Posted By: Raffaele (09/09/2008 6:07:38 AM)
Comment: Three things that were learned from the Sunday debacle: 1. The defense, supposedly team strength, is weak and could not get off the field when dealing with a second-level opponent. 2. O'Sullivan may be adequate, but that's at best. He does a few things well, and he also makes mistakes that hurt the team. 3. Nolan and his staff were out-thought and out-coached by Cardinal staff. Halftime adjustments for 49ers were insufficient and second half showed a coaching staff unable to either figure out how to stop Cardinals or how to maintain a drive. This does not look promising, Niner fans.

Posted By: mike in MD (08/09/2008 8:44:24 PM)
Comment: I hear you FloridaFan. Interesting I didn't know AZ was running the same play for Boldin a number of times..next time we have to have an answer for that. I'm just trying to figure out how we're going to win games. AZ is somewhat of a different beast because they're 1 of the rare teams that has two #1 WR's & now they have a speed guy as their #3. I don't have my copy of the game yet but where was Spencer & why didn't they try him vs Boldin? Or keep Walt on him or a double-cover adjustment vs him like FlFan said? Or try switching Nate who CAN cover Boldin & double Fitz..but you take a chance on covering their speed 3 vs our #3 (Breaston is becoming a big play type player.) You have to try SOME TYPE OF ADJUSTMENT. This Offense CAN MOVE THE BALL & SCORE POINTS. We have to find a way to control the turnovers which will be on Martz & JTO to fix & for our guys to continue to develop chemistry & get a better grasp of this Offense. If we can get good enough to the point where we can get some substantial LEADS like we showed in the pre-season, that will also change our Defense who will be able to attack the Offense & play more relaxed to make plays. With JTO he needs to be coached on watching his reckless throws IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD especially the intermediate distance where his arm strength is just OK. He needs to be coached to only make the throw there if he feels confident that the timing & the play is there or he CLEARLY sees that the man is or will be open on a broken play. This has to be made clear to him to LEARN IT so that the bright yellow caution light comes on automatically when this situation comes up. If you're not sure or confident at this part of the field with the progress of a particular play or with a play breaking down then go to the next option, run, or throw it away. This one hurt because it was a WINNABLE game but I truly believe we're better than last year.

Posted By: old guy (08/09/2008 4:25:25 PM)
Comment: Well, it's obviously disappointing to lose, and to give up 5 turnovers is pretty bad. But given that -5 turnover differential and their half-second TOP in the second half, losing by 10 isn't that bad. The other disappointing result was the lack of turnovers forced by the Niner D. Yeah, the game result sucked, but I think they'll get better.

Posted By: Lon Simmons (08/09/2008 1:56:16 PM)
Comment: 49er Genius: " You can still get 49ers football on KNBR where they have quality announcer". Are you kidding me!!!!! I have been an NFL fan for 40 years and one thing I can say is that Joe Starkey is one of the worst football announcers I have ever heard. EVER!!!! Its one of the few things Ralph Barberi and I agree on. The guy is terrible. He cant describe what is happening on the field. He gets players, downs and distances wrong consistently. The only possible explanation of him having a job is that he is an employee of the Yorks.

Posted By: Steve Bono (08/09/2008 1:37:41 PM)
Comment: I knew I would see the "Alex is the savior" crowd nailing JTO to the tree today. The truth of the matter is, and what anyone one who has any clue about the game of football would know, is that this was a true team effort. Sure, JTO takes the blame for the 3 turnovers, but he got lots of help. None of those turnovers resulted in Cardinal points, although they were a big field position changer. The pick was bad, but Wilson is also a great player and he made a play attacking the ball. On the fumbles, you have to protect the ball (ask Brett Favre). But there is plenty more blame to go around. STs were awful, the key play of the game was the pooch kick. Note to Mike Nolan, take Takeo Spikes off of Special Teams. Nolan did not have the team ready to play in the first half. AZ came out fired up, and the 49ers were not. Second note to Nolan: When you beat a team twice in one season and keep them out of the playoffs, they are going to be fired up to beat you the following year. We made no adjustment on Boldin in the second half after AZs coaching staff made a great one to get him the ball resulting in 8 second half receptions, 6 for first downs. Boldin was the difference in the game. McDonalds penalty may have been a cheap one, but for years they have been calling any kind of contact with the QBs helmet, accidental or not. He has to know that. And while Martz's offense actually resembled an NFL offense for a spell (unlike the first 13 games last year), the WTF moment of the day was the 3rd and 7 draw play to Foster in the red zone. That was a crucial time in the game and you have to have your best players involved, Gore, Davis, Bruce perhaps. A draw play to Foster????? I don't get that one. All is not lost. The Seahags are beatable. They were truly awful yesterday, and are a team on the decline. But the 49ers can't make 5 turnovers, the defense needs to create a few of their own, and the defense has to find a way to get off the field. Good win for Arizona. In fact if Warner can stay healthy (big if), the AZ Steelers are probably the best team in the NFC Werst. Finally, Although I would be a bit more subtle, there is an awful lot that I agree with in Dummy Police's post.

Posted By: xl (08/09/2008 1:25:59 PM)
Comment: matt will you still be doing player by player reports? thanks for the coverage

Posted By: Mike in SF #2 (08/09/2008 12:28:42 PM)
Comment: I was at the game yesterday and there are plenty of "silver linings". Why don't we start with Parys getting 2.5 sacks and he must have had two or three more near sacks. Justin Smith and Ray McDonald seemed to spend the entire game in the back field and they created havoc for the AZ O-Line. Frank Gore looks as good as he has ever looked in his 49ers career and at least on running plays our O-line was getting 3 yards of push against a much improved and underrated Arizona Defense. I keep hearing about a tough schedule in the first half of the season: Seattle proved in Buffalo that they are a shadow of them former selves. Branch is hurt. Hastleback is hurt. The Brady-less Patriots game now looks like a very winnable game and the Lions lost in Atlanta and should be another win at home. I'm always an optimist, but I now see very "winnable" games against Seattle (twice), the Pats, and Lions over the next 5 weeks.

Posted By: The Real Rathman (08/09/2008 12:07:57 PM)
Comment: We have a legit shot at winning in Seattle if we don't turn it over 5 x. I am curious to see who they will pick up as the 3rd string QB. I just have this feeling we are going to need all 3 QB this year. Matt, what are the odds of the Niners working a trade for a young QB such as Dennis Dixon or Colt Brennan? If I was GM I would be willing to trade a future 3rd round pick.

Posted By: kevin . No excuse for such poor drafting. (08/09/2008 12:04:52 PM)
Comment: How bad is it that Nolan passed on Aaron Rogers and Desean Jackson for Smith and Balmer? And they played right here across the bay. No excuse for such poor judgment.

Posted By: kevin (08/09/2008 12:03:08 PM)
Comment: How bad is it that Nolan passed on Aaron Rogers and Desean Jackson for Smith and Balmer? And they played right here across the bay. No excuse for such poor judgment.

Posted By: jsl (08/09/2008 11:49:55 AM)
Comment: Silver linings? Well, it looks like everyone -- except the Yorkies -- now gets it that Nolan is not only a terrible overall coach, he's perhaps the worst game-day coach in NFL history. If there's a choice to be made during the game he almost always is wrong. How explain ANY of the following: keeping Strickland on Boldin, so we can watch him slowly being eaten alive; keeping Strickland on the team, at all, tho he fits in neatly with Nolan's preference for playing older, marginal, "Nolan" guys who either fail to produce or simply make bonehead plays (hello Isaac, Takeo, Aubreo, TBC, Ulbrich, etc.); starting Roman over Goldson; not starting Baas -- who helped break Gore free on his TD, while Heitmann was out; having Rossum fair catch just before the half, only to have JTO then do a kneel down (this was inexcusable -- and the potential "free kick" explanation was incredibly lame, since any punt over 25 yards would have required a 55 yard FG attempt -- and this punt was 48 yards); failing to press the big Zona receivers, allowing them to make third down after third down in the second half? Virtually everyone here now seems to get it about Nolan. Why can't the Yorkies? Are they really THAT stupid?

Posted By: Darth (08/09/2008 11:48:13 AM)
Comment: The D was great yesterday the score should have been 42-13. They had a short field to defend all day and the O and the special teams kept them on the field. If you look Haralson is 3rd in the league for Sacks. No hundred yard receivers allowed and plenty of pressure. Our D was on the field because the O kept giving the ball back and the special teams handed it to them too. Not mention the special teams could not win the field position battle at all. The D is the least of our worries and special teams is crap. How many times did we start yesterday on our one yard line?

Posted By: DMC (08/09/2008 11:45:26 AM)
Comment: Matt I need a silver lining. There's gotta be something.

Posted By: Toby (08/09/2008 11:42:39 AM)
Comment: Enough already. The Yorks are not going to sell the team. If low attendance and blackouts forced owners to sell don't you think the Bidwells in Arizona and Mike Brown in Cincy, and Tom Benson in New Orleans, and and number of other low level teams that don't sellout would have had new owners by now? But they don't, because regardless of what the fans do, the money is to great. The Yorks are not selling, no matter how much fans protest, no matter how many web sites are created. You just aren't going to force someone to sell something that they don't want to sell. Deal with it or find a new team.

Posted By: whinerslife (08/09/2008 11:37:44 AM)
Comment: Hey Matt ~ Jamie Martin will be the new 49er 3rd string QB. By week 4 or 5 he will be number 2.

Posted By: Winers4life (08/09/2008 11:30:24 AM)
Comment: Some things worth noting: 1. The offense looked alright minus the turnovers. Where did Isaac "invisible" Bruce go? 2. The supposed strongest part of the team "the Defense" - they could not get off the field. Looks like the same old defense we've seen the past few years - strong on 1st and 2nd down, then can't hold them on 3rd down. And let's see, Nolan is a defensive guy. Wouldn't that be something if the offense gets better with each week, only to have the defense unable to hold down the fort. Bye Bye Nolan 3. Alex Smith -- foogetabouit .... He's official a "Bust." Don't want to hear any more "Alex Smith" talk. McCloughan, start making your list of FA QB's and notify your scouts, #1 priority - QB's.

Posted By: SFJay (08/09/2008 11:20:34 AM)
Comment: Those stats are reflective of a Martz offense. TOP is key and was an area that DET struggled with last year. You can also expect to see a lot of sacks and hurries under a Martz' offense,it's designed to be quick drops and strikes. I felt like the plays were taking a bit to long to develop. And where was Bruce? They need to lean on a guy like that. The running game was doing fairly well, the O-Line will get pressured on passing downs because there are not that many guys left in to block, JTO needs to get rid of the ball quicker and the WR's need to get in and out of there breaks faster. Some of the misses looked like they were do to a lack of chemistry and timing, hopefully that will start to gel. I think they needed to get Battle and Bruce more involved in the passing game.

Posted By: 49erGenius (08/09/2008 11:18:32 AM)
Comment: Before I'm accused of hacking or trolling, here's my Email. I leave an Email, what I say gets published. Now then, I am in agreement of Darren's posting about a local blackout for the 49ers. People, how sick is it for Fox to say 'most or all of you will see' and 'some of you will see...' Some of you SHOULD have seen the Chargers/Carolina for THAT WAS FOOTBALL! That was a REAL GAME that the 49ers haven't given to the Bay Area for years. Even if the Chargers lost, that was still more exciting then the Arizona game. But long as you buy a ticket, you support the Yorks and you support Nolan. There were great peace protests and it's time we have a peaceful rally on the 49ers. You can still get 49ers football on KNBR where they have quality announcer, they can't blackout radio coverage. Bars always have the other great football games on satellite. It's just time to take a stand and support the local blackout. As Darren said, Yorks lose a lot of money in a local blackout, that menas they'll sell the team. We can do it people. We got to show the Yorks that this is enough. Don't buy or renew your tickets. Don't buy into PSL for PSl is for the Raiders. Not being a troll or a tool, it's fact. We can take back our team. We need to get rid of the Yorks, Nolan, and cut JT. Thank you. Remember, FIring Nolan will benefit our team and getting rid of JT will also benefit us. Otherwise, we'll be 2 and 14. Local Blackouts please.

Posted By: Joe (08/09/2008 11:01:17 AM)
Comment: I guess no Alex Smith next year unless a restructure deal or pay cut?

Posted By: JB (08/09/2008 10:55:13 AM)
Comment: JTO looked good?!? Two fumbles and an interception? No touchdowns? If this was Alex, the board would be lit up with anti-Smith postings. Face it, JTO is a turn over machine, and the niners are nowhere good enough to overcome that. If the offense continually turns the ball over, the defense will be spent before the half way point of the season from being on the field too much. The defense was fortunate to hold the cardinals to mostly field goals or it would have been embarassing.

Posted By: Embarrassed (08/09/2008 10:50:43 AM)
Comment: Yeah, JTO looked pretty good out there... oh wait, I'm not blind like some people. JTO was pathetic. The only thing he did show was consistency with turnovers from the preseason games. But hey, good job. I was excited and had high hopes going into this game. I don't have much of anything now. It's only going to get worse with with our schedule being what it is. I want my hope back!!!

Posted By: FloridaFan (08/09/2008 10:33:19 AM)
Comment: Sorry Mike in MD. You were alot more detailed in your criticism, but I said pretty much the same thing you did. I was so mad after reading the article I had to get it off my chest before reading the comments. Right on Mike!

Posted By: oldman9er (08/09/2008 10:32:19 AM)
Comment: Hey Matt.... watched the game twice now, and must ask these questions... please answer. 1) As Mike in MD alluded to... how can the 49ers put Strickland on Boldin? leave him there? and even have him out on the field anyway? 2) why do our CBs rarely jam the WRs? Do they really not know that Warner will tear us up if we let them easily run their routes? That jamming them will help our pass rush get there? Why is Franklin still starting for us? He is horrible. Please... some answers.

Posted By: Mark (08/09/2008 10:28:55 AM)
Comment: Nolan was his usual completely "out-of-touch" self after the game, claiming that we had 6 turnovers when we actually had 5, and claiming that penalties were a real problem - we only had 3 penalties for 20 yards. they really do need to cut ties with this guy and move in a different direction. Or make him D-coordinator bc that it was he knows best. At this point, he really is not cut out to be a head coach in the National Football League.

Posted By: FloridaFan (08/09/2008 10:28:14 AM)
Comment: Being an optamist, I forgot how horrible Mike Nolan is at game management. He was completely out-coached by Ken Wisenhunt yesterday. His mental paralysis began at halftime. He failed to make any adjustments, the Cardinals did, and it showed. I'm not qualified to be an NFL coach, but even ESPN ran a story last week on each team's go-to play. Guess what the Cardinals was...Boldin drag route over the middle. Sound familiar fans. It's how they got almost every frickin' first down in the 2nd half after we held them to 2-3 yard gains that ate up the clock. I've experience losses before, but I have never seen anything like that. Do you thing any other defensive coach in the league would have done something different (run blitz, pass blitz, double Boldin?) to not allow what happened yesterday. Now that the games count for real, Nolan is back to doing nothing on the sideline. Now I remember why he was suppose to be fired at the end of last year. I'm not going to boycott any games because I'm a real fan of the team and it's players, but Nolan has got to go.

Posted By: ninermaniac (08/09/2008 10:20:25 AM)
Comment: Both teams played very good D, but the Cards looked like they were charging with the helmet all the time. I thought i saw a few helmet to helmet hits against the Cards but were never called.

Posted By: Scott Penrose (08/09/2008 10:18:15 AM)
Comment: I think that there are good things to be taken out of this game. One thing is that they had 5 turnovers, but were still able to stay in the game and not be blown out. Another thing is that when the offense did have the ball they were able to produce not like last year. That stats that they produced were basically from the first half since they barely had the ball in the second, so in the way that is pretty decent. They just need to get back to being disciplined and having sound technique. No team should give up five turnovers with 4 of them being fumbles thats ridiculous. The one fumble that has exception is the keasay fumble because he was the victim of a good lick. I thought that they were probably going to start out slow from the gate, but should be able to pick it up next week in time for Seattle.

Posted By: Rame (08/09/2008 10:03:10 AM)
Comment: This loss goes squarely on the defense. Yeah, all those turnovers don't exactly help, but the defense COULD NOT get off the field in the second half. -- It all comes down to a few key plays, as it will all season long in this era of equanimity in the NFL. On any Sunday, any team can beat any other team. It comes down to gameplan and execution. On 3rd and 7, you've GOT to execute.

Posted By: Bryan (Stockton) (08/09/2008 10:02:20 AM)
Comment: Would someone please tell Nolan that this game was the perfect example of why you WANT TO KICK to open the game? If you are down at halftime you think "We get the ball back to start the 2nd half". If you're up the you think "Lets put them away and chew up some clock".

Posted By: steve (08/09/2008 9:57:34 AM)
Comment: andre woodson?

Posted By: BHF (08/09/2008 9:56:19 AM)
Comment: 5 home teams lost with 2 games to play. Bad loss, no question but almost 10yds/pass attempt. That's outstanding so I think the Niners will be more competitive than previous years but will be lucky to win 7.

Posted By: Nevyn (08/09/2008 9:50:00 AM)
Comment: shoot me, thats a poor argument, as with fewer turnovers the TOP in the first half may well have been very similar. While the turnovers put the cards offense on the field, it also gave them short fields, and by consequence, short drives. That doesnt mean that they would be 3 and out if they started at their own 20. Defending the pass is much easier the closer you get to your own end zone. It was the special teams who lost us this game, with both O and D showing flashes of both brilliance and incompetence.

Posted By: Patsmear (08/09/2008 9:49:23 AM)
Comment: Everyone needs to lay off the JTO bashing, it was his first career start!! Besides not securing the ball (Staley needs to man up if he's gonna play the left tackle) JTO played pretty well, he stood in the pocket and delivered the ball under pressure. If we could have managed to get the ball on offense in the second half Gore could have easily finshed with 150 rushing yards or so, he was killing the Cardinals. Just think, if Smith (and his balsa wood shoulder) were named our starting quarterback during the preseason, we would now be plugging in JTO or Hill without either of them taking any significant preseason snaps (based on the snaps the backups were given in preseason).

Posted By: tomcrown1 (08/09/2008 9:43:02 AM)
Comment: Go LA niners, The Bay Area loves its raiders.

Posted By: shootme (08/09/2008 9:35:45 AM)
Comment: Although they may not have converted those early turnovers into points, you have to assume that repeatedly throwing the defense back out there had a lot to do with their 3rd quarter meltdown. Continually shutting down their offense, only to be tossed back out there by an inept offense has to do something to the psyche... Really, what would the TOP have been in the first half if they'd have held onto the ball?

Posted By: Rich, San Ramon (08/09/2008 9:34:49 AM)
Comment: For all the media who ho insist that the Niners can't win if JTO turns the ball over 3 times, well, duh! But how about the effectiveness of the offense in between all those turnovers? As measured by yards per play, the Niners were a top-5 offense yesterday. At 5.4 yards per rush SF is tied with Dallas for 3rd overall in the NFL. At 9.8 yards per pass the Niners are 5th overall. You can look it up at nfl.com. The problem was 5 turnovers and a defense that couldn't get off the field.

Posted By: shootme (08/09/2008 9:30:08 AM)
Comment: Although they may not have converted those early turnovers into points, you have to assume that repeatedly throwing the defense back out there had a lot to do with their 3rd quarter meltdown. Continually shutting down their offense, only to be tossed back out there by an inept offense has to do something to the psyche... Really, what would the TOP have been in the first half if they'd have held onto the ball?

Posted By: Razoreater (08/09/2008 9:22:02 AM)
Comment: I hate losing!!

Posted By: IL Giacomo The Great (08/09/2008 9:19:38 AM)
Comment: Hey Matt. Any chance of signing some of the players that the Pats are looking at like Sims or potentially the return of the Rattay?

Posted By: mike in MD (08/09/2008 9:00:33 AM)
Comment: Then there's the adjustments. To me the 2nd half was on coaching. There was no answer for Boldin. How many times did they leave Strickland on this huge mismatch? (I get my copy on Fri) On the highlights I believe I saw 3 first downs against him in the 2nd half. THAT'S ENOUGH. At that point AZ's game plan changed to grinding it out & using Boldin's physicality to break through the 3rd & shorts after short completions vs NO ADJUSTMENT against him. I saw Walt 1 time & he did a better job. Nate had to stay on Fitz & I rarely heard his name in the 2nd half, great job. AZ abandoned him until we could stop Boldin...WE NEVER DID. This was the biggest adjustment needed because even though AZ ran ball control on our average middle DLine they actually held up. It was the 3rd & 3's+ to Boldin that killed us enabling them to get the firsts. But as a possible 2nd adjustment when a grind it out Offense goes to that ball control mode couldn't we try beefing up the middle by putting our 2 NT's in the middle in a 4-3? It was Boldin that let them CONTROL the 2nd half by converting the 1st downs. Our Offense who could move the ball COULDN'T GET ON THE FIELD. Then Whisenhunt had the edge in the creativity strategy department vs Nolan who really has ZERO creativity or game strategy WHATSOEVER, seriously he has none. He's outmatched by the opposing HC EVERY WEEK. The ST's played a good game but it was the strategy of catching us off-guard on a PLANNED PLAY that created the TO which they converted to a TD that put the game away.

Posted By: mike in MD (08/09/2008 8:56:57 AM)
Comment: Obviously the 5 TO's killed us. We could have turned them into points instead. The game came down to limiting TO's & MAKING ADJUSTMENTS. I like the MUCH improved offense. What I see so far is Martz made an adjustment by being more BALANCED in his playcalling. This is a good step IMO. Next, my question is can he make any adjustment that focuses on limiting the turnovers?? I'm not sure & am no expert but his main Offensive philosophy w/t passing game is to go downfield putting so much pressure on the OLine. With ANY team who has a pressure D like AZ can he change that up "a little." More slants, send a guy deep while aiming for the short route on an in/out route, more 3/5 step drops...cut down on the 7 step drops. Then be SELECTIVE on the downfield routes Martz loves to go to. Then you HAVE TO COACH UP SULLIVAN by taking him to the film room to cut down on throwing recklessly..if it's not there try running or throw it away. I remember 2 TO's were by the OL getting beat (Staley & JJ), was there a 3rd that way? (Can't remember.) Because of the downfield shots we're going to get our share of sacks depending on the OLine & the RB's/TE's when we're on max protect. Depending on the quality of the opponents DLine & their pressure we can't call too many long developing routes. At the same time I realize this O needs more time to polish their execution & for the OLine to keep developing together.

Posted By: Rich, DE (08/09/2008 8:54:50 AM)
Comment: Thought the Niners played a pretty good game minus the turnovers. Think our defense was wore out by the 4th quarter. JTO looked good out there. Turnovers bad.

Posted By: Mike (08/09/2008 8:45:19 AM)
Comment: The 49ers looked like the superior team yesterday IMO, which makes the loss a little bit easier to stomach. In both wins vs. the Cards last year, I thought we looked like the inferior team. Yesterday the offense looked very solid, and the defense looked great when they weren't on the field for 20 minutes at a time. We're a team on the rise, and I think this game really showed that. I feel better about the team today at 0-1 than I did about last years team at 1-0.

Posted By: PDX Mike (08/09/2008 8:37:34 AM)
Comment: One game and the sky is falling already? Come on; keep it real folks. Aside from the turnovers (which is coachable), then team looked much improved and capable of winning several games. O'Sullivan looked sharp and had a very good pocket presence. He has the strip from behind, but he will get a better feel as he gets more experience--this was his first start. His sump off to Gore was perfect under pressure and he had some very good long strikes. Gore also looked very good. The defense was getting pressure on the QB that we have not seen; they just could get Arizona off the field in the second half. I think that the fumble of Spikes exhausted the bodies and will of the defense; that was the story of the second half. It is a tough loss, but I think this team is going to surprise some people this year.

Posted By: BP (08/09/2008 8:32:57 AM)
Comment: Of course the turnovers matter a lot. But the defense has to be able to stop long, ball control drives. The defense did an amazing job of bottling up an explosive offense. But they need to figure out how to get themselves off the field. If they could have gotten some third down stops on the second half, the offense would have been solidly in this game, even with the turnovers.

Posted By: Roger Rabbit (08/09/2008 8:31:30 AM)
Comment: This comment is a bit off-topic because is not directly correlated with the match. As you surely know Brady is 99% gone for the season. As far as we know Smith is on the same wagon. It will be interesting to compare the Pats and the 49ers moves, trying both clubs to cope with those distasters. It could be a sort of benchmarking for the SF management.

Posted By: Rich, San Ramon (08/09/2008 8:26:23 AM)
Comment: Glass half full. Niners played their first game with a new QB, new LT, new OC, against a pretty good team, had 5 turnovers, a muffed kick return, and watched the Cardinals punter get the best bounces imaginable. With all that, and a phantom roughing call, the game is in doubt late in the 4th qtr. If you think this is the best JTO and the offense will play all year, then I can see the despair. But I think this is probably the worst game the offense will have, only because it is their first. We'll see...

Posted By: Houston 9er (08/09/2008 8:17:00 AM)
Comment: Matt, I agree the 9ers needed to get off to a strong start to wash some of last years stench off the team. To me, it came down to making the play when it counted. The team wasn't horrible but they weren't good either. After you re-watch the game I'll be very interested in what you think about the OT flip flop. I thought both Jennings and Staley were fair most of the time but they were terrible on a few key plays. Another player who was less than impressive was Isaac Bruce. How long before he is benched? Bryant Johnon, Josh Morgan, and Arnaz Battle are better than IB at this point. Nolan's history shows that he is paralyzed until media or the fans put pressure on him to make changes either in personnel or game decisions. I'd rather not wait for another 5 game losing streak to sit IB's butt on the bench.

Posted By: AEP (08/09/2008 8:11:50 AM)
Comment: WOW. I must have watched a different game. Yes they lost. Yes they turned the ball over to mant times, but when they clicked they lookd pretty good. The D line I thought did a great job. Let's give JT a chance. Maybe he won't be able to get the job done, but lets not hang him on his FIRST game.

Posted By: Dummy Police (08/09/2008 8:06:27 AM)
Comment: 49ER FAITHFUL? You guys who root for your team to from the start of the season are not fans of the team.You are nothing but frontrunners who are ignorant to the nuiances of the game.Its understandable to root for your team to lose when the season is almost OVER and your hoping to get a superior draft position, but to root for your team to lose from the START of the season because u hate the Head Coach(which i do)or because you dont like the choice of QB's,(which i havent for the last 4 years)just tells us TRUE fans what type of fans u idiots are,hell those obnoxious ass Raider fans as ridiculous as they can be stick with their team thru thick and thin.You idiots are an EMBARASSMENT to us TRUE 49er fans and should tuck your tails and when Alex Smiths season is called today and he takes his ball and go home the rest of u 'Worse Than Raiders Fans' should leave with him because hes gone and he will NEVER play another down for this team.So DARREN take your aliases and all your brain dead followers U GUYS LOOK BETTER GOING THAN YOU DO YOU DO COMING, GET TO STEPPIN,THE BACK OF YOUR HEADS LOOK BETTER THAN THE FRONT ANYDAY!

Posted By: Marco from Stockton (08/09/2008 8:00:08 AM)
Comment: It is just one game between two teams which haven't been very good. There really isn't much you can take away except Gore is a Great Football Player. Let's see where we sit at week six? The game against Seattle will be a better test of JTO.

Posted By: oneniner (08/09/2008 7:44:18 AM)
Comment: how are we a better team? We lost to a team we always beat at HOME on opening day. I believe two teams lost their home games this first week. (niners and chargers)

Posted By: ZURDO (08/09/2008 7:26:52 AM)
Comment: Mat, thanks for the great work. Where does that put the Niners Organization in terms of cutting A. Smith for next year? Since he is injured can they cut him right now? Nolan said non-contact injury but hew didn`t say if it was at practice or at home.

Posted By: Andrew from Rishikesh (08/09/2008 7:25:54 AM)
Comment: Hi Matt, Things get a lot tougher going up to Seattle. The game shapes up as a must win for the Hawks in one of the worst places for a visiting team. The only drama left is who will Nolan throw under the bus. Martz is too tough, my guess is Jonas Jennings. Maybe Nolan can supervise Alex Smiths' rehab - how about lifting two hundred twenty pound weights with the right shoulder again. Nolan does a good job of having his teams come out flat on a consistent basis.

Posted By: LodiGrapePicker (08/09/2008 7:23:50 AM)
Comment: I think this felt like such a hard loss because the Niners looked like they could and should have beat the Cardinals. If the Niners see 1-5 or 1-6 this season, I would expect the Yorks to fire Nolan to finally put a stop to the painful bleeding.

Posted By: wsmith (08/09/2008 7:21:59 AM)
Comment: Same story as every year with Nolan. NO turnovers from the genius' defense. He has vanilla schemes, and he puts old non-playmaking veterans all over the field. We could have won the game if his free-agent defense could have gotten off the field in the 2nd half. Nice job Nolan, who will you blame this one?

Posted By: shobbrobb (08/09/2008 7:14:47 AM)
Comment: Yeah i guess that new turnover prone offense had alot to do Takeo Spikes not covering the ball..JTO made mistakes and he will get better THIS season.He looked better this 1 game than Alex Smith has his whole career.This team will win with this offense and despite Mike Nolans idiocy

Posted By: MARCO from New York (08/09/2008 7:08:50 AM)
Comment: The fish stinks from the head down. I encourage all 49er fans to organize protests and sit-ins at 49ers headquarters demanding that the Yorks sell the team. John and Jed York have destroyed what Bill Walsh and Eddie D. built. Stop being lemmings! Stop buying season tickets! Stop showing up for games! Organize and protest at 49er headquarters! Show John and Jed that "we are mad as hell, and we are not going to take it any more!".

Posted By: shobbrobb (08/09/2008 6:58:56 AM)
Comment: If Alex Smith had JTO's stat line all u A.Smith supporters would be ready to annoit him the next Joe Montana

Posted By: ninerindallas (08/09/2008 6:55:04 AM)
Comment: i like how no one on this blog not once said anything about "turnovers abound" in the martz system,prior to this game......it was a big game and we lost because we turned theball over to many times...period.i have seen it happen to a dozen other teams. it will take 2 or 3 games for everyone to get into sink and get back into that "gametime mentality". warner generally torch's us with those two probowl receivers {which we contained yesterday} we got preasure on the qb, and gore WAS the centerpiece of the offense. and the biggest thing that DID NOT happen was injury, we did lose anyone, we didn't get "brady'ed"

Posted By: CT49er (08/09/2008 6:33:11 AM)
Comment: Ray Wershing's ghost makes me laugh because I can't believe how anyone could get so pointlessly full of hate and not realize it. Yes, it ALL came down to not going for it on 4th and 1! Are you nuts? The 5 turnovers? Nolan's fault. Especially that one by Keasey. Only with drinking serious amounts of hateraid does a guy like you think that we lost a game in which we went lost the turnover battle 0 to 5 is all the HC's fault on not going for it on 1 play. Against most teams, they'd have actually scored more than 7 points off those turnovers.

Posted By: zuke in CT (08/09/2008 5:10:56 AM)
Comment: i'm certainly not happy with the loss, but the team looked better than in last year's game one. on a completely different note: matt, is there any way to change the comments section so that the first comment appears at the top of the section and each following comment appears below the previous one? on a computer, there's not much of a difference, but when scrolling on my phone, it would make it much more convenient. thanks

Posted By: Dean (08/09/2008 5:02:29 AM)
Comment: This team is a lot better than it was 4 years ago. Someone has to lose, yesterday the field position was terrible. As long as the team plays hard for 60 minutes, as a fan, I am still rollin...

Posted By: Toby (08/09/2008 3:48:01 AM)
Comment: Oh, and while I'm at it, the real fans among us know that there is only 1 meaningful statistic (excluding the obvious stat of the scoreline)...TURNOVERS! So, we lost the scoring stats, and the turnover stats....which quite plainly render any other stats totally meaningless. Please understand this, Matt. And also understand that the Martz offense is highly turnover prone...what good are yards when you can't keep hold of the ball, mate!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted By: Toby (08/09/2008 3:03:41 AM)
Comment: Have to agree with Norbuf. Wholeheartedly. I've been a critic of this coaching staff, and at the time Martz was hired, I called it a big mistake? 1. Because it was the 4th change in philosophy in 4 years. 2. Our strengths are Gore and the running attack. 3. Martz's offense has ALWAYS been turnover prone, unless executed by HoF players...and guys, JT is not HoF. I said it'd be a disaster waiting to happen, and that nothing good will come of having Nolan as the HC for another year. 1 game in and all my fears and predictions have been prominent. The team is run by a joke HC and incongruous (not to mention slightly mad) OC...please tell it like it is Matt...the real fans here are smart enough to see whats going on, even if you don't report it.

Posted By: Graham (08/09/2008 2:04:50 AM)
Comment: Matt, why is this loss so particularly tough? It doesn't get any easier from here on out, but then, the Cardinals are no pushovers this year...I picked up on a similar vibe from several other reporters. I know losing is tough and this year was supposed to be different, yada yada yada, but really...why so crushing?

Posted By: Norbuf (08/09/2008 12:48:11 AM)
Comment: Matt Your knowledge and access to the 49ers is great. Yet, you pull your punches with your reporting, as though you don't want to offend the coaches or management. Nolan thinks its important for the quarterback to avoid turnovers and plays that hurt the team. Yet you clearly underplayed JTO's 3 turnovers. At times during the preseason he was also careless with the ball. Nolan and Martz' handling of the quarterback "competition" was like listening to politicians saying things that lack substance and then doing something entirely different. Ann Killion, Mark Purdy and Lowell Cohn are willing to tell it like it is.

Posted By: michael in windsor (08/09/2008 12:20:05 AM)
Comment: Hey matt say smith is done for the season which is likely but what if he ready for next years training camp do you think they give him one last shot to win the starting job or get released before the start of the season? what would be the cap implications? thanks matt

Posted By: Darren11 (07/09/2008 11:26:04 PM)
Comment: Ha hahahaha, from the site Ghost of Rey Wershing gave, this is a real gasser! There is no truth to the rumor that coach Nolan has petitioned the league for rescheduling of the next seven games (Seattle, Detroit, New Orleans, New England, Philadelphia, N.Y. Giants, Seattle) all against the Cardinals. When asked about the rumor Coach Nolan responded by saying "That's the first I've heard about it but I'm all for it....so how would I go about doing that?". You know there is a good chance that this team could be 1-7 , 2-6, or 0-8 at the bye week. That means that Coach Nolan would have won 16 to 18 games in a 56 game span. You know if I only show up to work 16 days in a 8 week span it's called getting fired! Word leaked on Thursday that Alex Smith might of re-injured his shoulder so like any good reporter I jumped in the Subaru Brat and drove down to Los Gatos to investigate the cause. Apparently, in an effort to prove that he wasn't a bust to his teammates Alex turned on the Nintendo Wii and proceeded to throw for 199 yards before re-injuring his shoulder. We need more funny sites like that!

Posted By: Merton Hanks (07/09/2008 11:20:19 PM)
Comment: Hey Matt, does the offensive line communicate with the QB if they've blown their assignment and the QB is about to get sacked?

Posted By: Blade71 (07/09/2008 10:57:45 PM)
Comment: hey matt forgive me being neg., usually id be upset but i expected a loss, if nolan is gone at the end of season i'll take a 2-14 season the caedinals ajusted to what we were doing on def, end result another loss.

Posted By: Sean, PA (07/09/2008 10:52:24 PM)
Comment: Even though the niners lost the fact that they had 5 turnovers and stayed in it shows some kind of improvement. For the first time in years I didnt want to go to the bathroom while they were on offense because of a fear that I might miss a TD. This team is better for sure the mistakes that were made today can easily be corrected. I still stand behind J.T. no way does this team commit 5 turnovers in a game again this season. Alot of people already want to jump off the wagon after the first loss, the season is long remember last year they started 2-0 and where did that get us. Everyone loves to look ahead and say that they had to win this game because the schedule is so tough. How can you say that with injuries week to week changing other teams dramatically look at the Patriots without Brady that game suddenly looks winnable right. GO NINERS!!!!!

Posted By: Ghost of Ray Wershing (07/09/2008 10:51:34 PM)
Comment: When coach Nolan was butchering another 4th and 1 opportunity in Arizona's red zone, that's when it hit me. Nolan would actually be a great coach if this was the CFL because they only have 3 downs a series. http://www.vicwmn.com/2008/09/as-popular-as-fart-in-church.html

Posted By: The Real Rathman (07/09/2008 10:39:39 PM)
Comment: My gut feeling tells me our boys played their hearts out and that wasn't enough against the Arizona Cardinals!!! Nolan is a dead man walking but that doesn't mean anything to me. The 49ers are a laughing stock no matter what moves they make. For those outside the Bay Area, you do realize the Niners are the most obscure team to follow in the sports bar realm. We might as well be following the Canadian Football league. I found a little corner in a sports bar--minus the sound of course and there was 2 other Niner fans in a pretty massive sports bar.

Posted By: Darren11 (07/09/2008 10:37:33 PM)
Comment: So if JT O Sullivan is 1 and 3, you keep him out there to like...3 and 13? That's not smart coaching in my book. Least we had the gall to bench Garcia for being inept out there. We better bench JT if we start to tank. Hey there, oneniner. Great to see the comments open again.

Posted By: oneniner (07/09/2008 10:36:41 PM)
Comment: if A.Smith is down......Michael Robinson should be our new QB......he his another mcnabb

Posted By: oneniner (07/09/2008 10:32:58 PM)
Comment: A.Smith is the luckiest guy right now.

Posted By: 49erGenius (07/09/2008 10:29:46 PM)
Comment: JTO will be gone in 09, and with the 2nd pick in the 2009 draft, the 49ers select____ Unless Goodell takes it away from us.

Posted By: cherry picker (07/09/2008 10:23:00 PM)
Comment: JTO had the right reaction to the loss:"You can't cherry-pick your performance...If you want to win in this league, you can't turn the ball over that amount of times." Next step: Play better next week Have to be disappointed in the OLine play overall, esp. pass protection. 49ers 3rd downs stats were not good. No completions to IBruce. Cards' 3rd down stats were not good. But their OLine seemed to be confident they could beat 49ers DLine on critical plays. And they did. To make a long story short = the better team today won the game. Next 2 opponents did not look good at all today. Seattle did not look good against Buffalo; Atlanta streamrolled Detroit. Possible 2-1 if 49ers get the turnovers under control and get more of Gore into the game. After that are 4 very tough games. Can't look too far ahead.

Posted By: Jed (07/09/2008 10:22:32 PM)
Comment: Two new guys on offense - coach faves - accounted for four TOs. Coincidence? 3rd-n-1 at the 20 and Martz lines up in shotgun? Then tries to draw AZ offsides on 4th? AZ punting with 55 sec. left in the half ... and SF again has no timeouts. One team made adjustments at half. Nolan? The margin is just way too thin. I'm dejected with the loss, but the silver lining of any loss is bringing us a step closer to Nolan's overdue, midyear canning.

Posted By: RK in LA (07/09/2008 9:41:19 PM)
Comment: At half time its 10-10. The Niner stats look good. In the second half, the defense could not stop the Cards. Three long possessions; 3 scores. Game over.

Posted By: Parker (07/09/2008 9:24:02 PM)
Comment: Goodell will step up to the mike... "With the second pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select Nate Davis, Quarterback, Ball State."

Posted By: Rafael (07/09/2008 9:22:36 PM)
Comment: I'm not to discouraged. The cardinals defense is talented though lacking in depth and warner has always had our number. The fact that we outgained them in yardage, is perhaps the first time the niners have ever outgained an opponent in the past three years. They will get better this season. They'll fall short of the playoffs but will have a great second half. Once they're more comfortable in the system.

Posted By: Paul (07/09/2008 9:14:05 PM)
Comment: Matt, Right on about this being a game the 9ers need to win. If they are to be competative

Posted By: Giovanni Carmazzi (07/09/2008 9:06:19 PM)
Comment: Go niners!

Posted By: Darren11 (07/09/2008 9:04:07 PM)
Comment: Simran, After we get back from Seattle, I expect the question of 'how's your job status' will be louder and louder. 0 and 2 won't bode well with the Yorks, unless of course Vince McMahon is secretly running the 49ers like he runs WWE!

Posted By: http:// (07/09/2008 9:03:41 PM)
Comment: niners wont ever blackout, the tv stations will buy the tickets. Lets stop going to the game because staley gets beat and keasey fumbles. good idea.

Posted By: Darren11 (07/09/2008 9:02:48 PM)
Comment: Hey Matt, if the 49ers go 0 and 2, does the rumors on Mike Nolan gets fired get louder and stronger? I fear if the Yorks wait on this, they'll cost themselves Santa Clara in 09 so they better move fast.

Posted By: Realfan49 (07/09/2008 9:00:37 PM)
Comment: Just goes to show the limitations of statistics because I too thought that was a bad loss with not too many silver linings. But does explain some of Nolan's answers at the press conference e.g. his answer to Purdy's why was 3rd down defense so bad? It wasn't.

Posted By: earl (07/09/2008 8:59:27 PM)
Comment: how bad was joe staley he got beat all day

Posted By: earl (07/09/2008 8:59:06 PM)
Comment: how bad was joe staley he got beat all day

Posted By: LodiGrapePicker (07/09/2008 8:57:38 PM)
Comment: First to say....Go Niners

Posted By: Simran (07/09/2008 8:57:22 PM)
Comment: Thanks Matt for your hard work. What was Coach Nolan's press conference like?

Posted By: 49erGenius (07/09/2008 8:56:57 PM)
Comment: Hey fans. It's time to take action now. I agree that the only way is to stop showing up for any 49ers home game, no matter what the team COULD, and I emphasize COULD do. We need an empty stadium. From what I heard, sections 6 and 8 didn't have any fans, so that means we are close to a local blackout. We should get a local blackout for that costs a lot of revenue to the Yorks, and if the Yorks lose money, they can sell the team. To whom you ask? Local investors that will work with Newsome. York will not and never will work with Newsome, whether it's John or Jed. It's time to say enough is enough, no more 49ers on TV until: Mike Nolan is fired Alex Smith is resigned in 09 JT O Sullivan is cut from the team Somebody needs to make Goodell to please ask the Yorks to sell the team. This is embarrassing. JT may be the one to move us to LA along with Nolan.