San Francisco 49ers-Oakland Raiders Is a Big Game; 49ers Offense Must Execute

The San Francisco 49ers are looking to find their soul in a second preseason game against the Oakland Raiders Saturday night after being mauled by the New Orleans Saints last week 24-3 in their preseason opener.

The 49ers are looking to make a stand against the Raiders and get the team back on track toward their goal of winning the NFC West. The first team offensive unit has to show some execution this week and will run 20-25 snaps to get this accomplished in a game that normally has no meaning.

This preseason game has taking a turn and become critical in establishing the ball control “West Coast Offense”  that head coach Jim Harbaugh has been installing for two weeks, and the realization of not having the organized team activities is starting to play a big factor in the efficiency needed to get the execution done

Harbaugh has had an opportunity to fly back to San Francisco and get his first look at film on the team’s execution against the Saints. He’s had an opportunity to meet with his offensive coordinator, quarterbacks, offensive line and wide receiver position coaches and get their evaluations on players position play, and also get their thoughts on which players are developing into roster spots and moving in the direction that he wants the team to go.

The 49ers' quarterbacks, Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick, and quarterbacks coach Geep Chryst have had their first game review meeting covering their defensive pre-snap reads, audibles and timing on plays that have a small window of opportunity to be made and what could have been done differently against the Saints.

The team has completed its search of finding a veteran quarterback to tutor rookie Kaepernick by signing Josh McCown this week and moving all distractions off the table. They chose McCown because he’s a better fit, having previously worked with Chryst in recent years with the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers

The NFL allows coaches to have a short memory, and now all attention turns toward the preparation to play the Raiders on Saturday night in San Francisco.

Harbaugh and Smith have had their opportunity to script the first 15 offensive plays, and the goal is to execute flawlessly. Smith has to be ready to open this preseason game with a series of first downs with his offensive unit.

The center-quarterback exchanges between Smith and Jonathan Goodwin will be needed to executed cleanly this week against the Raiders, and it’s time for Goodwin to take over the duties get the chemistry together between Smith, himself and the o-lineman

The starting O-line will need to get some snaps together this week, and temporary starting center Adam Snyder will need to move over to right guard and replace Chilo Rachal to see if they can have better execution running on the right side of the ball and show the potential it might have as a first team unit.

The quarterback and receiver preparation has been a focus this week, and the expectation is for Smith to give them and opportunity to make plays. The first pass of the game last week was Smith to tight-end Vernon Davis, and the play was open, but the pass was poorly thrown, which put the 49ers in a second and 10-yards situation versus second and three yards to go. The NFL defensive coordinators don’t hesitate to dial up a blitz packages in those type of down and distance situations.

The slant route is big part of the “West Coast offense,” and the 49ers missed a couple of slant route opportunities last week that Smith will need to complete this week against the Raiders. Braylon Edwards is a big target, and the quarterback execution and timing has to be perfect to execute this play.

Smith and Kaepernick both completed slant passes last week, and the receivers are excited to run that particular route. The execution window of opportunity is very small on this play, and the risk is much greater than the reward.

This is a play that Smith will need to show he can run against the Raiders defense, because he’s has had trouble in the past by getting ball batted down by d-line, throwing balls behind receivers and having balls tipped in the air and intercepted, which easily can equal a touchdown for the opponents defense.

The 49ers running game showed some promise by watching Frank Gore pounding the ball for 20 yards on four carries, and Gore loves the running behind left guard Mike Iupiti, but the 49ers need to show some physical execution from the right side of the o-line against the Raiders.

There’s a open competition brewing between incumbent back up Anthony Dixon and rookie Kendal Hunter. Hunter will be hungry to play against the Raiders and show he’s their guy to back up Gore.  The 49ers may grow impatient with Dixon’s decision not to hit the holes quickly and be the physical running back they need to grind out the tough yards in the backfield. The door will be opened for Hunter this week, as Dixon missed a couple of days of practice due to injury.

This will be a big preseason game for the 49ers against the Raiders, because a lot of questions still need to be answered on the o-line. There are many positions that are still undecided on the offensive side of the ball, and Harbaugh and his coaches haven’t established a true depth chart for the September 11 season opening game against Seattle Seahawks.

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