to make a big impact in his Rams debut. Steve Smith is a safe bet to have a big game, but that's about it for Carolina. I suspect at some point this season, DeAngelo Williams will take over the full-time gig from DeShaun Foster and become a factor, but until then stay away. New England Patriots at New York Jets, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Both running backs, Laurence Maroney and Thomas Jones, are great options this week, but Jones is the only Jet I'd start. Supermodel magnet Tom Brady already had the fame, fortune and an Arctic breeze that runs through his veins in pressure situations ... now he has wide receivers. Life is truly not fair. Start him and enjoy the stat line. Philadelphia Eagles at Green Bay Packers, Sunday, 10 a.m. — Brett Favre has a horrible history going up against the Eagles (1-5 since Andy Reid took over, never throwing for more than 205 yards). Philadelphia's offense should be able to take advantage of Green Bay's youth to score some points. Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook and one of my big breakout candidates, Reggie Brown, should have good stat lines at the end of the day. Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns, Sunday, 10 a.m. — The Steelers have won 12 of the last 13 matchups in the series. In fact, Ben Roethlisberger has never lost a start against the Browns (5-0) but has never done well statistically either, posting one 250-plus-yard game and one two-TD game (both were in his most recent meeting at Cleveland). Willie Parker is a different story; in three career starts, Parker has four total touchdowns, one 100-yard rushing game and one 200-yard rushing game, averaging an amazing 6.1 yards per carry over those games. Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, 10 a.m. — This is not a good matchup for the Titans. The Jaguars will do everything they can to force Vince Young to beat them through the air, which I'm not sure he can do yet. Too many "by-committee" situations on both of these teams. Stay away until the depth chart becomes clearer. Detroit Lions at Oakland Raiders, Sunday, 1:15 p.m. — I had the opportunity to see Josh McCown up close and personal this preseason against the 49ers. Was not impressed by any stretch of the imagination. In the hilarious words of Chicago Cubs manager Lou Pinella ... "He was throwin' 30-foot curveballs!" I give him no more than three series before Daunte Culpepper takes over. Roy Williams, Jon Kitna, LaMont Jordan and the Raiders defense are all good starts this week. Chicago Bears at San Diego Chargers, Sunday, 1:15 p.m. — Unless LaDainian Tomlinson returns to Krypton, start him. His Bears counterpart, Cedric Benson, is a solid start as well. So is Antonio Gates and the Bears defense, because you never know when Devin Hester will bust one. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, 1:15 p.m. — I don't expect the Bucs to be good this season, so I'd only start their guys if you are desperate. For the Seahawks, life after the Madden Curse begins in earnest for Shaun Alexander. Tampa Bay's defense isn't what it used to be, so expect a solid performance from Alexander and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, 5:15 p.m. — Eli Manning and Tony Romo should be decent starts. Also, expect T.O. to get two scores on a suspect Giants secondary. You might want to wait a week before you start Julius Jones or Marion Barber to see what Wade Phillips has in store for the solid duo. Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals, Monday, 4 p.m. — While the Bengals have won four of the last five in this series, the statistics suggest a struggle ahead. Carson Palmer has one 300-yard game since 2004 against Baltimore. Rudi Johnson has just one 100-yard game in his last four against the Ravens (none last year), and "Ocho Cinco" has zero 100-yard games with one total TD in his last four against the Ravens. T.J. Houshmandzadeh has fared much better, totaling 172 receiving yards with a TD in each game last year and 380 total receiving yards in his last four against Baltimore. So there you have it ... everyone enjoy Week 1. I'm definitely ready for some more football.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
In the Tunnel: Cardinals aren't all that scary
Editor's note: Every week during the regular season, 49ers Observer will bring you "In the Tunnel," an early look at the current week's opponent. This week, we look at the Arizona Cardinals.
At one point I used to think that if you lost to the Arizona Cardinals (whose most memorable moment of 2006 was this), the NFL would strongly consider dismissing you from the league or at least placing you on temporary probation. So you can imagine my dismay when my favorite team dropped four straight to them over the last two seasons. I'm sure I'm not alone on this. Now, we've been hearing about the upcoming "breakthrough" season for the Cardinals for several years now, and it does appear as though the talent level has risen considerably in recent years. However, the same results seem to keep coming back to haunt all those who ever cheered for the hapless franchise. For some reason, this team just cannot win football games consistently. I haven't heard the word "curse" thrown around yet, but when you think that this franchise was born and raised in Chicago, you can understand why this may be a possibility. (See: Cubs, Bears and Blackhawks.) Whatever it is, though, it seems like the Cards have gotten more aggressive about fixing the problem, so at least they're trying. By what I know of the Cardinals and the 49ers, San Francisco should handle this team fairly well. But I've said that the last couple of years. The Arizona Cardinals have given the 49ers considerable trouble because of the quality of their receivers, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald being the primary concerns. These are talented players, but they are not exceptional deep threats. In fact, Arizona is going to have some serious trouble finding many big-play producers over the course of the season as Edgerrin James is well past his fastest days, and the offensive line is still a big question mark. More than likely, Leinart will have to rely on short routes by his big, strong receivers so he can get rid of the ball quickly and avoid the rush. Any production out of James is likely to be some hard-earned yards, and he'll tire quickly if he's punished enough. For the most part, people, not much has changed for this year's version of Arizona's offense. Talented skill players and a sucky O-line, even if they have added Levi Brown and Mike Gandy, two apparent upgrades. Defensively, plenty has changed for Arizona. But much like the questions the Cards have on their offensive line, it's difficult to say whether anything has improved. The Cardinals have also switched to the 3-4 defense and have been pleased with the play of their young linebacking corps. However, their secondary is still a major question mark, as well as the defensive line. Many wonder if unseasoned corners Eric Green and Rod Hood will be able to hold up if a strong pass rush is not generated, and they will surely be tested. Former first-round pick Antrelle Rolle has been relegated to the bench, likely due to Arizona's awful secondary play in the preseason. Much like where the Niners were a couple years ago, the Cardinals have some talented linebackers, such as the young Karlos Dansby, but little proven help around them to allow them to make plays. Without getting overly optimistic, I simply don't see Arizona making it five straight by winning on Bill Walsh Field on Monday. I don't think it will be a rout, but I'll be sorely disappointed if the 49ers' offense doesn't take advantage of the opportunities the Cardinals defense will give them.
Much ado about absolutely nothing
Did anyone really give a second thought to the news that Mike Nolan had named 10 captains for the upcoming season? I sure as hell didn't, but maybe I'm in the minority on this one.
Nolan decided against taking advantage of the NFL's new policy to allow up to five players to be designated captains and wear the letter "C" on their jerseys like in the NHL and major-league baseball. Instead, he chose to name 10 "shop captains," one player voted by each position group to be their spokesman to the coaches and the organization. Makes sense to me. Now, can we move on to more important things? Not so fast. Apparently (since this was obviously a very slow news day) this ruffled a few feathers out there. San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami went completely overboard — as columnists are paid to do — and asserted that Trent Dilfer's selection as "shop captain" for the quarterbacks was somehow an indictment of Alex Smith's perceived leadership skills (or lack thereof). Apparently Kawakami doesn't understand Nolan's idea of the role of "shop captains" (which is not confined to on-field leadership) nor Smith's leadership capabilities, which are developing as quickly as his ability to read defenses. He also ignores the fact that Bryant Young — the 49ers' real leader — was also outvoted for "shop captain." Does that mean B.Y. isn't one of the team's leaders? Of course not. I was going to let this go, ignoring Kawakami like I usually try to do, but then I saw this ridiculous commentary in the Chronicle this morning. This writer, who is apparently unnamed, says Nolan's decision to anoint 10 captains instead of the NFL's desired five-or-less is a jab at the league from a coach who had to struggle just to be able to wear a suit to work once in a while and had his (really good) ideas for modifying the pass interference penalty rebuked. Really? First of all, while Nolan might really hold a grudge against the league for the aforementioned atrocities, I'd like to think he's not childish enough to try to get back at them in such a petty way. Secondly, I'd hope the NFL wouldn't really care if a team decided against using the "C" and that Nolan would know they wouldn't really care. If he really did want to get back at them, I think he'd be a little more creative than that. One thing this article proves, though, is that Nolan's suit has replaced Smith's "small hands" as the easiest Niner joke in the book.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Line of Scrimmage: Will the 3-4 stick?
This week in Line of Scrimmage, Ben and JR tackle the 3-4 defense the 49ers have tried so hard to run the past two years. With the addition of a true nose tackle in Aubrayo Franklin and the emergence of backup Isaac Sopoaga, as well as the acquisition of a real pass-rushing outside linebacker in Tully Banta-Cain, this is supposed to be the year they have the personnel to make it work.
But we've heard that song before. Will this year be any different? YES: Several pundits have decried the 49ers' use of the 3-4 defense throughout the preseason, saying the personnel doesn't fit the scheme and that they should switch back to a base 4-3. The main reason the 49ers need to stick with the 3-4? The linebackers. This is a strength of the team. Patrick Willis and Derek Smith inside with Jeff Ulbrich and Brandon Moore backing up is a very deep position. Outside, if Tully Banta-Cain can be the edge rusher the 49ers are hoping for, he and Manny Lawson could have a big year. I think this is the year Lawson needs to show some improvement, though, or he's headed for the dreaded "bust" tag. Another factor in keeping the 3-4 is the fact that the corners are better. Nate Clements' presence alone allows the front seven to focus on rushing the quarterback and not on playing an under zone so the safeties can play over the top. The improvement at the corner position also means that safeties Michael Lewis and Mark Roman can blitz more, and in the 3-4, you'll never know where they're coming from. — Ben I'm sorry, faithful, it pains me to say it as much as it does to hear it. But Bryant Young isn't the player the 49ers drafted out of Notre Dame all those years ago. Yes, he's a savvy vet, and he's still capable of getting the job done, but he's in his late 100s and should be on the field for about 50 percent of the defensive snaps, at most. Marques Douglas isn't a spring chicken, either. And without having a good look at Franklin, I think we're all just hoping that this career backup can get the job done. Furthermore, we all know that at some point or another, a big play is going to be needed and the starters that the 49ers missed in the preseason won't be on the field. It's going to be down to the guys giving them a rest, and they, with the exception of Sopoaga, looked pretty overmatched in the exhibition season. Now, I'm not saying the 49ers need to scrap the 3-4 altogether. I think Mike Nolan will be able to implement this defense as well as anybody could over time, and when you look at the athletes he has at the linebacker position, there's reason to be hopeful. But using some kind of hybrid seems to make the most sense. With the emergence of Sopoaga (finally) and the rumored strength of Franklin, it may be wise to put them on the field together to clog up the middle on obvious running downs. With the bookends of Young and Douglas, you've got a pretty damn formidable defensive front that might not give you a scary pass rush but shouldn't move much against the run. Coupled with the crazy-fast group of linebackers the 49ers are assembling, tackles should be that much easier to make when all five of the other team's fat guys have their hands full with the defensive line. With this young of a team, I'd never close the door on trying something else if one thing isn't working. The 3-4 hasn't proven to be anything but a challenge for the 49ers since they've dedicate themselves to running it. They can give it another chance, but if it isn't working, they need to adjust. — JR
My answer? The personnel they ran out there in the preseason may not have fit the scheme, but the starters will. I'm actually encouraged by the defensive setup coming out of the preseason. I say that because, with Aubrayo Franklin out, the 49ers may have found a very viable option at nose tackle in Isaac Sopoaga. I know he hasn't been the most effective before, but he absolutely played his butt off and I loved watching him play.
Keep one eye on the competition
Editor's note: I'd like to officially welcome Chris to the 49ers Observer staff. Chris, like myself, Nick and JR, is a regular poster on the 49ersWebzone message board and has impressed with his detailed analysis of game film. Therefore, he'll be taking over the "Film Room" column each week and posting occasionally at other times. Today, he takes a look back at one of the 49ers' most important foes this season and how they looked in the preseason.
-James
Everyone is anxious for the season to get started already, including myself. So while I’m waiting, I figured I’d watch the first half of the Seahawks-Raiders game from Week 4 of the preseason and take a few notes on how the competition is looking. There was a lot of complaining about the 49ers' run defense after they played Oakland, but they're not the only team LaMont Jordan and Dominic Rhodes ran all over. They're just good running backs. Seattle had all sorts of trouble with them, too. The 49ers are lucky none of their guys were injured when they played Oakland, because the Raiders were awfully dirty this preseason. Marcus Tubbs was injured when Barry Sims cut-blocked him. Sims dove at Tubbs' reconstructed knee after Tubbs beat him on a running play. In my book, that's filthy. Also in my book, I make note that Gore is going to have a big day against the Seahawks. I hope Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander like the view from the sidelines; they're going to spend a lot of time there in Weeks 4 and 10. Raiders rookie receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins is faster than advertised. At the combine, there were rumors he might post a sub 4.3 time. When he finally ran he posted a 4.48, and the hype bubble burst. People were thinking he was fast for college football, but average for the NFL. Well, if you watch this game you'll see Higgins return a punt for a TD, and guess what? The kid has jets. It's so unfair. The Raiders got Higgins with their third-round pick this year. Last the 49ers spent their third-round pick on a returner, but it was Brandon Williams. Nothing against B-Will — the verdict is still out on him — but Higgins is just plain dangerous back there. Josh Brown put some kickoffs in the endzone. The announcers say he was doing this all last week too. It looks like when the 49ers play the Seahawks, they'll be starting some drives from the 20. The more I watch him, the more I wish the 49ers had signed Terdell Sands in the offseason. He'd have been perfect for the defensive end spot in the 3-4. Of course, we don't know if he's disciplined enough to play in a two-gap scheme. But his hugeness kind of pushes other concerns out of your mind when watching him. Rob Ryan is the living incarnation of the Raiders spirit. With his long grey hair, salt and pepper goatee and permanently angry face, he looks like he stepped off the set of "Lord of the Rings" right onto the sideline. He'd fit right in with the Black Hole without wearing a costume. Definitely Raider material. Seeing Nate Burleson and Deion Branch, I think I understand why Seattle traded Darrell Jackson. All three could start for almost any team in the league, but Burleson and Branch are younger and more low-maintenance. And D.J. Hackett makes a great slot receiver. With Jackson losing his gruntle and wanting more money (which was, you know, promised to him), it would have been too much cap space tied up at one position. Trading him was the only thing that made sense. The 49ers might have been the only team willing to give up a fourth rounder for the guy, but I'm glad they did. In any case, Burleson, Branch, and Hackett look severely underrated. They don't get as much press as the Cardinals' receivers, but they look ready to bust out this year. I'm thrilled the 49ers have such a talented secondary, because their division is full of teams with scary receiving corps. Except their own, of course. Their receivers are all right, but they don't have anyone as talented as Holt, Boldin or even Burleson, who by all appearances is Seattle's No. 1. But then, the 49ers have got Frank and a bunch of burly blockers in front of him. Between Frank keeping the scary receivers off the field and the secondary containing them, I think the 49ers will do just fine against the pass-heavy offenses.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Fantasy Fury: Season preview, part II
Eddie's a little busy these days, you know, dominating his fantasy football competition and all. But he found enough time to e-mail me the rest of his Fantasy Fury season preview so I could post it for all of you:
There are three players in the National Football League who are without question the top fantasy option at their position: LaDainian Tomlinson at running back, Peyton Manning at quarterback and Antonio Gates at tight end.
If you land one of the triplets on draft day, you’re already a step ahead of your competition. We covered the skilled positions yesterday. Today we look at the depth (tight ends, kickers and defenses/special teams) that will round out your squad and could push you over the top. This discussion won’t center around the aforementioned Gates. It’s clear he’s the head of the class, and if for some reason you don’t believe it, check this out: Since 2004, only Manning’s blankie Marvin Harrison has hauled in more TDs than Gates; he already holds the single-season touchdown record (13 in 2005) at the position and could easily break it this season; and the Chargers are 5-0 when the former power forward gets in the endzone more than once. Case closed. No, I’m here to let you know the NFL is about to catch a bad case of V.D., and I’m not talking about what Colin Farrell tests for on a weekly basis. I’m talking about 49ers man-child Vernon Davis. Normally, you’d think Tony Gonzalez or Todd Heap or Jeremy Shockey would be vying for that No. 2 spot. And you can take them if you want, but I'll tell you why you shouldn't. The key to building a winning fantasy squad is not picking an all-star team based on last year's stats. It's being in on the ground floor of a player. Gonzalez is starting to show his age and the Chiefs have serious questions at the quarterback position. Heap is great, but the Ravens only take shots when they have to. They grind it out, get the lead and let Ray Lewis and his wreckin' crew finish the job. Shockey still hasn't popped for his monster season, but too often last year, he was kept in to provide extra protection for Eli and may be in for more of the same. In a lot of ways, Davis is the key to 49ers offense. Early on, teams will stack the line in order to contain Frank Gore. Alex Smith is going to have ample opportunity to make them pay, and if Smith can find Davis roaming downfield, defenses will have to pick their poison. Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" could easily be Davis' theme song. His intangibles are off the charts and the 49ers plan to use him similar to the way the Chargers use Mr. Gates. What else do you need to know? Don't follow the pack on this one. Be aggressive, and many draft days will come and go before your fellow owners stop recycling the "VD story." KICKERS, DEFENSES AND SPECIAL TEAMS, oh my! There's only two defenses I'd reach for: Chicago and Baltimore. The edge goes to Da Bears because of the playmaking ability of Devin Hester. If special teams wasn't a factor, I'd go with B'more. If you don't land one of these two, hold off until the back end of the draft to choose a defense. The thing about defenses and their brethren in the "least appreciated members of a fantasy team" club, kickers, is they can be the difference between a good week and a huge week in fantasy points. So it's important to study the possibilities, don't just reach for depth in the skilled positions. I believe it says in the Constitution: All kickers are created equally. Just make sure you get two with different byes. That's as far as the thought process needs to go. Here are my rankings: TIGHT ENDS 1. Antonio Gates, Chargers 2. Vernon Davis, 49ers 3. Todd Heap, Ravens 4. Jeremy Shockey, Giants 5. Tony Gonzalez, Chiefs. 6. Jason Witten, Cowboys 7. Kellen Winslow, Browns 8. Chris Cooley, Redskins 9. Ben Watson, Patriots 10. Bo Scaife, Titans 11. Alge Crumpler, Falcons 12. Heath Miller, Steelers 13. Randy McMichael, Rams 14. Dallas Clark, Colts 15. L.J. Smith, Eagles DEFENSES 1. Chicago 2. Baltimore 3. New England 4. San Diego 5. Miami 6. Oaklamd 7. Pittsburgh 8. Dallas 9. Green Bay 10. Philadelphia 11. Denver 12. Carolina 13. San Francisco 14. Minnesota 15. Jacksonville KICKERS 1. Nate Kaeding, Chargers 2. Robbie Gould, Bears 3. Jeff Wilkins, Rams 4. Adam Vinatieri, Colts 5. Jason Hanson, Lions 6. Jason Elam, Broncos 7. Shayne Graham, Bengals 8. Matt Stover, Ravens 9. Neil Rackers, Cardinals 10. Joe Nedney, 49ers 11. David Akers, Eagles 12. John Kasay, Panthers 13. Stephen Gostkowski, Patriots 14. Josh Brown, Seahawks 15. Mike Nugent, Jets
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Fantasy Fury: Season preview, part I
Welcome to the first installment of "Fantasy Fury," where every week Eddie will kick knowledge on which players to start, and which ones to avoid like they’re Lindsay Lohan driving down Sunset Boulevard on an all-night coke binge — all in the hope of helping you bring home a fantasy football championship.
Today and tomorrow Eddie will preview the upcoming season. We deal with the skill positions today.
First up ... RUNNING BACKS This is the foundation your castle is built upon: 1. LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers - A direct descendant of Spartan warriors. How else can you explain his "Hand-of-Thor" stiff-arm? The addition of Norv Turner to a coaching staff usually means a general spike in offensive productivity. It's science. We all saw how Alex and Frank progressed. What's he going to do for LT? I see a serious run at Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards and 20-plus touchdowns. If you have the No. 1 overall pick, thank your lucky charms and enjoy the ride. 2. Frank Gore, 49ers - The inconvenient truth is that Gore deserves to be chosen No. 2 overall in most fantasy drafts this season. Steven Jackson will not catch 90-plus balls this season, and eight of his 16 touchdowns were in the final three games last year, when the Rams were fighting for nothing and dealing with injuries. Larry Johnson is a rock-n-roll front man in a band full of tambourine players. Gore will be more active this season in the passing game and is a safe bet to match his yardage totals from a year ago, considering he averaged 5.4 yards a carry, even slightly better than King Leonidas, I mean Tomlinson. Plus, he's proven to help combat global warming. 3. Steven Jackson, Rams - Even though I'd take "The Tank" over him, Jackson is as solid as they come. Plus, the man has goals! He's talking 2,500-plus total yards and a 12-4 record for St. Louis. I'm thinking more like 2,100 total yards and 8-8. 4. Joseph Addai, Colts - Everyone, meet Joe. He's ready to take his place among the elite tailbacks in the game and in the Indy 500 offense the Colts run ... the sky is the limit. Or at least Edge James in his prime, which counted for 2,000-plus total yards and 15 scores back in the day. 5. Larry Johnson, Chiefs - Trent Green is gone. Tony G is older. The O-line is a shell of its former self. It's like Paul McCartney and George Harrison quit the Beatles before Yoko and left John Lennon with Ringo. Johnson will still be good, just not great until the Chiefs get put back together again. You could do much worse. The second tier: 6. Willie Parker, Steelers - Something tells me the Steelers are gonna toss the ol' pigskin around this season, which doesn't necessarily hurt Parker. Few backs are as good as "Fast Willie" at taking a screen pass and making something happen. He'll get somewhere around 1,800 total yards and 15 scores. 7. Rudi Johnson, Bengals - Rudi is the hot chick you didn't know was hot until she took off her glasses and let her hair down. Also, her friends are that much hotter (i.e. Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson) so she gets lost in the shuffle. He may not be the sexy pick, but 1,400 yards and 14 TDs a season is damn near pornographic when I'm putting a team together. 8. Shaun Alexander, Seahawks - Alexander is living proof that the Madden Curse is real and that God don't like ugly. The loss of All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson hurt Alexander almost as much as his cracked foot last season. I expect Alexander to be productive, but mark my words ... the descent has begun. Expect 1,300-1,400 rushing yards and 10-12 touchdowns. 9. Reggie Bush, Saints - Honestly, Mr. Push (sorry, I'm a Notre Dame fan) could be a top-5 wideout with his talent. Draft him at the back-end of the first round and watch the yards and scores come from every direction. The ceiling hasn't been set yet. Think a more explosive, healthier version of Brian Westbrook this season ... maybe another Marshall Faulk down the road. 10. Brian Westbrook, Eagles - Speaking of the oft-injured devil. Last year was the first time we saw what Westbrook could do if he was healthy for the most part. Now, what are the odds he does it again? He's by far Philadelphia's biggest weapon and teams will game plan specifically to take him out of the game. He'll find a way to get his yards, but the touchdowns will determine whether you should have picked him in the first round. I say he gets 10 scores in 12 games. Best of the rest: 11. Willis McGahee, Ravens 12. Laurence Maroney, Patriots 13. Travis Henry, Broncos 14. Edgerrin James, Cardinals 15. Cedric Benson, Bears 16. Marshawn Lynch, Bills 17. Clinton Portis, Redskins 18. Adrian Peterson, Vikings 19. Ronnie Brown, Dolphins 20. Julius Jones, Cowboys 21. Tatum Bell, Lions 22. Thomas Jones, Jets 23. Brandon Jacobs, Giants 24. Cadillac Williams, Buccaneers 25. Deuce McAllister, Saints 26. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars 27. Ahman Green, Texans 28. Marion Barber, Cowboys 29. LaMont Jordan, Raiders 30. Jerious Norwood, Falcons 31. DeAngelo Williams, Panthers 32. Jamal Lewis, Browns QUARTERBACKS Take one of these guys, and you only need your backup to handle the bye week: 1. Peyton Manning, Colts – He’s the signal-caller with the laser rocket arm ... if you like that sort of thing. Even with the loss of his personal bodyguard, Tarik Glenn, he releases the ball too quickly to ever truly be in danger. You simply cat't go wrong with him and his weapons. Plus, he's probably due for a production spike after an "off year." The one problem is you’ll have to go early (mid-first to mid-second round) to get him, but it could be soooooo worth it. 2. Carson Palmer, Bengals – Some think Trojan-Man is ready to take Peyton’s place at the top — not so fast. He’s not too far back, though. You can almost write in 4,000 yards and 30 TDs and call it a day. Grabbing him in the second and snatching "Ocho Cinco" in the third would be a lethal combo. 3. Drew Brees, Saints – What shoulder injury? Brees was a machine last year. The scary thing is the offense could be even better this season with the additions of first-round draft pick Robert Meachem and former 49ers tight end Eric Johnson. He may not match Manning and Palmer in TDs, but he could better them in yards. 4. Marc Bulger, Rams – No longer the "Greatest Show on Turf," but still good entertainment value. Without "Mad Scientist" Martz calling the plays last year he had more protection, which finally got him through the entire season. He doesn't throw many picks, either, so that's a plus. My only issue is his aging wideouts (Torry Holt, 31, and Issac Bruce, almost collecting social security) and the fact he got paid in the offseason. It always worries me when an athlete gets a contract extension. You never know if the fire is going to stay lit. 5. Tom Brady, Patriots – It doesn’t really matter who the man's receivers are. But just in case you haven’t heard ... Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth will be stretching defenses for New England this season. This could be Brady’s signature year. The second tier: 6. Donovan McNabb, Eagles – Even McNabb’s mother would make sure to get a good backup if she drafted Donovan early. If healthy, he could legitimately challenge Manning and Palmer for the top spot. The downside: He could last only half the season. The ultimate hit-or-miss pick. 7. Vince Young, Titans – Personally, I've scribbled over Young's name in all my fantasy mags. But that doesn’t mean you have too. The Madden Curse has to end sometime, right? He's capable of being the player Michael Vick should have been, which pretty much says it all. He just won't be that player for me this season. 8. Jon Kitna, Lions – His talent doesn't even come close to the guys on this tier. But the system can't be denied. Martz is a mad man and his high-wire act works, so expect 4,000-5,000 yards and 25 TDs. Also expect 20-25 interceptions. It’s still Detroit. 9. Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks – I've never been a fan, but I can't argue with his production over the years. Expect 3,500-plus yards and 25 TDs. 10. Tony Romo, Cowboys – As long as he's directly behind the center, he should be fine. He has the weapons to be great and a weaker division then most realize. Best of the rest: 11. Eli Manning, Giants 12. Brett Favre, Packers 13. Jay Cutler, Broncos 14. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers 15. Matt Leinart, Cardinals 16. Philip Rivers, Chargers 17. Alex Smith, 49ers – Smith should take a significant step forward this season. It’s his second year in the offense, and he’s surrounded by the most weapons he’s had since his Helix High days. Defenses will have to stack the line in an attempt to stop Gore early on. If Smith can make them pay, the Niners' offense could be Chargers-lite and Alex could be looking at a 3,500-yard season with 20-25 TDs. Not to mention a handful of scores with his legs. He starts the season as a fantasy backup, but I think he cracks the second tier by season’s end. 18. Jake Delhomme, Panthers 19. J.P. Losman, Bills 20. Matt Schaub, Texans 21. Rex Grossman, Bears 22. Chad Pennington, Jets 23. Jason Campbell, Redskins 24. Steve McNair, Ravens 25. Jeff Garcia, Buccaneers 26. Daunte Culpepper, Raiders 27. Joey Harrington, Falcons 28. Damon Huard, Chiefs 29. Trent Green, Dolphins 30. Tarvaris Jackson, Vikings 31. Brady Quinn, Browns 32. David Garrard, Jaguars WIDE RECEIVERS Top of the line: 1. Chad Johnson, Bengals – Not only entertaining, but consistently good. I still figure he has a monster year in him too. Something along the lines of 1,600 yards and 18 TDs. 2. Reggie Wayne, Colts - At some point he has to take over for Mr. Harrison, although he’ll never replace him as No. 1 in Manning’s heart. The Colts' defense will lead Indianapolis into many shootouts, and fantasy owners everywhere will rejoice. 3. Steve Smith, Panthers – Returned to his old self later in the season. Should be completely healthy, which means 1,400 yards and north of 10 TDs. Maybe even a punt return or two. 4. Terrell Owens, Cowboys – Owens is a good guy who puts in work and expects to win. T.O. is a self absorbed malcontent who can single-handedly tear a team apart. Which one will reside in Dallas this season? Who really knows? At least he isn’t our problem anymore, but if Owens shows up instead of T.O. ... expect him to challenge Johnson for the No. 1 spot. 5. Marvin Harrison, Colts – He’s timeless. Like fine wine. His boy Peyton has his back, too, so expect another great season. 6. Roy Williams, Lions – People thought he broke out last season. That was a tremor compared to what he could do with No. 2 overall pick Calvin Johnson on the other side. Expect Williams to lead the league in yards, but if Detroit still sucks, his TDs won’t add up to the other guys on this list. 7. Javon Walker, Broncos - My personal favorite to have a monster season after what he had to endure in the offseason with the loss of friend and teammate Darrent Williams. He’ll go as far as Jay Cutler will take him, which could be back to his 2004 form. 8. Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals – At any time Fitz could bust out with a Moss-like season. He’s that good. 9. Marques Colston, Saints – Brees said he would break out last year at the beginning of the season. Brees was correct. He obviously knew exactly what no one else did. Colston is the real deal. Expect him to challenge for a Pro Bowl spot this year. 10. Lee Evans, Bills – Steve Smith-lite. Plain and simple. Buffalo will be really bad and will need to throw the ball. J.P. Losman has shown he can do that much. Best of the rest: 11. Torry Holt, Rams 12. Plaxico Burress, Giants 13. Andre Johnson, Texans 14. Anquan Boldin, Cardinals 15. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Bengals 16. Vincent Jackson, Chargers 17. Donald Driver, Packers 18. Randy Moss, Patriots 19. Braylon Edwards, Browns 20. Calvin Johnson, Lions 21. Reggie Brown, Eagles 22. Bernard Berrian, Bears 23. Hines Ward, Steelers 24. Darrell Jackson, 49ers – Jackson could be a lock for 1,000-yard season and 10 scores if he’s healthy. He still managed 10 TDs in only 13 games last season, so he’s worthy of a mid-round selection regardless. 25. Santana Moss, Redskins 26. Laveranues Coles, Jets 27. Deion Branch, Seahawks 28. Jerricho Cotchery, Jets 29. Chris Chambers, Dolphins 30. Joey Galloway, Buccaneers 31. Santonio Holmes, Steelers 32. Mark Clayton, Ravens THAT'S IT FOR today. Check back tomorrow for a look at the less-heralded but no less important (OK, maybe a little less important) positions of tight end, kicker and team defense.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Final pink slips: Gilmore and Clayton are cut
Well I guess that ends the debate about who the 49ers will be keeping at wide receiver and running back.
According to Sacramento Bee beat writer Matt Barrows, the 49ers have given wide receiver Bryan Gilmore and running back Thomas Clayton (amongst others) their pink slips. Gilmore lined up as the 49ers third option at wide receiver last season, while Clayton was the Niners' sixth-round selection of the 2007 NFL Draft. First off, I'm happy Gilmore was honest about his overall production since he came to San Francisco last season. The man had only eight catches in 11 regular season games last season. With preseason stud Ashley Lelie and training camp phenom Taylor Jacobs waiting in the wings, Nolan and his crew made the right decision in keeping the two guys with the most potential for solid offensive production in 2007. Second-year player Brandon Williams will also be around to compete, but he may just be relegated to returning punts in 2007 based on his preseason performance. As for Clayton, I am sure the 49ers are hoping he will clear waivers so he can be placed on the practice squad. Clayton showed some real potential in his final two preseason performances after dancing around the with the football in the first two games (he kind of reminds me of this guy from time to time, and that's not a good thing). Other notable cuts include LB Colby Bockwoldt, S Vickiel Vaughn and S Darnell Bing. Bockwoldt was one of the 49ers' first pickups in free agency from the Saints, Vaughn was only a second-year player from the 2006 draft class, and Bing was an Oakland Raiders castoff with a big upside for future production. All of them are now hoping they will get picked up by another team or invited to the 49ers' practice squad after they clear waivers. But in my opinion, the most important thing on this truly final day of the 2007 NFL preseason is that it marks the final day of a short career for Bryan Gilmore in San Francisco. If you have the urge to relive probably the greatest moment in Bryan's 49er career, click here and watch him catch the final pass of the 2006 season from Alex Smith against the Denver Broncos. The catch put the Niners in range for a Joe Nedney field goal to give the 49ers their seventh win of 2006 and close the door on Denver's playoff hopes (you're welcome, Kansas City). Some may note that the NFL.com highlights skip over the even bigger play that put the Niners in Broncos territory on that final drive last season. It was coincidentally a reverse to Gilmore for a 20 yard gain. The man could definitely run the reverse well. He'll be missed for that, but sadly not much else.
Preseason doesn't mean a thing ... right?
So the 2007 version of the San Francisco 49ers, with all the hope and optimism surrounding the new and improved roster, managed one win in four tries during the preseason schedule. Not exactly what you would call inspiring play.
However, we did see some things that would lead us to believe that our high hopes for this team are not unfounded. Alex Smith looked very sharp in his first two outings, the talent of the recieving corps is obviously improved, and the offensive line looks to be one of the most competitive groups in the league. None of this really came as a surprise, but more so just a reassurance that the 49ers are indeed improving on the offensive side of the ball, and we haven't even gotten a peek at Mr. Frank Gore yet. On the defensive side of the ball, things were less impressive, but I think that was somewhat to be expected. Without the services of two of their three projected starting defensive lineman, the 49ers looked especially shaky in the run game. The secondary didn't look world-class either, but without much of a rush being generated by the front seven, it's hard to fault a group that has very little experience playing together and is still learning the scheme as well as the tendancies of their teammates. I think even though the defensive play left a lot to be desired, there is obviously a lot of talent on this side of the ball and as the season goes along, it should become a more cohesive unit and play very well toward midseason. The linebacking corps is young as well, but has strong leadership with Derek Smith. Though he has certainly lost a step and his vision is questionable with last year's eye injury, I believe that his ability to help the progression of Manny Lawson and Patrick Willis will keep him on the field. Brandon Moore is also expected to make an impact but will have to play hard to get back in the good graces of his coaches. All that being said, I think the 1-3 preseason record really doesn't indicate the true progression of this team. Every game ended up close, and it looked as though every player was battling consistently from whistle to whistle. This appears to be the legacy that Mike Nolan is bringing to the organization, a work ethic and tenacity that seriously lacked over the last decade. I, for one, am very pleased with this development. So, should the 49ers head into their first game against Arizona confident that they'll start the season 1-0? Not exactly. The first two games of the preseason, we saw the starting offensive unit as something just less than spectacularly efficient. The last two games, they were something just less than spectacularly inept. To be fair, the 49ers' preseason opponents boasted three of the league's top defenses, and one can even argue that the hapless Raiders have a significant amount of talent on the disruptive side of the ball. However, the 49ers definitely didn't get a good look at San Diego's starting squad and they still were giving the first team fits. It started in Chicago, as the first-team offense sputtered their way through the first half, making little impact but also mostly minimizing their mistakes. But in San Diego, it seemed that all the mistakes they didn't make in the previous three games popped up and reared their ugly heads. Alex threw a bad pick and gave up a costly fumble, two sights that give every 49ers fan haunting visions of two seasons ago. The offensive line, considered to be their deepest unit, looked mostly overwhelmed against the pass rush of San Diego's reserves. It's apparent that pass blocking is still an issue for this squad, and like the defense, I think the O-line will improve as the season wears on. Looking at the big picture, the starting offense is improved, but they'll have to keep improving as the season goes on if this team is going to contend for a playoff spot. The defense must do the same. As fans, we all want this team to win now and it looks like they've got the players to do it. But we must understand the complexity of playing team football, the kind of football necessary to win championships. That kind of chemistry doesn't happen over night. Based on what I've seen out of the preseason this year, my projection for the team remains the same. I think if they can play .500 football until week 13, they'll have a better than average shot of at least stealing a wild-card spot in the NFC. Let's face it, there are still a lot of "ifs" surrounding this team. "If" Alex Smith takes the next step in his improvment, "if" Gore and the offensive line stay healthy, "if" their new offensive and defensive coordinators catch on immediately, and "if" all the new players acquired in the offseason catch on as well, then yes, the 49ers will have an excellent season. But if even one of those "ifs" turns out negative, then it's just one more siginficant challenge that a young team will have to overcome in learning how to win in the NFL. Let's hope they're up to the task.
