Preseason Week 4 Open Thread - 49ers @ San Diego Chargers

by Fooch on Aug 30, 2007 5:59 PM PDT in News Comment 23 comments

August 30, 2007, 7pm PST/10pm EST
Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego
CBS - Channel 5 in San Francisco
Simulcast on NFL NETWORK.
Reaired Sunday night at 10pm on NFL Network

So I actually almost forgot about this game. A Thursday evening preseason game is surprisingly easy to forget, but there was no forgetting in the end here at Niners Nation.

The goal of this game is very simple. DO NOT GET HURT. While I'd love to see Alex Smith come out and go 5/5 for 120 yards and 2 TDs, and see the defense pick off a pair of Philip Rivers passes, I'll be almost as happy with no injuries. The 49ers regular season kicks off a week from Monday, so as far as I'm concerned, this is nothing more than a tuneup. Obviously we want players to take care of business, but it's not as big a deal for one night.

In spite of all this, there is some business at hand for some of our players. I haven't found a concise injury report heading into the game, so no official word on whether Franklin or BY will be in the lineup, although I'd guess no. I'm pretty sure Gore will be in street clothes as well.

Running Back
It'd be nice to see Robinson step up ahead of Hicks, but I've resigned myself to the fact that I doubt it will be happening. Just give me some quality Thomas Clayton time.

Wide Receiver
I think Ashley Lelie has officially passed Taylor Jacobs on the depth chart in terms of pre-season performance. Jacobs is now battling the likes of Brandon Williams, Bryan Gilmore and Jason Hill for some semblance of playing time.

Defense
It is hard to judge anything from this game because Ladanian Tomlinson won't play. Just a solid performance from the starters would be nice.

So, keep your fingers crossed on the injury front. I'm TiVoing the game as I'll be out at law school bar night, so I might not be able to get much of a recap in before late tomorrow at the earliest due to some other engagements. Anyways, enjoy the game and hope for the best.

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Soldier Field, Chicago?

Using an old template? That's the same reason my first attempts at cover letters always had the wrong cities for the companies on them.

I didn't get called back...

I keep reliving the moment when Steve Young almost fell down... over and over...

by howtheyscored on Aug 30, 2007 6:34 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Whoops

Thanks for the heads up :) I hate when I do that. Would have been embarrassing to apply to USF and refer to them as Berkeley!

Niners Nation - The premier 49ers blog on the Internet!

by Fooch on Aug 30, 2007 6:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

No LT or Gore

Should still be fun to watch Patrick Willis and Joe Staley start though..hopefully Smith gets some more throws tonight.

by rimrock101 on Aug 30, 2007 6:56 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Keena

Oh you know Keena's in the house....Who needs the NFL Network coverage!

Niners Nation - The premier 49ers blog on the Internet!

by Fooch on Aug 30, 2007 7:02 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

BY Starting

Nice to see Young get some playing time in the preseason.

Niners Nation - The premier 49ers blog on the Internet!

by Fooch on Aug 30, 2007 7:05 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Chargers roster

Andrew Pinnock starting at RB? No Gates or Rivers? That's just so blah

Niners Nation - The premier 49ers blog on the Internet!

by Fooch on Aug 30, 2007 7:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

tackling

Well, at least the defense is tackling better.

Niners Nation - The premier 49ers blog on the Internet!

by Fooch on Aug 30, 2007 7:23 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

The Disease

Just some solid maneuvering after the catch.

Niners Nation - The premier 49ers blog on the Internet!

by Fooch on Aug 30, 2007 7:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Ugh, a knee

There hasn't been much to cheer about tonight. Clayton keeps looking good. D. Walker was good when he wasn't serving the ball to a San Diego player.

by Bob In Pacifica on Aug 30, 2007 9:08 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Gah

not much to cheer about tonight, save for the misplaced Raider fan I got kicked out of my section.

I would love to supply Raider Nation with a entry level list of heckles sometime.

"F@ck your faggot team!", "You guys f@cking suck!", and "Gay Area Niners!" gets exactly zero people riled up, and in the end leads to handcuffs when mixed with a large serving of Budweiser.

by oooreebay on Aug 30, 2007 11:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

And I would love

For Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen to supply Raider Nation with a list of advanced "gay" heckles.

That would be cool.

I keep reliving the moment when Steve Young almost fell down... over and over...

by howtheyscored on Aug 30, 2007 11:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

So who sticks?

And who played their way off the team?

Brandon Williams hasn't shown anything as a receiver and his return skills didn't impress last night. It seems like bad things happen whenever the ball is thrown towards Taylor Jacobs. Maybe he's not running his routes right. D. Walker, despite some mistakes, makes things happen when he's on the field. Maybe he should do all the returns. What was that thing with Lelie on that sideline pass? A little cowardice?

Meanwhile, I keep thinking that Clayton looks like the real deal, but he doesn't get to try it with the first-string. When Robinson and Hicks are in there you get slow as molasses two-yard squirms. When Clayton is in there, you get action. I can see a future where Clayton is the main backup to Gore.

Smith looked bad last night, but I wonder if part of it was Jacobs not running his routes right. All of this will become clear when the real season begins. We'll see how much of the offense the team held back.

Any reports on the guy who had the knee? That one looked bad.

by Bob In Pacifica on Aug 31, 2007 6:46 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I was wondering

Last night if the advent of advanced statistics in football would yield something that accounts for interceptions like the ones that came off of Walker's pop-ups. I know I've seen them counted (one year I heard the stat for how many of Jake Plummer's Cardinal interceptions came after his receivers made contact with the ball), but that seemed to just get counted on a whim...

Also, I don't remember what receiver it was, but when Smith served up the INT in the middle of the field when he was under pressure, aside from the fact that it was just plain not a good pass, his target commited the worst sin of anybody playing a sport in which a ball is passed from player to player: he stood on his heels and waited fr the ball to come to him. Meanwhile, the defender took two steps forward and cut it off. The decision to throw there was poor, but it looked a lot worse because this guy completely forgot to pursue.

Anyway, those three (three!) interceptions could have, and should have easily been prevented by the receivers, even if Smith kind of deserved his for throwing out a duck.

I keep reliving the moment when Steve Young almost fell down... over and over...

by howtheyscored on Aug 31, 2007 8:21 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Smith

I don't think his INTs were really just bad decisions per se. I think he was trying out a few things, and they just didn't work. For example, that one almost INT on the quick out pattern was virtually a "no-look" pass. The one INT over the middle may have been him testing his "threading" ability.

It was disappointing, but hopefully those kind of mistakes aren't things he'll make during the season. He shows a lot of intelligence back there, as on a a couple of occasions, he was supposed to make quick passes but didn't like what he saw so chose to dump it off instead. Maybe he's just being inconsistent.

by sfgfan on Aug 31, 2007 8:53 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

The last thing I try to do is read into preseason games. Even though it was small part of the play, I just have this awful pet peeve about professional players who wait for the ball to come to them.

That's a skill you get taught when you're 12. You should do it by reflex at this point. And it is every sport that involves passing. Football, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, water polo... it's a universal law, and this guy was standing on his heels...

Bugs me. I used to get yelled at so much for that crap because I was doing it at a High School level.

I keep reliving the moment when Steve Young almost fell down... over and over...

by howtheyscored on Aug 31, 2007 10:56 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agree

I totally agree about the "waiting for the ball" issue. How does the old adage go? "If you want something, go take it"?

by sfgfan on Aug 31, 2007 10:58 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Smith's interception

I think that Smith's interception was intended for Taylor Jacobs, if I recall, and maybe it's just me but I don't think he was running his pattern right. It looked to me that Smith was throwing to a spot and Jacobs wasn't at that spot. There was another Smith pass that was almost picked and Jacobs was the intended receiver on that one too. But he's GREAT in practice.

I suspect that Gilmore just doesn't have the raw talent to make it, which is too bad. I'd have no problem with seeing Brandon Williams cut.

I'm worried for Clayton because of the numbers, but personally I'd shed Hicks or Robinson if they need to to keep Clayton.

The bright side is that for the last few years we never had the anxiety of worrying over who would make the roster. This year there is actually a lot of talent in the camp.

And for those of you worried about pre-season, remember that the Raiders finished 4-0 last year. The real thing starts next week.

by Bob In Pacifica on Aug 31, 2007 5:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Who sticks?

I think you're right about Brandon Williams. Unless Nolan really likes his kick returning more than Delanie Walker's, it's hard to justify keeping him on the team. It's interesting though, as Brandon Williams has the speed, so he has more chances to breakaway for a long return. Walker, on the other hand, uses his unique (or not so unique on the 49ers) combination of size and speed to maneuver for a few more yards.

I think Jacobs' raved about training camp may keep him on the team, at least initially. It's hard to shoot the guy if his showing in the most recent game was a little off. With that said, the WRs may look something like: Jackson, Battle, Jacobs, Lelie, Hill. By going with 5 WRs, the team may be able to keep Clayton on the 53 man roster and not have to play roulette by releasing him (to place him on the practice squad).

I really like Clayton. Like Bob, I find it odd he hasn't gotten a chance to run with the first team. It's nice he's breaking some nice runs and making some decisive cuts (kind of ironic, as early in camp people called him a "dancer" and I thought we had another Kevan Barlow on our hands) against the backup squad, but I'd like to see what he does against a starting lineup.

Honestly, I'd keep him (Clayton) and Robinson and let Hicks go (as Hicks' release has no "lasting" effects on the salary cap). The team could use an extra DE (as I noticed they played Fields almost the entire night) or LB.

by sfgfan on Aug 31, 2007 8:50 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I missed the game

and it sounds like there wasn't much to see. Hopefully with Gore in there in the real games the offense will be able to move the ball a little better. They looked pretty anemic in the preseason.

I'm still optimistic about this team and eager to get to see them actually play. GO niners!!!

Bring back the classic Uni's!

by wjackalope on Aug 31, 2007 9:29 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

VD

Greatest moment last night: pass to VD in the flat, he burns two guys, gets a first down and did the Shawne Merriman "Lights Out" dance. I instantly smiled and yelled YEAH at my TV. The SD crowd got so pissed off, it was great.

by BawLa on Aug 31, 2007 11:15 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Same

I, too, liked his mimic/mock of Merriman's celebration. I wonder if there were many 49ers' fans who thought it was stupid, or reminded them of T.O. I think players mess around with each other and have fun with each other, so I doubt Merriman took serious offense to it. Let the guy have some fun, he's likely going to tear it up this year.

by sfgfan on Aug 31, 2007 11:20 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

They have history

They were teammates in college, so I'm sure it was all in good fun.

"You gotta bring ass, to get ass." --EDDIE DeBARTOLO JR.

by Josh from Hollywood on Aug 31, 2007 2:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly...

From what I remember, TO wasn't that bad on the field. I rather enjoyed the pom-pom TD celebration, and the sharpie celebration was as funny as much as it was overboard.

I really hope he does tear it up this year. He has virtually every natural ability to be successful in this game, and I really think last year only delayed his progress - not stunted it.

Like I said, as long as he does his job, I could care less if he wants to show his emotion.

by BawLa on Aug 31, 2007 10:21 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs