Abaddon's Blog : CBSSports.com Blogs

Week 12 vs. Jacksonville Breakdown

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:44:57 EST

Summary

To tell the truth, I thought we would win this game easily so I am not really excited about that but one thing that I am excited the performance by Alex Smith. Everything else, on the other hand, not so much. The disappointments in particular were that we did not get our running game going at all, the return game, and this stupid prevent/bend but don't break defense. I would advise my fellow 49er fans to not get too excited about this game because the Jaguars just are not very good.

Offense

QB:

Week 11 @ Green Bay Breakdown

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:56:02 EST

Summary

I don't even know how to fill up space with a summary because what needs to be said can be said so simply. We were completely outcoached, for the millionth time it seems, on both sides of the ball. That is it.

Offense

QB:

Week 10 vs. Chicago Breakdown

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 3:07:17 EST

This game was very similar to week one against Arizona. We played poor on offense but great on defense and squeaked out a win that some would argue we did not deserve. I would not disagree with that sentiment 100%; when the amount of interceptions thrown by your opponent is greater than the score you win by, something is wrong; I think it is a little exaggerated. Our defense played fantastic in almost all facets of the game and our offense did enough to win.

Offense

QB:

It was not a poor game for Alex Smith , he certainly played better than he did against Tennessee, but it was not good. On the interception he threw, he had Josh Morgan open but instead tried to force the ball to Crabtree instead. He also was responsible for one of the sacks when he held onto the ball for too long. Other than those few plays I though he played well. Smith escaped pressure to make plays and convert a few third downs and he managed the game well.

Week 9 vs. Tennessee Breakdown

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 1:50:20 EST

A loss to a 1-6 team hurts and it hurts badly, especially considering the way that we lost. We had chances to win this game so many times and played very well in all facets of the game but big plays by the Titans , our inability to make big plays, and awful coaching lost it.

Offense

QB:

Alex Smith really did not play all that bad. On all three of his interceptions he did stare down his receiver but the first two were just fantastic plays by Titans defenders while the third was an awful play by Josh Morgan combined with a good play by the Titans defender. He dropped back to pass 51 times and only made 3 mistakes, which I think is not terrible considering that the offensive line could not block anyone. Even when the Titans only brought 3 men, Smith was pressured. He made a lot of good plays that none of the other QBs on our roster would have made; including the first touchdown to Jason Hill and the 40-yarder to Vernon Davis . Overall, he had a solid game that I would grade at a 'C+'

Week 7 @ Houston Breakdown

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 8:36:33 EDT

So what we have lost two in a row. So what if our only wins are against teams in our division. So what if the running game has been mediocre to bad thus far. So what. I can honestly take more positives away from this game than from any other game this year. Want to know what they are? Read on, then.

Offense

QB:

I don't know what to say about Shaun Hill. On the one hand, it did seem like he was running for his life half of the time but on the other I saw him missing plenty of open receivers for the second straight game. Anyone who reads my posts knows that I have been one of the most avid supporters of Hill for the past two seasons but he has just not played well in recent weeks. Alex Smith played fantastic today, though. His passes had a zip to them that we had not seen since his 2006 season and he had a decisiveness and leadership quality that we have never seen. I can say with 100% honesty that he played better today than any 49ers quarterback since Jeff Garcia. If he does not get the start against Indianapolis next week I would be surprised.

Week 5 vs. Atlanta Breakdown

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:00:37 EDT

Were they even trying? I mean, in all seriousness, did the 49ers want to win this game? Because from what I saw it seemed like they were more interested in helping the Falcons. If we had been playing hard but just getting outplayed then I wouldn't feel the need to mock the players but, with the exception of a few players, they were not. Even so, I am going to try and convince myself that this was not that bad of a loss by grasping at every little positive I could find.

Offense

QB:

This was by far the worst game of Shaun Hill's career and it proved that he cannot win a shootout. I still think that he is not just a game manager and can win games, just not high scoring ones. His receivers were not giving him much help, to be honest, but he was missing open receivers, making the wrong reads, and just playing awful all-around.

Week 4 vs. St. Louis Breakdown

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:54:06 EDT

Beating up on the Rams doesn't make you a good team. I know that it sounds very pessimistic but I know that most of you have to agree with me. The Rams are easily the worst team in the league this year, maybe even worse than the Lions of last season, and they have been shut out twice in four games. We came out playing like we didn't care about winning and if the Rams had been a half-way decent team then we more than likely would have lost or maybe won a close one. Sure, there were some good things to take away from this game but there were many more bad things, which is a surprising thing to say after a 35-0 win.

Offense

QB:

Through 4 weeks, Shaun Hill is definitely the 49ers offensive MVP. After tossing 2 touchdowns yesterday, should have been 3 but Josh Morgan dropped one, he has 5 TDs on the season to only 1 interception. He has a passer rating of 93.3 and is doing exactly what he was expected to do, manage games by taking care of the ball and making a few plays here and there. In all honestly, his numbers should be even better. There were 3 or 4 dropped passes yesterday, not to mention that there have been a few in every other game as well. If Jimmy Raye were smart, which will be discussed later, then he would let Hill pass more when the running game isn't working. The only problem I had with his play yesterday was that 3 of the 4 sacks the 49ers allowed were mostly his fault and he also might have been able to avoid the 4th.

Week 3 Power Rankings

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:09:39 EDT

1. Baltimore Ravens (3-0) – Joe Flacco looked fantastic, albeit against a terrible Cleveland team.

2. New York Giants (3-0) – They beat up on Tampa Bay better than I expected them to.

3. New Orleans Saints (3-0) – Drew Brees has an off day? It doesn’t matter, the Saints played great defense and ran all over Buffalo.

4. Indianapolis Colts (3-0) – Peyton Manning is unstoppable and on pace for his 4th MVP award.

Week 3 @ Minnesota Breakdown

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:32:40 EDT

I am very happy that the 49ers hung in the game until the end but I would be lying if I said that this loss did not hurt. We had the game won, and without our best offensive player for the entire game, but the Vikings get one of the most unbelievable plays I have ever seen. It is just crazy and I am honestly still in shock. The good news is that we outplayed the Vikings in the second half of the game and I think if we meet again, like Singletary believes we will, then the 49ers will win.

Offense

QB:

This loss was definitely not on Shaun Hill and "experts" and ignorant fans of other teams are already talking about how the 49ers cannot be an elite team because of him. I am not saying that he played a perfect game by any means, he was not good to say the least on third down and the only sack he took was partly because of his unnecessarily deep drop and poor pocket presence, but he had a good game. His interception was partly not his fault, Delanie Walker quit on the route and probably had a chance to at least stop Cedric Griffin from picking off the pass. His two touchdown passes to Vernon Davis were great and he was great on both of those drives. As for him not being good on third downs, I think that wasn't all his fault. This is going to be long-winded but I am going to go through all 11 third down failures right now. First of all, 3 of them were running plays so those definitely were not Hill's fault; Isaac Bruce and Glen Coffee both dropped catchable passes that would have went for first downs; on the early 3rd and 22, Raye thought it would be smart to call a quick WR screen; one play the right side of the offensive line did not block and Hill had to get rid of it way too early; and the other 4 were completed passes that were short of the first down. Like I said, it wasn't Hill's fault that we were so bad on 3rd down.

Week 2 Power Rankings

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:42:42 EDT

1. New York Giants - I was definitely wrong about them. Providing the performances by Manningham and Smith were not flukes, they are going to be tough to beat. Eli is finally living up to his draft status.

2. New Orleans Saints - Drew Brees is currently unstoppable. If their defense can even play decently for the rest of the season I don't see how they would not make it to the NFC championship.

3. Indianapolis Colts - Might as well just be called the Peyton Manning's. The defense is horrible, especially against the run, and the offensive line is not very good. Manning will carry them to a 12-win season, though.

4. Atlanta Falcons - Matt Ryan has looked really good in these first two weeks even when the running game wasn't working.

Home opener vs. Seattle Breakdown

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:07:11 EDT

Wow. Does it feel good to be 2-0 or what? I know that we were 2-0 in 2007 but it is pretty obvious that this team is much better on both sides of the ball than that one. That year, the defense looked good but not spectacular like it has this year and the offense was terrible. If the defense keeps up the way that they are playing, they will finish in the top 10 even without a pass rush, I will address that later. The offense is doing just enough to win us the games and they really know how to finish.

Offense

QB:

Hill played about as well yesterday as he always does. His numbers were kind of underwhelming, 19/26 for 144 with no touchdowns or interceptions, but the receivers dropped a couple of long passes that would have inflated those numbers a bit. The fact is that Hill just continues make plays when it matters and he wins. He looked more accurate yesterday than he did last week, especially on deep and mid-range passes.

Opening Day @ Arizona Game Breakdown

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:50:19 EDT

I gotta say, even though I picked the 49ers to win this game, I was surprised when we won. It is not like I did not have faith in them, quite the opposite. I had faith that they would play a conservative offense and not get any pressure on defense, allowing Kurt Warner to destroy us. Well, I was right about the offense at least. Below is a breakdown of the game, sorted by position.

Offense

QB:

I have said it before and I will say it again, Shaun Hill is not a bad quarterback, Now, if you look down the page at my review of the third preseason game you will see me singing a different tune. Hill, for some reason, only seems to be able to play well when it matters the most and I am okay with that. He could play terrible all game for all I care but if he leads us on a fantastic game-winning drive all is forgiven. That is almost what he did yesterday. Now, he didn't play terrible all game by any means but he wasn't great. Hill's arm strength looks like it has improved, there is more zip on the ball, but he still tries to force things deep even when there is nothing there. I saw 4 times when is tried to force a deep pass into double or triple coverage. But the one long ball he did complete to Bruce was beautiful. Even so, he needs to stop forcing things and dump it when something deep isn't there. He also held the ball way too long on one play when the Cardinals brought an overload blitz, but that is an improvement over how many times J.T. O'Sullivan did that in games. Overall, mostly due to how fantastic he was on the game-winning touchdown drive, Hill had a good game.

Preseason Game 3 @Cowboys Positional Analysis

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:06:12 EDT

QB:

Shaun Hill - To say he looked anything but bad or worse would be generous. His passes were off target, he didn't see receivers running open, and he forced passes. The best thing I can say for him is at least he did not turn the ball over. Still, if he plays that poorly all season this team is not going anywhere. I would like to give the the benefit of the doubt, however, because he was not that good last preseason as well and the Cowboys pass rush was getting to him.

Nate Davis - Granted it was against 3rd and 4th stringers, Davis looked good. His passes were actually to the receivers and he showed off his arm strength with a couple of bullets. He still did not see some receivers running wide open across the middle on he final drive but he got the job done. He is definitely not going to be able to be placed on the PS now.

Preseason Game 2 vs. Raiders Positional Analysis

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:02:53 EDT

Since I actually got to watch the game this week I decided to do a long-winded position-by-position analysis

QB:

Alex Smith - I really don't quick Smith played poorly at all. His numbers looked terrible (3/9 for 30 yards and a pick) but if you actually watched the game you saw that the incompletions and interception were not really his fault. One incomplete pass came on a throw away and I did not see anyone open, another came on a throw away when I think I saw Davis open so that one could be blamed on Smith, one was a little off target because it was tipped at the LoS but still catchable by Bruce, one should have been caught by Davis but he dropped it, the interception should have been caught by Morgan but I guess he heard footsteps, and the final incompletion came when Smith turned around and had Raiders in his face and it was amazing he even got rid of the ball. Smith also knocked the **** out of Greg Ellis and made a great tackle on Ricky Brown.

49ers Undrafted Free Agent Review

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:27:17 EDT

l Alex Boone , OT, Ohio State - Anyone who reads this blog knows that I have liked Boone for a long time as the 49ers possible right tackle of the future and at one point I wasn't against drafting him in the 4th-6th round. The fact that we got him as a UDFA makes me very happy. Boone has always had the physical ability to be a good player at right tackle because of his great strength and he has 4 years of starting experience at Ohio State as well but his main problem is his decision making. He was charged with drunk driving in 2006 and again in 2009 after resisting arrest and having a blood-alcohol level 3 or 4 times the legal limit. For some reason he has also admitted to sometimes drinking 30 beers a day. If he can just pull his head out of his ass then maybe he can be our starting right tackle when Marvel Smith's contract is up. If not this is a low risk signing that costs us nothing.

49ers 2009 Draft Analysis and Grades

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:26:19 EDT

Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech - When we first made the pick I admit that I was pretty angry. Right when the Jaguars picked Monroe I knew that we were going to get Crabtree and it made me mad because I felt like I would have rather had Brian Orakpo. I am still not sure if I would prefer to have Orakpo over Crabtree but I do like the Crabtree pick a lot more today than I did Saturday. Crabtree has all the makings of a great receiver and he gives us a great young receiver trio along with Josh Morgan and Jason Hill. Then there is the whole thing that most people considered him the best player in the draft and that we got him at 10. That alone makes this a great pick. GRADE: A+

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ySmg1f8ZSM (plenty of other highlights as well)

Post Combine Favorite Prospects (Defense)

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:38:10 EDT

I might be in the minority here but I believe the 49er's defense was better than their offense last year. The defense actually ranked lower (23rd to 22nd for the offense) but they were much higher in terms of yards (13th to 23rd). Most of the points scored against them came when J.T. O'Sullivan gave the opponent the ball in 49er territory, which happened a lot. I remember reading that something like 1/5 of the points scored against the 49ers came as a result of O'Sullivan turnovers in 49er territory or O'Sullivan turnovers brought back for touchdowns. So to summarize, J.T. O'Sullivan is so bad he caused some of the defenses problems. Now that is not to say that the defense was perfect. There were huge problems with getting to the quarterback and safety play especially. Those two together made the pass defense really bad. The run defense was good mostly because Takeo Spikes, Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, and Manny Lawson (when Nolan was smart enough to play him).

Post Combine Favorite Prospects (Offense)

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 1:08:39 EDT

The 49ers offense last year was okay averaging around 22 points per game but they weren't explosive and didn't seem to make the right plays at the right time. The source(s) of most of the problems could be easily identified. The turnovers were J.T. O'Sullivan's fault, the lack of production from the tight end position was because Vernon Davis can't catch or run routes, the pass protection problems came from the right side of the line, etc. But when problems are that obvious it at least makes it relatively easy to find a solution.

*Note - These are not player rankings, just because one player is above another it doesn't mean I think he is better just that I think his draft position/impact ratio is better*

Quarterback - Unless Matthew Stafford falls to 10 the 49ers aren't drafting a QB on the first day of the draft. Period....hopefully. I want them to let Alex Smith and Shaun Hill, and a young late-rounder, battle it out for the starting job in training camp. If Alex Smith wins the job and does well next year we have our franchise QB and if he doesn't Shaun Hill holds down the fort for a year of two while we groom our franchise QB who will be either drafted late this year or early, if Alex Smith fails to win the starting job, next year.

San Francisco 49ers Draft Needs

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 0:07:26 EST

It might only be January but with 49er football over it is never too early to discuss the draft and who we think the 49ers should be looking at. In this article I will be going into depth on the 49er's needs in the draft and what players I have my eye on at each of those positions. Remember, this is all in my opinion but I think most 49er fans share that opinion

#1 Need: Pass Rusher - In the past three seasons the 49ers have averaged under 2 sacks a game (95 total sacks in 48 games). When you take into account that at least 1/4 of those have been coverage sacks that is just sad. Signing Justin Smith as a free agent before last season helped a little bit but he is more of the relentess power guy that will eventually get to the QB if the secondary covers long enough. San Francisco needs someone who can come off of the edge quickly and force the QB to step up into Smith or, even better, force a bad pass. No secondary can cover, let alone forced turnovers, when opposing quarterbacks have 8-10 seconds to throw the ball.

Week 14 vs. New York Jets Positional Analysis

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:45:58 EST

That was easily the best game the 49ers have played all year, outside of maybe against Detroit but the Lions barely count as an NFL team. To dominate an 8-4 that had beaten two playoff contenders on the road like that is just an amazing confidence booster. What's more is that the 49ers did it without their best player for the entire second half and with their second best defensive player for the entire game. A little more than a month ago this team was dead in the water with a lame-duck coach and a turnover prone quarterback and now they are playing with a fire and intensity we haven't seen in a long time. I know this is stupid because it is in the past but I am torn right now. Part of me wishes that Shaun Hill had been the starter since week 1 because if he had been we would probably be 8-5 and playoff bound right now but, on the other hand, Nolan wouldn't have been fired in that situation. But I guess when I think about it long term I am happier that O'Sullivan was the quarterback in the first half of the season because we were going nowhere with Nolan at the helm. With Singletary, however, we could go far.

Week 13 @Buffalo Thoughts and Observations

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:36:27 EST

- As much as I would like to blame the playcalling for the offense's poor performance, because I hope Martz is gone next year, I can't. Martz called a pretty good game. He gave the ball to Gore a lot even though the running game wasn't really working and he only got "pass-happy" once, early in the third quarter. I am still waiting for screen passes to Gore, Davis, and Delanie Walker because teams continue to bring tons of pressure against us and stack the box. That is really the only criticism I have of Martz today. I could go after his third down playcalling, because we only converted 3/11 after that first great drive, but a lot of those failed conversions were on execution, not the play call.

- Shaun Hill once again played an efficient game and made plays when he needed to. 161 yards passing may not seem good but 7 yards per attempt is and there were also a few dropped passes. He didn't turn the ball over at all and even though he fumbled twice he fell on them. Of the three times he was sacked none of them were his fault and he used his legs to avoid a few more would be sacks.

Week 10 @Arizona Thoughts and Observations

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 0:43:11 EST

First let me just say that was the worst officiating sustained through an entire game that I have ever seen in my life. The officials were throwing flags on penalties that weren't there (i.e. the offensive pass interference called on Anquan Boldin), picking them back up, changing their minds (the pass interference on Bryant Johnson on the "tipped ball" play), and missing obvious penalties (like the facemask on Michael Robinson on the last play. The 49ers didn't do themselves any favors with terrible clock management and stupid penalties that actually happened but with proper officiating they still would have won that game.

- As a whole the offense was much better than it had been with J.T. O'Sullivan. Looking at the penalties and turnovers an uneducated observer might not think so but it was. We converted 50% of our third downs for the first time all season and Martz's playcalling wasn't stupid. He ran Gore 23 times and tried to throw it to him a few more. There were only a few long-developing, 7 step drops and quite a few quick slants. I just can't excuse the clock management at the end of the game, though. There were 45 seconds left when Jason Hill got down to the one yard line and we took 25 seconds to spike the ball. That is inexcusable. Then we should have spiked the ball with 4 seconds left and gotten a new play in. The refs messed up those last few plays but the 49ers messed up more.

Mid-Season Grades

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 2:13:36 EST

Now that half of the 49ers schedule has been played it is time to grade each aspect of the team. I love how our bye week splits our schedule perfectly in half because the team gets rest at the perfect time and it gives me time to write this long review and it gives you guys something to read during the bye week. Without further ado let's get to the position-by-position review and analysis.

Quarterback (Grade: D-)

The only thing that stopped me from giving J.T. O'Sullivan an 'F' is that he did have a couple of good games, though it was against terrible teams in Detroit and Seattle. Outside of those two games he was about as bad as a quarterback could be. He finished his season with 17 total turnovers (11 interceptions, 6 fumbles, plus 5 fumbles that the 49ers recovered) and while he did put up decent touchdown, yards, and yards per attempt numbers, 8 touchdowns, 1678 yards, 7.7 yards per attempt, but every quarterback in Mike Martz's offense has done that so it isn't much of an accomplishment. Neither his 58.4 percent completion nor his 74 passer rating helped his cause. As if his bad stats weren't enough he held the ball way too long and took sacks that he didn't need to. I am okay with a quarterback trying to make a play outside of the pocket, to an extent, but when you are two yards away from the sideline and there is a defender bearing down on you you have to get rid of the ball and not lose yardage for your team.

Sorry I have been MIA the past couple of weeks

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:18:08 EDT

My internet has been done and this is the first chance I have had to get to the library and post this. I should be up and running again by Monday, Tuesday at the latest. If I am not back by Tuesday then the official 49er blogger alternate should take over for another week or so. Again, I'm sorry that I have missed my duties and I am extremely sorry that I have so many post to read and catch up on. Thanks and hopefully I will be here talking 49er football with you guys Monday!

UPDATE

So like I said, whoever the alternate 49er blogger is should take over for the next week. I thought I could get this fixed by last Monday but something with school came up so it won't be fixed until at least this Sunday now.

Week 5 vs. New England Thoughts and Observations

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 8:35:19 EDT

- Martz was ridiculously outcoached by Belichick, who had an answer to everything Martz tried. The sad part is that I could of outcoached Martz with the game he called. The playcalling was so predictable it would have been easy. First down, 5 yard run by Gore; second down, 3 yard run by Gore; third down, long developing pass play instead of a 3 step drop. All the Patriots had to do was bring pressure on third down and they did it. The offense only converted 1 third down out of the 9 they tried and only had 1 drive of more than 5 yards, including 5 three and outs.

- J.T. O'Sullivan didn't play as poorly this week as he did last week but it was close. At least this week he didn't turn the ball over in the red zone or take sacks when he didn't have to. He still had quite of few costly mistakes. The one that stood out was the interception deep in our own territory on the first 49ers drive of the 2nd half. The Patriots had just had a 10-play, 6 minute (the defense only allowed 34 yards and forced a punt, though) drive to start the 3rd quarter and the defense was tired and needed a break, instead JTO threw an interception 38 seconds later and forced the defense to come back onto the field with their backs to the wall at their own 24. Of course the Patriots scored a touchdown on that. I am amazed that the defense almost stopped them. Then there was his last interception with about 3 minutes left when he tried to force something that wasn't even close to there. San Francisco still had all 3 timeouts left and was only down by 9 at that point. Throw the ball away, pin the Patriots, and hope the defense can get you the ball back. Outside of those 2 plays he was inaccurate for most of the game.

New England Patriots @San Francisco 49ers Preview

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:30:04 EDT

Going into last week I thought we would win easily against the Patriots but now I am not sure. The terrible gameplan by Mike Nolan and crucial turnovers by J.T. O'Sullivan cost us the game. I still believe that the 49ers can win this game but it is gonna be tough. Bill Belichick is a masterful gameplanner and the Patriots haven't lost a game after their bye week in 5 years.

49ers offense vs. Patriots defense

Right now New England's defense is really showing it's age. They are terrible against the run, giving up 140 yards per game (25th) and they aren't much better against the pass. They are allowing opponents to complete 70% of their passes and have only forced two interceptions. The usually good pass rush only has 6 sacks through 3 games (23rd). Frank Gore iis leading the league in yards from scrimmage with 525 (369 rushing, 4.9 y/c, 3 rushing TD; 15 receptions, 156 receiving). The 49ers are not going to need to do any direct snaps for him to have a big game. I would like to see the 49ers line Michael Robinson up behind center, though. He played quarterback in college and he was pretty good so if he was back there it would probably confuse the Patriots. For the 49ers to win this they are going to need better play from J.T. O'Sullivan. Last week he threw two interceptions in the redzone, fumbled once deep in 49ers territory, and held onto the ball way too long which led to 6 sacks. JTO needs to play like he did against the Lions, safe. He needs to get rid of the ball on time, not try and force things that aren't there, and run when the play breaks down. Hopefully Bryant Johnson is fully healthy because he looked slow last week. Isaac Bruce and Arnaz Battle picked up the slack for him but it obviously wasn't enough. Vernon Davis is pretty much officially a bust so I am not expecting much from him. He will probably get open deep a couple of times and drop sure touchdowns.

Week 4 @New Orleans Thoughts and Observations

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 8:19:57 EDT

I might as well get this out tonight because I am so mad right now if I don't get this off of my chest I might explode.

- The third down play calling was getting on my nerves for most of the game. Instead of trying quick passes, because the offensive line wasn't playing well, Martz had J.T. O'Sullivan performing 7 step drops. I don't even want to get started on the red zone play calling so I won't but suffice to say it was very bad

- JTO just had an awful game. All season he has been holding onto the ball too long, I would estimate that at least 8 of the 19 sacks we have allowed are completely his fault with a few more partly his fault, but at least in other games he was making plays. Today he just wasn't doing anything except throwing inaccurate passes nowhere near his receivers. The worst part about him taking the sacks is that is makes it seem like the 49ers offensive line is terrible, which it isn't. He padded his stats in garbage time to make it look like he did well but those two red zone interceptions cost us a game that we were still in at the beginning of the 4th quarter.

San Francisco 49ers @ New Orleans Saints Preview

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 12:37:46 EDT

I wouldn't exactly call this game a "must win" but if the 49ers want to be taken seriously they have to at least be competitive. New Orleans has a very good offense, one of the best in the league, and is coming off of 2 consecutive losses so they are hungry for a win. San Francisco does have confidence in themselves and confidence is very important for a young team. If either team really has any kind psychological edge here I would say it is the 49ers because they have nothing to lose and are going to be playing their hearts out.

49ers Offense vs. Saints Defense

The 49ers really should be able to move the ball on New Orleans as well as they did against the Lions. I mean, going purely by numbers, the Saints defense is almost as bad as the Lions. New Orleans is giving up 27.7 points per game (27th), 392 yards per game (28th), 259 passing yards per game (29th), 133 rushing yards per game (22nd), and 6.2 yards per play (29th). Their secondary is okay at best and they don't have much of a pass rush, only 4 sacks this season. As of right now the 49ers also have a playoff caliber offense. With 25.7 points per game (11th), 342 yards per games (11th), 214 passing yards per game (12th), 128 rushing yards per game (11th), and 6 yards per play (6th). J.T. O'Sullivan is once again proving Mike Martz's genius and his having a very good season. After a forgettable opening game against Arizona in which he turned the ball over 3 times and didn't throw a touchdown pass he has thrown 3 touchdowns and not turned the ball over once. He has posted a passer rating of over 100 in each of the last two games, has the 4th highest passer rating in the league, is completing almost 67% of his passes, and has a ridiculous 9.4 yards per attempt. Frank Gore is also having a great season. He is leading the league in yards from scrimmage with 412 and has a touchdown in each game this season. None of the 49ers wide receivers are doing anything special but between Bryant Johnson, Isaac Bruce, and Arnaz Battle they have a good group who should be able to get open against a, as already pointed out, bad secondary. Vernon Davis has been getting open this season and been part of Martz's gameplan, with 15 targets, but he can't seem to catch.

Week 3 vs.Detroit Thoughts and Observations

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:19:56 EDT

***Take everything with a grain of salt because this was the Lions***

- For most of the game I loved the offensive playcalling but I think Martz got a little conservative late in the game, especially after the onside kick when Arnaz Battle returned the ball to the 12 and we only got a field goal. Still the playcalling was great for the most part.

- I am having a very hard time keeping myself from jumping onto the J.T. O'Sullivan. I really, really want to but it was against the Lions so I guess I am only half way on. He still had a great game yesterday. His passes were crisp and accurate, he didn't throw any stupid passes, he held onto the ball, and best of all he didn't take any sacks when he had the chance to get rid of the ball.

Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers Preview

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:44:20 EDT

This is a must win game if the 49ers want to prove themselves as they should easily beat the Lions. Here is an in-depth breakdown of the 49ers offense vs. the Lions defense and vice-versa

49ers' offense vs. Lions' defense

The 49ers have a huge advantage here because the Lions defense is terrible. Right now the Lions have statistically the worst defense in the league. They are giving up 41 points per game (32nd), 460 yards per game (31st), 240 passing yards per game (25th), 220 rushing yards per game (32nd), 48% third down conversion (27th), and 7.4 yards per play (32nd). They haven't forced any interceptions and they only have two sacks. The last time the 49ers played the Lions in 2006 Frank Gore ran for 160 in three quarters and he should have another big game seeing as the Lions defense has actually gotten worse since then and is might be without arguably its best player in Cory Redding. To be completely honest Gore could break the record for rushing yards in a game if he gets enough carries. As if Gore running all over them wasn't enough they are also going to have problems stopping J.T. O'Sullivan and the 49ers passing game. The Lions have no pass rush and a terrible secondary and JTO is coming off of a 300 yard game against a team with a great pass rush and solid secondary, you do the math. That is not to mention that Mike Martz is going to be pissed at the Lions and will probably rub it in. San Francisco should easily score at least 30 points and I could see this game getting out of hand really quickly.