The 49ers entered this game with a chance to propel themselves into the national discussion as a playoff contender. Even with the offensive struggles, the defense was looking to be one of the best in the league. This was an aggressive defense that continually played with fire and made plays all over the field....
And then the game started.
There is something to be said for having confidence on a weekly basis. Part of the formula being successful is thinking you can be successful all the time. I have no problem with a confident team. I DO have a problem with a cocky team. Let me clarify that. I have a problem with a cocky team that has no business being cocky. The 1989 49ers that rolled through just about everything in their path? They deserved to be cocky. They were a great team. The 1994 49ers? Well, aside from that debacle against the Eagles, they had every reason to be cocky.
Your 2009 49ers? They have NO business being cocky. They entered today's game 3-1 with their wins coming against a less than stellar NFC West. Yes they had their chances to beat Minnesota, but they didn't. And yet, there definitely appeared to be a false sense of confidence on this team. Today's result just goes to show a 35-0 domination of the Rams really doesn't mean a whole lot of much this season. Dre Bly may have been the most high profile show boater (that still blows my mind), but really most of the team did not bring their A-game (nor their B, C or D game).
Normally I run through the good, the bad and the ugly. Obviously there was plenty of ugly today and I really don't feel like re-hashing it. However, based on what I said above, one could argue some good comes out of this game: the 49ers got slapped right back into reality...BIG TIME. They are not a good enough team to come in confident but flat. If the team falls flat after the bye then maybe this ends up being a negligible point, but for the time being, this could actually be a learning experience for this team. I think it's safe to say Mike Singletary will have no problem letting this team know they are clearly a long way from being where they want to be.
The question becomes how they rebound in two weeks. The week of Crabtree signing madness will be behind them (I do not believe that was the cause of today's loss in any sense) and Crabtree will likely be active. Whatever does happen the rest of the season, it's safe this will be a much more humble team in the coming weeks.