Week 2 - 2014: Thoughts after rewatching the game...

Originally posted by theduke85:
I'm inclined to believe that Kap was just "off" last night -- sort of like when a starting pitcher in baseball just doesn't have his stuff/command for whatever reason.

His touchdown pass to Crabtree was horrible. Crab was wide open, but Crab had to leap in the air and fall backwards to catch it. He overthrew him.
One of his early completions to Boldin was horrible. Again, Boldin was wide open, and Boldin had to jump in the air to catch it.
One of his early passes to Vance McDonald was horrible. McDonald should've caught it, but Kaepernick's placement was awful (he had to reach back behind him to make the catch, instead being able to catch it in stride and pick up YAC).
...etc...

I completely agree with this. It looked like the pressure of beating an inferior team in a brand new palace on Sunday night... got to him. He was "pressing" from the first snap IMO and it just caught up to him eventually. Actually, I think the entire team played tight, not fast and loose...

Nothing a win at AZ next week won't cure...

This game was clearly Kaeps fault. I'm not even putting any blame on Roman, this time.

Originally posted by Baldie:
This game was clearly Kaeps fault. I'm not even putting any blame on Roman, this time.

Right...because all SIXTEEN penalties were on Kap.

Kap had his part to play...but come on now.

Was at the game, recorded it but will not watch, in fact WHILE STUCK FOR CLOSE TO 2 HOURS JUST TRYING TO GET OUT OF GREEN LOT called my son and told him to delete it.

Anyway, correct me if I'm wrong but did the Niners NOT throw deep even once? Even if it's not completed, at least show them it's there and maybe that softens up coverage just a little on the shorter routes. And wasn't Ellington being looked at as a deep threat? More on him in a bit.

To me key drive 1A of the game was allowing the Bears to drive down and get a TD just before half, gave them hope and momentum. And then key drive 1B was Niners drive to open 3rd Qtr, moving the ball well, 1st/10 @ 11, Bears offside so 1st/10 @ 6...easy TD right? Well no, because I give you HaRo, more than happy to just keep trying what doesn't work and per usual settle for 3. That was a win for the Bears.

It all sucked from there...once Bears D was pinning their ears back, thought maybe, just MAYBE Niners would throw a screen to slow them down. But that's right, OL that's supposedly one of the best in the NFL somehow is totally incapable of getting out on blocking for a screen, or so we're told, so no screens. Ever.

On a related note, I guess Ellington is just another rookie that won't get used (outside of PR/KR)...well, he does come in to run few fake fly sweeps which is just pure genius, but any possibility this guy might, ya know, actually touch the ball?

And getting back to HaRo...final drive started with 6:55 left in 4th Qtr...and there's the Niners, taking their sweet-a** time, long huddles, no sense of urgency...did they know they were down by 8? They were putting all their eggs in the basket of TD plus acting like the 2-pt would be a foregone conclusion, and naturally burned up valuable timeouts. Wrong, morons, you at least try to speed things up, I dunno, maybe run a couple no-huddle plays? Leave yourself some time AND timeouts to use on D. Just terrible clock mgt, but can't say that it was a shock since we've seen it before.

CK...I've always liked him, still do, but he's just got to show soon that the light has gone on. At this point I am seriously doubting if he will ever be a true, elite QB. He IS a great threat, but he's not a great QB. A couple of those picks were great plays by the Bears, but he's still the dude throwing the ball, and if not for replay he would've had 4 ints. It's not all on him though, receivers didn't help him a whole lot and OL was dogsh**...is it me or was Jonathan Martin on skates all night? He got abused. But on a more positive CK note, just watching from the stands I saw him multiple times either look off the safety or get it to a secondary receiver, although he tried tough pass to Crabtree in the EZ when Gore was standing there all alone with nothing but green grass in front of him.

And not drawing a direct line from 2nd half of Cowboys game to last night, and I know they did have the one drive on offense in 3rd qtr vs Boys where bad penalties killed the drive, but in general there was a sense of let's just start running the clock...I don't like it. Keep being aggressive, attacking and trying to score, and if you're up 3 scores with 5 minutes left? Okay, go ahead and run it out. But not before then, to me it's just not the mindset this offense should have, they need to be thinking 6 every drive, not well we took a couple minutes off the clock so it's cool...be a d**k like Belichick and keep scoring.

Defense...put some f-ing pressure on the QB and it's going to make a lot of people look better. Still annoyed with the Bears TD drive just before halftime, almost like they were in a prevent.

Originally posted by glorydayz:
My biggest issue is, whenever Kap panics he locks in on Crabtree!

The entire stadium knew where he was going with that last pass! Same in the Super Bowl and same in the NFC Championship Game!!!!!

The game was won, all he needed to do was hold on to the ball. This is a very frustrating loss...

you guys need to just stop making these statements just stop.

crab was open it was a perfect throw the perfect read that was a touchdown if crab simply catches the ball. that's on crab he has to catch that pass. there wasn't a better option on that play to get the desired result which was a score. that was a touchdown play and crab dropped it. he said as much after the game as well.

get off of it please

Marvin restoring order

Originally posted by Marvin49:
Well that sucked a number of levels...

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.

Really like your points #1, 2, 5, 7, 11.

#1 Was not happy with the way Kap played. I want to say he was a bit too aggressive in looking downfield, but "i'll have to look at the film".

#2 Most of those penalties were earned. False starts at home? Come on Staley! Delay of games? Personal foul for bad language? Hand to the face...Is Tomsula teaching the pass rushers to get their hands up into the offensive lineman's facemask area? Is that the secret all this time? Like you mentioned, the worst call was the Boldin hold on Gore's big TD run.

#5 Blaming Roman is the easy way out. When he runs into a stacked box, we complain about it. When he decides to throw the ball over a stacked box, we complain about it. Maybe, just maybe, the players need to execute better. When the turnovers count as 3 INTs and 1 lost fumble, there has to be blame spread around. None of those INTs had Kap throwing into double coverage. That points to a lack of execution. Roman's worst call was easily the run play on 3rd and 6 from inside the red zone. That was a horse poop playcall. Not telling Kap to look short range against a zone defense was bad.

#7 Forte's running was shutdown. I am assuming that Tank doesn't get playing time because he doesn't follow his run defense responsibilities. Well with CHI's run game shutdown, and Cutler having a picnic in the pocket, let Tank flash some skill as a pass rusher. Surely he can't stink it up more than the Lemon.

#11 49ers lost game 2 last season and were right in the thick of things in January. The way they lost this game gives the players and coaches a lot to think about. Lots of points to emphasize. Humbling with many lessons to learn on both sides of the ball. The 49ers will be fine. It's not like they got steamrolled. They tripped over their own feet.

Originally posted by Marvin49:

Originally posted by Baldie:
This game was clearly Kaeps fault. I'm not even putting any blame on Roman, this time.

Right...because all SIXTEEN penalties were on Kap.

Kap had his part to play...but come on now.

No, one or two of them was on Kap. My point is, regardless of the penalties, Kaps turnovers gave the Bears a short field to score each time. The niners still could have had a chance to win the game despite the 16 penalties.

Originally posted by DelCed2486:
And getting back to HaRo...final drive started with 6:55 left in 4th Qtr...and there's the Niners, taking their sweet-a** time, long huddles, no sense of urgency...did they know they were down by 8? They were putting all their eggs in the basket of TD plus acting like the 2-pt would be a foregone conclusion, and naturally burned up valuable timeouts. Wrong, morons, you at least try to speed things up, I dunno, maybe run a couple no-huddle plays? Leave yourself some time AND timeouts to use on D. Just terrible clock mgt, but can't say that it was a shock since we've seen it before.

This had me scratching my head too. The only thing I can think of is this: San Francisco was scared they would score a TD, convert the 2-point conversion and then give the Bears the ball back with 2-3 minutes to go in a tie game with a couple timeouts remaining. With the way they were moving the ball, there's a good chance they could've marched down the field and put themselves into field goal range. Just trying to see it from their perspective.

However, I'm with you... I would've played it like you said: if you fail to score, you can at least hope for a 3-and-out and get the ball back again to try for 8 points again. Or, if you score the touchdown but failed to convert the 2PC, you can try for a 3-and-out and a field goal when you get the ball back.

Originally posted by thl408:
#11 49ers lost game 2 last season and were right in the thick of things in January. The way they lost this game gives the players and coaches a lot to think about. Lots of points to emphasize. Humbling with many lessons to learn on both sides of the ball. The 49ers will be fine. It's not like they got steamrolled. They tripped over their own feet.

And remember, not just game 2, but game 2 and game 3. Kaepernick's ratings those two games were 20.1 in Seattle, and 49.9 against the Colts. I think we'll be fine.

I'd rather be a team that was up huge and shot themselves in the foot than a team that played their best and still lost. That former suggests we're still the elite team we think we are.

Originally posted by Baldie:

Originally posted by Marvin49:

Originally posted by Baldie:
This game was clearly Kaeps fault. I'm not even putting any blame on Roman, this time.

Right...because all SIXTEEN penalties were on Kap.

Kap had his part to play...but come on now.

No, one or two of them was on Kap. My point is, regardless of the penalties, Kaps turnovers gave the Bears a short field to score each time. The niners still could have had a chance to win the game despite the 16 penalties.

...Do you hear yourself?

Lets say that a different way. If not for 16 penalties then Niners may have won despite 4 turnovers. See how that works?

Moreover, they would likely not have been in a position to NEED to make the plays that resulted I turnovers. The fumble? only a few plays after the long Gore TD run that was called back. Second INT? Right after a drive in which the Bears drove the length of the field extended twice on 3rd down by penalties.

Kap deserves a healthy amount of blame, but this was hardly all his fault.

Oh s**t -- forgot we play at Mile High in a few -- if we dont' get a pass rush soon we're going to get stomped 55-10.

The two huge problems I had with this game are thus:

1. The way in which we lost. I am a grown adult and have witnessed plenty of losses (especially by the 49ers during the late 2000's), but what hurts most about this loss is the way in which we lost. Someone mentioned in another post about how this loss was complete deja vu to the NFCCG. We had the lead and needed only to hold onto it and let our D keep doing what they were doing. But whether it was Kap trying to force things, or whether it was the play calling from upstairs and on the sideline, the team absolutely imploded in the 2nd half. Yes they were stacking the box but a few more runs or screens would have slowed down the pass rush so that Kap wasnt forcing things. Yes the Bears D played very well in the 2nd half, but they were also playing with a completely different set of rules. Which brings me to

2. The officiating: I have not rewatched this game, and am not a conspiracy theorist about officials or the NFL, but I am fairly certain this is becoming a pattern. At least one call each of these past two games has been eggregiously wrong. I'm not talking about missing something that happened, that can be explained as due to human error, but there has to be something going on in an officials head, when he calls a penalty on something that the rest of the world did not see happen. To use an analogy, it's possible and maybe easy for me to not see a dog cross my path on the sidewalk (because maybe my back is turned or I was focusing on something else), but something else entirely is happening if I DO see a dog cross my path, that no one else in the world can see. This happened on the Brandon Lloyd penalty in the Dallas game, and happened again on the Boldin penalty in this Chicago game.

Further to my point regarding the officiating in this Chicago game, it appeared to me that our defense was being mandatetd through penatlies in the 2nd half to play in a way completely different from how Chicago's defense was allowed to play. Stated simply, the officials were holding SF to a different set of rules than Chicago. On the first drive for a touchdown, several incomplete 3rd downs were immediately given a 1st down because of illegal contact or defensive holding. Yet when SF was on offense the Chicago CB's, LB's and safeties were making contact beyond the 5 yards and not one penalty was called for these infractions. Now as I said in the last paragraph, I understand that officials are human and miss things, but given that reasoning shouldn't they miss the same things for each team about an average number of times and see it when it occurs for each time an average number of times?

Kap - wtf is wrong with that fool, dude is was off the entire the night. All those Ints were on him, dude needs to get his head out his ass.

Oline - these dudes were getting their asses handed to them by some scrub players and an old ass Jerred Allan. That Martin p***y got beat on 75% of his plays just awful.

Roman - I simply hate this dude, we are playing one of the worst run d teams and he comes out passing. Also up 17 we have 1st and goal inside the 10 and he runs it three straight times. Dont know if that conservative s**t was him or harbs.

Pass rush- there was none other than Justin a few times. Manny Lemonear is another wasted pick by baalke.

Ward - Simply over matched by bigger a player, he actually made me want Carlos Rogers back.

Frustrating ass loss up 17 and then completely owned. Also it wasn't loud so much for the "oh the noise will bounce of the glass tower"

I'd like to just chalk this up as a bad game by Kaep, but this defense has me really worried. Cutler was slicing and dicing back there. He had ALL day to throw. I know people say "Wai til Aldon, Bow, and Dorsey get back. Things will be different." Well it may be too late by then and we may be out of the playoff race. It doesn't matter if Kaep learns from this and plays better in the future. This defense will be our down fall. We saw a little bit of it during the Dallas game but luckily Romo was sucking it up so it masked a lot of our problems. It came full circle during that second half. I'm not worried about Kaep turning it around. He will, but this defense has to be better and i'm not sure we have the personnel at the moment.