The Santa Rosa Press Democrat’s sports section is doing a special playoff package every day this week, and for Wednesday we’re focusing on the Giants and 49ers wide receivers. The great Phil Barber was assigned to write on the Giants wide outs. I got the Niners wide outs. Quite a contrast. To read about the Bi-Coastal Battle of the Wide Receivers, please click on the following two links.
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@Grant
Nothing too shocking.
Except I am surprised you didn’t bring up the field conditions. You mentioned the home field advantage, but not the poor condition the field will be in and how that may benefit/hurt the Niners secondary chances of covering the speedy WR’s.
Let it actually rain first.
An acquaintance of mine was upset because they planned a party for Saturday, and it’s supposed to rain.
Are you going to edit your piece when it does rain.
If it does not rain, then we know Steve Martins character from LA Story is the weather man for all the local TV/radio stations. lol
Gonna be a great game. But I’m sure that the weather won’t matter because the Niners are going to rain on the Giants parade anyways.
Gonna be a great game. Can Eli beat out defense? I don’t think he will because our front 7 is THE best in the NFL.
Tell me SanFranciscans, will the weather matter?
Idk, I think the wet conditions slows down the pass rush for both teams somewhat. Both defenses try to strip the ball, how will a wet ball affect this? Showing winds up close to 20mph and that usually means swirling winds on the field. That could affect the deeper passing game but will db’s be slipping and falling. I’m having a hard time seeing who this benefits. I think we’ll come out on top tho! SB here we come!!!
@montanaman
Short of when a CB slips, how often in your life have you seen a WR just burn the CB on a wet/bad turf field?
A rainy game favors the tougher team WR’s.
And the majority of the Niner playmakers (WR’s) are tougher than the Giants playmakers. This game screams MC to me.
The bigger question is will bad weather keep the vocal niner fans home and not make the Stick the same “fortress” that last Saturday’s crowd created according to Harbaugh.
Who would you rather face, the Saints receivers or the Giants receivers? Colston and Graham are first team all-pros, I’d give them the edge over the Giant receivers. You don’t need a compass to locate Manning in the pocket. Brees is more innovative than Manning. Justin Smith is playing at an MVP level. Keep in mind the 49ers got a huge break with the Saints Lance Moore being out, through 14 games he had 52 receptions and 627 yards with 8 touchdowns.
The 49ers have a concentrated energy that is more cohesive than what the Giants bring. They beat you to the punch. The Giants will have the crowd noise to deal with along with an anticipated off-track. The Saints were slipping on a fast track, what will happen with the Giants on a less than perfect field. Could it be any better than to see an overcast day for the Championship game in San Francisco.
..The Falcons named Mike Nolan their defensive coordinator …
oneniner – If the Falcons keep Nolan far far away from anything related to their offense, it’s still a crappy hire!
Don’t underestimate the 49ers receiving core especially with the possible addition of Delanie Walker. Take notice of the fact the 9ers have played and defeated now 3 opponents with only Crabtree as a mainstay. They’ve been without Williams, Ginn, and Walker for weeks and still managed victories. With the addition of Walker and his ability to pull safety coverage his way, this receiving core becomes as potent as any… think about it Delanie Walker, Vernon Davis, and now Gore & Hunter out of the backfield. And now Ginn (if healthy), Williams, Crabtree, & the speedy Hastings and Swain. That’s something to deal with….
Give it up. There is a reason that, no matter the back, we have 8 and 9 men in the box. It’s not Frank Gore, because every back on the team has faced that situation for the past six years. It’s because we have no WRs worth doubling and teams don’t feel obligated to keep two safties deep.
In fact, the only WR on our roster I’d respect if were the Giants DC is Williams. He’s got good short-area quickness and get use it to get separation.
True, he’s not very big. But he’s bigger than Wes Welker and many other WRs who have had very high-level productive careers. While many large WRs have struggled due to their inability to create separation because their size limits their agility and quickness.
So the whole ‘too small’ argument is, as we should know by now is fairly poor. And it seems NFL history tells us that short, quick receivers will out-perform larger, plodding WRs who meet some silly theoretical height/weight guideline.
@moses
The best WR’s in my eyes are:
Jerry Rice
Larry Fitzgerald
Both are big guys with great hands who make catches they have no business making. Neither of them are super fast guys, but somehow don’t get caught from behind either like many super fast WR’s tend to (JS catching up to that Philly WR to end the game as an example).
Agreed, our WRs don’t demand double teams. And the Giants won’t need to cover for long since their front 4 gets good pressure.
I think this is a game where we run it 50-60% of the time. Bad conditions favor the running game/play-action. Alex beat them with the pass last time around, so we’ll probably see 8 instead of 9 in the box. We can run on that, and will probably target our 2 healthy, speedy tight ends if they bring a safety up, which usually dictates man coverage. I see Vernon and Delanie running the deep post successfully on the Giants average LBs (except for Boley, he’s good).
As good as the New Orleans receivers were it was Graham and Sproles who made the big plays. Fortunately I don’t see those types of guys on the Giants offense.
I am more concerned with how our offense performs than the defense. That being said if our offense just scores their home average and the defense gives up their home average we win.
This game is going to be a brawl, just like the rematch with Seattle was.
I’m surprised nobody has brought up the fact that Jim Harbaugh predicted that the Niners would face the Giants in the playoffs right after they beat them in like week 10 or so.
Watching the replay, I noticed a few things.
Alex Smith is still having a tough time with the shallow little slant passes. Granted, Crabs dropped a perfect one and could have had the low pass (but it wasn’t a very good throw.) The high pass, Crabs had a defender right behind him that punched the ball out (more or less.) The one to Kyle Williams was probably catchable but still too high – that one was lucky it wasn’t picked.
Looks like a couple of things are happening. The first is that Smith still needs to work on squaring his shoulders for that pass – the mechanics are still a bit wonky – not nearly as bad as after the shoulder surgery but it’s still there, the back shoulder still drops a bit. The second is that, if the line could hold for just a fraction longer it would help – also might help with some of the batted balls.
The go and the wheel routes are there all day to Vernon and maybe Kyle Williams (he has the speed.) Swain and Smith were off just slightly but that might be a good connection to work on this week.
The two pick calls (offensive PI) back-to-back, I can’t for the life of me figure out what the hell they were doing. Either that was a terribly-designed play (because it automatically causes an illegal pick) or the execution was seriously botched. Back-to-back offensive PI calls – and it was the same play called both times. Not good.
Screen plays to Gore and Miller were dead on and should be used more frequently.
Defense was fantastic all day. Tight man coverage gave Brees very little to work with, he was under constant pressure and had to dump the ball many times. The seam to Graham toward the end there was a perfectly placed ball by Brees and a fantastic athletic catch by Graham on his back shoulder – he had to twist around to get that.
Not sure how Donte Whitner got away with the hard hit on the running back by the goal line, clearly a blow to the head. I don’t see how that stuff gets called in regular season but not in the post season. Big hit that belonged in the 1981 season – and I would have been happy to see it then but it’s a dangerous play. Also, Graham coming back in to the game was clearly BS. The guy had his bell rung twice. The league needs to be cracking down on that stuff. Yes, he probably lied to get back in the game because he’s a competitor but they need to watch that stuff – he clearly looked concussed.
Kickoff coverage was beastly. Very nice play there, huge hits, nice takeaways.
The summary would be: Defense, great, Special teams, great. The offense is good, Alex and Vernon were clutch in the end. But… in my opinion this thing has a ways to go. The receiving corps is a bit shaky and like I’ve mentioned will have to be addressed in the draft (in my opinion.) We need a tall, fast red-zone guy. Ginn is limping around apparently and that’s not real great news for the weekend – hopefully he’s good to go. I like that Alex took a few chances and it paid off, I’d like to see that a bit more, I’d klike to see Chryst continue to drill him on his mechanics (especially on these shallow slants – those are just not working.) I’d like to see the O-line get stouter, I’d like to see one big-play-threat receiver in the draft.
Right now we have to roll with what got us here. We can beat the Giants with what we have and should be able to terrify Brady or Flacco (who’s not playing particularly well lately) in the Superbowl. The offense has shown up under pressure but we need to get some stuff done in the middle of these games as well. Great start and great finish in this game but the middle left a lot to be desired – too many points left on the table after the turnovers, etc. Harbaugh needs to be a bit more like Walsh in the playcalling – start crossing stuff off that doesn’t work very well (like the short slants.)
Anyway, that’s what I saw in the replay – always easier to look at that after all the emotion is taken out from the first time around. :P
Let’s go Niners!! Beat those Giants to a pulp!
@Adam
I have not re-watched the game yet, but on that high throw to MC that he dropped, it seems like AS rushed it and put too much zip on it.
Did you see a defender closing in on on MC, thus the reason why AS threw it like that (to get him the ball before the defender arrived).
Yeah but it was too high. The defender is closing and is right behind him. Essentially the DB goes for the ball and pops it out. Wasn’t a fantastic throw and Smith has issues with those anyway, they’re almost always too high. He can make most of the other throws, most of the time (not counting throw-aways) but the three-step slant is something that really needs work. Seams, go routes, wheels, all there. The slant though? Not so much, it’s a weakness that a lot of QBs have. Grant was writing a while back that CK has the same or similar issue – accuracy on the short crossing stuff.
Just needs to be worked out. Those things are generally mechanical in nature – front shoulder too high, the ball sails. Feet not exactly right, it will go one way or another, etc. Just little things you have to drill on forever.
This thing had some jitters to it. Brees wasn’t nearly as “perfect” either. Both defenses were pretty darn good.
One thing I forgot, some of the guard-pulling and off-tackle runs that Gore made were fantastic. They need to work on that a little more as opposed to some of the sweeps with him – he’s great at vertical running (as we all know) but they try to use him in some of this sweep to the sideline stuff? Meh… not so much. Smith was more effective at that – granted that’s a trick that the defense will only fall for once.
Screens were fantastic, Alex made some nice audible adjustments on those hitting the blitz sides. Those should be encouraged and he’s hitting those much better than he was last year. The Miller toss and catch was a fantastic play and it’s becoming more rare for a fullback to make those sort of plays. Nice throwback play.
The other thing I noticed and forgot to mention: Tarell Brown on that long interception. He basically climbed the receiver’s back to catch that on his finger tips. That was an amazing play right there. Some of these secondary guys can probably catch better than our receivers – should spark some thoughts with these coaches that like to bring defensive players on offense.
The Justin Smith deal on offense – they need to try to pull an off-sides on the defense with that, some sort of hard count. Siragusa made a good point about that – when they do that stuff the opposing defense always knows it’s a one-count snap because a d-lineman playing offense has a hard time holding for any longer than that – it’s a DNA thing :P so they should work against tendency there. Might pan out.
Adam
Are you saying TB made an amazing play while committing Pass Interference or not committing pass interference?
“Are you saying TB made an amazing play while committing Pass Interference or not committing pass interference?”
No PI, it was just an amazing play, he’s basically beside the guy angling up on him and it looks like (when the guy starts to fall) that Brown is climbing up to get that. Just an amazing pick.
My thoughts as well Adam.
@Adam:
Not sure how Donte Whitner got away with the hard hit on the running back by the goal line, clearly a blow to the head.
He got away with it because it was a legal hit. Not all helmet-to-helmet hits are illegal. This article sums up the rule nicely:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82606878/article/nfl-says-hit-by-niners-whitner-on-saints-thomas-was-legal .
A running back is not a defenseless receiver. They are considered able to avoid head to head contact during the play.
“Not sure how Donte Whitner got away with the hard hit on the running back by the goal line, clearly a blow to the head. I don’t see how that stuff gets called in regular season but not in the post season.”
@ADAM
It’s really simple. The receiver had started up field towards the goal, and was NOT defenseless. That made the receiver a runner , and under those circumstances the runner is not and NEVER has been protected from helmet to helmet contact.
Anyone with your amazing knowledge of quarterback mechanics should know such a simple rule.
Unless it is a QB.
And especially QB’s named AR or TB.
And why isn’t it just as dangerous when an offensive player leads with his head (concussion wise)? Why do the defenders only get called for it?
Exactly my question. Ahmad Bradshaw a few weeks ago, I forget against who, knocked some poor db out, plowing into the endzone head first. The defender was clearly concussed. as a result of being rammed in the face, intentionally, by Bradshaw.
It’s football, so I don’t really care, but the double standard between different circumstances on the field is sometimes a bit much.
What I would like to know was were was the helmet to helmet call when AS got ear-holed? It was such a blow and definately knocked him off his feet. Is it because AS is such a rock of a QB that they weren’t gonna call it? I am all for protecting players, but until there is a 100% accountability, I think the calls are favored to one team or the other, except when it is so blatant a 3 year old can point it out.
I have been watching the 1981 NFC title game in its entirety over the last one week, a few minutes every day. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, with Niners up 21-17, Walsh calls a plays where Clark and Solomon line up to the left of Montana (Clark outside). Solomon motions and then runs inside and makes the “pick” pretty much like Kyle Williams did. The difference is that he then swings outside and gets open for the catch and a first down while Clark runs inside across the path of this defender who was “picked” — sort of a double pick. I could be wrong but I think Roman tried to unsuccessfully run a very similar play to the right side of the field.
Pick plays usually don’t get called if the receiver just bumps the defender. In both of these plays the receiver flat out blocked the defender like it was a running play.
I’m chalking it up to big game jitters.
Great write-up Adam. If I may I’d like to discuss a few points.
I don’t think we can can on the go route being there against the Giants like it was against the Saints. The Giants almost never run cover zero – they always have at least one safety deep.
On the short slants being high, to my view that was more on the O-Line than the QB. For a short (3-5yd) slant to work the DL has to be cut or knocked out the passing lane. Both times Alex had to throw over a DL resulting in a high pass. On the slant to MC early in the game for a TD there was a huge passing lane opened resulting in a successful pass.
Whitner’s head-to-head hit against Pierre Thomas was not a violation of the rules because runners aren’t protected by H2H rules. The NFL’s explanation is that runners tend to lower their heads before contact so it is too difficult to determine fault.
On the flip side, Whitner’s whiff on Graham on the long TD was my one disappointment with the defense. If he had gone for Graham instead of the ball he could have knocked the ball (and Graham) out considering the angle he had.
Lastly, I hear you on the middle part of the game. Some more points off all those turnovers would have been nice. More importantly – killing some clock would have been really nice. The Saints ended up with 14 possessions compared to the average of 10 the 49ers allowed this year. Take away 3-4 possessions from the Saints and the late game heroics wouldn’t have been necessary. And I’d have 5 years back on my lifespan.
@msc
I hear you about the DL being a cause of the high passes, but it looked to me like AS just rushed the throw and it sailed.
wouldn’t have needed those late game heroics if AS was game managing….the one thing suggested by the pundits he was…..
just slide down in bounds and run the clock out kick the field goal
and the last 25 points of the game would not have happened and the niners would have still won
this is a tough game coming up….if the field is sloppy then hitch and gos, slants along with sweeps i expect will be staples…..
@jg
AS was managing the game quite well. The Niners led the whole game till late in the 4th. Can’t do that without managing the game .
And I see your point about sliding down short of the goal line, but there is no way JH wanted that. Had AS done that the fans would have chanted “Carr, Carr..”
And you don’t know what happens on the FG attempt. Maybe Akers shanks it, or it’s blocked. Besides there would still be enough time on the clock for DB to drive downfield and get in range for a FG. Play/coach to win these playoff games, not to not lose them.
No. Take the guarantee TD and points, then rely on your D to stop them. That formula worked all year.
“On the short slants being high, to my view that was more on the O-Line than the QB. For a short (3-5yd) slant to work the DL has to be cut or knocked out the passing lane. Both times Alex had to throw over a DL resulting in a high pass.”
That is a problem, I agree and I actually meant to add that in my O-line look. That may be most or all of it considering Smith’s passes are looking pretty decent overall. It could be that he’s having a hard time threading the needle through the forest of arms. But I’m still seeing some lower back shoulder – it’s not nearly as bad as after the surgery season but it shows up a bit sometimes.
It’s kind of a conundrum, you need the quick passes because the line can’t hold on an overload but they seem to be that play that works the least and over the middle a high pass is dangerous as hell. I don’t mind the high passes on the sidelines because all he’s doing is giving the receiver the safe chance to grab it but over the middle… that’s a bit risky no matter what the cause of the high passes are.
The H2H hit… that’s interesting, I thought they had changed the rules on helmet to helmet last season or two seasons ago. Must have missed that.
Agree on getting 5 years back. Even the replay was stressful. :P
@Adam
Did you notice in the NO/Det game how well the OL opened up passing lanes large enough to send an aircraft carrier thru? That was impressive. If the Niner OL does that, then there is no reason to throw high.
Some really good points there Adam. I’d like to see Alex throw the ball with conviction the way he did on the final two drives. It seems sometimes he takes a bit off the ball when he isn’t completely sure of something.
jgwindsor,
I disagree with the idea Smith should have slid. If he does that and they don’t get in the endzone, the Saints are getting the ball back with about 40 seconds or so on the clock only needing a FG to win the game. You don’t get cute in that situation. If it was under 2 minutes, sure, but it wasn’t and the Saints would have two more clock stoppages at their disposal. With an offense like they have, you have to take the points when the chance presents itself.
so u do agree with me rocket….
AS should have slid for a 1st down in bounds…because the slid would have kept the clock moving to 2 minutes and then a couple of plays after the 2 minute warning to eat the clock and remove the last NO timeout and then kick the FG with essentially no time left….
jg
I think you believe more time would run off than it actually would.
Besides, it is easier to drive for a long FG than it is for a TD.
AS TD run was at the 2:11 mark….
slide for the 1st down and the clock goes to 2 minutes….takes one of those NO stoppages of clock away. run a play after the two minute warning to 1:55 and NO takes their final time out…..2nd down takes clock to 1:15 or so and the next play takes clock to 30 seconds where niners take a time out and kick the FG…..
so NO would start out having to go 50 yds to kick a field goal with no time outs left
barring any flukiness…..
would have rather had the niners controlling the clock…..ultimate game management
@jg
Just started to watch 4th.
But the strategy you recommend sounds like the same one Stanford employed.
Don’t go for the TD. Play it safe for FG attempt. How did that work out?
I’ve seen the same thing happen more than once. Something happens that causes you to lose more often than it normally does (if you play to win and can’t get it in despite trying).
The football gods look down on such things.
Thanks for the essay Adam. You get an A, if this was an assigned paper at least
Nice, Adam. I would add that Dashon Goldson had a monster game and that Donte Whitner came out with the spirit of Ronnie Lott and Jack Tatum in him. I realize Whitner whiffed badly on a key play but I still give him accolades for setting the tone. The New York Times ran this article today and I think the Giants receivers got Whitner’s message running through their brains this week. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/sports/football/for-49ers-defense-its-hit-hit-hit.html?_r=1&hpw
Our defense will show up like it always does. Two turnovers will be good enough to win this game and I know our defense can’t create those. Manning needs lots of time for those deep bombs and I see our pass rush getting their no matter wet or dry track. We’re a great tackling defense.
Offensively the offense needs to get to 20-27 points and not be conservative with the playcalling even if were up 10 or more.
“Offensively the offense needs to get to 20-27 points and not be conservative with the playcalling even if were up 10 or more.”
The story of the season. If they could stay aggressive it would benefit the defense as well. If they could put together a complete game with both offense and defense playing to their level for the whole game it would be a thing of beauty.
Heh BigP, the 49ers are one of the few team I’ve seen that plays Prevent Offense.
Sad but true. God forbid they go for the jugular, we might just blow a team out.
This whole season has been about players who were “written off” proving they deserve to be here. With all the criticism the receiving core has gotten this year i expect them to come out and have a superb game. Especially with all the attention Vernon will get, Crab, Ginn, KW will all be seeing alot of one on one. I for one would not be surprised to see one of them catch a 50+ yard TD this game, they will all have their moments to slip past the secondary.
Donte is a beast!
Check out the New York Times link I provided above.
Interesting read regarding the WR’s. You can see the chemistry between VD and AS – not really there with the WR’s. There isn’t a “go to” WR. JMorg was that guy early (until he got hurt) and I believe they would have improved their chemistry with more connections over the course of the regular season but JMorg injury stiffled that option. MC is getting better but without another legitimate threat on the other side, the opportunities aren’t available or are very limited.
MC has upside and if he would learn to run the most precise routes, that would give him the step he needs to get separation and YAC. Once the whole offense gets a full year together to hone their skills with the complete comprehension of the JH offense, then they will be able to have the consistently and explosiveness this pass offense lacks. Adding another talented WR through the draft wouldn’t hurt.
If DW plays this Sunday that will help the receiving corps, but still there are challenges with the WR group. It would be great if one of them could rise to the occasion and have a career day. We need that 9er magic to continue with one of the WR’s having an outstanding “player of the game” type day.
Here comes the anxiety and irritableness the closer we get to Sunday…
A lot of it comes down to the play calling. Most of the opportunities the WR’s have are short, contested windows. It was the same thing with V.D. before last weekend. They let him play his game and he shredded the Saints for a historically good day. They need to find more creative ways to get the ball into Crabtree’s hands. Same thing with Ginn. Even if they just send him straight down the field and overthrow him it will still scare the defense. You have to account for speed. It’s frustrating.
BigP, I can envision KW running short routes over the middle a la Welker and picking up big yards after the catch. Maybe break one for a td. I agree they need to come up with some new wrinkles using the WR’s.
Crabtree is what you see. In college he was known as a guy who lacked physical and mental toughness. He has suspect speed. And, sure, he tore up college. You know what, so did JJ Stokes.
Who had the same flaws — lack of quickness, lack of toughness.
Crabtree, however, has worse hands. Stokes dropped about 3.5% of the catchable balls that went his way. Crabtree has dropped around 7%.
To put it in perspective, TO had ‘bad hands’ and dropped about 5.5%. TO, otoh, made huge plays and could dominate games with his will-to-win and incredile athletic ability. Crabtree can’t as he lacks will and talent to do so.
So what does that leave us? JJ Stokes with bad hands…
Let’s not get too down on Crabtree, folks. This was a huge game and perhaps the jitters hit him. I understand the expectations that he makes those catches, high pass or not. He has pride and heart to go with his talent which is why I say – support him and stay Faithful.
That is a totally inaccurate breakdown of Crabs. The dude is a good player. He had a bad game on Saturday, that’s about it. This comes across as the ultimate MMQB rip job. He was the most dominant WR in college history after playing QB in H.S. This sounds like the posts a few weeks back about how bad V.D. was playing. They call plays to take advantage of his strengths and he goes for 180 yards and 2 TD’s. Crabs will be fine.
I expect crabs to have a huge game this week. For sure, the giants won’t let vernon beat’em the way that the Saints did. That’ll mean more opportunities for the WR’s.
Moses, I think crab is a star in the making. He’s just gotta catch the damn ball!
Moses – Yeah Crabtree’s had some bad drops this year but he’s made several big plays throughout the year and had some big-time blocks to help his team.
In college, Crabtree was the FIRST EVER two-time winner of the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver!
That award is not given to players who lack physical or mental toughness.
Moses – You are and always will be an amateur football analyst.
He doesn’t lack quickness, only straight-line speed. He’s not huge, but he has good size, great balance and strength, and is very good after the catch. He plays hard, not just running routes, but also blocking. He is our best WR, period. That said, he drops a few you’d like/expect him to catch. He’s not a top-10 receiver, but he’s definitly top-30. He’s also only in his 3rd year. We’ll probably keep Morgan and will certainly add a bigger target either through the draft or FA. WR will be a strenght next year. KW is the real deal. Ginn will be our #5. And Crabs will catch 90 for 1200.
How often have the Niners played in bad/rainy conditions over the past couple years? I’m having a hard time remembering. I can’t recall a single game at the moment…
…..no sh$te!!!!…49ers are playing in the NFC championship !!!!!…….the niner part of my brain is on steroids!!!!!!!
…Ed Hochuli is Ref……..
Crabtree is Mr. Erratic–I think Razz has him pegged right when he says “overdrafted”–but he also tends to produce after miserable performances. He might be due.
Also, have a feeling one of the unheraldeds might suddenly have a lot of balls flying their way. Williams maybe? Or Delaney-of-the- liquid-diet? I suspect the coaches will target someone that the Giants will not have seen as a threat on tape. VDavis may end up stretching the field with double coverage so others can do the catching.
Regardless, Alex should be feeling pretty confident in his arm (as well as his legs) after that 4th quarter. That makes for a new dimension on offense. The Giants are going to have to deal with the ever-present possibility of the quick strike, and they won’t really know to whom. . .
I am offended that Williams is being referred to as average. The kid will have his moments, hopefully with the Niners. All they have to do is feed him the ball 10-20 yards over the middle again and again and again. He will burn the defense repeatedly.
@Grant – interesting that you went to Razzano for quotes. He may be the only person that inspires as much controversy here as Cosell.
In this case, Razzano is dead on. The 49ers are very average at WR. Luckily, the Giants are very average in the secondary.
One last, semi-related WR note: In the 2nd half when Brees tried to hit Arrington it was Carlos Rogers in coverage rather than Brock, Brown or Culliver. Arrington was playing for Moore and running the seams and hitches the Brees and Moore love to hook up on.
It almost seemed like Fangio had Rogers covering Brees’ favorite routes rather than just sticking to Colston like most teams would do with their #1 CB.
That was some brilliant reading of tendencies by Fangio and the defensive staff.
That’s some pretty impressive observation on YOUR part, too, MSC. Thanks for the insight…I’m going to re-watch the game with that in mind.
All of the east coast prognosticators are picking New England and the Giants.”I Say Forgive them Lord they know not what they done”, that’s a line from the classic Jimmy Cliff movie, The Harder They Come.
It makes it even better as we pick off the media darlings one by one. By the time we hoist the Lombardi, the talking heads will be left to muttering to themselves… ” 5,476 passing yards…”, “…but Eli, he’s elite….”, “Gisele Bundchen…”
”I Say Forgive them Lord they know not what they done”, that’s a line from the classic Jimmy Cliff movie, The Harder They Come.
You’re going to attribute that “line” to Jimmy Cliff? Really?
The Harder They Come, circa 1972,
Director: Perry Henzell
Writers: Perry Henzell, Trevor D. Rhone
Stars: Jimmy Cliff, Janet Bartley and Carl Bradshaw
As sure as the sun will shine, I’m goin’ get my fair share what’s mine and then the harder they come the harder they fall yeah one another. The officers are trying to keep me down, trying to keep me underground and they think that they have got the battle won I say forgive them Lord they know not what they done.
Sung by Jimmy Cliff. Classic movie.
@Andrew
The Gospel According to Luke, Chapter 23 – Verse 34, circa 60 AD
Writer: Saint Luke
Director: God
Star: Jesus
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
Spoken by Jesus. Classic Book
you’re both right, but Claude, yours is damn funny
Forgive them? Hell no. I want them to be known throughout the rest of their media careers as uninformed imbeciles who, while genuflecting at the altar of the 5000 yards passing paper-tiger teams, didn’t see a powerhouse dynasty in the making right under their homer noses.
@fesnyc:
I try. Thanks.
Hey grant… Don’t know much about ground keeping. Do they cover the field during the week for the rain?
i think mike sando over on espn said they do
MD, yes they do cover the field and they have an NFL observer from the league office overseeing the groundskeeping operation this week before the game.
I’m hoping the rain backs off enough so the game isn’t too sloppy. I’m not a advocate that the rain helps the 9ers or either team for that matter. Better to play on a clear day and the winner moves on.
Thanks. I feel the same. I thought we could have used the rain last weekend. Ny plays on the east. It’s not going to help us out.
Just re-watched the game. In the first quarter there was a corner blitz and the guy went helmet to helmet with Alex. We got no call. We got no love from the Zebras all afternoon.
Also, not harping on Alex but the throw to Williams across the middle was poorly thrown ball. I was ripping on Williams for not catching it. The throws to Vernon in the 4th were the nicest balls Alex has ever thrown in his life. That 4th quarter put simply was a thing of beauty.
Tying in with your zebras comment, on Sirius monday, Pat Kirwan said there were over 300 passing plays on the weekend and I believe 3 holding calls. Some real inconsistancy this year in the officiating. I’m not happy Ed Hochuli is doing the game on Sunday.
Bay, yes it was a poor throw by AS to KW but very catchable. I re-watched the game as well and DB wasn’t on target with every pass but his receivers were catching the ball. Look at the last pass to Graham for 66 yards. Terrible pass but Graham made the adjustment, the catch, and ran for the TD.
hof
The NO WR’s did not drop 1 ball. And DB threw it 60+ times.
DS, plus the poor throws that they caught. That is what is astounding. The Giants have the same type of receivers. An example is the Hail Mary pass last week. Still don’t know why teams don’t station a guy in front and a guy in back of the receiver for those plays.
Cruz makes me the most nervous. He has hands and is shifty.
The sloppy field will nullify Cruz & other WR’s speed advantage.
And nobody is talking about how well AS has been throwing the deeper sideline passes. When AS needs to make that throw, he has.
That 1 to MC a few weeks ago, and several VD sideline passes last week have been spot on with decent coverage. Defenses just can’t bet on AS not being able to make that throw.
wet fields nullify CBs more than WRs….WRs know where they are going….
I’m not debating the “WR knows, CB doesn’t” part. I agree.
But if you think running on a soggy field won’t slow you down, next time it rains, try it out yourself. I don’t think you will hit your top speed. If I am slower than you, then the soggy field favors me more than you. You depend more on your speed than I do. So you lose more than I do.
And WR’s won’t be able to cut as sharply either.
how is that u are slow and become slower in the slop…..and knowing where u are going allows the WR to gain back those millisecs…..
i am mostly worried about this on slant plays…..
i suspect the DB and safties will try and keep the plays in front of them and just make sure to tackle and prevent the YAC which has been their motif for the most part this year….
@jg
Because as a slower player, I developed and depend on other skils more to make up for my lack of speed.
So, if I can’t use my speed, I’m like “Who cares?”
But if you’re a speedy guy, and you lose your best attribute, how well can you sub in other skills to make up for your lost best skill?
I’m betting on the guy who is less dependent on speed.
No one is mentioning it yet, but the wet field favors Brandon Jacobs more than anything… IF he figures out the whole north/south thing. It’s like he thinks he’s 5’10, 190, trying to juke and run around DBs when he could just put the shoulder down.
just left work after tying up some loose ends.i took rest of the week off including monday because i cant stand it anymore.my entire focus is on sundays game.ive received visits from neighbors asking can they come over because it seemed like we were having so much fun.you have to know my neighbors(lawyers.teachers.and retirees).so of course i said yes. this time we will cater just to save my dear love thr stress.so now im off to with credit card in hand to restock liquor cabinet and meet caterer and then to mall to buy some new niner gear.in the words of bart scott”cant wait”
Wow Eastcoast you know how to do it up right. That is some serious dedication to the cause. Good for you!
@rocket..trust me when i say this:w/o my wifes sayso none of this wouldnt be happening.as far as the catere,its really not a big deal.my beloved sister-in-law owns aone,so you understand the reasoning now.give her the money.keep the wife happy and the world stays a better place.
I love it! I might have to take next Monday off!
i will either need monday to cry or recover.might be tears of joy and to muck grey goose(vodka),im hoping for the later.
Monday I’m going to be flying back to NYC with (hopefully) a planeload of glum Jints fans!
@ds,
Rice was not a big guy. He just ran the best routes and had two half of gamers throwing to him. He made the tough catches because he was bad ass!! Period!!!!!
@big niner
JR was a big guy at the time. The WR’s of that age were smaller faster guys, but couldn’t go over the middle.
How many times did you see JR break a tackle of a LB? I saw it all the time. Smaller guys can’t do that. You do that because of your strength, and JR was the best conditioned athlete in the NFL for over a decade easily.
And, I wouldn’t be so hasty about giving the QB’s credit (JM/SY). JR was also pretty freaking good for Jeff Garcia, Steve Bono, Elvis Grbac, and anybody else wearing a Niner uniform.
Then he went to the Raiders with Gannon, and was pretty good there as well. How do you explain that if JR needed SY and JM?
JR was voted the best football player of all time. You don’t get that distinction because you happened to be lucky. JM and SY owe a big part of their HOF careers to JR. I am certain if asked, all 3 will compliment the other for why they are in the HOF.
i think Razzano’s comments are generally accurate except for one thing: separation, and getting open on downfield routes, isnt always about elite speed. How many zillions of time have we seen a receiver without elite speed get open deep, because of a good move, a double move, a scheme which confuses the DB for a split second, etc. At NFL speed, a moment’s hesitation on the part of the defender means that you’re open. Yes, on paper, Crabs doesnt have elite speed and toughness (my criticisms from his first few games), but the game isnt played on paper. Which is why pundits and fans like me get these game predictions wrong all the time.
Crabs has got to step up in this game, no doubt. We need him to, and if he wants to be considered a top receiver in the game, this is his chance.
Ironically, it was the game against the NY Giants which first showed me that Alex and the receivers could play well enough to win, because Gore was shut down. They all played well enough to win then, and i think they can do that again. But given that the Giants are playing better now than they were then, they’re all going to have to raise their game. Hopefully the run game is more effective as well. Go Niners!
crabs has move that break ankles. He just needs to catch the damn ball!
We need a few wrinkles in this game. A few zone blitzes, something they haven’t seen from us.
How about an opening flea flicker to Ginn, blow off the top.
Its Tupac vs Biggie..ah,nevermind. I already did that one…
Joe Theisman (rhymes with Heisman?,sure) picks the Giants.
AND- I will make a trillion dollars with my new invention- a Schick Mach 3 razor sharpener. NO more 18$ for a 5 pack..re sharpen for months. One day.
The way the 49ers are playing the Giants may not stand a chance this weekend. The 49ers offense reminds of the glory days with Joe Montana and Stave young. I meant the way Smith drove the team down the field against the Saints, the 49ers offense looks UN-stoppable. Really surprised me….
How does it differ from AS leading the team from 20 points down in Philly?
If you look carefully, AS has done this all year long (Detroit).
Just wasn’t this dramatic before. lol
A little Giant fact, the official NFL football used in games is labeled “the Duke”.
Named after Wellington Mara, Duke of Wellington get it?
Re-watching the game, and NO averaged 505 yards the last 9 games.
Niners D held them under that average. I know there was some talk about how good our defense was or not. And the Niner D did force 3 TO’s.
Just thought this might help put things in perspective.
When I read GCosell last night on NFL.com, I loved it when he said, “it wasn’t the catch…it was the throw.” Maybe he is a believer (now)?!!
I Just want the 9ers to focus on the Giants and let the fans re-live the game with the Saints. Time to move forward and not get caught up in the press clippings but keep hitting and making plays. Very seldom do teams make it this far. The national media will rue the day that they didn’t give the 9ers more respect and a chance to win this game!!
@Hofer, at least the national media is consistent. They continually sell the Niners short. So, I’m not really surprised, but this may serve as further motivation for the team and we’ll roll to the Super Bowl.
giants as a team are better than the niners….giants are road tested with 4 road wins in a row….giants are playoff tested….
eli is arguably an elite QB who makes his WR better and cruz makes eli better
AS had two drives at the end of the game which has propelled him into a what ever the media makes of him…..the play just before one of the long passes to VD there was a ball batted down at the line of scrimmage if had been picked off would have changed everything….
AS had a lot of balls tipped at the line against NO…..
giants front DL7 are equivalent to the niners DL7……
giants OL is better than niners OL….but many see this the other way around…there are too many things on the offensive side of the niners ball which could come toppling down…. although lately, haven’t heard much bad coming from A davis even in the NO game he still appears to lack vision in picking up blitz delays or stunts
as it stands now giants RB are in better shape than the niners running backs
niners special teams are potentially without ginn….wet conditions will create many wet ball situations
i am expecting a lot of loose balls in this next game……
again as it has been all year it will come down to coaching and the scheme …. last time niners came out with a change up……throwing instead of running…..this time giants defense will not be fooled….
Thank you Mr. Sunshine. Let’s hope they show up and play the Giants.
just puts me in the mode of keeping it real…..gets me to start thinking on how best, from a fans perspective, to adjust to what the giants have displayed as their MO…
from my perspective it will have to be just like last week….niners have to come in and reclench…..
clenched fists is the only thing i can think will disrupt this giants offense…..and i have this feeling giants are better able to handle a brawl…..NO not so much
niners beat NO because they are balanced….giants are balanced as well….
giants are niner killers…..
jg
Are rainbows colored black when you see them?
You make it seem like we should be sad about playing this game.
Positive vibes now. : – )
The Giants do not have a front 7 equal to the Niners. They have a good line but average linebackers.
Giants do not have
Justin Smith
PW
NB
3 All-Pros.
Aldon Smith – future multi All-pro.
And our secondary is better than theirs. How many Int’s/Pro-Bowlers do they have?
They would argue Justin Tuck is just as good as Smith. I do not agree but thats what NYG fans think
We saw how the 49ers DL handled the Saints OL, which boasted 3 Pro-bowlers. I don’t see the Giants OL is any better. Also I’ve been reading blogs from bigblueview.com. Interestingly on one titled “Giants 37, Packers 20: Pro Football Focus Weekly Review”,
the author wrote:
Valentine’s View: It’s a miracle that the Giants do what they do on offense with an offensive line this porous. David Baas was -1.0, giving all of the linemen negative grades. Manning makes this line look at least decent with the way he slides around, and the way he constantly gets the Giants into running plays that have a chance.
And the Niners’ front 7 are couple of notches above GB’s.
agreed this will be #1 battleground key point to winning this game……win this and the niner secondary could have a field day
eli sent home with a flu=like bug….not a good sign since some of the most spectacular games are turned in by athletes with the flu
this game is going to be a fight, really reminds me of the 15-13 matchup in 1990, except this time we’re the YOUNGER, big/fast/tough/nasty team with a run game, and the Giants are the team struggling to stay competitive (they were .500 just a few weeks ago) and relying on their QB to make everything happen.
turnovers will be the key in this game, and wet conditions will matter, but i think we beat these guys. I also think if its coach vs coach, Harbaugh/Fangio/Roman will outcoach Coughlin and company
agree on your coaching points
and am hoping these coaching points allows KW and brett swain wrinkles to mess up the giants defensive scheme
niners didn’t run well last time they faced the giants maybe the weather conditions will allow the run game to improve significantly…although gore seems hurt
i am worried about PW hamstring in slippery wet cool weather
“giants as a team are better than the niners”
Not too sure about that, but in my view, it doesn’t really matter, because the better team NEVER wins, at least, not on the basis of being the “better team”. The team that plays best on that particular day wins. Often, it IS the team that most people would say is the better team…but not always, and that’s why they play the games!
I saw where you wrote that you agree, JG, that we’ve got better coaching than the Giants. Given that, I think we can trust that Harbaugh & Co. will have the boys fired up and coached up, just as they have all season. Until the team gives us a reason to doubt, I don’t!
“giants as a team are better than the niners…”
Can’t agree with you there, JG. Power poll out today has New England #1 and San Francisco #2.
I actually expect that to be the Superbowl, right there.
I don’t think the Ravens can upset the Patriots and I expect if Eli has the flu, he may be fine in a few days but it could run rampant through the locker room – that would be a shame. :P
Seriously though, I don’t see the Giants as being better. I see both teams improved since week 10. I see Smith as being more confident each week, with another skin on the wall, as they say. He just becomes more and more of a hunter.
Grantland laid in to Crabtree. I certainly hope Crabs steps up, although he had a few good plays mixed in with some average kind of stuff. We’ll see.
Cruz and Nick these are way better than anything niners have
Brees tried to take advantage of culliver not seeing the ball…many throws to the sidelines where taking advantage of CB not getting his head around
niners’ secondary had a game for the ages this past weekend and still 400 + yards given up……giants will kill this secondary in wet conditions….
Willis and Bowman are WAY better than anything the Giants have. What makes you think the Giants will KILL our secondary in wet conditions? Manning played great last time and the Niners, not so much, lot’s of 1st down passing by Alex and no run game and we still won.
I think ‘our’ run game this time around will kill the Giants DT and MLB all day. Could it be another ‘Harbaugh setup’? Did they intentionally pass ‘all’ first half’ in the last game against the Giants so when he saw them again, we could run in down their throats?
We could do this all day long. : )
yep we could……
giants DL is really good and could disrupt AS significantly…and if the giants focus on keeping VD from getting out into the open field will AS own enough of this offense to seamlessly transition to another form of attack from when he makes his pre-snap reads……
of course i agree ‘pain and suffering’ are bettter than giants have
i am just inferring the giants have stepped their D game and am worried the niners offense hasn’t quite gone far enough just quite yet….
and just to be clear….if the giants win i will just puke because i will be too emotional to do anything else….
but until then i am devil advocating it until i feel a certain way when game time arrives
The glass is half empty in your world?
General manager Trent Baalke was named Executive of the Year and Harbaugh was designated Coach of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America and Pro Football Weekly. Kicker David Akers and punter Andy Lee shared the Golden Toe Award, and they made the All-NFL Team with Justin Smith and linebacker Patrick Willis. Outside linebacker Aldon Smith was the 49ers’ lone honoree on the All-Rookie Team.
From the Merc.
Matt Stafford got the comeback player of the year award.
Just more ammo for shin-kicking here.
AS deserved it way more. Stafford was good at coming back to tackle a guy after he threw an Int.
Comeback player of the year should be someone that was injured and not poorly coached.
*not someone that was poorly coached*
Wasn’t it last year-Smith was driven into the ground?.. hurt his shoulder-again?
“Stafford was good at coming back to tackle a guy after he threw an Int.”
Hahaha, nice!
Even guys who CAME BACK to a team that had coached him poorly.
Hence my caps of came(come) back.
What did he ‘comeback’ from? I agree HOF, it should be from an injury or being out of the league, like Vogelsong ‘should’ve’ got this year.
Stafford missed 13 games last year and came back and threw 41 TD’s and ended the Lion’s 11 year playoff drought. He deserves it.
To be slightly serious-are you SURE comeback player,etc..HAS to be from an injury? Is that THE criteria?..I always thought it only took a vet who followed a bad year with a great year?..and does it varie per sport?
Wasnt Vogelsong up for that award?
It’s not mandatory that they faced injury the year before, but it almost always ends up that way. Chad Pennington won it twice after blowing out his shouler. Garrison Hearst and Bryant Young won it after gruesome injuries. Michael Vick and Tommy Maddox are the exceptions. They both won it after being out of the game for a couple of years, albeit for different circumstances. Maddox stunk and Vick had a penchant for pooches.
If Alex wins on Sunday, he’ll be the comeback player of the decade.
Got it BigP-I forgot he was out last year, Shaun Hill played a few for the Lions.
Don’t count out Alex yet though.
If he wins the Super Bowl, it would be one of the great stories of perseverance in sports.
Guess who got coach of the year in 1981 (cue the Twilight Zone music.)
You got it, Bill Walsh.
Funny,did they know GM of the year wanted to get rid of Comeback Player of the Year-Alex Smith?…I see irony everyday..
to win comeback player of the year,you have to have been injured for a certain amoubt of time.alex didnt qualify,so thats why he didnt win
@east
Then why for most of the year was CSN saying AS should win comeback player of the year?
Eastcoast,
That’s not true, injury is not a requirement for the award. Michael Vick won it after being incarcerated for two years.
@ds..comeback players are usually players who overcome major injuries to have an ooutstanding season.stafford missed 13 games last year.as for csn i dont know.the award i hope alex wins is sb mvp
@big p..overcoming brain injury,thats how vick won.i live in virginia and a dog lover so my opinion of vick is a little skewed,cruelty of any kind points to brain damage,but i digress.
overcoming brain injury….hah!
Eastcoast,
I couldn’t agree with you more. He is a dirt ball. Just stating facts about the award. The only thing he came back from was a prison sentence of his own doing.
Bray,
Who’s counting out Alex? The guy has a chance to win much more prestigious awards this postseason. That’s what I’m looking forward to. I’m glad that he isn’t in a position to come back from anything.
I was referring to ‘Stafford deserves it’, not that Alex doesn’t. Just reminding that he deserves it too.
I think Alex qualify’s as having comeback from psychological trauma. When will people ever become enlightened?,sigh….
Eli-has the flu!…I’m betting it ALL now on the 49ers..
It is believed that Eli watched the tape of the 49ers DL pushing around three pro bowlers on the Saint OL and now Eli is throwing up knowing he going to get hit.
I think there is a good chance that we lose Roman to the Colts after this season.
They are all in on drafting Luck, and what better scenario than to get his college coach to get him going quickly with a new system in the NFL?
I dont think that would be a huge loss only because of Harbaugh and Geep Chryst being very capable. Didnt Geep call that last play to VD for the win against the Saints? Also, Roman has been very conservative in the playcalling, whether that’s him or the entire staff, not sure but with a capable back up and HC who is offfensive minded, we should be good for years to come.
ESPN reporting Eli did practice today because of stomach flu. Hopefully it gets worse and becomes major diarrhea!
If he isn’t puking now, he will be on Sunday.lol
i want eli to be at full power.no excuses.FEAR IS NOT AN OPTION.the giants keep saying they werent at full strength last time.so now its every man up.
Eli will play no matter what but a less than 100% Eli could be advantageous. Long flights make a difference with stomach ailments.
“Manning is still expected to play in Sunday’s NFC championship at San Francisco. His departure left backup David Carr to run both the first-team offense and the scout team that simulates the opposition against the Giants’ defense.”
WE WANT CARR! Now wouldn’t *that* be ironic??? lol
Brilliant, Ribi, brilliant!
Anyone watch the clip on ESPN with Jerry Rice? He called Brandon Jacobs soft when it comes to running the ball. He said he calls him soft because when these guys are like 190 and they can take him down thats where him being soft comes in.
I saw that and Jerry is right. Our defense somewhat struggles with shifty backs like a Sproules but Jacobs, he’s slow and we will just swarm him with our front seven. Not worried and the Giants run game.
Can u imagine the Niners D when they see Jacobs running the ball? Oh know here comes the marshmallow
There will be a hit like the Atwater v Okoye hit, or Whitner v Thomas if you will.
I say Goldson BLOWS UP Jacobs at some point.
Yeah, Jacobs is candidate for knocked out RB #7
I have to ask-Geep Chryst..is that his given name? A nick name? He likes Jeeps or something? Odd name.
Is his middle name ‘us’? Now that would be funny.
According to Roger Craig, Harbaugh has “the secret sauce.”
Great read: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/18/roger-craig-sees-a-harbaugh-led-49ers-dynasty/
Anyone else hear Victor Cruz’s comments about how he is glad the Giants are facing us instead of the Saints. I am sure that was duly noted by Whitner and Goldson. VC better stay outside the hashes, or he might get caught coming across the middle.
Grant
Do us a favor and stop quoting Dave Razzano. He’s been wrong pretty much every time and has shown no real insight.
The credibility of your blog goes down every time you use his insight
Razzano sure blew his analysis this year… read an article that said he rated Aldon Smith as the 2nd most overrated player behind Cam Newton. LOL. On Aldon : “To me this is a tweener type player. Meaning he lacks strength to play on the line or movement in space. Underwhelming as a pass rusher as well. The question remains wherewhere do you play this guy.” and the answer is….. anywhere on the Niner defense where he’s got a good shot a getting to the QB. The PFW/PFWA Defensive ROY.
John Madden thought that Aldon Smith would be a project, he is a project of excellence.
@niner61:
Do you have a link for Razzano’s draft analysis? can you share it? That would be useful. Thanks.
Claude ..sorry didn’t , read it a maybe a month and a half or two ago. Just copied that little tidbit because I thought it was funny because he’s given so much credibility because of his dad’s success with the Niners.
Razzano is hanging off of Daddy’s coattails. He doesn’t have a job in the NFL for a reason. This is the same guy who was a staunch proponent of Nate Davis. Maybe Tim is Dave Razzano?
Crab 15 our secondary stepped up and so did Alex last Saturday when everyone doubted them. This game is all about redemption for Crabtree. I love the guy but I would hate to hear that his critics were right about him in that he is not a legit number one WR.
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