Grading the 49ers' Week 1 Win

For the second year in a row, the San Francisco 49ers played against the Seattle Seahawks to open the regular season.

In 2010, the Niners got steamrolled in Seattle in very disappointing fashion. It sent them into a desperate tailspin, in which they started the year 0-5 and never really recovered. Seattle on the other hand, with some big wins and a little magic, pulled off an impressive run to win the division and unseat the defending champion New Orleans Saints in the playoffs.

Even though the teams look similar, the new season is a whole different story. Alex Smith is still quarterbacking the 49ers, Marshawn Lynch is still bulldozing people twice his size, and both teams are still battling for supremacy in the pee-wee NFC West. This time around, new coach Jim Harbaugh won his first game at Candlestick Park with a final score of 33-17.

There were plenty of bright spots for the Niners in the victory, but the score does not reflect how close the game really was. There are still plenty of question marks and big fixes to be made before the slightly overrated, yet more complete Dallas Cowboys stroll into San Francisco for Week 2.

Here is my report card for the 49ers Week 1 win:

Passing Game: B

This grade is a true blessing. In Smith’s seventh season under center, we finally got a decent start to the season from him. He targeted every big receiver a couple times (though not enough, methinks), made a few fantastic throws and finished with a 75 percent completion rate.

He only racked up 124 yards through the air but had a couple electrifying scrambles, including one for a touchdown that got he rocked on and had me envisioning the horrifying future of Colin Kaepernick as the starting QB.

The fact that Smith took the big hit, scored the touchdown and hopped right up—pumped and celebrating—was a testament to his desire to win and the toughness that Harbaugh clearly believes he has. There’s nothing like a gutsy play like that to get the home crowd on your side. Overall, Smith looked good. He made mostly good decisions and didn’t turn the ball over.

My main quip is that I’d love to see him target Michael Crabtree and Braylon Edwards a little more, because they are game-breakers that can’t be ignored. And I hope he is not overthinking how long he holds on to the ball, because if he had waited a split second longer on one drive, he had Crabtree wide open in the end zone instead of settling for a check down to Frank Gore for a small gain.

On a brighter note, Vernon Davis and Joshua Morgan got a lot of looks and made some nice plays on well-placed balls.

The numbers weren’t huge today for Smith, but they were solid enough. And most importantly, he led the team to a much-needed win.

Running Game: C

The only reason this isn’t in the “D” range is because Gore was doing what Gore does best. Even though the play-calling allowed him absolutely no option but smashing into the line, and even though that line looked like Swiss cheese, he was able to make a difference in the game.

I’d like to see more outside runs, misdirection, pitches, anything run next week to mix it up a little bit. Gore broke off a couple big runs and had a particularly impressive ramble in which he ran over a defender, broke a few tackles and managed a first down on a simple off-tackle play.

Kendall Hunter and Anthony Dixon definitely did not get enough touches for me, and when they did in the red zone, they went nowhere. The red-zone running game seemed non-existent and was especially frustrating to watch as the ball got closer to the goal line. Much of the failure to rack up yards on a below-average defense is due to the porous offensive line, but you would still expect better numbers out of the playmakers in the 49er backfield.

Oh, and I will give the O-line this: Smith wasn’t sacked all game. He’s not going to know what to do with himself when he wakes up the morning after the game and doesn’t need a three-hour massage for the first time in his career.

Front 7: A-

The line and linebackers terrorized the Hawks all day. It was a beautiful sight. Five sacks, two fumble recoveries and lots of good pressure made for a tough day in the pocket for Tavaris Jackson.

Patrick Willis did his Patrick Willis thing with five tackles, a fumble recovery and a pass defended. And it was nice to see a couple sacks apiece from Justin Smith and Parys Haralson (Ray McDonald tallied one as well; they had five on the day).

I would like to see Aldon Smith get involved more, because when he was in, he looked good. He made a very athletic play, shedding a block and getting up off the ground to tip a pass at the line.

I really like the blitzing schemes that I saw from the Niners today, and they are going to have to continue to get pressure on the quarterback next week to disrupt Tony Romo and force him into some mistakes.

Granted, the Seattle offensive line isn’t quite as good as the one in Dallas, but there was no messing around with the guys up front today. They were able to bottle up the rushing attack and hold at 64 yards. And they didn’t let Lynch turn on beast mode to full fruition at any point, which is a huge plus.

Secondary: C

Nate Clements no longer wears a 49er uniform. That in itself should earn these guys an “A” grade. But in all seriousness, they just looked…okay. Tramaine Brock had a garbage pick on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half, and there were some nice defended passes here and there, but when Jackson had time to throw, he was able to pick out his receivers pretty easily. If a QB like Jackson is threading the needle, some work needs to be done.

This unit should benefit from getting Dashon Goldson back, and I actually liked the play of the new guys, Carlos Rogers and Madieu Williams for the most part. They looked confused a couple times, including on the long touchdown pass in the second half that cut the lead to two. That looked more like a mix-up than anything else. But overall, the secondary needs to tighten up or they are going to be figured out and start getting torched by better quarterbacks as the season progresses.

And just as a side note, because it’s been bugging me all day. The hit that Williams was given a 15-yard penalty for was absolutely ludicrous. It was a huge hit, but clean, and if Roger Goodell fines him for it, I am going to hunt him down and give him paper cuts between the toes (feel free to insert a much more heinous punishment to the Commissioner, I’m just trying to keep this place family-friendly).

Special Teams: A+

What else could they have done? They contained a dangerous return man in Leon Washington, Andy Lee averaged just less than 60 yards per punt and David Akers put in four huge field goals and nailed all three extra points. And that’s pretty much all that happened on special teams for the Niners.

Well, I guess there was that Ted Ginn Jr. guy too. If for some reason you ever doubted that Ginn is fast, just look to the highlights to see him absolutely burn the Seahawks’ coverage team. It was nice to finally see a huge return out of Ginn, but two return TDs in one minute was like getting a puppy on Christmas.

Whatever scheme they are running on the returns should definitely keep happening. Big returns in general are huge for field position battles, but if Ginn can put one in the end zone three or four times this season, there is no telling what kind of impact that can have on San Francisco’s season.

Coaching: B

Ohhhhh man. I wanted to give them a “C” so bad, but I didn’t have the heart to do it. I think, as much as I like Harbaugh, that if the coaching category was solely based on his performance, I would have knocked him down a peg. But the blitzes and the return game and the coverage unit on kickoffs were so effective, that the entire staff is pushed up to a solid “B.”

Plus, they got the win. They were fired up all game and got their players to perform well enough to get the victory and keep the starving fanbase happy. I really think the offensive execution should have been better and Harbaugh was way, WAY too conservative with the play-calling and decision-making.

He never struck me as an unadventurous coach, but the fact that he and offensive coordinator Greg Roman continually called soft runs straight into the line or swing passes to Gore out of the backfield has me worried that we are looking at another Singletary-esque regime as far as play calling goes.

The 49ers have too many weapons to not utilize the field more. Gore should be getting plenty of touches, but with some good blockers paving the way, he should be getting more flashy runs designed on stretches or pitches to get him outside into the open field. Likewise, the passing playbook can use a touch-up.

Even on the good completions Smith made, there was nothing exciting. They have burners at every wideout position, but I never saw a go route attempted or even a double move to hit someone like Ginn on a bomb downfield. And was Crabtree even on the field today?

I think no matter how you cut it, the coaching staff deserves credit for putting together a team that believed in them and played hard for a big win. But they, like most other parts of the team, struggled at times and can definitely use a tune-up before the Cowboys come to town.

My best guess is that the mistakes and conservative calling was due to Harbaugh’s debut jitters. So, with continued success, let’s hope for a little flash from the sideline so we can feel good about these games and put them away.

Overall: B

By no means is a “B” grade in a football game against the Seahawks going to result in a loss. The 49ers took care of business, even if it was ugly at times. Smith looked pretty good behind center, and the line played well enough to keep him from getting sacked, even if they were getting beat and penalized too much. The running game for the holes they had and the plays that were called, did all right, but I’d like to see more production out of Gore and more touches for the other two backs.

Crabtree and Edwards need to get involved more and taking one shot downfield to Ginn should be required for any coach who has him on their roster. The defensive scheme up front was brilliant and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had his unit all over Jackson for a good part of that game. The secondary needs to gel as a cohesive entity soon to avoid getting picked apart by better QB’s, but I think they have the playmakers to do so.

And the special teams play was unbelievable, led by Akers’ four no-doubt field goals and Ginn’s two electrifying returns. The 49ers got the big win they needed to get momentum for the season and have given Harbaugh, Smith and the loyal fanbase a big reason to feel good and confident about the next few weeks.