Week 15: Thoughts after rewatching the game....

Originally posted by 4evrfan:
My comment after watching us beat a very good New England team? Why in the hell do the freakin' Rams give us so much trouble!!?? Got some extra gray hairs last night, but very happy we pulled it off!

They know us. Divisional games are tough. Just look at how New England struggled against the Jets and Dolphins.

SO SO SO SO Proud of the 49ers for giving a gritty get after the Pats offense approach ! Why did they let up late in the 3rd Q with that zone crap and let Brady get rythm. Anyway I'm very very very happy with the WIN!! Great Job TEAM

Originally posted by TheChozen:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:

Originally posted by TheChozen:
If we can figure out how to get Vernon more involved while still keeping Crabtree's catches up too, our offense might become dangerous.

Vernon has regressed to his wrong route running and T Rex arm having...

I thought it was the offense but watching him play last night only confirmed it

Vernon could've had 2 TDs easy last night. He was open on the TD to Walker. I think he'll come around. I have no idea about the wrong route running. I don't hear the play call. Whatever the reason, I hope he comes around.

Yeah, saw VD was open on DW's TD catch, too...actually was more open, glad Delanie didn't drop it.

Kaepernick showed why he should be our #1 QB, 4 TD passes?! WOW

We really missed Manningham in this game but Moss came through

Has VD disappeared?

Our defense looked tired in the 2nd half but why did we switch to zone and step away from what was working in the 1st half? Beats me..

We showed we can contend and put up points in a hostile environment

In Kaep i TRUST!

Analyst Jason Cole of USA: "Kaepernick has what can only be termed preternatural calm."

Vince Wilfolk on Kaepernick: "He was poised, nothing fazed him, and the guys on their team rally around him. He's a good leader … a good leader."

I think Niner fans can at least be a little more confident in Harbaugh's judgement now. Yes, there were mistakes, but wow. Kaepernick drives that offense and doesn't really seem to get rattled about anything.

Couldn't sleep this morning and had to rewatch that game. I love the coaches tape available on NFL Rewind! That game almost killed me last night with the emotional roller coaster ride!

(This is not to usurp Marvin's typical post - look forward to his review as well)

Thoughts After Rewatching the Game:

1. OFFENSIVE game plan was solid -- They appeared to have a very good idea of how Pats would defend and went after it well. The deep routes re-emerged, and despite Vince Wilfork's absolute dominance, they ran the ball pretty well considering the weather. LMJ may fully and successfully replace Hunter's outside run threat. A bit too conservative in the second half, but the coaches may have been wary of Bill Bilichik springing some adjustments on them in the second half. I think the game plan was aggressive, but also a testament to their respect for the opposing coaching.

1B. - OLINE play was solid, but then would have complete breakdowns, I just don't get what is going wrong with them sometimes. It appeared in the replays that when they get beat, it isn't by some complex rush, it is by some assignment breakdowns.

2. DEFENSIVE game plan - EXCELLENT first half, but per above, Coaches appear to have changed up the game plan in the second half just to not be predictable for Bilichik. Also, the zone scheme may have been necessary to give the secondary a little rest (it is not so physically taxing as man coverage). That Pats pace was very impressive and was obviously taxing the defense's stamina. The defense has to be exhausted after that night - hopefully it didn't drain them too much for next week.

3. GOLDSON - His big hit on Hernandez that drew the 15 yard pentalty caused the Aldon Smith interception on the next play - which is exactly what those hits are supposed to establish for a defense - physical challenge! I'm so sick of these bull**** penalties taking this element out of the game. His role in the game was huge.

4. ALDON - It appeared to me there was something going on with his pass rush, it often appeared half-hearted and designed more for contain. I can't even remember his running the inside stunt. Again, this tells me the 49ers were really respected the opposing coaching and were going out of their way to not do the expected.

5.JUSTIN SMITH - Thankfully his injury absense didn't hurt the defense that bad. BUT more importantly, it demonstrates a lesson the 49ers need to learn - rotating players is important to keep people fresh, but also to give offenses a different challenge occassionally. The RJF sack is a perfect example - the tackle reacted with a step back at the snap for speed pressure (Aldon set that up) and RJF beat him with an unexpected inside power move. The defense needs to sub more, especially late in the season.

6. CRABS - Great game in tough conditions. But this is more about route combinations. As I have said in another post, the 49ers passing attack appears to run super basic route combinations - and it looked that way again last night. Hopefully this is due to keeping it simple for CK, but it was the same way for ASmith. It just doesn't appear Roman's offense has a sophisticated passing game compared to other NFL teams.

7. SPECIAL TEAMS - Akers appears to be getting worse. Darn, maybe he injured himself kicking the 63 yard FG?? Ginn - he is on the team for his experience and sure handedness - neither of which seem true lately. But every player has slumps. LMJ, impressed - he played smart and protected the ball, didn't force anything as young players often try to do.
8. INJURIES - I saw a lot of fatigue injuries - Justin Smith, Iupati, Aldon Smith, even Gore. What I mean is that the cold and Pat's offensive pace, and just the physicallity of the game appeared to take a toll on the players. Hopefully these are minor injuries, but again, it seems to me the 49ers have to do a better job of spelling players.

9. JH - As an aside. I was a little disappointed in the post-game interview. But he is always that way, maybe he is just completely exhausted. This should have been the time JH was more honest in my humble opinion with a.) complements to the opposing team, b.) acknowledgement that it was a really tough game, and c.) some smiles and lighter comments about that being a "fun one." I just think sometimes JH super tightness might make his team too tight as well. This would have been a good chance to loosen it up to get the team ready for the big test in Seattle. Just my humble opinion - he's obviously winning so who am I to say. Maybe he is different with the players.

I'm a bit punchy right now because i was up till 3 AM rewatching the game...lol. Forgive me if my spelling or typing isn't the greatest.

1) Kaepernick: Yes, he had issues with the snap. I dunno how much of that is him, how much was Goodwin, or how much was weather related. Any way you look at it, it needs to be fixed. Period. They got lucky that they recovered those fumbles, but even with the recoveries they did kill drives. This game could have been COMPLETELY out of the Patriots reach.

Having said all that. WOW. If you don't think Harbaugh knew what he was doing when he put this kid in, I don't know what you're watching. 4 TDs. All over 20 yards out and 2 over 30 yards out. He threw a pick (young QB mistake...never saw the backside safety) and came out on the next drive an DRILLED a pass to Crabtree over the middle for a TD. The kid is NAILS. He doesn't get nervous. He doesn't get rattled. When he makes a mistake he responds with NO FEAR. This was just his 5th freakin start and he just beat New England IN New England in DECEMBER. Incredible. He beat the Bears on Monday Night, he beat the Saints in NO and now NE in NE. Young QBs dont just do that. It doesn't happen.

2) Defense First Half: Holy sh*tballs wow. CRUSHING the Pats at every turn. Goldson/Whitner makign their presence felt. Niner LBs playing line Niner LBs. DOMINATION.

3) Defense Second Half: Not so much of the above. LOL. I think they relaxed thinking they had this one in the bag, got into a funk and just couldn't get out. There were some bad calls (the PI on Brown), but it should never have been that close. You can't relax on Brady. No lead is to big to overcome. I hope they learned the lesson...once you dig the hole in the ground, you still have to kick them in and start throwing dirt back in the hole.

4) Offense Game Plan: Drove me crazy. Great calls to start the game and then they got way, way too conservative. The only things that kept Kaep from putting up 6 TDs (or more) was conservative playcalling when they got way up and Vernons complete inability to lay out for a pass. They need to step on the other teams throat and KILL them. Again...I hope they learned a valuable lesson. You can't relax in this league. It will come back and bite you.

5) Crabtree: Again, playing like the player we thought he would be when he was drafted.

6) NE Passing yards: Just a note...the Niners did relax in the second half and they shouldn't have...but Brady threw 65 freakin passes. SIXTY-FIVE!! That is flat nuts. The Niner D was GASSED in a big way and the pass rush just could get to him until late. Still...440+ yards on the 65 attempts, but only a single TD and 2 picks.

7) Walker: Sigh. I like the guy....but does he just have the worst hands on the team? He didn't have any drops, but he fumbled at the 5. Again. Over the years I seem to remember him fumbling the ball at LEAST 3 or 4 other times in the redzone. The guy is so athletic and he can get open...but he is damn frustrating sometimes.

8) Akers: Really starting to lose patience here.

9) Justin: YIKES!!! PLEASE be OK. I dunno if the Niners can afford to lose him. He is the engine that makes that front 7 go. If they lose him for a few games...fine, but they NEED him back for the playoffs. Of course, having him back this week would be even better.

10) Playoffs: Yeah baby. Its official. Back to the playoffs. No matter what happens now they have their spot in the tournament. As the Giants have proved, thats all you need to do. The rest is just gravy. They have now also proved that they can go on the road and beat good teams in bad weather. This crucible over the last portion of the season is the perfect learning ground for Kaep. 3 primetime games. In NO. In NE. In Seattle. I can't wait till January.

Great win but not a good ending and teams now have a path against our D.

If not for the return by James we are in the fight of our lives and probably lose that game. All the Mo was with them and that return was our saving grace. He should be back there all the time now!

Our D is stout but they can be had. The Pats got stuck in the old "Sing" thing of trying to run the ball on us in the 1st half which is a huge mistake against our D! But once they went hurry up and all pass we could not hold up. We have all seen this before and will for sure in the playoffs.

Our O is much more diverse with Kap for sure and I liked the play calling and execution by all in this game.

Kap played very well but there is something to be said for being lucky. He continues to fumble and has been very lucky that we have recovered all of them. I pray this luck continues but Jim should work on this in practice otherwise it will haunt us at some point. We very easily could have had fumbles taken away and 1 more pick for sure (was in db's hands). These mistakes can be corrected but I think its gonna be how we play going forward so maybe I will just have to accept more TO's.

bullet points 7 8 and 9 are spot on but i hate walker despite his td reception. i am sure this has been discussed before but was i the only one who thought that niner hater collinsworth was almost begging for the pats to win the game, and he sounded like he was going to cry when akers last field goal was good. i really thought he was really really biased last night.

Good analysis there. I really really like Delanie. He just makes too many mistakes. Did you see Harbaugh scream at him last night? LOL

I think the second half defense had more to do with Fangio getting conservative than any "path against our D." If it were a clear path, the Patriots would have figured it out at half time and started right off with successful drives in the second half. But, it wasn't until about five minutes into the third quarter and Fangio let up on the gas peddle with a 28 point lead that the Patriots got going.

I have a feeling Walker wont be back next season.

Thanks for the recap Marv....I missed most of the 1st quarter and didn't have a feel for it at all. Hopefully they show the replay on NFLN tomorrow night!

Must say that after this win, I feel wayyyy more confident about playoffs.

Good stuff! who the hell created that false "thoughts after the game" thread... I went in there expecting a Throwdown from MARV! LOL...

The pattern of 2 wins 1 loss/tie continues. I hope we break it this coming sunday at Qwest field.

My main gripe was the playcalling defensively in the 2nd half. I just don't get why you go away from what was working. I can understand playing a bit softer, but you can't just drop back in zones against Brady and expect nothing to happen. It's been proven over and over the only thing that can stop him is pressure.

That said, the near epic collapse was probably a good thing. We'll learn no lead is too big and our team showed major cojones not to let it slip. Now all I want is a healthy J Smith.