Once again the 49ers come out on the short end of the stick in a game they certainly had a chance at winning. Joe Nedney has been money up to this point, but he couldn't get the 52 yarder down the pipes. The defense had a chance to stop the Ravens and couldn't quite make enough plays in the end. It was a noticeably boring game where neither offense could make things happen. As far as I'm concerned, if you're a betting man, take the under in every 49ers game the rest of the way. The defense is playing solid bend but don't break and giving the offense plenty of opportunities to try and make things happen. Unfortunately, the offense can't step up and make their own plays.
So what is there to take away from this game? Well you'd better have some soda or other legal stimulant by your side because we could be in for some real snoozers. The 49ers offense managed 2 big plays the entire game and they came on the one scoring drive. Bryan Gilmore made a sweet catch and then Dilfer threaded the needle on the touchdown pass to Arnaz Battle. Dilfer's line finished up ok, but it wasn't quite as good as it would appear. Nonetheless he didn't kill the team. Not exactly the most inspiring words I've ever written, but it's something we'll have to deal with.
So the 49ers head into the bye week in a 3-game tailspin. Frank Gore is simply not able to get the holes he had last year. It feels almost like the problems Edgerrin James had all last year in his first season with the Cardinals. He's doing everything he can, but this is too much of a team sport and one man can only do so much.
All I can hope for over the bye week is that Nolan and company can figure something out with the offense. The 49ers defense is good, but it's not at the level of the 2000 Ravens, where they can afford to have an inept offense. This is a struggling team that doesn't seem to have much direction. They get the Giants after the bye, which makes for an interesting matchup. The Giants are 3-2, but they've also been wildly inconsistent. Even there win over the Jets today started off with Eli Manning rocking a 0.0 rating in the first half. Either way, the 49ers will once again have their work cut out for them.