San Francisco 49ers Surprised by Seattle Seahawks: Reviewing My Five Keys
The San Francisco 49ers headed to Seattle looking forward to starting off their season with a win against a team that was undergoing a major overhaul. Nearly half of the Seahawks' players were not on the roster in 2009.
The result was an extreme disappointment for the 49ers, as they were crushed in a 31-6 defeat.
Prior to the game, I wrote about five keys that the Niners needed to do to defeat Seattle. Well, the Niners failed miserably on three of my five key points. Let's take a look at the five keys and see how the 49ers fared.
In addition, there were several other major problems that this game revealed. I will also detail these issues.
Key No. 5: Contain Justin Forsett
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My No. 5 key for the 49ers was to contain Seattle running back Justin Forsett. Forsett is dangerous as a runner and as a receiver out of the backfield. The 49er defense did a pretty decent job on Forsett.
Forsett carried the ball seven times for 43 yards. He also had three receptions for 17 yards. Forsett also returned three punts for another 17 yards.
These numbers are nothing spectacular, so I would give the 49ers a passing grade on this point.
Key No. 4: Alex Smith Connects with Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree
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One of my main concerns going into this game was how well Alex Smith would be in sync with Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree. Davis played in only a portion of the first preseason game, and Crabtree did not play at all.
Smith was 26-of-45 and threw for 225 yards. He did locate Davis for eight catches and 73 yards. However, Smith and Crabtree were completely out of sync.
Crabtree only had two receptions for 12 yards and was involved in both Smith interceptions. Crabtree, with his diva attitude, felt he could skip all the preseason games and just show up for the regular season and be effective. He was woefully wrong.
On Smith's first interception, he threw a very catchable pass to Crabtree that bounced off his hands and up into the air for a Seattle interception by Jordan Babineaux. The pass was at short range and Smith threw it too hard, but it was still a ball that Crabtree should have caught.
The second interception was at the beginning of the third quarter, when Crabtree broke outside and Smith seemed to think Crabtree was going to hook and settle into an open spot. Smith's throw was nowhere near Crabtree and resulted in a Marcus Trufant interception and return for a touchdown.
This turned a 14-6 halftime lead into a 21-6 lead for the Seahawks. The Niners were reeling and would never recover.
On the interception return, it also seemed that Crabtree did not make a real solid effort to tackle Trufant.
Crabtree and Smith looked like they had never played together before. This failure was a huge factor in the 49ers' loss.
Key No. 3: Do Not Allow Leon Washington to Hurt You in the Return Game
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The San Francisco 49ers made several changes to their special teams from last year to this year. A major concern was the potential for Leon Washington to break off a long return.
Washington had two kick returns for 58 yards. This is a very good 29-yard average but still not the big home run that Washington is capable of. The 49ers special teams did okay keeping Washington under control.
No problems here.
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Key No. 2: The 49er Offensive Line Dominates the Seattle Front Seven
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My No. 2 key to this game was that the San Francisco 49ers' offensive line could dominate the Seattle front seven. This did not happen, and in fact, the battle was won by the Seahawks.
The 49er line was unable to open any holes for Frank Gore, and he had a dismal day rushing. Gore carried the ball 17 times for only 38 yards. For a team that wants to run and play smash mouth football, this was a terrible showing.
The offensive line had problems with the crowd noise. Penalties and not getting off the ball well made things difficult for the 49er offense.
Pass protection was mediocre, as quarterback Alex Smith was sacked twice and hurried several times. As my second key to the game, the 49er offensive line failed miserably.
Key No. 1: Pressure Matt Hasselbeck
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My No. 1 key to this game was that the San Francisco defense needed to apply heavy pressure to Matt Hasselbeck. This simply did not happen.
Hasselbeck was rarely under duress, and the veteran quarterback can pick apart a defense if he's given time. He was very efficient, completing 18 of 23 passes for 170 yards.
The lack of a strong pass rush also exposed the 49er secondary. Nate Clements and Tarell Brown both gambled for interceptions and were easily beaten on hitch-and-go type routes.
Don't think that the rest of the NFL won't see this. The defensive secondary has some problems and without a strong pass rush is very vulnerable.
San Francisco Must Regroup
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Game one of the regular season went to the Seattle Seahawks because they simply outplayed and out-coached the 49ers.
Pete Carroll had the Seahawks ready to play. The team and its fans were pumped up, and the 49ers allowed them to stay in the game early by not converting red zone opportunities.
San Francisco dominated the first quarter and about half of the second quarter but could not put the ball into the end zone. Quarterback Alex Smith and fullback Moran Norris failed to hook up on a fourth down and goal from the 1-yard line. Smith's throw was high, but Norris should have made the catch.
Two other times deep in Seattle territory, the Seahawks held the Niners to Joe Nedney field goals. What could have easily been a 21-0 or 17-0 lead was only 6-0.
Then the Seattle offense began exploiting the over-aggressive coverage of Nate Clements. Clements gambled, looking for an interception, as wide receiver Mike Williams ran by him to catch a 35-yard pass, which was later resulted in a touchdown.
On another play, both Clements and Tarell Brown bit on another pump fake by Hasselbeck. This over-aggressive gamble gave Seattle another easy score.
These over-aggressive gambles showed a lack of discipline, which is uncharacteristic of a Greg Manusky-coached defense. The lack of discipline from the 49er defensive backfield was exploited by Matt Hasselbeck.
Once Seattle scored its first touchdown, it looked as if the 49ers started to play scared. This was the biggest disappointment of the game, in my opinion. The 49ers were unable to stem the tide of the onrushing Seahawks. Seattle got in an offensive and defensive rhythm, and the 49ers couldn't stop it.
Quarterback Alex Smith, who started the game 9-of-10 passing, suddenly looked like a deer in the headlights. When the Niners needed him to make a play, Smith was unable to execute.
The 49ers converted on only one of 15 third down opportunities. There comes a time when a good football team has to collectively step it up and make a play to turn things around and regain its momentum. The 49ers simply were unable to do it.
There seemed to be several communication issues between offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye and Alex Smith. Whether this was the result of a malfunctioning headset or just slow decision-making, this issue must be addressed in future games.
Play calling by Raye was also not very creative and did not spread the field effectively. The lack of imagination in the play calling allowed the Seattle defense to play up and stuff the line on running plays and also made for a lot of traffic on short passing plays.
This game was an abject failure for the San Francisco 49ers. Now they must face the world champion New Orleans Saints on Monday night. Unless there is dramatic improvement, an 0-2 start is staring the 49ers right in the face.
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