The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, an '09 Recap. (pt. 1)

One thing we definitely cannot complain about as we (again) watch the playoffs from afar is the amount of content we have to write about in the offseason (and I'm making this point literally by doing a 3-part post). At 8-8 there is inherently a weighty amount of positives and an equal amount of negatives that constitute the make up of this team. Here’s what I saw falling on either side of that equation and a little insight on what matters most.

The Good:
• We learned that Alex Smith doesn’t have to win ugly. Prior to this year, the ceiling looked pretty low for this guy. Even after the 2006 season when it looked like he made considerable progress he never looked as good as he did at times this year. I, for the first time, though that this was the guy that warranted the #1 pick and he clearly showed why his pedigree was so much better than that of his training camp competitor, Shaun Hill. There’s a lot of ways to look at his but no one can deny that he took a significant step forward in 2009.

• Say what you want about the guy, but Nolan put the foundation in place for what could be a pretty scary defense, especially within the front 7. Pat Willis is like winning the lottery so I won’t linger on him for too long, but the foresight of nabbing a FA like Justin Smith, bringing Franklin along, and sticking with Sopoaga has given us one of the top run-defenses in the league. On a more subjective note, you can see these guys winning the line of scrimmage and basically out-physical-ing their opponents in the run-game. One can say they still lack a truly dominant pass-rusher, and one would be right, but the team did end up with a hefty number of sacks as a team and there’s something to be said about not knowing who to block first.

• One of my friends was watching the second Arizona game and is no fan of the Niners. At first he sent me a message about Smith being a suckbag, but then he followed it immediately with “Frank Gore is nasty though” and I couldn’t think of a better way to describe what he does on the field. Frank has still got a prime year or two ahead of him and there is just no arguing that he’s a very, very good all around football player. With how he runs, catches, and blocks, all with a great deal of pride, I think he’s one of the most underrated players in the game.

• Finally, there’s playmaking pass catchers on this team again. Davis clearly stepped up and he still has a lot of room to improve his game. Just this year he finally harnessed the physical gifts he’s got and I think a lot of credit has to go to Jimmy Raye for developing a scheme to use a phenomenal tight end (a la Tony Gonzalez) to his best potential. Then I look at Crabtree and I’m just as excited to see what he can truly do on a playing field. I was not short on criticism for the kid the first 5 weeks of the year, but I have to hand it to him. As soon as he stepped on the field (as a starter no less) he looked like a young superstar. I’m not just talking about production either. This kid carries himself like he knows something we all don’t and we haven’t even seen the tip of the iceberg.

• Singletary never let them quit. That’s the biggest difference I’ve seen between the teams of Nolan’s era and what I’ve seen out of them since. Even when things are not going their way, they keep fighting as though their lives depend on it. This was more evident against teams that were clearly better than them, because they clearly were playing down to the level of their competition on some days, but nevertheless, they played with a lot of pride and that’s been missing for quite some time.

Link: Part 2 "The Bad"
Link: Part 3 "The Ugly"

My apologies if this type of post is breaking etiquette, but when I originally wrote it out is was way to long. As it is, these parts are a bit lengthy in their own right. However, I thought all this was good fodder for conversation and a hell of a way to kill an hour or so instead of working. So here's the second part of a three part summary of the 2009 49ers.


The Bad:
• Singletary was a rookie coach and is still largely inexperienced. Analogous to a machine, if all the screws and bolts aren’t tightened just right, you’ve got problems. That’s how I saw the team and it’s overall function this year. Several times a game there would be mental breakdowns on the part of the team and/or the coaching staff that would have immediate consequences in the game. That starts from the HC on down and perhaps at times, Mike’s passion gets ahead of his poise. That will have to change quickly for the team to make progress.

• Although a talented group of athletes, the secondary simply gave up too many plays. The pass defense as a whole really wasn’t getting it done when they needed to and this led to a lot of long and sustained drives that could have been cut short with relative ease. I saw good things out of Shawnte Spencer and rarely saw him on the wrong end of a big play, but everyone else made some major slip ups at some point or another that cost the team points. Goldson helped even the balance sheet some as he really did prove he’s got a knack for somehow getting his hands on the ball, but he’s still not one of those safeties that offenses are afraid to go after.

• Sometimes, Alex Smith does have to win ugly and it makes no sense. This guy can be so Jekell and Hyde at times it’s absolutely mystifying as to what’s going on upstairs with him. He definitely still looks tentative and downright scared at times in big games and especially in big moments in big games. Plus, if I have to watch this guy roll out of the pocket and throw the ball 10 yards out of bounds again I’m going to stab a rusty fork in my left eye. If he were able to make something happen in those cases even 20% of the time, it would be a huge improvement.

• We have to get used to the fact that Gore probably will not play a full season without getting hurt again in his career. Realistically, he shouldn’t have to and a solid #2 can take a significant amount of carries over the course of a game to take some of the load off his shoulders. I thought Coffee played OK in Gore’s absence and he certainly had some tough opponents, but nobody was really scared of his speed or ability and if he doesn’t step up or the team doesn’t find a good backup, it will definitely become a problem.

• This team has a tendency to sleep walk through the first half and thus must play catch up for the last 30 minutes. I was happy with their ability to make halftime adjustments, but the initial preparation needs to be better so they don’t have to work so hard down the stretch. This was very evident the last two weeks of the year against inferior opponents and even more so against Houston, Green Bay, and Philly. All games where they made a good push at the end, but ended up just short.

Link: Part 1 "The Good"
Link: Part 3 "The Ugly"

Good Post!

I think that the defense will look even better with the Offense being able to build some continuity and have far less 3 & outs next season. The O-line will also look a little better with Alex working the spread offense.

Remember, the Cards had talent for years and it took a couple of years to get them going. The 49ers are very young at key positions and should just get better with hard work and more time.

Ok, here's the last of it. Again, if this is breaking protocol, my apologies. This was the worst of the worst from the past season according to one man's opinion.


The Ugly:
• No big mystery here, but the 49ers missed the playoffs because of their offensive line play. Pass protection was better than the run blocking (statistically speaking anyway) but I don’t consider any part of their game to be a strong point. This offense is still trying to find their concrete identity because of the underperformance of this unit early on and I expect some sweeping changes in the offseason. Snyder simply isn’t a starter at tackle, a capable backup yes, but a liability when called on long term. They also need someone to bring some nastiness in the middle of the line. It’s not enough to just be big and strong (everyone in the NFL is) you’ve got to want to damage your opponent, embarrass him, and frankly the Niner’s offensive line looks like a bunch of sweethearts.

• I’m sure I can get a lot of support when I say that it was absolutely maddening and sickening to watch the special teams return units at times during this year, and they likely cost the team at least one win. A great return man can do so much for a team in terms of field position and occasionally putting free points on the board, the Bears practically rode one to a Super Bowl a few years ago. But when you don’t even have a guy you can trust to hang onto the ball, its enough to give the fans collective ulcers. This was one of the worst years in recent memory.

• Losing to that overhyped hick Favre on the last play was perhaps the worst moment for me in my sports career. I say that because I was there, in the dome, in my Steve Young jersey and I’ve hated that rat-b*****d for most of my adult life. The best way I can describe it is like watching your dog get hit by semi and having 60,000 people cheering at the top of their lungs and taunting you in your face. To make matters worse, my friend got too drunk to stand and left at half time so I was on my own (and more than a little drunk myself). Needless to say, it was a long, and ugly, walk home. (I live in Minneapolis, my own private hell)

Link: Part 1 "The Good"
Link: Part 2 "The Bad"

Do you think maybe you could post this say another dozen or so times. I mean I must be important, since I've seen this about 3 or 4 times.

My fault, I see you are doing it epic style with parts 1, 2 and 3.

Of course I only read the first one, since I have sequels.

I said I wouldn't read the epic, but the game planning in the 1st part of the game seems to be like "watching paint dry". In the last game, I thought we were going to set a record for special teams penalties. The highlight of the first half truly was the PeeWee football game at half time.

In fact, I think in the 2nd half the refs just picked flags up because they were getting tired of throwing them.

Penalities are a problem for our entire team, and usually are the result of poor game planning and coaching. I could understand the Rams being penalized, but we just get to many of them.

Do you mean "hate" sequels? Do what you gotta do son, I just had to let the words flow freely.

Originally posted by nvninerfan1:
I said I wouldn't read the epic, but the game planning in the 1st part of the game seems to be like "watching paint dry". In the last game, I thought we were going to set a record for special teams penalties. The highlight of the first half truly was the PeeWee football game at half time.

In fact, I think in the 2nd half the refs just picked flags up because they were getting tired of throwing them.

Penalities are a problem for our entire team, and usually are the result of poor game planning and coaching. I could understand the Rams being penalized, but we just get to many of them.

Couldn't agree more. Classic signs of an undisciplined football team and the oversights of a coaching staff. Hope they can tighten it down next year.

Originally posted by jesserdumas2:
Ok, here's the last of it. Again, if this is breaking protocol, my apologies. This was the worst of the worst from the past season according to one man's opinion.


The Ugly:
• No big mystery here, but the 49ers missed the playoffs because of their offensive line play. Pass protection was better than the run blocking (statistically speaking anyway) but I don’t consider any part of their game to be a strong point. This offense is still trying to find their concrete identity because of the underperformance of this unit early on and I expect some sweeping changes in the offseason. Snyder simply isn’t a starter at tackle, a capable backup yes, but a liability when called on long term. They also need someone to bring some nastiness in the middle of the line. It’s not enough to just be big and strong (everyone in the NFL is) you’ve got to want to damage your opponent, embarrass him, and frankly the Niner’s offensive line looks like a bunch of sweethearts.

• I’m sure I can get a lot of support when I say that it was absolutely maddening and sickening to watch the special teams return units at times during this year, and they likely cost the team at least one win. A great return man can do so much for a team in terms of field position and occasionally putting free points on the board, the Bears practically rode one to a Super Bowl a few years ago. But when you don’t even have a guy you can trust to hang onto the ball, its enough to give the fans collective ulcers. This was one of the worst years in recent memory.

• Losing to that overhyped hick Favre on the last play was perhaps the worst moment for me in my sports career. I say that because I was there, in the dome, in my Steve Young jersey and I’ve hated that rat-b*****d for most of my adult life. The best way I can describe it is like watching your dog get hit by semi and having 60,000 people cheering at the top of their lungs and taunting you in your face. To make matters worse, my friend got too drunk to stand and left at half time so I was on my own (and more than a little drunk myself). Needless to say, it was a long, and ugly, walk home. (I live in Minneapolis, my own private hell)

Link: Part 1 "The Good"
Link: Part 2 "The Bad"

LMAO