San Francisco 49ers: Five Key Things We Saw In The St. Louis Rams Game
The San Francisco 49ers defeated the St. Louis Rams 23-20 in a thrilling overtime victory. This is the kind of game the 49ers would lose earlier in the season.
I give credit to the 49ers for finding a way to win this one, despite many egregious errors. Somehow, the Niners kept battling and came away on top in this must win game.
In overtime, the 49er defense also found a way to stop the Rams' budding star quarterback, Sam Bradford. I was impressed by Bradford's throwing ability, his accuracy and his poise. He appears to be the franchise quarterback the Rams have been looking for. As they build a better offensive line around Bradford, this team will continue to improve and be a tough competitor in the NFC West for years to come.
For the San Francisco 49ers, there were five glaring things that jumped out at me, as I watched this game. Read on to see those five key items.
5. Ted Ginn Jr. Does Not Really Want To Return Punts
1 of 6
The St. Louis Rams punted the football ten times. Kudos to the 49er defense for these stops. Not one of these punts was returned.
Ted Ginn Jr. either called for a fair catch or let the ball bounce in front of him without making an effort to move up and make the catch. I really have no problem with a fair catch on a high punt that is well covered. That is good, smart football, not taking any chances of getting blasted and losing the ball.
However, there were several punts that Ginn did not aggressively try to play. He allowed the ball to bounce in front of him which is one of the worst things a punt return man can do, short of mishandling the ball.
Ginn has done this long enough to be able to get a better read on the ball and move up to make a catch on a short punt. Evan a fair catch is better than allowing the ball to hit the ground.
Once a punt hits the ground, what happens next largely becomes a matter of luck. The 49er blockers are running down field to block for Ginn and they have no idea where the ball is. I guarantee that if Ginn continues to let the ball hit the ground, a blocker will get hit by a bouncing punt and the opposition will come away with the ball.
This is a hugely demoralizing play for a defense who has just stopped the offense and now must go back out onto the field after the punt team gives up the ball and roughly forty yards. This came close to happening against the Rams and if Ginn continues to let so many punts hit the ground, it will happen against somebody.
The second thing that happens when a punt is allowed to hit the ground is that it bounces a lot further down field, on most occasions. There were several instances when punts landed and bounced anywhere from five to fifteen yards further against the 49ers.
One punt in particular landed around the 20-25 yard line and bounced inside the 10 yard line. This is severely hampering your offense, which is not that great to begin with. The 49ers cannot afford to give up these swings in field position by simply not catching a punt.
The 49ers must find a player that wants to take on this role, as the lack of a strong threat is costing them field position on almost every punt return opportunity. If Kyle Williams cannot stay on the field due to injury, then lets take a second look at Phillip Adams, Dominique Zeigler or somebody that is willing and able to catch the ball and hold on to it.
4. Anthony Davis Is Still Making Too Many Mistakes
2 of 6
Anthony Davis was beaten like a drum by St. Louis Ram defensive end Chris Long. In truth the offensive line as a unit had problems, but those of Anthony Davis were the most glaring.
The 49ers gave up five sacks and that number would have been much higher if not for Troy Smith's mobility. Anthony Davis was routinely beaten by Long, called for holding penalties and false starts.
I understand the desire of the 49er coaching staff to have Davis out on the field. However, when he is having trouble, like he did against Long, they need to do one of two things on every pass that's more than a quick three step drop.
First, have a tight end chip the pass rusher, so that Davis can get squared up and not be immediately beaten. The second option is to keep a back in to protect on Davis' side. To expect Anthony Davis to consistently protect the passer is expecting too much. He may be able to do that in the future, just not yet.
I have stated for many weeks now that the 49ers should pull Davis out for a series every now and then so his coaches, Mike Solari and Ray Brown, can instruct him on what is happening and how to combat the moves of the pass rusher. Davis needs more coaching and I believe this would be a major benefit to him.
Unfortunately, with the broken leg incurred by Joe Staley, this approach seems unlikely. The shoulder injury sustained by Adam Snyder is also a concern, if he cannot play in the upcoming game against Tampa Bay.
This being the case, we will most likely see Anthony Davis on the field all the time and he simply needs to improve and the 49ers need to give him more help.
3. The Receivers Actually Can Make Plays
3 of 6
The 49ers actually do have some play makers that can catch the ball. We have heard about them all season, but they have gone missing in most of the prior games.
It's amazing what a big difference a quarterback with mobility and a strong accurate arm can do for a receiving corps. The 49er receivers made several outstanding plays against the Rams.
Josh Morgan had a huge 65 yard pass reception that set up the 49ers first touchdown. Vernon Davis had a big day with four catches for 79 yards and his most impressive play, a 43 yard reception for what would have been a touchdown was called back due to a holding penalty.
The final game stats tell the story. The 49ers had five players, (Walker 80, V. Davis 79, Gore 67, Morgan 65 and Crabtree 61), gain over 60 yards on pass completions. This feat has never happened in the 64 year history of the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49er pass catchers also benefited from the fact that Troy Smith often hit them in stride, enabling them to gain significantly more yards after the catch.
The 49er receivers also seem to believe that if they keep working to get open, with Troy Smith's mobility and ability to extend plays, he will get them the ball. This becomes a self fulfilling situation because when they keep working, they can get open, which enables Smith to get them the football.
This was not happening in prior games with Alex Smith at the helm. The receivers stopped working as hard as Alex Smith would frequently just check it down to a safety valve outlet.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
2. A Lack Of Discipline Continues To Plague The 49ers
4 of 6
Although the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Rams in a must win game, all was not ideal. The 49ers continued their amazing run of excessive penalties, which has hampered them throughout the season.
Against St. Louis, the 49ers were called for 14 penalties for 105 yards. There were other penalty flags thrown which were not accepted, so that number is actually even higher.
The penalties caused two touchdowns to be reversed and a Nate Clements interception, which he brought back inside the five yard line to be overturned. That's a potential 21 points just thrown away.
A holding penalty by the offensive line is usually caused when the defender is beating you and the lineman extends his arms to protect the quarterback. Although this happened too frequently, at least these are penalties of aggression during a play, trying to prevent a sack.
However, there were several penalties which showed a complete lack of focus and discipline. The 49ers were flagged for several offside penalties, as the defensive player tried to anticipate the snap count and get a jump off the ball. These result in either a free play for the opposing offense or at a minimum, five free yards. I can recall at least four of these incidents hurting the 49ers.
The other glaring areas is on false starts or procedural penalties by the 49er offense. At this point in the season, playing at home, these types of penalties should not occur.
The other area which often displays a lack of discipline is the defensive secondary. They can expect to see at least one flea flicker or trick play in every game until they prove they have the discipline not to get beat. To the 49ers credit, against the Rams, I saw less gambling by the defensive backs and they did not get beaten deep on pump fakes.
Discipline is a coaching issue and I am surprised that the 49ers have these problems. Mike Singletary is always preaching a disciplined approach, but the team is having way too many lapses. This is an area that must improve if the 49ers expect to continue winning.
1. Troy Smith Is The Quarterback
5 of 6
A tale of two Smith's. The 49er Faithful are welcoming Troy Smith with open arms and will be shoving his predecessor Alex Smith out the door, soon enough.
Troy Smith showed me and thousands of 49er fans something this Sunday. He has what it takes to win football games. This is something that has plagued Alex Smith from day one. In two starts, Troy Smith is 2-0, compared with Alex Smith who is 17-30 in 47 career starts. Even Shaun Hill had a winning record as a 49er starter, going 10-6.
Troy Smith is the starter for the San Francisco 49ers, there is no turning back now. He has been impressive in his two games with the 49ers, most notably this past Sunday. Troy completed 17-28 passes for 356 yards. He also had completions called back due to penalties or those numbers would be even greater.
Troy Smith has a strong arm, unlike the Niners' other backup David Carr. He has very good mobility and can throw on the run. I was particularly impressed by Troy Smith's poise and leadership on the field. His teammates seem to believe in him and are making plays for him.
Troy Smith also has a football savvy that cannot be understated. Coming from Ohio State and winning the Heisman Trophy in 2006, Troy has played in many pressure packed situations. He is able to draw on that experience and remains poised when under duress.
Although Alex Smith has a strong arm and is highly intelligent, I have not seen the same poise coming from him. He is also not as accurate a passer and receivers rarely are hit in stride, which I mentioned earlier. With Troy Smith, the receivers are working a lot harder and it shows in their productivity.
The other absolutely critical issue is that in two games, Troy Smith has not thrown an interception or turned the ball over. Alex Smith tended to make the critical turnover, which cost the 49ers games. In his seven starts this season, Alex Smith has nine interceptions and three fumbles.
Time will tell if Troy Smith is the franchise quarterback the 49ers need. However, he will get that chance to prove it and rightfully so.
Although two Wright's flew an airplane, the 49ers will choose between their two quarterbacking Smith's. Troy Smith has a future with the 49ers. Alex Smith's future with the 49ers is over.
Can The 49ers Get Back In The Playoff Race?
6 of 6
The 49ers have put themselves back in the playoff race in the NFC West. They are on the outskirts, but at least they have a pulse. With four more division games on their schedule, if they can sweep those games, they have a definite shot.
Trailing Seattle by two full games, the 49ers still need some help, against the Seahawks. Seattle plays at New Orleans next Sunday and they will have their hands full.
However, at this point in the season, at 3-6, the 49ers cannot be concerned with that. Their only focus should be on winning their next game against Tampa Bay.
Troy Smith is giving the 49ers renewed hope and the other main beneficiary of the improved passing game will be Frank Gore. The fact that Troy Smith is able to complete passes down the field, will open up the running game for Gore.
Amazing as this sounds, at 3-6, the 49ers are very much alive. Every game is a must win and the 49ers will need to beat Tampa Bay at home this coming Sunday.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")