49ers 15 - Vikings 10: Nate Davis shines

The San Francisco 49ers played their first home game of the pre-season and as expected most of the pre-game talk was about He Who Shall Not Be Named. The offense opened up with a spectacular opening drive that marched the length of the field and then punctuated it with a toss to Anthony Dixon who went around the end for the touchdown. The 49ers were playing without Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree but still managed to convert all three of their 3rd downs on that drive.

The defense took the field next and were fired up. They whiffed on the first play giving up 11 yards, but then Adrian Peterson was tackled by two 49ers for a loss. AP ran it for a short gain up the middle and then the defense brought the pressure with a double inside linebacker blitz that crushed The Old Man. The Vikings punted the ball away and Favre wouldn't come back in the game (though Al Michaels wouldn't stop talking about him).

Join me below the jump for some quick thoughts, quick stats and a poll question.

Alex Smith had a great first drive going 5/6 for 59 yards. For the game he would end up 9/13 for 88 yards, 0 TDs and 0 INTs. On that first drive the offense went 3/3 on 3rd downs (a major area of concern for us last year), including an impressive 3rd and 11 completion by Alex Smith. The offense would not be as effective the rest of the game finishing with a third down completion percentage of 37%.

Dixon started the game and got plenty of action, though he struggled somewhat the first quarter before warming up a bit and getting some good action. He dropped a couple of crucial passes but otherwise looked good, making some great blocks and showing quick feet. He does have a tendency to dance too much and I'm sure he'll have that pointed out to him this week.

Nate Davis started the second half and looked very, very impressive. I've not been on the bandwagon, simply because I wanted to see more from him, but he made a strong case for himself today to take over the #2 job from Carr. His most impressive play was a 60 yard strike to Ginn which he threw from the 49ers own goal line. That throw elicited comparisons from Collinsworth to HOFer John Elway.

Ted Ginn Jr. also saw plenty of action at WR and was inconsistent. His stat line was 2 receptions for 65 yards, but one of those was a 60 yard bomb. He dropped two passes on critical downs and could've finished with 100 yards receiving had he caught those.

Defensively LaBoy and Bowman got the starts. Bowman was pretty quiet, but LaBoy made some impressive plays from the OLB position. He did give up a big pass play but he got consistent pressure and ended the game with 1 sack as well as a bunch of hurries.

Phillip Adams stepped up big time at the CB spot and made some impressive plays including 4 tackles and a couple of passes defended. I think this game solidified him as a lock for the roster.

Overall our defense looked stellar as usual, giving consistent pass rush and decent pass protection though tackling was very sloppy. The game ended on a high note as the 49ers defense sacked VIkings 4th string QB Joe Webb in the end zone for a safety.

Game Stats:

Offense

Alex Smith--9/13 for 88 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs

Nate Davis--7/16 for 114 yars, 0 TDs 0 INTs

Anthony Dixon--20 carries for 51 yards

Ted Ginn--2 receptions 65 yards

Delanie Walker--3 receptions for 47 yards

Dominique Zeigler--3 receptions for 33 yards

Defense

Philliip Adams led the team with 4 tackles

Patrick Willis, Diyral Briggs, Travis LaBoy, and Derek Walker all notched sacks. No INTs or Forced Fumbles this game but the defense still played well, holding the Vikings to 114 yards rushing (most of it coming on QB scrambles from Jackson and Webb) and 79 yards passing.