San Francisco 49ers Vs Atlanta Falcons: Can They Win On The Road?
Call me a fool (it wouldn't be the first time), but I honestly think the San Francisco 49ers can win this game against the Atlanta Falcons.
San Francisco has had a tough time winning on the road in the last few years to say the least. Last season they managed to beat the St.Louis Rams in the final game of the season in St. Louis. However, their only other road victory came at the start of the season against the Arizona Cardinals.
So why am I so optimistic that the 49ers will break through and beat the "Dirty Birds" on Sunday?
No, not voodoo.
The Falcons are coming off a huge victory against the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. They could very well likely come in flat and they just might take the 0-3 49ers too lightly.
The 49ers have fired Offensive Coordinator Jimmy Raye and replaced him with Quarterbacks Coach Mike Johnson. Now I don't know what changes Johnson will make, but that's just the point—neither do the Falcons.
Even with the Raye firing, Mike Singletary has been under a tremendous amount of scrutiny lately.
I have to believe that Singletary and every man on this team has something to prove. Their backs are against the wall, and even though the playoffs are already a lost cause, pride and the desire to keep your job are sometimes strong motivating factors.
I suppose there is a bit of a revenge factor as well, as the Falcons embarrassed the 49ers on their own home field last year 45-10.
But all of the aforementioned things come with this caveat. Fans and writers may think one way, the players have to think another. Every man on the team has to go into that game believing they can win. If a player does not believe that they can beat the opposition, then that is a player I don't want on my team.
That said, there are just a few other things the 49ers need to do as well to win this game.
Slow Down Michael Turner and the Falcons Run Game
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For the second week in a row, the 49ers will face a top ranked rushing attack. The Chiefs are number one in the NFL, and the Falcons are number two.
As Frank Gore is to the 49er offense, Michael Turner is to the Falcons offense. Turner rushed the ball 30 times for 114 yards in the win over the Saints, and his counter part, the equally effective Jason Snelling, rushed 14 times for another 62 yards.
Don't look for the Saints to run as often against the 49ers though. The Falcons used a great ground control game last week to dominate the time of possession and keep the ball out of Drew Bree's hands.
Like other teams before them, they won't be worried as much about Alex Smith.
"Once we controlled the run ... we put it into his (Smiths’) hands. Vernon Davis is one of his go-to guys, and you take that (away) and you make him make decisions and you saw the outcome." —Lawyer Malloy from the Seattle Times
Instead, look for the Falcons to copy the success Kansas City had with throwing short screen passes to their running backs.
This ploy effectively neutralized Patrick Willis and kept the defense on its heels.
Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky and company need to be ready for it this week.
Manny Lawson, Parys Haralson, Brooks, And LaBoy Need To Bring Some Pressure!
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For as good as the Falcons run game is, their passing game can give the 49ers fits.
Matt Ryan is a good quarterback and always seems to be able to find his receivers. He is especially effective on third down which has been a nemesis of the 49ers defense for awhile now.
So how do the 49ers stop Ryan?
Ideally the answer is to put heavy pressure on him and try and either sack him, or force him to make a mistake. The problem is, however, the 49er pass rush can be best described lately as "anemic".
Manusky has to find a way to bring multiple looks and get some pressure on Ryan.
If they can't bring some heat, then it could be long day for the secondary.
Keep Roddy White In Check
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Roddy White had eight catches for over 200 yards and two touchdowns last year against the 49ers. He also made Nate Clements look like a rookie on one of those touchdown plays that went for 90 yards.
Clements and company cannot allow White to have another career day at their expense.
White is an integral part of the Falcon's offense and he has been putting up big numbers this year.
Clements has not always played up to his big contract, but he wants to prove that he is still a good player and slowing down White could go a long way in proving that.
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Keep Tony Gonzales In Check
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The good news is the 49ers have had success in stopping Tony Gonzales before.
The bad news is that was several years ago when the team employed a linebacker by the name of Julian Peterson.
The good news is we have another talented linebacker named Navorro Bowman.
The bad news is he is rookie.
Bowman played well last week in coverage. He did get beat for a touchdown by Chiefs tight end Tony Moeaki but he had good coverage on what can only be described as a spectacular catch.
Will Manusky be ballsy enough to use the rookie on Gonzales?
Clean Up the Mistakes...is This Getting a Bit Monotonous?
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Talking about turnovers is so obvious it hardly needs mentioning. A team that wins the turnover battle usually wins the game.
After a brilliant interception by Shawntae Spencer last week, Smith gave the ball right back to the Chiefs when his ball was intercepted.
But this interception was more on the receiver, Michael Crabtree, then Smith.
"Crabtree likes to run the flats and angle it back in for a slant," (Brandon) Flowers said. "I just played what I saw on film."-from arrowheadpride.com
Are you listening Michael?
Every team has penalties of course, but the 49ers seem to excel at the most costly ones.
Last week Chilo Rachal had a holding call that killed a drive. Anthony Davis had an unnecessary roughness penalty that killed a drive. Taylor Mays had a holding call on a kick return that negated good field position for the team and pushed them back to about the ten.
Blown coverages have plagued the team all season. Dashon Goldson bit on play action and was burned for a long touchdown against Dwayne Bowe. We know what happened earlier in the year at Seattle when both Clements and Brown tried to jump routes.
The secondary needs to play smarter football. This week it is essential—especially if Michael Jenkins returns.
The Offensive Line Needs To Find Cohesiveness
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With two rookies and David Bass playing center for the injured Eric Heitmann, the offensive line is a vastly different one then last year's. This line has a lot of young talent, but it is important to point out that offensive lines take awhile to gel. Generally the longer they play together the better they tend to get.
Well, they are running out of time.
Rachal needs to be benched and Singletary can not afford to have both Alex Boone and Barry Simms inactive for the game as they were last week in Kansas City. This gave the team little options when Anthony Davis struggled.
The offensive line's best game came against the Saints when Adam Snyder subbed for the injured Rachal.
Now I know what a lot of you are thinking, that Snyder was the team's weak link last year-he was. However Snyder is not a tackle, he is a guard. Last year he basically played out of position. He is much faster than the tortoise like Rachal and I really think he needs to be in there.
Finally, Mike Solari and Ray Brown need to find a way to get these guys to play with leverage and win the battle of the trenches. That is the only way to get Frank Gore going and the running game on track.
Alex Smith Has To Man Up
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If the offensive line gives Smith the time he needs, he could be in for a big game. But that is a big "if".
Smith needs to deliver the ball with more accuracy to his receivers. Many of his interceptions have been from passes that have been high and off receivers hands.
Smith also needs to a better job of looking down field before he checks down and dumps off short. Of course there has to be a receiver down field to throw to.
Smith is athletic and perhaps for the first time we will actually see him use that athleticism on designed roll outs and bootlegs.
He ran well against the Saints and had a couple of nifty 12 yard scrambles for first downs on the 49ers last touchdown drive. But those were not by design. A shame Jimmy Raye could never incorporate this into the game plan.
But most of all, Alex needs to stay upright, and then deliver the ball on target.
All sarcasm aside, it will be interesting to see how the new marriage of Smith and his former quarterbacks coach works out.
If this quote from Smith is any indication of things to come, it could be a good one.
"You have to be able to present a lot of different things to the defense," he said. "You have to be able to make the defense defend a lot of different things."-from Matt Barrows and SacBee.com
Isn't it about time?
Frank Gore and Brian Westbrook Have To Get The Run Game Going
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Jimmy Raye had one thing right in trying to get Frank Gore and the run game going. He just didn't always go about it in the right way.
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Well, that is what got Raye fired.
The 49ers will of course feature Gore, but if he can't get it going early, look for Brian Westbrook to get in the game and give the Atlanta Falcons defense something else to think about. Actually, even if Gore does get going early, we should still see more of Westbrook.
The rookie Anthony Dixon should be given a few carries as well. He is big, fast, elusive, and a load to bring down.
But what just might soften up the run defense of the Falcons is not being so predictable.
Could we actually see the 49ers throw on first down early in the game?
Use Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, and Josh Morgan More Often
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So many weapons—so seldom used.
Until now with any luck!
Getting Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, and Josh Morgan more involved in the game is absolutely essential if the 49ers want to win games.
"We want to get everybody involved; that's the dream," Davis said. "You look at other teams; they take advantage of their talent. We've got a ton of guys. We want to use everybody we can, any way we can."-from Kevin Lynch and the SF Chronicle
"The dream"?
Kind of sad isn't it?
Why did they keep these guys if they weren't going to use them?
But Davis is excited about having a new offensive coordinator that proves to use him more often.
"I strongly believe it's a good move, an awesome move." Davis said. "Mike Johnson is a talented young man, and he's hungry."
The rookie Kyle Williams did a good job returning kicks and punts last week. He nearly broke one and I expect to see him in that role again. But when he was drafted, the thought was to periodically line him up in the slot.
Could we see him getting more involved with the offense this week as well?
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