2013 - Week 5: Thoughts after rewatching the game...

I am encouraged that, despite the injuries on the offense that appear to be affecting the passing game, the 49ers have been able to re-establish their highly regarded running attack. Now more than ever teams don't have to respect the passing game, and yet they have been able to run the ball down the opponents throat. This will certainly help the 49ers get through the early part of the season I believe and the team will be stronger for it.

There are big concerns on Mount 49er, however. If we meet a team capable to neutralizing the run, the 49er offense will have huge problems. They must not like how they are so one dimensional and it amounts to playing with a significantly higher degree of risk. The other issue is that aside from Crabtree, the 49ers seem to have a systemic issue of not being able to identify/properly value quality WR's. Going forward, this is a concern as it forces the team to rely on pricey free agents.

Originally posted by Young2Rice:

Originally posted by monsterzero789:

Originally posted by billbird2111:
You want doom and gloom? Go to the San Diego Charger Forum. There you will find doom and gloom. In spades.

also the texans boards lol

Reaing the in-game commentary is funny.

Man that was hilarious.

Wow. That was pretty cool seeing that fan wearing an Ed Reed jersey trying to tackle Vernon Davis. I wonder if they arrested him.

Reid is way ahead of Goldson...miles ahead for about 25% of the cap number and without all the stupid penalties. As for Brock, he put an end to the Nmamdi comeback story. I really liked what I saw in him last night, 2 int's almost a 3rd, drew a PI on the offense. I didn't see anyone getting an separation on him. Brock looked great. For all those that keep digging up the NFC Champ game, he actually had good coverage on Manningham, Eli just made a really good throw.. it happens even to the best.. Brock has looked really good the past couple of weeks.

Originally posted by real9erfan:

Originally posted by Young2Rice:

Originally posted by monsterzero789:

Originally posted by billbird2111:
You want doom and gloom? Go to the San Diego Charger Forum. There you will find doom and gloom. In spades.

also the texans boards lol

Reaing the in-game commentary is funny.

Man that was hilarious.

Wow. That was pretty cool seeing that fan wearing an Ed Reed jersey trying to tackle Vernon Davis. I wonder if they arrested him.

lolll

Brock is proving me wrong the last couple of games. I wanted him gone, but he is playing lights out right now. He's outplaying all other CBs at the moment

Originally posted by monsterzero789:

Brock is proving me wrong the last couple of games. I wanted him gone, but he is playing lights out right now. He's outplaying all other CBs at the moment

Agreed. He is playing great, hope it continues!

McCoy had a nice game.

Originally posted by Marvin49:

Originally posted by SportsFan:
Don't agree with you that Reid is missing too many tackles. He missed one that I saw last night. Other than that the dude is tackling really well (as far as I can tell).

He missed at least two last night and he's missed more earlier in the season. He's missing tackles.

He does sometimes deliver a whollop and look fantastic, but there are still too many times that he does great to get to the ball carrier before the first down line and they guy pulls away from him.

I think he'll improve tho.

I have to agree with both of you on this...

Reid has missed a couple tackles in almost every game but I know a lot of them have been because he attacks the ball so fast, just a minor change in direction by the ball carrier causes him to miss the tackle. This will be corrected over time, learning when to attack vs. breaking down for tackles. I am sure of it especially after hearing all of the positive talk about how smart the kid is (taking notes and communicating on the field).

For me the biggest surprise has been his coverage skills! He is not making the big mistakes (like most rookies and Dashon) and is not giving u p stupid penalties.

Great Pick and he is only going to get better!

Some very astute impressions of the game.

1. CK seems to me to have become more tentative and less confident than he was last year. I've expressed this sentiment before. Maybe responsibility anxiety - lol! Maybe lack of trust in his WRs . . . I'd bet that this has a lot to do with it. Boldin is the only guy that actually goes for the ball and can be trusted. Even VD has a small catch radius and odds are won't make the difficult grab. For example: The pass down the seam with approx. 5min left in the third quarter was a pass Kap would successfully make to Crabtree. With Vernon it had virtually no chance. He is gimpy, but even so, thats just his MO.

2. Agree that Brock and Reid are upgrades over the previous guys. Brock's looks a LOT better tha Asomough to me. I wish that we had kept Cooper over Namndi. Hindsight. . I only saw one glaring missed tackle by Reid, but I'm sure that there were others. If this is him now, how much better is he going to be in time? Man,I questioned the Niners need to move up to get him because of his so-so final year at LSU . . . but I'm sure glad that they did.

3. Offense: The Niners came out slinging it to start out the second half. Even though thewy had a 21 point lead. Offense went three and out. Normally one would question that strategy. But at this point I completely agree with what they did. The Niners need to get their suddenly anemic passing game sorted out if they are to be serious contenders. With a big lead and a struggling Texans offense, this was perfect opportunity to work on that.

4. WR: I think that the Niners realize that they dropped the ball on sorting out the WR situation before the season started. That's why we're hearing about their reaching out to Hawkins, inquiring about Gordon, etc. The current roster is just not cutting it. That's a big part of Kaps problems obviously. Noone really knows how the returning injured will look in actual games immediately following return, or at least for a few weeks after they get back. Josh Gordon is a stud but a very risky move. Boy, he would add sizzle though.

5. Defense: As presently constituted the Niners are dependent upon the defense playing well to come out ahead. Right now, I really doubt the teams capacity to come back from big deficits as they did last year during the playoffs. So far the defense has held up it's side. As you say, even in the two games the Niners lost the defense kept it close until fatigue finally took it's toll late. The offense let them down. This game the defense was heroic.

6. Roster moves: Around now I wouldn't be surprised to see the FO make some "wow" moves/trades/acquisitions.

Just a word about Reid -- yes, I know what you are talking about with regard to missed tackles. Personally not worried He is 21 playing in the NFL for the first time. I think the physicality is surprising him a little -- he will correct. He doesn't have the strength to arm tackle many of the ballcarriers he is facing, unlike in college. He is figuring this out and will adjust his technique. And, IMO, he is making enough positive plays to offset this issue so i don't think he is a liability on the field overall. Quite the opposite. He will also get better, AND he is recovering from a konk. SO I give him slack. I am actually more mad about the dropped interception than the missed tackles. Another possible after effect of the konk.

Also, I think you are being very generous with your comments regarding the offense.

You make it sound so nebulous with all this I'm not sure what to expect business.

They've s*ck*d. Say it. It's not complicated. Except for Frank.

Originally posted by brodiebluebanaszak:
Also, I think you are being very generous with your comments regarding the offense.

You make it sound so nebulous with all this I'm not sure what to expect business.

They've s*ck*d. Say it. It's not complicated. Except for Frank.

Pass protection has stunk recently and so has the passing game. No doubt about that.

I'm going to hold off judging anyone until we get our WRs healthy. The truth is, nobody really knows what the primary problem is. We'll have a better idea later in the season when we get healthy.

Playcalling and scheme was obviously hurting our running game. At least they got that fixed.

Originally posted by SofaKing:
Pass protection has stunk recently and so has the passing game. No doubt about that.

I'm going to hold off judging anyone until we get our WRs healthy. The truth is, nobody really knows what the primary problem is. We'll have a better idea later in the season when we get healthy.

Playcalling and scheme was obviously hurting our running game. At least they got that fixed.

I'm not sure I would say the playcalling and scheme have gotten better.

I would say the formation selection has become more credible, because Roman knows he will be fired if he continues to call 6 players in the backfield for 1.3 yards per play.

SO that's been dialed down.

But too often I don't like the flow, the timing, the down-yard appropriateness of our play sequencing.

I can't put my finger on it. We still look disjointed. We don't have any bread and butter 5 yard sure thing plays that we can go to when its 2 and 5 or 3 and 5.

We don't manage our play selection on first down as if we have 3 downs to gain 10 yards. It looks like we are trying to get the most yards we can, always, rather than set up a high percentage 3 or 4 yard play on first so we have run/pass options on 2 and 6, or whatever.

I am not sure we are improving significantly there. Although we have dropped some stinker plays that the league is now prepared for, I grant you that.

I think the Texans may have the best o line in the AFC. But with that said, i think we got some good pressure on Schaub but did not sack him. To me, a hurry throw is as good as a sack.

Whoa.

I can't even believe what I'm reading about Reid's tackling prowess. Reid is an excellent tackler and there is very little room to improve. Period.

I'm not really sure what some expect? The NFL is full of elite players going against other elite players. Even the best player will occasionally get beat.

I'm half way through the SF/Houston game and I just watched "Bowman the Great" miss a tackle on Arian Foster in the backfield on 4 and 2 with less than three minutes to go. He made contact, but just couldn't wrap and bring him down. Does that mean Bowman needs to work on his tackling or in some way his game is under developed in that particular area? No, of course not. s**t happens.

So far, the only tackle I've seen Reid miss was a delayed screen (maybe dump off) to Ben Tate next to the side line. IMO, Reid had a decision to make. He could of lit Tate up next to the sideline an possibly get flagged for unnecessary roughness or use an arm tackle to pull him out of bounds and end the play. Unfortunately for Reid, Tate (who is a very good running back) put on a nasty spin move and broke Reid's arm tackle who clearly chose to play it safe. Even of the scenario I painted isn't the case, I think its clear Reid underestimated what it would take to bring Tate out of bounds. Again, s**t happens.

Why don't we talk about Reid's bad ass tackle on Foster in the first quarter in the open field from behind. The whole Niner front seven flowed one way and the RB went the other. If he doesn't make that play, that probably turns into a TD or at least a 20 plus yard run.

Bottom line, Reid is a top notch tackler, who like other top notch tackler (cough*Bowman*cough) occasionally get beat by other elite (not scrub) players. The only player I've can't remember missing a tackle (I'm sure he has too) is Patrick Willis. But, that's why he is a 6 time pro bowler. When your talking about some ones tackling ability you are talking about their heart and tackling fundamentals. Reid lacks neither.

The expectations on this site are unreal.