Happy Holidays from the Forty Niners
Well, the Niners weathered the game they desperately needed to win to keep their tenuous grasp on the #2 seed, and maintained their 1.5 game lead on the resurgent Seattle Seahawks. Now they hit the road for their next challenge. New England. On the road. In December. Usually that means terrible weather, but strangely enough, the game time temp was 59º last night in Foxborough. Somehow I don’t think the Niners will get that lucky next Sunday.
Most of the punditry out there is giving this one to NE. And rightfully so. This team made the Super Bowl last year, and was a Hail Mary (and 2 feet) from winning it with a crappier defense. Even still, NE is 29th in pass defense, and 8th vs the run (26th in the league). Similar to what they just faced vs Miami. The biggest difference being NE leads the league with 34 takeaways (15 picks, 19 fumbles) and has only turnovers themselves (5 picks, 5 fumbles). NE isn’t great at getting sacks, but their D line is stout and hard to run on.
Offensively, well . . . NE is #1 with a bullet. A whopping 425 yards per game. The big difference from last year is NE is running very well with Stevan Ridley. he’s already over 1,000 yards. Of course the Niners are #2 overall defensively and very tough on the run. Since this is a roadie, I think the Niners need to come out max aggressive on defense. The Niners have been very good at disguising their blitzes at times, so they really need to come out and take some chances early. Brady hits passes under pressure. Imagine letting him sit in the pocket. A recipe for a quick deficit. The point being, if Brady is going to beat you slowly and painfully, then try to force the issue by getting in his face early and often. It may not work, but neither will playing the 4 man rush and dropping the coverage.
So, is this game winnable? Sure. Any game is. But the Niners have to do a few things. Do NOT turn the ball over. Create one or two over their own. Limit the penalties. Especially the costly ones like roughing and unsportsmanlike. Pressure Brady and try to knock down passes. Come out aggressive on both sides of the ball to start the game. There’s no reason to play this safe. Try to get on top early, and force the pace. NE will do what they do and that’s play fast, run no-huddle and force THEIR pace. Got to slow them down. If the Niners can come out throwing successfully and get some points, then they can start the ground and pound. Otherwise, if NE gets on top early, it’ll look a lot like last night’s game.
One thing about Belichick is he doesn’t let up. He’s about pedal to the metal all the time. The Niners need to control the pace.
Forty Niners Forever 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/12/nfl-playoffs-change-roger-goodell_n_2288974.html
hmmmmm..
I sure the hell hope not. Half the league make the playoffs? Goodell is going turn the NFL into the NBA and NHL. I understand the desire for more TV revenue, but don’t accomplished it by cheapening the regular season. I’m all for expanding the regular season to 18 games with 2 bye weeks to make the NFL season a nice and tidy 20 week year. That’s three more weeks of national TV revenue right there.
No more playoff teams please. Roger Goodell is already pissing me off as it is with his player safety bullshit. Now they’re talking about eliminating kickoffs all together? Goodell is trying to expunge all the physicality out of football. Skirts and two-hand touch won’t be far away…
As mentioned above, get to Brady and keep him off the field or we’re in trouble. That’s on Fangio. I don’t think we can, or should get into a shootout. We just don’t have that kind of dynamic offense that they run, and Brady is, well, Brady. Run the ball, and don’t abandon it like we have done a few times this year. We’ve proven that we can play against the pass heavy offenses but it will be tough on the road and in that weather. I’m sure they’re looking at the film from the Saints and Packers game.
24-24 tie at the end of regulation, Niners win it 27-24 in OT (Just to be different 😉
Noted above @ 11:09pm 12/12/12
This game comes down to our pass rush. If we can get to Brady he can be had. And I’m not talking blitzing him all the time, he reads that shit like a bedtime novel to his kids. If The Smith’s have a big game we win, if not we will lose badly.
But I’m inclined to think we get to him and win this one 23-21. Throw a few long drives in there. As Chuck said above, even if it ends in a FG, if you keep Brady off the field for 8+ minutes that’s a GOOD thing……
Even with their 1 play every 25 seconds on offense, NE still ranks 13th in TOP (30.37). The Niners rank 8th at 31:08. Over the L3 games, NE even holds a slight .08 TOP > the 49ers. The point being, NE will get their fair share of the ball Sunday night. You don’t think other teams have tried the old, “Let’s run the ball and keep Brady on the sidelines” routine? How’s that shit been working out? Keeping the ball for 8 minutes and kicking a FG will NOT be a good thing. NE will get the ball, keep it for 7 1/2 minutes and score a TD. You do not beat the future President of the United States by kicking field goals. That shit gets the presidential veto post-haste.
none of it will matter if they don’t get to Brady. They HAVE to get to him or he’ll march down the field every time they get the ball…….
My post was not meant in response to yours, the things is: Brady *is* going to march down the field, my most important key to the game is Hurt the Squirts,I don’t mean maiming them, just shake some balls loose. Well, maiming is OK, too. Politely, of course.
Well, Brady is going to throw, throw some more, and for good measure, throw again.He averages 38 passes a game, about 20 of them less than 10 yards. He’ll go deep occasionally ( 20% throws over 15 yards, same as Kap) but he kills you with the short stuff- which is why I think we’re better covering and disguising our look pre-snap than going after him. If Aldon and/or Brooks can get him a couple times, fine, but having Goldson and the linebackers put the hits on the checkdown receivers seems a better strategy to me. He can’t run a lick so that’s not a concern.
On offense, if there was ever a game to turn Kap loose, this is it. Even Mark Sanche has thrown for over 300 yards against them- twice.So My Broken Down Toyota Keys to the Game are hurt their receivers, and bombs away..
It’s like I’ve been saying. Pressure has to come up the middle. Brady evades pressure from the edges very well. Give him room to step up in the pocket, and he will kill the Niners. Soap needs to get a solid push up front.
I’d love to see A Smith moved inside on some plays. They will stunt him with J Smith, but they should line him up inside to gain a mismatch. Move him around more. Send P Willie on some blitzes up the middle. Not all the time, just judisciously.
New thread is up . . .
I said new thread is up . . .
Thank you Foghorn Leghorn. I always pay attention to your new thread alerts. Pay attention, that is…