Watched the game live from the stadium and then stayed up till 2:00 rewatching it to see if I saw what I thought I saw.
1) Kap: Well, I'll say this...leaving the stadium Sunday night I think I was the most upset with him I've ever been. The game was there on a platter and he just just kept giving the other team the ball deep in 49ers territory. The Bears couldn't get much of anything going all night and then all of the sudden the Bears put a few plays together and they have the lead. WTF happened? Well after watching the game again from the TV broadcast I can see what happened. I am not trying to excuse Kap here because he made some mistakes for sure, but those INTs were some great individual efforts from those Bear players. Kap is culpable because they still weren't the best decisions, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. The fumble? Allen put his helmet right on the ball. I would prefer a few less designed runs by Kap. First Pick? He didn't look off the safety and trusted his arm too much...but that play by Conte was nuts. All or nothing. If he doesn't pick that Boldin might score. Laid out for it. Good play by him there. Second Pick? Probably should have gone elsewhere with the ball, but I don't think you can count on the guy ripping it free from Crab and having the ball fall in his lap. Third Pick? Another very good play by the defender, but this was the one that concerned me the most with Kap. I think he thought he had the guy and never saw the underneath defender...but Kap was pressing. He was trying too hard to make something happen. Yes, it was third down, but you can't give the Bears another short field.
Kap will be fine. He'll learn from it and he'll get better. Anyone remember weeks 2 and 3 last year? Its not like the Colts were a defensive juggernaut either. Kap did make some nice throws last night and was playing well..until the bottom fell out.
2) Penalties: Another thought leaving the game - WTF Refs? Thoughts after watching the game on TV? WTF Niners? There were a few ticky tack calls throughout the game and some missed calls as well so not saying the refs had a perfect game...but the refs aren't the reason they lost. The Niner really committed enough of those calls to lose the game. The Boldin call was bad and that drive ended in a fumble...but still. They were committing penalties all over the field. Can't do that and expect to win.
3) Levis Opener: That was a bummer. I was having a great night too. LOL. Love my seats, loved the pregame stuff, first half was fun, halftime was cool...and then....stab to the heart. Terrible way to end a great night.
4) Ward: It'll get better rook. He had himself a rough night, but it wasn't as if we didn't know at some point someone was gonna pick on him. Rookies sometimes play like rookies. He had himself a little baptism under fire against one of the best WRs in the league and a guy who's what, 5 or 6 inches taller than him and about 40 lbs heavier? He'll learn from this and get better.
5) Roman: I knew someone would be calling for his job. LOL. I don't think he had as bad a night as some think. I know peeps are all over the fact that they passed when they should have run all over that D, but when a team is stacking to stop the run, it leaves open the passing game. The Passing game was working too in the first half when not getting derailed by penalties, a fumble, or an INT. Frank did break through on that long run, but he wasn't getting a ton of space outside that run. Hyde couldn't find any space whatsoever. I also know peeps will harp on the three runs at the end of the first drive of the second half and I don't know what to make of that third down run, but that one run wasn't the reason they lost either. 4 turnovers and 16 penalties are the reason they lost. When you call a play, you can't go out and execute it for them.
6) Carrier: I dunno what the status is yet on Vernon and Vance (catch the freakin ball man), but Carrier looked pretty damn good for a #3 TE. They may have to lean on him a bit in the coming weeks if those other two guys are hobbled.
7) Carradine: Huh? He played one snap. Why is he important? He's important because he needs to play a lot more than one snap. He's young, he's a bit raw and he'll make some mistakes, but the one thing he showed a knack for in preseason is the one thing the 49ers are having issues doing...generating a pass rush. I think they need to work him into the rotation because they simply aren't getting enough pressure. Aldon isn't coming back anytime soon. If Cutler was able to do what he did, how do you think Peyton will do?
8) Missed Opportunities: I think this is the one that hurts the most. You don't get a lot of these opportunities. We don't know how many times Seattle will slip up this year. Niners had a chance to put up a one game lead on them and completely squandered it against a team they had no right to lose to. Come the end of the season, losses like this one are going to hurt.
9) Pattern: As much as it hurt, I think it's fair to remember the way every Harbaugh season has started. Some of the local media has pointed that out and they are right...every season they seem to start with a bang, get knocked around a bit, and come out the other side a better team. In 2011 it was an overtime loss to Dallas at home. Then they won 11 straight. In 2012 they lost to a Vikings team they should have manhandled and then got crushed when looking for revenge vs the Giants. Last year they got planted by Seattle and then looked just as bad against the Colts. In some ways, this is what they do. They start the year as one team, go through the trials and become a different team than they intended. They make changes...be it letting Braylon Edwards go, switching to Kap, releasing Nnamdi...whatever. They circle the wagons and end up a better team than the one that started the season. We'll just have to see if the pattern holds.
10) O-Line: Martin held up for awhile, but we either need to get Davis back or slide Boone out to tackle and let Looney play guard. Way too much pressure on Kap and run blocking wasn't a ton better.
11) All is not lost: Had to add one more. Look, that sucked. No 2 ways about it. Opportunities lost and some rough play. The good news is that some young players are getting some experience and should improve over the course of the year. Ward will get better. Culliver will get better. Kilgore will get better. Guys will get healthy. It's a long year.
The sting will wear off. The season has a long way to go and if the Niners beat Arizona they are tied for 1st in the division again.
[ Edited by Marvin49 on Sep 15, 2014 at 9:43 AM ]
