NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell spoke on KNBR’s The Murph and Mac Show Thursday morning. Here’s what he said about the 49ers’ game plan for their upcoming Monday night match up against the Arizona Cardinals.
COSELL: “I think the 49ers will approach this game the exact same way [they approached the Seahawks]. I don’t think they’ll feel that the Cards can score very much. They’ve got a got a quarterback [John Skelton] who’s very susceptible to breaking down when there are bodies around him. He’s a slow decision-maker. They’ve got arguably the worst offensive line in football. I don’t think the 49ers will believe this team can score 10 points against them. So, I would expect to see a similar conservative offensive game plan featuring Frank Gore, [Kendall] Hunter – their very diverse run game, and I think barring turnovers, they’ll look to win this game 16-6.”
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Please stop breaking everything apart into multiple pages. I’m trying to peek at them at work and I can’t have 20 page hits just to read one article.
I like to come here and read them
” ..they’ll look to win this game 16-6″
I approve this message :)
I said it earlier this week and will repeat it. If the 49ers do’nt get at least 4 or 5 sacks this game its time to take a serious look at the pass rush. Is a. smith playing too many downs with out P. harralson to spell him? Is age finally catching up with J. Smith, maybe he needs to be given more downs off. do we need to look at our pass rush schemes? More blitzing? Regardless of what happens this week i forsee the 2013 draft to be heavily weighted toward D especially lb’s and dl who can pass rush and also cb’s
I agree with your drafting thoughts, coach. But, considering we’ll have Fleming and Johnson for our offseason program next year, how would you prioritize our needs? I’d go DT, DE (1), CB, OLB.
Seems to me like Sopoaga is getting pushed around a little bit more this year – age starting to creep up?… McDonald is solid as is Justin but Justin’s getting older and it’s only a matter of time before we’ll need a replacement… Rogers and Brown are solid still, but I don’t know if either of them is a true #1 shut-down type db and I’m not sure if Culliver or Cox will be able to fill that role in time. I like what both these guys bring but I’m no scout so it’s difficult for me to project what they could be with another year of seasoning.
Yep! Take Alex out of the equation an the niners will win. But as u can see, when we rely souly on our defense cause we have the worst starting qb in football, it means u barely scrape by against joke teams like the cardinals and loose to good teams like the giants. Same ol scenario as last year except this time we don’t make the championship game because the chump who bears the #11.
yeah but harbaugh is’nt going to start kap yet so go alex we’re all behind you cause we love the niners
Speak for yourself – I am NOT behind Alex.
And Alex along with his spouse are all very happy about that.
This post is stupid on so many levels…
DS thats a good one. very funny
They scored 21 the last time they played the niners, so they better stay focused. Go big monday night and get to 6_2!
Some on here have stated the pass defense is a problem area for the 49ers and the stats are misleading. Check this out.
http://ninerchatter.blogspot.com/2012/10/is-49er-pass-defense-really-that-good.html
http://ninerchatter.blogspot.com/2012/10/is-49er-pass-defense-really-that-good.html
The DB’s have been good and bad. It’s also great to have luck on your side when big drops from EMoore, RTurbin, and GTate would have burned the defensive backfield for huge gains against Seattle.
Ummm…..
That was agains the Sanchez Jets. Ask ribio about them.
Besides, they literally gave the ball to the Niner D on the defensive TD. Not too smart. And I don’t think the Jets had their #1 WR either.
That guy is nowhere close to the guy they’ll face next. Where is the report on the past 3 weeks? Lots of plays were there to be made by the opposing offense and they just weren’t. Had nothing to do with us. They just couldn’t make them.
Thanks Jack.
Did that answer your question?
Bottom line, they give up completions, but do a great job minimizing the damage.
DS,
Thanks for checking out my blog. The pictures just happened to be from the Jets & Giants games, but those basic fundamental principles can be found throughout any of their games in the Harbaugh era.
Have there been some breakdowns, for sure, but there have been a lot more examples that are positive. Would it make you feel better if I go back and detail the breakdowns?
Jack
I havnt been able to review all the games of yet, but what the stats do not show is the other team dropping the ball. Thats where the eyeball test comes into play. The Hawks game is a prime example of it. Hawks complete those passes we probably lose. At this point I still say our pass defense is suspect.
How does it work? Good coverage secondary creates sacks or is it sacks/pressure creates interceptions. Either way I do not believe the defense is anywhere near as dominating as a year ago. I know I am probably the only one expecting them to be better then last year but thats how I am.
I do enjoy you articles keep up the good/great work.
Love your stuff Jack. Grant better watch or you’ll be taking his spot. I think the biggest problem with the pass rush has been pressuring the QB. In the two games we’ve lost, neither Ponder nor Manning really had their jerseys get dirt or grass stains on them. It wasn’t the main reason we lost those games, but it played a part. I’m hoping this gets addressed and our D starts laying the wood on QBs, even if they’re going up against a strong OL.
Our D (pass or run) is great for 2 big reasons
1. They tackle well. The first guy there almost always takes the opposing player down.
2. They are in position to make plays.
Dropped balls don’t fall under the category of good D. Nor does QB missing an open WR. Those Incompletions show up on the stat sheet and give the impression that the defense did a good job, but in fact it was the failure of the other team that was the cause for the incompletion (assuming no QB pressure and such).
I’ve tried to tell claude this, but I’ve not done a very good job of communicating that thus far. We complain that AS missed this throw or WR had this drop when we are grading our offense. We must also apply the same rule to grading our Defense. Which most here don’t.
A bad throw/missing an open WR or a dropped pass against us does not mean we were good defensively. Especially if we blame our QB/WR for missing them, yet somehow attribute the opposing QB/WR no blame and only credit our defense.
undercenter,
You are expecting them to be better and they are. They are giving up almost 60 yards less through the air and almost 30 yards less total PER GAME.
Jack
Yes I know that, maybe I need glasses, oh thats right I wear glasses, maybe I need a new prescription, but the eyeball test for me the defense isnt anywhere near as good as last year. But those same eyes are also saying the offense isnt playing to their potential and the special teams coverage is lacking. Hey I could be all wet with this but at this moment I just dont see the defense as dominate as last year.
MidWest,
They did a good job of pressuring Ponder, bet they let him get outside the pocket and make some plays due to poor rush lane integrity. Let’s see what happens on Monday Night. Skelton is probably the closest thing to a statue they have seen all year.
**but**
True Jack. I believe this game will be tight, but I believe a message will be sent, and that message is DON’T MESS WITH THE BEST!
Another excellent breakdown Jack, and it fits with what I’ve witnessed so far this season. The secondary has been very good for the most part. There are going to be breakdowns as there are with every defense, but the secondary has done an excellent job overall and that is with a passrush not quite as good as last season.
Thanks Rocket.
Very nicely done, Jack.
It confounds me that the 49ers’ defense has to date allowed the fewest total yards per game and the fewest passing yards per game in the NFL but is regularly criticized by fans and the media alike as not being an effective pass defense. An objective analysis shows that it is the run defense that is not as dominant as last year whereas the pass defense is better.
I think the lack of take-aways and the lack of sacks, compared to last year, make it seem the defense is less dominant even though in reality it appears to be overall a more rounded, more effective defense. Maybe folks should focus less on the flashy stats like sacks and turn overs and focus instead on the effectiveness of the defense as a whole.
@Jackhammer
Nice work; good analysis.
Thanks Oregon.
Jack i posted saying that if we do’nt get 4 or 5 sacks this week we need to look at our pass rush and also wrote that we should draft db’s next year. i believe our pass rush has been anemic and that it might be because of age or lack of depth at olb and overuse of our olb’s. i also believe more than any other position you can’t ever have too many cb’s. i would’nt call our pass defense a “weakness” but do believe if we do’nt start ramping up our pass rush we could be in trouble late in the season and into the playoffs.
Old Coach,
IMO the rush has been good but they aren’t getting home as often as last year. A lot of it comes from losing their rush lanes and allowing the QB to flush from the pocket, and also teams adjusting and getting it out more quickly.
Either way, it looked like they found something late against Seattle when they shifted Aldon over to the left side. That RT had no shot with him, and only a chop block prevented a safety.
I also agree with you about them needing to get pressure this week, that’s why I had it as my #1 defensive key for the game in my blog post yesterday.
I don’t think that should even have been called a penalty. From what I saw, he got smoked right in the hip, while engaged with the other guy. A chop block has to be below the waist. I thought it was just a great block.
At any rate, pass rush has to get better if this team really wants to make some noise. I think they’re going to start rotating guys more, keeping Aldon a bit fresher for passing downs.
I remember the good old days with Grant could summarize Cosell’s blatherings in one page. Now it takes four? Inflation is truly upon us.
Ok doom and gloomers! Settle down now..a win is a win. Its gonna be ugly, kinda like a bad double date. It will be interesting at first, then when it comes down to the end BOOM the deal is closed! My prediction we run 30 plus times, limit AS to checkdowns and an occassional downfield pass (hopefully to VD for GODS SAKE), defense stymies and smothers, special teams cover punts and hold PP in check. Ackers makes 3 field goals. Final score 49ers 23 Cardinals 12.
That’s reasonable. And I would love it if they ran the ball 30 times to wear their D out. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
As long the Niners DBs keep the clamps on Fitzgerald and special team contains Peterson it will make life easier and I hope the online smacks that Cambell guy in the mouth so he can still hate the niners passionately as he said in his interviews more gas for the fire .
i love the fact that the cardinals are willing to admit they hate the niners. i love that pete the cheat carroll trash talks harbaugh publicily. we have’nt had a great rivalry for years and i do’nt count teams you face in the playoffs i’m talking abot division rivals that you face twice a year every year. i remember the old LA ram days when we had a hard core west coast bay area/socal team to hate. lets get back to great interdivision rivalry games. thanks cardinals. thanks pete [you scum bag]
Cosell: I don’t think the 49ers will believe this team can score 10 points against them. So, I would expect to see a similar conservative offensive game plan featuring Frank Gore, [Kendall] Hunter – their very diverse run game, and I think barring turnovers, they’ll look to win this game 16-6.”
I just said the same thing on another thread. Could have saved myself a lot of time if I would have read through this first. This is your 49ers team 9er fans. They are what they are and what they aren’t is the Saints, Packers or Pats. That is not their game.