Monday, September 22, 2008

49ers Recap Week 3


This time niners took on the lowly Detroit Lions and beat then 31-13,the Lions are a team that has a worse front office then the 49ers. And to change this up I actually attended this game so I was part of the crowd, it gave me a better insight to a few things. One thing is that the fans are falling for JTO. The crowd was always screaming his name and giving him praise, which he truly deserved for his effort in the game. I think once you see how bad a QB is (Alex Smith) you just totally go for anyone who shows any signs of being an NFL qb. The crowd was really into the game, not sure if it was because it was a win over a mediocre team or what, but hey a win is a win, we have been the bad teams plenty of times and got stomped over. Anyway the nfl is open, in a league where Miami can beat New England anything can happen. Bad teams always have a chance and even though the Lions look bad they have many good players and they all want to win. Good win, good overall play and okay coaching lead to the nice win.

Offense - The unit looked good. They could run and pass very easily against the bad Lions defense. O'Sullivan was passing with much ease and was mostly able to do so with good protection or his ability to make things happen by using his feet or arm. O'Sullivan finsihed  16-23, 189 yards, 2tds, and 32 rushing yards. So far he reminds me of Jeff Garcia and the number he used to put up when he was here. He wasn't flashy but he got the job done (he had better WRs) and won games. Frank Gore had a big game finshing with 130 yards and a TD as well as 4 receptions for 32 yards. We really spread the ball around well and 8 players finished with a catch. The O-line was mostly good, better at running, O'Sullivan did get some pressure but was able to step up in the pocket and make good three step throws and hit his recievers in stride. Overall the team has scored more then 30 points two games in a row and that shows something. 

Defense- We had good pressure on Kitna for most of the time and we held the awesome duo of Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson in check. The Lions did do us some favors, they Lions WRs did drop a lot of balls but I like to think they were bad passes from the pressure the 9ers were putting on Kitna. We finsihed with 4 sacks and 2 interceptions, not too shabby. The Lions were not able to move the ball through the air but for another week in a row an average Rb ran for more yards then they should have. Rudi Johnson had some nice runs and finished with 83 yards,he could have been even more effictive if they Lions had a lead or were in the game. Niners need to address the problem with not being able to stop the run. But we held them to some long field goals and the one TD they did have has a great effort from Johnson. 

Special Teams-  The unit was mostly solid. Nothing huge as far as bad or good. Nedney did miss what was a easy field goal, which makes 2 weeks in a row, I hope its not a trend here. Andy Lee had 4 punts 3 of which landed within the 20 yard line. We were able to get the onside kick and Arnaz Battle looked like he was going to take it for a TD but was stopped short by the last guy in his way. I guess its is good when you don't have to talk about the special teams too much, it means they did enough. 

Coaching- Martz was on his A game, I think he had a grudge and wanted to tear apart the Lions, which he did. Good game by the coaching staff. Getting an early lead means you don't have to do much besides not blow it and they did not blow it. Nolan still called time outs when he shouldn't have and I liked that he went for it on the fourth and one, and so did the crowd. They really wanted his to do it and he had the balls to try. An end around on fourth and goal took some balls, so I give him credit for that. When you win 31-13 you get a good coaching grade. 

Overall Grade: A