San Franciso 49ers: Grading the Week 9 Win

I don't want to sound overly pessimistic, but that entire fourth quarter today was pretty frustrating to watch. Again, a win is a win for this resurgent 49ers team, but it seemed like the 'Niners only showed up for two quarters. 

And not to be the bearer of bad news, but if that 49ers team shows up at Candlestick next week to play the New York Giants (who beat the Patriots in Foxboro Sunday night, by the way), the only positive grading I'll be doing is the strength of the drink I make after the loss.

The passing game was boring but effective. What's new? The run game tailed off a tiny bit, but Frank Gore set another record in the win, notching his fifth straight 100-plus-yard performance. The defense looked stifling until the last two minutes, and the coaching was solid if not spectacular.

I guess the main problem I had today was the lack of finishing ability. It's plagued the team all year long, but luckily it's built up big enough leads that it didn't hurt the team except in the OT loss to Dallas. 

Anyway, more inside. Here's my report card for the 19-11 Week 9 win over the Washington Redskins.

Passing Game: A

Alex Smith had one of his more impressive stat lines of the season, going 17-of-24 for 200 yards passing, plus the one touchdown and zero picks. His 70 percent completion rate and QB rating of 109.7 definitely jumps out.

The numbers were good this week, but what really stood out to me today was that Smith was mistake free. Even in this big season of his, he's seemed to make a bad read or a bad throw or taken a bad sack in every game. 

Against the Redskins, he looked completely comfortable and I can't think of any glaring errors that were made. That's probably good considering how close the score turned out to be. He was targeting Michael Crabtree a lot in the first half, which was great to see, and the touchdown pass was perfect. On the day, he hit eight different receivers.

One small problem I had with the passing game was Vernon Davis did not show up. He dropped a couple passes, had a fumble and a costly penalty in front of 90 family and friends in his hometown. He didn't cost the 'Niners the game, though, so I'm keeping the grade at an "A."

Plus, he is a scary, scary man and I don't want to piss him off.

Running Game: A

Frank Gore became the first 49ers running back in franchise history to hit the century mark in five straight games. It just continues to seem like there is no stopping the guy, as he consistently rumbles and busts his way to big gains seemingly once a drive.

And Kendall Hunter didn't have a monster game statistically, but complemented Gore with some quick, slashing runs of his own. Big props to the offensive line; while it allowed two sacks on the day, it opened up gaping holes for Gore and Hunter to hit all day long.

Front Seven: A

Oh, come on. Why even bother putting this slide in every time?

Because it's fun to talk about Patrick Willis and the rest of the most bad-ass unit in the NFL. Speaking of the All-Pro Willis, he had his biggest game of the season, leading the 'Niners with eight tackles, two forced fumbles and a pass defended. 

The guy was everywhere. The 'Niners only recorded one sack on the brittle John Beck today, Ahmad Brooks being the culprit, but they were applying pressure all day and really made it tough on Beck. They must have put him on his butt at least five times in the first half alone.

It was a little shocking to see neither Aldon Smith nor Justin Smith record a sack for once, but they more than made up for it by helping stuff the run game. Redskins' starter Roy Helu ran for 41 yards on 10 carries and this front seven held under triple digits for the 30th straight game. 

How does that stat not get more media attention, by the way?

Oh, that's right. We are on the West Coast. My bad.

Secondary: B

The secondary looked pretty darn good today—until it was time to put the 'Skins away.

There really wasn't any doubt late in the fourth quarter that the 19 points would hold up, but Dashon Goldson, Chris Culliver and the rest of the DBs sure tried to put a scare into the team. 

They looked downright awful on the last drive. I understand they were playing in prevent and loosely covering receivers, but that was the softest prevent I've ever seen. John Beck (let me repeat: John. Beck.) picked them apart like Peyton Manning would a high school team.

Goldson came up with a big interception and there were some nice pass breakups and Donte Whitner recovered a fumble, but Beck's final numbers were worrisome. If he can put up 30-of-47 for over 250 yards on the team, what will Eli Manning do next week?

For the most part, the unit was solid in coverage, but when the game needed to be iced toward the end there, San Francisco went extremely soft. That's a problem. It's going to be a much closer game at that point against New York, and the 49ers need to be able to step it up and continue to stick tight on receivers and get a jump on the throws.

Special Teams: A-

How about a big standing ovation for David Akers? The ageless wonder. He went a perfect 4-4 today, including another 50-yarder. Good thing that old left leg was feeling it today, because the offense only managed one touchdown otherwise.

Andy Lee was solid as always, but a scary trend is beginning to develop with Ted Ginn, Jr.'s returns. Apparently it's trendy to just...not return the ball. He's got to be averaging single-digit yardage since Week 1, and that's not good for the field position.

It hasn't hurt the 49ers yet, but it can and it probably will against a better team. Ginn needs to figure it out and find some holes on his returns. I don't know how many more weeks he will be able to ride the coattails of the game against the Seahawks.

Coaching: B+

The 49ers got another road win, but it was against a pretty mediocre team. They scored five times, but four of them were field goals. They controlled the tempo of the game and shut it down when it mattered at the end, but, the win should have been signed, sealed and delivered midway through the third quarter.

What I'm getting at here is that Jim Harbaugh and his buddies did a really great job today. They came out and got another win on the east coast. And Harbaugh sure had Alex Smith playing like a man possessed. 

But so many things could have been done better. The play-calling was not nearly as interesting or gutsy as last week against Cleveland, and most problematic of all, they failed to stomp on their throats when we had the chance.

Now that the 49ers are winning, Harbaugh needs to develop more of a killer mentality like they had against the Buccaneers. Up 13-3 and getting the ball back at halftime, the game should have been blown out of proportion rather quickly. Instead, they settled for more passivity and let the Redskins creep to within one score with a minute left in the game.

That's unacceptable against a team like the Redskins. The thing that really bothered me was the third-down conversions. San Francisco was only 3-12. That's why they had to settle for four field goals. Marching down the field and getting to the red zone is awesome, but not when you can't perform inside the 20. Part of it comes down to execution, but the play-calling also became noticeably softer whenever the 49ers get within striking distance of the end zone.

Anyways, it is another win, another step towards an NFC West title and momentum to build off of. I just really hope these small glitches get fixed in the next seven days, or else the 49ers are in for a harsh reality against the Giants.

Overall: B+

Maybe I just have high standards because of the 7-1 record, but I'd expect nothing less than an "A" overall against the Washington Redskins. And if I was purely grading this game on the first half, it would have been a solid "A," but the fact of the matter is, the 49ers slowed down in the second half and it nearly cost them.

I don't think it bothered them too bad, but as a fan it was frustrating. The offense looked great on the day, but most of the damage was done in the first two quarters. Vernon Davis decided to have a stinker of a game before making the game-saving grab on the onside kick. 

Ted Ginn, Jr. is still performing an impressive vanishing act, unfortunately, and the secondary got exposed against a really terrible quarterback at the end of the game. Not to mention, Jim Harbaugh and the rest of the coaching staff has a little work to do in finishing games.

But still, overall, the stars shined brightly on Sunday in D.C. Alex Smith had one of his best games of 2011 and Patrick Willis and Frank Gore did what they do best.

Here's to 7-1, first place and the sweet smell of the postseason.

Bring on the New York Giants!