Niners Nation: FanPosts

Niners Forgotten Man Deserves Pro Bowl Recognition

2009-11-07T13:26:57Z

Michael Robinson

In 2006, the San Francisco 49ers drafted a QB out of Penn State who head coach Joe Paterno called "the greatest athlete I have coached in 55 years at this university". He was a wide receiver who Paterno switched to QB his senior season because he had no other player on the roster who was capable. His performance was incredible. He was named Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year and led his team to an 11-1 record, the Big 10 Championship, and victory in the Orange Bowl. His name was Michael Robinson.

In his senior season at QB, he completed 162 out of 311 passes for 2,350 yards and 17 TDs. His passer rating was 127.2. He also ran 163 times for 806 yards and 11 Tds, for a 4.9 average per carry. He had, in his first two season in college, caught 43 passes for 585 yards and 3 TDs. He also was a standout on special teams.

With such a dynamic talent coming to a QB-starved team, you would think the 49ers would have jumped at the opportunity to see what Robinson could do in the NFL at QB. Unfortunately, the Niners were led by head coach, Mike Nolan. This stubborn little man refused to play Robinson on offense unless absolutely necessary, and put him on special teams, despite Michael's pleas to be given an opportunity to prove himself as a QB in the NFL.

In 2 1/2 years under Nolan, Robinson was not only not given an opportunity to play QB, but was turned into a RB, an unfamiliar position and averaged less than 2 carries per game. In his entire career with the 49ers he has thrown ONE PASS, averaged 2 carries per game, and has not taken a single snap from QB.

This season Jimmy Raye is installing the so-called Taser and used Spurlock in that role who was flat-out terrible. He now uses Frank Gore in an entirely forgetful and unimaginative "Taser". Mike Singletary said that Michael Robinson knew the taser best, but he has not been given a single opportunity to run it. What are the 49ers afraid of?

To understand the stupidity of the way he has been handled, let's examine what he has done in the roles they have assigned to him. He has been the leading tackler on special teams for a couple of seasons, and is far and away the best upback this team has seen in quite awhile. He is a punishing blocker, and his double block led to Alan Rossum's kickoff return for a TD vs. Arizona last season, and he also laid the block that sprung Delanie Walker for his kickoff TD return in a preseason game last year.

Now, after the Niners foolishly cut Alan Rossum, they put Delanie Walker as the kickoff returner and he immediately fumbled. Glen Coffee lost his starting job in college due to excessive fumbling so he wasn't the answer. They instead turned to Mr. Reliable, Michael Robinson, who is averaging over 23 yards per return. The only problem is that we no longer have Michael Robinson as the upback, with his devastating blocks that spring the return man. Instead, we have Glenn Coffee who couldn't block his grandmother if she was in a wheelchair. Against Indy, Coffee missed blocks which resulted in Robinson being tackled long before any defender should have made contact.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Michael has been nominated for the Pro Bowl and Niner fans can vote for him to make it on special teams. Beyond that, let's hope that Jimmy Raye realizes that he has an offensive weapon that is not being used. It's probably too late to give him his chance at QB as it has been four years since he played the position. Michael, however, should be used in the Taser along with Gore and given the opportunity to roll out and pass the ball. He should also be used as he was last season as the backup FB specializing in receiving out of the backfield.

The latter half of the 2008 season, Singletary utilized MRob as the backup fullback and he caught 17 passes for 201 yards, an 11.9 average which was good enough to be #3 among NFL RBs last season. He made a great leaping catch vs. the Redskins in the 4th quarter that preserved the drive and led to victory.

When Tom Rathman was playing we had a former QB who also wore #24. His name was Harry Sydney and many Niner fans remember Harry's clutch roll out option pass to Brent Jones which was instrumental in leading us to victory over the Redskins in a playoff game.

It's time for Raye and Singletary to open their eyes. They have a diamond in the rough that they need to polish and USE. He's a great athlete who succeeds at every assignment he is given.

Gary Mialocq
The SF 49er Observer

Weapons & Matchups (49ers vs. Titans)

2009-11-04T09:32:18Z

Finally back!! It will be nice to have a home game after what has seemed like an eternity of playing road games even though it was just 2...

This week we face the Tennessee Titans who are coming off a win against the Jags after 6 straight losses. I didn't catch much of the game (Titans vs. Jags) but Tennessee seemed to be rejuvinated with Vince Young in at QB and walked away with barely a speck of dirt on their jersey's in a 30-13 routing of a division opponent.

I wanted to keep the theme of the weapons and matchups going each week. If it continues to get a bit of response then it's well worth me taking the time to do it. Last week I gave a full breakdown of players on both the 49ers and the Colts giving a grade (A-F) in what I thought each player deserved followed by a short summary attached to the players. Once I completed the grades, I counted them all out and gave a team grade based on the average. After that, at the bottom of the post, I look at some of the possible key matchups that would or could have an impact in the game. After the jump, I will continue with the grading, followed by the matchups.

Disclaimer: These are only my opinions obviously and you are welcome to your own. If you see something that you would grade differently feel free to say so.

I will only include the starters (12 on offense and 12 on defense. Yeah there's 11 on each side but I am adding a 3rd WR and a 3rd DB) for each team. Here goes:

49ERS OFFENSE

QB- Alex Smith [C]- (This is the grade that I had him at last week. Even though I am somewhat pleased so far, I still need to see more from him to bump it up. Had he pulled off a game winning drive in the 2nd half last week, he probably would have received a biased bump up to a B. We will see what he does at home against a team who has struggled since the departure of Haynesworth on defense).

RB- Frank Gore [B]- (I bumped Gore from the C I had him at last week. Reason being is that he looked to be back going at 100%. All around he played well. Only 13 carries for 91 yards and though most of it came on a 64 yarder, he looked to be back running at Frank the Tank full speed. He also had 43 yards on 5 receptions and the pass blocking looked to be very strong as always with him. Glad to see #21 back).

FB- Moran Norris [B]- (This grade did not change for me. Norris proved that he is an asset not only in key blocks helping to spring Gore for long runs but also in 3rd and short yardage situations. He's not as fast but in some ways I find myself wondering if he could be used on screen passes similar to a William Floyd or Tom Rathman. I've seen a couple but I don't think they were executed well. Maybe just not well designed plays).

TE- Vernon Davis [A]- (Forget the C for Captian on his jersey, this guy flat out needs a superman symbol sewed there instead. Vernon continues to amaze me this season. I expected him to do better but so far he is having a breakout year. Mc Boo Foo needs to by any means necessary keep him on the team. They better pay him in the offseason).

WR- Josh Morgan [C]- (I'm not going to change much here. I don't feel like he did much in respect to bumping this grade up. He threw a couple nice blocks I noticed. Other than that he caught it once for 3 yards so I don't have much to go on there).

WR- Isaac Bruce [C]- (I did want to bump Bruce to a B because I did see small flashes of the old Bruce in the last game {4 receptions for 51 yards} wasn't too bad. I beleive he dropped another one or maybe two. I can't recall exactly but I remember at least one.).

WR- Michael Crabtree [B]- (Obviously we saw that he is a rookie and is going to make the typical rookie mistakes. I had him at a B last week and it will stay as a B this week but I think most of us agree that we have something special in Crabtree. 6 catches for 81 yards with a long of 27 yards that Smith threaded in between 2 DB's and Crabtree almost broke loose and took his first to the house. I think he will get in the endzone this week. At least I hope).

LT- Barry Sims [C]- (I probably would catch alot of heat for giving this guy a B but I don't think that Staley could have held off Freeney all that much better. Sims did a fabulous job of filling in when Staley went down. I was really surprised and I hope he can keep it up for a while until Staley recovers).

LG- David Baas [D]- (Again, I wanted to bump him up to a C. I feel like our entire line played fairly well for a change and against a team with who some would say have the best D-line in the NFL).

C- Eric Heitmann [B]- (He would be an A but I think that he is partially to blame for the others around him not doing well. The Center is the head of the offensive line. He's got to make the guys around him better for him to earn an A with me. I will only add to what I commented on last week (the previous two sentences) that I feel until there's continuity in our line playing decent, that he will probably keep the B grade).

RG- Chilo Rachal [D]- (Even Rachal played a bit better, I hope he's finally getting it. If he does well again and plays virtually as well as last week and continues it for a little while, I will bump this grade to a C. I am not going to hold my breath but I am pulling for the guy).

LT- Adam Snyder [C]- (Considering that he had to block Mathis on the other side of Freeney, he did a so-so job at keeping Mathis in check for a majority of the game. Out of everybody on their D-line, Mathis put the most pressure on Smith so Snyder stays put where he's at with a C).

49ERS DEFENSE

LDE- Isaac Sopoaga [D]- (I am not sure if Isaac read my post last week and was pissed that I graded him at a D but hey, whatever works right. I am keeping him at a D just because I think he lacks speed. If he has back to back games like the one he had last week, I may be convinced enough to give him a C).

NT- Abrayo Franklin [C]- (Last week I mentioned that he exploded out of the gates and since has just leveled off at an average level of play. I think it is difficult to grade a NT in a 3-4 defense because he's not going to get a ton of tackles or sacks usually. I will pay close attention to Franklin this week and I may consider bumping him to a B).

RDE- Justin Smith [B]- (Smith has been all over the place. It seems as I am watching the game, he is in on every single play. And when he's not, he's usually breathing down the opposing QB's neck...this was the comment from last week and I am going to keep it there. I feel like he is getting ready to have a Jared Allen-like game here soon. Hopefully this week... Vince Young is pretty quick and crafty on his feet so I think for the entire D-line, it will be an extremely tough challenge).

LOLB- Manny Lawson [C]- (Several plays of last weeks game I noticed Manny laying flat on his back. He is a real disappointment for me. Probably the biggest disappontment on the defense for me. I expected much more than what he has been bringing to the table. I would like to see Diyral Briggs get some playing time this week to see what he brings to the table. Maybe even throw Brooks in there a little more. I will give Manny a C but if I see more of what I saw last week he will be getting a D).

LILB- Takeo Spikes [A]- (I was sure glad to see him out there. It made me a bit nervous with the injury to his shoulder. I have plenty of confidence in Scotty McKillop but he's obviously still learning the game as a rookie).

RILB- Patrick Willis [A]- (Willis is a beast. I am not sure throughout all the years of watching football that I have enjoyed watching any other defensive guy as much as I do him. He changes the way teams have to play. He takes teams strengths and chews em up and spits em out. I could write a book here but I think it's a safe assumption to say that every Niner fan would agree with the grade here).

LOLB- Parys Haralson [B]- (I didn't really notice Haralson all too much against the Colts but I am not ready to change the grade here. I think that out of all the linebackers on the team, he has the most potential to be an A along side Willis someday here soon. He's been a menace in most of the games and I feel like he's going to break out here shortly).

LCB- Tarell Brown [C]- (For such short notice, and the lack of NFL experince, I really wanted to give him a B here. Now that Clements is out, he's got some pretty big shoes to fill. I think he can do it and I have alot of confidence that he will be the starter there for a long time to come).

SS- Michael Lewis [C]- (He was like a ghost out there on Sunday. I am not sure if that's a bad thing or a good thing. Manning still got a bunch of yards in the air, so I think you have to hold both safeties partially accountable for that even though they kept the WR's out of the endzone.).

FS- Dashon Goldson [D]- (I am not sure who was supposed to be responsible for coverage on that Half-Back Pass that they ran on us to seal the deal but I suspect it was partially here and mostly on whoever let Wayne go on the original coverage. I will have to go back and look at the play to solidify the blame).

RCB- Shawntae Spencer [C]- (Spencer had a B from me last week but after Wayne racked up 12 catches for 147 yards and it was his guy a majority of the game, we have to take a step back here. He certainly could redeem himself this week. Everyone has an off game or two through the course of a season so we will see if it was just that he had a bad game or that alot of us were drinking too much Kool-Aid on him. Time will tell).

5DB- Dre Bly [C]- (Playmaker, risk taker, ball hawk...all these things can also be his down fall as well. Bly really still has not made up for his blunder and brain fart against Atlanta....I'mmmmm waaaaiiitinnngg. If he doesn't do anything this week, I am demoting him to a D).

OVERALL TEAM GRADE = C+ (80 Points)

TITANS OFFENSE

QB- Vince Young [C]- (The Titans needed a change of pace much like the Niners did. This guy can be a triple threat. He runs well, pocket prescence, and can pass the ball. He is not the most accurate QB in the league but we definitely will have to be careful in bringing the pressure. We will have to have a spy on him a majority of the game).

RB- Chris Johnson [A]- (Dangerous...would be the best one word description. He's averaging 117 yards per game, 150 yards shy of 1000 already. It's very difficult to contain him. He's proven on several occasions through the course of this season that he can take it to the house just about anytime and from anywhere on the field. He not only runs the ball well but catches it also. It will be up to Spikes and Willis to stop him and Young)

FB- Ahmard Hall [C]- (I am not all too familiar with the Titans fullback but I think it's safe to assume that he's pretty decent considering what Johnson has done. By looking at his stats, I have to go with a C here. If any Titan fans visit the site this week, feel free to set me straight if I am wrong here).

TE- Bo Scaife [C]- (Certainly one of the better blocking TE's in the league. He's not known all that much as being a receiving TE but he can catch passes and he can hurt you if you ignore him. He's about the middle of the pack as far as stats are concerned with receiving. Maybe just a shade below. Sometimes stats are deceiving though. We cannot ignore this guy or he'll hurt us).

WR- Justin Gage [D]- (I've never been real fond of Justin Gage and I am not sure how he gets the #1 spot of receivers on this roster. He's always been average at best. Let me put it in perspective...this year Michael Crabtree has just 7 catches less than Gage. He could surpass him this game if things go well. I give him a D).

WR- Nate Washington [C]- (He is probably the most talented WR on the squad and has the most potential. The problem with the potential this year so far is that he is not living up to it. He has 20 catches in 7 games and I feel like I am giving him benefit of the doubt with a C).

WR- Kenny Britt [C]- (Again, just another average receiver. This is not the Titans strength and if I was them I would be looking to draft a WR pretty high next year. Although there are many holes on this team to address. I have seen Britt go up and after a few this year. Between him and Washington, our DB's should have the edge here).

LT- Michael Roos [C]- (Has given up a few sacks. Probably better at run-blocking than pass blocking but that's good for the Titans and what they need given that they really only are successful when they run the ball).

LG- Eugene Amano [D]- (This side of the line is not the Titans strength in my opinion. It seems that a majority of Johnson's seams and big gains have come from the other side of the line).

C- Kevin Mawae [A]- (Pro Bowl just about every year. One of the meanest Centers in the league. This guy is the poster child for what any team should want in a center. What is funny abou this guy is that while known for one of the most fierce offensive linemen in the NFL, off the field he is considered to be one of the most good-hearted well-rounded people...so I have heard and seen on interviews. Class act here. Getting old though).

RG- Jake Scott [B]- (Before the trade deadline, this was one of the guys I was hoping the Niners would go after. He would have been perfect for Chilo to sit behind and learn from. Also very tough and when Johnson is running the gap in between Mawae and Scott he is going to gain gain a bunch of yardage).

RT- David Stewart [B]- (Probably the stronger tackle of the two on the team. It's going to be very difficult to break through this line to get to Young. Especially considering Young's mobility).

TITANS DEFENSE

LDE- William Hayes [C]- (Filling in for and injured Jevon Kearse, he is doing just that...filling in. Not exactly what you'd call an impact player here. He's gonna get you a few tackles here and there but beyond that this guy is just a solid back up).

LDT- Jovan Haye [D]- (Had his best year in 2007 with Tampa. Since then there hasn't been a whole lot of havoc going on on the interior at this position for the Titans).

RDT- Tony Brown [B]- (This guy can get to the QB and stop the run. He's on the smaller side for what you would want in a DT but it helps in the area of speed. He can track down a RB running horizontally).

RDE- Kyle Vanden Bosch [B]- (Lots of parralels between Vanden Bosch and Justin Smith. He can flat out get after the QB. He has the potential to make it a long day for Alex Smith and company whether he's working against Sims or Snyder. This would be a very big concern for me except I like the job we did against Freeney and Mathis. We will see if he can get after Smith and stop the run. Sometimes his weakness is overpersuit. He could get burnt on a few draw plays if he's not careful).

SSLB- David Thornton [C]- (Not much more than what we saw in Clint Session last week. In fact, he reminds me alot of Session. Average LB with average skills. He gets a C).

MLB- Stephen Tulloch [B]- (Decent LB with a decent set of skills. He can stop the run and does well spying on QB's and dropping back in to coverage. From what I have seen he is a well-rounded linebacker. His problem is that he can be streaky. He either looks like a genius or a schmuck. Lets hope for the latter in that equation).

WSLB- Keith Bulluck [A]- (Even though he is getting up there in age, this guy can still flat out play. He flys to the ball, he doesn't let up and leads this defense very well when they are playing as a unit. He has had trouble up until their last game in bringing everyone together. He will be effective against us but I hope that is limited somehow, someway).

LCB- Jason McCourty [D]- (I don't think a rookie should ever start at the CB position in the NFL. This guy has done well with consideration but not exactly what you'd want to have in there on a starting defense. He can come up and stop the run but thats where the train stops. He has potential but I always say, "potential means it ain't happened yet". If he's covering Crabtree it'll be a long day I feel...Possible poster material for Crabs).

SS- Chris Hope [C]- (Well if the Niners can get some rythem in the passing game, Chris better "Hope" he has the wheels to keep up with Vernon and Crabtree. In all seriousness, he reminds me a little bit of Michael Lewis. Great at coming up and stuffing the run, but not exactly the best in coverage. Puts himself in position enough though).

FS- Michael Griffin [B]- (Not his best year so far. I think alot of people were expecting more from him considering his stellar ability to ball hawk and then run it back for yardage afterward. Although he hasn't quite plucked a couple from the air just yet, he has jarred a couple balls loose. We cannot sleep on this guy or we'll be in trouble. Despite his lack of stats, he is still the best DB on this team right now).

RCB- Cortland Finnegan [C]- (I would give him a slightly higher grade but he has been streaky as well. Another guy we cannot sleep on or he will fly outta nowhere and grab one out of the air. He also has the ablility to take it to the house after he picks one. This may be one of those games that you do hope the run game gets rolling early and often).

5DB- Ryan Mouton [D]- (Another rookie DB. Not the best option for them if you ask me but I'll take it. If we can create some ISO on him and McCourty we could see Alex have a very big day with some very big numbers).

OVERALL TEAM GRADE= C+ (82 Points)

KEY MATCHUPS

Alex Smith vs, Titans Defense- Edge= Smith

Vince Young vs. 49ers Defense- Edge= 49ers Defense

Frank Gore vs. Titans LB's- Edge= Gore

Chris Johnson vs. 49ers LB's- Edge= Draw

Vernon Davis vs. Titans LB's, DB's- Edge= Davis

Bo Scaife vs. 49ers LB's, DB's- Edge= 49ers LB's, DB's

Shawntae Spencer vs. Justin Gage- Edge= Spencer

Tarell Brown vs. Nate Washington- Edge= Draw

Michael Crabtree vs. Jason McCourty- Edge= Crabtree

Isaac Bruce vs. Cortland Finnegan- Edge= Finnegan

49ers O-line vs. Titans D-line- Edge= Titans D-line

Titans O-line vs. 49ers D-line- Edge- Titans O-line

Titans vs 49ers coverage

Music City Miracles

49ers vs Colts recap

Poll

How do you see the outcome of the game this Sunday vs. the Titans?

Remaining Strength of Schedule

2009-10-30T01:17:55Z

Week 7 update: Looks like Cardinals are still 2nd easiest, while 49ers went from 8th easiest to 3rd easiest. Carolina still has the toughest schedule.

I found a site that has calculated the Strength of Remaining Schedule.

In addition to the records of teams with remaining games, they have a category where they adjusted a teams record based on the strength of schedule of the games they already played. This is described more after the jump.

Looks like Cardinals are way up there, but 49ers are relatively high too relative to other teams, in terms of the easiest remaining schedule.

I think the strength of schedule is updated, but their rankings page has not been yet.

Here is the link, I have also copy pasted their page completely after the jump.

http://www.fantasyfootballcafe.com/schedule_strength.php

Strength of Schedule

Most strength of remaining schedule calculations suffer from two flaws:

1. Although strength of schedule charts are based on the assumption that not all wins are equal, the data used to assess the opponents' strength is based on those same raw winning percentages.

2. Due to injuries and other short-term events, the strength of teams can fluctuate over an NFL season, so past statistics don't always give an accurate picture of the true difficulty of the matchups ahead.

To alleviate those flaws, the Cafe has come up with a different method to assess Strength of Schedule:

1. When calculating the winning percentage of future opponents, the strength of their past schedule is part of the equation. Hence, a team with a 7-3 record that had an easy schedule so far will be considered a weaker opponent than a team with a 7-3 record that has beaten teams which themselves have a high winning percentage. Although the actual data is still based on winning percentages, the deeper algorithm should provide for more accurate results.

2. To accomodate short-term changes in team strength, the Cafe's Strength of Schedule chart also uses the data provided by Cafe experts who rank the current team strength each and every week in what is known as the Cafe's NFL Barometer.

Ultimately, these two figures are merged to create the Cafe's Strength of Schedule rankings. Enjoy!

TEAM	Class W%	Cafe W%	Enh W%	Bar W%
New Orleans (7-0)	0.359	0.672	0.344	1.000
Arizona (4-3)	0.364	0.692	0.383	1.000
San Francisco (3-4)	0.391	0.700	0.401	1.000
Atlanta (4-3)	0.439	0.704	0.408	1.000
Seattle (2-5)	0.394	0.706	0.411	1.000
Miami (3-4)	0.462	0.719	0.438	1.000
Denver (6-1)	0.492	0.723	0.445	1.000
Cleveland (1-6)	0.439	0.729	0.459	1.000
Cincinnati (5-2)	0.439	0.731	0.462	1.000
Green Bay (4-3)	0.444	0.736	0.471	1.000
Dallas (5-2)	0.554	0.740	0.480	1.000
San Diego (4-3)	0.484	0.742	0.484	1.000
Tennessee (1-6)	0.485	0.742	0.485	1.000
Houston (5-3)	0.509	0.745	0.489	1.000
Jacksonville (3-4)	0.485	0.746	0.492	1.000
Buffalo (3-5)	0.491	0.750	0.501	1.000
NY Jets (4-4)	0.526	0.754	0.508	1.000
Minnesota (7-1)	0.491	0.756	0.512	1.000
Indianapolis (7-0)	0.537	0.761	0.522	1.000
Oakland (2-6)	0.518	0.763	0.527	1.000
Pittsburgh (5-2)	0.469	0.769	0.538	1.000
Chicago (4-3)	0.545	0.772	0.543	1.000
Baltimore (4-3)	0.531	0.777	0.553	1.000
St. Louis (1-7)	0.526	0.779	0.557	1.000
New England (5-2)	0.576	0.779	0.558	1.000
Kansas City (1-6)	0.538	0.780	0.559	1.000
NY Giants (5-3)	0.632	0.781	0.562	1.000
Philadelphia (5-2)	0.594	0.781	0.562	1.000
Detroit (1-6)	0.531	0.788	0.577	1.000
Tampa Bay (0-7)	0.594	0.817	0.633	1.000
Washington (2-5)	0.662	0.819	0.638	1.000
Carolina (3-4)	0.636	0.820	0.639	1.000

Legend
Class W% = Combined winning percentage of remaining opponents (classical version)
Cafe W% = Average between Enh W% and Bar W%
Enh W% = Combined winning percentage of remaining opponents, where strength of schedule is calculated two levels deep (enhanced version)
Bar W% = Simulated winning percentage based on the Cafe's weekly NFL Barometer (posted in the Cafe's Rankings section)

Colts players are dropping like flies!!!!!

2009-11-06T19:29:20Z

I have to be honest. After all of the interaction from Big Blue Shoe, I was quite disappointed and annoyed by the attempt to bad mouth our team. But, I realized that honestly this isn't the first interaction that I have had with a Colts fan that went sour. One of the guys in my dorm when I was in college in Ohio was a die hard Colts fan and he honestly acted the same way. Whenever something went wrong for their team it was someone else's fault. He accused teams of cheating (especially when the Colt's were getting dominated by the Patriots) and was honestly the worst winner and worst loser I have ever seen.

All this being said, I can't seem to think and enjoy the fact that Colts players are dropping like flies. According to Adam Schefter's twitter account, "To recap, S Bob Sanders out for year, CB Kelvin Hayden out 1 month, CB Marlin Jackson out for year, WR Anthony Gonzalez out 2 to 3 weeks."

Now, I am never the one to root for injuries or to take pleasure in the fact that someone is physically injured, but I can't seem to think that many Colts fans are getting what they deserve. Sure I envy their 7-0 record, but I sure as heck hope they lose out the rest of the season and lose out in the first round of the playoffs. I'll be rooting for it for the rest of the season and hopefully for many more seasons to come.

The 49ers are coming up short on 3rd down

2009-11-06T19:11:04Z

Anytime a team has lost 3 games in a row, fans can find lots of reasons why they aren't winning. It's no different with the 49ers 3 game losing streak. We could probably come up with a good size list of areas they've struggled, but the one area that really stands out to me is their failures on 3rd down. Right now the 49ers are only converting on 28.26% of their 3rd down attempts. That's all the way down at 29th in the NFL. I know no one is going to confuse the 49ers with the Colts, but for a team with playoff aspirations, that isn't going to cut it. Of course, we all know the strength of this 49ers team is their defense. Surely they're doing a better job at stopping teams on the other side of the ball. Well they are, but not by much. Opposing teams have converted on 40.19% of their 3rd down attempts, which is good enough for only 25th in the NFL. This stat more than any other really surprises me. The 49ers have the top ranked run defense and the 16th ranked pass defense, so it's not like there's an area that they really struggle. So why do the 49ers have the 25th worst defense when it comes to stopping teams on 3rd down? Out of curiosity, I decided to list where every team ranks on offense and defense on 3rd down, and then averaged the two out to see where they rank. Here's the list:

Teams Offense Defense Average

Saints 5 1 3
Ravens 3 4 3.5
Dolphins 2 6 4
Giants 7 2 4.5
Vikings 4 7 6.5
Packers 10 10 10
Patriots 6 14 10
Cowboys 14 8 11
Broncos 17 7 12
Colts 1 26 13.5
Eagles 22 5 13.5
Cardinals 26 3 14.5
Texans 19 12 15.5
Lions 16 16 16
Bengals 12 21 16.5
Titans 18 17 17.5
Chargers 8 28 18
Jets 23 13 18
Steelers 9 27 18
Bears 15 24 19.5
Panthers 21 18 19.5
Redskins 28 11 19.5
Seahawks 20 19 19.5
Falcons 11 31 21
Jaguars 13 30 21.5
Bills 30 15 22.5
Raiders 27 20 23.5
49ers 29 25 27
Browns 31 23 27
Buccaneers 25 29 27
Chiefs 32 22 27
Rams 24 32 28

Only the Rams are doing worse than the 49ers. And when you look at the teams that are surrounding the 49ers, well they aren't the teams they want to be associated with. If they want to start getting more games in the win column, the 49ers have to start doing a better job on 3rd down.

Strength of Schedule

2009-11-06T15:48:36Z

The 49ers have had a few heart-breaking losses so far this year. I know I for one am ready to see them get rolling and start making a playoff run. One interesting thing I was thinking about was the caliber of the teams these losses came from. With the exception of the Atlanta game, you have to still feel pretty good about coming within 4 points of a 7-0 Colts, 7-1 Vikings, and 5-3 Texans. So I looked into it a little further and the 49ers remaining schedule does bode pretty well for an improved record. Details after the jump...

So far this year the 49ers opponents have combined for a 30-22 record (a 0.577 win percentage). The 49ers remaining opponents have combined for a 25-39 record (a 0.391 win percentage).

Using this data: CBS Sports - 2009 Strength of Schedule, their schedule for the first 8 games would have ranked 6th most difficult heading into the season. The remaining schedule would rank easiest in the league by a large margin.

Even more interesting, if you exclude the Rams from both numbers, you would have a 0.659 for the first half (off the charts difficult) and a 0.428 for the second half (still tied for 3rd easiest).

The important thing to remember is that strength of schedule is a single snapshot in time and it is constantly changing. Teams like the Cardinals, Packers, and Eagles could come on really strong in the second half and change this.

If you extrapolated the current win percentage over all 17 games, the 49ers opponents would combine for a 0.474 win percentage which would place them around 21st based on the preseason numbers.

Basically, lots of math and numbers to say that the rest of the season projects to be a whole heck of a lot easier than the beginning of the season.

I get the general feeling that the 49ers will at least come away with wins at Tennessee, Jacksonville, Seattle, Detroit and St. Louis. If they pick up one win between Chicago, Green Bay and Arizona, they will be 9-7 and right in line for NFC West champs. The fact that they will end up 5-1 or 6-0 in the division certainly doesn't hurt either...

Poll

What do you think the 49ers win-loss record will be for the entire 2009 season?

Top NCAA/NFL Prospects

2009-11-06T08:55:31Z

FOOCH'S NOTE: Consider this our current Official thread for draft and offseason discussion

It seems that there hasn't been draft talks for a few weeks now so I wanted to open it back up for discussion. It's still absurdly premature to start naming teams in order of draft pick but it's still kind of fun even though it's been done a thousand times since the beginning of the season. I'll highlight the players that I think will be the most likely candidates to be able to make an immediate impact in the NFL. This is probably the most elaborate anyone has really gone in to it I think but I spent a bit of time putting it together so hopefully a few of you all will enjoy....

The main reason I am posting this now is because this week will officially mark the halfway point of the 2009 Season.

I will list the positions and then top prospects of my opinion. Please add players that you think should be on those lists should I forget to mention a few.

Feel free to post your your thoughts and or 2010 NFL mock drafts. I like seeing the possibilities and the convo it drives.

QUARTERBACKS

1. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma (Jr.)
2. Jevan Snead, Ole Miss (Jr.)
3. Tim Tebow, Florida
4. Colt McCoy, Texas
5. Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame (Jr.)
6. Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan
7. Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State
8. Tim Hiller, Western Michigan
9. Colin Kaepernick, Nevada (Jr.)
10. Case Keenum, Houston (Jr.)
11. Jarrett Brown, West Virginia
12. Rusty Smith, Florida Atlantic
13. Juice Williams, Illinois
14. Max Hall, BYU
15. Tony Pike, Cincinnati
16. Taylor Potts, Texas Tech
17. Adam Weber, Minnesota (Jr.)
18. Todd Reesing, Kansas
19. Tyler Sheehan, Bowling Green
20. Jake Locker, Washington (Jr.)
21. Daryll Clark, Penn State
22. Andy Schmitt, Eastern Michigan
23. Ryan Mallett, Arkansas
24. Ricky Stanzi, Iowa (Jr.)
25. Chris Turner, Maryland

RUNNING BACKS

1. Evan Royster, Penn State (Jr.)
2. Jonathan Dwyer, Georgia Tech (Jr.)
3. C.J. Spiller, RB Clemson
4. Jahvid Best, RB California (Jr.)
5. DeMarco Murray, RB Oklahoma (Jr.)
6. Chris Brown, RB Oklahoma
7. LeGarrette (THUGLIFE) Blount, RB Oregon
8. Charles Scott, RB LSU
9. John Clay, RB Wisconsin (3rd year Soph.)
10. Noel Devine, RB West Virginia (Jr.)
11. Kendall Hunter, RB Oklahoma State (Jr.)
12. James Starks, RB Buffalo
13. Damion Fletcher, RB Southern Miss
14. Daniel Thomas, RB Kansas State
15. Mike Ford, RB South Florida (Jr.)
16. Da'Rel Scott, RB Maryland (Jr.)
17. Toby Gerhart, RB Stanford
18. Anthony Dixon, RB Mississippi State
19. Michael Smith, RB Arkansas
20. Mikell Simpson, RB Virginia
21. Ben Tate, RB Auburn
22. Andre Anderson, RB Tulane
23. Javarris James, RB Miami
24. MiQuale Lewis, RB Ball State
25. Ryan Matthews, RB Fresno State

WIDE RECEIVERS

1. Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State (Jr.)
2. Arrelious Benn, Illinois (Jr.)
3. Brandon LaFell, WR LSU
4. Marshawn Gilyard, Cincinnati
5. Damian Williams, USC (Jr.)
6. Dezmon Briscoe, Kansas (Jr.)
7. Demaryius Thomas, Georgia Tech (Jr.)
8. Bryan Anderson, Central Michigan
9. Malcolm Williams, Texas (3rd year Soph.)
10. Eric Decker, Minnesota
11. Naaman Roosevelt, Buffalo
12. Golden Tate, Notre Dame (Jr.)
13. Jordan Shipley, Texas
14. David Gettis, Baylor
15. Mike Williams, Syracuse
16. Chris McGaha, Arizona State
17. Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss
18. Mark Dell, Michigan State (Jr.)
19. Kerry Meier, WR/TE Kansas
20. Frantrell Forrest, UAB (Jr.)
21. Oderick Turner, Pitt
22. Emmanuel Sanders, SMU
23. Alric Arnett, West Virginia
24. Stephen Williams, Toledo
25. Ryan Wolfe, UNLV

TIGHT END

1. Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma
2. Rob Gronkowski, Arizona (Jr.)
3. Garrett Graham, Wisconsin
4. Dennis Pitta, BYU
5. Aaron Hernandez, Florida (Jr.)
6. Ed Dickson, Oregon
7. Anthony McCoy, USC
8. Richard Dickson, LSU
9. Charlie Gantt, Michigan State (Jr.)
10. Bruce Figgins, Georgia (Jr.)
11. Cody Slate, Marshall
12. Kerry Meier, WR/TE Kansas
13. Andrew Quarless, Penn State
14. Weslye Saunders, South Carolina (Jr.)
15. Michael Hoomanawanui, Illinois
16. Luke Stocker, Tennessee (Jr.)
17. Nate Byham, Pitt
18. Mickey Shuler, Penn State
19. Jeff Cottam, Tennessee
20. Riar Geer, Colorado
21. Blaine Irby, Texas (Jr.)
22. Jeron Mastrud, Kansas State
23. Ben Wooster, Wake Forest
24. Ryan Moya, UCLA
25. Jeff Cumberland, Illinois

OFFENSIVE TACKLES

1. Trent Williams, OT Oklahoma
2. Russell Okung, Oklahoma State
3. Bryan Bulaga, Iowa (Jr.)
4. Matt Reynolds, BYU (Jr.)
5. Anthony Davis, Rutgers (Jr.)
6. Ciron Black, LSU
7. Adam latoski, Texas
8. Charles Brown, USC
9. Sam Young, Notre Dame
10. Selvish Capers, West Virginia
11. Lee Ziemba, Auburn (Jr.)
12. Trinton Sturdivant, Georgia (3rd year Soph.)
13. Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin (Jr.)
14. Zane Beadles, Utah
15. Anthony Castonzo, Boston College (Jr.)
16. Ed Wang, Virginia Tech
17. Carl Johnson, Florida (Jr.)
18. Joe Thomas, Pitt
19. Chris Marinelli, Stanford
20. Ben Ossai, Washington
21. Alonzo Durham, Nevada
22. Steve Schilling, Michigan (Jr.)
23. Kyle Hix, Pitt (Jr.)
24. Drew Davis, Alabama
25. Jason Fox, Miami

OFFENSIVE GUARDS

1. Rodney Hudson, Florida State (Jr.)
2. Sergio Render, Virginia Tech
3. John Jerry, Ole Miss
4. Jon Asamoah, Illinois
5. Mike Johnson, Alabama
6. Mike Pouncey, Florida (Jr.)
7. Brandon Carter,Texas Tech
8. Dan Doering, Iowa
9. Colin Baxter, Arizona (Jr.)
10. John Bender, Nevada (Jr.
11. Doug Palmer, East Carolina
12. Eric Olsen, Notre Dame
13. Jeff Byers, USC
14. Jacques McClendon, Tennessee
15. Shelley Smith, OG/OT Colorado State
16. Orlando Franklin, Miami (Jr.)
17. Marshall Newhouse, OG/OT TCU
18. Heath Batchelor, South Carolina (Jr.)
19. Lyle Hitt, LSU
20. Shaun Lauvao, Arizona State
21. Anthony Morgan, Oklahoma State (Jr.)
22. Tim McAvoy, Michigan
23. Reggie Stephens, Iowa State
24. Kevin Haslam, Rutgers

CENTER

1. Josh McNeil Tennessee
2. John Estes, Hawaii
3. Thomas Austin, Clemson
4. Erik Cook, New Mexico
5. Chris Hall, Texas
6. Justin Walton, Baylor
7. Kenny Alfred, Washington State
8. Matt Tennant, Boston College
9. Rafael Eubanks, Iowa
10. Chris Fisher, UL Lafayette
11. Jim Cordle, Ohio State
12. Jacob Hickman, Nebraska
13. Jody Whaley, Tulsa
14. Joel Nitchman, Michigan State
15. David Moosman, Michigan
16. Garrett Anderson, South Carolina
17. Sean Allen, East Carolina
18. Dan Voss, Georgia Tech
19.Trey Bailey, Wake Forest
20. Thomas Altieri, Arizona State

DEFENSIVE ENDS

1. Greg Hardy, Ole Miss
2. Carlos Dunlap, Florida (Jr.)
3. Corey Wootton, Northwestern
4. Brandon Graham, Michigan
5. Jermaine Cunningham, Florida
6. Jerry Hughes, DE/OLB TCU
7. Brandon Lang, Troy
8. Everson Griffen, USC (Jr.)
9. Jammie Kirlew, Indiana
10. Willie Young, NC State
11. Greg Romeus, Pitt (Jr.)
12. Tyson Alualu, California
13. George Selvie, DE/OLB South Florida
14. Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech (Jr.)
16. Junior Gallette, Temple
17 Jan Jorgensen, BYU
18. C.J. Wilson, East Carolina
19. Daniel Te’o-Nesham, Washington
20. Auston English, Oklahoma
21. Greg Middleton, Indiana
22. Alex Carrington, Arkansas State
23. Kevin Basped, Nevada (Jr.)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

1. Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
2. Arthur Jones, Syracuse
3. Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma (Jr.)
4. Terrence Cody, Alabama
5. Marvin Austin, North Carolina (Jr.)
6. D’Anthony Smith, Louisiana Tech
7. Geno Atkins, Georgia
8. Jared Odrick, Penn State
9. DeMarcus Granger, Oklahoma
10. Brian Price, UCLA (Jr.)
11. Lawrence Marsh, Florida (Jr.)
12. Vince Oghobaase, Duke
13. Dan Williams, Tennessee
14. Andre Neblett, Temple
15. Mick Williams, Pitt
16. Ekom Udofia, Stanford
17. Stephen Paea, Oregon State (Jr.)
18. Ian Williams, Notre Dame (Jr.)
19. Boo Robinson, Wake Forest
20. Colby Whitlock, Texas Tech (Jr.)

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER

1. Sean Weatherspoon, ILB/OLB Missouri
2. Sergio Kindle, OLB/DE Texas
3. Rennie Curran, Georgia (Jr.)
4. Navorro Bowman, Penn State (Jr.)
5. Justin Cole, San Jose State
6. Greg Jones, Michigan State (Jr.)
7. Travis Lewis, Oklahoma (3rd year Soph.)
8. Rico McCoy, Tennessee
9. Quan Sturdivant, North Carolina (Jr.)
10. Bruce Carter, North Carolina (Jr.)
11. Antonio Coleman, Auburn
12. Eric Norwood, South Carolina
13. Nate Irving, NC State (Jr.)
14. Dexter Davis, Arizona State
15. Perry Riley, LSU
16. Stevenson Sylvester, Utah
17. Martez Wilson, Illinois (Jr.)
18. Luthur Brown, USC
19. Akeem Dent, Georgia (Jr.)
20. Michael Morgan, USC (Jr.)
21. E.J. Savannah, Washington
22. James Mouton, Michigan (Jr.)
23. Albert McClellan, Marshall (DE)
24. Cam Martin, Virginia Tech
25. Keenan Clayton, Oklahoma

INSIDE LINEBACKER

1. Brandon Spikes, Florida
2. Rolondo McClain, Alabama (Jr.)
3. Obi Ezeh, Michigan (Jr.)
4. Sean Lee, Penn State
5. Micah Johnson, Kentucky
6. Joshua Bynes, Auburn (Jr.)
7. Reggie Carter, UCLA
8. Joe Pawelek, Baylor
9. Scott Lutrus, Connecticut (Jr.)
10. Alex Wujciak, Maryland (Jr.)
11. Darryl Sharpton, Miami
12. Darryl Gamble, Georgia (Jr.)
13. Ben Jacobs, Fresno State (Jr.)
14. Jamar Chaney, Mississippi State
15. Boris Lee, Troy
16. Patrick Benoist, Vanderbilt
17. Daryl Washington, TCU
18. Mike Nixon, Arizona State
19. Brian Smith, Notre Dame (Jr.)
20. Pat Angerer, Iowa
21. Elijah Hodge, Wisconsin
22. Cardia Jackson, UL Monroe
23. Reed Williams, West Virginia
24. Ryan D’Imperio, Rutgers
25. Chris Colisanti, Penn State (Jr.)

SAFETIES

1. Eric Berry, SS Tennessee (Jr.)
2. Taylor Mays, FS USC
3. Morgan Burnett, SS Georgia Tech (Jr.)
4. Reshad Jones, FS Georgia (Jr.)
5. Darrell Stuckey, SS Kansas
6. Deunta Williams, FS North Carolina (Jr.)
7. Kam Chancellor, SS Virginia Tech
8. Deunta Williams, FS North Carolina (Jr.)
9. Justin Woodall, SS Alabama
10. Barry Church, SS Toledo
11. Davonte Shannon, SS Buffalo (Jr.)
12. Major Wright, FS Florida (Jr.)
13. Chad Jones, SS LSU (Jr.)
14. Ahmad Black, SS Florida (Jr.)
15. Nate Allen, FS Florida State
16. Quinton Andrews, SS North Alabama (formerly of West Virginia)
17. Kurt Coleman, SS Ohio State
18. Jordan Lake, FS Baylor
19. Antonio Baker, FS Louisiana Tech
20. Nate Allen, FS South Florida
21. Myron Rolle, FS Florida State
22. Demetrice Morley, FS Tennessee
23. Bo McNally, SS Stanford
24. Larry Asante, SS Nebraska

CORNERBACK

1. Patrick Robinson, Florida State
2. Kyle Wilson, Boise State
3. Joe Haden, Florida (Jr.)
4. Javier Arenas, Alabama
5. Myron Lewis, Vanderbilt
6. Stephan Virgil, Virginia Tech
7. Trevard Lindley, Kentucky
8. Ras-I Dowling, Virginia (Jr.)
9. Alterraun Verner, UCLA
10. Walter Thurmond, Oregon
11. Syd’Quan Thompson, California
12. Donovan Warren, Michigan (Jr.)
13. Crezdon Butler, Clemson
14. Shareece Wright, USC
15. Brandon Ghee, Wake Forest
16. Jerome Murphy, South Florida
17. Perrish Cox, Oklahoma State
18. Omar Bolden, Arizona State (Jr.)
19. Jamal Wall, Texas Tech
20. Brian Jackson, Oklahoma
21. Chris Chancellor, Clemson
22. Kareem Jackson, Alabama (Jr.)
23. Patrick Stoudamire, Western Illinois
24. Vic Hall, Virginia
25. Anthony Gaitor, Florida International

MY PREDICTIONS ON DRAFT SLOT ORDER

1. TAMPA BAY BUCS

2. ST. LOUIS RAMS

3. DETROIT LIONS

4. KANSAS CITY CHEIFS

5. OAKLAND RAIDERS

6. CLEVELAND BROWNS

7. WASHINGTON REDSKINS

8. TENNESSEE TITANS

9. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (FROM CAROLINA)

10. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

11. BUFFALO BILLS

12. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

13. CHICAGO BEARS

14. ARIZONA CARDINALS

15. MIAMI DOLPHINS

16. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

17. GREEN BAY PACKERS

18. NEW YORK JETS

19. DALLAS COWBOYS

20. HOUSTON TEXANS

21. CINCINNATI BENGALS

22. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

23. PITTSBURGH STEELERS

24. ATLANTA FALCONS

25. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

26. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

27. NEW YORK GIANTS

28. BALTIMORE RAVENS

29. MINNESOTA VIKINGS

30. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (FROM DENVER)

31. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

32. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Poll

Out of the four listed, who is most likely to see the overall 1st round pick of the 2010 NFL Draft?

we are! yea i said it...we are! this is niners nation pledge your alligiance

2009-11-06T02:03:25Z

we are! yea i said it we-are// so ready for the-war// leave a team in E.R.// why did they release-carr// Johnson is a cheat-ar(cheetah)// willis is a beast and need something to feed-off// sheesh! ya'll// we're 3-1 last time that i posted this// don't like.it?...cry a river build a bridge and get over it// coin toss we'll kick and take the ball 2nd-half// todays match up look like superman vs the flash// its a toss to the left johnson finds him a lane// oops he was crushed by p willy he'll be out for the game// oh what will the titans do vince young is choking//he's throwing some nice sparrows but theyre all to goldson// if you think niners are a joke then you have to be kidding// only 3 wins but I still say we win the division.. uhhh//

Week 9 Prediction Games

2009-11-05T07:37:25Z

We're back for Week 9 of the Prediction Contest. A slight adjustment this week. After the formatting rules after the jump, howtheyscored has provided a breakdown of how the scoring system works, along with some examples using games from week 7. And of course thanks to everybody for following the formatting rules.

Well, we'll see if we get another plethora of perfect predictions. Initially I wasn't seeing many great matchups, but as I look at the games now, it should be interesting stuff. Both prime time games in particular could be interesting battles. Baltimore/Cincinnati has become interesting with the Bengals resurgence, and of course we've all got the same rooting interest in Arizona/Chicago.

Also, just a reminder that as always all times listed are pacific. On to the games.

Tennessee @ 49ers - Sunday 11/8 1:15pm

Pittsburgh @ Denver - MNF 11/9 5:30pm

Dallas @ Philadelphia - SNF 11/8 5:20pm

Baltimore @ Cincinnati - Sunday 11/8 10:00am

Arizona @ Chicago - Sunday 11/8 10:00am

San Diego @ NY Giants - Sunday 11/8 1:15pm

IMPORTANT NEW RULE

Up until now, folks have just posted their scores in any particular fashion, although howtheyscored has made requests for a specific format. Given the amount of time and effort howtheyscored has to put into determining the final results, I am implementing a requirement for how to format your scores (based on the spreadsheet howtheyscored has created). If you fail to follow this format, any incorrectly formatted scores for the week will be disqualified. The format is "Team A @ Team B: A score - B score." That basically is visitor @ home: visitor score - home score." Here's an example of how to do it:

Using San Diego @ NY GIants below, if you think NY Giants will win 24-14, here's how it HAS to look:

San Diego @ NY Giants: 14 - 24

If you think San Diego will win 24-14, it needs to appear as this:

San Diego @ NY Giants: 24 - 14

If you'd like you can bold the winner (San Diego @ NY Giants: 14 - 24), but that is not required (although probably a good backup in case you reversed the score by accident.

If you make a mistake in the formatting I'll reply to your score reminding you to correct it. To correct it, simply reply to your picks and post them in the correct format. Do not post your scores again at the bottom of the thread. I'll make sure and include these directions each week so people do not forgot and lose out on points. As I mentioned above, we're doing this to make howtheyscored's life easier in figuring out the scores. The # of regular commenters has increased dramatically since last season, so we're anticipating a greater # of prediction contest participants. While this is a new rule, I don't think it's all that difficult for folks to follow it.

SCORING RULES

Every score is made up of two parts: Point total and point differential. First we see how close your prediction’s point total is to the actual score’s point total. The closer you are to zero, the better. Then, we see how close your prediction’s point differential is to the actual point differential. Again, closer to zero is better. Then, we add those two numbers together. That number gives you a raw score for your prediction.Then, we rank each game by raw scores. The players with the five lowest raw scores get points. The lowest get five points. Next lowest get four. And so on.

As an example of the scoring system, in week 7, the Vikings lost to the Steelers by a score of 17 - 27. The actual score had a point differential of 10 (27-17=10) and a point total of 44 (27+17=44).

For that game, let's look at three predictions: 1) 17 - 23, Pitt; 2) 23 - 27, Pitt; and 3) 17 - 27, Pitt.

Remember, nobody who predicted the Vikings to win the game was eligible for points.

The first prediction had a point differential of 6 (23-17=6). This was 4 away from the actual point differential. It had a total score of 40 (23+17=40). This was 4 away from the actual point total. All in all, that gives the prediction a raw score of 8.

The second prediction had a point differential of 4 (27-23=4), which was 6 away from the actual point differential. It had a total score of 50 (27+23=50), which was 6 away from the actual point total. That gives the prediction a raw score of 12.

The third prediction had a point differential of 10 (27-17=10), which was 0 away from the actual point differential. It had a total score of 44 (27+17=44), which was 0 away from the actual point total. That gives the prediction a raw score of 0.

Since the lower your raw score is, the better your prediction, the third prediction is ranked as the best and gets the most points (and since it was a perfect prediction, there is no arguing that it was the best). The first prediction had the next lowest raw score, so it ranks as the second best prediction of the group, netting the next most points. The second prediction, therefore, came in third.

If anybody has any questions at all about this, or anything else, feel free to email me at ninersnation@gmail.com.

As Promised. Part 2: What Has Gone Wrong?

2009-11-04T20:55:43Z

I Think it’s suffice to say that more has gone wrong then right for the 49ers this season, hence the 3-4 record. But some of what has gone wrong is self inflicted while others are pure luck or great opponent play.

Offensive Line: Issues with this unit began before the season even started before when Marvel Smith surprisingly retired due to injury. Days later the 49ers signed Tony Pashos which was a heads up move by this organization and possibly even a better signing then the aforementioned, or course until he was lost for the season. Do you all remember the offensive line play in the pre-season? By this I am talking about the 1st string and nothing after that. They opened up holes and even protected the QB well. What the “expletive” happened? Months after looking like an up and coming linemen Chilo Rachal has taken a dramatic step back regressing in a major way. I am not sure if David Baas is completely healthy because in the past he has been a pretty good offensive linemen, not great just solid. But this season he has also taken a step back which is surprising in a contract year. Adam Snyder has not stepped up in any way to take a hold of a certain position, I had major hopes for him stepping up this season but now that has of course faded. I cannot say anyone on the offensive line is playing at an all-pro level simply because how bad they have played as a unit but both Eric Heitman and Joe Staley have been real solid game in and game out. Now that we have found two solid offensive linemen it just so happens one of them, Joe Staley, will be out at least 6 weeks. Just can’t get any worse right? Wrong!!!! Barry Sims has been penciled in as a replacement for Staley and that is an outright scary proposition for me, though he did play good last week. One positive though. Can it get any worse?

Offensive Play calling: I gave Jimmy Raye a little bit of a break early on because our offense was being lead by a signal caller with physical limitations. But since Alex Smith has taken over what is his excuse? Many will point out that Smith dropped back 34 times against Indianapolis but that is not what I am talking about. It is possible to throw more then run without actually opening up the offense. The play calling since Smith has taken over has gotten better but needs much more improvement. It is clear that the strengths of our skill position players are in a more spread like offense. Smith, Crabtree, Morgan and Davis all have shown they can strive in this formation, why not run an offense that plays to your players strengths?

Disappointing Players: I have been more surprised by improved play from some of our unproven men. I am not going to list any offensive linemen in this point because it has been mentioned beforehand. But to some extent Glen Coffee, Josh Morgan, Manny Lawson and Parys Haralson have all either taken a step back or not shown what we had expected. I thought Haralson was going to rack up double digit sacks this season. What the heck has happened? Where has he been in the pass rush? This guy has not stepped up as the play making OLB I thought. Manny Lawson just isn’t a pass rushing linebacker, he is a good player, a real good player. But it’s obvious he isn’t playing in the right position and/or scheme. Either move him inside or trade him to a team that can better use his skill set. Josh Morgan began the pre-season as the #1 receiver and since has been demoted to the slot a #3, possibly soon to move back up to #2, but at no response to his play. I am not sure if he is anything more then a #3 receiver in the NFL, I really hope I am wrong considering it appears we do have a #1. I understand he is a rookie but Glen Coffee really upset me with his play in place of Frank Gore. Besides not being able to block and pick up the blitzes he looked lost in terms of finding the holes and busting through them, I saw multiple times where he hesitated when the offensive line opened up a lane you could drive a bus through, this hesitation caused the defense to recover and stop him for a minimal gain. I will give him some time because it isn’t easy reading the defense less then a year removed from college.

Tough Luck Losses: How many of us actually thought the 49ers would go into Indianapolis and Minnesota and come out losing by a combined 7 points? These two teams are a combined 31-3 in there last 34 regular season game, that’s right 31-3. I am not making that up go check it out. We went into there home domes and led most of the time yet to lose the game in 4th quarter. We got Favred in the first game and blew it with boneheaded plays in the 2nd game. The measurables in the NFL are to win games, there are absolutely not moral victories. It is the little things that cost us those two games. In Minnesota it was the Clements dropped INT deep in the Vikings end, losing Frank Gore on the 3rd play of the game, The BS penalty calls that led to a Vikings field goal, kick coverage breakdown on Harvin’s return, closing up the offense with the lead near the end, not playing a 2 man under on the game winning TD pass. At Indianapolis it was the Crabtree fumble, Smith overthow, defensive lapse on 3rd and 20, Spencer biting on a trick play, delay of game followed by a sack that took us out of field goal range and inability to get off the field on 3rd down. In the grand scheme of things 6 plays out of 120 or so in a game doesn’t seem like much but when playing a team that is far superior to you the margin for error is much less. I guarantee we had more offensive and defensive breakdowns in the Rams games then these two combined but it’s who your playing the highlights your mistakes.

I was going to add a 5th slot to this thread which would have been not being able to end games. But I think that goes into the tough luck loss category and my explanation regarding that. Plus this thread was getting incredibly long. On the positive side if the 49ers can sure up just a couple thing I see no reason why we cannot win 7 or 8 of our final 9 games and win the west.

Poll

Most Disappointing aspect of the team so far

Ask Music City Miracles

2009-11-04T19:55:23Z

Hello Niners Nation,

Jimmy from Music City Miracles here to answer any and every question you can think of about the 1-6 Tennessee Titans. As you might expect, we have been having a good week after waiting 7 weeks to get our first win. We know that this week will prove a much tougher test.

Anyway, please leave any questions you might have below and we will do our best to answer them.

Thanks,

Jimmy

Thanks 49ers fans

2009-11-04T14:02:48Z

I wanted to wait a couple of days after the game to thank you 49ers for some great blogging leading up to last Sunday's contest. While I and many other Colts fans are still livid that your coach has to resort to cheating to try and steal a ballgame, that doesn't mean we think the 49ers are "bums," or that you fans are. Many of us just think your coach misrepresents you. That's just our opinion.

And before some of you chime in suggesting it wasn't cheating; yes, it was. There is an NFL rule against doing feigning injuries. The problem is the rule is hard to enforce, and since so few NFL teams do it anymore, the league doesn't issue any "point of emphasis" type edicts on it. It's because it is so rare, and so frowned upon, that fans like me blast Singletary for attempting it when his team is so obviously struggling to keep up with the hurry-up. I have a strong belief in the integrity of the game. Without integrity, the game is meaningless. And when people's actions question the game's integrity (be they players who take steroids or coaches you violate league rules), when they do that (in my view) they piss in the faces of honest fans who shell out hard-earned money in a tough economy.

Sorry for the morality lesson. I just wanted you all to know where I come from.

But, that aside, it was a well played game overall between two tough teams. I think your 49ers are on the up-and-up, and will likely make some noise in December of this year. Best of luck, and thank you for all the great writing Fooch, the NN writers, and fans like you did.

Week Eight Prediction Games: The Surprising Results

2009-11-04T04:19:46Z

I'm speechless. If you want to know why, go ahead and take a look at the results for the Texans game.
I have, like, 700 other things that I need to do tonight, some of which actually involve my future.

Therefore, you get no ramblings. Check out the scores, though. And then double-check them out. Data entry is not an exact science, no matter how many nano-bots I have the Borg inject directly into my bloodstream.

49ers @ Indianapolis:

YoungWillis (12)
wjackalope (18)
Drew K, ZeroIndulgence, urnext, bignerd, albertoleecho, ProfessorBigelow, beecharmer (20)
Ninerfromacrossthepond (24)
J2daZ, whobob, PHUT!, CB30, LASVEGASNINER, grantmp, jpgrafunkle, leaping_larry, MontanaPass, shlecko (26)

Atlanta @ New Orleans:

hudd07 (2)
danknerd49, mpotter14, JoeO, ro128487, grantmp, 49RFAN, snowweasel30, SpurredOn, Ninerfromacrossthepond, bignerd, shlecko (6)
49erLou, bonbrillio, illini49er, Dub4lif3, youngbuckeroo, beecharmer (8)
these3words, 5-0 (10)
cassusriff, nocal81, LASVEGASNINER, Mike Hawk, wjackalope, urnext, MontanaPass (12)

New York Giants @ Philadelphia:

Mike Hawk, Fooch, nini9er (18)
bonbrillio (20)
Ten-Man, PHUT!, ro128487, 5-0, urnext, beecharmer (24)
jtoj, Ninerfromacrossthepond, bignerd (26)
J2daZ (28)

Denver @ Baltimore:

these3words, BEETLE49715 (6)
YoungWillis, nocal81, sundaysfinest, youngbuckeroo, nini9er (12)
groug, Widowwolf, nacho49 (14)
J2daZ (16)
hudd07, PHUT!, jtoj, SpurredOn, 5-0, Ninerfromacrossthepond, Fooch, bignerd, albertoleecho (20)

Houston @ Buffalo:

danknerd49, rlott#42, PHUT!, JoeO, BEETLE49715, shlecko (0) - Okay, who hacked the site?
49erLou (4)
cassusriff, DuikeBuike, YoungWillis, fortyniners, grantmp, foosball4949, snowweasel30, 5-0, etb2, nini9er (6)
J2daZ, these3words, LASVEGASNINER, illini49er, bayboy, sfgfan, gbears16, Ninerfromacrossthepond, Fooch (8)
ZeroIndulgence, jtoj (12)

Minnesota @ Green Bay:

CB30 (8)
ProfessorBigelow (10)
DuikeBuike, whobob, nocal81, sfgfan, Mike Hawk (14)
albertoleecho (16)
Drew K (18)

And that makes our week eight leaderboard look like:

1.	ro128487	62
2.	PHUT!	57
3.	cassusriff	55
4.	howtheyscored	52
4.	jpgarfunkle	52
6.	bignerd	51
7.	JoeO	50
8.	nocal81	49
9.	wjackalope	46
10.	5-0	45
10.	DuikeBuike	45
12.	grantmp	43
12.	shlecko	43
14.	urnext	42
14.	Ninerfromacrossthepond	42
14.	YoungWillis	42
17.	LASVEGASNINER	41
18.	groug	40
18.	sfgfan	40
18.	CB30	40
21.	leaping_larry	38
21.	gbears16	38
21.	illini49er	38
21.	etb2	38
25.	Dub4lif3	37
25.	bonbrillio	37
25.	49erLou	37
28.	MontanaPass	36
28.	Ten-Man	36
28.	SpurredOn	36
31.	youngbuckeroo	35
31.	these3words	35
31.	danknerd49	35
31.	BEETLE49715	35
31.	Mike Hawk	35
36.	mpotter14	33
36.	Fooch	33
38.	renke81	32
38.	nini9er	32
40.	sundaysfinest	31
40.	jtoj	31
40.	J2daZ	31
40.	Drew K	31
44.	beecharmer	30
44.	ZeroIndulgence	30
44.	ProfessorBigelow	30
47.	nacho49	29
47.	foosball4949	29
49.	Joshpreet	28
49.	bayboy	28
51.	rlott#42	27
52.	Persiflage	26
53.	remembertheCATCH	25
53.	Sloan	25
55.	ar4gsw	24
56.	snowweasel30	23
57.	49RFAN	22
58.	albertoleecho	21
59.	Widowwolf	20
60.	mikemccwolf	19
61.	Kaizre	18
61.	49ersfan29405	18
61.	whobob	18
64.	RBoogy29	16
65.	shovel-25	15
65.	Number22Drew	15
67.	Florida Danny	14
67.	hudd07	14
69.	Ninjames	13
69.	corvette49rdave	13
71.	Riding The F Train	12
72.	proudcanadian99	10
72.	Iwantwinners	10
72.	Ceradecke	10
72.	49ERFAN	10
76.	Tony C	9
76.	ronniemac03	9
76.	Mr. Nice Guy	9
79.	Smithisstilltheanswer	8
80.	supraman	6
80.	shulkdog	6
80.	lincypoo i wuv u	6
80.	FaStRmAn	6
80.	demise87	6
80.	crevis1987	6
86.	49ersAllTheWay	5
86.	fortyniners	5
88.	StevenC	3
88.	RilezG	3
88.	ManBearPig21	3
88.	LADubbz45	3
88.	JerseyNinerFan	3
88.	De Stijl	3
88.	CW30	3
95.	Tricky-Nicky	2
95.	connie mack	2
95.	Brendan Scolari	2
95.	dez4o8	2
99.	UnleashTheGore	1
99.	nostocksjustbonds	1

Uh... wow. Just wow. I mean, I know I've been complaining about the games being harder to predict this year, but that's a really messed up way to restore the balance. Especially since I didn't get any of the cut. Not any of it! I made a good prediction in that Texans game, darnit! And no points! Lame.

So danknerd49, rlott#42, PHUT!, JoeO, BEETLE49715, shlecko: congratu-fudgy-lations. I mean, honestly, good job. Great job, really. PHUT!, JoeO, and shlecko made their strikes to get up with the leaders, and danknerd49, rlott#42, and BEETLE49715 bounded into the thick of the pack, where - as we can see - anything can happen.

You have to like what bignerd and 5-0 are doing. In a tumultuous week, both of them did more than hold tight after forgetting to claim their apparently free perfect scores in the Texas game - they moved up in the rankings.

What can you say about ro128487? He's in first. La-dee-fudging-da.

Silently, almost sneakily, Ninerfromacrossthepond is moving up. This guy has won the games before, and it looks like he's just heating up right now.

Fooch and beecharmer also had good weeks - and beecharmer only JUST got the predictions posted in time (10:00 a.m. timestamp!).

If I missed you, I'm sorry. As I said, I'm kind of rushed. Which is another good reason to double-check your scores!

And next week you guys are going down.

The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled - but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved, precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is un-redressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally un-redressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.

...And now for something completely different

2009-11-04T01:05:08Z

To be quite honest, all the playcalling debates, the scheduling predictions and the discussion about "what we should do" or "who we should get" is tiring me out. I just want to sit back and relax, and not think about the 49ers for a few hours (well, let's not get crazy). Anyway, I'm starting this thread up to get suggestions from Niners Nation on what movies to watch, what books to read, or what video games to play. I was browsing through my TV listings, and noticed the movie "Daylight" is on at 9 PM EST, and another "Kitchen Party" is also airing at the same time.

Daylight stars Silvester Stallone, and I've never seen it. However, I must say, outside of the Rocky films, I'm not a very big Stallone fan. I suppose I didn't hate Cliffhanger, but for the most part, I don't like his stuff. This other flick "Kitchen Party" stars Scott Speedman, and I've never heard of it. I read the description and it interests me as much as watching a debate between two feminists concerning the state of lesbianism.

Ok, moving on, my point is, I'm not sure what to watch and I'd rather it not be either of the movies mentioned above. The World Series is not on, and I don't have an NBA or NHL package so if there's any "must-see" games in those sports, chances are I don't get them. Since it's not the playoffs and the Blues and Spurs have the night off, I wouldn't be interested anyway. So Niners Nation, I come to you on the day of your daughter's wedding and ask you commit murder. I mean, I come to you and ask for your suggestions. I'll start it off with a few examples of my own:

Movie - Theatre

Zombieland - I'm a sucker for zombie flicks and I like comedies, so this movie was a perfect combination for me. For those that haven't seen the movie, there's an awesome cameo appearance that is worth the price of admission alone. The movie stars Woody from Cheers, the kid from Adventureland, the hot chick from Super Bad and the young girl from Signs. There is plenty of gore and laughs to fill up the movie's 1 hour 28 minute running length, and a great outtake after the credits roll, so stick around after the movie. Also, for the benefit of people who haven't seen the movie, please do not post the cameo appearance in the comments, because that spoiler would be a jerk face move.

Movie - DVD/Blu Ray

The Watchmen - This movie is a long bastard of a movie, but it has a killer soundtrack and a riveting plot. Ok, maybe the plot isn't that riveting, but the action sequences are superb and the "realistic" approach of the lives of super heros came off quite nice. There are parts the movie drags, and there's plenty of blue penis, but overall it's a pretty solid movie. Yes, it has a 2 hour, 43 minute time limit, but if you've got a cute chick to ~~get blowies from~~ spend quality time snuggling with during the movie, I suggest it. Chances are, since it's a pretty popular movie, you've already seen it. In that case, I've been bust, because I just wanted to post "blue penis" at least once here at Niners Nation (now I've done it twice - muwahaha).

Book - That you read, not the audio version

Intensity (Dean Koontz) - Seriously one of the best books I've ever read. It's intense like the title suggests, and it's pretty damn thrilling. The plot line goes like this: Girl gets kidnapped and tries to escape the clutches of a sadistica murderer. It's a little more detailed than that, but I'm just giving you the heads up of what type of book it is. While the plot is a bit cliche in terms of "survival horror", it's unrivaled in excellence. I tip my cap to Dean Koontz for this gem, and apparently writing the book took a lot of out him. The fast-paced nature of the book illustrates why.

Video Game

Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (X360, PS3, Sega Dreamcast) - I recently got my hands on a Sega Dreamcast, and immediately got my hands on a copy (literally) of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. My fingers are still aching from trying to pull off combos and smash my opponent's head in. You can be a wide variety of characters, whether it be Jill Valentine from Resident Evil, Venom from the Marvel Universe or Ryu from Street Fighter. The game is available as a download on XBox Live and the Playstation Network, and the online play will likely cause you to scream as you get your ass kicked over and over again. Regardless this is probably the best 2D sprite fighter ever made, and if you like that sort of thing, check it out.

Ok, so you get the picture. Suggest something you enjoy that you think others may, and hopefully they won't be so god-awfully obvious as the ones I've mentioned above. While this fanpost is completely off-topic in relation to 49ers news, it is not unrelated to Niners Nation, because we are human beings after all and need to be entertained. I could've just googled, but the members here usually come up with interesting thoughts, and at the very least, humorous slander towards topic creators that make stupid threads (I'm looking at YOU, me).

The Jimmy Raye play-by-play. Does he really suck?

2009-11-04T01:00:51Z

After Sunday's game I was pretty disappointed in the play calling. It felt like it was the Jimmy Raye of the run up the middle, run right, pass, punt. Lots of the talk today has been about the same perception. I wondered how much of the griping was based in reality and how much was based off a handful of calls. To find out I went and watched the game again, writing down each formation, the type of play called, and the result.

I was actually very surprised with the results. Here is the play-by-play, with my thoughts at the end.

Drive 1
1st play--2 WR, 1 FB (lined up on right side), 1 RB
Run for six yards

2nd play--Wildcat formation
No gain

3rd play--Shotgun. 2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB
Incomplete (actually a beautiful pass to Davis who didn't get both feet in)

4th play--Punt

Drive 2
1st play--3 wr, 1 TE, 1 RB
Five yard pass to Isaac Bruce

2nd play--2 TE, 2 WR, 1 RB
Run up the middle by Gore for a TD

Drive 3
1st play--2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB
Smith got his foot stepped on. Went down for a sack

2nd play--3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB

Draw play to Gore. No gain

3rd play--3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB
Lots of pressure on Smith. Threw it away before he could get sacked.

4th play--punt

Drive 4
1st play--2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB (1 TE lined up as receiver)
Gore off right for 3 yards

2nd play--2 WR, 1 TE, 1 FB (lined up on left side as extra blocker), 1 RB
Throw to Isaac Bruce for 13 yards

3rd play--2 TE (one split wide right, one lined up on left side of line), 2 WR, 1 RB
Quick out to Crabtree who dropped it.

4th play--3 WR, 1 TE (Davis started off in the down position), 1 RB
Throw to Crabtree for 12 yards

5th play--2 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB, 1 FB (TE and FB lined up in down position)
Throw to Crabtree, tipped for interception

Drive 5
1st play--2 WR, 1 TE, 1 FB, 1 RB. WR are lined up left. TE is on right in down position. FB is lined up in front of RB
Up the middle for 1 yard

2nd play--2 WR (lined on either side. Right side in motion) 1 TE, 1 FB, 1 RB
Run off tackle to the right for 2 yards

3rd play--3 WR (2 on left side, 1 on right), 1 TE,

1 RB. Alex in shotgun

Pass to Vernon Davis for a couple of yards
4th play--Punt

Drive 6
1st play--2 WR (lined up on left side), 1 TE (in down position), 1 FB, 1 RB.
Short pass to Moran Norris who drops it

2nd play--2 WR (split on either side), 1 TE (in down position on left), 1 FB, 1 RB
Throw to Vernon Davis for 12 yards. Called back for holding

3rd play--2 WR, (split), 2 TE (one on right side, one in down position for blocking) 1 RB
Draw play to Gore up the middle. 2 yards

4th play--3 WR (2 split right), 1 TE, 1 RB
Goes back to throw. Gets pressure and runs for about 5 yards

5th play--punt

Drive 7
1st play--2 WR (split) 2 TE (split in down position), 1 RB
Run off left tackle for 2 yards.

2nd play--2 WR (split on either side), 1 TE (lined up in down position), 1 FB, 1 RB
False start on Vernon Davis

3rd play--2 WR (split), 1 TE (right side in down position), 1 FB, 1 RB
Smith back to pass. Pocket collapses, he scrambles and throws it away

4th play--3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB
Great pass to Crabree who catches it short of 1st down.

5th play--Punt

Drive 8
1st play--3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB. 2 WR on left side with TE in down position.
Beautiful pass between two defenders to Crabtree for 26 yards

2nd play--3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB. 2 WR on left side again. TE on right side in up position. Shotgun
Throw to Bruce for 12 yards.

3rd play--3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB. 2 WR on left side. TE up on the line. In shotgun
Complete to Vernon Davis for 10 yards

4th play--3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB. Same formation as the 2nd play. Shotgun
Incomplete to Vernon Davis

5th play--3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB. Same formation as 3rd play. In shotgun
Blitz came. Quick dump off to Gore plus roughing the passer call.

6th play--3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB. 2 WR split right. 1 WR (Morgan) line up in FB position. TE lined up on right side in down position. Morgan goes in motion to right side. In shotgun

Pass to Gore for four yards

7th play--3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB. 2 WR and TE to left, Crabtree to right. In shotgun.
Pass to Vernon Davis for TD.

Drive 9

1st play--2 WR (split), 1 TE (on right side), 1 FB, 1 RB
Run up the middle for 1 yard gain

2nd play--2 WR, 1 TE, 1 FB, 1 RB.
Swing out pass to Gore who breaks a tackle and gets 8 yards.

3rd play--1 WR (split left), 1 RB, 1 TE, one tackle eligible.
Hand off to FB for 2 yards

4th play--2 WR (lined up left), 1 TE (down position on right side), 1 FB, 1 RB
Run was supposed to go to left side. Stopped for 1 yard loss (Rachal was beat badly)

5th play--2 WR (split), 1 TE (down position on right side), 1 FB, 1 RB
Screen pass to Gore who busts a tackle and gets 10 yards

6th play--1 WR (split left), 1 RB, 1 TE, one tackle eligible.
FB ahead for 2 yards

7th play--2 WR (lined left), 1 TE (right in down position), 1 RB, 1 FB
Pass to Bruce (slightly behind Bruce but he should've caught that)

8th play--2 WR (lined left), 1 TE (right in down position), 1 RB, 1 FB
Quick out to Crabtree who fumbles it. (Best looking drive of the day too.)

Drive 10
1st play--1 WR (split right), 2 TE (either side in down position), 1 RB, 1 FB
Frank Gore off left tackle for couple of yards

2nd play--2 WR (both right), 1 TE (left in down position), 1 RB, 1 FB
FB to right for 1 yard

3rd play--3 WR (2 right, 1 left), 1 TE, 1 RB
Pressure on Smith. Throws ball away before he could take the sack.

4th play--punt

Drive 11
1st play--2 TE, 2 WR 1 RB
Pass to Bruce who lets it get away (nice 12 yard pick up too)

2nd play--2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB
Pass to Crabtree for 12

3rd play--2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB (both TE are down on left side)
Pass to Bruce for 12

4th play--2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB (TE and WR are split)
Run off left side for 7 yards

5th play--2 WR (lined up left), 1 TE (left side in down position), 1 RB, 1 FB
Run off right guard for 7 yards

6th play--3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB
Screen to Glen Coffee. Incomplete pass

7th play--2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB (all of the players are lined up as receivers). In shotgun
Pass to Morgan for 5 yards

8th play--3 WR (2 on left side), 1 TE, 1 RB
Delay of Game penalty pushes back to 3 and 1 instead of 3 and 7

9th play--3 WR (2 on left side), 1 TE, 1 RB
Sack

10th play--Punt

Drive 12 (start at own 11)
1st play--2 WR, 2 TE (WR and TE split on either side), 1 RB

Run to right for -2 yards. Offsides on defense.

2nd play--2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB (Same formation as 1st play)
Throw to Gore out of backfield for 11 yards

3rd play--2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB (again same formation)
Smith back to pass. No protection and runs it out of bounds

4th play--2 WR (both on left side), 1 TE (in down position), 1 RB, 1 FB
Pass to Crabtree for 14 yards

5th play--2 WR (on right side), 1 TE (on left in down position), 1 RB, 1 FB
Incomplete pass (overthrows Crabtree)

6th play--2 WR (split), 1 TE (on right in down position), 1 RB, 1 FB
Incomplete pas to Isaac Bruce (lots of time, just overthrew him)

7th play--3 WR (2 right, one left), 1 TE (lined up right), 1 RB
Under pressure--sacked.

Some points I'd like to make here.

1. We passed for twice as many plays as we ran.

2. Our running game is confusing. Looking at the number (18 attempts, 113 yards), we did pretty good. However, 64 yards of that were on one play.

3. Jimmy Raye actually mixes it up pretty good. Sure there are some boneheaded plays here (a draw on 2 and 20?), but he uses lots of different formations and runs different plays from the same formations.

4. Our mental mistakes are killing us. Two really good looking drives killed because of that. The first is the Crabtree fumble, and the second (even more costly) was the delay of game penalty. That delay of game penalty happened when we were inside the Colt 30--had we got the pass off we could've at least kicked a field goal, maybe even gotten a TD, instead we're pushed back five yards and then sacked. Morgan's unsportsman like penalty was stupid. Isaac Bruce dropped a couple of crucial catches that were right there.

5. We can actually put together some very good drives. We only had a couple of drives longer than five plays, but we had two very good looking drives that were killed due to stupid mistakes. One was the drive where Crabtree fumbled, and the other was the delay of game penalty that turned a 3rd and 6 into a 3rd and 11 and a sack. Take away either of those two plays and we might have walked away with the win.

In conclusion, I can't blame this game on Raye--If I had to pick a goat it would be our offensive line for allowing that last sack, Alex Smith for the delay of game, or Michael Crabtree for the drive killing fumble.

Poll

Who's the biggest bum in the Colt's game?

Part 1: What Has Gone Right!! Followed Later By Parts 2 and 3.

2009-11-03T21:49:40Z

At 3-4 and one game out of first place heading into week 9 the 49ers face a must win game against Tennessee. As a prelude to this all important match up i have decided to take a look at what has gone right, what has gone wrong and what needs to be changed in order for the 49ers to win the NFC West this season.

What has gone right

1. Surprising play of the defense: Obviously Patrick Willis leads the way as our only pro bowl lock. But instead of stating the obvious i am going to point out some other sectors of the defense that has led the way. FS- Dashon Goldson: Many of your chastised me for saying that he will contend for a pro bowl in his 1st season as a starter, but this is exactly what he has done. Singletary has passed over the head set from Willis to Goldson, this only furthering my opinion regarding the playmaking safety. 46 tackles, sack, inf and ff through 7 games. He is playing at an all-pro level despite a few lapses on coverage. CB- Shawntae Spencer: No one on this site really question Singletary's decision to go with the injury prone corner over Dre Bly, and that just shows how informative members of this site are. He is the closest thing that we have to a shutdown cornerback. He continues to make plays on the ball and looks comfortable on an island in single coverage. What a great surprise he has been. DE- Ray McDonald: I look forward to this up and coming end get more playing time as the season goes on, maybe even at the expense of Soap. He deserves it, in a part time role McDonald has recorded 3 sacks, he may fit in the role of a pass rushing specialist in our 3-4, time will tell. DT- Aubrayo Franklin: I believe he is playing as good as any NT in the entire league, leading one of the best rush defenses in the NFL Franklin continues to improve game in and game out. If it wasn't for a lack of name recognition he would get a pro bowl look. The 16 tackles and 2 sacks really don't tell the story.

2. Michael Crabtree, yes Michael Crabtree: After missing the 1st five games all Crabtree has done is come in and have the two best receiving games of any 49ers WR's this season, this in his first 2 NFL games. He is looking like the real deal and an absolute superstar. Yes he has made a couple mistakes, fumbling the ball on a crucial drive and dropping a bubble screen, but both are things he will improve on as the season continues. It is possible that despite missing the 1st 5 games Crabtree could end up with 60 receptions and 700 yards. That is way above the expectations any of us had for him

3. Environment Around The Team: I know this one if random considering the 49ers have lost 3 in a row and 4 of the last 5. But when was the last time the 49ers went into every game expecting to win? All NFL teams hope to win, but only the good one expect to win. Considering our 4 losses have come against teams with a combined 23-7 record i am hardly dismayed by the 3-4 record. They just need to learn how to close games, we lead most of the time against two of the leagues best teams on the road to end up losing by a combined 7 points. In the past these were games that they 49ers were blown away by halftime. The 49ers righted the ship following a horrendous 6 quarters in which we were outscored 66-10 only to come back strong in the 2nd half against Houston and play right with Indianapolis. The atmosphere at 4949 Centennial BLVD has complete changed from this time last season despite only being 1 game better.

4. Alex Smith: Many of us viewed him as a bust just a month ago, some of us even mentioned the fact that we could release him without a salary cap hit following the season. What has changed since then? Though still skeptical Alex Smith has showed a pocket presence, confidence and knowledge of the off-season i haven't seen from a 49ers QB since Jeff Garcia. Added to this is the obvious talent he has in the ability to make pretty much every throw on the field, arm strength and scrambling ability. The next few games will be telling but i am confident that Smith will breakout and become the "franchise" QB we had all hope he would.

Am i being overly optimistic? Maybe. But i have been watching the 49ers since i was in diapers so i have a pretty good grasp of this franchise. They are turning the corner, and despite 3 consecutive losses they are still only 1 game out of first place and as a team have shown a confidence i haven't seen since the start of this decade.

Poll

Your Biggest Surprise So Far

No Trades No draft picks, just changes with the current NINERS

2009-11-03T19:50:39Z

There have been changes made to the Offense, very necessary changes, unfortunately the injuries have put us in a bit of a pickle, and we didn't get to see the results come into effect over time. What about the defense. Anyone remember the WR playing CB in N.E. and making plays. We often see Belichek using subs for situations and switching up against different teams. I've seen him attacking opposing O-lines at their weakness versus our style of play (this is our scheme and this is it, pretty vanilla, IMO). I'm talking about situational subs that would create more turnovers and cause more confusion on OL's and QB's and also DC's.

Jumping.................I have been looking at defensive numbers and taking into account the guys on the defensive end that have been stepping up, and the ones that haven't been given more playing time and are productive. Mainly speaking on Ahmad Brooks and Ray McDonald. These two have done well in some situations in the pass rush. I am not in the practices, so maybe they aren't good with run support, but added pressure from these players can possibly open up more dynamic players being put in the position to make plays. I've been thinking why not have Lawson in at ILB (not every down) doing so would confuse QB's since either he or Willis can be used in coverage and either could be deadly blitzing up the middle, using speed and height to get to the QB or bother a QB. Ahmad Brooks has shown some ability in the run and pass rush and can free Lawson for that position. Added pressure from McDonald would be helpful to Smith and with him being in on more than passing downs, our defense could be less predictable at who is coming on the pressure. Send P Will along side Smith, Aubrayo, and Haralson (or Brooks) and drop the other side of the D in zone, I think that could be quick pressure against even good OL's.

Also to point out a few things on the offense, why haven't we seen Davis lined up at the WR? Improving blocking and creating a mismatch on the outside, that makes both safeties back off with the presence of Crabtree(one on one he'll get open). We can leave the Duke at his usual position and play Walker on the outside, to create a mismatch. I'm jsut wondering why aren't we creating mismatches on the offensive side of the ball and defensive. I also would like to hear if anyone else has ideas about situational subs on O and D, and also if it's too early to do these things or is the personnel not that good. I personally think we can create situations to help our O-Line with sbbing in talent and creating mismatches. Didn't want this to be about Raye but I think this is where the offense lacks the MOST. The OL can be helped in this manner, IMO

Please everyone share some situational substitutions you feel could be good for the team, let's move past the moral victories and fire this guy and who sucks, what do you think can ultimately improve the team as a whole?

Poll

What front 7 would be the most effective creating TO's?

Niners Nation New Layout

2009-11-03T18:14:18Z

Alright folks, as many of you have noticed, we've got a new layout here at Niners Nation. Change can always be a bit weird and I'm sure some folks will dislike the new look more than others.

Nonetheless, given the changes I'm curious what folks think about the new look at Niners Nation. I'd like to hear both the good AND the bad about site. The tech folks are always looking for feedback so I definitely would like to do what I can to provide them with appropriate feedback. So have at it. No need to hold back on account of hurting anybody's feelings. If you feel strongly about certain aspects of the re-design, please be as specific as possible about something you like or don't like.

Poll

What do you think about the new look at NN?

Desean Jackson

2009-11-03T18:06:41Z

I know hindsight is 20/20

But I really wish the niners took Desean in the 08 draft. We took Rachal with the 39th pick when Desean was available. I remember at the time a lot of my friends and I were pretty disappointed with the decision, as Desean is a versatile playmaker and the type of player the niners are severely lacking (in the Niners defense our o-line is also severely lacking.) Since then, Desean has torn up the NFL, while Rachal has looked like a so-so lineman.

The reason I bring this up now is because it was not until recently that I noticed one of the Niners' biggest flaws: Kick/punt returning!!!!!! It is beyond bad, it's atrocious. I think Robinson is a fine kick returner; he won't do things that costs the game. But it would be nice to have someone more explosive and capable of making a big play. And I can't even find the words to describe our punt returning. Every goddamn punt we have a different guy back there, but none of them seem like they know what they're doing. Battle, Brandon Jones, Clements (genius idea having the highest payed guy returning punts.) None of them are adequate options. Punt returning has played a huge role in our last two losses. If we had Desean, not only would we have a capable downfield threat, but our returns would turn from a weaknes to a major strength.

Anyways, would love to hear what you guys think about this. Think Rachal was worth drafting over Jackson? See any internal solutions to our return issues? Could Patrick Willis beat Chuck Norris in a fight?

Who is the Genius who put Clements on Special Teams?

2009-11-03T06:04:08Z

I know I'm not a GM, or head coach, but Nate Clements should never in a million years be returning punts. For one we pay him top dollar to cover recievers. 2nd he's not thhat good at it. 3rd, it is waaaaaay to risky. I would have went with any of these players first, Steve Spurlock, Arnaz Battle, Michael Robinson, Jason Hill, Delanie Walker, anybody exept the $80,000,000 man. Somebody lost me upstairs. I just don't know who's the bafoon. I csn't believe our staff could be this careless. Now our number one cornerback will miss the regular season, at least 6-8 weeks. C'mon maaaan!!!!! Allen Rossum Karma Strikes Back!!!!!!!!!!!!...Peace.....Stelf Bombz