The Good
- Frank Gore was just a stud. He ran wild and even had a key catch for a first down late in the game. He made the back breaking long runs and the demoralizing small runs for first down.
- Alex Smith continued his tremendous display of game management. He made plays when he needed to and he didn't make any mistakes.
- The defense stepped up and shut down the Seahawks for most of the game. Alexander showed rust which certainly helped, however the defense made all the plays it needed to make when it counted
- Mike Nolan certainly looked sharp in the suit.
- Frank Gore's fumble almost cost the team, if not for a defensive stop. Hopefully this is just a hiccup and not return to his early season butterfingers.
- After being the MVP of this team for most of the season, Joe Nedney struggled with 2 missed field goals that would have iced the game. Although to be fair, one field goal appeared to be blocked, and the other was a poor hold by Andy Lee.
- St. Louis comes to town hoping to avenge their loss in the 49ers home opener. After getting completely shut down by Carolina they find themselves in 3rd place in a must-win situation if they want to get back in the chase for the division title. Seattle hosts a struggling Green Bay on Monday Night, so the 49ers probably (obviously) want to win this to keep pace with the Seahawks. If Gore can keep up his blistering pace, the team should be able to pull this one out. We'll see if the defense keeps up it's strong play of late.
4 comments:
Man, was this a great weekend. The Niners keep the Bay Area bragging rights, so I get to rib all my Raiders-supporter friends tommorow at school. But even better, this looks like a team who could come out and with solid play beat anyone in the league.
Gore, Smith, Battle, the O-Line and the Defense all looked very good. This team has a bright future, and is playing pretty darn good ball to boot.
Great game, but the inability to put it away at the end was concerning. Alex Smith has been impressive this entire season, doing the little things right and not making the big mistake. Lee's hold on the second field goal seemed OK. I think Joe just shanked it (for the first time EVER).
Spinmd is right about Lee's hold. Nedney's leg in the replay really just shanked the kick.
As for the team as a whole: it was a great game to watch. Hopefully the team continues it's stride against a struggling Rams team next week.
My concern isn't about the inability to put the game away. The heroics of the closing minutes wouldn't have been necessary if our pass defense didn't do what it does best: give up the big play. The blown coverage by Davis was inexcusable, as he should have KNOWN the ball was coming his way, and deep. Spencer over pursued on that other TD and as a result, slipped.
I've said it since the beginning of the season: this team is good enough for 8 wins, as the schedule is pretty light. It's up to them to stay consistent enough to get those wins.
This Sunday is win-able, as are the Arizona and Green Bay games, which puts the team at 8 wins. That leaves @New Orleans, @Seattle and @Denver. I'd be happy with 8-8 but 9-7 is out there for the taking with one big upset.
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