FOXBORO, Ma. – The 49ers beat the Patriots 41-34 and clinched a playoff berth. Here are the grades for the 49ers’ offense.
Offensive line: B+. They gave up just one sack – Rob Ninkovich beat Joe Staley. Other than that, the offensive line gave Kaepernick a ton of time to throw all game. They also created huge holes in the running game in the first half when the 49ers averaged 5.9 yards per carry. But they were not effective run blockers in the second half when the 49ers wanted to pound the ball and use up the clock.
Running backs: B-. Frank Gore rushed for 73 yards on 15 carries in the first half, and just eight yards on six carries in the second half. LaMichael James had one nice 17-yard run. Other than that, he rushed seven times for 14 yards. For the first time in a long time, the 49ers were better passing than running.
Wide receivers: B. Michael Crabtree had a flat-out monster game. He caught seven passes for 107 yards including two touchdown passes. His second TD catch was the game-winner. He ran a simple hitch route, caught the ball and turned up field. Cornerback Kyle Arrington was right in front of him and completely whiffed on the tackle. Crabtree went right around him and ran into the end zone. It was almost impossible for the Patriots to win after that play.
Randy Moss caught two passes, including a TD. Ted Ginn Jr. and A.J. Jenkins were not targeted for passes.
The 49ers currently have two good wide receivers – Crabtree and Mario Manningham. Both need to be healthy in the playoffs.
Tight ends: C. Vernon Davis played poorly. He caught a 15-yard pass and ran backward, making it just a 10-yard gain. Also, he did not fully extend his arms on two well-thrown deep passes. Delanie Walker fumbled near the Patriots goal line, but he made up for it by catching a 34-yard touchdown pass.
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For all the accolades given to the OL, does anyone else notice that they can’t block when the heat is on. I have no confidence in short yardage situations, we rarely are able to convert third and ones by running. Also, in a game like this we can’t burn the clock by just running (unfortunate that Harbaugh and Roman haven’t figured this out after 30 games). Also it is time to replace Goodwin. He botched more snaps than I can remember tonight, and has been awful in the shot gun as well.
Don’t understand why you’re picking on Goodwin, He played well, Did you ever consider that maybe the Q B was the one with the problem? I wonder how well you would do blocking Vince Wilfolk
Roman and Fangio’s conservative play calling almost cost us the game. Why do they do it? They totally gave away 28 points with their “Don’t lose the game play calling.” Appalling! Our battle cry during the 2010 World Series run was “Torture.” The 2012 Niners; “Cruel and unusual punishment.” I hope Roman wakes the hell up as well as Fangio. It was a superior team that met the Patriots tonight and then the coaches chickened out.
I agree. I found the fear-based play calling maddening at times.
These two coaches clearly were not operating in present time, seeming to lack awareness of their players mood &
confidence in them….
Offensively, I dislike the macho attempts to overpower a good opposition defense (including the Patriots’), running inside on short yardage situations. 49er “dynasty” teams never did that. They nearly always converted these with outside option plays. Montana or Young making these with their feet if no receiver was open…..
The job of the offense is to score points.
41 points is an A.
Exactly.
Overall, you are absolutely correct. However, they should have been close to their 41 in the first half. On the other hand, on Statement Sunday, the Niners made the biggest noise!!
49ers D gets much credit for that, doing so well with their take aways
Well the boys did it! They went on the road and won where not many have done if we can fix the little things we will be unstoppable. And I like that we can get better. We played a great team. And looked sloppy at times. Just think what we can do when kap gets his grove on. Look out NFL z!
Yesterday’s win was impressive considering they are without three of their playmakers in Manningham, Williams & Hunter.
Most important is the emergence of LaMichael James to spell Gore & to run on the edge. The Rams loss was an anomaly as a result of the running game not producing because Hunter was out & LaMichael wasn’t incorporated in the game plan yet. If the team can stay relative healthy & get Manningham back soon, they will be scary good.
for my money:
Oline: A. reasonable time for Kaep all night and only one sack, plus an efficient running game. doesnt get much better than that.
RBs: A-. solid and effective in a road win.
WRs: A-. Crabs has absolutely blossomed with Kaep at qb. He is playing WR like a brawler, and he’s exploding out of his cuts now. With Crabs good hands, the extra zip on Kaep’s ball is a big plus – Crabs can handle it, and knows he’s got a chance for yards after catch.
TEs: B-. nice route by DW for the TD, good hands on the onside kick, solid blocking in the run game, but VD should have come down with the ball on the long pass into the endzone and DW’s unfortunate fumble on the 5 yd line hurts.
What was with the weird route on Moss’ TD pass? It seemed like Delanie was about 5 feet behind him….I don’t think he was supposed to be that close to him.
They were awesome ,only wish we converted on some missed chances—whats wrong with our center and please—-run away from punt returns—i cant take another muff