Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
Is the Baltimore game a warning from a top tier team or was it a "scheduled loss?" Short week, travel several time zones and play at Baltimore where losing is not an unexpected result. When we lost 1 game to Dallas in overtime I thought we were for real. But this game gives me pause. And here is why looking at the schedule and circumstances.
It's been argued by WZers and media types that we did play somebody. But did we? Wins vs. the Bengals, Eagles, Lions, Bucs and Giants were often pointed to as "good teams" we beat. Are they?
~ Eagles 4 - 7.
~ Bucs 4 - 7.
~ Lions - started 5 - 0 and have been dropping games ever since. Really imploded around the time we played them and after. Ok we can claim this one if we want. They were good when we played them. But they haven't been good lately. So how good are they?
~ Giants - Yup we beat them. But we resorted to onside kick trickery at home and could barely get them off the field after several 4th downs. IMO they are perfectly capable of beating us in a rematch.
~ Bengals - good record but a ROOKIE QB. Albeit a good one.
The Seahawks and Cardinals are a joke. And the Seahawks gave us a good game remember if not for 2 Ted Ginn returns that bailed us out. The Browns and Redskins are simply not good teams.
So look at who beat us.
~ Cowboys - a good team. Beat us passing all over the field. Looked like an unstoppable offense vs. us.
~ Ravens - a great TOP TIER team IMO. Completely abused us. Manhandled us all over the field. If we spent any more time on offense they would have had 15 - 20 sacks. Utter domination at the line of scrimmage. Far worse than the score IMO. A game that gives even the most rabid homer some pause and concern.
If I had to do a power ranking right now I would put it like this.
1) Packers - Would abuse us badly.
2) Saints - If we get behind no way to catch up. And we would get behind vs. them.
3) Patriots - Far superior IMO.
4) Ravens - Any worse abuse than this and you file assault charges...
5) Steelers - Vastly underrated by the WZ and media. This team is for real.
6) 49ers. Just my opinion.
I think the Texans and Bears have too many injury concerns at QB to be considered serious contenders. I'd put the Cowboys and Giants about even with us. Almost right on par. The Cowboys beat us. And we barely beat the Giants with onside kicks and all. IMO they are capable of beating us. I think Atlanta is about on par with us. They are definitely capable of beating us on a given sunday.
So maybe:
7) Dallas
8) New York Giants
9) Atlanta
I don't think those teams are far behind us. Capable of beating us too. One of them did.
I think we played one super elite top tier team and they abused us all over the field. It was far worse than the score in the physical matchup. I'm glad we are better. But I don't think we are as top tier as we think. Our offense is not capable of coming from behind. And if we get down in the playoffs I don't see much come from behind capability to keep the season alive. I'm glad we are better than we used to be. But we may not be ready yet for the big time. I agree with the argument that the Ravens and Steelers are the true test. Even if we split those, win out and go 14 - 2 I would start to believe again. If we lose that, get abused, win in NFC West matchups and go 13 - 3 I'm not sure how good we are?...
yeah but this coming from a Chargers fan doesnt mean much.
You cant just list out everyone we beat and say "look at their record right now". what matters is how they were playing when we played them. when we played the Eagles, they had a healthy Mike Vick. when we played the Bucs, they were 3-1. when we played the Lions, they were 5-0 and on fire. When we played the Giants, they were one of the hottest teams in the NFL, and had just gone INTO NE and beat them.and Cincy is a good team. they have a top 10 D, and are competing in the NFL's toughest division.
Your constant negativity is ridiculous. where was this thread before the Baltimore game? you wouldnt make a "49ers are down to 6th overall" thread if we were still on our 8 game winning streak. way to wait until we lose to post this.
the Saints lost to the Rams. stop anointing them as a team who "we would get behind against". we almost beat them last year as a crappy, poorly coached team. the Patriots are FAR superior? theyre D blows. nobody is FAR superior to the Niners this year. Stop acting like the Ravens blew us out. we lost by 10 pts that were all scored towards the end when we ran out of gas. our OL had a bad day, and the Ravens were on their game. the odds were stacked against us from the start anyways. throw the BAL game out the window, because were not going to have to play a cross country game on 3 days rest again. and the Steelers just barely beat the Chiefs. im not exactly quaking in my boots about playing them. Candlestick on MNF, i like our chances.
Our offense cant come from behind? you must not have seen the Philly game. or the Giants game. or the Lions game. our D wears teams down as the game goes along, so despite the fact that we dont have an offense like the Saints, we have very good chances of coming back from a deficit because of the D's ability to tire a team out in the 2nd half.
Have you even been watching this year? week 1 we played SEA at home. easy game, we won. week 2 we played DAL. we shouldve won that one, and still went to OT. if not for a blown coverage, we may have won even still. week 3 we flew out to Cincy for a physical battle against a team that turned out to be a contender rather than a pretender. week 4 we stay on the road and go into Philly, go down by 20, and lead a comeback for a win. week 5 we came back home to face a Bucs team that had been playing well, and we CRUSHED them by 45 pts. week 6 we flew back out to the east coast to face a Lions team that was on FIRE. crowd noise and all, we went ahead with a clutch final drive to win. week 8 we came back home and dominated a bad Browns team. week 9 we flew back out east to face the crappy skins, and held a 16 pt lead for most the entire game before garbage time pts. week 10 we came home to face a red hot Giants team that had just ended the Patriots home winning streak. we went down in the 2nd half, but lead a comeback and then the D held strong to win it. week 11 we faced a bad Cards team, and we whipped them. week 12, just 4 days later, we flew across the country into hostile territory to face the NFL's strongest D. we kept up blow for blow until the 4th, and in the end we couldnt overcome the disadvantage and lost. had the refs not made ticky-tack calls on the Ginn TD and the Brown INT, the momentum of the game might have taken it in a much different direction.
All in all, I count 4 easy wins, and 5 hard fought wins. 4-1 on the east coast, and weve allowed the fewest points in the NFL. we force the most turnovers, and give up the least. the fact that you think this team is a cupcake pretender leads me to believe that you havent been watching this season, and are undoubtedly a closet Chargers fan. you truly wouldve been the one guy who said the team wasnt as good as people think in the 1984 season.
[ Edited by Niners99 on Nov 30, 2011 at 3:24 AM ]
New rule: People should actually think before they speak.
like some here who needs the Cowgirls or the NFC west. I don't think I said we were the 2nd best team in the NFL. If I implyed that I apologize. But I will say that we are, at worst, the 2nd best team in the NFC. Its laughable to think we don't have quaility wins. Its laughable to think we would loose to Cleveland, and with a 3rd string RB no less. Its laughable to think we would loose to the Jets. And did you mention the BCS (the Bull crap system)!?
WOW, man, I'm embarrassed for you! Thank God NFL fans aren't subjected to such an obviously discredited system that takes into account too many Mickey Mouse what-if's and shadow intangibles (e.g strength of schedule). Thank God the most important metric in the NFL is good ol' wins and loses. Yes, we could beat teams like NO and GB. Of all the NFC teams we are built best to do so. I can give a rats ass that they won the SB. They haven't won it THIS year! They have to proove to me that they can beat us THIS year. Given our scheme, match-ups, and coaching THIS year we have more than a good chance against them. I don't care what those teams have done last year and the year before that. Now I won't get into a pissing contest about who knows football the most. Suffice it to say that knowing football IS my business. Its how I pay my bill and feed my family. I grew up in this game and have been a student of the game my whole adult life. So I know a good team when I see one, thank you very much. So looking at THIS years 49ers team, at this juncture, I see no reason why we couldn't/shouldn't win out or beat the aforementioned teams.
