San Francisco's Moral Victory? Five Ways 49ers' Loss Proved They're a Contender
It's one of the things a losing team likes to hear least. "Today was a moral victory." For a lot of athletes, they don't want to hear it. There are no moral victories to them. But as a sports fan, you believe in such things, often as a way to hold on to some sort of optimism that your team is about to turn a corner.
After watching the Monday Night classic between the Saints and 49'ers, I firmly believe tonight's loss for San Francisco was indeed a moral victory. Though they may be 0-2, the ridiculous squabbling over how they call their plays is now history. The 31-6 drubbing last week at the hand of the Seattle Seahawks is now history. Instead, the team can figure out how to win going forward.
Most teams that start 0-2 wonder what is wrong. The fan bases start to panic, and there might even be talk about the coach getting fired. However, tonight's game has a different feel for the 49'ers.
Despite their record, here are five examples to show how the 49'ers proved they're an NFC contender.
5) Patrick Willis Is a Monster
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You know it's funny to talk about how someone on the 49'ers could fly under the radar, considering the franchise used to be one of the NFL's greats. But that's what happens when a team doesn't make the playoffs in eight years. Most NFL experts know the greatness of Patrick Willis. But the entire country got to see the linebacker make play after play, drilling Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas and any other Saint in his way.
No one now can doubt that Willis is amongst the best middle linebackers not only in the NFL today, but perhaps in the past decade.
4) The Offensive Line Looked Like a Cohesive Unit
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One of the bigger concerns heading into the season for the 49'ers was the fact they had two rookies on their line, guard Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis. While the Saints were able to put some pressure on Alex Smith, the line overall played a very good game against an opponent that thrives on creating a variety of schemes to confuse an offense. Alex Smith often had time to throw and played one of the best games of his career and that was due in large part to the play of his offensive line.
3) Frank Gore Is One of The Best Running Backs In The NFL
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What was said about Patrick Willis can be said about Frank Gore. When Gore was drafted in the 4th round several years back, there were many skeptics about the former Miami Hurricane who sustained two knee injuries before ever taking an NFL snap. You would never know of those injuries when you saw Gore running through and/or past the Saints defense all throughout tonight's game. Gore is one of those rare weapons in the game who could run for 100 yards, or catch ten passes for 150. As long as he stays healthy, Gore could join the discussion as the best runner not named Johnson or Peterson.
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2) They Played The Defending Champions Evenly
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The Saints may be walking out of San Francisco with a win, but they do so knowing they were largely outplayed throughout most of the game. The biggest difference in this game were the mental errors by the 49'ers, whether it be a horrible snap, an inexcusable delay of game penalty, and not to mention four turnovers. The punt return flub was especially damaging as it allowed the Saints to go up eight points.
However, the 49'ers were able to move on a defense that prides itself on confusing its opponent with weird defensive schemes. They were also able to put pressure on Drew Brees throughout the night, and managed to keep them out of the end-zone following the fumbled recovery on the punt.
The fact is they went toe to toe with the best team in the NFL and nearly came out on top. If the 49'ers can manage to eliminate a lot of their mental errors, then they will have an opportunity to defeat teams like the Saints
1) Alex Smith Looked Like The Franchise Quarterback They Hoped For
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Let's get the negative from Monday night's loss out of the way. Alex Smith threw two interceptions against the Saints, though both of them were from tipped passes. To be a true upper echelon quarterback, Smith needs to avoid hanging out passes that can be tipped either by his own receivers or the opposition.
But let's get to the other 30 passes and 23 completions he threw. Smith not only managed the game well, he made timely throws throughout the game and distributed it to a wide array or targets whether it was Vernon Davis or Dominique Zeigler.
Even more impressive was the fact that Smith was able to execute a flawless two minute drive, showing off not only his passing ability but overall athletic prowess as well, running for two key first downs.
It's been a wild ride for Smith since he was drafted first overall in 2005. He looked to be the next great bust in San Francisco before he was given another chance by Mike Singletary. Tonight, he looked like a legitimate #1 quarterback. If Alex Smith can continue to play to this level, then the 49'ers can rest well knowing they have finally found their first franchise quarterback since Jeff Garcia.
1A) The NFC West Is Extremely Weak
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There are some 0-2 teams that feel like their season is doomed. Even the Vikings are now two games behind not only one but two teams in the NFC North. However the NFC West is is being "led" by the 1-1 Seahawks and Cardinals. The division is ripe for the taking with only a 9-7 record. With a schedule that includes games against some of the NFL's worst teams, the 49'ers should not be in a panic mode. In fact with the NFC East looking mediocre, and an NFC North that could have three teams beating each other up, it's not out of the question that San Francisco could still fight for a bye.
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