The final score was 31-17.
It was not a pretty sight today here at the Superdome. Coach Mike Nolan didn’t
pull any punches. He said everyone played poorly. He said every aspect of the
team, including the coaching, deserves blame for this one.
The final score was 31-17.
It was not a pretty sight today here at the Superdome. Coach Mike Nolan didn’t
pull any punches. He said everyone played poorly. He said every aspect of the
team, including the coaching, deserves blame for this one.
–“We didn’t play well as
a team today,” he said. “You can go from run game, pass game, kicking game, and
if there’s another game, you can include that one, too.”
–“We anticipated (Deuce
McAllister) to play. He did a good job. But the thing that hurt us the most were
the explosive plays we gave up. Yes, you don’t want to have a guy get first
downs, but that’s going to happen from time to time. But the big pass plays . .
. those things were game-changing plays.”
–Nolan said that on every
big play (the Saints had four plays of more than 30 yards) there should have
been two guys on those plays. In other words, the safeties did not do a good job
of getting over to help the corners.
–Mark Roman did not stick
around until the end. There was a penalty on the Saints that put :02 on the
clock. Roman was the only 49ers player in the locker room when the game
concluded. He took this one hard. He undoubtedly had a lot of family and friends
at the game. He played collegiately at LSU. Afterward, Roman said, “I don’t
know, man,” and walked out of the locker room when asked about the
game.
–INJURY REPORT: LB Manny
Lawson sustained a left hamstring strain. His status will be evaluated
tomorrow.
—Quarterback Alex Smith, who is out
for the season with a small fracture in his right shoulder, is progressing well
and looks as if he will not require surgery to insert a screw to aid in the
healing process.
Smith might
have a procedure to remove the wire sutures that were inserted in the surgery to
repair his separated shoulder last December. Smith’s future with the 49ers looks
bleak because of a scheduled $9.625 million salary in 2009.
