San Francisco 49ers: Five Keys To Shooting Down the Philadelphia Eagles
The San Francisco 49ers get another chance on prime time, national television. In their most recent effort against the world champion New Orleans Saints, the 49ers played their best game. If they can approach that type of effort against the Philadelphia Eagles, the 49ers may just win their first game of the season.
There is no better time to turn around their season than this coming Sunday. Five of the 49ers next six games are home games, although one is the game against Denver, in London. In addition, the combined record of these next six opponents is 9-14.
These are winnable games and must be won, if the 49ers hope to salvage their season. However, before we jump too far ahead of ourselves, the Niners simply need to win one game and that's this Sunday night.
I have isolated five very important keys to a 49er win against the Eagles. Let's take a look.
5) Do Not Let Kevin Kolb Get Comfortable
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The 49ers catch a huge break this week, as Michael Vick is unable to play, due to injury. Kevin Kolb, who was actually the week one starter for the Eagles, will step in.
Kolb replaced Vick, during the Eagles' previous game against the Redskins. He threw for 201 yards on 22-35 passing. Kolb had one touchdown throw and one interception.
Although the numbers appear adequate, there were many times during that game where Kolb looked a bit flustered. The Eagles have some big time play makers in DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy. The 49ers absolutely must not allow Kevin Kolb to get comfortable in this game.
If Kolb is allowed to stand in there and throw, the Eagle receivers will have their way with the 49er defensive secondary. Jackson and Maclin are extremely dangerous and will do significant damage if Kolb has the time to get them the ball.
In addition to running the ball, LeSean McCoy also is a threat out of the backfield. The Eagles use McCoy on swing passes and dump offs, much the same way the the 49ers use Frank Gore in the passing game.
The key to slowing down the Eagle offense is to harass Kevin Kolb. If defensive coordinator Greg Manusky's defense can pressure Kolb into mistakes, the 49ers have a chance. If not, it will be another long day for the Niners.
4) The San Francisco 49er Offense Must Get The Ball Downfield
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The San Francisco 49ers have played a style of offense that's extremely close to the vest. Defenses are heavily stacked inside the ten yard area around the line of scrimmage. They can do this because they simply do not fear that the 49ers will try to beat them deep.
The offensive approach of pounding Frank Gore between the tackles and employing a short passing game has been woefully ineffective. In addition, the more the 49ers try to be stubborn with this strategy, the more it won't work because defenses crowd the line of scrimmage.
It is no secret that Alex Smith had his best games last year when the Niners utilized more of a shotgun snap and spread formation. They have moved away from that this season and have suffered mightily.
The 49ers have no runs over 20 yards and only three pass plays greater than 25 yards. This lack of offensive imagination has already cost former offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye his job and will also cost head coach Mike Singletary and quarterback Alex Smith their jobs, if things do not improve.
Even the threat that you may go downfield is often enough to loosen up the defense. This will give Frank Gore more room to run and his yards per carry will jump right away.
3) Be Intense, But Play Relaxed, Up Tempo Football
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As the losses pile up for the San Francisco 49ers, the team has played tighter and tighter. The discipline that head coach Mike Singletary preaches has not come through in the games.
There are several reasons for this. The players and coaches often seem to be playing not to lose. A case in point is the Atlanta game. The 49ers scored two early touchdowns, one offensively and one on a punt block and recovery in the end zone.
After the Niners took a 14-0 lead, they became conservative, playing not to lose. It is amazing how this catches up to you. It's like the prevent defense, which usually just prevents you from winning the game.
In sports, in order to be successful, you must play to win. You need to attack, and keep attacking, especially so early in a game, when the clock is not a factor. The 49ers did not score a point the rest of the way and lost on a last second field goal, 16-14.
The 49ers who are playing with a lack of discipline are abundant on this team. Here are four prime examples in the last game alone.
Nate Clements tries to score after his interception would have given the 49ers a certain victory. I believe he wanted to be a hero and dance around in the end zone in a typical "look at me" celebration.
Nate was already the hero, but he wanted more. Well, that lack of discipline cost the 49ers the game. Instead of being the hero, he was the goat.
Alex Smith, instead of taking a three yard loss on a first down sack, tries to force a pass to Frank Gore, which is tipped and intercepted by the Falcons. It was only first down, so Smith could have just taken the sack and lived to fight another day. His blunder cost the Niners a chance at points.
Smith did a similar thing when he tried to unload the ball as he was being flung to the ground. The result was an intentional grounding call and loss down and yardage. If you feel the pressure, get rid of the ball and throw it out of bounds.
The 49er receivers, especially Michael Crabtree, have lacked the discipline to run the proper routes and run them effectively. This results in interceptions and passes that seem ticketed to nobody.
The 49ers need to turn around this approach and play relaxed, but intense and focused football. It's a fine line, between intense and too intense. I would just settle for smart football, at this point.
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2) Do Not Give Up The Big Play To DeSean Jackson
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As a Cal alum, I was treated to many a Saturday afternoon of DeSean Jackson running wild through opposing defenses. Tacklers grasped at air, as he faked them out of their cleats and shot by them like a rocket. The crowd chanted his name in rhythmic cadence. It was quite a spectacle.
That was then, this is now. I hope I do not see DeSean Jackson prancing his way past 49er tacklers. It will be a supreme test of the 49er secondary and also their punt coverage unit to ensure that this does not happen.
In a little more than two NFL seasons, Jackson has 141 receptions for 2,416 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also has returned three punts for touchdowns.
Six points is six points, but what makes things worse is the type of touchdowns Jackson scores. His scores are not the run of the mill, garden variety touchdowns. They are frequently huge, exciting plays that dramatically affect the momentum of a game. DeSean Jackson is a game breaker in the true sense of the term.
The 49ers need a strong pass rush so Kevin Kolb is unable to find Jackson for long gainers. Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky will need to dial up some creative blitz calls to throw Kolb off his game.
49er punter Andy Lee also needs to have a stellar game, not allowing Jackson to field punts where he has room to maneuver. Against the Saints, earlier this year, Lee out kicked his coverage and that allowed Reggie Bush to snap off a big return against the Niner punt coverage unit. That cannot happen with DeSean Jackson on Sunday night.
1) The 49ers Must Eliminate The Crucial Turnover
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In two games they really should have won, the San Francisco 49ers gave the game away. Turnovers have plagued this team all season. Part of the issue is players are trying too hard to make great plays and the rest of it is poor fundamentals and execution.
Alex Smith, needs to make plays and take better care of the football. His seven interceptions, compared to only three touchdowns is not getting the job done. This game against Philadelphia may be one of the final opportunities that Alex Smith has to prove himself as a leader of the 49er offense.
The bottom line is that the 49ers have shown a propensity for making the crucial turnover that costs them games. Turnovers killed the 49ers in both the Falcon and Saint games.
In the 2009 season, the 49ers were a very solid +9 in turnover ratio, meaning that they created nine more turnovers than they gave up. The 2010 numbers are dramatically different.
The 49ers have given the ball away ten times in four games. That's an average of 2.5 gifts per game. On the flip side, the Niners only have four interceptions and no fumble recoveries. They are a whopping -6 in their turnover ratio, thus far in 2010.
The 49ers are not good enough to overcome this trend. If they hope to turn around their season, they will need to reverse the trend starting with this game against Philadelphia on Sunday night.
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