49ers - A Look Ahead (Defense Edition)

By Kalen Patrick

Yesterday we analyzed what the 49ers may be looking at doing this offseason with the Offense. Today we will take a look at the Defense. Oddly enough, the 49ers defense which for years has clearly been superior to the Offense, faces more serious questions than the Offense. We will now take a look at the issues surrounding the 49ers Defense.

1. What to do with the secondary? Especially at Safety with Goldson and Whitner.
2. Aldon Smith playing too many snaps last season? Has the NFL "figured" him out?
3. Will Justin Smith come back 100%?
4. Is Patrick Willis overrated?

Secondary
In the Superbowl there is no question that the secondary was a major weakness that the Ravens exploited. Chris Culliver had the worst game of his career and was continuously picked on and beaten badly. I really do like Culliver's potential but perhaps he is not going to be the player we all hoped he would. Maybe I am being too critical, after all he is only a 2nd year player, and he had a rough week in the media leading up to the game (which was his own doing). I'd like to see him mature and really step up some more.

Carlos Rogers seems to get a bad rap among 49er fans but I think he played pretty solid this year. He is a good #3 CB despite being paid more like a #1 or #2 CB. I wonder if Vic Fangio and the 49ers will explore putting Rogers back on the outside instead of covering the slot receiver. In 2011, Rogers had his best year as a pro. Anquan Boldin made some incredible catches in the Superbowl despite very good coverage by Rogers. Tarrell Brown is another very good CB and I think he is definitely worth keeping long term.

BRINGING BACK DASHON GOLDSON SHOULD BE A TOP PRIORITY FOR THE 49ERS

I feel Dashon Goldson is a player the 49ers must hold on to. Goldson makes plays with Interceptions, Forces Fumbles, makes big hits, is very durable, and his tackling has improved greatly. I think he should be priority #1 this offseason. As for Donte Whitner, if we can keep him at a very reduced salary I would do that, I like him as a vocal leader and in run support. However, I would like to see the 49ers draft a Safety in either rounds 1 or 2 and hopefully get playing time immediately.

Front 7
Moving away from the Secondary and focusing on the Front 7, I wonder if the NFL has figured out ways to seriously slow down Aldon Smith. I never realized how dependent Aldon was on Justin Smith until we saw how he played without the "Cowboy" beside him. Even with the return of Justin Smith in the Playoffs, Aldon just didn't look the same. I wonder if either the NFL has figured him out, or perhaps he is playing too many snaps? Maybe with fatigue and playing more in run support he loses that burst as the season goes on and on. Hopefully the return of Parys Haralson and if 2nd year man Darius Fleming can spell Aldon and keep him fresh and retain his explosiveness.

BOWMAN AND WILLIS FORM THE CORE OF A STRONG 49ERS DEFENSE

Justin Smith should and I believe will come back healthy as ever, my bigger concern than his Triceps would be his age. He has been very durable, that also means he has played a lot of snaps and I hope this first injury won't be a sign of things to come. Ricky Jean-Francois has done an admirable job when given the opportunity, but he is not the long term answer there. I wonder if the 49ers will focus on draft Justin Smith's replacement in round 1 or 2 this year? I sure hope there is a plan in place. The 49ers defensive performance dropped significantly when Justin Smith was out.

NaVorro Bowman is better than Patrick Willis. There I said it. I look forward to the back lash but I firmly believe this. Patrick Willis was incredible the first 3 years of his career, since then however I am far from impressed. Now don't get me wrong, he still plays at a very high level, but the expectations for Patrick Willis are sky high and he has not lived up to them as of late. I suspect NFL offenses have looked at ways to neutralize Patrick Willis, but the truly great players, especially at Inside LB, find ways to make plays all the time. He is a great player, but will not come even close to the all time great ILB's such as Ray Lewis and Mike Singletary. The 49ers are blessed to have two great ILB's in Willis and Bowman. I can't imagine many offenses running well against the 49ers consistently over the next 5 years.

The 49ers Defensive unit as a whole is very solid, but I would like to see Baalke focus on adding some more talent here early in the draft. Depending on the value available, I think going Safety in Round 1 and D-Line in round 2, or vice-versa would be the best way to go.

Coming in the next few days I will focus on the Alex Smith situation and finish up my "A Look Ahead" series with a close look at Special Teams. Until next time.

Over and Out.

Week 3 Recap of 49ers vs Vikings

By Kalen Patrick

The San Francisco 49ers suffer their 1st loss of the season to the Minnesota Vikings today by the score of 24-13. One of the things I heard throughout this game was that the Vikings were beating the 49ers by playing the 49ers style of football. This is something I could not agree more with. Besides for the Kyle Williams return, the Vikings soundly beat the 49ers in all 3 phases of the game. In my opinion this was the worst overall game the 49ers have played under Jim Harbaugh. The key to the Vikings win was their 3 touchdown drives, each of which went for 80+ yards on the highly regarded 49ers defense. I do want to give the entire Minnesota Vikings team props for their sound beating of the 49ers. There is no doubt they deserved to win the game.

JIM HARBAUGH WAS NOT A HAPPY MAN TODAY IN MINNESOTA

Lets now discuss some of the reasons why I feel the 49ers were beaten badly today.

1. ZERO Pass Rush - It seemed that for the vast majority of the game the 49ers simply rushed their front  four (Ahmad Brooks, Aldon Smith, Justin Smith and Ray McDonald) and they rarely got near Ponder. There was little to no variety in the blitzes, very rarely did I see guys like Aldon Smith drop into coverage and see blitzing LB's or Safeties. I don't know if Fangio just put too much faith in his front four to get pressure or what, but what I do know is that he was definitely out-coached by Vikings OC Bill Musgrave. I would love to see some major changes in the blitz packages in the coming game against the Jets.
2. Lack of Frank Gore - The Vikings opened up the game with an exhausting drive, then it seemed like the 49ers reacted (panicked?) and they went Pass, Pass, Pass. Almost immediately the 49ers went away from what they do best, which is run the football, and then hit on short/intermediate passes off the play action. Frank Gore had only 6 rushes in the entire 1st half. This is simply unacceptable. The 49ers made themselves 1-dimensional (which is usually what the 49ers FORCE other teams to do). For most of the game the 49ers just didn't run the ball and the Vikings were able to tee off on the pass. 



ALEX SMITH IN ACTION AGAINST THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS

3. Defense couldn't make THE stop - At halftime the score was 17-3, then quickly the 49ers made the score 17-13, Kyle Williams return set up a David Akers FG, then Minnesota had a 3 and out, followed by a 49ers TD drive. ALL the momentum was with the 49ers. Then what happened? Oh just an 80 yard TD drive that ended with a one handed catch by Kyle Rudolph in the endzone. Not only is it terrible to give up the TD, but a LONG drawn out time consuming drive is just a killer. Suddenly it's back to a 2 score game and it's around the 4th quarter. That was the stop the defense needed to make, not even a 3 and out, just a stop. Of course, the reason why they couldn't stop the Vikings was largely due to point #1, in addition to the defense never being able to stop the short dump off passes to Percy Harvin and others. The following 49ers drive resulted in a Frank Gore fumble, the defense kept them in the game after that, but the entire 4th quarter was filled with harmless turnover prone offense.

Ultimately it was a really poor and sloppy performance by the 49ers and I really want to chalk this one up as one of those games that every good team has at some point during the season. Me trying to be as optimistic as possible, I will look at this as a "kick in the ass" game and maybe get the players working extra hard and not taking any game or play for granted.

Week 4 against the Jets is going to be a slugfest. Neither team is really capable of putting up huge offensive numbers and the defenses will most likely control the game. I'd like to see the 49ers become much more creative with their defense, and on the offensive side, maybe take more chances down the field. I'm not saying abandon what we have been doing, but you have to adapt in the NFL or else other teams will catch up. One thing I do know is that Jim Harbaugh is gonna make sure the 49ers are better prepared for next weeks game. I expect to see quite a few new wrinkles to the offense in particular.

Over and Out.

Recap of 49ers vs Lions

By Kalen Patrick

In a very convincing manner, the 49ers beat the Detroit Lions 27-19. If you had read my Preview for the game I had predicted a 27-17 victory for the Niners so I would say I wasn't too far off. Similar to the Packers game, I feel the score was a lot closer than the actual game. Stafford lead a late desperate TD drive to bring the score a whole lot closer. Literally from start to finish I feel the 49ers were comfortably in control. Alex Smith finished off the opening drive with a great over the shoulder pass to Vernon Davis for a Touchdown. That opening drive was incredibly impressive. The teams went back and forth, the Lions made the score 7-6 after Kendall Hunter fumbled the return after the Lions first Field Goal.

LED BY ALEX SMITH, THE 49ERS OFFENSE IS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS

Not long after, 49ers RB Frank Gore burst in for a 1 yard TD run, a drive that started with a Dashon Goldson INT, followed by 2 key penalties against the Lions (running in to the kicker, and then Defensive PI in the endzone). The score was 14-6 and from then on out the Lions never really got any closer. The 49ers closed it out in the 4th quarter when Alex Smith connected with Vernon Davis again, this time, Vernon made some nice moves to get in the end zone.

Some of the key things I want to mention is that Alex Smith was incredibly impressive yet again. For the 2nd straight game he threw for 2 TD's without an interception. He was 20-31, and if you look at the tape of his 11 incomplete passes, I remember 5 of them being very poor drops by the receivers and another 2 being "catchable" balls. For example, when Alex Smith passes to Vernon deep and he couldn't hold on. Despite all of this, after week 2, Alex Smith has the #2 QB Rating in the NFL and is showing yet again, hit ability to not turn the ball over, but is making more plays with the improved weapons he has.

ANOTHER BIG GAME FOR 49ERS TE VERNON DAVIS

The 49ers did an excellent job at exploiting weaknesses in the Detroit defense and they were able to run the ball with relative ease. It seemed like every time Gore got the ball he got big chunks of yards (5.2 YPC) and Hunter although seeing limited action did a good job too (4.6 YPC), the 49ers gashed the Lions in the run game and out gained them 148 - 82 yards. Obviously Vernon Davis had a great game, and for the 2nd week in a row, Michael Crabtree made his presence felt. He was key down the stretch picking up multiple 1st downs and keeping the ball out of Matt Staffords hands.

DASHON GOLDSON HAD A POLAMALU TYPE GAME

Overall the defense yet again had another very good game, you know your run defense is amazing when you feel the Lions ran well, and then you look at their stats and they averaged only 3.2 YPC. In pass defense the 49ers played a lot of Cover 2, and I have to credit the Secondary for doing a great job, especially Dashon Goldson who seemed to be every where. Not only did he pick off Stafford but he did an excellent job in run support, covering a lot of ground and making some big stops for the defense.

The Lions O-Line did a great job in stifling the pass rush, Stafford seemingly had a lot of time to throw back there. The nickel front four (Aldon Smith, Ahmad Brooks, Justin Smith and Ray McDonald) really didn't have their best game. And even then, Aldon Smith had 2 sacks and essentially made the Lions pass game look average at best. This defense is legit and it's going to be hard for any team to score on them consistently.

Anyways, another very convincing victory for the 49ers, and rightfully sit atop my updated Power Rankings which can be viewed on the side bar. Check back for a preview of the Week 3 match up when the 49ers take on the Vikings in Minnesota.

Over and Out.

Week 2: 49ers vs Lions Preview

By Kalen Patrick

Two years ago this would have been one of the least anticipated games of the week, fast forward to 2012 and this is now a marquee match-up as we get week 2 in to full swing. Both teams are coming off wins from Week 1, the Detroit Lions escaped their home opener with a sloppy win against the lowly Rams, while the 49ers entered Lambeau Field and dominated the Green Bay Packers. There are going to be some very intriguing match ups in this game, with the abundance of talented football players on both teams. Here are some key battles that will be taking place:

49ers Offensive Line vs Lions Defensive Line
The latest injury report for the game has the Detroit Lions likely to be missing 3 of their 4 starters in the secondary. Safety Louis Delmas and CB Chris Houston are Doubtful, while CB Bill Bentley has been ruled out. We saw what Alex Smith was able to do against a more talented secondary in Green Bay (20-26 211 Yards 2 TD and 0 INT, 125.6 QB Rating), if he (Smith) gets ample time in the pocket, the 49ers now have the talent at WR to really exploit the Lions weak secondary. Smith is looking extremely comfortable in the 49ers offense now, even getting sacked 4 times last Sunday he never looked out of rhythm. Alex Smith is playing at a level we have never seen from him, he has (including playoffs) attempted 241 consecutive passes without an Interception.

LAST SEASON'S MATCHUP ENDED IN A DRAMATIC 49ER VICTORY

The Lions D-Line has a very tough challenge ahead of themselves, they can't count on their coverage to bail them out on passing plays, they will also have the unenviable task of trying to shut down the 49ers run game. They should expect Frank Gore early in the game, then a lot of Kendall Hunter in the 2nd and 3rd quarter, and just as they are getting worn down, I'd expect the 49ers to use a heavy dose of Gore again to pick up good consistent chunks of yards in the 4th quarter.

Suh, Fairley and Corey Williams will have be at the top of their game to allow edge rushers Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch wreak havoc on the outside. Even if they do pressure Smith a lot, he has shown the ability to take the sack rather than force a throw into coverage. Jim Harbaugh has no problems with this and trusts his defense to win him the game. The Lions D-Line will need to have an A+ type game for 60 minutes.

Matthew Stafford vs 49ers Pass Rush
In Week 1 vs the Rams Stafford threw 3 INT's in the game and the Lions still won. If he does that against the 49ers, I give the Lions 0.01% a chance of victory, and that is only because anything is possible in Football. The 49ers run defense is so good and the Lions have a serious lack of talent at RB, that this game is going to be on the shoulders of Matt Stafford. However, the 49ers Pass Rush has been relentless since Vic Fangio became the Defensive Co-ordinator, and you can bet guys like Aldon Smith, Ahmad Brooks, Justin Smith and Ray McDonald are licking their chops at all the long developing passing plays the Lions incorporate into their offense.

WILL THERE BE ANY POST-GAME DRAMA THIS TIME?

Stafford is going to be making throws with pressure in his face, and if they Lions want to have any chance at winning, they better hope those passes end up in the hands of guys like Calvin Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew and Nate Burleson. Ultimately, we all know that Calvin Johnson is going to get his catches and yards, and maybe even a TD or two, but the game will come down to the "other" guys making plays for the Lions. Along with the Lions D-Line having the game of their lives.

I think that with the game being in San Francisco, on a most likely cold and windy Sunday Night at Candlestick, I like the 49ers chances of coming away with a victory. I hate guessing scores, but if I had to I would say the 49ers win 27-17. The 49ers are just too complete of a team, too talented and playing at such a high level, that it will be incredibly difficult for ANY team to win in San Francisco on a night game. We all remember what the 49ers did to the Steelers on Monday Night Football last year. That's it for now, check back Monday or Tuesday for an in-depth recap of the game.

Over and Out.

My Take on the 49ers 53 Man Roster

By Kalen Patrick

It is the time of year that players on the bubble of making a team fear the most. Competition is fierce in each and every play of practice. Some of these guys know this could be their last Training Camp, some of these guys will be in different parts of the country playing for different teams. Here at the Sports Cave we focus particularly on San Francisco Bay Area Teams. So lets now go ahead and I will give you guys a preview of what MY 49ers 53 man roster would look like.

OFFENSE (25)
QB - Alex Smith
        Colin Kaepernick
        Scott Tolzien

ALEX SMITH LEADING THE 49ERS HUDDLE

RB - Frank Gore
        Kendall Hunter
        LaMichael James
        Brandon Jacobs
FB -  Bruce Miller

WR - Michael Crabtree
         Mario Manningham
         Randy Moss
         Ted Ginn Jr
         Kyle Williams
         AJ Jenkins

TE - Vernon Davis
        Delanie Walker

OL - Joe Staley-Mike Iupati-Jonathan Goodwin-Alex Boone-Anthony Davis
         Jason Slowey-Leonard Davis-Chase Beeler-Daniel Kilgore

The Offense is very difficult when it comes down to the final cuts, some hard decisions for sure. The 49ers have a lot of depth at RB and WR, I managed to get in all of the offensive playmakers including Ted Ginn Jr who will primarily be the Returner for the 49ers. The hardest part is the Offensive Line, there is a lot of depth at the interior of the Line, should anything happen to any of the Guards or Center we are covered well. If Joe Staley or Anthony Davis go down, then Boone can take their spot and either Leonard Davis, Daniel Kilgore or Slowey can take Boone's spot.

DEFENSE (25)

THE 49ERS VAUNTED DEFENSE

DL - Ray McDonald-Isaac Sopoaga-Justin Smith
        Demarcus Dobbs-Ricky Jean Francois-Ian Williams-Will Tukuafu

LB - Ahmad Brooks-Patrick Willis-NaVorro Bowman-Aldon Smith
        Larry Grant-Parys Haralson-Tavares Gooden-Eric Bakhtiari

CB - Carlos Rogers                      S - Dashon Goldson
        Tarell Brown                             Donte Whitner
        Chris Culliver                            Trenton Robinson
        Perrish Cox                              CJ Spillman
        Tramaine Brock                        Colin Jones


The 49ers defense is stacked. All 11 starters return, plus there is great depth essentially all over the defense. Safety depth is a little worrying and most of the backups here are Special Team stars (Spillman and Jones in particular). Hard to beat the depth and talent at DL, LB and CB.

SPECIAL TEAMS (3)
K - David Akers
P - Andy Lee
LS - Brian Jennings

Notes: Rookie LB Darius Fleming will be on IR. Rookies Cam Johnson, Chris Owusu and Joe Looney to the Practice Squad, along with 2nd year TE Konrad Reuland. Demarcus Dobbs versatility allows the 49ers to get away with only 2 TE's on the 53 man roster. Very solid team top to bottom and that about sums it up.

Over and Out.

49ers Season In Review

By Kalen Patrick

Wow! Well where do I even begin? My last post talked about the Ravens game on Thanksgiving, which was a tough loss. The 49ers went on to finish the season with a 13-3 record, arguably the top defense in the league and a solid offense that centered mostly around not turning the ball over. This was the best record the 49ers have had since Steve Mariucci's first season with the 49ers when he also went 13-3 after taking over for George Seifert in 1997.

Alex Smith finished the year with a career high in passing with 3144 Yards and most importantly he finished with a QB rating of 90.7 and only threw 5 Interceptions all year long. This was basically the philosophy of the 2011 49ers. Play great opportunistic defense (check), play great Special Teams (check) and play smart offensive football, meaning do NOT turn the ball over, settling for 3 points rather than make a risky throw for 7. Basically the 49ers gameplan is to win the field position battle. The 49ers led the league in drives starting in the opponents half of the field. That was Jim Harbaughs plan and it worked very well.

49ERS FUTURE IS BRIGHT WITH JIM HARBAUGH ON THE SIDELINES

Then came the playoffs, on a Sunny Sunday afternoon, the New Orleans Saints came to town and this game ended up being maybe the greatest game of football I have ever seen. The first quarter was ALL 49ers and we jumped out to a 17 point lead. Donte Whitner set the early tone when he gave Pierre Thomas a crushing blow inside the 49ers redzone which led to a fumble which the 49ers recovered. Drew Brees was intercepted by Safety Dashon Goldson. The 49ers were able to capitalize on these mistakes which gave them the early lead.

As the game went on, the 49ers became stagnant offensively, the Saints were finally able to break down the 49ers and got right back in the game. In the 4th quarter the 49ers were leading 23-17, then Drew Brees hit Darren Sproles over the middle and with his explosion he was gone and the Saints took their first lead of the day 24-23. On the following drive, Frank Gore had a big run and put the 49ers in great position to score. It came to a 3rd down and 8 on the Saints 28 yard line. Greg Roman called a gutsy play which was a designed run by Alex Smith, it lead to a 28 yard run for a touchdown by the sideline. The stadium erupted and so did I. The game was far from over however, not long after, the Saints reached in to their bag of tricks, with a handoff to Sproles, who then flicked it back to Brees and hit Jimmy Graham for a 66 yard TD with less than 1 minute left in the game, score 32-29 Saints.

ALEX SMITH 28 YARD RUN FOR THE LEAD

The next drive will never be forgotten for any 49er fan watching that day. The Saints were not playing prevent by any means, and it may have cost them. Saints DC Gregg Williams called a heavy blitz, Smith was able to hit Vernon Davis over the middle who scampered down the field and put the 49ers within FG range to tie the game. However, there was still time on the clock, and everyone on the 49ers sideline had other ideas. 14 yards from the endzone with just over 10 seconds left, Alex Smith fired a rifle between 3 Saints defenders and hit Vernon Davis for the Touchdown and Win. It was a perfect throw at the perfect time. Vernon Davis running off the field crying his eyes out, brought back memories from 1997 when Terrell Owens caught a Steve Young pass to win the game against the Packers in the Playoffs.

VERNON DAVIS CATCH TO SEAL THE WIN

The Vernon Davis catch will go down as one of my greatest 49er and Sports memories ever, up there with the 2002 comeback against the NY Giants, the SF Giants winning the World Series and as a kid the 49ers winning the Superbowl in 1994.

The 49ers went on to lose to the NY Giants in the NFC Championship game. (Can you tell I'm still hurt by this?).

#99 ALDON SMITH WAS RELENTLESS FOR THE 49ERS ALL YEAR LONG

Overall, it was a great season, the 49ers were ultimately 14-4 with a trip to the Championship Game. Before the season on 49erswebzone.com I had predicted a 6-10 season I believe. Obviously they far exceeded any expectations of mine. One of the great stories of the season would be Alex Smith bouncing back from many tough years in San Francisco, also rookie Aldon Smith recording an astonishing 14 sacks in the regular season, and added another 2 in the playoffs. There were so many great moments, from the Ted Ginn returns for TD's to Delanie Walkers catch to beat the 5-0 Lions to Justin Smith sealing the Giants game with a bat down or when he stripped Jeremy Maclin of the Eagles to clinch the win in Philly. This season was so impressive and 2012 will no doubt be a lot of fun to watch, in the words of Bart Scott "CAN'T WAIT"



UP NEXT: 49ers Offseason; What to expect from Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh?

San Francisco 49ers Week 10 + Week 11 Preview

By Kalen Patrick

So I have been MIA for a while, but back doing what I love (talking about my 49ers). Gonna do a recap of the game last Sunday against the New York Giants, and then preview this week's action against divisional opponent the Arizona Cardinals. Lets do this.

The 49ers added to their win streak with a 27-20 win over the visiting New York Giants. There were some big turning points in this game. The 49ers decision in the 2nd quarter to go for an onside kick which was successful, and then in the 4th quarter, scoring a TD, followed by an interception off Eli Manning which lead to another quick score.

The game was very back and forth for the first half, trading field goals all the way through the first half, leaving the score at 9-6. Then came the TD's. In the 4th quarter the 49ers held a comfortable 27-13 lead, then Eli led a very impressive drive in a short time to make it 27-20 with time left. The Giants had one more drive, it was 4th down inside the 49ers 20 yard line, Eli was looking in the direction of Mario Manningham and Victor Cruz, when Justin Smith batted down the pass to secure the game for the 49ers and put them at 8-1, for the first time in 14 years.

The quality performers and MVP's of the game are as follows:
Offense: Alex Smith
Defense: Justin Smith/Carlos Rogers/Patrick Willis

ALEX SMITH, COOL CALM AND COLLECTED IN ORCHESTRATING A WIN FOR THE 49ERS

The 49ers essentially put the offensive game on the shoulders of Alex Smith. The 49ers came out passing, and even when we ran Gore/Hunter never managed to get a consistent run game going. Alex Smith however was accurate and efficient enough to be more than capable of moving the football himself. Hitting receivers in stride  and being confident and standing in the pocket played a big part. Alex moved around the pocket well, and was able to escape pressure and pick up some rushing yards when needed. Considering he had zero help from the run game, I would say this was one of Alex Smith's more impressive games I have ever seen. He did end with 250 yards 1 TD and 1 INT(not Alex's fault, thanks Ted Ginn), but it was more the way he played.

On defense it is very difficult to pick an MVP, Justin Smith played an all round great game and had the game ending batted ball. Carlos Rogers had 2 INT's but did give up some big plays and then Willis was everywhere and had that big tackle when Eli went scrambling and forced a Giants punt. Honestly, going with any of these guys would be a right answer.

JUSTIN SMITH AND PATRICK WILLIS CELEBRATE THE GAME ENDING PLAY

What I like most about this win was that the 49ers beat a very capable team in the New York Giants, and they didn't even play their best game. The run game was ineffective, the defense was good but we all know it can play better. On Special Teams I do have to give a big shout out to Kicker David Akers. He has been money all year, what a great pickup by Trent Baalke. He quietly may have had one of the best offseasons of any GM.

Now lets take a look forward to Week 11, the 49ers will host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday 1:15PM Pacific Time. The Cardinals will be coming in with some confidence in this game having won back to back games (Rams and then Eagles). John Skelton will be the QB this Sunday and he has done a very solid job. Of course the big question is how to stop Larry Fitzgerald from killing you. I expect to see the bigger physical Chris Culliver matched up on Fitz with a lot of help from Dashon Goldson.

Division games are never ever a given considering how well the teams know each other. You cannot expect an easy win ever in the NFL much less against someone in your division, I do however expect the 49ers to win this game. I feel the defense is capable of stopping the Cards enough, Patrick Peterson is dangerous in returns but the 49ers special teams have been outstanding so far this year and I like our chances at moving the ball on this defense.

Let's speak hypothetically right now, IF the 49ers beat the Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams beat the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday, then the 49ers would have a 6 game lead with 6 games left in the regular season and have the division essentially wrapped up. Not bad that's a distinct possibility before Thanksgiving.

49ers Stats
Alex Smith - 1709 YD's, 11 TD's, 3 INT's. 95.8 QB Rating
Frank Gore - 782 YD's, 5 YD's, 4.7 AVG
Vernon Davis - 379 YD's, 34 REC, 4 TD's


Navorro Bowman - 92 TCK
Carlos Rogers - 5 INT
Aldon Smith - 6.5 SACK

San Francisco 49ers Week 6

By Kalen Patrick

The 49ers headed in to Detroit leading the NFC West with a very impressive 4-1 record. As I mentioned in my last post, I knew that the match up against the Lions was going to be no easy task, in fact I predicted a very close game that could go either way. Well luckily for the 49ers, it went there way in the end as the 49ers left Detroit with a 25-19 Victory over the previously undefeated Detroit Lions.

49ERS RB FRANK GORE RAN ALL OVER DETROIT

This was one of those well fought games that went back and forth, and only fans of each team could really appreciate. The 49ers started out slow in this game, trailing 10-0 in the 1st quarter, with Kyle Vanden Bosch's forced fumble and recovery playing a big part in that. However, the big difference maker on offense for the 49ers, Frank Gore, then took over (141 Yards on 15 Carries). A big run of 45+ yards set the 49ers up at the 1 and Gore himself punched it in. The game ended up going back and forth a lot all the way through, until Alex Smith's touchdown pass to Delanie Walker ultimately sealed the Victory for the 49ers.

The Victory was in big part to the excellent play of the 49ers defense, Frank Gore and the run game, good special teams, and Alex Smith making the play when the 49ers needed it most. One positive was how involved the 49ers got Michael Crabtree in the game. That will be vital going forward in the season especially since Joshua Morgan is on IR. 49ers will also get a nice boost after the bye week with the return of Braylon Edwards.

49ERS OLB/DE ALDON SMITH

The 49ers front 7 dominated the Lions, Willis and Bowman covered the entire middle of the field, while Justin Smith and rookie Aldon Smith both tormented Matthew Stafford all day long. Aldon Smith also forced the Safety in the 2nd quarter which turned out to be a huge momentum changer. He now has 5.5 sacks on the season and that is with little to no playing time in Weeks 1 and 2. Keep an eye on Aldon Smith as a potential Defensive Rookie of the Year.

So whats next for the 49ers? Well they now have a bye week, which will be big in allowing Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman to implement more of the offense and allow for the return of Braylon Edwards. The 49ers will then open the 2nd half of their season at home against the Cleveland Browns, which is a favorable match up to get the 49ers going again.

The 49ers now sit at 5-1 with a nice matchup coming out of the bye week and also 5 games left against weak NFC West opponents.

49ers Stats Leaders
Alex Smith - 1090 YDS, 8 TD, 2 INT, 63.3% CMP, 95.2 QB Rating.
Frank Gore - 541 YDS, 4 TD, 5.0 YPC
Vernon Davis - 24 REC, 241 YDS, 3 TD, 11.3 AVG
Navarro Bowman - 56 TACKLE
Aldon Smith - 5.5 SACK

San Francisco 49ers Updates Week 4+5

By Kalen Patrick

The last 2 weeks have been to put it simply "awesome" for the 49ers. Week 4 was a dramatic finish in Philly where the 49ers pulled out a 24-23 victory over the self-proclaimed 'Dream Team'. The 49ers followed that up with a very impressive victory in Candlestick Park against Tampa Bay with a 48-3 ass-kicking of the Bucs. This now leaves the 49ers in great position at 4-1 with a road game against the Lions coming up. That game will be no easy task but a win there would be HUGE going in to the bye week.

ALEX SMITH IN ACTION @ PHILLY IN WEEK 4

Lets take a look back at the last 2 weeks now. The most impressive individual player has definitely been Alex Smith (461 yards 5 TD's 0 INT's and 60% COMP. For a player like Alex Smith, in fact, for ANY QB those numbers are amazing. Alex Smith brought the 49ers back against the Eagles in the 2nd half and was dominant in the Tampa Bay game. The development of Smith has been key to the 49ers 4-1 record. After 5 games Smith has only 1 INT and has been extremely efficient passing the ball.

Gotta credit Justin Smith for stripping the ball off Jeremy Maclin to end any possible comeback for the Eagles in Week 4 and the entire defense was just legendary against a very capable Tampa Bay team.

49ERS CB - CARLOS ROGERS

All facets of the game have been playing very well the last 6 quarters of football. The Offensive-Line has really stepped it up, which has also allowed for Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter to pile up the yards. Most impressive has been the defense. Carlos Rogers has become a stud shut down CB, with INT's in 3 consecutive games. Quieting the myth of him being Mr.Stone Hands. The front 7 has been dominant, with Justin Smith, Ray McDonald, Navarro Bowman and Patrick Willis all playing at Pro-Bowl caliber level while Rookie Aldon Smith has been disruptive in passing down situations.

This Sunday in Detroit will be a huge test for the 49ers and Alex Smith in particular. With leading WR Joshua Morgan placed on IR, his weapons on the outside will be Michael Crabtree, Ted Ginn, Kyle Williams and newly signed Brett Swain. Expect a big week for Vernon Davis, Delanie Walker, and I also expect Gore/Hunter to pile up the receiving yards.

The biggest question on defense is how do you stop Calvin Johnson? Long story short, you don't. All you can do is contain him and hope he doesn't completely kill you. Niners gotta get their run game and short pass game working, to hold the ball, keep it out of Stafford and CJ's hands. I think this will be a very very competitive game. Obviously I'm hoping for a 49er win, and I think it is possible, but even if the 49ers lose, we will be 4-2 at the Bye Week, with 5 divisional games, the Browns, Giants and Redskins all being very winnable games. Pittsburgh and Baltimore will be very tough but could even pull out a win in one of those games.

49ers Stats Leaders
Alex Smith - 965 YDS, 7 TD's, 1 INT, 65.9% COMP with a 104.1 QB Rating
Frank Gore - 400 Rush YDS, 4.3 AVG, 3 TD, 66 Receiving YDS.
Vernon Davis - 22 REC, 263 Yards 3 TD's
Navarro Bowman - 42 Tackles
Aldon Smith - 3.5 Sacks

San Francisco 49ers Week 1

By Kalen Patrick

TED GINN - 49ERS HERO

The 49ers opened up the Jim Harbaugh era with a 33 - 17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. While the victory was far from pretty, a win is a win at the end of the day and I feel that the 49ers executed their gameplan well. I believe it was Jim Harbaugh's plan to minimize using Alex Smith and to not take risks and put his faith in the defense, special teams and run game. 2 out of 3 of these were very successful. While the defense only had 1 notably bad play (Baldwin 55 yard TD), for the rest of the game they were lights out. I think we all know how amazing the Special Teams and Ted Ginn were.

First things first. Lets focus on the positives and then I will take a look at what the 49ers will need to do to be successful going forward.



POSITIVES
Ted Ginn - Not a shock here at all, returning a kickoff and punt for TD's back to back to me won the 49ers this game. The Seahawks had all the momentum when they scored to make the score 19-17 to the 49ers with plenty of time left. Then comes Ted Ginn and suddenly its a 26-17 game and the pressure is back on Seattle. Then Ted Ginn gets another chance and puts the game away making it 33-17 with only a few minutes left. The 49ers cannot rely on this production throughout the year but Ted Ginn was easily Player of the Game for me.

Ray McDonald - I questioned making McDonald a starter on the D-Line, I thought he was more suited to being a role player. If last Sunday was anything to go by, then I will gladly admit how wrong I was. McDonald was excellent in defending both the pass and run game. Pressuring the QB, stopping the run at or behind the line of scrimmage. Very impressive, he also had a sack and deserved about 3.

49ERS DEFENSE SMOTHERED THE SEATTLE OFFENSE ALL DAY

Justin Smith - You gotta love Justin Smith, always goes 100% whether its the first play of the game or the 4th quarter. He had 2 sacks and similar to McDonald, he was relentless in chasing Tarvaris Jackson, and was excellent against the run. I like this D-Line a lot.

Parys Haralson/Aldon Smith - Haralson looked much much better than I have ever seen him before, he was applying pressure and being disruptive, also Aldon Smith did a great job for his 1st ever game, tipped a ball and always did well against his blocker. Throw in Brooks, and the d-line and I think this defense will pile up the sack numbers.

Vernon Davis - Despite the 49ers shying away from the passing game, Vernon not only led the team in yards but also came up with the big plays when they needed them most. Expect another big year from him, can;t wait until Harbaugh opens up the playbook more and to see what he really plans to do with Vernon.

THINGS TO WORK ON
The 49ers offensive game plan for week 1 was very conservative, I believe they did this knowing they could contain the Seattle offense, however, this Sunday against Dallas is a whole other story. Romo will pile up the yards and they will run the ball better than Seattle. In order for the 49ers to keep up, they will have to put the ball in Alex Smiths hands more. They have some very well respected weapons with Vernon Davis, Braylon Edwards and Michael Crabtree. Gore and Hunter are also good receiver out of the backfield.

CAN JIM HARBAUGH TRUST ALEX SMITH ENOUGH TO PUT THE GAME IN HIS HANDS

Doing this should also allow Gore to have a better day running the ball. I suspect Dallas will stack the box to stop the run, expect some play action early in the game, to catch the weak Dallas secondary off guard. As positive as I can be, I can only expect so much from the 49ers and I think we won't be able to hold up to Dallas quite yet. I expect a score along the lines of 27-17. Unless the defense can have another HUGE day and maybe get lucky with Ted Ginn again. I do expect a loss, but it will be competitive. After the Dallas game I really like the 49ers chances against the Bengals in week 3.

Can't wait to see how it all turns out!