Week 11 - 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams - Open Thread

They don't need or will want to pay anybody who will go in the top 5.

I do agree that his ankle is probably hurting him more than he's letting on.  He's trying to be a leader for this offense that so sorely needs one (fresh off a new contract and all), so I could see him not admitting it.  He has admitted that having an ankle injury is a new thing to him, and that it's affected him more than he thought it ever would.  If the 49ers continue to fall, Gore will eventually get a lot more rest (especially during the week).  He may still play Sundays, but he'll probably start getting the veteran treatment.

Last season, the biggest splash in free agency was  Antonio Bryant.  Last year, before all of his useless trouble caught up with him, he had 49ers fans thinking that Alex Smith could be for real.  He helped Alex show that he CAN indeed throw the deep ball and throw it accurately.

The biggest splash they've made in free agency is paying huge dividends.  The 49ers (as Fooch has mentioned a few times before) are very good against the other team's #1 WR.  That has a lot to do with Clements himself.  Up until the past few weeks, the 49ers were #1 against #1 WRs.  That speaks worlds of Clements.

The signings of Franklin and Banta-Cain are fairly small signings.  It's a little unfair to place judgment on Banta-Cain considering the 49ers defensive line is pretty under-manned for a 3-4 line.  Franklin's signing was relatively small (3-years @ less than $2M a year through most of the contract, if I'm not mistaken), so the 49ers brass took a chance on a known quantity that had potential to bring back more than he took.

So yeah, I guess you can say the signings were mediocre.  But is it really fair to judge most of them (Franklin, Banta-Cain, Lewis) as if they were signed to be saviors?  I don't think it is.

As for the draft, there are way too many positives coming out of them for anyone to say they are mediocre at best.  Mediocre, to me, means around average or just below, which would imply that the 49ers draft much like many other NFL teams would.  I strongly believe that to NOT be the case, and that the 49ers have drafted VERY well.  I'm sure I'm not the only one here who believes that, either.

In my opinion, this team goes beyond the coaching staff (though they are a very big part of it).  Basically, if the Pats' coaching staff were coaching these 49ers, they would have a better record (for sure), but still probably in the .500 range.  Why do I say this?

The QB is still very young.  I'm under the impression that Belichick would love to be Alex Smith's coach, though.  Tough kid with lots of brains.  That sounds like a Belichick kind of player all the way.  Like him or not, Alex is still very young and has been screwed by two (or some could make the argument for three) offensive systems in three years.  He'll still need a little bit of time to learn and prove his worth.

The WRs are really underachieving.  I don't think this is the WRs coach's fault, as Jerry Sullivan is well respected in NFL circles.  The WRs just aren't executing.  Whether it be route running, blocking or just plain catching a ball they should catch, they are not executing.

The offensive line has underachieved as well.  Before the season started, many people in the NFL believed it was a position of strength for the 49ers.  People outside of San Francisco actually believe Kwame is a worthy starter (as his payday will prove this offseason).  What happens, though?  The offensive line crumbles for whatever the reasons may be.  Some say Allen is old, could be.  Some say Jennings just sucks, could be.  Some say Heitmann haven't recovered, could be.  Some say Smiley sucks, could be that as well.  Regardless of what people are saying now, though, many people outside of San Francisco believed this offensive line was a strength, but they have proven to be otherwise.

Defensively, I think it'd be a push between coaching staffs.  I don't think the Pats' coaching staff would do any better than the 49ers are doing right now on the defensive side of the ball (especially without Manny Lawson).

So yeah, the offense could probably be more prepared (or better prepared, which ever you prefer).  However, the players will probably still make similar mistakes (though, it's possible they won't come around AS often).  This is why I think the team's record wouldn't be much greater than .500.

This doesn't mean that I don't think the problem lies in the coaching.  I think the Patriots are way better prepared on offense, and that would help this team a lot.  I just don't think the players will play up to it on a consistent basis.

With a slight improvement of the offense, you know, establish the ability to actually make first downs and establish drives, the defense would be better.

I would suspect that the offense would play better. They'd make less mistakes, run routes better. And maybe instead of trading for DJax or signing Lelie they'd get someone like a Welcker or Stallworth. As bad as our receivers have played this year, I suspect with better coaching even they'd do better.

In reverse, the 49ers would have a serious chance to be not just 5-5, but maybe even 6-4 considering that they've lost some games to some bad teams (like the Rams yesterday).  That's how much I truly believe Nolan is not utilizing his personel.

Alex Smith would be playing 100% better, that much I'm sure of.  Belichick is such a freak about technique and mechanics that he'd be working his young QB late into the night until he got it down.  Not to discredit Brady, but if you watch his early games vs. the last few years, his mechanics have developed from good/decent to absolute perfection, and I'm sure Belichick and others (Weis) played a significant role in this.