Week 10: Thoughts after rewatching the Rams game....

A bit late on this one.

1) Alex Smith running tally: Stats after Eagles game in 2010 (Monday Night "We Want Carr" game). 34 Games, 910 Att, 583 Comp, 6710 Yards, 46 Tds, 13 INTs, 97.09 QB Rating. He currently has a 104.1 rating on the season, 3rd best in the NFL behind only Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers. He's completing 70.0% of his passes. He has twice as many TDs in his last 2 games as incompletions. Can we give the guy a break? Now all I keep hearing on talk radio is about Colin Kaepernick. Look, I like Kaep and all, but lets get real here for a sec. Alex was getting them back into this game before he got hurt. He was 7 of 8 with a TD when he left. Alex was NOT the reason they were losing...that was the defense playing poorly. Kaep may be the future, but Alex is having a GREAT season right now. If you don't see it then you really don't want to.

2) Kaepernick: On the subject of Kaep, I do like what I saw. He was hesitant at first, he made some mistakes, and he needs alot more work, but that game made me confident for the future. I'm not entirely convinced Alex isn't around for the long haul, but if he's not then Kaep will be a very attractive option.

3) Run D: I'm seeing a trend. The Niners are having issues with stong, violent backs. We've seen it with Adrian Peterson, Ahmad Bradshaw (not big, but violent), Marshawn Lynch, and now Steven Jackson. I hate to put it this way, but it's almost like those guys soften them up. Perhaps there is an issue with being undersized? I don't think so, but it makes me wonder. Also, this isn't a huge issue, they just aren't dominating in this category as they have in the past with the same players.

4) Aldon: Great game, but something the announcer said bugged me at first...until I realized he might be right. He was saying that 80% of Aldons sacks came on that Justin-Aldon stunt they run. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was true. He got both of them in this game in that same play and one of them against Arizona. It's not really a concern so much...I'm just curious what happens when Justin's not around anymore. Hrmmm.

5) Akers: Grrr. Enough said.

6) Crabtree: I can't say this enough. I think Crab is FINALLY becoming the player we all hoped he would be. He's getting open. He's breaking tackles. He's making moves in space. Very happy with him this year. I also liked his standing there talking with Alex and Harbaugh when Alex was experiencing blurry vision. Thats not me first attitude.

7) Gore: DAMN. I don't think I've ever seem him so determined to not get tackled. He absolutely refused to go down on several occasions. Love it.

8) Defense in general: Very dissappointing game. Gave up TDs on two long possessions to start the game. Gave up another when it really mattered. Yeah, the fake punt helped the Rams, but the Niners KNEW they needed a TD and they simply couldn't stop them when it really counted. That concerns me. The lack of pressure is a concern as well. Yes, teams are getting the ball out quickly and the Niners aren't giving up huge plays, but some teams have been able to nickel and dime them to death.

9) Special Teams: That fake punt was a killer. I dunno how you defend that. Without that play the Niners win. We have one of the best ST Coordinators in the NFL so it seems odd to see them get caught twice. Something is up there. The Rams clearly saw something on tape to exploit.

10) A freakin' Tie: I almost wish they had lost. Almost. It just makes things more difficult when the playoffs role around. With the exception of Seattle, every team the Niners could have wanted to lose lost yesterday. With a win they could have put themselves in the drivers seat for the #2 seed. The D playing poorly, Alex getting hurt and David Akers missing that kick cost them that opportunity. After loses we all like to hope it was a learning experience. I think we have already had a few too many of those this season. The good news is that all those teams losing means that the Niners didn't LOSE any ground to anyone but Seattle. Anyway...Heres
hoping for a better performance on Monday Night.

Good analysis. I don't know if I was just imagining things, but I saw Moss out there more when Kaep was out there. I wonder if they did that specifically because Kaep has a bigger arm than Alex. I remember Kaep looking deep on a couple of plays and not seeing anything open, I wonder if he was trying to find Moss?

(This was a post about Moss, please don't take this as a Alex/Kaep response)

Originally posted by FourNine49:
Good analysis. I don't know if I was just imagining things, but I saw Moss out there more when Kaep was out there. I wonder if they did that specifically because Kaep has a bigger arm than Alex. I remember Kaep looking deep on a couple of plays and not seeing anything open, I wonder if he was trying to find Moss?

(This was a post about Moss, please don't take this as a Alex/Kaep response)

Might havealso had to do with being down and needing points.

Marv, I always look forward to your reviews. Always even handed and to the point. Good job as always.

I think you can blame a lot of the defenses issues on Fangio. He needs to rotate our DL far more often. He also needs to not be afraid to put 8 in the box against teams that can run the ball in situations other than obvious obvious running situations. We are asking too much of our guys in the middle. Not uncommon to see six guys in the box on what could be a running down for us. Nothing major needs to be done IMO. Just minor.

I agree with you about Alex as well. Niners fans are tough to please (I remember when people were screaming for Montana's head - like, wtf?).

a point deducted for not being longer... because I really like reading these each week.

Originally posted by Mr.Mcgibblets:



a point deducted for not being longer... because I really like reading these each week.

lol.

Originally posted by Evilgenius:
I think you can blame a lot of the defenses issues on Fangio. He needs to rotate our DL far more often. He also needs to not be afraid to put 8 in the box against teams that can run the ball in situations other than obvious obvious running situations. We are asking too much of our guys in the middle. Not uncommon to see six guys in the box on what could be a running down for us. Nothing major needs to be done IMO. Just minor.

I agree with you about Alex as well. Niners fans are tough to please (I remember when people were screaming for Montana's head - like, wtf?).

yeah, I've mentioned that in previous posts, but not teams are starting to think that the way to beat them is to run the ball right up the gut. Alot of teams don't have the players to do it, but those that do are finding some measure of success.

Akers , the special teams in general and our D is starting to concern me.

I don't remember ever looking flat or overly matched in a single game last season.

This years team is very Jekyll and Hyde like. wish we could just play with some consistency.

I'm disgusted with our defense, our special teams, and Aldon thing is right. But it's not just him this year everyone is getting less pressure on our defense when they're one on one. Even last year aldon was manhandling some tackles out there. He has the ability. Last year I saw him run through or around many men to get to the QB.

Originally posted by Born49R:

Marv, I always look forward to your reviews. Always even handed and to the point. Good job as always.

Agree. Good job as usual. It was just draining too end that game in a tie. Ready for next Monday already.

Great post as usual! Thanks...agree with all of it and hope they can find the fix for the run D. Earlier in the year Willis was shooting through and making tackles, now he seems to be a bit slow or overwhelmed. Some have suggested he is hurting and that might account for it.

we're still in the drivers seat for the #2 seed since the bears lost last night, and of course we play them next Monday for control of the second seed.

Great thoughts as always.

As far as playoff positioning - win next week and they are in control of the #2 seeding. Lose and they probably won't make it without Chicago/New York/Green Bay struggling down the stretch. A tie is a MUCH better situation for playoff positioning going into the Bears game than a loss, that's for sure.

damn board glitches