49ers Week 17 grades: Defense and special teams

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Grant Cohn

SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers stomped the Cardinals 27-13. Here are the grades for the 49ers defense and special teams.

Defensive line: B. Ricky Jean Francois had a team-high six tackles (one for a loss), a sack and a QB hit. He played well. Ray McDonald didn’t get any sacks or tackles for loss, but he forced a fumble in the second half which Donte Whitner recovered.

Linebackers: B. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman finished with just eight tackles between the two of them. They also allowed William Powell to gain 4.2 yards per rush in the first half. Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks got zero pressure in the first half, but in the second half Smith had a QB hit and a tackle for a loss, and Brooks had a sack, two QB hits and two tackles for losses.

Secondary: B. They shut down Larry Fitzgerald – holding him to 2 catches for 13 yards, but they had trouble with rookie first-round pick Michael Floyd. He finished with eight catches for 172 yards and a touchdown. He beat Chris Culliver on two deep catches, including a 53-yard leaping TD in garbage time. Tarell Brown had a terrific game, knocking away two passes and intercepting another. He is the 49ers’ best cornerback going into the playoffs.

Special teams: D. David Akers missed two field goals. He has missed 13 field goals this season – he’s 29-for-42. As far as the 49ers are concerned, he’s not a field goal kicker any more. He kicks the kickoffs and the extra points. When the 49ers face fourth down in the opponent’s territory in the playoffs, they will go for it because they have to – they can’t depend on Akers.

Ted Ginn Jr. let a ball bounce from the 20 yard line to the 1 yard line at the beginning of the game. He got his stuff together as the game went on, and returned one punt 28 yards. LaMichael James returned one kick for 33 yards. It remains to be seen if he’s a good NFL running back, but he certainly seems like a good NFL kick returner.

This entry was posted in Inside the 49ers and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

7 Responses to 49ers Week 17 grades: Defense and special teams

  1. Sephora Sucker says:
    December 30, 2012 at 8:07 pm

    DS knew well the eminence of T Brown !!!

  2. Pete says:
    December 30, 2012 at 8:41 pm

    Aker’s woes may be just what the 49ers need, their constant settling for 3 may get a boost and create some oppertunities for the offense to get 7, as long as DWalker catches the ball.

    • drsgrosse says:
      December 31, 2012 at 5:39 am

      Excellent point. I keep wishing Harbaugh would go for it on 4th down anytime they’re inside the 40.

    • rkshanny says:
      December 31, 2012 at 10:39 am

      Agreed. They need to play “football”, not “field goal”. Akers will force them to. And, good luck with the DWalker thing.

  3. Jack Hammer says:
    December 31, 2012 at 12:11 am

    A 3 step plan to fix the 49ers field goal kicking:

    1) cut Akers

    2) sign Gus

    3) teach Andy Lee how to scream OYAGE!!!

  4. drsgrosse says:
    December 31, 2012 at 5:42 am

    Jack:

    Who’s Gus?

    I think we should either get a long kicker or move Akers to the Practice Squad. It seems that he might have some injury. However, perhaps he is just done. The team would know.