I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Today, Black Friday, we wrap up our big three Approval Ratings with Greg Manusky. Some folks have clamored for a Scot McCloughan Approval Rating. We did one after the draft, and probably should have done another one before the start of the preseason. Now seems like too arbitrary a time to do another one, although some may disagree. Maybe as soon as the season is over?
Last week saw Greg Manusky roll to an impressive 97% approval rating, which came after Jay Cutler's 5-interception performance on Thursday Night Football a week before. The 49ers defense followed that up with what can only qualify as a stinker against the Packers. Aaron Rodgers threw for 344 yards and Ryan Grant rushed for 129 yards. Oh and Aaron Rodgers, who was sacked more than any other QB in the league? Well the 49ers did get 2 sacks, but neither came until the 4th quarter, at which point the Packers had a comfortable lead.
The worst part of the game from a defensive standpoint had to be the inability to stop the Packers over the course of the final six minutes of the game. The 49ers trailed by six points and could not get one last stop, twice giving up third down conversions. The 49ers are aspiring to be a great defense, but they're clearly not quite to that level. They've been a bend but don't break defense most of the season and it has been frustrating as all get out. Of course, combine that bend but don't break attitude with an offense that doesn't know how to put together many sustained drives, and you have a defense that is probably exhausted quickly.
The second worst part of the game was probably the awful tackling. The worst example had to be on Greg Jennings
64-yard touchdown catch and run early in the second quarter. Jennings caught the pass and had Dashon Goldson basically brush off him and collide with a fellow defender. You simply can't be shooting yourself in the foot like that if you want to be a great defense.
In the end, how much blame can fall on DC Greg Manusky for this kind of performance? There are questions of the personnel at his disposal, but even still, how much of the blame goes on the defensive game-planning, and how much goes on simple poor execution?