SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS VS MINNESOTA VIKINGS GAMEDAY THREAD (Week 3)

Originally posted by qnnhan7:

Originally posted by welvisdogger:
The blocked field goal was a horrible poor decision by Harbaugh. 4th and 1, take the crowd out of the game and burn the clock until halftime. This ended up being a 6 point swing by Minnesota (-3 points for us, resulting +3 for the Vikes). It could have been a +10 for us (-3 for Vikes, +7 for us). I know he is conservative but that would have taken the crowd out of the game, and the crowd affected the 49ers play today.

I disagree. Akers doesn't miss a lot of field goals. If he made that tone it would have a 1 score plus a 2pts conversion game. It's the right call at that point. Blocked field goal. Vikes made the play. No need to second guess that one.

Its the wrong call because of this. If 4th and 1 is converted at the 35 yard line, we burn at least another minute off of the clock. As it turned out, they blocked and kicked a field goal. (+6 Vikings). They didnt have enought time to score a TD unless it was a busted play. Harbaugh had nothing to lose by going 4th and 1 and everything to gain. This is exactly how this ends up if he goes for it and fails, and by trying the field goal, we incentivize Minnesota's entire crowd. That was not a zero sum gain. I have to disagree with you.

Didnt watch the early game, but saw the highlights on NFL.com . . . .. will not watch the game now.

Originally posted by ace49ers:

Didnt watch the early game, but saw the highlights on NFL.com . . . .. will not watch the game now.

Good choice. We played like Singletary was still coaching us.

Looks like Revis might not play against us he hurt his ankle.

Originally posted by SFL49ER:

Originally posted by Born49R:

Originally posted by SFL49ER:
Alex f**king sucks. And this comes from an Alex supporter.

, sorry, he just does.

and Gore fumbled and the defense gave up all those points and the Staley really did suck but you still blame Smith. Priceless, I'm not even a Smith supporter but I do know what I see on the field.

It was definitely a collective effort to turn in this s**t game, but it was terrible ball placement on many drives, with terrible decisions to pass 5 yards downfield when we needed nine. among other things.

where is his deep ball? You tell me where its at.

Even the guys on the Vikings message board were wondering where it was, because they had no confidence in their safeties stopping a deep pass

Thought this was a really good post. Wanted to break it up into paragraphs so everyone could read.


Originally posted by welvisdogger:

So I rewatched the game and I think this game is going to help the 49ers. The Vikings did a bunch of things right, but so did our boys. Our game plan on defense was to stay in our base formation but almost play a bear-like defense to cover the edges. The weakness is if AP ever reached the second level, he would be running in the open field. Our 3-4 was awesome against the run in this game. This is probably the best Aldon Smith has ever set the edge that I have seen. AP never reached the second level and Ike and Justin Smith were so physical in this game. Also, Kyle Williams has good vision and did a great job on returns, and our Special Teams blocked well and were very aware of what happened during the returns and also covering Harvin.

This is where the good ends. The single biggest goat in this game has to be Tarell Brown, followed closely by the coaching staff. I say coaching staff because Harbaugh and Roman collectively were outcoached. Harbaugh was very conservative on his game management. I thought with the exception of Tarell Brown, the defense actually played pretty awesome.

2 things contributed to the score and yards; 1. The Vikings should never have been past the 40 yard line on the last td, and then Rudolph blatantly held Whitner, and 2. (and more importantly), we had zero pass rush this game. Fangio seems to teach the defense not to over pursue the qb, which usually is fine, but every single time pressure was put on Ponder he either a - ran or b - made a bad decision. Even his 3rd down pass in the first quarter was a bad decision. He was ok because it was an outstanding throw and Aromashodu sat down in the hole in the zone. I really thought Fangio was going to blitz him to death in the 2nd half, and I'll bet when he watches this tape he'll wish he had. Also, Ponder played really, really well.

Christian Ponder and Alex Smith are similar qbs in their skill set with the only difference being that Ponder seems to embrace his athleticism. If you watched the game, then you know that Minnesota's O-line pass blocked outstanding. Every time a passing lane shut down, Ponder could step up or traverse and still not be in danger. Alex has a bunch of that as well, but he is always looking downfield. That is a great instinct for a QB to have, but the problem is that most qbs look 10-20 yds downfield and Alex's first read every time when he gets in trouble seems to be the flat.

Alex Smith is a major reason we struggled today, but not because of his fumble and interception. Greg Roman gave him very limited opportunities to make plays today, and then he didn't attempt to make plays. He always took the high percentage play. The three and out after Williams long return was one of the worst instances of squandering a momentum-changing opportunity I have ever seen in a football game, and I'm including high school and college. Minnesota's crowd was a factor and Harbaugh twice had a chance to punch the crowd in the mouth on 4th and 1 and both times he kicked. One of those kicks was blocked. This was a terrible game in terms of pure game management.

Let's talk about Tarell Brown. I don't think anyone realizes how poorly he played today. The scores weren't blatant, so it wasn't commented on, but he made the Tramaine Brock of preseason look like Darrelle Revis. He was consistently out of position on his responsibilities and he was also getting out ran. Our secondary was tired in this game and Brown should have been benched. He single-handedly gave the Vikings multiple third and longs, and Ponder knew it. The play where Carlos Rogers tripped on the press bump was what Brown looked like all day, just 2 steps behind chasing his man.

The refs really affected this game in favor of the Vikings. The two calls on the last Vikings TD were unbelievably bad. But they weren't nearly as bad as Roman's playcalling with 6 minutes left in the game. Crabtree was open in the flats a bunch, and if he drops a pass there, at least the clock stops. Instead he is just feeding it to Gore when the 49ers needed to pick up chunks. Chunks of points and chunks of yards.

I believe this was one of the worst games I've seen Alex play and I have always been a supporter of his. To sum all of this up I believe Harbaugh and Roman have a few decisions to make in game management but only one in personnel. T. Brown needed benched at halftime. My question is only this; If they are going to show this type of lack of faith in Alex Smith when we are behind, why not sit him so he doesn't get hurt? They clearly weren't going to allow him to take his shots down the field. It was almost as if they had conceded at the beginning of the fourth quarter that this game was over.

I truly don't have any other explanation for what can only be an absolutely head-scratching game plan. I also disagree with everyone that is mad we passed the ball at the beginning of the game. Maybe Harbaugh and Roman thought this was as good of an opportunity as they were going to have to get the passing game going while playing a beatable team. The only problem is that maybe they should have adjusted sooner, once they figured out they were in a dog-fight. Anyway, I want to reiterate one more time, our defense played pretty badass in this game and they were victimized by some bad officiating, and also some really poor play by Tarell Brown. Moreover, if Fangio goes after Ponder more in the second half, I think he turns the ball over.

Anyway, I know many of you probably don't care, but I wanted to give an unbiased, unemotional take on this after rewatching. The Minnesota Vikings played great football today, and they deserved to win. I think this is a wake up call. I don't believe in wake up calls being a good thing, but in this case, I hope it is. Anyone reading this, if you rewatch the game, take a look at Tarell Brown and I think you will understand why he is fixing to take up seat numero uno in Jim Harbaugh and Vic Fangio's doghouse this week. I hope Sopoaga is ok. He was so great today.

Originally posted by JerryRice1848:

Originally posted by SFL49ER:

Originally posted by Born49R:

Originally posted by SFL49ER:
Alex f**king sucks. And this comes from an Alex supporter.

, sorry, he just does.

and Gore fumbled and the defense gave up all those points and the Staley really did suck but you still blame Smith. Priceless, I'm not even a Smith supporter but I do know what I see on the field.

It was definitely a collective effort to turn in this s**t game, but it was terrible ball placement on many drives, with terrible decisions to pass 5 yards downfield when we needed nine. among other things.

where is his deep ball? You tell me where its at.

Even the guys on the Vikings message board were wondering where it was, because they had no confidence in their safeties stopping a deep pass

The strong safety carted off of the field was their Donte Whitner, a good run safety. Their coverage was great. I thought Roman would just cram it down their throats after he left, because Jamarca Sanford is a better cover guy. That was a little aspect that contributed more to this game than anyone thinks.

Originally posted by SofaKing:
Thought this was a really good post. Wanted to break it up into paragraphs so everyone could read.


Originally posted by welvisdogger:

So I rewatched the game and I think this game is going to help the 49ers. The Vikings did a bunch of things right, but so did our boys. Our game plan on defense was to stay in our base formation but almost play a bear-like defense to cover the edges. The weakness is if AP ever reached the second level, he would be running in the open field. Our 3-4 was awesome against the run in this game. This is probably the best Aldon Smith has ever set the edge that I have seen. AP never reached the second level and Ike and Justin Smith were so physical in this game. Also, Kyle Williams has good vision and did a great job on returns, and our Special Teams blocked well and were very aware of what happened during the returns and also covering Harvin.

This is where the good ends. The single biggest goat in this game has to be Tarell Brown, followed closely by the coaching staff. I say coaching staff because Harbaugh and Roman collectively were outcoached. Harbaugh was very conservative on his game management. I thought with the exception of Tarell Brown, the defense actually played pretty awesome.

2 things contributed to the score and yards; 1. The Vikings should never have been past the 40 yard line on the last td, and then Rudolph blatantly held Whitner, and 2. (and more importantly), we had zero pass rush this game. Fangio seems to teach the defense not to over pursue the qb, which usually is fine, but every single time pressure was put on Ponder he either a - ran or b - made a bad decision. Even his 3rd down pass in the first quarter was a bad decision. He was ok because it was an outstanding throw and Aromashodu sat down in the hole in the zone. I really thought Fangio was going to blitz him to death in the 2nd half, and I'll bet when he watches this tape he'll wish he had. Also, Ponder played really, really well.

Christian Ponder and Alex Smith are similar qbs in their skill set with the only difference being that Ponder seems to embrace his athleticism. If you watched the game, then you know that Minnesota's O-line pass blocked outstanding. Every time a passing lane shut down, Ponder could step up or traverse and still not be in danger. Alex has a bunch of that as well, but he is always looking downfield. That is a great instinct for a QB to have, but the problem is that most qbs look 10-20 yds downfield and Alex's first read every time when he gets in trouble seems to be the flat.

Alex Smith is a major reason we struggled today, but not because of his fumble and interception. Greg Roman gave him very limited opportunities to make plays today, and then he didn't attempt to make plays. He always took the high percentage play. The three and out after Williams long return was one of the worst instances of squandering a momentum-changing opportunity I have ever seen in a football game, and I'm including high school and college. Minnesota's crowd was a factor and Harbaugh twice had a chance to punch the crowd in the mouth on 4th and 1 and both times he kicked. One of those kicks was blocked. This was a terrible game in terms of pure game management.

Let's talk about Tarell Brown. I don't think anyone realizes how poorly he played today. The scores weren't blatant, so it wasn't commented on, but he made the Tramaine Brock of preseason look like Darrelle Revis. He was consistently out of position on his responsibilities and he was also getting out ran. Our secondary was tired in this game and Brown should have been benched. He single-handedly gave the Vikings multiple third and longs, and Ponder knew it. The play where Carlos Rogers tripped on the press bump was what Brown looked like all day, just 2 steps behind chasing his man.

The refs really affected this game in favor of the Vikings. The two calls on the last Vikings TD were unbelievably bad. But they weren't nearly as bad as Roman's playcalling with 6 minutes left in the game. Crabtree was open in the flats a bunch, and if he drops a pass there, at least the clock stops. Instead he is just feeding it to Gore when the 49ers needed to pick up chunks. Chunks of points and chunks of yards.

I believe this was one of the worst games I've seen Alex play and I have always been a supporter of his. To sum all of this up I believe Harbaugh and Roman have a few decisions to make in game management but only one in personnel. T. Brown needed benched at halftime. My question is only this; If they are going to show this type of lack of faith in Alex Smith when we are behind, why not sit him so he doesn't get hurt? They clearly weren't going to allow him to take his shots down the field. It was almost as if they had conceded at the beginning of the fourth quarter that this game was over.

I truly don't have any other explanation for what can only be an absolutely head-scratching game plan. I also disagree with everyone that is mad we passed the ball at the beginning of the game. Maybe Harbaugh and Roman thought this was as good of an opportunity as they were going to have to get the passing game going while playing a beatable team. The only problem is that maybe they should have adjusted sooner, once they figured out they were in a dog-fight. Anyway, I want to reiterate one more time, our defense played pretty badass in this game and they were victimized by some bad officiating, and also some really poor play by Tarell Brown. Moreover, if Fangio goes after Ponder more in the second half, I think he turns the ball over.

Anyway, I know many of you probably don't care, but I wanted to give an unbiased, unemotional take on this after rewatching. The Minnesota Vikings played great football today, and they deserved to win. I think this is a wake up call. I don't believe in wake up calls being a good thing, but in this case, I hope it is. Anyone reading this, if you rewatch the game, take a look at Tarell Brown and I think you will understand why he is fixing to take up seat numero uno in Jim Harbaugh and Vic Fangio's doghouse this week. I hope Sopoaga is ok. He was so great today.

Many thanks, I'll make sure to edit next time.

That's what I've been telling you guys. This team still doesn't not have a deep threat when we need to get big chunks in the air. Time to start transitioning Jenkins into the starting lineup and release the old and slow Moss.

Originally posted by mayo49:
That's what I've been telling you guys. This team still doesn't not have a deep threat when we need to get big chunks in the air. Time to start transitioning Jenkins into the starting lineup and release the old and slow Moss.

I second this, and I'm almost agreeing with that chump CB of the Lions, Moss is nothing more than a possession receiver anymore.

Texans Falcons look like the two best teams in the NFL right now.

Originally posted by BayArea:

Texans Falcons look like the two best teams in the NFL right now.

Looking like the best team in the league right now don't mean s**t. Look at us.

Originally posted by BayArea:
Texans Falcons look like the two best teams in the NFL right now.

Falcons are the Packers of last year, they're gonna dominate, get that first seed, and get their mandatory loss in the divisional round, lol.

Originally posted by ninerfan4life:

Originally posted by BayArea:

Texans Falcons look like the two best teams in the NFL right now.

Looking like the best team in the league right now don't mean s**t. Look at us.

Truth.

Originally posted by SnakePlissken:

Originally posted by mayo49:
That's what I've been telling you guys. This team still doesn't not have a deep threat when we need to get big chunks in the air. Time to start transitioning Jenkins into the starting lineup and release the old and slow Moss.

I second this, and I'm almost agreeing with that chump CB of the Lions, Moss is nothing more than a possession receiver anymore.

Guys,

Randy Moss is 6'4". Brandon Burton and Jamarca Sanford are 5'10" and Chris Cook is 6'1". When Randy was on the Pats, not every play was a bomb downfield. He was most effective from the 15 yard line in, because of his height. Not a reflection on Alex, but Tom Brady is Tom Brady. Tom Brady is one of the most accurate passers in the NFL and if you watched him in New England, Tom Brady threw the ball high to Randy Moss. That is the formula. Our boys haven't figured that out yet.