FanPost

One man's assessment of Game #1


First, congratulations to Pete Carroll and his staff -- they had their team ready to play and they executed better than the Niners in all three phases of the game. Although it doesn't have anything to do with it, they deserved to win the game.

I have been a 49ers fan for a LONG time -- 60 years. I have lived through many iterations of "the lean years." I have to say that today's game, a 31-6 loss to Seattle, was the single most disappointing game that I seen (and I've seen them all) in the past ten years, maybe longer. Why? It's not that the Niners lost the game -- they've lost many games. It's because that, while having superior talent (somewhat new to them), they didn't even compete -- they were outplayed (dominated) by Seattle, a majority of whose players were brand new to the team, in all three phases of the game. And, it wasn't just a few players who were responsible, but virtually the entire team. Seattle didn't win the game, although they did take advantage of the opportunities that they were given, but rather the Niners gave them the game by their poor play. My comments below come from notes that I took while watching the game.

WITH RESPECT TO THE OFFENSE:

Offensive line --

The offensive line was almost completely outplayed by Seattle's defensive line; and actually, the rookies player BETTER than the vets.

Seattle's DL is dominating the Niners' OL -- at every position.

Nobody on the OL is getting any push on running plays!

Can ANYBODY pick up the blitz?

It appears that, on many plays, Staley has completely forgotten how to block! He looks like he has 25 pounds of lead in each shoe.

Snyder must go -- he absolutely can't block anything.

Receivers --

Do we have a receiver, other than Morgan and Ziegler, who can catch the ball?

Since Crabtree was too soft to practice or play in pre-season games, displaying his diva tendencies (go figure out what it means, Michael), why the hell was he playing in the first place? Why not Ziegler? At least Ziggy would give you his best effort!

Crabtree cost us 2 TDs by Seattle! He was responsible for BOTH of the interceptions that Alex threw -- one by just having poor hands (or a lack of practice at game speed) and the other by running the wrong route. Any other receiver that we have available would have been better than Crabtree!

Why so many dropped balls? Crabtree, Walker, Davis ...

Hangover from getting the big contract extension? Carlson outplayed Davis, pure and simple. Embarrasing!

Backs --

Granted that the OL blocking was bad, but Frank looked bad! And on almost every one of his runs! What the hell did we save him in pre-season for?

I've said it many time before, and I'll say it again -- why in the hell did we keep Norris? He can't run, he can't catch, and he can't block! His failure to catch the early TD was pathetic! The pass was high, but he tripped over his own feet while trying to face Alex instead of continuing to run his pattern. Unbelievable! I would rather have either Caulcrick or Miller by a country mile!

Ironically, the guy on offense that I thought played the BEST, was Alex Smith. The guy spent almost the entire game running for his life and getting no help from the other offensive guys ... line, backs, or receivers.

Play-Calling --

Here we go AGAIN! Raye's play-calling was terrible! What the hell is he thinking? Does he even watch the game that he's calling and what's happening? If so, it isn't obvious. I like you as a human being, Jimmy, but I don't think that you have "it" any more.

Delay of game penalties / time outs -- get the god damn plays in on time!

3rd and 5 -- throw a 30-yard pass? Why? Worse, to Stone-Hands Ginn?

2nd and 8 or 9 -- call a 3-yard pass to a back with no screen?

4th quarter with 2 minutes left, down by 25 points -- two screen passes in a row when the screen pass has been wholly unsuccessful throughout the game.

I've got a long list of questionable calls, but why bother?

If this is the kind of play-calling that we are going to get from Raye this year, make the change now! Give Mike Johnson the play-calling responsibilities and let Jimmy play a consulting role.

WITH RESPECT TO THE DEFENSE:

Defensive line --

Seattle's OL, who hardly know each other's names, are dominating the Niners' DL on many plays -- WTF?

The Niners are getting almost NO pass-rush! LaBoy getting a little push; where is everybody else?

Linebackers --

Even Patrick doesn't look like Patrick on many plays; Lofa looks as good, maybe better.

Defensive backs --

Can ANYBODY play CB?

Nate continues to gamble and, as usual, gets beat! Why does he do this? It isn't necessary and usually hurts the team.

Forget coverage, Spencer has just missed four tackles in a row!

I guess that we already knew this, but it is already obvious that we should draft at least three CBs in next year's draft.

If you're going to let Clements and Spencer get you beat, why not play Adams and Brock and at least let them learn? Doubtful that they can play substantially worse than the CBs today.

What the hell is Goldson thinking in his (lack of) coverage? And he wants a big contract? I don't think so, at least not based on today's performance!

WITH RESPECT TO SPECIAL TEAMS:

On several occasions the coverage teams couldn't tackle worth a shit.

Ginn does not look good on kick or punt returns; slightly better than last year, but not by much.

Finally, got Adams in for punt returns in the 4th quarter but he didn't get a punt that he could return.

WITH RESPECT TO COACHING:

Completely out-coached by Seattle! How embarrassing! The only positive that I saw was Sing's willingness to give the offense a chance to shine by going for it on several occasions -- unfortunately they failed!

MY FINAL GRADES FOR THE SEATTLE GAME:

Offensive line -- F

Tight ends -- F

Wide receivers -- Morgan (B-) and the rest (F)

Quarterback -- B-

Running backs -- Gore (D) and Norris (F)

Defensive line -- run defense (C) and pass defense (F)

Linebackers -- Patrick (C) and others (D)

Defensive backs -- F

Special teams -- D

This game was even harder to watch than last year's disaster in Seattle. As you might guess, I am pissed!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.