Originally posted by 49ers81:
I think it's time for a little perspective. Yes, they got their asses kicked today, so what? For months,people who claim to know about these things have been saying they expected the team to go 8-8. If that is indeed the case then two games into the season and they are right on track to make those predictions come true. However, today wasn't and division loss or a conference loss, which is more than the 0-2 Seahawks can say, who I think most reasonable people will agree are probably a better team at the moment. Seahawks and Rams both lost which means the Niners didn't lose any ground there.
Cardinals won big but what better warm up for next weeks game than to play against a pocket passer who likes to get the ball down field and has the wideouts to do it. Seems to me this was a great lesson in terms of finding out where the weaknesses are in their pass defense. Now they have a chance to try and address them when they face the Cardinals, which is a far more important game for them to win than this one was. If they do beat the Cardinals then they'll be tied for first in the division so again, I'm not sure where all of the handwringing is coming from.
There were actually some things I liked in this game in spite of the outcome. They put a couple of nice drives together but couldn't finish them off. They got Mike Davis some experience which can't hurt. I thought Kaepernick had some good throws and, it seems to me, that a lot of the big plays the Steelers came up were the result of just some sick throws by Roethlisberger and some near misses by the defense. I thought Reid had a chance to make a play on a couple of balls that slipped by him. Maybe next time he gets those picks.
Hayne continues to show that he doesn't have the experience yet to really be a really effective back but he got positive yards on both his carries and he continues to be a fun story to follow. The real question, which someone else pointed out above, whether or not Vernon Davis is still the best option as the starting TE. Injuries to Bell and MacDonald will keep him there for awhile, along with his rep, but he just doesn't seem like the same player he was a couple of years ago. One has to wonder if maybe he has just lost his passion for the game. Anyway on to the Cardinals next week and hopefully a better outcome
Terrific post.
I figured it would be a very close game and that we'd pull it out but the Steelers came out with added focus to win the LOS in their home opener and just executed perfectly. They could do no wrong. This happens in sports. Despite controlling the clock, having long time-consuming drives, we couldn't capitalize and as a result, the original game plan had to be thrown out and after the 3 big bombs, the game plan started to work against us (we needed more time on the clock and to completely switch game plans but it was too late). Game plans for both offense and defense were poor too. With lack of preparation time it seemed like we just stuck to what we did the previous week instead of having an opponent-specific game plan. That, was a big mistake.
Reality Check: Right now, there are only 2 really good teams in the NFC: Cards and Packers. And the Packers have lost a ton of WR's and just lost their power back to an ankle injury. Cards? They ALWAYS start out hot...then usually flame out as the year progresses. But they are hot right now, no doubt.
Aside from the Cardinals, what team poses 3 deep-threats at WR with a terrific, veteran deep-ball thrower? I think we are well suited to match up week-in and week-out as long as we can dictate the game by sticking to our game plans: methodical passing game (no INT's) coupled with a terrific running game, mobile QB threat, take some calculated deeper shots, play sound, dictating yet-disciplined defense, play excellent ST's play (coverage, returns, field position, FG's), etc.
I think this
coaching staff learns a lot from this ass-whoopin and continues to adjust and form our identity. I have a feeling they will make the necessary adjustments. They are growing right along with the players here.
[ Edited by NCommand on Sep 21, 2015 at 8:58 AM ]
