49ers 27, Cardinals 6: Victory Comes With A Price, Frank Gore Out For Season
by James Brady on Nov 29, 2010 11:30 PM PST
in San Francisco 49ers News
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PrintFor those of you tuning in for the aforementioned recap from Fooch, sorry to burst your bubble: he's currently passed out at the moment, apparently Public House has some good stuff. As I noted on SBNBA while I figured Fooch was writing on here, the victory over the Cardinals, which kept the 49ers in the hunt for the NFC West crown, came with a pretty big price to pay: losing Frank Gore for the remainder of the season.
So Brian Westbrook's affirmation that yes, he can still play is no longer a definite plus, but more of a silver lining. It's nice to know he can still work in between the tackles, it's great to see him fighting and diving for every yard, and definitely a plus to see him picking up the occasional blitz. I don't think, however, that any of us will claim we're better off with Westbrook as a full-time starter than we would be with Frank Gore as a full-time starter.
Gore, on five carries, went for 52 yards with a long of 25. He then went down with a hip injury, took to the sidelines on his own power, then sort of bullied his way back into the game ... before retreating once more. He felt the injury, and the coaches knew he felt it. So they allegedly hid his helmet from him so he wouldn't go back into the game. I love Frank Gore.
Westbrook's long was 19 yards, but he did go for 136 yards on 23 carries with one touchdown, which was great. He fought for every yard, he made people miss, and he didn't go down at first contact. He looked like a very fresh running back, and should have enough left in the tank to be the starter going forward. As a colleague of mine noted on SB Nation Bay Area, the 49ers don't have many stiff tests to deal with in the rushing defense category left on their schedule:
@ Green Bay (22nd), Seattle (18th), @ San Diego (9th), @ St. Louis (17th) and Arizona (21st)
If Westbrook can play the same way he played against the Cardinals going forward, the 49ers will be in good shape. Anthony Dixon looked decent, too. 14 carries with 54 yards and his second career touchdown is a pretty good game, I'd say.
So ... what do we reckon?
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typical niners...
never an unconditional celebration.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 29, 2010 11:33 PM PST reply actions
I think Westbrook and Dixen are capable of filling in…
But they are no Gore.
by drink409 on Nov 29, 2010 11:38 PM PST via mobile reply actions
The book on the Niners got a lot easier..
.. stop Westbrook because Smith can’t beat you.
We’ll see it next week in spades.
How about, who cares? Niners aren't making the playoffs anyway.
The Niners are almost definitely not making the playoffs, so it’s not like Gore’s injury is a big deal in the grand scheme of things, (unless it’s a chronic thing that will flare up in the future).
One Game Out
He of little faith!!!
"He who lives on hope will die fasting" Benjamin Franklin was a fool
"If we are thinking playoffs, why not look towards the mountaintop"
I like my quote better
by nocal81(Vincent) on Nov 29, 2010 11:46 PM PST up reply actions
Asking "who cares?" on a 49ers blog is pretty hilarious.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not. | SB Nation Bay Area
by James Brady on Nov 29, 2010 11:53 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
All right, I'll admit who cares was a bit flippant.
But I don’t have faith that this team can win games it needs to in order to get to the playoffs. The Seahawks while not great, aren’t exactly the Panthers, and the Rams are reasonably good as well. The Niners just don’t have the execution down on defense or the offensive ability at QB to be a legitimate playoff team. At best they get to the playoffs and are embarrassed by who ever they play in the 1st round. I’d rather get the higher draft pick (and increased hope for the future) that comes with a shitty season, than the depressing mediocrity of a barely .500 team with little chance of serious improvement.
This is sort of how I feel. While I’d love a great playoff run, or at least the satisfaction of getting there, it wouldn’t do much for us in the long-run unless we somehow won it all. I don’t want playoff appearances. I want playoff wins. Good draft picks will increase team quality.
by Florida Johnny on Nov 30, 2010 1:01 AM PST up reply actions
I see this playoff talk by the fanbase (at this point) this year kind of like...
Like someone who is dying of thirst in the middle of the desert seeing an oasis just at the horizon.
But the oasis is just another mirage. A false promise raising a false sense of hope.
There will be no quenching of our collective thirst this year. Getting all worked up is pointless. A win is always nice, but it needs to be kept in-context and accepted as a transitive thing with no real greater meaning.
by ColoradoNiner on Nov 30, 2010 7:40 AM PST up reply actions
Depressed
Gore with a fractured hip (looked it up = broken hip). He was moving around alright on the sidelines but it’s a serious injury.
"Coach, it came down like a hail marry"
anyone else notice...
westbrook ran for more yards than troy smith threw for?
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 29, 2010 11:46 PM PST reply actions
Seemed that way
Seemed like a mix of causes: Troy not playing well at times and the 49ers having a big lead while running the ball at will.
"Coach, it came down like a hail marry"
Yeah and....
the 49ers ran for more yards than Mark Sanchez, Carson Palmer, Matt Ryan, Big Ben, Eli Manning, David Gerard, Brett Favre, Donovan Mcnabb, Matt Schaub, and Jay Cutler threw for
"He who lives on hope will die fasting" Benjamin Franklin was a fool
"If we are thinking playoffs, why not look towards the mountaintop"
I like my quote better
by nocal81(Vincent) on Nov 29, 2010 11:50 PM PST up reply actions
two things...
1) it’s interesting that you seem to be insinuating some kind of slight towards troy smith in my comment; and how quickly you come to his defense….and
2) i don’t know why you responded to a comment about westbrook’s yardage with a comment about the 49ers total rushing yardage. i don’t have the exact stats to back it up, but i’d say that 281 rushing yards is going to be better than at least 25 starting QBs each week of the NFL season. feel free to list the other 15 or so that you omitted from your list.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 29, 2010 11:55 PM PST up reply actions
No
i wasn’t attempting to insinuate anything. I just think its funny that the 49ers ran for as many yards as they did. If it came across any different i apologize
"He who lives on hope will die fasting" Benjamin Franklin was a fool
"If we are thinking playoffs, why not look towards the mountaintop"
I like my quote better
by nocal81(Vincent) on Nov 29, 2010 11:57 PM PST up reply actions
ok...
just making sure. no need to apologize. honestly, i just found the westrbrook vs. troy smith yardage an interesting tidbit from the game. nothing more nothing less.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 29, 2010 11:58 PM PST up reply actions
You generally pile up rushing yardage
when you are winning. If the Niners were down 21-3 I imagine that T. Smith would have had a lot more passing yardage. It was not only a reflection of the team’s running game without Gore (and Arizona’s run defense) it was also a reflection of the score.
I don’t think that T. Smith had a great game, but he did just fine considering. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the two rookie linemen seemed to do. If that carries through to Sunday that’ll be next week’s storyline.
by Bob In Beaverton on Nov 30, 2010 7:14 AM PST up reply actions
If it’s cold, I can’t imagine the Niners gameplanning for any kind of passing game.
Placeholder.
by howtheyscored on Nov 29, 2010 11:49 PM PST up reply actions
pretty sure...
GB will be passing at least 65% of the time regardless of the weather. SF better gameplan for that!
obviously, you’re talking about SF’s offense, though. and the fact that GB will throw the ball at least 65% of the time should suggest that it’s possible for the 49ers to do so. of course, they won’t. but that has nothing to do with the weather, per se…i think.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 30, 2010 12:04 AM PST up reply actions
or maybe...
you just mean that, above and beyond singletary’s natural aversion to passing the ball, he’ll be EXTRA conservative with his offensive edict in cold weather @ GB.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 30, 2010 12:07 AM PST up reply actions
They better
Teams have done better going over the top of the Packers defense instead of going through it. The Falcons barely scored 20 points going through the defense given their advantage in turnovers, missed calls and special teams advantages. 49ers don’t have the weapons of the Falcons and Green Bay will score more than 17 points playing at home.
When Pittsburgh and Arizona challenged them deep last season the Packers defense got lit up.
"Coach, it came down like a hail marry"
I feel like Singletary...
..built his whole offensive philosophy on Gore’s ability. Luckily Westbrook picked it up this game. But can it continue against Green Bay?
Troy Smith can’t play like he did tonight against GB. Yeah that TD pass was great but it could have been challenged and overturned (not Troy’s fault really). He had a few good passes but has to do better than 11 for 23. Crabtree’s a wuss by the way.
by Florida Johnny on Nov 30, 2010 12:00 AM PST reply actions
my prediction for the sans-gore niners...
something like ray rice + willis mcgahee in BAL…
one guy is the “primary back” who runs outside the tackles and catches passes…the other guy is the “backup” who runs between the tackles and gets goalline carries…but in reality, they basically split carries 67/33 and either guy can have a good game depending on the matchup.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 30, 2010 12:01 AM PST reply actions
or perhaps...
ahmad bradshaw + brandon jacobs in NYG before all the drama and lineup-shuffling this season.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 30, 2010 12:08 AM PST up reply actions
Yeah
I think that in that Dixon gets more carries it will serve him well next year.
You know, I think before last night the Niners were something like 21st in the league in rushing, so while I know Gore is a great runner that doesn’t mean that the Niners have had a great or even effective running game. They certainly haven’t had the rushing game that Singletary had envisioned.
A lot of the effectiveness of the Niners’ running game last night was due to the Cards’ battered defensive line. Westbrook ran the same plays that that Gore would have run. There were a couple of times when he seemed to fake someone at the second level and got another four or five yards when Frank would have gone straight ahead. Does this mean that the Niners will change the running plays to enhance Westbrook’s style?
I can see the Niners trying to run their way over the Packers, and if they can keep Rodgers off the field they have a chance. Slim to none, but a chance.
by Bob In Beaverton on Nov 30, 2010 7:25 AM PST up reply actions
I think it's better for our offense that way
I’ve felt for a long time that the offense relies to heavily on Gore. When he’s hot it’s a great thing, but when he’s not we have no other options.
Shared Load
I think Westbrook and Dixon will be able to share the load. That was the one problem with Gore is that he didn’t like to share. While losing Gore is a HUGE loss I think we have the best back-ups that we have ever had in the Gore-Era.
On a side note, why is no one talking about the missed pass to VD in the back of the end-zone?? He was wide open and Smith just missed him completely. That bothered me the most.
"shared load"
may violate site decorum rules here, i think.
p.s. no one’s talking about the missed automatic VD TD because the niners won.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 30, 2010 12:11 AM PST up reply actions
incidentally...
i’d like to find out why spikes was singled up on wells in the 1st quarter on that long pass completion. spikes should never be in man coverage on anyone, ever. and yet ARI set that situation up pretty much immediately. given singletary’s affection for calling 1st half timeouts, you’d think he’d see spikes 1-on-1 in coverage, and be sprinting to the cardinals logo @ midfield to stop the play.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 30, 2010 12:17 AM PST up reply actions
Mismatch
I was thinking the same thing. Spikes might be able to cover some slower TEs or FBs but should never try to cover a RB/WR. Leave that to Willis.
yeah...
having your worst coverage LB isolated on the edge against anyone is an epic coaching failure in my book.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 30, 2010 12:37 AM PST up reply actions
I believe
that spikes was lined up in man coverage on Wells when he was in the backfield, so when wells spread out wide it was Spikes’ assignment to follow him as it was too late to move coverage around. Definitely a mismatch for sure
"God tells me he can get me out of this mess, but he's pretty sure you're fucked."-Braveheart
I thought it was a blown coverage by one of the safeties
We hardly ever do single coverage in pass protection—it’s like 95% of the time zone coverage.
I think they said something about that in post-game
I think the safety committed to the other side when Linebacker released. I remember them saying they should have been aware of Spikes not having help. Let’s hope GB’s OC doesn’t see that play on film.
I was climbing aboard the T. Smith wagon two weeks ago. After the last two weeks I’m getting close to jumping off. That was a beautiful pass to Crabs though. But I just felt like T. Smith was just as inconsistent as A. Smith tonight.
by Florida Johnny on Nov 30, 2010 12:16 AM PST up reply actions
haha...
“florida johnny”…do we have a secret blog child named “florida donny?”
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 30, 2010 12:18 AM PST up reply actions
not...
that there’s anything wrong with it.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 30, 2010 12:19 AM PST up reply actions
Hah, wondered when you’d notice I stole your tag.
by Florida Johnny on Nov 30, 2010 12:23 AM PST reply actions
i haven't...
been very active on here lately…been kind of fed up with this team once and for all after 4 years of the same “i try to get out, but the pull me back in” crap.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 30, 2010 12:26 AM PST up reply actions
I hope it's not career ending, or at the very worst career limiting.
The book on broken hips is the same as broken femurs: Poor blood flow to the area makes recoveries very difficult, especially given the bodies of professional athletes. Add in the demanding physical nature of the NFL and you’ve got a real issue at hand. This isn’t some guy who fell off his roof and is trying to walk again.
Off the top of my head, I believe it was Bo Jackson that broke his hip and he could never recover. I want to say he never played in the NFL again, and I bet his baseball career derailed as well. Obviously we don’t know how severe the injury is, relative to other hip injuries, but a broken hip is cause for concern.
But if there is anyone who has proved they can overcome a multitude of injuries, it’s Frank Gore. I have faith.
/fear mongering
by JSing on Nov 30, 2010 12:28 AM PST via mobile reply actions
Maybe now Singletary will realize an offense has to be multi-dimensional
by Florida Johnny on Nov 30, 2010 12:31 AM PST up reply actions
sing does not strategies, he does not understand it.
"You know whats funny? I always thought uhm dogs lay eggs and I learned something new today" Peter Griffin
by HUNGRY HUNTER on Nov 30, 2010 12:36 AM PST up reply actions
At least "more dimensional"
Westbrook and Dixon are both fresh too which isn’t true for many players in week 12.
by Jaxson876 on Nov 30, 2010 8:12 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
This for sure
We probably have the least beat up, quality RBs in the league ATM.
Yes, I'm worried this is career ending
Even if it heals a doctor worth his salt is going to sit Frank down and say it’s at risk for a worse fracture and possible serious long term health consequences with the next hit.
"Coach, it came down like a hail marry"
uhmmmm, he is going to be traded.
"You know whats funny? I always thought uhm dogs lay eggs and I learned something new today" Peter Griffin
by HUNGRY HUNTER on Nov 30, 2010 12:36 AM PST up reply actions
/Earl Campbell nervously looks around room.
by JSing on Nov 30, 2010 12:37 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
My only hope is the 49ers are saving a good performance for next week
Tonight wasn’t bad, some had a good game against an opponent who was completely lost.
Gore getting hurt severely hurts. Can Westbrook do it consistently each week? I’ve had serious doubts. I still think Dixon has a better of chance of taking his game to another level than Westbrook maintaining tonight’s pace.
Troy Smith didn’t play well. He played well in the 1st quarter to get the 49ers a lead. Important but got progressively worse during the game. Missed the TD pass to VD, missed Crabtree wildly on two passes that would have been 1st downs. Bailed out by replay with whatever he was doing in the collapsing pocket, play looked as bad as Alex’s in the Eagles game. I’d prefer Troy Smith but I wouldn’t be surprised if Singletary debates starting Alex this week.
Stubborntary game plans. The next time he decides to pass the ball to win will be the 1st. Has to pass the ball to have a chance to beat the Packers or Chargers and suspect the Rams late in the schedule.
Offensive line played great but it was against the Cardinals 2nd string defensive line. It’s possible they finally turned the corner, it’s possible … but odds are tonight’s running game was a result of an inferior opponent.
Still not seeing a new guy step up from time to time to help the 49ers win. Good teams get good performances from role players, still not seeing it on the 49ers. Either the stars play well or the 49ers lose.
"Coach, it came down like a hail marry"
we always look good against cards, take this game for what it was and dont look too much into it.
"You know whats funny? I always thought uhm dogs lay eggs and I learned something new today" Peter Griffin
by HUNGRY HUNTER on Nov 30, 2010 12:35 AM PST up reply actions
See you next year, Frankie. :(
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: WORLD CHAMPIONS!
Touchdown Forty Niners!
Giants Baseball: Torture. It hurts so good.
I think it is a good thing, sorry frank gore.
but the niners can not always game plan for just frank gore to win every game.
westbrook will be fine and dixon is going to get expeience for next year.
honestly i hope we trade frank this offseason for 2nd round or better draft pick.
frank has been good, but it will not last forever.
go dixon, go niners!!1
"You know whats funny? I always thought uhm dogs lay eggs and I learned something new today" Peter Griffin
to take this thread...
into a statistical direction:
perhaps what’s most disappointing about gore’s injury is that he was a shoe-in for his 5th consecutive 1,000-yd season. he, steven jackson, and thomas jones were the only RBs who’d run for 1k+ each season from 2006-2009.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Nov 30, 2010 12:36 AM PST reply actions
150 yards away
As soon as I heard he was going on IR I checked out that stats and he is almost there. With another game against the Cards he would have easily got it.
He might have gotten there last night
If he didn’t get hurt. He broke a one big one. Westbrook did well, but didn’t seem as hard to tackle as Gore. I think Gore would have had a few 30+ yard runs. His and Westbrook’s yards were close to 200.
Is this the closest poll we've had on NN?
FG- thank you for keeping us in it. Rest up buddy, we’re gonna need you next season.
We’ll have to beast through with Westbrook and Dixon, but it’s more than doable and I don’t think there’s a team in the NFL who wants it more.
Great game, and if we do end up facing the Saints in the playoffs… I just don’t think these announcers have a very long memory, if they can’t remember we were closer than anyone’s given us credit for the first time we played the champs.
49er 'til I die! (if they don't kill me first)
BUT ALEX SMITH WAS QUARTERBACK!!!??! WHAT WILL WE DO WITHOUT ALEX questionmarkexclamationpointquestionpointexclamationmark
by JSing on Nov 30, 2010 12:56 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
I hate to say it, but losing Frank Gore might be better for the team
My reason for saying that is the fact that, maybe Singletary might see the light and change his idea as to actually how the offense should be ran. I think having westbrook as the main guy, HOPEFULLY, Johnson and Singletary will look at the tape from Philadelphia and SEE that westbrook is an outside the tackles kind of guy, (which BTW, sets up IUPATI perfectly) and maybe change the scheme to run westbrook outside the tackles.
My ideal play would be having dixon and westbrook in the backfield split, and having smith fake the hand off to dixon and toss it to westbrook on the outside. Just like in madden, the play works!
Well this sucks
No Gore = no bueno. Unless our O-Line can continue to man handle opponents like they did tonight, which I find highly unlikely. Let’s hope our RB tandem can step up to the challenge…
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by Tom Huddlestone on Nov 30, 2010 1:11 AM PST reply actions
this is bad
In case anyone didn’t know. Now when Westbrook needs a break Dixon has to come in and pick up blitzes. Poor Troy Smith…
Well, atleast the dum@$$ ratings people for Madden will quit lowering Westbrooks stats just because he doesn’t play. Hell, he might even go up a few points after tonight. I keep hoping Troy Smith has another big game so he gets upgraded again.
Go niners!!
We must win rest of the division games AND one of either Packers or Chargers. I think we will lose both becuase at Lambeau this time of year and Chargers are stone cold killers in December. DOH for the early season mistakes. Oh what could have been with three games we should have won: Saints, Falcons, Eagles. (tear rolling down cheek) :(
When is our QB going to answer questions like "You only threw 4 TD's today. What's wrong with the offense?" I miss the 90's.....
When Troy Smith learns the offense!!!
We will do better against the Pack than people think.
They rank even worse against the run than the Cards (according to this article). That will help keep their high-powered offense off the field. Manusky needs to blitz Aaron Rodgers every play, otherwise he’ll just pick us apart.
Time to blow taps on this season, was anyway. Done with both Smith’s niners need to draft a qb and a rb with their first 2 picks. It was time for niners to use a high pick on a rb anyhow.
by bmcrae83@yahoo.com on Nov 30, 2010 3:16 AM PST reply actions
WB and Dixon
I wonder if its possible to get both of them on the field at the same time?? I mean I know Johnson said for some weird reason that Gore and WB couldn’t. But why not Dixon and WB? Seems like it would be easy to split WB out and spread the D\prevent them from stacking the box.
I don’t think that at all… and of course this is all speculation on your behalf
by Drew K on Apr 14, 2010 2:05 PM PDT
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