Smashmouth 49ers...I like it. (Bucking the NFL trend has its advantages)

I really hope that we can build on last year: learn from last year and evolve from it. I really believe that we were a few pieces away last yearand really a good KR from being in the playoffs last year with the few key fumbles and predictably bad field position we suffered. With Oline upgraded we SHOULD be able to put the few more points on so many of those games our D put us in a position to win. The only other soft spot would be our low rated DB squad. If they can pull it together and mays can make a name for himself we very well could benifit the most from the draft. WE WILL SEE HOMEOPENER MON NIGHGT AGAINST THE SAINTS!!!!

Originally posted by CornellU49er:

Originally posted by matthewabbit:
If you look at how the saints beat the Tards and Bretts Vices(yes as in Vicodine) You will notice that it was the repeated legal and nonlegal ''remember me hits'' to future HOF qbs that ultimatly led to their not quite decisive victories. On D we have amassed many players with an obvious penchant towards delivering the type of hits that are capable of rendering an offence inoperable. With Goldson , Clements , Willis, Lawson,Mlewis, and my main man Mays lurking and buzzing around people will be looking twice before crossing the street. Dbs are still a big ? on an otherwise stellar D but with the recievers getting smaller and faster.... Hey if the Saints can do it to Qbs why not us with Wr. I am only hoping this works but hey as in baseball ''everyone likes the big hit". Always my favorite part about Lott was waiting for the next BIG ONE. We will be doing alot of "bucking" this year lets judt hope were not blowing (coverages ofcourse) and saying ''bucking'' Brett again at the end of the year..We will see
In terms of the offence we did just get some hugeness but it was at very needed positions but I dont see us as overly big or run biased. We may not have a true change of pace back but Gore ditched the entire hawks D twice in a game so he is fast enough and will stay that way with Dixon taking a few 3rd down 8 man fronts away from him. With Ginn , Davis , Crabb, Morgan we have a Wr set that is both big And fast so at any moment we can take a shot with some real weapons. I dont see us reverting to run run run approach because of the progress balance was making at the end of the year for passing and running stats( the fans liked it too!) plus we are to talented to be one dimensional.

One can only hope you are right. The talent is in place now. As has been mentioned before, failure this year is an indictment of the coaching staff. I am terrified we will throw all of this potential away on another season of unimaginative offensive game plans. There is not a team in the league talented enough to win consistently running a transparent 5 page play book. I am all for being physical and hitting people, but that does not mean you have to be predictable.

Just like the teams of the glory days, that were pegged as finesse teams but were actually extremely physical, I hope we get pegged as a physical team but mix in enough finesse to keep opponents guessing. I think we all can agree that in the end its a matter of degrees, but to win consistently in the NFL it takes both.

One thing I'm getting sick of is people saying that just because you run the ball you have a 5 page playbook. That's all the Panthers did back in 08 and they went 12-4 and could've made the superbowl had Delhomme's arm not suddenly fallen apart. The Giants beat the Pats because the Pats couldn't run for s**t and the GMen DLine pinned their ears back to go get Brady while the Pats had to play both the pass and the run. Just because we solidify our OLine doesn't mean all we're going to do is run the same running play. It means we're going to have more holes for Gore to run AS WELL as protecting our QB better. If you guys actually watch the highlight videos of Crabtree or Davis, even on all their catches you can see Snyder and Baas getting beat nearly every single play and the QB not having very much time. Those are the 2 guys we're replacing.

Great post, very good points. I know that everyone is not in love with Coach Sings philosophy of Power Running and Smash Mouth football, but he along with the FO is doing everthing possilbe to make it work. Now its up to the players to learn and execute......

I for one have great expectations for the Niners this season. IMO they are moving in the right direction and building a team of winners. Go Niners!!!

Excellent read. One thing I believe - any team that gives up 50 sacks a year is going nowhere.

I'm probably late to make this point, but the Saints were balanced. They were in the top 10 in both passing and rushing. Hell they ran the ball more than the 49ers did last year.