Originally posted by MadDog49er:
While the majority of talk on the board today revolves around the offense, the clear problem today was the defense. The final numbers should be troubling to 49ers fans who have felt confident for most of this season that the defense would carry the team in tough games:
Packers total yards: 484
The #1 team in the NFL in total offensive yards per game is the Saints, and they only average 426 yards a game.
Packers 3rd down%: 10/18- 55%
The #1 team in the NFL in 3rd down conversion is the Colts, at 50%. So, the Niners clearly did not get the Packers off the field, especially in the last drive that chewed up the final 5 minutes.
Packers 1st downs: 26
The #1 team in the NFL in first downs per game is the NE Patriots, with an average of 23.7 per game. The Niners allowed more than the top team in this catagory as well.
Time of Possession: 41:39
The #1 team in the NFL in time of possession is the NYG at 34:23. Our team allowed almost seven more minutes. Now, part of the problem was the first half ineptitude of the offense, but the defense clearly did not help the team to minimize the amount of time the Packers had the ball, including the final 5 minutes when the Niners knew the Packers were simply going to run the ball to kill the clock.
Offensive Snaps: 79
The #1 team in the NFL in offensive snaps per game is the Dolphins, with an average of 65.8 per game. The Packers had more than 13 additional snaps than the #1 team, a mindboggling number.
So, while the argument of the spread offense, Alex Smith, Jimmy Raye, the offensive line, and Singletary's offensive philosophy are all important to resolve in order to bring continuity on offense, the defense clearly needs to shoulder the blame for this debackle.
Cheers.
While I don't always agree with Maddog, and have insulted his logic countless of times, I do believe when he gets off his high horse he is one of the smarter posters.
So I'm pretty much saying, I agree with him on this subject.
Oh and by the way, maddog, how about that "Sidney Rice will amount to nothing and is overrated" comment. Let's also not forget the "You only like him because his last name is Rice" comment.
Sorry I can't be too nice, you might get used to it