San Francisco 49ers vs. Philadelphia Eagles: A Prospector's Guide
by David Fucillo on Dec 16, 2009 7:00 AM PST
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The 49ers remain on the periphery of the playoff race (I will most definitely NOT say in the thick of it at this point for karma purposes). They find themselves heading into Philadelphia badly in a need of a win in a game that most people don't give them much of a chance in. We've moved past moral victories, so while I won't be stunned by a loss, keeping it close in Philly won't exactly make me happy as a clam.
The 49ers travel to Philadelphia in what will be the 29th meeting between the two teams, with San Francisco holding a 17-10-1 advantage in the series. The 49ers and Eagles have matched up six times this decade, but this week’s game will mark the first in Philadelphia since 2005.
San Francisco enters the upcoming game following a 24-9 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football. In that game, the 49ers defense created 7 turnovers, while RB Frank Gore rushed for 167 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown. TE Vernon Davis leads all NFL receivers with 11 touchdown receptions after registering a 5-yard score from QB Alex Smith against Arizona and is only the 9th tight end in NFL history to record at least 11 touchdown receptions in a season. The NFL record is 13, held by TE Antonio Gates (2004).
Last week’s contest marked the third week in a row that the 49ers defense had posted at least 4 sacks in a game. San Francisco now ranks tied for 7th in the NFL with 34 sacks and a +6 turnover ratio. The 49ers 18 forced fumbles rank tied for 1st in the NFL in 2009 and are tied for the most by the team in a single season (1996 - 18), dating back to 1992.
49ers-Eagles Connections
Coaching Connections
• Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhingweg was the 49ers offensive coordinator and QBs coach from 1997-2000. In 1998, the 49ers became the first team since the 1941 Chicago Bears to lead the league in gross passing and rushing yards thanks in large part to Mornhinweg’s guidance. Mornhinweg attended Oak Grove HS in San Jose, where he was the Northern California POY and an all-state performer.
• 49ers secondary coach Johnnie Lynn and Eagles WRs coach David Culley coached together with the Tampa Bay Bucs from 1994-95.
FORMER EAGLES - Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye was on the Eagles roster in 1969 ... Pass rush specialist coach Al Harris played with the Eagles for two seasons (1989-90) ... SS Michael Lewis was drafted by the Eagles in the 2nd round in 2002 and played in Philadelphia for 5 years. He earned a Pro Bowl invitation in 2004 ... LB Takeo Spikes spent the 2007 season with the Eagles, starting 14 games ... Strength and conditioning coach Duane Carlisle served as the Philadelphia Eagles speed development consultant from 2000-04. Carlisle also coached at
Penn State from 1989-92 ... Director of pro personnel Tom Gamble entered the NFL as an assistant for the Eagles player personnel department in 1996. He is the son of former Eagles president Harry Gamble and was born in Cherry Hill, NJ ... Area scout Todd Brunner first joined the Eagles as a scouting intern in 1992 and worked as a scouting assistant in 1993.
FORMER 49ERS - CB Joselio Hanson, a native of Playa del Rey, CA, was originally signed by the 49ers as a rookie free agent in 2003 and appeared in 13 games for the 49ers.
49ERS PENNSYLVANIA CONNECTIONS - RB Michael Robinson played collegiate football at Penn State ... CB Shawntae Spencer is from Rankin, PA ... Rookie LB Scott McKillop hails from Monroeville, Pennsylvania.
EAGLES NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CONNECTIONS - Head Coach Andy Reid spent time as the offensive coordinator at San Francisco State from 1983-85 ...TE coach Tom Melvin is a native of Redwood City, CA, and began his coaching career at San Francisco State from 1982-85 and attended Cubberley HS in Palo Alto ... Special assistant/defense Brian Stewart served as defensive backs coach at San Jose State (1997-98) ... WR DeSean Jackson played at Cal and is a native of Long Beach, CA ... TE Alex Smith lettered at Stanford from 2001-04.
PLAYER CONNECTIONS
• 49ers DT Justin Smith and Eagles G/T Stacy Andrews were teammates with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2004-07.
• 49ers DT Demetric Evans was a teammate of Eagles DE Chris Clemons and LB Jeremiah Trotter for the Redskins (2004-05).
• 49ers LB Parys Haralson and Eagles LB Omar Gaither were teammates at Tennessee from 2002-05.
• 49ers G Chilo Rachal played at USC with Eagles DT Mike Patterson and T Winston Justice.
Series Highlights
Matchups: 28
Series Record: 49ers lead series 17-10-1
49ers Away Record vs. Eagles: 49ers Lead Series 9-3-1
First Meeting: 10/6/51, Eagles win, 21-14, at Philadelphia
Last Meeting: 10/12/08, Eagles win, 40-26, at San Francisco
Current Streak: Lost 3
Longest 49ers Win Streak: 5 (9/23/84 - 11/29/92)
Longest Eagles Win Streak: 3 (9/18/05 - Present)
Most 49ers Points: 38 (Two Times), Last: 38-28, at San Francisco Philadelphia
Most Eagles Points: 42 (9/18/05), 42-3, at San Francisco
49ers Shutouts: 1 (12/29/96), 49ers win 14-0, at San Francisco
Eagles Shutouts: None
PHILADELPHIA 40, SAN FRANCISCO 26
At Glendale, AZ Philadelphia, PA, October 20, 2008
The Philadelphia Eagles forced 3 turnovers during a 23-point 4th quarter of a 40-26 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. CB Donald Strickland returned a blocked FG 41 yards for aTD on the final play of the 1st half and the momentum carried into the 3rd quarter when the 49ers scored 10 points to take a 26-17 lead.
After the Eagles rallied back to take a 27-26 lead with 7:38 left to play, the 49ers next three drives ended in turnovers that set up scores for Philadelphia. S Quintin Mikell intercepted a QB J.T. O’Sullivan pass and returned it to the San Francisco 7-yard line to set up a short FG. On the next series, Eagles DE Trent Cole forced a fumble on a sack of O’Sullivan, allowing Philadelphia to recover at the San Francisco 20-yard line to set up another short FG for a 33-26 lead with 1:10 left. San Francisco got past midfield on the next drive when O’Sullivan connected with WR Josh Morgan on a 25-yard gain, but two plays later with 48 seconds to play, O’Sullivan was picked off by DE Juqua Parker, who returned it 55 yards for a score to seal the 40-26 win.
Philadelphia QB Donovan McNabb threw for 280 yards and 2 TDs while RB Correll Buckhalter, playing in place of an injured Brian Westbrook, had 93 yards rushing and 85 yards receiving. Philadelphia took a 7-6 1st quarter lead and then added 10 points in the 2nd quarter for a 17-6 lead. PK Joe Nedney hit a 53-yard FG with 34 seconds to play, but Philadelphia moved to the San Francisco 36-yard line with one second remaining on the clock before halftime. The Eagles sent PK David Akers on to the field to attempt a 54-yard FG DE Ray McDonald blocked the kick, and Strickland scooped up the loose ball and ran 41 yards for the score to make it a 17-16 game at the half. RB Frank Gore had his second 100-yard game of the year with 101 yards on 19 attempts.
2009 Statistics
| 49ERS (rank) | EAGLES (rank) | |
| 6-7 (2nd NFCW) | Record | 9-4 (1st NFCE) |
| 20.7 (18th) | Points per game | 28.6 (3rd) |
| 288.6 (27th) | Total Offense | 360.2 (11th) |
| 98.8 (24th) | Rushing Offense | 106.1 (19th) |
| 189.8 (22nd) | Passing Offense | 254.1 (10th) |
| 29:31 (16th) | Possession Avg | 28:30 (25th) |
| 18.6 (8th) | Points allowed/gm | 21.0 (t-16th) |
| 338.6 (18th) | Total Defense | 320.1 (10th) |
| 95.0 (5th) | Rushing Defense | 101.5 (10th) |
| 243.6 (27th) | Passing Defense | 218.6 (18th) |
| 34 (t-7th) | Sacks | 36 (t-4th) |
| 47.8 (2nd) | Punting Avg (Gross) | 41.7 (27th) |
| +6 (t-7th) | Turnover Differential | +15 (3rd) |
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special teams
i have a strange feeling this is going to decide this game. on both sides of the punting game. jackson could have another huge day. the weather should not be a problem with clear conditions but cold temps.
So the big question is… who’s going to be returning for us????
our coverage units have been solid all year
so I’m hoping to see that continue.
We pretty much know we’re not going to get any decent field position in the PR game unless it’s a crappy punt from deep in their own territory…so I’m not looking for any favors there.
At Glendale Arizona?
What? They played at the Stick right?
49ers and TOOL live, my personal Heaven!!!
J.T. O'Sullivan
Anyone else notice that name a few times next to the word “turnover” listed above?
We were leading that game into the 4th quarter…Virtually the same Eagles team will take the field since Maclin is out. I think we can all agree that the 49ers are a better team than last year though and with weapons we didn’t have on both sides of the ball.
Again, like I felt going into the Arizona game…if we limit the mental errors (missed tackles, drops, penalties) we should have a very good chance in this game
Additionally
I think it comes down to our Offense and Secondary. Moreover, Alex Smith, Gore, VD, Crabtree and the Secondary (Goldson mainly).
Alex needs to show the patience and good decisions he showed the last 3 games (for the most part). Don’t hold the ball, don’t force it, make good throws, calm down.
Gore needs to get the ball first of all…then run with patience yet intensity like he did last game. Obviously the O-Line plays a big role but I feel like they’re playing well lately so I didn’t mention them.
VD and Crabs have to limit the drops. Again there were some drops last game. VD was targeted 7 times IIRC and hauled in 3 while Crabs was targeted 10 times for 5 catches IIRC.
Goldson has to show the same GOOD instincts and decisions as he did against Arizona. Tackling in the secondary must be good too. I’m counting on the pass rush showing up again so hopefully this helps the DB’s out some.
The S's and CB's have to do their part this game...
Or San Francisco is going to be dinked-dunked to death. They’ll have to be able to shut down the screen pass, or at least prevent substantial YAC which is something they’ve been terrible at this year.
+1
Philly LOVES to use the screen pass and the 9ers have been burned by it all year. This MUST be a point of emphasis leading up to the game. Also Philly is notorious for not covering the oppositions TE… obviously this bodes well for Vernon “Touchdown” Davis.
by return2greatness on Dec 16, 2009 1:08 PM PST up reply actions
corrected
I copy and paste it from the 49ers press release, so thanks for the heads-up.
by David Fucillo on Dec 16, 2009 12:58 PM PST up reply actions
Haven't shown my face around here in a while....
BUT I just got my tickets to this weeks game. School is on break, and I got nothin’ but time. Anyone else going to be there?
Blind devotion.
by ProfessorBigelow on Dec 16, 2009 1:35 PM PST reply actions
just my opinion
we need to come out from the start and establish the tempo like we did against the Cards, u could see in the attitude of the defense that the Cards were gonna have to do something pretty special to get that game, and the D made it impossible. Alex Smith needs to get the ball in the hands of frank gore, hes got a swagger going right now and we need to see if it can carry over to the Phily game. The redzone will be absolutely crucial, the Eagles wont give us as much as the Cards did (lets face it, the D played great but we let them hang around for three quarters, and it really wasnt quite over till we capitalized on the turnover that saw frank gore punch one in to strengthen our lead against the cards in the middle of the fourth Q) in terms of letting them hang around without capitalizing on it. The secondary will determine how well we do, or dont do in this game. We know our guys in the middle can lock things up and have been far more consistent than the secondary. And lastly, our O line must play strong, any sort of let down in run and pass protect will make this a tough 1 to watch from the start
on Alex Smith
I believe he has a really great chance at becoming the “answer” for our squad. Ive seen him mature quite well, just one problem. He still doesnt have a command of the Ofense, at least in my opinion. I need to see him on the sidelines getting into VD’s face when he drops a ball, shapping up the line when they let a defender in for a sack. As great as it is watching the greats of our time (Payton, Tom, Kurt, Drew,) light up apposing D’s, I get even more goos-bumps watchimg them rally their teams on the sidelines, getting in their faces when all is not well in a game, and willing their squads to victory. Alex has the tools, this has been said many times, but will he ever have the attitude? That commanding presence. The ability to will his team to a victory. He had a chance at it several times this season and has fallen short. Some may say, “well a drop here, a missed blitz pick up there, you really cant fault the guy”but I say, WILL THE TEAM TO VICTORY. Its clear Alex has more talent around him than hes had at any other point, now he needs to play up to that talent, enough excuses for Mr. Smith, hes got a system, a coach who will listen, players who believe, and fans who do as well, does he believe? more importantly, will he fill the win column more than he does the loss column going foward?
SF-Philly stats that may be useless
But I find interesting. The last three meetings, all Eagles wins, have been early in the season with none later than the sixth week. Niners last win in this series was a December road game, with team-Erickson no less. One can hope for a sign.
Of more importance is that the Eagles have had a return TD (2 punt return and 2 INT return) in four of the past five meetings going back to 2002. No surprise that they’ve won four of five. Can the Niners avoid giving up these extra kind of scores? That’s the only way they win this Sunday. And Jackson returning punts makes the prospect even more scary.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
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