Here’s how I expect the Niners offense to attack the red hot New York Giants defense.
I expect the Niners to split out Vernon Davis at wide receiver often, much more than usual. The Giants are going to double team him, probably with a cornerback and a safety.
I expect the Niners to use that against them. They’ll split Davis out wide and have him run deep. Two Giants defenders will follow him wherever he goes, so if he can’t get open at least he can open up space for other 49ers to make plays.
I expect Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter to make most of those plays.
I expect both running backs to catch passes and gain big chunks of yards on plays that start with Smith faking a handoff. Smith will play fake and Davis will run a fade or a deep post to clear out a section of the field. Smith will look to hit Davis for a big gain, but if he’s covered Smith will check down to his running back who should have open space in front of him.
I also expect the Niners to use play action roll outs. I’m talking Vernon Davis split out wide to the right, play fake to Gore off right tackle, run Davis deep down the right sideline and roll Smith back around to the left where he’ll hit a wide open Bruce Miller or Joe Staley or Isaac Sopoaga.
That’s what I expect. How about you?
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Grant, these are your best articles. You are Niner progeny, with a Dad who’s seen it all. When you have a feel for the gameplanning, let us know! This is fantastic! Thx.
Pork bun’s gotta be LOL Cohn I’m thinking. Fair enough.
Hey Grant,
You didn’t mention MC. Is there a reason you didn’t mention him or do you think the others in your read will be more targeted?
He’s got a tough matchup with Webster. He’ll get targets, but I don’t expect him to be the x factor.
Do you think MC is a playmaker? Big time WR’s come through regardless if they have a tough matchup or not.
He’s inconsistent, but at his best he is a playmaker. So is Webster, though.
Grant, yeah I’m with you! Predictions soon?
Tomorrow.
Grant, he’ll be shut down. Just like he is against every good pass defense. He. Just. Can’t. Get. Open.
Okay.
It’s time to stop pretending he’s a difference maker and blaming Smith for Crabtree’s inability to be an NFL WR. I think, at this point, it’s pretty clear he lacks both quickness and toughness which he makes up for by being a pass-dropper… Oh, wait, that’s a bug not a feature…
Imagine if the 9ers had VD and a WR with equal talent. More weapons and this offense could be explosive.
Moses
What is the point of your post here?
The Niners can’t find anybody better even if you think they should. TO is a loser, so he will not join the team.
MC is the best they have. Discuss other options during the off-season. Bashing MC here, now is a waste of time.
You have to improve your writing skills. Very elementary sentence structure. Try not to start every sentence the exact same way and when you reference your dad, call him by his name. Don’t say “my dad says……”. It makes you sound childish and not professional.
???
@Usman Jan,
Your probably a total snooze in real life. snore snore, if it makes you feel happy in knocking a young kid who is starting his career, go ahead, and maybe look at more of his work then one column, but you sound like a pompous old critical (( F A R T )).
And if he doesn’t get correction, will he magically get better? Or will he continue to flounder around never quite understanding he needs to improve and use this opportunity to forge his career, not his coffin?
Don’t be a dick. But be honest. He does need to work on his writing. Sometimes it is like reading a breathless 15-year-old on his first date… Or an 12-year-old who still thinks daddy is the be-all and end-all of his/her world.
WOW! My dad could kick your dads booty. Hows that?
Huh?
Go back to your bridge, Mr Troll. Grant is doing a very good job. Far better than yourself and other writers around the Bay Area.
T
You sound like a real joy to be around.
It’s a blog, not an Essay. This is a laid back atmosphere talking about football. If you are worried about sentence structure, go and read an Encyclopedia.
Usman, grammar is not taught in schools. With the internet and it’s new world punctuation and quick reply’s it’s going, going, gone. If you want to improve (myself included) read Shoots and Ladders.
“and its new world…”, not “it’s”…….
Although I’m sure you just did that to emphasize your point :)
When speaking or writing about my dad, to people who knew him or who he was, I never spoke of him by his proper name. Grant is exhibiting normal behavior, using language which is consistent with a familial relationship. Everyone reading knows the father-son connection here, and because of this, distancing himself from his father through some artificial means as you suggest would be silly.
Have you considered picking up a hobby of some kind?
USMAN? What kind of name is that? Who the f—- do you think you are. The comments are unnecesaary, as well as your existence.
Too nasty Roy. Usman’s quite a nice name. I like it better than Roy.
Spell much roy?
Yeah, it’s unnecessary, but why go nookl’r? Grant has come as far as the Niners have this year. They have been lockstep towards big-time improvement. I love watching my Niners and think Grant had developed into a pretty darn good writer and commentator.
Can we get a kumbaiya moment here? (And I have no idea how to spell kum-whatever)
With apologies for the pedanticism: Grant’s use of language in this piece is fairly sophisticated. He uses anaphora (as the rhetoricians call it) to structure information that “naturally” falls into a list. But then very cleverly reverses word order with the help of a pronoun as subject to make a chiasmus at the end. The article is, in fact, quite well-written.
Wow! Max, you’re firing on all eight cylinders (or four and a battery if you’re a Prius guy.)
:P
Nice!
Thx, Adam; thx, 49erGirl. I was blessed in having some of the best teachers – literally – in the world, among them: Anthony Wilden, Andrea Lunsford, Anneliese Kramer-Dahl, and S.K. Heninger. They are all google-able. (But I do try to keep it light.) :-)
both teams roll in with high confidance,expect the hard hits on both sides ,i think giants try to rush smith with front four ,the niner oline has to win this one in the trentches and i think it will ,crabs has to make every opp he can to hang on to the ball,get to the running backs early in the pass game ,that will open up the longer stuff when needed ,kyle williams needs to beat his opponet on quick slants and get yac ,dont give up the big play on defense late inthe game ,pound their wideouts hard after every catch make giants concerned about catchin the ball,and get to eli early he can get frustrated if that happens
I think delanie walker is the x factor in this game I think as grant said alot of the giants def will focus on vd and delanie walker has similar skills to vd which will leave him one on one
I doubt that Walker is ready to return to being an x factor.
DW might be a bit rusty but he’ll have fresh legs.
I don’t think DW will be at full strength, especially just starting solid food early in the week. it’s up to “The Inconvenient Truth” and Hunter this time. Everyone is keying on the passing game now. Let’s punch some holes with the running game!
I’d be worried about DW fumbling due to his not being at full strength. Any hit near his shoulders or higher could be a negative. I’ll just happy to see him in uniform on the sideline. Or as a decoy.
@Grant
I think the Niners run KH out of the backfield for short passes when VD takes those double teams.
Wet field or not, I think KH is quick enough to outruun the Giant LB’s more than once for an easy 5-7 yards per play. If he manages to get away from the LB’s, he has the best blocker (VD) to help him break a big play.
I’m also betting the Niners run FG up the gut a ton. The Niners invested a lot into their OL, and it was for days like this. We are stronger up front, and their LB’s will fear the day they faced FG.
getting the ball to the backs in the passing game could help the niners sustain more long drives.
Crabtree all day!!!!
I don’t know about you guys but I see this matchup as a perfect opportunity to use more split-back formations. Get those healthy RB’s behind Alex to work the edges and alternate blocking duties. If you’re depleted at WR that makes the most sense to me!
Kyle Williams, again and again and again and again and …
I agree with most of it but saying the Giants D is red hot is going over board. Atlanta and Green Bay made the Giants look good and I still think they didn’t play all that good. Go Niners!
How do you expect to see Crabtree fit into all this? Mostly slant routes in the RZ?
I’ll chime in. I think Crabtree continues getting the slants and short routes. The G-men know our play makers in the passing game and will blanket them. It’ll be up to the O-line getting Gore and Hunter the yardage to open up the deeper routes.
Would jh put him out there if he wasent ready to go and or only as a decoy? I doubt that
I agree.
Hater
Hov, I hear you but realistically and looking at history, players coming back from a major injury aren’t at their best. How many times has a weakness in a previously injured player caused some kind of turnover? I’ve seen it and don’t want to go there. Just the nature of the beast.
It’s a flippin face injury! Big deal! Anquan Boldin came back from a similar injury a few years ago and performed lights out! !!!!!
Uh…ok??!
Ted Ginn does his big runback thing,49ers D gets turnovers, Alex find VD over the middle-and no amount of Giant penicillin cures that. And a wet field favors the home team.
All adds up to niners 26-16
ginn may not be available
@hoferfan67 For the most part your right, but he’s not dealing with a knee or ankle or a major inj like that I’m just hopeing for the best I guess.
Me too. DW is a great target and it would be awesome to get him down the middle of the field wide open. Just leery of him protecting his jaw and not the ball…
I’m concerned about it, too. Delanie’s been a GREAT part of the team, with the receptions and the blocking. But a broken jaw? Man, I get a little squeamish just thinking about him taking a hit. I don’t know how you could overcome your natural instincts to protect it.
Walker had a really nice game against the Giant last game. Hopefully, he can make a contribution in this one as well.
Hater
Go away
Get a life.
Pork bun,
F–k you biotch!
Smart. You are so smart. Why are you back here? Because you are vile and pathetic, and have no spine, and a word worth about as much as a night with your b$&@h, you SOB!
I see you two are getting along swimmingly. Good good.
@Adam
The next blog post by Grant about his dads article Pork wrote something to 23J saying he is done venting at 23J.
Hopefully 23J is also done venting.
I encouragedpork to ignore 23J’s posts, since it is clear that these 2 will not get along.
We’re going to run it right down their throats.
start the music…
In week 10 the 49ers surprised the Giants by passing alot on their first two possessions. The Giants will be ready for that. If Gore is healthy enough, I expect the 49ers to run more.
Much of the play calling depends on the health of Gore, Ginn and Goodwin.
- If Goodwin is out, Snyder moves to center while Chilo becomes Right Guard. That spells awful pass blocking. With Chilo in, the 49ers will run, and run and run some more with a heavy dose of 3-and-outs.
- If Gore is still hobbled, he still the teams stud as a pass blocking back. Expect a continued emphasis on the pass.
- If Ginn is healthy, expect a fly sweep, fake fly sweep and a shot play deep.
What ever we do, do not run Gore wide. It’s gotten stuffed all year. Hunter and maybe Dixon wide. Gore between the tight ends.
Fly sweep hasn’t produced lately. TG takes a while to get up to full speed. While he is very fast, he’s not what I would call elusive.
Hofe- What’s up man? Off subject but I found an old book in garage that I bought over 20 years ago called “Audibles MyLife In Football.” It’s copyright 1986 and it’s Joe Montana talking about his life and career at that time. Have you or anyone else heard of it?
During 84 Super Bowl run Joe is not too happy with Bill Walsh.
Matt Cavanaugh had replaced Joe at QB for a game at Philly due to Joe being injured.
The Matt Cavanaugh led Niners rallied to win the game. Montana said he was standing next to Walsh, who was telling Cavanaugh what a great game he played and then Walsh turned to him and said “Oh yeah, Joe, you played OK too.
Here’s Joe’s quote from the book.
I didn’t know what to make of his (Bill Walsh) comment, so I took it as a joke. But deep down inside I was hurt. I never gave anything short of 1,000 percent for Bill, and I never received a touch of humanity. Sometimes praise is worth more than money. It comes from the heart. I respect Bill as a coach, but as a person on and off the field, he confuses me.
Hofe – Montana even takes a shot at Grant’s dad in the book.
I didn’t grow up in the Bay area so I don’t know much about the history between the writers & Montana. I can’t comment on that one but let me know if you want to know what Joe said about Lowell 26 years ago.
I happen to like Lowell’s work.
Crab, good stuff. JM forgave BW and in his own way, BW was just trying to motivate JM albeit in a hurtful way to Joe. I’m sure as time has gone by and retirement from pro football has set in, JM forgives BW (of course) and has no grudges against LC either. He knows LC was just doing his job and trying sell papers.
Crab, what is your prediction for the game?
Hofe – I’m usually conservative with my predictions but not this game. I’ve never been so confident.
Giants have had 4 straight must-win games and eventually that wears on you. Everything went their way the last 4 games vs Jets, Cowgirls, Falcons and Packers! A team that lost 7 regular season games will not win 5 straight meaningful games! With no rest and all that traveling, no way!! Take it to the bank!!
The Niners will pound them bro.
34-13
They should run Williams on the fly sweep, quickness is needed first to elude the DE or OLB.
Crab, my gut tells me a lower scoring game in the low 20′s at most. Weather is looking more favorable but there will be a strong breeze (15 mph) that will affect passes.
I don’t see Vernon Davis being that much of a threat in this game. First of all I think that he will be called on to stay in and block a lot of the time because our OL will be overmatched. Secondly, he will be tightly covered when he does release as a receiver. I’m thinking that if we are to be successful it will be on some surprise reverses or run-after-catch plays by Ginn, Peterson and Hunter. Frankly, I am both delighted and amazed that we have gotten this far with this feeble group of receivers.
Funny, it’s off topic but after the Giants lost the last game against us this year, I watched David Carr. He left the field without shaking the hand of one Niner player. He went straight toward the Giants locker room after the game. That surprised me. I guess he was a little hurt!
David Carr must be hurt because he was a number one bust and AS is not.
David Carr is EXACTLY Alex Smith with one exception. Alex is getting a second chance with good coaching while Carr never got that chance.
I’ll say one thing for Carr, he put up some good numbers with a horrible offensive line. He led the league two or three years in a row in QB sacks. He got the crap kicked out of him.
Bay,
You may be right, but the truth is, we’ll never know about Carr. Just like with Smith. Those that said he would always be bad didn’t know. The same as those who said the knew he had greatness in him didn’t know. The only thing that was clear about Smith, was he hadn’t had a real chance to show what he could do [BTW, that's the only thing that got me riled, is the CERTAINTY with which the Smith doubters spoke against him]. Turns out, with good coaching, Smith does have something good in him. We’ll see just how much good next year. If he’s better next year, look out. This team will be set for a very good, very long run.
But I digress, saying that Carr is Smith witout the second chance, far from a given.
Big difference is age when being drafted. AS was 20. Even though everyone mentions this is his 7th year, he isn’t going on 30 or 31 – only 27 (28 in May). Carr is going to be 33 in July.
The other difference is going to a coach that sees the skills and the intelligence to be more than an efficient QB. Carr didn’t have that luxury. At this point comparing the two is apples and oranges.
Whatever jr. game manager and were one QB away from a playoff win!
You think maybe he was unpopular or just choked how he was treated as a Niner?
@ex
I disagree about Carr.
Carr was actually the only QB on the roster when JH took over. But both TB and JH made it clear that he would not take so much as a practice snap.
JH met with AS and saw something in him. JH did not see anything at all (even back-up) in Carr.
So Carr is not AS pre-JH. He is just not any good.
I’d go with a similar game plan that Mr. Walsh used in 1984s’ SuperBowl to defeat Miami. Wendall Tyler/Roger Craig = Frank Gore/Kendall Hunter. Swing routes all day as VD is split wide and sent deep.
On the wet field, RBs would have a huge advantage against a closing safety or LB…
Giants are talking a big game against the 9ers, but hey have forgotten why they won, here is why:
1. Green Bay receivers dropped way to many passes that would have otherwise turned into gains or first downs.
2. Green Bay easy or effortless fumbles that wound up in the hands of Giants defenders.
3. A non tackling Green Bay Defense.
OK, so I have read the analysts picks 6 of 8 ESPN experts, 4 of 4 Yahoo sports analysts and so forth in favor of the Giants. So what, they have forgotten that the 9ers have more to fight for and have more desire to win. They say that the Giants line backing corps is healthy and at full strength as compared from when 9ers and Giants met earlier this season. They also say that the Giants receivers are stronger and more physical than our secondary. I say receivers can not catch balls when the offensive line collapses from a dominate SF defensive line. Furthermore line backers can only hold up for so long before Gore, Hunter and Dixon exploit them with the help of Fullback Miller, and Tight-ends Walker, Peele and Davis helping to open holes and pave the way for the running back by committee.
Lets also not forget the help of the 12th man.
Fact is:
Alex Smith will be effective in the air due to offensive lines strong play giving him time to pass.
Receivers will catch the ball.
Defense will force turnovers, hit and then wrap for solid tackles and stop the run. Furthermore Manning will feel the pressure from both Smiths.
I agree with Grants analysis and I predict a 49er victory.
Doc
Tired of hearing this Giants team boasting about their greatness when they didn’t even earn it, GB handed the win to them.
we should not underestimate the giants (as opposed to The Giants). The pounded both Atlanta and Green Bay and played us close in our last matchup. If we can play at the level we did last week we should be OK.
Make good points Doc.
I watched the replay of the Giant-Packer game, Doc I agree with your points. Green Bay was flat and their deficient tendencies stood out. They played a sloppy game. The Giants’ two main strengths are QB play and rushing the passer. If they don’t get a pass rush, game over.
Agree, If the 9er o-line neutralizes the Giants pass rush, then the 9ers win. The Packers and Falcons did an atrocious job of tackling the RB’s and WR’s of the Giants. The 49ers will not gift extra yards to the Giants. They will have to fight tooth and nail for every inch of real estate.
Thanks guys,
One thing that I left out was the outstanding leadership of the coaching staff to keep the players grounded, in tune and matched up correctly to their opponent. The game plan is always innovative and deceptive toward the opposing team. 49er leadership is definitely a strong factor that does not necessarily get a lot of notoriety. This is meant toward JH and his excellent assortment of coaches and quality assistants.
Also, just as the Giants have overcome injuries to get healthy and have gotten their timing down, the 49er Offense has grown to mature quite a bit since week ten as proven with redzone efficiency and pass attack.
I too watched the replay last night on NFL Network and feel confident in a 49er win, it will be a tough game and not easy, but our guys will rise to the occasion and will not quit.
The winner of this game will Win the Super Bowl!
Hey did you see that Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area News picked the Giants to win? Maiocco is the beat writer for the Niners. I hope the team doesn’t toss him out in his ass. On second thought, maybe they should.
Reverse psychology? Playing JH’s game “us” against “them”?!!
no guarantee of that. The Ravens, Pats are both good teams. Nothin’ comes easy in the NFL.
I can’t believe Matt M. would go against the Niners. Could be he has an ESPN gig locked up after the playoffs and doesn’t need the Niner management anymore to get his leads.
Id like to see both backs split behind Alex, with Vd running curls. I think a flea flicker to start the game would be nice.
BigP
How’s your life dude? Okay? You’re a hater too! Doing alright? Keep chirping, birdy… Just remember you are a traitor.
Pork bun,
1st class loser. Find a life, stop clogging up the blog clown.
What? Where’s your story? Weren’t you saying something? Oh yeah, you remember… what are you doing here? Didn’t you make a bet? Man up, loser. Get lost!!!
Pork,
Mind your business. Your name fits. You have a fat mouth. I’m goin nowhere son. So don’t hold your breath. If you think I’m going somewhere, you already are lost.
Hey Jordan, excited about this game on Sunday??!!
Don’t bother with the pigs rear – he’s just got an appetite to start $hit (has been all day). Don’t feed the trolls!!! :-)
Porkster,
You are a loser and a douche bag. Stop trying to take away from game this weekend with your desperate attempts at gaining attention. Nobody cares. Go look in the mirror and tell yourself, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggonit, people like me!” Or just click your heels together three times and go back to your trailer.
Grant,
there are certain lines that just cannot be crossed on this blog. Lines that if they are crossed should warrant a person being banned. I NEVER whine about banning people, but when posters start attacking peoples families, you should draw the line. I take offense to it when people attack your dad Grant. I hate it.
To see Pork attack Jordan’s mom knowing she passed away this year is reprehensible. Second time I’ve seen that by the way, the other time was by Oneniner. Maybe I’m wrong but I’ve always thought they were the same person. At best you should delete what Pork wrote.
Bayarea what the hell are you talking about? Three weeks ago you made a harsh comment towards me regarding my Mom. Shut the BEEP up hypocrite and worry about Sunday!
Prime go back and look at your comment. Mine was a brutal response to a brutal comment. Jordan doesn’t cross that line and he just lost him mom this year.
You are a dirt bag and have demonstrated that the entire time you’ve been on this blog so it doesn’t surprise me that you are writing in defense of what I just mentioned.
Unless you are worried that we are going to find out that you are Pork, as well as Oneniner, and Prime all in one. Plus the other name that Grant caught you using two weeks ago Prime…..
@Prime
I am with you 1000% here man.
What bay wrote to you in response to your post about being happy we are 13-3; was easily the top 2 worst things this blog ever saw.
Bay is nothing more than the worst kind of bully wuss. He can dish out whatever he wants to whomever he wants, for any reason. But, he can’t take his own medicine when it is thrown back his way. The kind of bully who when he gets hit, he cries to the office, even though he is the one starting so many fights, and hiting so many others.
“Can’t take it, don’t dish it.”
Another little rule I follow. Don’t want people saying mean stuff about you, don’t be mean to others.
Also add to that “Treat others how you would like to be treated.”
Bay clearly can’t follow either.
Classic haters and their lingo:
Big P: “You are a loser and a douche bag”
23Jordan:”F–k you biotch!
Bayareafanatic:”You are a dirt bag”
Now you tell me how is this is related to beating the Giants?
Funny Prime,
you cleaned up your act and started acting civil ever since Grant busted you out double posting. Prior to that you said some of the worst things I’ve seen on this blog. Attack after personal attack. Sad part about a bunch of you is that none of you said a word because ultimately Prime likes Alex Smith. As long as you share that in common you won’t say a word.
I’ve even seen it with Oneniner ( who is also Prime IMO ) he said pretty vile sexist things to 49ergirl. But because oneniner likes Alex, you all give him a pass.
I for one would expect grant to ban me if I every lashed out first with personal attacks. Can I get personal myself? ABSOLUTELY. But only when defending myself from a personal attack.
DS I would ask you to mind your business but you don’t know how. Prime go get a leash put it on DS and walk away.
Bay, time to move on and focus on the game…
BTW, regarding the vile comments, I said plenty so did Adam and a few others.
I for one would expect grant to ban me if I every lashed out first with personal attacks.
You mean if you, for example, lashed out at another commenter for being an “immigrant English-as-a-second-language” loser, you’d expect Grant to ban you? You wouldn’t make fun of the person you attacked if that person requested that you be banned?
What a stand-up guy you are.
Jeez,
Claude are you a retired lawyer that misses the action? Did you make a living fighting for the underdog or the underprivileged?
Claude I’m not perfect like you. I can hit hard. But generally I do not attack first. That’s all I can say…..
Baayareafanatic, its okay bro, your having a bad day, just bring that negative energy to the game on Sunday and direct it at the Giants sideline. Yell and be loud because were gonna need it to beat the Giants.
@Prime
Just ignore them. Can’t do much else.
And yes. You are right. Those comments you quoted don’t involve football. Why those comments are ok, but holding grudges against those who commonly make them is not…I can’t help you out there because I don’t get that either. And no need for anybody to try to explain it. I just don’t live my life like that, and that won’t change due to a football blog.
The only advice I have for you is to skip their posts. You know who to skip by now. Getting into it with them has never once resulted in “I’m sorry. That was out of line response” type reply. So, no need to do it again.
So, we’re just taking up memory and wasting time and ruining an awesome week of Niner football for those here who only want to discuss football.
Just do your best to ignore their many future shots on you.
@claude
: – )
Yes. And lets not forget the post that unleashed this reply from bay. Something about him being like the rear end of a donkey after he refused to accept that there is no good history of teams who made the playoffs, dumping their starting QB, and making the playoffs again. He said there were many, I asked who, and he only came up with 1 team in the history of the NFL.
So, we can totally see how bay’s repulsive attack balanced my subtle reference of a donkey out. All is right in the world.
And for those of you who are new here, that is how the hater term came to exist and why I use it. I may have been the person who invented the term, though I can’t be certain. It just so happens that many of the people who hated AS defended bay’s post 100% and saw nothing at all wrong with it, and letbme know it.
After watching week 10 we really need to get to eli. They did a good job keeping us away from him. We need to get to em like we got to brees!
It’s been 17 years since out last Superbowl. This is it!
If it rains, expect the field to get sloppy. Those are always fun and there are usually fumbles (hopefully not by us).
Walker was the #1 receiver in the regular season matchup; Ginn sounds pretty dinged up, reports are he might not play. If our 3rd receiver is Swain, i’m concerned – he didnt show a lot of athleticism going after that long pass from Alex. Gore/Hunter are going to have good games i think. Alex is going to have to make guys like Swain look good, the true mark of a great QB. Lets hope he’s up to the task.
In my heart, I cannot see the the Giants beating us at home in this game. Sure, it’s possible but i think our defense isnt going to lose a game like this at home, whether they have to force another 5 turnovers or knock a couple of receivers out of the game. I think Justin Smith will simply will this victory if he has to.
First the Giants had one day less of rest than the Niners, not to mention they had to take the late night flight home. Then they lose a day of prep to a looooong flight to SFO AND have to account for the time change. They’re physiological systems are going to be shot.
Here’s what I expect: They’ll direct those ends out to the edges and run Gore and Dixon up the middle. Every so often they’ll misdirect and get Hunter out on the edges. Whenever they can they’ll put Sopoaga and J. Smith in on offense and maul those small D linemen until they break.
Oh and expect Alex to throw the ball short. They’ll let the rushers go wide so he can step right up and deliver the ball in the middle of the field on short routes. They will likely play a short possession game all day long. They won’t put themselves in a position where they have to throw deep and invite the pressure. They will pound the rock at the Giants and wear them down, and the Niners will be the fresher team in the 4th Quarter.
The Giants have like a 47% RZ TD rate, and they’re facing the #1 RZ defense. We saw what J. Smith did to Bushrod, right? What’s he going to do to Diehl? Plus they won’t be prepared for Aldon Smith who is getting a lot more PT in the playoffs, which I expected. He hasn’t hit the rookie wall yet since they used him so sparingly.
agree with the short game scenario…..rain and wind….this wind factor may be the one aspect that keeps NYG from getting the balldown the field….
also …. maybe the niners better get some grande scoring done early because if the rain and wind come at game time the 2nd half could get real nasty
Gore will have a better day against the Giants. Davis will have at least four catches. I think Crabtree will be a factor, whether catching or blocking. Williams will force the Giants secondary to focus on him as well. As long as the O-Line protects Smith, he could have a field day passing and running against the Giants. My X-factor is Crabtree. If he can play better, he could force the Giants to have to decide who to double team, opening up an opportunity for Williams.
I’d sure love to see Williams bust out BIG TIME this game! He’s got the speed, he’s got the hands, and he can elude tacklers. I’m convinced he’s going to be a superstar in this league…hopefully, starting on Sunday.
KW will be a big factor on punt and kickoff returns if TGinnJr can’t go. Would be huge to see him take one all the way back for a score. That said, I would take secure ball possession and decent returns.
figured it would be hunter returning punts
the field will be wet. pash rushers wont get off like they would on a dry track. Receivers will have the advantage. By the way you suck cohn head. You dont know crap as to what the niners will do. THe same guy that thought the ravens would lose to the niners 30-3. How does this guy even have a job. He should be posting on daddy lowells column. We dont need you here. LOSER>
that being said. GO NINERS> We will beat the giants. 3 road games will take its toll. Being home for the bye week, playing at home in the divisional round and home for the championship game truly means alot. THis game will not be as close as people think. Coaching is extremely important to these kids in the nfl and the niners have the best coaching staff in the entire league. Our coach has made a believer out of smith and me. The fact that he has improved from the beginning of the season to now tells me he will be the difference maker in this game. Niners and patriots in the sb.
49ers has a lot of secret plays up their sleeves. I believe that the special team will be the difference in this game. The 49ers special team is the best in business. I don’t believe that 49ers will allow Giants to score more then 17 points and 49ers Offense is fully capable of scoring more then 24 points.
Actually Giants and football guroos underestimating 49ers team playing skills and questioning their blue collar work ethics without realising that 49ers is a whole package. Everyone is star
Everyone is a star here at 49ers and they play as a team. Go willing they will going defeat Giants in championship game and any team in a Superbowl.
Go 49ers defeat everyone to win the Super bowl this coming Feb. of this year.
GOD willing 49ers will defeat every opponent to win Super Bowl this year.
All year, other teams have been playing 8 to 9 men in the box against us. This week will be no diffrent. Even if the Giants don’t blitz much, they’ll be crowding the line and clogging running lanes. This game will be won with an aggressive offensive game plan. I get the feeling NY doesn’t respect our WRs and they’ll be in single coverage most of the time. The same game plan as the last time we faced them should be more than sufficient.
Let’s not forget that we had one extra day of rest. While they’re traveling cross country, coming off an unprobable win, being cocky, and Eli missing practice due to illness.
Niners win 34-17
I agree Nick, the 49ers will overwhelm this Giant team.
didn’t miss much in practice….had already gone through his progressions and walkthru and was back the next day
now that traveling stuff could come into play
and a windy stick would be good in keeping eli from having an effective long game……
I don’t know what the Niners will do, but I have some thoughts on what they should do (like I know anything), but it’s all in fun so here goes:
1) Move the pocket frequently. Last week they had Smith as a statue in the pocket for most of the game, and if they do that this week they are playing into the Giants hands. Aaron Rodgers had a number of runs up the middle for first downs because the Giants were selling out on the outside pass rush. Smith needs to do the same, and they need to roll him out on the edge from time to time to see if he can make a play down the field or with his legs.
2) Throw some screens. They don’t do this nearly enough and I don’t know why. If ever there is a time to incorporate it, it’s against a Dline that rushes like the Giants.
3) Use the Giants aggressiveness against them in the running game. They need to go back and look at what they did against the better Dlines they played this year. They ran more misdirection and counter runs that were very effective. Remember the WHAM plays against Detroit?
4) Bring back some of the creative plays that worked earlier in the year. Passes to Staley and Sopoaga worked great. The Endaround to Ginn (if he plays), the TE throwback. It’s time to pull out all the stops, and a flea flicker wouldn’t hurt either.
5) Be aggressive on 1st and 2nd down. Getting good positive yardage and keeping 3rd downs managable are paramount against this team. If they get into a cycle of 3rd and longs, it’s going to be a long day. Alex has to get the ball out quickly, and the Oline has to give him time on the intermediate routes.
like the #1 bullet….
bubble passes vs screens….
Remember how bad the Niners offense was in the 3rd and most of the 4th quarter last week? That’s about how the Giants game is going to go… The major change will be that Frank Gore will get 17 carries, 15 for Hunter and both will have about 75 receiving yards each. The Giants will have about the same type of day on offense as the rain makes the game one dimensional. This will be a low scoring affair and probably not one for the record books or ESPN highlights. I’m thinking 19 to 13, Niners win.
Eli started the game 11 for 11 against the Niners in November. I can’t see him duplicating that level of performance this time. And, even though he was 11 for 11, the Giants only scored 6 points the first half.
Well it seems that everyone is speaking to the rain and how that would affect the offense and defense. From my perspective, rain if very heavy can cause issues for everybody [home and visitors]. What is interesting though, is that nobody seems to be talking about the wind. Wind is a bigger threat to impact play especially in the passing game. So if there is wind and rain then I expect the 9ers run game to be substantial. I would also look for the short passing game to be successful. Advantage 9ers. In the kicking game with wind, strong edge to the 9ers.
Final Score 9ers: 27
visitors: 17
I think you’re not even close. The way the giants get a push off the line, particularly the right side, you’re going to see Davis and Walker block to help the run. Once the Giants are biting on the run, and biting hard, you’re going to see hand off fakes to setup screens. You’re also going to see hunter run a lot to the outside left to stretch out the Giants Defense.
This is going to be a rainy game, this is not going to be a throw deep to David kind of game. Short passes to the middle of the field. Ball control. Rhythm offense is what you’re going to see.
Crabtree will be a factor in this game. They’ll line him up in the slot, and have him go against a linebacker.
VA49er
Since we’re talking strategy here, I’m looking for the 9ers to line up Kyle Williams slot left and then running a little half back pass where Gore runs a toss sweep right and hits Williams on a Slant coming from the back side. You could even run that play with 2 TE’s – lining Davis up at the backside TE and have him show block and then run a post where Gore will hit him for a TD. All these defenses seem to be selling out to stop the Toss Sweep plays. A little pass play off that Toss Sweep should be wide open.
Remember what happened the last time Frank tried to throw a pass? I don’t expect to see any of that again soon.
Rusty – I agree, Frank can’t pass. I loved the play call though. Maybe Hunter can throw better than Gore?
If I recall, I think it was vernon who was wide open coming across the field to smith’s side. If Gore gets that ball to smith, it was gonna be a huge play.
crappy conditions …. doubt will see edgy high risk plays….this will be smash mouth football if there is rain and wind
I’d like to see a WR motion right QB roll out right throw back left tight end screen.
My first play of the game prediction: On-side kick!
Haha, can you imagine Coughlin’s face turning beat red? Beat twice by the Niners in the same season by the kickoff!
That would set a tone. :P
@Adam:
I assume you are saying that in jest. If not, I don’t think it would be a good idea.
I think the odds of successfully pulling off an onside kick against the Giants have approached zero since the 49ers’ success in the first game. The entire league saw how furious Coughlin was after that kick. It’s also an open secret that he tore the special teams coach a new one and told him that it could never happen again. I recall Bob Papa of Sirius XM’s NFL channel (also the Giants’ radio play-by-play announcer) alluding to the Giants devoting extra practice to onside kick work.
And it showed last Sunday. Did you see how disciplined the Giant’s return team was when Green Bay tried its onside kick? The front line guys did not move an inch prior to the kick.
McCarthy should have known better. Hopefully, Harbaugh does.
@claude
I don’t know.
The Giants ST still suck. Not an idea to just dismiss off-hand.
Yeah, mostly in jest but it’s funny when I think about it – this team keeps surprising me every week.
I just thought the super funny thing would be to see Coughlin’s face again and see who he reams on the sideline for it. :P
His red face would beam through the storm to Sausalito.
There’ll be at least 2 Eli turnovers to be had. He has those moments in every game where he’s just heaving one off his back foot. The Niners have to take advantage of those opportunities and then turn them into touchdowns.
Of course, I didn’t pay attention to the how the offense will attack the giant D. Oops.
How will the Niners beat the Giants?
If you listen to ESPN, NFLN, or any other sports media outlet outside of the bay area then you already know that Eli has already submitted his finger size to Roger Goodell for his 2nd SB ring. Tom Brady has sent his in as the alternate.
Neither Harbaugh led team is getting any respect at all!!!
The Niners will win this game and they only have to do one thing – whatever their coaches tell them.
I don’t know what JH’s plan is for this game, but after what he’s already done for this team I know it’s going to be good enough to beat the East Coast Darlings.
I heard Brent Jones talking about how he hated the Giants this morning – got me fired up!!! Listed to Sam the Butcher call in on Damon’s show and that got me fired up too!!! Who else out there is fired up for this game??!!!!
Eli Manning will throw 2 picks, Victor Cruz will be stripped at least once (have you seen how he holds the ball??!!). Giants beat ONE team with a winning record during the regular season – ONE!!! They were 6-2 when they faced us the first time and it was the same crap being spun by the media – Eli is the best, his WR’s can’t be covered, bla bla bla. Whatever!! Our defense beat them into submission so badly that they went on a 4 game losing streak after playing at the ‘Stick. In the playoffs neither the Falcons nor the Packers played well – and it wasn’t because the Giants were exceptional.
Good news for Giants fans is that they don’t have to worry about losing their next four games, because after this one is over THEY’RE GOING HOME FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON!!!!
Frank Gore/Kendall Hunter will rack up over 200 yards, Alex will throw for at least 250 and two TD’s. Donte Whitner/Dashon Goldson will knock someone else out of this game. I don’t know who, but they’ll be some casulties. All of the Smith’s are going to have major impacts – Justin and Aldon’s impact will be felt by Eli – and not in a good way for him. Alex Smith, who just went toe-to-toe with Drew Brees will do the same dance with Eli Manning, and will have the same outcome – Alex will win!!!
I’m fired up!! Are you??!!!
49ers 31, Giants 10.
Only 27 hours left!!!
Ooooh! I like that score!!
Positive vibes! Let’s go get it!
Really? 49ergirl I was going to say you are really drinking the coolaid, but after looking at that score, I think it’s more like purple drank…. Hope you are right though…
Drink the freakin’ Koolaid already!!!! :-). It tastes like crow, but who knew crow tasted so good??!! This is the NFC Championship game for crying out loud!!!!
Get fired up!!!!! Niners will cream the Giants this weekend because Alex and the offense are sick and tired of hearing how great Eli is and how they don’t measure up. Defense is pissed because everyone is saying the Giants are too much for them.
JH and co are going to light them up and shut them up!!!
I’m sticking with my prediction!
Now its Friday night and I’m off to find something stronger than fruit punch ;-)
Cheers Niner Faithful! Only about 45 hours to go!!
Have a drink for me. I’m running a 101 and I still haven’t recovered my voice from last week.
That sucks, Bay. If not Koolaid, then go for the Nyquil :-)
Speaking of sick. Baas went out with the flu. I figured this would run rampant through their locker room. That will be one miserable flight tomorrow.
@Adam
I thought the rest of the team was fine. At least that was what was reported yesterday.
Baas was out today with the “stomach bug.” Locker rooms are really bad for that kind of stuff. Close quarters, everyone is touching stuff. Not good.
I read earlier that our guys were battling this before the Saints game, so maybe we have that out of the way.
It’s that time of year, unfortunately.
Bay, what Koolaid are you alluding to? Fans scenario of winning? Or?
The lopsided score.
Dude, sounds like you need a gallon of orange juice and three advil! :P
I’m fired up!
I’ve been checking the weather periodically and now they are saying it will be cloudy and no rain from 3pm on…
Yeah, I heard only a 40% chance of rain. Hmm…
I heard rain in the 2nd half. Pretty hard. First half was going to be dry.
I think the Niners should keep doing what got them to the NFC Championship game.
They just listed all of the rb’s injured against the 9ers. They left out McCoy of Philly and Hightower of Arizona. 8 players not six!!
The niners will pound the crap out if them!!!
Curious to see if this double poster will be outed? My guess is he’s the same delta bravo from the live game blog last week spewing all the vile disgusting stuff and had the nerve to name himself after Alex in some way.
9erGirl/Rockstar – Where do these creatures come from? Seriously?
Hey 9erGirl, what did you think of Rob Lowe’s bs tweets about P. Manning retiring?
Are you a Rob Lowe fan? What’s your favorite Rob Lowe movie? (I may get butchered in here for asking)
Same guy. Sorry I missed him. He’s persistent.
Haven’t seen his tweets…I only follow sports writers and/or broadcasters :-)
Funny, I had the opportunity to go out with is brother once…long story.
I’ve always liked About Last Night (although Jim Belushi kinda stole the show – guy is hysterical!). But, I actually thought Rob’s comedy bad guy roles in movies like Wayne’s World and Tommy Boy were pretty freakin’ hilarious!
Oops – that was to Crab :-)
9erGirl – If we win Super Bowl you have to disclose Rob Lowe brother details, deal?
Tommy Boy was hilarious! My favorite Lowe movie was Bad Influence, he was a good creep in that one.