Disgraceful First Half By the 49ers Against the Falcons

For the San Francisco 49ers it's not about demanding respect from opponents, it's about earning it. The 49ers have played teams that they should beat in Arizona, Seattle, and St. Louis.

The only team the 49ers faced so far that is considered an above average team is the Minnesota Vikings, who they played extremely well against.

If it wasn't for a defender falling down in the end zone the 49ers very well could be 4-0, and have one respectable win. But as 49ers fans, we know what happened at the end of that game which resulted in the first loss and the 49ers fell to 3-1.

Their fifth game was their biggest test of the season against the Atlanta Falcons. This game was supposed to be a battle of defenses. It only took the first few possessions of the game before being able to notice 49ers didn't look ready to play.

Michael Turner scored the games opening touchdown on a short field after Shaun Hill threw an interception. The 49ers didn't do much on offense their next possession, which resulted in a punt by Andy Lee.

After the Falcons got the ball back, the 49ers made uncharacteristic mistakes that 49ers fans aren't used to seeing. It got so bad that Mike Singletary had to call a timeout and huddle the team together to get their heads in the game.

Did that timeout work? Absolutely not!

In a disgraceful showing of defense, Roddy White was wide open for an easy 31-yard touchdown. There wasn't even a 49er defender close to the play.

For a moment though, it looked like the 49ers were going get back into the game. Shaun Hill hit Josh Morgan for the 49ers longest play from scrimmage of 61 yards. But even on that play you can say that it should have gone for a 63-yard touchdown.

So, instead the 49ers had to run a few more plays just to get into the end zone to get within 14-7.

Again, the 49ers stalled the Falcons offense and were driving. They had a situation where they went for it on 4th-and-1 and made it, but the drive stalled later on and the 49ers had to settle for a 39-yard field goal to get to within 14-10.

Even better for the 49ers, was after the field goal the defense was able to create a turnover and get the ball back. The 49ers had a short field to work with as a result.

The team got down to field goal range, but Hill took an inexcusable sack that put them out of field goal range and they had to punt. Andy Lee pinned the ball down just inside the five yard line.

All the 49ers defense had to do was stop them and the 49ers would have had great field position. For a moment it looked like the defense was going to hold. It was 3rd-and-6.

Nate Clements was defending Roddy White one-on-one and Clements got burned for a 90-yard touchdown catch. Looking at the replay, you have to wonder what was Clements thinking? At least just grab White and take a holding call then a 90-yard touchdown.

Clements had no idea where the ball was. What's even more ridiculous was the defense on the field at the time.

There were no linebackers or defensive linemen set; they were all moving around. There was absolutely no pressure on Matt Ryan.

There were other mistakes by the 49ers that cost them timeouts, and one was Glen Coffee not being on the field when he was supposed to be.

San Francisco fumbled on a controversial call, but since the 49ers were out of timeouts they couldn't challenge it. This lead to another score by the Falcons. Which, made the score 28-10.

The Falcons moved the ball at will on the 49ers and scored another touchdown before halftime bringing the score to 35-10.

So, this brings me to my point that I wrote about earlier in the week in regards to the 49ers wide receivers!

They don't have anyone who would be considered a No. 1 target, and it's hurting them tremendously.

A top receiver doesn't look back to see where the defender is when he could clearly score a touchdown. A top receiver makes the difficult catches; Isaac Bruce dropped one in the game and he did it a couple games ago too.

Vernon Davis is the most explosive weapon on offense but he rarely gets thrown at. The 49ers also aren't a team that has the ability to comeback from a deficit. They just don't have the offensive line to protect Hill.

That's why at half time you see 4-for-15 for 85 yards and an interception. He doesn't have time to throw, and he doesn't have receivers that will make the plays.

That's why when Michael Crabtree fell to the 10th pick overall, 49ers fans were estactic about it because they finally had a player that could be considered a pass catching threat.

Finally, you see why Greg Manusky should have been fired after last season. It does look good when your defense can dominate against inferior opponents, but when you play a team with actual talent, we see why Manusky is horrible.

No pressure on the quarterback whatsoever and the zone is so weak that it doesn't matter what receiver they look at, they'll be open because each receiver finds the soft spot.

Now, do I believe the 49ers are a bad team? No. I think most often you'll see a lot better effort on both sides of the ball. But will their be games like this with the 49ers throughout the season? Absolutely!