Lots Of Positive Signs!

Originally posted by XrayEcho:
I'm one happy Niner fan.

Go Niners

..and that pretty much sums up my views.

-9fA

This victory belongs squarely on the shoulders of Coach Singletary! I knew we were going to win when the score was 6-0 and the offense looked horrible.

I knew because we had 1 penalty and they had 6 or 7. Mike Nolan's teams lacked discipline and mental toughness. But this team was staying focused and not killing itself with mental errors.

At just the moment it looked like the game might get away from us, Coach Sing called the "gather 'round" time-out and the team sucked it up and made the stop! And the rest is history.

People are going to fret about the o-line. And surely their problems need to be addressed. These guys are paid to do a job, but it's not like they are doing their jobs in a vacuum, there are guys on the other side of the ball who are paid professionals too. And they are trying to stop what we do. So the key isn't "did they win all the one-on-one match-ups, because that will rarely happen. No the key is: can they suck it up, persevere, stay in the game by hook or by crook, and at the end, when it's gut-check time, can they make a few plays.

This is going to be the identity of Coach Singletary's team, I feel certain!

Haven't seen the game yet, but have to agree you pretty much nailed it. The big negative was the running attack, which will most definitely need some adjustment to account for 'Zona's effective blitzes. Every team on our schedule will see what they did and try to copy it...so, Raye will have to adjust, and I'm sure he will. The key is not to give up on the run, though...the pounding pays off...had we not done that, even without much success, we probably don't drive the ball 80 yds in 15 plays in the 4th qtr.

Huge props go to the defense...and to Coach for recognizing when they needed a breather. Great to see the constant pressure...sacks are nice, but more important is the continual harassing of Warner. We made him uncomfortable, and that's what you have to do, or he'll pick you apart. We'll have to do the same thing to Hasselbeck.

How great is Justin Smith...at the end of the game...you know he had to be gassed, chasing Warner all day, he nails him for a 13-yd loss...freakin' awesome!! He and Haralson are developing into a nice twosome...now w/McDonald back, they've got some help. Manny had a pretty good game, too. Gotta get Evans and Balmer going, then we'll really have something.

Originally posted by kstolai:

Originally posted by 49erFan:
The biggest, in my view, was the pass rush... I don't know where that came from but wow! That was my biggest concern with the team by far. They did a hell of a job today. Pretty safe to say they were indeed playing vanilla in the pre-season.

The defense overall looked great in my opinion. The gameplan was excellent. Allowing Hightower to have a bunch of underneath catches seemed annoying, but clearly the plan was to stop Fitz and Boldin from having big games, and that was accomplished for the most part.

Willis Rocks!

That defense, looks tough when they can rush the passer like that. It's only one game, but that was fun to watch.

The offense really struggled for most of the game, however, they stuck with it and got it done when it mattered most. The coaching staff made adjustments... Did I really just say that? The 49ers coaching staff making in game adjustments? lol. Yes indeed!

Not only did the coaches make adjustments, but the players were able to fight through the tough day and make plays when needed.

Vernon Davis looked like a leader today! I have heard alot of comments about wanting to see him hand the ball to the ref and not pound his chest every play. Well, he did that today.

I loved Singletary's time-out to rally the troops. This really is his team, and these guys are buying into it.

Ya gotta love it. We walked in to 'Zona and beat the defending division and conference champions. We were competitive throughout, and other than the third quarter seemed in control of the game.

I heard alot of hangover talk from the announcers. Well guess what, the Cards started camp at the same time as we did. I think both teams will get sharper as the year goes on. However, today we were the better team and deserved that victory.

Agree!

Ditto

This was a great way to start off the new NFL season, I was impressed with the defense mostly they came up big when they had to and were able to shutdown the Cardinals big play guys. Shaun Hill once again played a smart game, he didnt do anything to cost us the game like bad turnovers, and when we needed him to drive for the game winning TD he came through. Gore struggled in the running game however he was able to score two TDs which was enough to win the game. Bruce and Morgan came through with nice receptions. I think there is a new attitude in the organization and its starting to feed onto the fans, I thought Singletary coached a strong game and he has everyone believing in his style of play. And best of all....we beat the Cardinals!......now its time for the Seahawks.

I think they stuck with the run too much (winning drive excluded). If AZ was playing & blitzing to stop the run, we should've thrown more. Raye's playcalling makes me nervous.

If this had been any other year, our team would have crumbled after Arizona tied the game.

Originally posted by Axl49:

Originally posted by Tru2RedNGold25:
Pass Rush baby

Patrick Willis baby

sacks in the 1st game baby

cant ask for more

i would a running game lol. we need more mix up in the play calling

Ohh dont get me wrong i would of added that as my 1st choice but i was jus referring just on the defensive side of the ball with my comments

Didn't get to watch much of the game yesterday folks because Comcast decided that the opening weekend of the NFL season was a good time to take a massive, systemwide, dump. There were grown men on the streets where I live yesterday looking to tar and feather any Comcast tech they could find. A bunch of people in my hood are switching services today and tomorrow. Comcast still doesn't understand what they did wrong.

But -- that's another story. From what I heard -- this was a boring win. Fine, I'll take it. It's a win. The beat writers don't like it much. Lowell Cohn, for example, claims "Singletary is in run denial." Screw Cohn. He wants a statement game. And he might get one. But not every game of the year.

You see -- for every 45-14 statement win over the Cowboys in 1981 -- people forget the 13-3 victory over Green Bay. They don't remember the consecutive 17-14 wins over the Steelers and Falcons that year. Want to know why? Because they were BORING folks. That's right. Bill Walsh brand football. The vaunted West Coast Offense. Zzzzzzz! You think Montana was lighting up the scoreboard every game in 1981? Not in that 17-10 win over the Giants -- or that 15-12 loss to Cleveland in November.

To put it short and sweet: It was dink, dunk and pray that the defense holds.

But many of us who lived through that year have forgotten those games. Many of you born after or during the Walsh era didn't see these games. Nope -- we remember the thrilling 33-31 win over the hated Rams in Los Angeles -- or the 28-6 dismantling of Bum's Houston Oilers. Those are the games that we remember.

But for every blowout -- there were two more wins that came from efforts that took place just yesterday. Dink, dunk and pray for the D to hold on.

Now, it's only one game. Doesn't mean a think in the big scheme of things. But then again, it's a win over a division rival on the road. A win over a team that didn't lose a single division game last season.

These games aren't memorable folks. They are just wins. Pile up a few more ugly, boring wins and toss in a few memorable blowouts and guess what? The Niners are a winning team again.

At least I'm interested in what happens next week.

Now, if only Comcast can get their act together. It would be nice.

Originally posted by billbird2111:
Didn't get to watch much of the game yesterday folks because Comcast decided that the opening weekend of the NFL season was a good time to take a massive, systemwide, dump. There were grown men on the streets where I live yesterday looking to tar and feather any Comcast tech they could find. A bunch of people in my hood are switching services today and tomorrow. Comcast still doesn't understand what they did wrong.

But -- that's another story. From what I heard -- this was a boring win. Fine, I'll take it. It's a win. The beat writers don't like it much. Lowell Cohn, for example, claims "Singletary is in run denial." Screw Cohn. He wants a statement game. And he might get one. But not every game of the year.

You see -- for every 45-14 statement win over the Cowboys in 1981 -- people forget the 13-3 victory over Green Bay. They don't remember the consecutive 17-14 wins over the Steelers and Falcons that year. Want to know why? Because they were BORING folks. That's right. Bill Walsh brand football. The vaunted West Coast Offense. Zzzzzzz! You think Montana was lighting up the scoreboard every game in 1981? Not in that 17-10 win over the Giants -- or that 15-12 loss to Cleveland in November.

To put it short and sweet: It was dink, dunk and pray that the defense holds.

But many of us who lived through that year have forgotten those games. Many of you born after or during the Walsh era didn't see these games. Nope -- we remember the thrilling 33-31 win over the hated Rams in Los Angeles -- or the 28-6 dismantling of Bum's Houston Oilers. Those are the games that we remember.

But for every blowout -- there were two more wins that came from efforts that took place just yesterday. Dink, dunk and pray for the D to hold on.

Now, it's only one game. Doesn't mean a think in the big scheme of things. But then again, it's a win over a division rival on the road. A win over a team that didn't lose a single division game last season.

These games aren't memorable folks. They are just wins. Pile up a few more ugly, boring wins and toss in a few memorable blowouts and guess what? The Niners are a winning team again.

At least I'm interested in what happens next week.

Now, if only Comcast can get their act together. It would be nice.

That's one thing most people, including reporters such as Kwamki... forget to understand. The WCO during it's first years was not a high octane offense. Talent and chemistry is what makes an offense high octane.

In 2007, we barely beat an ARI team that was not very good, with little confidence, and without an identity.

We just beat the 2008 NFC Champions in THEIR HOUSE!!!!!!!!

[ Edited by Joecool on Sep 14, 2009 at 11:30:36 ]

Originally posted by billbird2111:
Didn't get to watch much of the game yesterday folks because Comcast decided that the opening weekend of the NFL season was a good time to take a massive, systemwide, dump. There were grown men on the streets where I live yesterday looking to tar and feather any Comcast tech they could find. A bunch of people in my hood are switching services today and tomorrow. Comcast still doesn't understand what they did wrong.

But -- that's another story. From what I heard -- this was a boring win. Fine, I'll take it. It's a win. The beat writers don't like it much. Lowell Cohn, for example, claims "Singletary is in run denial." Screw Cohn. He wants a statement game. And he might get one. But not every game of the year.

You see -- for every 45-14 statement win over the Cowboys in 1981 -- people forget the 13-3 victory over Green Bay. They don't remember the consecutive 17-14 wins over the Steelers and Falcons that year. Want to know why? Because they were BORING folks. That's right. Bill Walsh brand football. The vaunted West Coast Offense. Zzzzzzz! You think Montana was lighting up the scoreboard every game in 1981? Not in that 17-10 win over the Giants -- or that 15-12 loss to Cleveland in November.

To put it short and sweet: It was dink, dunk and pray that the defense holds.

But many of us who lived through that year have forgotten those games. Many of you born after or during the Walsh era didn't see these games. Nope -- we remember the thrilling 33-31 win over the hated Rams in Los Angeles -- or the 28-6 dismantling of Bum's Houston Oilers. Those are the games that we remember.

But for every blowout -- there were two more wins that came from efforts that took place just yesterday. Dink, dunk and pray for the D to hold on.

Now, it's only one game. Doesn't mean a think in the big scheme of things. But then again, it's a win over a division rival on the road. A win over a team that didn't lose a single division game last season.

These games aren't memorable folks. They are just wins. Pile up a few more ugly, boring wins and toss in a few memorable blowouts and guess what? The Niners are a winning team again.

At least I'm interested in what happens next week.

Now, if only Comcast can get their act together. It would be nice.

Good post Bill. We gotta take these wins anyway we can get them now days.