Week 2: Thoughts after rewatching the game... | Page 2

Marvin49 · 2012-09-17T08:50:07-07:00

1) Alex Smith running tally: Since 2010 Eagles game (Including Playoffs) - 27 Games, 761 Att, 460 Comp, 5526 Yards, 37 Tds, 8 INTs, 94.54 QB Rating. Just sayin'. I would like to see him throw the ball away a bit more instead of taking those 10-15 yard sacks after he runs backwards to avoid the rush. That really killed a few of those drives. 2) Drops: Driving me crazy. That game last night could have been blown wide open if not for several drops. Delanie Walker...I luv ya man, but CATCH THE DAMN BALL. 3) Aldon Smith: Not so much a criticism as just as a concern. He was a monster against the run last night. Very nice to see that he can play well in that role. What concerns me is that he doesn't seem to have the same explosion as I saw last year. It is very possible tho that it's because he's playing on every down, has more run responsibility, and they are running alot of 3 man rushes. Just something I'll be keeping my eyes on. 4) Crabtree: Starting to look like the guy we thought we were getting when he was drafted. Seems quicker, stronger, and more confident in his ole than I've ever seen him. On a side note, that catch and run in the final drive for a first down? The one where they were praising the Frank Gore Block? That was a DESIGNED block. If you watch Gore he never even looks back at the QB. He wheels out of the backfirld and targets the LB. He is on the verge of making the block BEFORE Crabtree makes the catch. INCREDIBLE. I LOVE the play design. 5) Run Game: Wow. Diverse. Innovative. Dominating. I'm running out of adjectives. 6) Staley/O-Line: Very nice bounce-back. They had a vew breakdowns in Pass Protection, but lets be real for a second...that D-Line is pretty damn good. I think Only the Giants are better. I had concerns about Boone when the season started but no more. Very good player at that position. 7) Vernon: Just more Vernon being Vernon. IMO the best TE in the league right now. Graham is a monster and IMO Gronk is overrated, but I'd take Vernon right now over both. 8) Culliver: Culliver is turning into a hell of a corner. That PI was total BS. When teams go 3 or 4 wide, they aren't finding a guy to pick on. The DBs in general are VERY deep (the Raiders would start Trumaine Brock as their #1 right now, and he's number FIVE on the Niners). I remember Mayock not liking the pick when Culliver was taken, but that guy has a bright future. He is playing VERY well. 9) Third Downs and RedZone: MUCH improved this year. The presence of Randy Moss makes them much better. Teams are going to get wise to that eventually tho and not give him so much space and not double or triple him in the endzone. Then we'll have to see how he plays when he is one-on-one. 10) What a difference: How quickly things changed. The Niners are 2-0, beat 2 playoff teams fairly easily, and when the game ended yesterday all I could really think about was how much better they COULD have played. Seven dropped passes. BS PI call. Fumbled kickoff. A few years ago I'd have been on cloud 9 after that game. I think we may have crossed over into being one of those teams that simply EXPECTS to win. Not a team thats confident it CAN win, but a team that EXPECTS to win and isn't satisfied with just winning. They see what they can improve on even when they dominate. Great time to be a Niner fan right now.

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:18 AM

#16

Karma
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Posts: 1,190

Marvin, as always, I love the analysis. Of course, it is much easier to love it after a victory!

I am probably restating some of your points, but I wanted to add my two cents:

1. I think you hit the nail on the head when you say that it was a big win BECAUSE they didn't play consistently on offense. Those drops were frustrating to watch, but they are not a bad sign for the rest of the season. Drops suck, but they also mean that good plays were called, blocking held up, and we were in a position to capitalize. That means that we are doing the hard part right! Gone are the days when the play calling seemed like the opposing D-Coordinator was sending them in; 7 drops is a huge number. I expect that to "drop" as the season progresses.

2. What really stood out to me was the fact that we ran the ball right through their strength. I expected the team to run a lot of pitches and tosses to try to take advantage of a suspect LB corps, but we ran the ball through Suh and the rest of that talent DT group. And we made it look easy!

3. I really feel like the play calling is a season long set up. Not to say we are holding back, but we are taking what the defense gives us. Teams are going to start edging closer and closer to the line of scrimmage and playing more press coverage because they see the success we are having with our short and intermediate passing game. Roman is going to recognize that and start popping it over the top more. The Lions were playing cover two with their safeties 15-20 yards off the ball to keep Vernon and Moss in front of them. That opened the middle up for Gore and Crabtree. It is really a matter of pick your poison right now!

4. Aldon looked spectacular in run support. He disengaged and moved his blockers very well. The depth at the OLB position still scares me, but we really haven't seen these guys at their best yet. We have been forced to play nickel and dime so much that Aldon has been a DE. Once we play teams that allow us to have our base out there it will be ridiculous! There isn't an Offensive Line that could handle Sopoaga, J. Smith, Ray Mcdonald, Aldon Smith, and Brooks blitzing. Teams that try to run will be crushed and teams that try to play action out of a bigger line up will see the pocket blown up. Sick stuff coming...

5. I guess the point of all of that is that this team is just STARTING to develop. The possibilities are truly scary.

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:20 AM

#17

Sinsation
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look forward to your posts every week Marvin. on your last point...someone made a comment similar...and i'm paraphrasing but...
the 49ers are teetering on the edge of winning against quality opponents and completely blowing them out.

as impressive as these two wins have been, this team still has plenty of room for improvement. Can't wait for that show!

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:21 AM

#18

father49er
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Posts: 7,386

I think Manningham, Miller, and Walker need more catch drills. Manningham alligator armed a pass over the middle. Miller dropped 2, and Walker dropped at least 1.

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:22 AM

#19

Marvin49
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Posts: 16,506

Originally posted by Nuns:
Great review, albeit you're being tough on Aldon. He had 2 sacks last night (they didn't yet credit him for the review sack) and 3 on the year.

Not being tough on him. Both sacks were on plays that he didn't penetrate and was "taking out the trash".

Don't get me wrong. I'm not being critical...I'm just not seeing the explosion. He is also playing much more on run downs tho so there are alot of times that he hesitates before he rushes to make sure he doesn't have run responsibility.

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:25 AM

#20

Gore_21
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Posts: 12,685

Originally posted by Marvin49:
Not being tough on him. Both sacks were on plays that he didn't penetrate and was "taking out the trash".

Don't get me wrong. I'm not being critical...I'm just not seeing the explosion. He is also playing much more on run downs tho so there are alot of times that he hesitates before he rushes to make sure he doesn't have run responsibility.

A lot of it could have to do with being tired and not being in good enough shape to play every down. Remember guys this was his 1st full game. He wasn't in a chunk of the Packers games and he didn't play in the pre-season. He isn't use to it yet. I'm just hoping for some blowouts down the road so we can rest Justin, Ray, Ahmad/Aldon...get Dobbs, Tukuafu, Haggins some work. Hope these guys are fresh at the end of the season.

[ Edited by Gore_21 on Sep 17, 2012 at 9:26 AM ]

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:26 AM

#21

bleeds9ersredandgold
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Posts: 1,192

Originally posted by Kronos2560:
Alex Smith is the toughest Quarterback in the league.

This. That play when you could see the blood running down his nose, got me sooo pumped

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:26 AM

#22

ninerdaddy
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Posts: 1,353

great analysis as always.

second week in a row, where Alex takes the snap back two steps, stands tall, and just waits for Crabtree to get open. I like this new play, have you noticed this one?

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:26 AM

#23

Sinsation
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Posts: 803

Originally posted by Marvin49:
Not being tough on him. Both sacks were on plays that he didn't penetrate and was "taking out the trash".

Don't get me wrong. I'm not being critical...I'm just not seeing the explosion. He is also playing much more on run downs tho so there are alot of times that he hesitates before he rushes to make sure he doesn't have run responsibility.

i think that was by design. Stafford didnt take a lot of deep drops. he was trying to get the ball out quick. Plus they were keeping us honest with the run. We didn't have that "pin the ears back" rushing mentality cuz the game didn't dictate it.

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:28 AM

#24

LasVegasWally
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Posts: 24,864

Fine post marvin.

Gore also dropped a pass that he could have turned into a big gainer.

Agree w/most of everything else.

The drops are frustrating, knowing we could have won by 3 TD's.

Excellent game planning by our coaches.

Here's the great and scary part - it's only the 2nd game of the season and we aren't even close to tapping our potential. Jacobs and Ginn will add more dimensions
to the game planning.

I never realized how fast Manningham is.

Kyle Williams seems to be playing well and Boone is really making a difference.

Seeing Crabs doing so well absolutely made my night.

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:28 AM

#25

Mr.Mcgibblets
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would also like to add that while I loathe the hands of Walker lately? He is making some big run blocks in this first half.. no question about that

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:30 AM

#26

Gore_21
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Originally posted by AmpLee:
Those are the big ones. I think Collinsworth did a horrible job commenting on what were easily missed calls (the forearm to Alex after his slide was obvious and should have been talked about). Kyle Williams was hit over the middle a moment before the ball arrived. It was bang bang, but replay clearly showed the LB arrive before the ball (no biggie except I think it was third down and Collinsworth again sided with Detroit). The one that really pissed me off was Anthony Davis being dragged down forward after the whistle by Cliff Avril with two hands on the back of Davis' helmet. Collinsworth was calling Davis out for piledriving Avril after the play when it was clear Avril was the one playing dirty.

I would have to go back and re-watch but odds are he was being pulled down. I doubt Anthony decided to pile drive him after a play.

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:33 AM

#27

NCommand
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Posts: 123,365

Originally posted by oldman9er:
would also like to add that while I loathe the hands of Walker lately? He is making some big run blocks in this first half.. no question about that

You beat me to it...literally. Very versatile and excellent blocker. If he ever gets his hands back, he could be deadly and a secret weapon!

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:33 AM

#28

Gore_21
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Posts: 12,685

Originally posted by Sinsation:
i think that was by design. Stafford didnt take a lot of deep drops. he was trying to get the ball out quick. Plus they were keeping us honest with the run. We didn't have that "pin the ears back" rushing mentality cuz the game didn't dictate it.

Good point

Originally posted by ninerdaddy:
great analysis as always.

second week in a row, where Alex takes the snap back two steps, stands tall, and just waits for Crabtree to get open. I like this new play, have you noticed this one?

Yep, I really hope we start utilizing the quick slants more. He's not far off from busting one of those for a TD. Manningham could probably do the same.

[ Edited by Gore_21 on Sep 17, 2012 at 9:33 AM ]

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:35 AM

#29

Gore_21
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Posts: 12,685

Originally posted by AmpLee:
He was by the back of his helmet. Please confirm if someone has the game DVR'd

Yeah, oh and didn't walker get kicked or pushed after he was kind of sitting up on the sidelines? The ref was right there and didn't call it. I believe that same play one of the lions was trying to pull someones helmet off as well.

[ Edited by Gore_21 on Sep 17, 2012 at 9:35 AM ]

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:35 AM

#30

susweel
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Posts: 122,081

Yes young Alex played a fine game yesterday it would have been better had some of those dudes could catch the damn ball. The only knock on him was taking some big sacks and not pushing the ball downfield against a weak secondary. But not a bad a game for a game manager.