Here we are at the cusp of another San Francisco 49ers football season. The preseason was a mish-mash of success and failure. The 49ers played badly against good teams (NO and Hou) and fared much better against lesser teams (Oaktown and San Diego). The better teams dominated both sides of the line, while the lesser teams were pushed around by our lines. Good, bad, or indifferent, this trend looks to be followed during the season. better teams (Pittsburgh, Balt) should beat the Niners with relative ease, but they should be able to beat the lesser teams like Cleveland and Cincinnati. Division foes for the most part fall into the lesser category. There are teams that they may be able to beat, but aren’t top tier teams. Detroit and TB fall into that category.
The fact that the Niners were able to put forth a decent offensive effort this preseason has to speak to the coaching staff at least somewhat. The run game was solid, and the run blocking was there for the most part. Hunter was flat great in his reps out there. Gore got a few good runs in. Dixon was likely passed by Hunter, except in goal line situations. Norriss is stil on the team for some unknown reason. He did catch the only ball thrown to him. The passing game was a mixed bag. Mainly due to the all-out blitzing of NO in the 1st preseason game, and the horrible blocking in the Hou game. Against the Raiders and SD, the passing game was decent enough.
The newly aggressive defense inder Vic Fangio looked good at times and looked bad at times. Again, this was more the opponenets they were facing. Even still, number 1 pick Aldon Smith looked like the real deal as a situational pass rusher. Fangio said that A Smith wouldn’t start, but would be in the rotation. This is a very good move on his part. There’s no reason to expose hin in pass coverage this early in his career. 3rd and long, 2nd and long. These are the situations to put him on. The D backs even made some picks this preseason. More than in recent history.
Again, though, all this is taken with a grain of salt as SD didn’t start 14 of their 1st stringers (including Philip Rivers), and preseason is preseason. I don’t think they are as bad as NO adn Hou made them look, but not as good as they looked vs the Raiders or SD’s scrubs. Still and all, this looks like a team that is at least moving in the right direction. Will the personnel losses and shortened preseason overwhelm the strides the team has made? Can Jim Harbaugh save Alex Smith? Is the line going to settle in and pass protect? Can the defense stop teams on 3rd down? Time will tell. This team likely faces a lot of growing pains as it makes its way through the season.
Forty Niners Forever 
Was it last year or the year before? I think it was last year. We were favored by 6 in the opener to beat the Seahawks. I hammered the Niners. We got clobbered……..
If I was still betting then, the minute they came out locked arm ‘n arm in Seattle I would have called my bookie and put the national debt on Seattle. All the marketing and flash came to a head right there. That’s the Mike Singletary legacy in SF…. locked arm ‘n arm, military style, then it was touchdowns over the top of Nate Clements and Alex Smith pick sixes until the cows came home to roost …… and drink booze. Drunken cows in the roost makes about as much sense as Singletary as a head coach. “That just doesn’t make any sense to me.”
believe me, I felt like a fool for betting so much on that game, especially as the year wore on. I had to work in the east bay for a week that Summer (FUCK and DOUBLE FUCK the east bay traffic, by the way). I listened to a lot of KNBR. It kept my mind off executing some of the drivers I was trying to avoid. Anyway, I was struck by an interview Sing did where he was discussing Nate Davis and his deficits. He was completely ignorant in the interview. “He got dyslektia. I don’t know what that is or what that means. He’s dyslektic. All I know about is hard work”. That’s almost an exact quote, but it’s from memory so I might have some of it out of context. I was surprised that someone would mispronounce such a mainstream disability, several times in the interview, and then basically make fun of it and end the interview with more “work hard” bullshit. I sat there in dead-stopped traffic, hating my life and knowing I was going to be an hour late for work but not sweating it since there were 10,000 other people in the same boat; and I said to myself “Singletary is just flat out stupid.”. It was an epiphany. It was the clearest thought I could have had in
the middle of that shit-fuck highway. And then 2 weeks later I dumped on the Niners giving 6. So who, exactly, was *flat out stupid*? No need to respond………
Yeah, don’t get me started on Singletary. I can spin a yarn there, boy. The man is a complete douche bag of a human being masquerading as a Christian. It’s like Micheal Lewis’ agent said, “Yeah, good luck with that,” when referring to Sing as a players’ coach.
The big rallying cry for Singletary was that he was a master motivator, which isn’t necessary in the NFL. Guys are motivated. They want to win so bad they would rather take less to go to a contender. Motivation isn’t the issue, it’s smart coaching the players respect. And that’s always what it’s about. And then the man doesn’t want to fool anyone on offense, and now Niner fans think Frank Gore is fragile? Come on. No team wins slamming the running back into the jaws of the defense. Frank Gore is a savage. It’s all trickeration these days. I hope Harbaugh and Roman throw in some trick plays. If I was still a betting man, I’d take all the dogs week one, and maybe parlay all of them to the under. The short pre season probably means offenses are even further behind than normal which leads to less scoring and closer ball games – equaling more dogs covering.
Well, they are home for this one, where they shellacked them last year.
Del,
Do I need to school you on everything? TJ isn’t a short, accurate passer with a quick release who puts pressure on our corners. Tj is a hand off, slow release to find the TE over the middle, or get outside the pocket and throw deep kinda qb. That’s his game. The corners will have somewhat of an easy game. The safeties, guarding Miller and providing help deep against Rice, are the ones to worry about … that and Alex Smith sharks with lasers from two feet away. High and behind, sharks with lasers, slow a foot …. gee, where’s my program? I’m so excited. I’m already ready for Scott Tolzien. And no, I don’t want David Garrard. David Garrard is about winning now. Scot Tolzien is about winning tomorrow.
Fuck David Garrard. He’s not about winning in the past, present or the future. But I think this Tolzien kid has a chance to be a winner. In fact, I think Tolzien ends up a bigger winner than Kaep. I am not on that kid’s bandwagon at all…hey, speaking of another winner, I’m watching “North Dallas Forty” on Versus at the moment. Great flick. Mac Davis was just explaining to Nolte the importance of his OL. “You may keep me on the sports page, but Joe Bob keeps me from the obituaries.”
Like the layout, Chuck…Smith doesn’t need “saving”, he just needs a scheme that fits, he’ll be fine. If he’s hurt, just get ready for the Luck sweepstakes.
Why the animus for Garrard? He’s one of the few guys whose names get thrown out who is a respectable back up or even number 1. They currently have no one behind Smith who is ready to play in the NFL
This is gonna be a problem.
Don’t start… you keep it clean, I’ll keep it clean. There is no problem if everyone stays cool.
So we should all be like Fonzie? Fonzie’s great. But Authur Fonzerelli would flip a lid, bag the jukebox a little too hard and give Mrs C a heart attack if Ralph Malph walked in and said, “Alex Smith is winner.” All men have their limits.
See, you can do it.
Chuck, great job on the new blog . . . Not certain I will comment on the Niners much, but I may consult with you on my 2 FL teams (grin). See ya on the other side (i.e., The Flap).
Go Niners!
Hey Spit, not for nothin’ but, U need an avatar of some kind my friend.
A cute little green snowflaky thing named Spitblood isn’t cuttin’ it.
At least Del landed a Col Klink on Skeebs’ site, maybe Chuck can hook you up with something from the default vault?
Hey look who’s up there, Winder’s up there! I remember that dude from back in the day when I made the Insider my personal latrine and Kevin Lynch kept e-mailing me I was a very smart douche bag. Ah yes, the ‘Cider. What’s up, Winder? Aren’t you in Seattle?
Hey spit, good seein u. Naw, I like Seattle but hate their fucking football team. I have always been around, but i honestly thought before the lockout that we were finally through with what’s his name at QB. Anyway, should be a fun year, unless of course it isn’t. I still think Kaep has more intangibles than Tolzien but just doesn’t have the pro game down yet. But hey, I was the guy that wanted to get Colt Brennen.
Good seein’ you too, Winder!
I haven’t been real impressed with Kaep. I think he has a long way to go. The interesting thing is, whether it’s plan or by design, or it’s just because the front office couldn’t get it done with a veteran, it’s likely we see Kaep this season. Premature E-Kaepulation. If it’s by design and Harbaugh wants to get Kaep some playing time in the regular season starting a rookie at qb during a rebuilding process nobody wants to admit to, that’s a smart move. Getting Kaep a decent amount of playing time this regular season is important, even if he’s a long way from ready. It expedites the process. And one thing I always pay close attention to always is the qb interview. I think you can tell a lot about a person by how he interviews. To me, Kaep’s interviews are impressive. Far more impressive than his play on the field thus far. I guarantee you Kaep can handle failure and build off it without having nightmares. I hope Kaep gets a lot of playing time this year, even if he’s not ready.
Like the new blog, Chuck. As for the Seahags and their QB, the guy is worse than Alex Smith. In fact, he has been worse than Alex Smith with some damn good offensive units around him. The O-line is about what you’d expect from a unit that was pieced together on the fly to begin with and now has to learn a new system without the benefit of OTAs. We might not really see what they’re capable of until week 8. Fortunately they have one of the best in the league at blitz pickups in Frank Gore.
Regarding backup QBs, is there anyone who doesn’t think they’d be completely hosed if they had to rely on McCown to take over as QB? No? Then why keep him on the roster just for the sake of of saying you have a “veteran” backup.
McCown is gone, but apparently on Harbaugh’s speed dial just in case. Stupid QB situation. But then keeping Alex Smith as a perpetual impediment to the offense is not the stuff winning teams are built around.
Nice, Chuck. Thanks for the “personal invite.” I hope you find a place for the schedules/scores.
Apparently drinking coffee in the evening is no longer a “can do” for this kid. Here’s my take on week 1.
The key to this game won’t be the Niners’ O. Harbaugh, Roman, Akres, Gore and Hunter will keep the Niners in the game. This game, like all the rest in the NFL, will be won and lost stopping the pass. Unfortunately for the 49ers, stopping Alex Smith is like being a Nascar fan. Just sit back and enjoy the wreckage. But how Fangio decides to stop Jackson will be interesting. Does he attack Seattle’s battered, mis-match line with blitzes, or does he play zones all day, with a bend but don’t break philosophy forced Tavaris Jackson to pick him apart underneath with CONSISTENT, ACCURATE passes? Both work, but like it or not, protecting against the deep ball, not blitzing and keeping everything underneath would be a smart game plan. Tavaris would miss passes and create opportunities for turnovers. But if Fangio is the guy I think he is, Fangio is going to set the tone for the season, bringing blitz after blitz at Jackson, working his front seven into a feeding frenzy that let’s his D know getting after the qb is job one.
The problem with blitzing TJ is that he’s mobile, and he can escape the pocket. Bring another guy on the blitz, you’ve got one less guy defending the deep ball. The nightmare is when Fangio blitzes, and Tavaris escapes, buying time and throws one up to Rice with the fighting fire hydrant, Donte Whitner trying to out-jump a guy as tall as Rice, or trying to defend Zack Miller down the middle. Fangio needs to be very careful how he blitzes. The Niners are not a quick strike team with Alex Smith unless you consider a pick 6 a quick strike. I anticipate Dashon Goldson starting at FS, and if that’s the case, we need Dashon to bring his Tiger Woods’ A game like he’s going to the brothels in Vegas. It’s a rough start for Dashon – hurt, short pre season due to his free agency, and now he could be the key to a Niner week 1 victory. Watch Goldson’s play. It could mean the difference between a win or a loss. What I’d really like to see is Aldon Smith turning his battles with Okung into Tyson vs Spinx. Get pressure with four and it makes life a lot easier. Jim Schwartz is pickin’ up what I’m layin’ down.
Kill some fucking quarterbacks. Tavaris’s head would look nice mounted on Harbaugh’s office wall.
It’s time to be the fucking Mongols for a change, instead of the punks who get overrun by the Mongols.
“…with a bend but don’t break philosophy… ”
I understand what your’re saying, but this has been so entrenched here in the last few years as “bend but break anyway” that I want to see aggression. Blitz left, blitz right, from the middle, zone blitz, mix it up but get in the backfield.
This is a very important game for both teams, it’s gonna set the pace for the year. We have to play smarter than they do and that’s all on our new coaching staff. I’m of the “take no prisoners” mindset and would love to see the finesse of the WCO and the smashmouth of a very aggressive D. It has been WAY to long.
We went through this bend and break in the early 90s. Until 1994, when Ray Rhodes (and Deion) came in, the team was good at forcing 3rd and long, but couldn’t stop teams from converting. Ray went max aggressive, and the D played much better. Granted, it helped to have Deion, but still and all the philosophy of fialing up the pressure is the way to go.
As I said, I’d rather give up a quick score than a 16 play, 9 minute drive. Again, predicated on the offense being able to score . . .
Tavaris Jackson is a little better version of Troy Smith. If we can’t beat this guy, we are in for a long year.
I’m working on it NoFear . . .
I for one am amazed at the healing powers of Michael (Practice. Practice? PRACTICE?!?!?) Crabtree. Now that the preseason is done, he’s fully ready to go.
Uncanny.