49ers 24 - Cardinals 9: Fantasy glory for Fooch!
by David Fucillo on Dec 15, 2009 7:00 AM PST
in San Francisco 49ers News
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PrintThe only thing better than seeing the 49ers defense absolutely throttle the vaunted Arizona Cardinals offense on Monday Night Football? I found myself down 21 points in my first round playoff matchup heading into Monday night and I had the 49ers defense. 4 sacks, 5 fumbles and 4 2 interceptions later and I get 24 points from the 49ers defense. When you get that many points without a defensive touchdown, you know you got a dominating performance. I'm willing to argue that's one of the greatest comebacks in fantasy history!
It's an hour or so after the game and I am still without a computer. I'm sitting at a Fedex/Kinkos a little buzzed putting this post together and giddy as could be. Using a PC keyboard right now is actually making this a little more difficult than my Mac keyboard. But the important thing is that the 49ers won in fairly dominating fashion and left me highly entertained. For the next week, my posts will come from a variety of public Internet options, so they might be a little shorter than normal. I have access to the USF library so I'll do what I can, but bear with me for the next week or so.
We'll have plenty of opportunities to focus on the 49ers offensive performance. For this post though, let's focus on the defense. Some may argue that the Cardinals offense basically did whatever they could to hand this game to the 49ers offense. To those people I snicker. The 49ers defense put together a performance you will not see very often. First and foremost, we may have seen a breakout performance from Dashon Goldson. He hauled down a beautiful interception, while also providing a pair of huge forced fumbles. Maybe he didn't recover them, but he was a play-making machine. The much criticized Mark Roman had a pair of fumble recoveries. Given his performances prior to this season, that's simply amazing.
All in all, we saw a defensive performance that does not come along fairly often, even when you're playing a crappy team. The 49ers took on a hot Cardinals offense and absolutely shut them down. The dynamic duo of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin were held to 62 yards on 7 carries. Kurt Warner, who had been fairly dominant in his previous 4 games was fairly easily contained, throwing for 178 yards and 2 picks.
The 49ers need a lot of help if they want to make the playoffs, but we saw a defense perform on a level we haven't seen probably since the Rams game. Given the quality of competition, this was arguably the defense's best performance of the season. As the team heads into what is a monstrous battle in Philadelphia, will they be able to contain an explosive Philly squad, or will we see more inconsistency going forward?
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This explains a lot
Using a PC keyboard right now is actually making this a little more difficult than my Mac keyboard
I should’ve known you were a Mac. That explains why you thought the Niners had 4 INTs instead of the 2 they actually had. ;)
It was nice to see the 49ers defense keep the opposing QB under 300-yards. This, to me, displays that the defense not only dominated, but capitalized on the “sloppiness” of the opposition. There were no lapses in coverage, and the team never let off the throttle. Yes, the Cards made it close pulling within 8 points, but the fact that the extra point was blocked, proved there was no quitting on Monday Night. Not even for a second.
Even on the Cardinals final series of the game, they didn’t get a garbage time TD. Instead, Mark Roman “Empire” came along and stripped Q of the ball. The 49ers offense also had an impressive clock killing drive the series before, that saw Alex Smith make clutch throws to Crabs and VD. What a great effort all around by the 49ers, if only they could play in Prime-Time 10 times a season.
Alex Smith may have been the #1 overall pick but he still can’t tell why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
by Andrew Davidson on Dec 15, 2009 7:18 AM PST reply actions
thanks
Corrected that. I figured out the problem. When I was sitting in Kinko’s looking at the box score I was looking at the yards the INTs were returned (3 for one and 1 for the other), as opposed to interceptions. Given I’d had several beers and it felt like an insane amount of turnovers, that would explain it.
by David Fucillo on Dec 15, 2009 10:20 AM PST up reply actions
So Bad A$$
What a game. Funny when I came back to work, my Bird fan buddy said what was evident is the Niners have no passing game. I thought it was one of Alex Smith’s best passing games regardless of the stats. Just watching his game management, it was the first time I really thought, geez this kid might be able to play a few more seasons in the NFL, maybe even for a classy team like the niners. Wow
Looking to put San Fran*six-o* here some time soon!
The money sign thing really is a poor method of substitution.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 8:16 AM PST up reply actions
Do you really find that offensive?
What is the ROE? Is there a posted list of banned words? A$$ is in the dictionary. I live next to a Bad A$$ Coffee. Anyone who’d be on this site on Sunday wouldn’t be offended by my substitution technique… Besides, I thought wjackalope was hall monitor, not you
Looking to put San Fran*six-o* here some time soon!
Really?
It’s not about being offensive, it’s about following rules that set forth by the site’s owner. There are plenty of blogs where you can write whatever you want, so if taking a couple of seconds to find another way to phrase your thoughts is a little too much, maybe you could consider going to one of those other sites?
Really Really?
Do you follow all rules regardless of if they’re sensible or not? I think you’re right. I’ll probably find some other location to follow the Niners. Too bad, there are some really high points for this site. This isn’t one of them.
Douche bag. That’s not a curse word. Do you find that offensive? If I was to call someone a bag of douche, that would be following the rules then?
Is it just the cuss words and anything that looks similar? Perhaps you could point me to the rules, and then I could decide if this is the right place for me or not. I’m sure this is the post that gets me banned anyway. Thanks for playing.
Looking to put San Fran*six-o* here some time soon!
brooks
i believe brooks broke loose last night and solidified his spot on this team. my god he played out of his mind, did he actually know the snap count? seems like it. great job
More time
Ditto on that. However, one has to wonder if and how they will keep working him into the game consistently as I think he was mainly filling in for Lawson.
That rotation
Keep both guys fresh. The Walsh/Seifert philosophy about rotating your pass rushers.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
A good game
I live in AZ its funny to see all these fans jump off the band wagon because of this loss. I was listening to the local radio sports station here in AZ and they said why do the cardinals have let down games. I believe the cards lose the games they should win and win the games that they should lose. So funny!!!! Well with that being said I was in amazement to shut up the card fans I was watching the game with. Solid game!!
So just an off subject question does anybody know a local radio station online for San Francisco I can listen to??
http://radiotime.com/WebTuner.aspx?StationId=35231&
"The Football The 49ers Team has The excitement of the bear, the velocity of the deer and strenght of the buffalo.
+1 on Alex smith by the way
Not his greatest game stat wise but he did take control of the line scrimmage from the get go. Nice to see, it really set the tone for the whole defense.
Interesting...
…I thought this was actually one of Smith’s worst games. He forced passes and missed wide open receivers. But I’m pleased to see so many others had a very different perception.
I'M WITH YOU
he doesn’t have a constant touch of the ball
by srill waiting on Dec 15, 2009 9:02 AM PST up reply actions
I didn't say that...
…I said he had a bad game. I think Smith has been clearly superior to Hill since taking over QB.
more coming soon on that
Working on a post for 10:30 or 11 focusing just on Smith, but feel free to continue discussing here.
by David Fucillo on Dec 15, 2009 9:02 AM PST up reply actions
I think it was one of his worst games, but I also think it’s a credit to him that he only actually made one glaring error in a game that he wasn’t playing well.
When your worst game is still pretty okay, that’s progress.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 9:03 AM PST up reply actions
he hasn't solidified his position for next year in my opinion
by srill waiting on Dec 15, 2009 9:04 AM PST up reply actions
I won’t say anything for sure until the end of the season, but he does seem to have a pretty firm grip on opening day next year.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 9:06 AM PST up reply actions
Definitely one of the worst
Based on the importance of the game . Smith looked terrible from his first telegraphed throw to VD. His body language was odd, it was almost nonchalant, which I couldn’t figure out, it was a big game, he was coming off his best performance — and in turn he completely crapped on the field. He forced throws, missed wide open recievers, mismanaged the clock, he just looked very dissapointing.
by FiveAlarmFreddy on Dec 15, 2009 10:06 AM PST up reply actions
Maiocco...
… mentioned in his in-game Twitter comments that Smith may have come into that game a little amped up. His passes did seem to have a bit more “OUMPH” on them, especially early on.
Simply stated
Barring the interception in the 3rd(?) quarter, he made the plays when they were most critical. 8-16 3rd down efficiency says a LOT for the execution and quality of play calling. Definitely not a great game on paper, but for overall effectiveness and balance of offense, an awesome game!
Defense getting no respect from ESPN
Been listening to ESPN radio all morning and haven’t heard anything about the amazing D last night. All everybody seems to talk about is how bad the Cardinals were and if the Cardinals are in trouble. Nobody seems to have noticed that the only reasons the Cards played so bad was because the D stepped up big last night. At least 3 of the fumbles last night were a result of an aggressive D, not a bad Cards.
does that really surprise you?
we’re not going to get respect until we get to the playoffs.
by srill waiting on Dec 15, 2009 8:19 AM PST up reply actions
I'm right there with ya Fooch
Was down by 13 heading into the Monday game with only the 49ers defense on the board left between the two of us. And here I was thinking my fantasy win must’ve been the greatest comeback ever. I’ll sidestep on this one for you.
Oh, and don’t forget the blocked PAT which was another defensive fantasy score, and the fact that the defense held ’em to 9 all day, which in most leagues will get you a couple (in my case four) points.
Add it all together and I’m in the fantasy championship in my league. Yes, I am smug. Yes, I am proud. And yes, there will be a lot of crap talking soon afterward (just not here).
Read me: http://www.addisports.com
Follow me: http://twitter.com/addisports
A couple of notes from watching the game:
1) John Gruden — you may want to, you know, do a little bit of research on the teams before you start spouting off why they have struggled. He said something along the lines of the team being 3-1 with Shaun Hill, and then losing 6 games once they went with Smith and started the spread offense. Actually, John, they’ve only had the spread offense for a couple of weeks now, and the offense has been much improved. It was actually running the ball TOO much and being too predictable that got them in the mess they are in.
2) The “incompletion” where our safety stole the ball from Fitzgerald on the 1 yard line — how could that ever be considered an incompletion? The ball never touched the ground! I think we got lucky on that play, Fitzgerald looked to come down with the ball, hit the ground, and then we ripped it away. Good times.
STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.
Also: The team was 3-3 in games started by Hill. 3-4 in games started by Smith.
Combined record of Hill’s opponents: 37 – 41
Combined record of Smith’s opponents: 53 – 38
Hmmm.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 8:49 AM PST up reply actions
(Note: This will be slightly less misleading once Smith plays the Rams.)
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 8:49 AM PST up reply actions
Gruden was an idiot...
…last night. Running his mouth nonstop. Although the passing game sucked, it cracked me up that we kept scoring on passes every time he pointed it out. But the incompletion was exactly the right call. By rule, you have to maintain possession all the way through the catch. It doesn’t matter that the ball never hit the ground.
Idiot is a big word, but
Yeah I kinda laugh at how he seems to overhype the image of every player on that field. If he could have sung Arnaz Battle’s praises, he would have done it!
BTW, who besides me thinks Arnaz has LONG overstayed his welcome?? It’s not just his doing, but when I heard the PR’s have fumbled 7 times this season. . .
but then it should have been an INT, no?
STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.
by UnleashTheGore on Dec 15, 2009 10:01 AM PST up reply actions
the tip of the ball touched the ground
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Dec 15, 2009 11:07 AM PST up reply actions
You have to maintain possession through the entire catch when hitting the ground
But I too did not see the ball hit the ground and didn’t understand why that wasn’t an INT. Oh well. Goldson got it a few plays later.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
The nose of the ball did hit the ground after it was stripped. Now, technically, the ground still has to actually make the ball “move” and I don’t know that I saw it do that, but it definitely touched the ground.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 10:01 AM PST up reply actions
incompletion
I think they called it that way because Fitz didnt maintain possession all the way through the catch, ie it was ripped out at the tail end of the play. I think if Goldson didnt let the tip of the ball hit the ground it would have been a pick.
That's what she said.
To counter your number 1 point
Gruden did do research. You can’t prove to anybody, not a single person outside of Niner fandom, not even to me that we ran the ball too much. The proof on was the side of Gruden in that heading into that game we ranked DEAD LAST in run attempts. Dead last. Thanks to last night’s game, we moved up to 31st. Bottom line is that teams that run the ball “too much”, never rank last in running.
So, no, it wasn’t the fictional running the ball too much that got us into that mess. The constant WR screens, however, we could be onto something there.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 8:58 AM PST up reply actions
There’s one for everything!
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 9:49 AM PST up reply actions
You want to talk dominance?
I won my matchup 109.87 to 44.53. I had Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree both playing. I had DeSean Jackson and 49ers D on the bench.
I should’ve scored 155.97. You know you’re dominating when your two top point-getters are on the bench and you blow the other guy out.
Here’s hoping next week I have the right guys.
I had my two top pointgetters on the bench. The resulting loss would have hurt a lot more, except that I still would have lost if I’d set my lineup perfectly. So it hurt less.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 9:08 AM PST up reply actions
wow
did the other team forget to play 2/3 of their team?
STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.
by UnleashTheGore on Dec 15, 2009 10:18 AM PST up reply actions
DeSean was listed as questionable basically all week. I certainly don’t blame him for leaving him on the bench. Could have happened to anyone.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 3:09 PM PST up reply actions
Fooch...
congrats on your fantasy win. However, in my fantasy league Niners Nation 5 you had a team in my division, which even started 5-0, but then you just stopped-along with a couple of others though I might add.Shame really – too busy?
Helped me though cos I went on to win the div, and now my first playoff game, so can’t complain that much. Playing Cup’o’coffee this weekend-looked at his team compared to mine and think I will lose heavily.
by Ninerfromacrossthepond on Dec 15, 2009 9:11 AM PST reply actions
my apologies
This was a crazy semester and I honestly kept forgetting about the team. I feel bad about it.
by David Fucillo on Dec 15, 2009 9:20 AM PST up reply actions
smith tryed to lose the game
gore gore is what we had on offense smith is not even average last night gore and the o line won that game when talking about the offense
If Smith was trying to lose this game, we would have lost it. He could have played a hell of a lot worse.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 9:19 AM PST up reply actions
I mean, those two passing touchdowns failed to contribute to the win at all.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 9:20 AM PST up reply actions
defense turnovers got us our points name another time he did anything frank gore and our o line was our offense they had seven turnovers and we still only put up 24
Mental note. . .
Ask Fooch about getting an ignore button put into this blog. :P
I think...
… SBN is working on something. I’d imagine the logistics of an ignore button could get pretty messy, if you want to maintain argument structure and all that.
I know, but
I just find it amazing when this team has one of it’s best wins of the year and we still have people that are their so called fans still wanting to trash them! Oh well it’s SOP, I shouldn’t be surprised. Kurt Warner NEVER has bad games, Brett Farve NEVER messes up. Come on, man. Alex had a 59.7 passer rating. Yes that’s pretty bad! He had a 95.6 passer rating against Seattle. Pretty good! But they won last night and lost against the ‘Hawks. Why? Because stats most of the time don’t mean jack. It’s really about making good things happen when they are supposed to happen.
There was a thread last week about players being “clutch”. Even though this game still does not invite an argument as to what defines it, if NOTHING else, Alex showed he can have the skills to be the “clutch” player the Niners need him to be.
Rant done.
I disagree about stats most of the time not meaning jack. However, they certainly mean a lot less when in the context of a single game.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 10:33 AM PST up reply actions
His other drives at least got first downs and used up clock
Plus helped with field position. I’d also point out that he had a nice 2-min drill for a TD before the half and a time consuming drive at the end where his passing converted a couple of third and longs.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
And you’re wrong. Congratulations.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 9:41 AM PST up reply actions
dude if your that blind to think smith played well last night its people like you that must like losing most of the time
I didn’t say he played well. I’ve said multiple times (in this thread even) that he played poorly.
But Alex Smith playing poorly was still a far cry from the quarterbacking abortion that you’re trying to describe.
He did not play to lose the game last night. In fact, he contributed to the win. While playing poorly. He helped us win.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 9:51 AM PST up reply actions
I mean, this is what kills me. We lose last week because – despite Alex Smith playing awesome – Frank Gore and Arnaz Battle conspired to almost double-handedly, ahem, turn the game over to the Seahawks, and people blame Smith for the loss.
This week, we win! We win the game! Alex Smith doesn’t do anything reprehensible. He’s average at worst. He still throws for two touchdowns. He comes through a few times on third down. He misses a few throws and he makes one awful decision – but we won DESPITE him.
Yeah. Double-standard much? If Alex Smith is responsible for losses, then he should be responsible for the wins as well.
To be perfectly clear: I’m NOT saying that Alex Smith was great and that he won this game for us. He was average at worst. He made some very poor throws. We won the game largely on the backs of Frank Gore and our defense. But Alex Smith did contribute to the winning effort.
There are lengths to which I simply won’t go to criticize Alex Smith. We won the game by 15 points! Alex Smith is not somehow to blame that we failed to win it by 25.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 9:57 AM PST up reply actions 6 recs
i hate to say that he’s our future. i don’t see it at all. i don’t know if anybody’s available free agency that’s worth a crap this year but i’d like to see a change.
on the other hand, keeping him in there with the current system and all summer to work on it could easily change my mind.
Let’s face it, he really has been dealt a crappy hand with all the OC’s he been through.
by srill waiting on Dec 15, 2009 10:03 AM PST up reply actions
I think Free Agency is pretty bare. I forget what the names are, but I think Jason Campbell leads the list. I don’t know that Smith is our future, but he seems without a shadow of a doubt to be our present. And he’s really making a nice run of it right now. It may or may not last.
Also, Jason Campbell is actually pretty good.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 10:06 AM PST up reply actions
i don’t think he’ll be available. he’s been playing very good controolled ball as of late and the skins don’t have anybody behind him. they’ll give him a good offer to stay, and he should. the skins are in a win now mode so going to the draft for a starter doesn’t make much sense
by srill waiting on Dec 15, 2009 10:10 AM PST up reply actions
I think the Redskins would be crazy to let Campbell walk, but I also think Campbell would be crazy not to want to go to a better team… unless he’s getting seriously paid by Snyder.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 10:13 AM PST up reply actions
washingtons qb
yea i think he would fit or taking a shot at giving david carr a second chance at starting
David Carr?
You want David Carr over Alex Smith?
Wow
Yes Drew K, Tim Tebow will get picked in the first round.
KSWOF is that you?
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Dec 15, 2009 11:13 AM PST up reply actions
REC
seriously Alex gets no credit fort playing awesome in a loss, but gets hounded for having an off game.
"The Football The 49ers Team has The excitement of the bear, the velocity of the deer and strenght of the buffalo.
i’m not "hounding " him, just looking at what our opptions are. he did just enough to not lose. that’s it , nothing more. he has no touch on the ball and that’s what bugs me most.
by srill waiting on Dec 15, 2009 10:12 AM PST up reply actions
He was actually responding to my comment.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 10:14 AM PST up reply actions
http://www.ninersnation.com/2009/12/15/1201173/49ers-24-cardinals-9-fantasy-glory#27182112
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 10:15 AM PST up reply actions
+1 sixthed
I considered Smith the weak point in our win and when your weak point can run circles around anything Arizona did, you know you had one awesome game.
You are 110% right.
Am i completely wrong...
Or is it fair to say that it is HARD to say the cardinals are CLEARLY a better team than the niners?? I am having quite the conversation with a few card buddies and they are saying, despite the 49ers two wins this year, and since the cardinals are defending NFC champs, good shape to win the division two years in a row, and niners might be out of the playoffs again, that they are clearly the better team?
I hate cardinal fans (live in AZ). All i said was it was hard to clearly say the cardinals are better than the niners. And they start bringing in stats from previous years as if they had statistical influence on this season..
had to get that off my chest. lol
we got the cards number
we play better than they do when they match up with us who cares what happens with any other game we we see the cards we kick the 123
The Cards are a mentally weak team
Thanks to the fact that they have sucked for decades, they have almost always drafted in the top 10. They clearly have as much (young) talent as most teams in the NFL.
But they are not clearly better than SF. Not by a long shot.
Starting with Singletary’s second game as HC of the 49ers last season (in Arizona) it’s clear to anyone who knows anything about football that the 49ers have outplayed the Cardinals in their three meetings.
The fact that SF is only 2-1 in those three games is due in large part to the goal line screw-up in last years game.
The Cards might be ’Clearly ’ better than some other teams. But not SF.
Wow thanks
I needed some agreement after the barrage of card fans. haha
by ZonaBacks10 on Dec 15, 2009 10:01 AM PST up reply actions
I live just outside Phoenix, ZonaBacker
You are 100% correct.
Your ‘Card buddies’ need to cut down on their drinking.
How about this
The Cards got the long end of the scheduling stick this season. The scheduling rotation brought them home games against Minnesota, Indianapolis, Green Bay and Houston. They’re 2-1 with one remaining. The Niners got those four on the road and went 0-4 with all close losses. There’s your difference. The Houston games may be the best parallel, as AZ was up 21-0 before holding on 28-21, whereas we were down 21-0 before they held on 24-21. All the Niners had to do was finish a road game in Minnesota and Seattle or Houston and their records are the same. If this year’s Niners team had been our team last year they would’ve won the West at 10-6, since last year’s schedule was easier and the Cards were less experienced and softer than this years version.
There’s no doubt that AZ has more experience thanks to their playoff run last season. They’ve also been in the same offensive system for three years. They also have way more experience at two skill positions: QB and WR. Other than that, I don’t see them as being more talented. They have a few players on defense (Dockett, Wilson) that would be worth having, but the Niners unit is better. So are the Niners ST coverage and punter. The problem is experience in the same system and at QB.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
It's hard to put a finger on what the Cards really are
I think they can beat any team home or away in the NFL, they showed that last year during their SB run but I think it’s all on the offense. Once they start clicking, they are unstoppable. I watched the Vikes-Cards game and Warner just shredded what was a decent defense of Minnesota. Then they will have an offense like the one who played Carolina and SF flooded with turnovers as Warner wasn’t able to find a rhythm and their drives would end abruptly. Somebody already mentioned this as they are certainly a team that wins games when they should lose while they lose games when they should win.
I will say this, Warner has maybe 1 or 2 years left where he can still play at his current level (also the concussion might be a factor down the road) but unless Leinart goes Vince Young on us soon — I think they will revert back to the Cards of old once Warner retires or struggles. Boldin isn’t getting paid like the WR that he is and he’ll bolt once his contract’s up so that will only leave Fitz as I think Breaston is only good because of Warner.
Win the inning.
by Scooter Ellis on Dec 15, 2009 10:51 AM PST up reply actions
Regarding the MInnesota game
Mike Singletary made a comment afterwards (to the effect) that the Viking team that played Arizona SURE didn’t look like the Viking team that played SF earlier in the year.
The next day the Phoenix radio team of Bickley & Jurecki( these were the same guys who broke the ‘pantsgate’ story last year) pondered Singletary’s comment.
And basically agreed.
Last season Minnesota went to Arizona late in the year and crushed the Cards. However, the Cards had just captued the NFC West the week before. The Cardinals were too busy celebrating their first division crown in decades to show up and play the game.
They really didn’t care.
A few weeks ago, Minnesota (thanks to a defensive take-away) jumped out front again 7-0.
They seemed, however, from that point to take for granted that the Cards would (again) roll over and seem to get/play overconfident.
The Cards thrive in that kind of situation and won the game.
This was the assessment of two CARDINAL broadcasters (Bickley & Jurecki), not 49 or Viking guys.
FWIW.
You're right and wrong.
At least based on this season, Niners are the better team head-to-head. Overall, where it matters most, Arizona’s the better team. That opinion could change if Arizona somehow loses to either St Louis and/or Detroit, but I cannot believe for a second that could remotely happen.
Seriously?
“I don’t think it’s anything they did,” Arizona tackle Darnell Dockett said. “We lost this game ourselves.”
So the defense of the 49ers didn’t punch out the ball several times? You guys decided just to let it go when you wanted to?
You guys decided just to let it go when you wanted to?
Well, Kurt Warner did. :D
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 10:06 AM PST up reply actions
Denial
If the score and stats were reversed, everyone would say that it’s clear, the Cards are just better and more talented. They’re the best in the West. Well, same holds true for the Niners when they sweep AZ in dominating fashion. Cards were looking at this game right in the eye, wanting and expecting to avenge the opening loss and clinch the West on the Niners’ field. Instead they got beat up from the start. I wonder if that Cards poster “Cardsroll9ers” or whatever his name was will come over to eat some humble pie.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Takeo Spikes to send him a tweet
“You didn’t lose it by yourself, we took it from you”
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Dec 15, 2009 11:16 AM PST up reply actions
the offense
one has note that ALL of the points came off turnovers. does this mean that the o couldn’t sustain a drive with normal or bad field position?
New item to my Christmas wish list
Please keep Philly’s turnovers to a minimum!! It seems to be a bad thing when the Niners get a bunch of TO’s and actually score points off of them. It’s not like they could have possibly NOT have scored points. . .(Is it just me or are we seeing some pretty whacked-out mentality?) Last time I checked one of the objects of the game is to score as many points as possible!
Seriously.
Just take it for what it is. If the 49ers defense can force turnovers, then it’s good they score off them. I don’t know what Philly’s turnover stats are like, but I’d imagine they aren’t much different than Arizona.
turnovers
Actually, not so much. The Cardinals came into the game tied for 21st with a -3 turnover ratio, and after last night appear to be 27th with a -8 turnover ratio.
The Eagles on the other hand currently sit at #3 with a +15 turnover ratio. The 49ers are 8th at +6. Except for the first # for the Cardinals, these are all at foxsports.com, so might not be “official.” When I post the prospector’s guide tomorrow it’ll include updated team stats.
by David Fucillo on Dec 15, 2009 10:24 AM PST up reply actions
Ratio...
… mean’s very little in relation to the 49ers forcing turnovers, sort of. When I mentioned turnovers I meant that the Eagles offense may have the same propensity for giving up the ball that Arizona did before going into last night. The Eagles have a much more dynamic defense, which boosts that ratio.
+5 in turnovers last night and won by 15 points= f.g. for every t.o.
by srill waiting on Dec 15, 2009 10:24 AM PST up reply actions
As you can see
As you can see here, that’s a fairly misleading way to frame it.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 10:28 AM PST up reply actions
Actually… I take that back. I was missing your point.
It’s not a misleading way to frame it. It’s just a weird way to frame it. You should say +3 points for every +turnover. That more accurately conveys your point.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 15, 2009 10:29 AM PST up reply actions
So, can we please end the “Arnaz Battle, Punt Returner” experiment?
STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.
by UnleashTheGore on Dec 15, 2009 10:27 AM PST reply actions
Alex Smith conversation
I put together an Alex Smith post an hour or so ago before the Smith conversation really got going here. Feel free to continue discussing here, but folks are obviously welcome to move in to the post below for Smith-related discussion.
http://www.ninersnation.com/2009/12/15/1201666/assessing-49ers-qb-alex-smiths
In the Cardinals other eleven games
this season, they gave up 15 sacks (1.36 per game)
In their two games against SF, the Cards gave up seven sacks (3.5 per game).
Huge difference there.
Coupled with the forced Warner fumbles, the hits and the hurries you get this from Arizona Republic writer Dan Bickley in today’s paper:
“After a game such as this, the Cardinals should’ve filed a police report. The mugging was that complete.”
Ouch!
better fantasy night
I was down by 30 with just Desean Jackson to go on Sunday night, my opponent had Kurt and Fitz, I won by 2
Pwned!
The Niners have beaten the Cardinals in AZ by more than a field goal, and just drop kicked the same team again – Silver on Yahoo! Sports put it best in his 32 Questions: San Francisco, no matter what happens from here to the playoffs (likely for the Cards), can say “We own these guys!”.
The 49ers have just curb-stomped a divisonal team for the season with way too much hype and praise by media and fans. Although the playoffs look bleak for our Niners still, this was a huge highlight the 49ers can take from this season, by stopping the team that was supposed to seal the deal. A job well done by the Niners: the D destroyed, and the O used opportunity. Kudos, Sing!
Now it’s off to Philadelphia…don’t look back at how Arizona’s doing next week, but just focus on the Eagles – there’s an excellent chance now that SF will NOT finish this season with a losing record, and that would be outstanding in my opinion.
Focus starts with one thing
Getting a pigeon.
Cardinals proved that they couldn't handle hardship
The Cards couldn’t cheat their way and had to play fairly. They met a more displined 49ers team can rise to the occassion. 49ers coaching and players are still doing the right thing.
Unfortunately, the ownership still stinks and continues to mislead the fans into think they is a future dynasty. The marketing hype never lived up to anything:
2006 – “Be there when it started”
Now – “LIES LIES LIES— more false hope”
by More False Hope on Dec 16, 2009 12:43 AM PST reply actions
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