The San Francisco 49ers might want to tap Congress to get some of that bailout money if Nate Clements, an $80 million investment, doesn’t start locking down receivers. It’s ironic that his Web site proudly (and foolishly, it turns out) proclaims that he is Mr. “Lock Down.”
If Clements is Mr. Lock Down, I’d like to know why. He’s ranked a pathetic 63 among NFL defensive backs with one forced fumble and no interceptions.
How could the 49ers spend so much on only a two-time Pro Bowler?
When he shut down Detroit’s Calvin Johnson, Clements stupidly said, “I feel I’m the best corner in this league and I’ll test my skills against anybody.”
Oh, yeah?
Why did Devery Henderson beat you so bad for an 81-yard gain in the fourth quarter on Sunday? Why did Seattle's fourth-string receivers make you look like you still played in Pop Warner? Why did the Saints' second-string receivers burn you?
Clements shouldn’t have to worry too much this weekend, as he prepares for Matt Cassel. Here are the five reasons Clements and his other defensive backs should lock down New England. If they don’t, they deserve all the ridicule they have received.
- Cassel is just not that good at this point. His No.-15 rank among quarterbacks is misleading because he only has to execute what is a very conservative offensive game plan. If it were aggressive, he would be ranked much lower.
- Cassel is much too inexperienced. Only six quarterbacks have thrown for fewer attempts than Cassel’s 48. Three are backups like Cassel: Kerry Collins (47 attempts), Gus Ferrotte (41), and Tyler Thigpin (28). The other two are rookie Joe Flacco (44), no-receivers Matt Hasselbeck (47), and benched Tavaris Jackson (31).
- Lack of yardage per reception. Despite a 66.7 completion percentage, Cassel’s yards per catch average is only 6.2 yards.
- Underwhelming pass attack. Cassel is only averaging 149.3 yards per game, as compared to J.T. O’Sullivan’s 240.5 yards average per game.
- Lack of points. New England’s offense is ranked 24th, but underlying that ranking is a pitiful 49 points in three games, barely over a 16-point per game average. Even the 49ers should be able to outscore this year’s Patriots, unless the defense implodes and makes Cassel look like Tom Brady.
6 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
Andy Bensch 9 months ago
In Clements' defense, the pass rush against Detroit was extremely better than against New Orleans. No matter how good a DB is, if the quarterback has all day to throw, he is going to find an open receiver.
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Glenn Franco Simmons 9 months ago
True to an extent. After observing football for 40 years, I've seen some poor defensive fronts on teams that had an excellent secondary, so I don't think blanket generalizations really work.
On some pass plays against the Niners, we have been out of position, but really close, so you can't blame that on the line.
On other plays, and Clements, to his credit, has admitted this: The secondary has completely blown coverages. Mike Noland agreed. Neither one of them blamed the line.
However, you are correct: Usually, a strong defensive front when combined with blitzing linebackers, etc., can make a secondary look much better.
Thank you for commenting. I really appreciate it a lot.
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Glenn Franco Simmons 9 months ago
Clements and Harris just got beat. They blew it, not the pass rush.
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John Cruz 9 months ago
well, after the game against new england, I guess the idea that they'll have it easy because it's "Matt Cassel" is totally off. A 66 yard touchdown bomb to Randy Moss, against the 49ers two "best" DBs just couldn't get any more humiliating for this self-proclamed Mr. Lockdown
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Steve Frith 9 months ago
People seem to dwell on the fact that Casell has only started games this season, so everyone sees him as still inexperienced. What they forget is that he is surrounded by talent...lots of talent. Talent to the point where all he has to do is to get a ball near one of his recievers or RB's and then they'll do the rest. Case and point with the bomb to Moss, the short passes to Welker, and the quick outs to Faulk.
As for the stats, it's only been 4 games for the Pats (only 3 when you wrote this article), so the stats are still "early", for lack of a better term.
I can see where you get your points from, but I can't say that I agree with them!
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TR 9 months ago
Your analysis might have been a little heavy-handed. It's easy to beat up verbally on Matt Cassel, kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. Your points are valid, but I think what we saw on Sunday was a step forward in his growing into his new role. He's still making some fairly dumb decisions, but he did come through with the long ball. That was something most fans outside NE (and some in NE) didn't think he had. Maybe he's starting to get better grades in chemistry.
Steve is absolutely right about the talent surrounding Cassel. What I see is a bunch of guys really stepping up when it would have been very easy to roll over and play dead after Brady went down.
Give Cassel a break, and don't count the Patriots out just yet.
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