SAN FRANCISCO — The 49ers tied the Rams 24-24. Here are the grades for the 49ers offense.
Offensive line: B. They gave up five sacks, but not all were their fault. In fact, four of the sacks were due to Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick holding on to the ball for too long. On the fifth sack, Anthony Davis got beat by Chris Long, who sacked Kaepernick as he was dropping back. The offensive line did much better run blocking, as usual. They paved the way for 183 rushing yards on 34 carries.
Running backs: A-. Frank Gore carried the ball 21 times for 97 yards and a touchdown. His best run was his 20-yard touchdown run to put the 49ers up 21-17 in the fourth quarter. He did fail to convert a third and two, but he’s not the greatest short-yardage running back. That’s why the 49ers signed Brandon Jacobs. Maybe Jacobs will get those carries in the playoffs. Kendall Hunter also rushed pretty well, gaining 15 yards on 3 carries, but he did not get out of bounds after an eight-yard reception at the end of regulation, and the 49ers had to kick a field goal.
Wide receivers: C. Michael Crabtree caught five passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. Greg Roman did a good job lining Crabtree up against the Rams other cornerbacks, not their stud, Cortland Finnegan. Manningham was a non-factor, as was Randy Moss. Kyle Williams caught two measly passes, but he should have caught a deep TD pass – he was wide open on a seam route and Kaepernick never saw him.
Tight ends: C. Delanie Walker dropped the one pass that came his way. Vernon Davis caught four passes for 30 yards, including a 17-yard reception from Kaepernick on third and 18. Davis is a big-play receiver who hasn’t had the opportunities to make big plays this season. But Kaepernick can get him the ball down the field. It will be interesting to see if Davis’ targets go up if Kaepernick has to play for a few games.
Stay tuned for my quarterbacks grade.
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“But Kaepernick can get him the ball down the field.”
If he cant see Williams wide open how do you know he can get Vernon the ball?
What is bothersome about that play is he had 8 seconds to throw. I replayed it and can’t for the life of me understand how he missed KW so wide open. SMH
The OL is very good but let’s be real, they were drafted to run block. They need to get better at pass blocking. They just don’t sustain blocks for whatever reasons!!
Your right Hof, they’re way too inconsistant especially on 3rd down. Way too much pressure up the middle all the time. Definitely not one of Goodwin’s strengths.
What I liked was right after AS leaving with his concussion, when CK was having problems early, MC supported him. Now that is a team player. Like him or not, he stepped up as a team leader and they show him supporting CK on TV. It was good to see!!
Noticed that too, Hofer. They want to win a championship, they need to do it as a team. MC has definitely stepped up his game and attitude this season.
“But Kaepernick can get him the ball down the field. It will be interesting to see if Davis’ targets go up if Kaepernick has to play for a few games.”
Agree with you Grant. How many targets for Davis today?
Five.
“Maybe Jacobs will get those carries in the playoffs”
They need to get there first. The team today was not a playoff team.
Why if they are running the same offense are the route choices that are thrown to different from Smith to Kap?
Because Smith can’t make some of those throws.