Couple of thoughts...

Give it a break folks. This awesome Ravens team got beat by the Seahawks. They are QB'ed by a Joe Flacco and gave up almost 30 points to a terrible Cardinals team. Plus there arguably best D player was out. Are you folks just talking to make yourself feel better? This game just proved that the 49ers ARE NOT READY to play with the real big boys. Come playoff time the Saints or Packers would beat this team like a drum. This team needs a step up in QB and another year under the Coach. Times are looking up for the 49ers and a Super Bowl is going to finally be back in the picture, but folks this is NOT the year. Playing the rest of the very terrible West Division will make the 49ers look really good, except for when they get beat by the Steelers, but folks this just ain't the year. A nice 13-3 year with a loss in the playoffs is a great way to start the first year under this coach. Better times around the corner, for sure.

Originally posted by Five4Five:

Originally posted by thedude:

We're 9-2 and were tied in the 4th versus a REALLY good Ravens team, yes I'm definitely encouraged. Our defense shut down one of the best backs in the league running behind a very good o-line - our defense is no joke. Unfortunately our offensive line looked about as bad as I can remember them ever looking, but Smith played well considering what he had to work with (NO time to read the d and WR's didn't seem to be getting open) and our offensive line was hobbled on a short week versus a very scary Baltimore front. If we played them again under normal circumstances, with or without Ray Lewis, I think we have a great shot at winning.

Yes. We still very much had a chance to win that game deep into the 4th quarter. Hell, we could have been leading. That's against a good opponent, on the road, in a playoff atmosphere, on the east coast, on three days rest.

Tired of seeing all of the overreactions. "Team isn't ready for primetime." "Team sucks, Alex sucks." We're going to finish 12-4 or better and get a first-round bye.

I agree. We made some simple errors and it cost us. They got pressure with 3-4 guys. That suggests to me that travel was a big factor in the short week. Our D is legit. As good as the Steelers, Bears, and ravens. That will keep us in games. Our offense has 5 weeks to grow. I think it will. It's not like everyone expected a vaunted offense this year. Our o is much much further along than people credit us for now. The real test is the Steeler match up and our adjustments.

I swear on one play, the blocking was SO bad, I thought it was a screen. For a second, I got excited, cuz screening against a blitz is a nice adjustment, it can go all the way if timed and executed. But alas......it wasn't a screen.....we just left FOUR guys after the QB at ONCE!

Would love to see us sign Carl nicks next year. I doubt NO throws a guard another huge contract. Would instantly upgrade our line.

Originally posted by florida1957:
Give it a break folks. This awesome Ravens team got beat by the Seahawks. They are QB'ed by a Joe Flacco and gave up almost 30 points to a terrible Cardinals team. Plus there arguably best D player was out. Are you folks just talking to make yourself feel better? This game just proved that the 49ers ARE NOT READY to play with the real big boys. Come playoff time the Saints or Packers would beat this team like a drum. This team needs a step up in QB and another year under the Coach. Times are looking up for the 49ers and a Super Bowl is going to finally be back in the picture, but folks this is NOT the year. Playing the rest of the very terrible West Division will make the 49ers look really good, except for when they get beat by the Steelers, but folks this just ain't the year. A nice 13-3 year with a loss in the playoffs is a great way to start the first year under this coach. Better times around the corner, for sure.

Are you talking about two teams, one of which the Bucs beat and the other the Bucs almost beat (the same Bucs we totally dismantled)? We have lost a grand total of two games, and people are acting as if we're worse than our record, or as Parcells' says: you are what your record says you are.

Anything can happen any given Sunday, which is why you can't make an argument that we are not good enough to be go far in the playoffs, because we lose one close game to the Ravens. We don't need to be the best team, we just need to be the best team on a given day. Case in point: the Chargers under Schottenheimer had some of the most talented squads in the league, but they perennially underachieved. Hell, Roethlisberger won a superbowl with a 22.6 QB rating, in a game that featured a lot of trickery and breaks that went the Steelers' way (not to mention the only reason why they got that far was that Carson blew out his knee).

Let's not forget that the Packers wouldn't be seeing us until the NFC Championship game and that the Saints are still the same team that lost to the 7-9 Seahawks last year. Oh, do you remember that thing called home-field advantage? There's a reason why advantage is in this phrase. I expect us to play anyone who comes into San Fran hard, and barring some miraculous BS that occurred in the Cowboys game where DBs were falling down and what not (Goldson was not starting), we will be in the Championship game.

Of the great Giants team in the late 80s. That team had a monster defense with amazing linebackers and the ability to choke teams with the running game. Their qbs were very very similar to Alex Smith. We are very very similar to that style. The reason it matters is because those teams were built to stop the West Coast offense. I think the style of football we play is designed to beat a team like Green Bay.

I'd love to believe this but the Giants team had Lawrence Taylor an elite pass rusher. 49ers get pressure with 4 man rush, but no elite pass rusher. Aldon Smith has the ability but is not starting, which I wish he played more against baltimore.

First game we were out played and out coached! And I will have to hear it all month from these Ravens fan I work with

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
PatrickWillis HOF is spot on. Ravens were bigger, faster,meaner, stronger, smarter, and outcoached us. That said, this is a blessing in disguise, and
"laughsatyou"'s comment about opinions, if I understand it correctly, would have a better handle if it were "laughs-at-me". There was nothing to laugh about here, in that we just got an azzwhippin' out in the woodshed. Why the blessing in disguise?

At 9-1 and "2nd best team in nfl", a lot of us really believed that. Watching the official "best front 7 in football" destroy, demolish and demoralize our OL was a painful thing to see, yet this yr our OL has been amazingly resurrected from total futility to become a strong point on our team. Alex's improvements all went away once there was no OL to protect him. Watching Ngata eat Iupati's lunch, the RDE schooling Staley, the LDT and LE gaming Snyder and AD, the SS and CB blitzes along with the above, the resulting 8 sacks, 9 hits, 12 hurries on alex... man, we got a look at what a real "best D in the league" looks like. And , we were not up to the occasion.

I had said earlier that ravens lose even if they win, because of the short 3 day week with 1and1/2 days to prepare, plus the 3 time zone difference (on a Thurs nite? how stupid of nfl network), would all give a huge advantage to Ravens, and if they won, it would be a pyrrhic victory. Wrong. I didn't conceive of a bushwhacking like this, and Ravens left no doubt, depite their record, they are a vastly better team. It didn't hurt that their QB was perfect, we didn't get near him, no sacks(or maybe 1), and virtually on target all nite with no pressure. Wow! Forget about the short week and 3 time zones. We got stoned by a way better team, a much better coached team....a team with a much better O and D gameplan.

Fangio just got embarrassed. Coach Jim H got really embarrassed. ST got neutralized, tho there was one "c.s." call on Ginn's TD called back. So here are the lessons:

D game plan: playing off on receivers, with no pressure on passer was an open invitation to complete everything short and underneath. It was a disaster. No meaningful blitzing, nor putting any pressure on Flacco was inexcusable. Our run D did themselve proud, with still no running TD. But that was the extent of it. Pass coverage schemes were ineffective, and players executed poorly

O game plan. Once it became apparent that Ravens could blitz at will ,5,6-7 guys, the immediate coaching calls should have been for quick one step snap it and sling it. Instead, remarkably, Coach called for 3, step, 5 step, some 7 step drops that were doomed from the git go. Alex had no time to do anything except handoff, or throw quick. This was a game that shouted out, "49ers got outcoached". What Coach H was thinking , no one knows. But one thing for sure. He sure didn't take into consideration our Ol was getting its azz kicked on each snap of the ball. And that was pretty easy to see.

O play: alex had a bad game, but he had a shiddy plan to follow. After the first 4 downs, there should not have been a pass longer than 1-2 seconds after that. For what ever reason Coach didn't see it. Receivers as a group once again did not shine. I counted 6, maybe 7 really nice catches, and then we had the showpieces like at the end of the game with Ginn, hitting him in the stomach and falling incomplete. Our Run game was better with Hunter, not Frank, because they were looking for frank on every play. How he got any yds is a tribute to him. Our OL ground it out, but Ravens DL just beat them bad. Yet Coach never really gave Hunter many more carries.

ST play: Prior to this game we were #1 in field position with kicks and return exchanges. Ravens changed that, and THEY had best field position.

D play: Front 7 again looked great, but Not as good as Ravens, who were better. DBs laid off and let one pass after another get completed. The ones that were incomplete should have been caught. Give the D backfield an F.

Coaching: Offense F
Defense A for front 7 , F for D backfield . Overall C-

Game plan: Obvious F.

So how, then, could this be the blessing in disguise? Until this game, it looked like we were looking at a first rd bye, and ultimately end up playing in GB. If we played like in this game, we would have been demolished. This one Ravens game gave Coach H all the things he needed to know on what to work on. Obviously if our OL is getting beat, then throw quick 1 steppers until D backs off LOS. On D, if there is a great OL, and we are not playing close coverage, opponents will throw and complete passes on us all day long.

OL: Our OL has come a long way and I thot was one of the best in league. Wrong. They saw stunts last nite that rendered them useless, and alex got pulverized. Coach has done a fantastic job on OL. Now he needs to teach them how to play all the stunts that Ravens used...along the entire OL. Our game plan has to reflect that, and our individual OL players have to learn to recognize that. They have come a long way. Now they know they have another long hill of "D recognition" to climb.

DBackfield: If DL can't get passrush, then rush more guys(on occasion), esp corner and safety blitzes, and second, make coverage tight. Last nite all the 8- 10 yarders were gimmes.

Coaching: Coach got stuck in a mindset, and didn't translate what was happening on field with what needed to be changed. Eg, at end of half, we had Ravens on their heels, with the 2 minute drill, and were beating them. Come 2nd half, we should have run the 2 minute drill exclusively to prevent Ravens from making personnel changes.
Finally, Coach needs to teach OL, individually on how to read and pickup blitzes, from DL that fooled them virtually every play. He isn't ready for the bigtime...yet.

Silver lining: this game just may, give us the extra oomph to get ready for the playoffs. Looking at this game, we were NOT close to ready. We can beat NFC East, and hopefully Saints, but we were not ready for Packers,(who also would have lost to Ravens last nite.) Now maybe Coach can work on our severe deficiencies, and maybe, just maybe , if we get to GB we can match them.

Unh, playing Ravens again...ummm...I don't know if we can beat them without a major overhaul in game philosophy.

This is probably the greatest single overreaction I've ever read here. ANY setback is a blessing in disguise if you KNOW how to deal with it. That means learning from the mistakes and correcting them so that next time you don't fail. And Harbaugh knows how to deal with it.

This loss was attributable primarily to one thing - "Practicing" and "gameplanning" on a freaking plane.

You don't lose everything you've learned the past 4 months in one game. It defies logic and reason, that's why you're response is purely an emotional one. Very chick-like if you ask me.

As bad as the O-line played with Rachal, essentially the 49ers were only 3 plays away from winning the game. Chop block -7 Niners, Brown INT Penalty +3 Ravens, Smith INT -3 Niners. Those 3 plays accounted for a 13 point swing. Final score could've been a 16-13 49er win without the mistakes. Not to mention the emotional points rewarded.

I think this article makes some good points on Baltimore and the 49ers outlook or the rest of the season. I feel pretty damn good still.

http://www.mercurynews.com/tim-kawakami/ci_19413704

Originally posted by SnakePlissken:

Originally posted by Kolohe:
Man I hope we get Bruce Miller back, even Adam Snyder. And can we please activate Brett Swain, and yes better to lose now than in the playoffs.

I heard Adam pulled his hammy, should be ready for the Rams, and Miller is almost a lock to return (within the allowed time of concussion spent since last Sunday). -It seemed like the moment s**t went down hill last night, Harbaugh pulled a lot of guys still injured from the Cards game to be healthy for the Rams next week.

A lot of people didn't even notice how Madeu Williams took more snaps than Witner last night. -Harbaugh seriously put the team in front of his emotions last night; did not want to hurt his guys for the more important game next week. A f**kING DIVISION GAME!

-Yes, people can laugh, but the importance of the Rams game (CONFERENCE/DIVISION OPPONENT) outweighs any thing that this piece of s**t game meant.

Damn that's good know, and I was wondering why CJ Spillman was in there too. I really hope we sub a lot to keep players fresh in the Rams game too. I mean if we're up (which I hope we are) 21-7 going into the half, I'd like to see key players start to come out for instance:

Justin Smith for Demarcus Dobbs

Carlos Rogers for Chris Culliver/Shawntae Spencer

Joe Staley for Alex Boone

Alex Smith for Scott Tolzien

Originally posted by RDB4216:

Originally posted by GolittaCamper:
This game showed us a few things,
1, We lack depth on offense, players like Rachel, and Norris are awful.
2, We have no legitimate big game wide receivers.
3, Frank Gore can be stopped, by selling out the middle of the field and forcing him to run east west.
4, JH does not believe in the screen pass.
5, When we can't get pressure with our front 4 we don't have a safety or linebacker who can blitz effectily.
6, Lack of rotation at D-line wears players out.
7, Our OLB's can't and must not ever pass cover

Things we need in the off season
Full Back, Guard, Free Safety, OLB, Running back, and even though he played well, we should never stop looking to improve at QB!

Did I miss anything? or am I over reacting?

I think we are a solid young team, with a few weak spots, we are heading in the right derection, and will only get better from here on out, so watch the f**k out NFL the Niners are on the way back!!!

1 - "This game" didn't show us that. This is not new or unique to this game, it's been that way for awhile. Norris and Rachal sucked all of last year too.
2 - "This game" didn't show us that either. This is also not new. It's been several years since Terell Owens left!
3 - "This game" didn't show us that either. Frank Gore is not a speed back - this is not breaking news. It also doesn't help when he slips and falls down on his own.
4 - This is seriously getting repetitive. How many screen passes have you seen all season?
5 - That is not true at all. Brooks can blitz just fine. Whitner can blitz too, he did so in Buffalo. Our defense chooses not to blitz, to cut down on the risk of the big play. Did you see what Torrey Smith did last week?? The NFL Network only showed it in their top 5 plays about FIFTY times last night.
6 - Really? This game showed that? And d-linemen getting tired is completely unique to the 49ers? Wow what are the other 31 teams doing that we are not?? Oh wait, all of the teams that don't have enough depth to rotate have that problem.
7 - This is a 3-4 defense. Your primary duty for the OLB's is to be able to pass rush. Coverage is a bonus. That being said, there aren't many LB's in the league that can cover Anquan Boldin. The Ravens ran a good scheme and got some favorable match-ups.

FB? We just drafted one. Guard? I'll agree with that. Free Safety? Dashon has been playng pretty well this year, if you hadn't noticed. OLB? We just drafted one, and Brooks is having a pretty good year too. Running Back? We just drafted one, and um...did you see the contract extension they just gave Gore?

Yes, it did now relax!

Originally posted by SFTifoso:
This is the way I look at it:

1. This was our 2nd road game in a span of 5 days. This was the ravens 2nd home game in 5 days. Clear fatigue factor.

2. We lost to perhaps the best team in the AFC.

3. The ravens caught a few very significant breaks from the refs.

4. They showed us our weaknesses. The coaches now know where our team needs work, and they have 10 days to review what went wrong. Also this was John, so I'm sure he will offer some advice to his little brother about how he beat us.

5. Streaks are bad in the NFL. Everyone just keeps hyping you up and setting you up for failure. Hopefully the media will back off our team and let them concentrate on getting a 1st round by in the playoffs, which is a realistic goal.

6. We have another "test" against the steelers in much favorable conditions. They're almost a carbon copy of the ravens, so hopefully our team will show what they learned from this game.

Just my 2 cents. Hope we meet the Ravens again this season.

Good points. Ravens / Steelers almost the same team with the exception of the QB. Someone already point out but I'm repeating it - 9ers still had a chance to win this game late in the 4th qtr. Wasn't until they kicked that FG to put it out of reach with the time remaining......
Dog tired, on the road, with injuries at key positions, 9ers still gave them a fight.

I'm still hyped for the rest of the season and beyond!!!!

Go NINERS!!!!