Originally posted by MadDog49er:
It was nice to go to bed late last night with a studly victory over a hated divisional rival, especially the Arizona Cardinals. The team played well, the coaching staff seemed prepared, and the fans were pumped.
Now, back to reality.
Niners' fans have to take this game for what it is: A fluke. The Cardinals are a better team than the Niners right now, but as we know, every game is a new game, and you can only take one game at a time. This was one game. A great game for the Niners, and a stinker for the Cards.
Any victory is sweet, but the reality is that the Cardinals had no business turning the ball over seven times. Our defense is simply not that good, and their offense is simply not that bad. I hope fans do not expect the defense to be a turnover-creating machine from every game on out. This was an exception.
The same goes for Frank Gore, who looked terrific. However, let's not kid ourselves. Gore is a middle of the road running back. He's going to have a few great games, some average games, and some poor games. This was one of those special nights where everything fell into place.
The offensive line opened up huge holes, and dominated the Cardinals DL throughout the game. However, this is not our normal OL. We have struggled all season, and I doubt this one game changes the reality that our line generally stinks.
And, I sincerely doubt that our team suddenly falls back into the "smashmouth" philosophy. Who would we be kidding? We are a passing team that works best when the field is spread out. It just so happened that for one week, we could line up in a regular offensive formation and run at will.
Our CB's contained Fitzgerald and Boldin to less than 70 yards receiving TOTAL, but let's be realistic. Our passing defense was amongst the worst in the NFL going into the game, and I sincerely doubt that we are going to play weekly at a high level. It was just a wierd, wierd game.
And, finally, for those who think the Niners' pass rush has been solved, this would be another mirage. No doubt that we should salute the excellent effort of Justin Smith, Ahmad Brooks, Parys Haralson, and company. But once again, the offensive line performance this week by the Cardinals was a joke. If they played this poorly the week before, they would have surrendered 56 sacks to Jared Allen and the Vikings. They just stunk for a week, and we looked fresh.
So, while celebrating this victory, which was very sweet, the reality is that this game is indicative of the NFL. One week you can stink, and the next you can shine. The week before, the Cards whacked the Vikings and the Niners lose to the crappy Seahawks. This week, the Seahawks were crushed by the Texans 34-7, the Vikings destroyed the Bengals 30-10, and the Niners defeat a good Cardinals team.
So, I raise a toast to the David Baas', Dashon Goldson's, Ahmad Brooks', Dre Bly's, Adam Snyder's of the world this week, fully knowing that these players had terrific games. But, let's be realistic in our expectation of these guys down the road.
It is simply one week in the NFL. One wild and wacky week.
Have always respected you MD, and I do agree with the pass rush being fixed vibe and Baas finally playing well as a little too hasty, but I don't agree with most of your comments.
First, I feel the Cards are completely overrated. Great offense, but as much as their playoff run was amazing, their defense is not what it needs to be. DRC and Wilson are good, but McFadden, Rolle, and the backup corners have shown to be a sore spot on their defense, along with their inconsistent pass rush. Yes, i know this is the same team that beat the vikings and intercepted favre a few times, but I feel that was a fluke game more than us beating them. By your own logic, the Vikings hadn't had a bad loss like that, even to the Steelers it was a close one, and we were a Favre miracle away from beating them as well. At least we showed we could beat the Cards earlier in the year, and beat them worse yesterday late in the season.
As many posters have stated, only bad loss was Atl, and that was b/c of the coaching staff not game-planning well and a 90 yard TD. This is a good team thats only a steady OL and constant pass rush away from being consistent playoff contenders.
Also, we've had a history of shutting down their receivers (though I have to admit, yesterday was REALLY good) and playing well against the Cards in general. Our defense has constantly been very solid. Also, I had this feeling that the Cards try to gameplan us passing a lot more and trying to challenge our run defense, which they failed at both completely.
Our greatest strength is that we're relatively young, we have a strong head coach, and will definitely have consistency at the OC level. I'd love to have a hybrid spread/power run game b/c we CAN do both (if we fix the OL) and have the talent to pull it off. And with our stout D, no one is going to like playing us (especially the Cards)
Let me be clear, I will never call out your fanhood like other posters, b/c i know you're a great fan of the 49ers. As always, thanks for the thorough post....
Oh, almost forgot, how do you feel about our chances of picking up Lutui, mankins, or Neal in the offseason? I would like Mankins, but i think Lutui would be a pretty good 1b option.
