San Franciso 49ers: Grading the Week 2 Loss

After a big Week 1 victory over Seattle, the 49ers suffered a devastating overtime loss today to the rival Dallas Cowboys. San Francisco jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half before allowing a late touchdown pass from Tony Romo to Miles Austin that was a harbinger of things to come.

Alex Smith seemed to take a step forward today, but unfortunately, almost every other unit took a step backwards. What does this mean for the 49ers?

Well, they had a chance to get another big win against a pretty good opponent (though light years ahead of the Seahawks) and start the season with tons of momentum at 2-0. Instead, they drop a heartbreaker before going into their first road game next week against the Cincinnati Bengals.

If the 49ers had won today, they would be heading into Week 3 with a huge swell of confidence and the NFC West lead to boot. Instead, they blew it against Dallas, and now, coach Jim Harbaugh has a tough test ahead of him, getting his troops rallied to come back and be ready to go in seven days.

I need to stop watching this postgame coverage on ESPN for two reasons. One, I can’t handle Chris Berman and Co. comparing Romo to passers like Tom Brady and Drew Brees. That’s just ludicrous. And Trent Dilfer just complimented the 49ers’ defense by using the term “slobber knocker…”

My goodness. Please, let’s change topics. So, here is my report card for the 49ers Week 2 loss.

Passing Game: B

Smith looked much more comfortable in the pocket today and improved his yardage total from last week. He threw two beautiful touchdown passes and found Ted Ginn, Jr. on a few different third down conversions. Smith ended the day with 179 yards on 67 percent passing.

My main quip with his play today may not even be his fault. With Braylon Edwards and Michael Crabtree both out injured, he should have been able to find Vernon Davis much, much more often. So far this season, Davis has only been targeted a handful of times even though he’s the size of a defensive tackle with the speed of a running back.

The 49ers need to find a game plan that circulates more about getting Davis involved, because Ginn and Kyle Williams can’t be counted on to make plays week in and week out.

Smith did throw one interception, a bad toss right to the defender, but overall, his game was solid today and he was mostly the beneficiary of a terrible offensive line and pathetic play-calling in the loss.

Running Game: F

Good god, where was Frank Gore? I understand that the offensive line is awful and the game plan calls for him to take the hand off and just dive into a pile of big, sweaty bodies every time, but 47 yards on 20 rushes is just plain ugly. Kendall Hunter didn’t even get into the game, and Anthony Dixon touched the ball once.

When your most electrifying rusher in a game is the quarterback and he’s not named Michael Vick, there is a big problem. Once Dallas realized the Niner backs weren’t going to do anything of substance against them, they focused on blitzing Smith and forcing him to make quick passes.

There were a few times where Gore had plenty of space on a delayed hand off to bounce outside and make a cut to get in the open field, but instead, he followed his fullback and dove into the aforementioned scuffle.

I know you are supposed to stick to the play as a runner, but Gore is the most essential piece of this offense, and if he can’t take control and just audible on plays that open up like that, we are going to have to deal with this boring, ineffective run game all year.

And for the offensive line, if only they gave F-minuses. Smith was sacked six times and hardly had time to throw in the second half. The only place Gore would find less holes is a nunnery. The 49ers have invested far too much money and time into this offensive line to have it perform so pathetically. 

Front 7: B+

Despite constantly throwing crazy formations and blitzes at the Cowboys all day, they rarely got to Romo or Jon Kitna, recording just one sack. They bottled up the run well again, and Aldon Smith tipped the pass that Tramaine Brock intercepted. Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman combined for 18 tackles.

Overall, they did a good job today. There was not enough pressure on Romo, especially with Dez Bryant out, giving the QB fewer options to throw to. Again though, 45 yards on the ground, including seven in the first half, is always impressive.

Secondary: F

I don’t care how much it costs, but the 49ers must address this unit. We saw glimmers of hope last week and a couple bright spots today. It’s still an improvement from the last few years and the failed Nate Clements saga. But that’s not saying much.

On all three touchdowns to Miles Austin, he was left more wide open than Lindsay Lohan on a Saturday night. Seriously though, are you kidding me? He caught 9 balls for 143 yards and the three TD’s. And getting burned on a simple double move by Jesse Holley (you’re not the only one who had to Google his name, don’t worry) of all people in overtime for the play that set up the game-winning field goal is absolutely inexcusable.

I know they had two interceptions. One was in the end zone on a ball that was only there because Kitna and Jason Witten had a mix-up on the route. The other was made possible because Aldon Smith made a diving tip to put the ball up in the air.

These guys are veterans; they have to learn how to play receivers tight. If a receiver like Miles Austin is going to burn them that badly, imagine what Larry Fitzgerald will do.

Special Teams: B

Ted Ginn, Jr. didn’t even have a return today. That was probably smart by the Cowboys, given Ginn’s explosive game last weekend. David Akers and Andy Lee were fantastic again, and the coverage was fine. 

There’s really not much to say for this unit. They had a lot to do today and they did their jobs just fine, but the fact that nothing happened means it isn’t even really worth grading. So, the generic “B” is theirs!

Coaching: F

It’s so hard to grade a guy like Harbaugh this low. But he really did so many things wrong today that it is completely justified. Let’s start with the positives: He kept Alex Smith’s head in the game and managed the clock very well. And…that’s about it.

The big, obvious thing is why in the world did he take the field goal that put the 49ers up 24-14? Yes, it put them up two scores in the fourth quarter. Yes, Akers put a shock into the ball to nail the 55-yarder. But the automatic first down would have given the Niners the ball around the 35-yard line of the Cowboys and would have allowed more time to run off the clock as they either marched toward the end zone or settled for a shorter field goal.

There’s always a chance that Akers misses a shorter field goal, but it’s really doubtful; that’s why he’s one of the premiere kickers in the game. If Harbaugh is going to rely on his defense to hold Dallas when they are up 10, why not when they are up seven?

The offensive play calling was horrid again, as they deflated as soon as halftime hit. Some nice, bold plays were called in the first half that spiced things up a bit. Then, as soon as they had a 14-point lead, it all went down the drain. Apparently content with the lead, the good play calls ended and safe calls took over, allowing the Boys to creep back into the game.

And in the end, a loss is a loss. And an overtime loss at home to a rival when you were up big is the worst kind.

Overall: C-

The Niners started the game today on fire, seemingly doing everything right. They were making Romo look foolish and had a big lead in the first half behind Alex Smith’s hot hand. Then, as soon as Austin caught his first touchdown, the whole mirage dissolved.

Beating a team like the Cowboys takes a whole lot more than an “average” effort all around. Smith looked fine again, but the offensive line was terribly bad. Gore didn’t run the ball effectively, and Davis hardly existed on pass plays.

The secondary got burned consistently and looked lost against big-play receivers like Austin, Witten and Holley (okay, that last one is a joke). It’s nice to get some big plays out of them, but it’s all for naught when they let Romo dissect them for the tying and winning drives.

And the coaching is young and inexperienced at the NFL level, but in a town that has had so much failure since their last playoff appearance in 2002, these guys MUST be the answer. They can’t continue to make passive play calls or bad decisions in critical situations. Harbaugh has done a great job getting Smith to play at a respectable level, but that’s not going to be enough when other units are being ignored.