Quick Take: 49ers Performances in Ugly Loss to Tennessee Titans

Apologies in advance to the editors who have to clean this up.  I’m VERY short on time so I’m just brain dumping this stuff because I feel like I have to get it out on the table for discussion. 

Feel free to flame me for giving you half an article.  I’m a big boy.  I can take it.

That said, here is said “brain dump.”  My take on how various players and units played in Sunday’s loss to the Titans:

Goldson: not rangy, but a big hitter.  Perhaps better off at SS?  I saw him put the hurt on several dudes in this game.

Lawson/Haralson: It’s now or never.  Very little sack production this year, poor tackling, letting guys break contain on the edge?!  I’m about to say the 49ers draft an OLB and an O-Lineman rather than Safety and O-Line.  You both are on the bubble.

Alex Smith: Is it easier for him to fix his turnovers than for Shaun Hill to magically conjure up some tangible skill in throwing?  I’d like to think so.  This was a bit too extreme.

Sadly, Singletary said it himself, “Is Alex ready for that?” when he said he didn’t think they’d just go to the spread offense. 

I think they were trying to keep the opposition defense guessing in preparation for this week, that’s why they said they wouldn’t play a ton more spread.  In the end, though, Singletary was right.  51 pass attempts…Alex wasn’t ready for that yet.

O-Line: You guys did a great job Sunday, despite injuries and your past.  Maybe not an elite performance, but as solid as we’ve seen in a long time.  Continue to improve and pray the rest of your team does, too.

Jason Hill: He should start.  How fast is he?  Deep threat?

Morgan, if you want to play, you better start reaching out and attacking balls.  You were supposed to be the best WR the 49ers had before Crabtree was signed.  Play like it or sit.  You are on the bubble.

Brandon Jones: Never again return a punt.  Ever.  Get on the field and show Morgan how wide receiver is played.  Niners, get some ROI on Jones and put him on the field on offense.  Brandon, you are on the bubble.

Michael Crabtree: You showed a lot those first two games.  You weren’t targeted much this game.  Gotta make that sideline catch.  Niners need to use you better.  Bug them about this.

Frank Gore: Is the best athlete the 49ers have on offense, closely edging out Vernon Davis.  When Gore gets the ball, you can just see his talent.  He is a football player.  He blocks, he jukes, he cuts, he hits the hole.  He is a man.

Vernon Davis: You are the same as Frank Gore pretty much, just please remain calm when the team needs you to.  Thanks for pulling guys out of the scrum yesterday and hell of a day catching the football.

Secondary: Did not play yesterday.  The 49ers only marched the D-Line and Patrick Willis onto the field on defense. 

Patrick Willis: Clone him three times, then four more times but shrink these clones down a little.  There is your LB and DB group.  This guy makes me feel sorry for him that he’s surrounded by the rest of the guys, with exception of the D-Line.

Andy Lee: See “Patrick Willis” section, last sentence up to the comma.

So that’s it.  Okay guys.  Fire away.

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Here’s Hoping Alex Smith’s Spark Catches Fire for the 49ers

Per Mike Singletary’s Monday Presser , Alex Smith will be the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers going forward. 

For those of us who got to watch the second half of the Houston game, this move brings with it some hope. 

Hope of an offense where more than two receivers are on the field.

Hope that passes will successfully travel more than ten yards down the field.

Hope that the offense will convert on third down!

Hope that Frank Gore won’t be punished so much in the box.

Hope that the Niners can compete against real-live NFL teams.

I know I’ve changed my tune. Maybe I’m a bit bandwagon-esque. But how can you not like the visions of more of what we saw from Smith on Sunday?

Here the 49ers sit with seven receivers on the roster.

Michael Crabtree had what I thought was an amazing debut, that showed us not only how in shape he was, but how good his routes were, and mostly, how good his hands are!

If you go back and watch some of his receptions you’ll see Crabtree pluck the ball out of the air with his fingers, his hands…the way it’s supposed to be done.

Add to that the NFL’s leader in touchdown receptions, the best tight end in the game Vernon Davis, who’s complimented in two tight end formations by the capable Delanie Walker.

Oh and there’s Frank Gore and Michael Robinson (remember him?). Both excellent pass catchers and blockers, not to mention Gore being an explosive runner and Robinson tough between the tackles.

What a thing of beauty to see three and four wide receivers in the game, the defense spread out, honoring the pass and staying out of the box.

I’m sure Frank Gore will be thankful to have less guys coming at him.

Wiley Isaac Bruce can still sit in a zone like none other and Josh Morgan is the definite X-Factor in the slot and on three and four receiver sets. Hey, perhaps we can get Brandon Jones involved I mean…while we’re tossing the rock here.

So here’s hoping on what’s to come. Alex Smith is the guy, so let’s get behind him. 

I can’t wait to see the offense take the field, which is saying something.

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Here’s Hoping Alex Smith’s Spark Catches Fire for the 49ers

Per Mike Singletary’s Monday Presser , Alex Smith will be the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers going forward. 

For those of us who got to watch the second half of the Houston game, this move brings with it some hope. 

Hope of an offense where more than two receivers are on the field.

Hope that passes will successfully travel more than ten yards down the field.

Hope that the offense will convert on third down!

Hope that Frank Gore won’t be punished so much in the box.

Hope that the Niners can compete against real-live NFL teams.

I know I’ve changed my tune. Maybe I’m a bit bandwagon-esque. But how can you not like the visions of more of what we saw from Smith on Sunday?

Here the 49ers sit with seven receivers on the roster.

Michael Crabtree had what I thought was an amazing debut, that showed us not only how in shape he was, but how good his routes were, and mostly, how good his hands are!

If you go back and watch some of his receptions you’ll see Crabtree pluck the ball out of the air with his fingers, his hands…the way it’s supposed to be done.

Add to that the NFL’s leader in touchdown receptions, the best tight end in the game Vernon Davis, who’s complimented in two tight end formations by the capable Delanie Walker.

Oh and there’s Frank Gore and Michael Robinson (remember him?). Both excellent pass catchers and blockers, not to mention Gore being an explosive runner and Robinson tough between the tackles.

What a thing of beauty to see three and four wide receivers in the game, the defense spread out, honoring the pass and staying out of the box.

I’m sure Frank Gore will be thankful to have less guys coming at him.

Wiley Isaac Bruce can still sit in a zone like none other and Josh Morgan is the definite X-Factor in the slot and on three and four receiver sets. Hey, perhaps we can get Brandon Jones involved I mean…while we’re tossing the rock here.

So here’s hoping on what’s to come. Alex Smith is the guy, so let’s get behind him. 

I can’t wait to see the offense take the field, which is saying something.

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49ers Fans: Is It Too Early To Believe?

Many fickle 49er fans (say that three times fast) as well as so-called “experts” alike are all answering or trying to answer one question: “Are the 49ers a good team?”

In the wake of one of the worst losses in franchise history, it’s a fair question.

This fan likes to err on the side of hope.

In my opinion, the loss against Atlanta was a pure fluke.

Singletary said it best when he said that the players begin to worry about the predicament they are in and start to focus more on “I gotta make a play!” rather than sticking to their assignments, executing, etc. 

Atlanta capitalized on Nate Clements going for a deflection on the long TD to Roddy White.

The team was unfortunately out of timeouts when a supposed kickoff fumble occurred, thus leaving them without the ability to challenge the play.

We all know what happened with Dre Bly and I think we can bet that won’t happen again…at least not until he’s near the proper end zone.

Seattle is not a bad team per se.  The Minnesota game truly could have gone either way, in fact it probably should have gone the 49ers’ way as that last play was a very low percentage type of play.

I agree that the running game needs to be consistent, not just a few big plays.  Like the passing game’s fate, it lies in the offensive line’s hands.  This aspect, as well as the many mental errors that occurred in the Atlanta game, I believe will be rectified, or at least significantly improved upon during the coming weeks.

While I wouldn’t call the 49ers an elite team, I do think they are the best team in the division and if they can pick up even a few games outside of the division…they will be playoff bound.

From there it depends on how much we improve in the areas of need between now and then.  Crabtree I expect to have an instant impact, albeit minor at first, but becoming much larger down the stretch. 

Again, ultimately I think it comes down to the offensive line.  If they can get that shored up…I think this team will be scary.

Imagine if they were playing the same type of defense they played for the first 3.99 weeks…as well as having an offense where, albeit a conservative approach, the quarterback has three or more seconds to find a receiver!  The running backs have holes to run through!  You know, the way it’s drawn up?

The 49ers have some work to do this bye week…and beyond.  Here’s hoping they get it done.

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Changes Coming: Singletary’s Monday Presser Highlights

Most fans, myself included, were reeling after Sunday’s blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons at Candlestick Park.  Trying to find answers and retain some hope, I turned to head coach Mike Singletary’s Monday press conference.  Coach Singletary did not disappoint.

First, in a surprising but incredibly necessary move, Singletary introduced Dre Bly to the podium so he could publicly apologize for his antics during an interception return in Sunday’s game.  Bly repeatedly used the term “inappropriate” in describing what he called a bad decision.  He also continually noted that his actions didn’t line up with what coach Singletary wants from him as a veteran on this team. 

It was evident that Bly knew he had disappointed Singletary, first and foremost, and also the rest of the staff and fans.

I was glad to see it was dealt with, though I’m sure others will say that the fact that Singletary doesn’t intend to “punish” Bly is letting him off easy.  I could tell that Bly will think twice about show boating like that again.  These guys don’t want to upset the H.C.

The next interesting tidbit came when Singletary eluded several times to there being possible changes on the offensive line.  He also made reference a few times to making sure the 53 guys on the roster are the guys who give the team the best chance to win.

It’s good to see the coaching staff responding to an issue that has plagued this team for quite some time now.  With fickle fans calling for Shaun Hill’s benching, it doesn’t take a genius to see that no quarterback could have much success without time to throw.

Add to that the fact that the running game hasn’t been the dominant force that the coaches envisioned thus far…and it’s easy to see why changes need to be made.  The only question now is will the team solely look within the confines of the roster and practice squad?  Or will they seek talent elsewhere?

Next, coach Singletary said when asked whether Michael Crabtree would stay in town to put in some work over the bye week: “He’s already had his bye week.  A long one.”

Hopefully Nate Davis or perhaps Trent Dilfer are around town to throw Crabtree the ball as he works on the routes that the coaches have no doubt given him to learn. 

Lastly, Singletary made a statement that most fans have been hoping will be the case going forward.  That this is a team building something.  That this team will be special this year.  And that this was uncharacteristic of who this team is, and will be.

Now all that’s left to do is prove that statement, something that you can bet coach Singletary will put on his players to go out and accomplish.

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San Francisco 49ers: Thoughts After Two Wins

I wrote this article after the third preseason game of 2009, detailing who the San Francisco 49ers were as a team. My reactions to their play in the preseason led me to make some statements about the team, as well as identify some areas that appeared to need improvement

I thought I would follow up every few weeks with some impressions about the team, especially considering that they have surprised me along the way.

I know it’s only Week Three in the NFL, and we still don’t really know most team’s true identities—and if we claim to, we’re either going to be wrong…or lucky.

That being said, I’ll do my best to give some impressions of what the 49ers have shown thus far, and also try to discern which areas constitute a real identity and which are more situational inconsistencies.

 

Running Game

Well, I had sworn the 49ers would own every team on the ground this year…or at least, I figured, they wouldn’t get shut down at all this season.

Week One proved me wrong on that front, but Week Two made me look like a genius. Obviously, the apparent reality of the running game is somewhere in the middle.

The 49ers are a running team. I have no doubt about that. I also don’t think that’s going to change by season’s end. The Arizona game was just downright weird.

First of all, the team didn’t run block well at all. Even against eight and nine-men fronts, you have to be able to find a way to get to the second level and expose the lack of defensive depth beyond the line of scrimmage.

Averaging 1.8 yards per carry can’t happen again. Ever.

Secondly, the play calling was a little suspect. Maybe the 49ers were trying to convince the Cardinals they would run the ball no matter what so Arizona would be dumbfounded when they threw it. Either way, I’d prefer not to have to win the game on Shaun Hill’s arm late in the fourth quarter.

Where was the screen game? That’s a run-blitz-beater!

And where was Glen Coffee? If the 49ers are going to bash the ball into the teeth of the defense 30 times a game, they should share the load so they don’t kill Frank Gore!

Well, the team recovered nicely in Seattle, displaying that beating a stacked line of scrimmage can be done.

Sure, their yards came mostly on two big plays, but that’s because they exposed the weakness in a stacked box. There is little to no help beyond five yards past the line of scrimmage. Gore beat the guys he had to and goodnight.

As I said, the reality of where the running game is at this point lies in the middle somewhere. The 49ers have the ability to beat run defenses, and, if they continue to prove that, we will see more varied fronts, allowing the team to hopefully grind out four to five yards per carry and control the clock.

 

Passing Game

If the home run touchdown play from Gore can open up the defense, maybe the 49ers won’t have to prove as much in the passing game. That’s significant because I’m pretty sure the team’s pass offense is a slow work in progress.

Hill has done everything asked of him thus far.

People complain about him all the time. He has a noodle arm. He can’t make deep throws. He has no mustard on the ball. Blah, blah, blah.

He doesn’t lose games.

Hill hasn’t thrown an interception yet. The team has only had one turnover through two games, with a differential of plus-two (tied for fourth in the NFL). We all know the truth in the statement: Whoever wins the turnover battle usually wins the game.

Still, there are plenty of areas the 49ers could improve that wouldn’t necessarily constitute having a “high flying” passing attack.

Hill has been sacked eight times, second only to Aaron Rodgers’ 10 sacks. Every sack has potential for a forced fumble, and every near-sack has the possibility of a bad throw leading to a pick.

Add to that, Hill has only thrown for 353 yards, which places him 28th in the NFL. I’m not as worried about this, though. I think that with confidence, practice with the receivers, and continued success of the run game, the passing game will open up some.

So, to summarize the passing game: It’s not losing any games, it’s not winning any games, per se. Sure, Hill had the drive in the fourth quarter in Arizona. But, as I said, I don’t think anyone wants to rely on that consistently. Let’s keep running the ball and let the passing game come.

 

Defense

I joined the fray in busting on the defense for its lack of pass rush this preseason. The hope from all of us was that 49ers were just in “vanilla” (still hate that word) mode for the exhibition and once they started stunting and blitzing, they’d show more pressure on the quarterback. 

Well, they’re still being called vanilla on defense, spending a lot of time in a base package. However, for whatever reason, the pass rush has shown up. 

Thankfully, thus far, the 49ers have really played as a team.

Against Arizona, the defense played as good as you could ask a unit to play, period.  Kurt Warner was on his back more than a promiscuous girl at a frat party. Good thing, too, because the offense couldn’t manage to get out of its own way save for the game-winning drive.

In Week Two, the pass rush wasn’t nearly as vicious, registering only one sack. The offense definitely stepped up with two huge touchdown runs by Gore to put the game out of reach. 

In both games, though, the run defense has been smothering. The 49ers rank third in the league, allowing only 106 yards rushing through two games. What’s more, they haven’t given up a single rushing touchdown, either.

Their takeaways are another bright spot. Three interceptions are tied for third in the league, though NFL-wide comparisons are somewhat irrelevant this early in the season.

 

Conclusions

Thus far, I would conclude the 49ers have improved upon who I “thought they were” in the preseason.

Their running game overall has lived up to expectations, though they really need to be consistent. The offensive line needs to be accountable and continue to improve and execute.

The passing game is doing what we thought it would do…not losing games, but not being flashy by any means. It will need to come along and have its moments at some point down the road in order to win the tough games.

The defense is shaping up to be one of the best in the NFL if it can continue on the path it’s on. I think this is the most consistent part of the team thus far.

They haven’t gotten lucky or had fortunate bounces of the ball. Instead, they have whipped opponents on nearly every play and won matchups, leading to outstanding team defense. The fundamentals emphasized by the coaching staff in training camp and beyond have obviously paid off.

All in all, I don’t think the 49ers fall into the same categories as other teams do at this point in the season.

Often times, when looking at a 2-0 team, there is uncertainty about whether or not it really proves they are a good team. In the 49ers’ case, though, I think they’ve played good, sound fundamental football. I look for them to continue to play well, even in losing efforts, and establish an identity to the world.

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Brett Favre’s Toughest Decision Yet: Dinner [Humor]

In all fairness, this article was spawned in response to this article and chronicles the way our favorite newsworthy ancient ex/current/ex quarterback makes his evening dinner plans.

Brett Favre loves him some dinner…but he’s been eating for quite some time, and on this night, he’s really trying to decide if he has the appetite or not.

At first, he decides that it’s been a long love-affair with food, and that he feels he must step away from dinner.  However, surprisingly he is driven by his wife to a restaurant, sat down, and ordered for.

He likes the meal at first until he gets to the desert, at which time he strains his esophagus and throws up repeatedly as a result.

At the end of the meal Favre proclaims that tomorrow night he will not be eating dinner. As tomorrow night approaches however, he begins to reconsider and calls a local restaurant.

He tells the host that he’d like to come eat there but isn’t certain yet. The restaurant  tells him he has until 8PM to make his reservation otherwise they are going to let two other parties fight it out to see who gets the table.

Brett waits several hours before finally calling back around 7PM to say he’s decided not to eat.

The restaurant then calls both of the other two parties to let them know they will be able to show up for a last minute decision as to who is able to dine at their establishment. The two parties both show up rather disheveled and fairly unimpressive in appearance. Meanwhile Favre has been snacking at home constantly since cancelling his reservation, provoking rumors that he is obviously still hungry.

At this point other patrons begin to rumor that Brett will indeed be coming to dinner tonight, which quickly starts quite a hub bub in the establishment, and in the restaurant community in general.  Some even report that a table indeed has been reserved for Favre at the restaurant he called earlier.

That brings us to now.  Brett, it’s dinner time.  What are you going to do?

San Francisco 49ers Look Rough Around Edges in Preseason Opener

Though there were plenty of bright spots, to me it looked at times as though the 49ers thought they were playing in a scrimmage perhaps. 

Maybe that’s the way the coaches wanted to approach this game.  Don’t play your butts off, save some for the rest of the preseason, regular season opener, etc. 

The offense looked crisp, spirited, efficient, (insert adjective here) during the first series.  It was nice to see Vernon Davis thrown to twice in the first few minutes of play (and to see him catch the ball and run with it). 

Then Alex Smith came in. 

I’m not a hater.  I want the guy who’s playing the best to be our QB.  Last night however, Smith looked a lot like the old Alex we all want to forget.

Granted Shaun Hill only got one series with which to compare himself to Smith.  But that leaves a handful of positive plays to compare to a few dozen roller coasters.

I would have been even more pleased if Hill didn’t take a sack while holding the ball far longer than the three second drills from camp would allow.  As for Smith…well, he moved outside of the pocket numerous times and then failed to either hit a receiver or throw the ball away.  In fact, I’d be fine if one out of every ten plays was a ball chucked onto the Gatorade table if necessary.  Interceptions are a loss of possession.  Sacks are a loss of down AND a loss of yards.  Incompletions are only a loss of down.  You decide.

The QB’s aside, I thought that Glen Coffee calmed my nerves about what I seemed to have been reading about his performance thus far in training camp.  It had appeared that he was doing nothing exceptional, even impressive in camp as of yet.  However Friday night he was the one-cut-downhill runner we all were hoping we drafted to spell our most prized possession, Frank Gore – who, by the way, I’m glad is resting.

At this point I don’t think Gore is going to be affected by missing preseason action.  Give him one series in each of the last two preseason games and he’ll be fine.  If you give him any work in the preseason at all.

Other bright spots in the offense were Kory Sheats 5.1 yards per carry including a nice long run.  Looks like we will have the tools necessary to be the bruising, bone crushing, clock eating unit that Singletary (and most of the fan base) wants.

Josh Morgan looked great to me.  This kid is athletic and smart.  He had limited opportunities and didn’t make any “wow” plays, but I liked the comeback route where he took charge and went and got the ball.  I’m excited about our young prospect this year.

Another wonderful surprise came in the form of Brit Miller, the converted linebacker who looks poised to be a big time contributor at the fullback position.

Miller caught two touchdowns in the contest.  The first one was a bailout for Smith where Miller sat in a hole and provided an emergency outlet near the goal line.  Smith panicked but did finally pull the trigger and find Miller standing alone just outside the end zone.  The other was a play where Miller caught a dump-off pass in the right flat, wide open, and took the ball streaking down the sideline for a touchdown.

Miller’s blocking in the passing game was pretty good too compared to Zak Keasy’s efforts which directly lead to two sacks.  Rather ironically, Keasy left the game after breaking his forearm during a special teams tackle, making Miller’s good performance even more important.

Pass protection didn’t look stellar most of the night, although most people realize we’re built more for run blocking.  Still, we need to occasionally give these guys the full three or four seconds to throw, INCLUDING an actual pocket from which to do so.  Again, this was one of the elements that seemed to be lacking.

The other side of the line wasn’t real impressive as it pertains to the passing game either.  Moreover, our pash rush was almost nil.  I know we have good depth of young guys here so it’s not the utmost of my concerns but it was obvious that this aspect of the defense was nonexistent. 

The run defense was pretty good although I thought we could have made more plays for little gain or loss.  Justin Smith was all over the place for a D-Lineman, once making a tackle near the sideline that really got me going. 

The guy who I really like, although he doesn’t figure to heavily contribute much beyond special teams, is Scott McKillop.  The kid isn’t “prototypical linebacker” by design but he’s got a good motor and was playing his heart out.  He also seems very humble and willing to do anything just to make the team and contribute.  He ended up with quite a few tackles albeit playing against scrubs for most of the second half.  I can really see him developing into something special if he keeps it up.

Enough about my new man crush…let’s talk secondary. 

Sure what you’ll see on the highlight film are the four interceptions—something some will probably solely attribute to Kyle Orton rather than the talent of the Niners secondary.  A few of the picks were very athletic plays and I like the ball hawking style we seemed to play with in that respect.

However the troubling part was the cushion and look of confusion the secondary played with at times.  Again, this may have been the plan all along—to play a “bend don’t break” style to keep guys healthy, etc.  It is only the first preseason game and one would expect the energy to elevate as time goes on.

And I’m not the coach so what do I know?  I guess I want to see our defense SCARE people this year in every facet.  I want to see receivers getting hit, balls batted down, pressure on opposing quarterbacks, punishing blows to backs daring to run between the tackles.

I hope this style of play reveals itself during the season opener and throughout the 16 games, and into the future for the Niners defense.

I know this article was kind of all over the place, lacked really any statistical info (even though we all know stats mean almost nothing in preseason anyways), and yes, it’s entirely written from the point of view of a life-long fan of the Niners.  I hope, however that it comes across as honest and relatively objective as it pertains to what we learned and what we need to improve upon if this in fact was any indication as to how we’ll show up for game one in September and beyond.

Go Niners!

Update: Brandon Jones Out For Two Months

ESPN.com just reported that San Francisco 49er wide receiver Brandon Jones will miss two months with a fractured shoulder. 

Head coach Mike Singletary is apparently saying that Jones will not need surgery.

This takes away some quality depth at the position and some will say gives Michael Crabtree more bargaining leverage in his saga to become what this writer feels is overpaid for his draft slot. 

I for one hope that the 49ers do not change their stance in these negotiations: I liken it to bargaining with terrorists in fact, although on a decidedly much smaller scale.

This news however may at least temporarily increase the fantasy value of receiver Josh Morgan. 

Already projected to be a starter opposite Isaac Bruce, Offensive Coordinator Jimmy Raye has said that Morgan can play all three receiver positions.  With Morgan’s experience last season it would figure that he has a good chance to get even more opportunities in multiple receiver packages.

Stay tuned as this situation develops and, you can bet, the media will further spin and over analyze the state of the 49ers draft pick.

Finding the 49ers: How Much Room Is There for Improvement in San Francisco?

I was looking at stats today, being the Monday Morning Quarterback that I am, trying to see just what our shortcomings were during the 2008 season.  As I poured through the numbers, one thing became apparent to me…The 49ers weren’t very good in almost every category…at all.

An obvious statement. Anyone who followed the team, even from a “highlight-reel” perspective, would agree with this.  However to this author, when looking deeper, we see that there are a few key underlying causes.

Now if you’ve already been through this exercise, now would be the time to duck out the back exit.  If you haven’t looked much deeper than SportsCenter or watching the games though, the following just might give you an insight into why the 49ers didn’t win a lot of games last year.  This is how I got on this “mission”

I was commenting on another article on B/R, myself being disappointed in our “No. 1 Receiver” Isaac Bruce’s stats of only 835 yards last year, when someone made a few good points: We are a running team and we spread the ball around a lot.

Now that got me thinking. OK…well there are a lot of “running teams” out there.  What kind of stats do they have? 

This actually was the beginning of looking at all of the stats I’m writing about here…The first of which was total yards in the season.

 

Overall Offense

They were 23rd in the League in 2008 with only 4,978 total yards, 22nd with an average of 21.2 PPG, totaling only 31 TD’s on offense (less than two per game), and only 10 Rushing TD’s.

 

Rushing

Our “running team” was 27th in the NFL with only 1,599 yards.  Also, 27th with only 397 attempts.  The top seven teams averaged over 500 carries (and all rushed for over 2,100 yards).  Our average of 99 yards per game was good enough for 27th overall as well.  4.0 yards per carry was good enough for 21st in the league.

10 rushing TD’s tied us for 15th overall, but in reality, there were 24 teams with more rushing TD’s than us, so let’s look at it that way.

 

Passing

We were actually 13th with 3,379 yards…The bright spot perhaps.  We managed 16th in completion percentage, though 18th in passing attempts.  We did have 21 TDs which was actually good enough to tie for ninth in the NFL.

 

Preliminary Conclusions

Originally when I saw the scoring numbers I immediately thought, “Wow, we didn’t capitalize on scoring opportunities.”  After looking at the rest of the stats, I drew one larger conclusion:

We didn’t have the ball enough on offense.  I say that because of how low we ranked in attempts, which consequently led to low totals in yards and scoring.  Time of possession agrees with this (could have checked that first and saved myself a lot of time).

Now most of us all know that if you don’t have the ball enough, either you’re turning the ball over or your defense can’t stop the other team.  Or in this case, a combination of the two.

Defensive Stats

The 49ers were 13th against the run, total yards allowed, and yards per game.  Not too shabby. 

Against the pass however, the 49ers were 20th in passing yards allowed overall and per game.  They were 23rd in the league in points allowed overall and per game.

 

Turnover Stats

We gave the ball away 35 times in 2008 compared to only 18 takeaways.  That’s -17 in the turnover margin.  That’s -1 per game.

 

Final Conclusions

One extra possession for the other team is going to hurt.

One could argue that the reason the defensive stats weren’t as good as they could be is due to the fact that the other team is getting more opportunities.  The defense is on the field longer, especially late in the game when it’s most important. 

However, we can’t let the defense totally off the hook either.

While the 35 giveaways was an NFL worst in 2008, the 18 takeaways was in the bottom five as well.  The fact is, this team almost seemed to not want the ball last season.  The offense gave it back to the opposition and the defense didn’t get it back very often. 

I think we all know this is going to change quickly. With the stern Mike Singletary overseeing Greg Manusky and Jimmy Raye, these guys are going to preach discipline with the ball on offense and a relentless pursuit of it on defense. 

Winning the turnover battle will go a long ways, however our passing defense plays a role in takeaways and allowed a lot of yardage and scoring last year on it’s own. With the addition of veteran Dre Bly and projected-star Dashon Goldson, let’s hope our long-plagued secondary can finally play as well as the other units.

All in all, I think the 49er faithful can expect improvement in most, if not all categories we’ve discussed here, if we can find a way to get and keep the ball.

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