Wow. Quite the week for the Houston Texans. Fans were seen burning Matt Schaub jerseys outside Reliant Stadium after the Seattle loss last week. This after Schaub’s 3rd pick 6 in 3 weeks. The last of which pretty much handed the game to Seattle, as it came with 3 minutes left, and Seattle pretty much DOA on offense that game. It was a dumb throw on 3rd and 4. If he takes the sack, they punt and Seattle gets the ball at the 20 or inside. Instead, the score is tied, and all the momentum shifts to Seattle. He also threw a pick 6 in the win over the Titans, and the loss to the Ravens.
Gary Kubiak responded by backing Schaub down the line (for now), and the team had a players-only meeting today, ostensibly one would think, to support for Matty Iceberg. The point being, Houston is coming here with a major chip on their shoulder, and they are pissed off. 2 losses in a row, and their QB on thin ice does that. The turning point in the game to me was when Brian Cushing went out with a concussion in the 2nd half. Russell Wilson had big gains on the run, and the pressure dwindled. Seattle got their 1st score after he went out. Still, the Texans had the game in hand til the pick 6.
So, where does that lead us? Well, these guys are going to come out playing with a little extra giddyup, I’d think. Their asses are hanging in the wind if they come back 2-3. They have a strong run game with Arian Foster, and Matty Schaub can throw with the best of them, given time. And therein lies the key. If there ever was a game where we need to get pressure on a QB, it’s this one. Schaub is accurate when given time, and did a pretty good job against a very tough Seattle defense. For the most part. Lynch had to fight for every yard, and Wilson looked like shit through the air against JJ Watt and co. This could be a very tough day for the Niners on both sides of the ball.
It appears at this point that Brian Cushing is a game-day call. He participated in ‘light’ practice this morning, but has to pass all the protocols to hit the field Sunday night. The Niners? Staley is back, and he’ll be lined up against JJ. That’ll be worth the price of admission alone. The rest of the team? Man. Who knows? It was good to see the run game working against the Rams, but they suck. I keep hoping for some adjustments by the coaches regarding using a quicker passing attack, and getting the plays to the line and going much faster. Lynch had some success running, but they were hard-fought yards. Wilson was 12-23 for 123 yards and a pick for a 49.7 QBR. Given the state of our WRs, I don;t hold out a ton of hope for a breakout performance by Kappy.
Still and all, this is a statement game for the 49ers as well. They’d better take care of business at home, or they will seriously be hurting for the division. Yeah, it’s early, but losing this game and another tie breaking scenario with Seattle hurts their playoff chances. The wildcard is a far-off concern, but if the team continues to struggle against good teams, especially at home, this could be a quietly desperate season for the Red and Gold. In my mind it would definitely hurt the status of one Gregg Roman. This offense shows very little creativity in the passing game.
Forty Niners Forever 
I thought I posted this.
I think it’s actually beneficial for Schaub to be playing on the road this week. First INC pass and the home fans would calling for his head on a pike. Schaub might actually be able to relax some without all the undue pressure.
No big revelations here, it’s going to be a battle of the big boys up front. I foresee a lot of running and more conservative play calling — on both sides. I’m thinking a low-scoring affair somewhere in the high teen’s. But no excuses with the weather. Going to be a beautiful Sunday evening. The track will be fast, and the turf course listed as firm.
I agree, the Niners are going to fall into the running game cause of its success against the
Rams. If they score more than 10 points it will be because they are down by greater than 10 points and it will force them to go to the pass. This is sad, The niners have trouble passing the ball so they revert to Singletary’s offense.
As I’ve been wont to say for, oh, these past 8 years is spread the formations and run your offense from there. Letting defenses pack the box and us trying to run against it is futile. Us throwing short passes against the same D is futile as well. We need to be the aggressor on offense. If teams come out packing the box, spread the formation. With WRs, not backup TEs and FBs. Take advantage of how teams play us. None of this do-it-how-we-planned shit.
I’m failing to see why Roman is considered some sort of offensive genius. His game plans and play selection have been looking pretty mundane to me. Maybe if he has some WRs who could actually get open and catch the ball, he’d look more adventuresome. But, IMO, the lack of WR talent should make him search for more ingenious offensive plays, not what we’ve been seeing. And, I don’t mean shifting guys around before the snap…
If the Niners think they’re going to run all day on Houston, I’d have an alternative plan ready. The Texans pretty much bottled up Lynch for a tough 98 yds on 17 carries for a 5.8 yards per carry average, but that included one run for a 43 yarder. Take away that breakout run and Lynch had to work real hard for what he got. Kap may need to have some runs in this game, ala Wilson did against Houston – he had 10 runs for 77 yards…
The Breeders’ Cup is in four weeks at Santa Anita. With the Texans in town, I was hoping to bump into Matt Schaub and ask him for some betting tips. He sure seems to know a whole helluva lot about the Pick 6.
Thank God you’re net breeding, Dennis.
I’m very nervous about this game. I just hope this coaching staff has a better plan than what they’ve shown so far. Good defenses have pretty much shut these guys down with ease. GB had a decimated secondary that we wasted, but the Colts and Seahawks did a good job of taking the run away without giving up anything in the air. Their base defenses pretty much got in Kappy’s face both games, and blitzes weren’t handled well at all. And we countered with nothing.
Jon Baldwin gets his chance to play, and he brings size and speed to the WR position, so the thought is he should draw some attention. I mean. more than Celek would. Or Miller. Marlon Moore, preseason wonder, has barely hit the field, and Osgood even less so. We HAVE wide receivers, but we aren’t using them.
Baffling to me.
Lose this game, and we are hurting for even a playoff spot.Well, maybe not that serious, but the division is pretty much out of sight. By game time, the Niners will know whether Seattle is 5-0 or 4-1. Their game is Sunday morning, and will be interesting to say the least to see how Seattle does. They’ve escaped a couple losable road games with wins. I’d like to think their luck will run out, but they are playing very well.
I don’t breed, and I don’t drink and drive any more. I not only save lives, but I don’t create any unnecessary ones either. I’m furthering America’s progress by doing nothing. This country should give me a goddamn medal.
I think you deserve a Knighthood at the very least Dennis! Have another Raider beer on me, this Bud’s for you.
How about “the most interesting Dennis in the world award.” That would be a winner.
Berger you don’t need parlor tricks to talk to me, just say hi anytime 🙂
I don’t always (or often) agree with you but at least your POV is cogent rather than just taking an argumentative contrarian position and trying to argue it ad nauseum, “winning” by shear post volume and boring the piss out of every reader in the process.
Life’s too short.
New thread is up . . .