Game 1 grades

Here are my grades for the 49ers 33-17 win over the Seahawks.

ALEX SMITH, GAME MANAGER: A-,  Jim Harbaugh put the Niners offense into something called “Blue Collar mode,” where Alex Smith threw only 20 times for just 124 yards. Can you call that quarterbacking? I call that game managing. Still, he managed the game well, completing 75 percent of those few throws and committing zero turnovers. On top of that, he made three or four tough runs, including his touchdown run where he took a big hit as he crossed the goal line. He gets major points for that. My only knock on Smith is he checked down too early a couple times. Once on a play action he had Michael Crabtree open deep for a long touchdown, but he double clutched instead, rolled out of the pocket and hit Vernon Davis on the sideline for 27 yards. Still a good play, but the drive ended with a field goal. Also, on 3rd & goal from the 6, the Seahawks brought a benign four-man rush which flustered Smith for some reason, and instead of looking towards the open Crabtree at the back of the end zone, he checked down right away to Frank Gore, who dropped the ball, but would have been dropped immediately by defenders had he caught it. So, as a game manager he gets an A-minus, but as a quarterback he gets a B. You can’t get higher than a B when you throw for 124 yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE: B+/D, The pass protection gets a B+, but the run blocking gets a D. The O-line allowed zero sacks, and that’s partly because they blocked well, partly because the Niners rarely pass, and partly because when they did pass, Smith got the ball out quickly. When they ran, the O-line didn’t seem to get any push on Seattle’s D-line. Blue Collar mode apparently called for dozens of power rushing plays up the middle, and none of them were effective, it seemed. When they ran the occasional counter, Gore would pick up five or more yards, but they rarely ran deceptive run plays. A few times Harbaugh would have an I-formation and motion a tight end into the backfield just so everyone in the stadium knew they were running. Very blue collar.

RUNNINGBACK: B-, Some of my readers were saying during the game that Gore looks slow, Gore’s lost a step. I didn’t see that. I saw a running back getting hit in the backfield frequently, and running up the middle into no holes. Harbaugh and Roman need to figure out a better way to use Gore. Running him up the middle 20 times didn’t work for Mike Singletary and Jimmy Raye, and it won’t work now. The Niners don’t have a power offensive line, and Frank Gore is not a power rusher. Kendall Hunter got two carries, and on one he made a nice second effort to pick up four yards after he’d been blasted way back behind the line of scrimmage. His other carry Roman made him run power on third and short, which, of course he didn’t convert. It was a preposterous play call.

WIDE RECEIVER: B, Braylon Edwards looked terrific, and you could see than he and Alex Smith had developed comfort with each through their extra work in practice this August. Joshua Morgan made a beautiful leaping catch downfield. Smith only threw to Crabtree twice, but he was open more times than that. The receivers did all that was asked of them, which was very little.

TIGHT END: B+, Vernon Davis missed one long pass because he didn’t put his arms up. That wasn’t good. But besides that, the tight ends played well. Davis ended up with a team-leading five receptions. Both Davis and Delanie Walker blocked well. Plus Walker made some big tackles on special teams.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A, This group dominated the whole first half. Justin Smith was unblockable all day. He just pushed pushed pushed his man into the pocket, and if Tarvaris Jackson held on to the ball too long, which he often did, Smith would reach out and sack him. The end opposite of Smith, Ray McDonald, played almost as well, recording one sack and stopping running backs behind the line of scrimmage any number of times. At the beginning of training camp this unit was a big question mark, but now it looks like one of the strengths of the team.

LINEBACKER: A-, When Parys Haralson gets two sacks, you know this group had a good day. NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis took away the running plays and the screen plays from Seattle. The only bad moment for this group came when Marshawn Lynch stiff armed Bowman into the ground to pick up 12 yards. But Lynch is a very tough runner.

SECONDARY: B, They gave up two touchdown passes, but other than that they played very well. A few times their coverage was so good Tarvaris Jackson had nowhere to throw and the defensive line had time to get to him and sack him. The secondary did an especially good job stopping tight end Zach Miller, who finished the day with two catches for 19 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A+, Andy lee had a couple huge punts, and Ted Ginn Jr. finished the game with 268 return yards. What more could this group do?

COACHING: B for Blue Collar. The conservative approach ended up working, but Seattle made it a 2-point game with 4 minutes to go, and if Ted Ginn Jr. hadn’t returned that kickoff for a touchdown, who knows how the game would have ended. Blue Collar mode didn’t end up losing the game, but it didn’t really win it, either – Ginn did.

 

 

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