San Francisco 49ers: Five Things We Learned On Monday Night Football
The San Francisco 49ers played inspired football against the world champion New Orleans Saints, this past Monday night. Although the Niners came up on the short end of a 25-22 final score, there was plenty to like about how the team played in this game.
I am not big on moral victories, as the 49ers are still 0-2, but they should be able to use this game as a positive reminder of what they can do when they're focused and come ready to play.
There are a few things that are solid facts with the 49ers. First, that Patrick Willis is truly outstanding and one of the best defensive players in the NFL. Secondly, Frank Gore is still an excellent running back and will do damage if the offensive line gives him any blocking at all.
We also learned a few things from this game against the Saints. Here are five key items that have come to the forefront.
5. Mike Singletary Still Has Control Of The 49ers
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Following the Seattle debacle, there were signs that Mike Singletary was losing control of the 49ers and his own emotions. Spats with the media, fights in practice and an unnamed coach being called a "rat" and a "coward" all occurred during this past week.
Monday night was a different story. The 49ers came to play and Singletary showed that he is still a master motivator. The Niners needed to play well and they almost came away with a signature victory against the world champion Saints.
Although the Saints kicked a winning field goal to end the game, we saw that the players still believe in their head coach and will play very hard for him.
I believe Singletary still has a lot to prove as a head coach. He needs good coordinators around him that can run the X's and O's of the game effectively. However, Singletary is still able to command the respect of the Niner players and get them to give him their best effort.
The upcoming game against Kansas City will be another test to see if the Niners can come up with a strong performance on the road. This will not be easy, as the Niners have not played well on the road and the Chiefs, who are always tough at home, are flying high after a 2-0 start.
After this emotionally draining game against the Saints, and a short week to prepare for the Chiefs, it will be interesting to see if Singletary can get the same emotional effort this coming Sunday. The 49ers can ill afford to let this one get away and Singletary needs to get them ready.
4. Jimmy Raye Is Not Totally Incompetent
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Let me start by saying that I am not a big fan of Jimmy Raye. Nevertheless, I am willing to give him credit where credit is due. The 49ers had a good game plan against the Saints and they executed it very well.
It was not Jimmy Raye's fault that two Alex Smith passes were deflected and turned into interceptions deep in New Orleans territory. It was also not Raye's fault that Delanie Walker fumbled the ball inside the Saints ten yard line when the Niners had another drive thwarted.
As a side note, Walker has a tendency to fumble quite a bit. He has got to have the most fumbles of any player on the 49er offense per time he touches the football.
The 49er offense kept the Saints off balance and they moved the ball well. The Niners out gained the Saints 417 yards to 287. This should have been enough to win, but four turnovers were simply too much to overcome.
I give Jimmy Raye credit for putting together a good offensive strategy, having his team prepared for the Saint blitz packages and utilizing his offensive weapons effectively.
3. Special Teams Is Still A Problem Area
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The 49ers brought in veteran coach Kurt Schottenheimer in the off season, to improve their special teams. This is an area that still needs a lot of work. Against the Saints, there were five glaring errors.
The 49ers started the game with a big kickoff return by Delanie Walker that would have put them in business out near midfield. A penalty set them back to around the ten yard line, which was a factor in the 49er offense starting slowly and eventually giving up the safety.
We saw two big returns, one being Courtney Roby with a big kickoff return to help set up the winning drive for New Orleans in the 4th quarter.
Punter Andy Lee had a poor game. He shanked his punt after the safety, giving New Orleans great field position. On another punt, Lee out kicked his coverage. This gave Reggie Bush space to maneuver, which led to a huge 43 yard return.
The coverage units simply cannot give up big plays like this, as it puts the defense at a big disadvantage.
Then, the most egregious play of all was when rookie Phillip Adams was trying to tightrope the sideline and catch a punt at the same time. He muffed it and New Orleans recovered deep in 49er territory.
Only a supreme defensive stand held the Saints to just a field goal, which put them up by eight points. This was a rookie mistake, as Adams should have either fair caught the ball or just let it go out of bounds.
Joe Nedney is an extremely reliable kicker and he is not the problem. However, too many gaffes on their coverage and return teams, have cost the 49ers dearly, under Mike Singletary.
The Niners are a fairly solid squad, but not good enough to overcome all sorts of mistakes in their special teams. This area was a top priority for the 49ers to improve this year & they still have a long way to go.
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2. The Offensive Line Could Be Very Good
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Outside of the botched shotgun snap by David Baas, which resulted in a New Orleans safety, the offensive line played well. The line seems to be coming together nicely and that will be a big factor if the Niners are going to be successful.
With three first round draft picks on the line, Joe Staley, Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati, the Niners have some great building blocks for a formidable line for years to come. We saw the potential of that against the Saints.
The Niner line opened holes for Frank Gore, who rushed twenty times for 112 yards, a 5.6 average. I am becoming a big fan of Mike Iupati, who drove his man off the line on several running plays.
Equally important was the 49er pass protection. Against a variety of blitz packages employed by the Saints, the Niners did not give up any sacks. The backs and tight ends deserve credit for this, as well.
Center, David Baas, did a good job with his line calls and the 49er offensive line was able to give Alex Smith time to throw. Smith responded with one of his best games as a 49er.
If the offensive line continues to jell and improve, this could be an area of strength for the 49ers. An effective offense always starts with good offensive line play and Monday night was a giant step in the right direction.
1. Alex Smith Has The Potential To Lead The 49ers
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Alex Smith has been much maligned, since he was selected number one overall in the 2005 draft. Truth be told, I would still love to have Aaron Rodgers, who was selected 23 picks later. Nevertheless, the 49ers have Alex Smith, he is their guy and they need him to do well.
On Monday night, Alex Smith showed me something I was not sure existed. He played with confidence and was decisive throughout the game. The deer in the headlights blank stare I saw in the Seattle game was gone, hopefully for good.
Alex Smith is not the most accurate passer and his overthrow when Frank Gore tipped the ball, led to the Saints' first interception. There were other occasions when he did not hit receivers in stride, and although they may have caught the ball, were unable to pick up any additional yardage.
However, when the 49ers needed him to, Smith threw the ball well. I recall four specific passes which were right on the money and hit the receivers in stride, allowing them to gain significant yardage.
Smith hit Michael Crabtree on a medium post route in stride, enabling Crabtree to spin away from a defender and pick up fifteen more yards. Smith also threw a perfect pass to Vernon Davis, showing some touch, as he put the ball over the defender and into Davis' arms.
On Smith's touchdown pass to Frank Gore, he hit him in stride, so Gore was able to continue at full speed to the end zone.
The pass on the two point conversion to Vernon Davis had to be thrown exactly where Smith threw it, with a Saint defender all over Davis. The result was a good conversion and a tie game.
Smith also hit Josh Morgan on several nice plays.
In addition to improved accuracy, I was favorably impressed with Smith taking off and scrambling for key first downs. In the Seattle game, he had similar running opportunities, but instead forced the ball into traffic for incomplete passes.
Smith's legs got the 49ers two vital first downs in their final scoring drive. It was good to see him recognize the opportunity to run and be decisive about it.
Most importantly, I saw a determination and leadership from Alex Smith that I had never seen before. I think he proved a lot to himself and his teammates, that he can be the kind of leader the 49ers need.
The next test comes on the road in Kansas City, which will be an extremely loud, raucous and hostile environment. If he can show the same poise and leadership he did at home against the Saints, we may have something.
Could we finally be seeing the emergence of Alex Smith as a decent NFL quarterback?
Oh yes, no moral victories. Alex Smith needs to lead the Niners to a win against the Chiefs.
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