San Francisco 49ers Facing Make or Break Game vs Seattle Seahawks

If there was ever a game to define the future of the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday’s week 13 matchup in Seattle against the Seahawks is that game.

A victory and the 49ers continue to move forward and the remainder of the season (whether they win enough games to make the playoffs or not) will be a preview of why the current core of 49er personnel can lead this team in the near future.

Beating Seattle moves San Francisco to 6-6 and if everything goes to plan, the 49ers will be just one game behind division leading Arizona heading into the Monday night contest against the Cardinals next week.

Kurt Warner or no Kurt Warner, the Cardinals are still the defending NFC champions and lead the division for a reason. They are without a doubt a solid football team from top to bottom.

Even if the 49ers play their best football against the Cardinals and in Philadelphia later in the season against the Eagles, these two games may simply end up as losses.

The other remaining opponents on the schedule are the Lions and Rams which are essentially automatic wins and if the 49ers win this week against the Seahawks, these three victories will give them an solid 8-8 record, but would mean missing the playoffs.

However, if the season shakes out in this fashion with the 49ers winning the games they are supposed to win and coming up short in the two big-time contests against quality opponents, San Francisco will still have a positive outlook going into next season.

But if the 49ers fail to beat the 4-7 injury-plagued Seahawks this week, a team they ought to beat, all the questions surrounding this team will continue.

Why did they hire Jimmy Raye as offensive coordinator?

Is Alex Smith ever going to pan out?

Where is the pass rush?

Does Mike Singletary really understand the x’s and o’s of football from a coaching perspective? Not all great players make great coaches.

Why can’t the offensive line block for longer than two seconds in the I-formation?

Can we trust Scott Mcloughan to make smart personnel moves?

If the 49ers lose in Seattle on Sunday, all these questions will remain and the search for a franchise quarterback will continue.

Alex Smith will be back next year but are the 49ers going to give Nate Davis an opportunity to compete for the job? Or will they try and use one of their early draft picks on a quarterback? Or perhaps a free-agent to compete for the job?

And there is also the situation with offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye who has been much maligned by the 49er fan base this season. Will the 49ers have an eight different offensive coordinator in eight straight seasons?

The feeling amongst the fan base going into the Seahawks game is that the 49ers are turning a corner out of mediocrity and becoming a true balanced playoff team.

But if San Francisco loses to the Seahawks, the team, the fans and the media will once again start to have doubts.

Good teams make sure they win the games they are suppose to win. Losing this game means the 49ers are not yet a good team.

This is a situation where Alex Smith and the 49ers cannot afford to lose if they want to be taken seriously by the rest of the league. Since it is a divisional game, either team could win but the circumstances are such that the better team’s quarterback has to lead his team to victory.

With Seattle’s 25th ranked pass defense, Smith must win this game and show how he can be a difference maker.

Without this victory not only do the playoff hopes for this season come to and end but next season’s outlook starts to look just as bleak.

It is a make or break game for the 49ers because a lot of key personnel could be changed by next year if they don’t win on Sunday.

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San Francisco 49ers: One Win Doesn’t Get Alex Smith Off The Hook

As apart of the San Francisco “faithful”, watching the 49ers win on Sunday makes my day. Even though I may not be the biggest fan of their current quarterback Alex Smith, he did lead the team to victory. And like former 49er corner-back Toi Cook says during the 1994 Super Bowl video, “a W’s a W, in the National Football League.”

However, just because the 49er offense looked solidified against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday doesn’t mean it will perform in the same manner week after week.

Alex Smith still has a lot to prove despite what some people may think. For example, Mark Purdy of the Mercury News glorifies Smith’s play in his latest column.

Purdy starts his article out with the following:

 

“Apologies to Alex Smith. Really. Sincerely.

Last week in Green Bay, the 49ers quarterback was awful in the first half, threw a crucial interception in the second half and raised serious doubts (especially in this column space) about whether he could ever be an effective NFL starting quarterback.

Nevermind.

Sunday afternoon at Candlestick Park, Smith reversed the equation. He reversed it so severely, some of us suffered whiplash. Smith had his best game as an NFL starter in a 20-3 victory over Jacksonville. He had zero interceptions, two touchdown passes and a sweet 96.8 passer rating.”

If I’m reading this correctly, Purdy is changing his mind from doubting Smith ever being an effective NFL starting quarterback to claiming him to already be an effective NFL starter?

After just one game?

Smith did complete 65.8 percent of his passes (27-41) against the Jaguars for 232 yards and two touchdowns without being sacked or throwing a single interception.

But are we supposed to just forget about the quarterback who had thrown just 28 touchdowns against 38 interceptions and fumbled 21 times in 38 career games?

Furhtermore, that zero interception stat for Sunday’s game is quite misleading. Two different drives should have ended in interceptions if it weren’t for the porous Jacksonville secondary forgetting how to catch the football.

Plus there were numerous throws on Sunday that were just a tad-high or too far in front of his receivers.

And on one-play in particular during the first touchdown drive, Smith had Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan both wide open on route to the end-zone and Smith attempted to fit the ball into a triple covered Vernon Davis.

Davis ended up taking a big hit from the Jacksonville safety and wasn’t able to hang onto the ball. But don’t fault the tight-end, he drew three defenders to him allowing his teammates to be wide open.

The ball should have been thrown to one of the two outside targets, not down the middle of the field.

There were two options on that play which were better targets than the 49er tight-end and it’s not surprising why they were so wide open. Jacksonville is ranked 26th in the league defending the pass, allowing an average of 242.9 yards per game.

Therefore, despite not being sacked, barely even touched and attempting 41 passes, Smith threw for just 232 yards—a total that is less than Jaguars have averaged giving up this season.

In the second-half alone Smith was 9-12 passing for just 63 yards. Only five of those nine receptions gained yards. Four of them managed no gain or worse, two passes to Gore went for a loss, one to Crabtree for a loss and one to Delanie Walker for no gain.

Coming out of the locker-room the 49ers should have been able to put this game away. However, they managed just three points in the entire half, and held the ball for just 4:53 in the third quarter compared to 9:59 for Jacksonville.

The Jaguars out-gained the 49ers 183 to 90 in the final 30 minutes, as only a couple of unfortunate David Garrard fumbles and a missed 21-yard field-goal by Josh Scobee kept Jacksonville from getting back in the game.

Jacksonville’s offense was actually moving the ball better the majority of the time. San Francisco’s offense on the other hand stalled on two solid drives settling for field goals, and on five other drives had to punt the ball away. Their 20 points was slightly below their season average.

Take away one of the touchdown drives that should have ended in a interception and the 49ers’ offensive “out-burst” that fans are raving about would have netted them just 13 points.

Many will say I’m simply taking the “glass half empty” approach opposed to the “glass half full” outlook, but going into a divisional game on the road next week, I’m simply holding back my optimism.

Smith had one solid game and looked good with the more spread out offense. But can we bank on this to continue? Playing in Seattle next week he will have to deal with the infamous “12th man,” the nick-name of the incredibly loud Qwest Field.

Later on in the season Smith will have to play away at the Eagles, who own the tenth best pas defense in the league. Can we really take what we saw against Jacksonville and be confident it will continue?

The “faithful” is hopeful that Smith’s impressive play from Sunday will continue but further evidence is needed before one can make a call to whether Smith truly is the quarterback of the future.

As for now, the jury is still out on one Alex Smith.

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San Francisco 49er Quarterbacks Are Exactly Who We Thought They Were

The San Francisco 49ers 2009 season has been the tale of two quarterbacks. Through the first six games, Shaun Hill was the starter. Although Alex Smith nearly brought San Francisco back in the second half of Hill’s most recent start, let’s put the loss against the Texans on Hill’s record.

Therefore, the dink and dunk, “no-arm” game-manager quarterback led the 49ers to a 3-3 record. Was he Joe Montana? No, but he wasn’t exactly Ken Dorsey out there either.

But since the 49ers made the change to Alex Smith, the 49ers have subsequently gone 1-3.

Smith, the strong arm, big-play, no pocket awareness, interception prone quarterback may putting up “better” numbers compared to what his current back-up produced but he has two-less wins to show for it.

Putting the quarterbacks side by side, you’ll see the following numbers:

Hill :

Completions (87) Attempts (155) Percentage (56.1) Yards (943) YPG (157.2) TD/INT (5/2) Rating (79.6)

Smith :

Completions (95) Attempts (155) Percentage (61.3) Yards (1035) YPG (207.0) TD/INT (9/7) Rating (81.5)

 

By taking a look at the raw numbers, the assumptions 49er fans had about the two quarterbacks have been proven true on the field.

Alex Smith may have the bigger arm and can make more plays down field and throw for more touchdowns. However, Shaun Hill makes better decisions with the football, limits the turnovers and keeps his team in ball games.

What does this mean you ask? That neither quarterback is the player to lead the 49ers back to the promise land.

What can all the top NFL quarterbacks accomplish? They can be both the big-arm quarterback who makes big plays down field and the quarterback who makes good decisions with the football that keep their team in games.

If only the 49ers could combine Smith and Hill into one person, then maybe they would finally have a good quarterback.

But since that is unfortunately not possible, the 49ers need to realize that since both have proven they will never be difference makers in the NFL, it is time to move on.

Alex Smith supporters can say all they want about the difficulty of five coordinators in five seasons but the truth cannot be denied that Smith does not have the necessary skills required to succeed at the NFL level.

You cannot teach pocket awareness and instincts and despite his athletic build, Smith clearly doesn’t have the natural feel for the position.

He may be able to perform an excellent Tom Brady impersonation while in the shotgun formation and down 20 points, but there is no quarterback in the league that performs solely out of the spread formation.

Every offense in the NFL needs a quarterback to be able to take snaps from under center and make plays from inside the pocket. How many times does Smith have to prove his inability to accomplish this before his advocators realize his inability to play quarterback?

For the sake of the 49ers, making the switch at quarterback in the Houston game has actually decreased their chances at making the playoffs.

With the more athletic quarterback on the field, San Francisco has gone away from their bread and butter of running the football. Frank Gore is one of the top runners in all of football and the 49ers have neglected to utilize him as their best weapon.

When the Niners have handed the ball off to their best weapon more than 20 times this season they are 2-0. When they fail to get him 20 or more carries, they fall to 1-4.

In the most recent contest against Green Bay, Gore wasn’t even given double-digit carries much less 20 or more and just barely reached double-digit touches with ten.

Yet the one game they have won since making the switch at quarterback, Gore ran the ball 25 times for 104 yards and a touchdown. And despite running 22 fewer offensive plays, the 49ers controlled the ball for 31:33 compared to Chicago’s 28:27.

The offense may have not been pretty but just like they say in hockey, they don’t ask how pretty, they ask how many.

Against Green Bay last week, Alex Smith may have had a prettier game. He threw for 227 yards, three touchdowns and just one interception compared to throwing for just 118 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception against Chicago. But his team beat the Bears and lost to the Packers. Part of the reason for the Green Bay loss was that the Packers held onto the ball for 41:39 to just 18:21 for the 49ers.

Losing the time of possession is not the formula for winning with the current crop of 49ers.

In all but one game this season, the team who won the time of possession battle went on to win the game. But even when the 49ers won the time of possession statistic against the Titans, they still lost that game because of Alex Smith’s three interceptions.

But that is what makes the NFL great, wins are what matters, not statistics.

However, certain statistics like TOP and amount of Frank Gore carries typically prelude to whether the 49ers win or lose.

Now for the sake of this season, leaving Hill at quarterback would have given the 49ers a better shot at the playoffs. Fans would much rather watch a performance like San Francisco gave against the Vikings where they played solid football the entire game and would have won if not for a miracle play, then have to pray for a late fourth quarter comeback to be completed after witnessing horrendous football for the entire first-half.

With Hill running the show, winning the TOP battle and utilizing Frank Gore early and often was a staple of the offense. Therefore it is no surprise why three of San Francisco’s four victories came with Hill at quarterback and why all four victories have come with either Hill/Gore or both as key contributors.

But either way, 49er fans and hopefully the 49er coaching staff has realized that neither quarterback is “the guy”.

If Hill had led the 49ers to the playoffs it would have been a great underdog story, a team without a true quarterback managed to play well enough to defy the odds and make the post-season.

However, it also may have given fans and coaches false hope that Hill could actually lead the squad to a Super Bowl.

Considering that there are just six games remaining and the 49ers are three games behind the division leading Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco needs to see what they have with rookie quarterback Nate Davis.

The fifth round pick out of Ball State is listed at 6′ 2″ 217 pounds, a very similar stature to Philadelphia Eagles star Donovan McNabb.

Am I saying that the rookie can play at McNabb’s level? No, of course not. But as the phrase goes from many NFL coaches, “he gives our team the best chance to win”.

Alex Smith clearly doesn’t give the 49ers the best chance to win, he is 1-3 since taking over as a starter and his constant mistakes hinder his team’s chances to win.

Shaun Hill allows the 49ers a better chance to win but with Michael Crabtee added to Vernon Davis, San Francisco now has multiple down the field weapons. Hill doesn’t have the arm strength to get these guys the ball when the 49ers need a big throw.

Nate Davis on the other hand looked extremely poised during his extended look during the pre-season, and if inserted into the lineup, he would have do little more but hand off to Frank Gore.

However, when a pass is needed, a play action pass down the field to Crabtree or Vernon will be well well in the capability of Davis who has incredible arm strength.

Being new to the league, Davis will be able to pick and choose his throws and won’t put his team in a bad situation.

The issue that currently kills San Francisco is that Smith is over-confident. He thinks he can fit throws into windows that don’t exist and it leads San Francisco into a whole heap of troubles.

If Davis were put on the field, San Francisco would finally be able to put together the balance of run and pass they were looking for at the beginning of the season.

Now perhaps the rookie quarterback will struggle since he has yet to take a regular season snap but even if he does, at-least he offers something new, something refreshing, something different from the other two quarterbacks.

Smith and Hill are exactly who we thought they were. But Nate Davis could be a diamond in the rough.

He has the raw skills and physical prowess to be a play maker and putting him on the field could jump start this 49er offense.

Remember, the division title isn’t necessarily out of the question. Despite being three games back, the 49ers have the Jaguars at home and the Seahawks on the road the next two weeks.

The Cardinals have at the red-hot Titans next week, and home against the Vikings in two weeks.

There is a good chance that the 49ers could be sitting at 6-6 three weeks from now and the Cardinals could be sitting at 7-5.

What happens three weeks from now? The 49ers get the Cardinals in San Francisco on Monday Night Football.

If everything goes according to plan, a victory on Monday Night could give the 49ers sole possession of first-place via the head-to-head tie breaker over Arizona.

However, so far this season nothing ever goes according to plan with the 49ers.

Assuming the 49ers continue with with Alex Smith at quarterback, their woeful offensive performances will continue and they won’t be able to win their next two very winnable games causing the Monday Night contest against Arizona to be a wash of a football game.

The only way leaving the 49ers win the next two games with Smith at quarterback is if they get back to running the ball with Gore.

Unfortunately, with Smith in the lineup, offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye is unbelievably pass-happy. I can just see it now how Smith goes leads the 49ers to numerous three-n-out possessions and Jaguars stud running back Maurice Jones-Drew controls the clock and eats up the 49er defense for multiple scores.

Putting Nate Davis in the game will shift back the focus to Gore, and allow the 49ers defense rest on the sidelines because these continual three-n-outs with Smith are causing the 49er defense to spend way to much time on the field.

The 49ers still have a chance at the post-season, hopefully they will figure out that chance runs through Gore, not Alex Smith.

But as we know, the 49ers are going need to pass in certain situations even with Gore as the focus, and Smith cannot throw from under center to save his life.

That’s where Davis comes in and allows the passing game to flourish when called upon.

It’s worth a shot but it has to happen now. The 49ers cannot afford to lose any more winnable football games.

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A Loss in Green Bay: Why the 49ers Didn’t Beat the Packers

Everyone involved in football—the players, coaches, management personnel, and owners—knows what the San Francisco 49ers want to be. They want to be a team that wins in the trenches.

According to head coach Mike Singletary, the 49ers win with a tough physical defense, and an offense that relies on a smash mouth running style of football.

If this is the case, then why are the 49ers second-to-last in the league in three-and-out possessions?

Why do they continuously lose the time of possession battle?

Why do they continue to put the ball in the hands of their mediocre quarterback, Alex Smith?

San Francisco’s 30-24 loss at the hands of the Green Bay Packers on Sunday exemplifies all that is wrong with the 49ers.

The 49ers’ offense fails time and time again to utilize its best assets. Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree were held to just one catch each in the first half, as their quarterback completed just three passes for five total yards before halftime.

But that wasn’t the worst part. The abandonment of the running game was absolutely inexcusable. 

In the first half, Frank Gore gained 56 yards but was given the ball just five times on the ground and only six total touches. He lost five yards on his lone reception because of a terrible screen setup and an equally horrendous decision from Smith, who should have thrown the ball away instead.

San Francisco’s top three offensive threats made just eight plays during the first half, so it should come as no shock that they possessed the ball for a minuscule 7:20 compared to Green Bay’s 22:19.

By running just 17 offensive plays, the 49ers left their supposedly “physical, hit you in the mouth” defense out to dry.

Without cornerback Nate Clements and linebacker Takeo Spikes, the 49ers’ defense was short-handed coming into the game, and the 49ers’s offense needed to keep them off the field, which it was never able to do.

Although the 49ers outscored Green Bay 21-7 in the second half, they ran just 29 offensive plays, only two of which were Frank Gore runs.

Coincidentally, the 49ers held onto the ball for just over 11 minutes in the last two quarters, compared to Green Bay’s 19 minutes and 10 seconds.

Quarterback Alex Smith’s lone interception came on a first-down play from his own one-yard line. He overthrew because of miscommunication with Davis, but it is offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye who needs a talking to.

Nine out of 10 times in that situation, an NFL team runs the football. Throwing down field in that situation was a horrid mistake.

At the time, the 49ers’ defense had held up and given the ball back to their offense, trailing just 23-10 with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter.

As San Francisco fans have seen all year, teams—whether good or bad—can put up points in very short amount of time.

Down just two scores with over 13 minutes remaining and possession of the ball, there was no need to hurry.

But as it turns out, Raye put too much of the game in Smith’s hands and didn’t allow Gore to get the running game going in the second half.

At the very least, the 49ers needed to run the ball a couple of times to get out of their own end-zone, but instead the only play of the drive was an interception.

Gore would finish the game with only 10 touches. That’s right, the 49ers’ best weapon had his number called just 10 times out of their 46 offensive plays.

If that is not a sign of poor play calling, I don’t know what is.

Remember, since Gore became the starter, the 49ers are 15-3 when he gets over 20 carries. When he doesn’t, San Francisco’s record drops to 7-28.

At this rate, the 49ers are going to have their eighth different offensive coordinator in eight seasons next year, because there is no way Jimmy Raye returns.

The game against Green Bay solidified his ineptitude as a play caller.

Though the 49er defense didn’t fare any better, they were much less to blame for Sunday’s loss. Granted, they failed to bring pressure on Aaron Rodgers, but the defense did everything they could to give their team a chance.

Without two vital starters and a defensive coordinator in Greg Manusky, who limited his unit’s chance at success by neglecting to blitz, it’s easy to understand why the Packers were able to move the ball up and down the field.

But despite the lack of blitzing, the players on defense executed to the best of their ability and, in the second half, held Green Bay to just seven points.

A Ryan Grant one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, which replenished Green Bay’s three-score lead, should be put on Alex Smith, whose interception gave the Packers a short field on that drive.

Other than that one score, the tired, beat-up, and worn-out defense kept San Francisco in the game by keeping Green Bay off the scoreboard.

If the offense had stuck to their run-first-and-run-often identity in the first half, perhaps the defense would have been fresh enough to execute better.

But with an incompetent coaching staff, highlighted by an awful offensive coordinator, the 49ers came into Sunday’s game with the worst possible game-plan.

This team is suppose to play a smash mouth style on offense and a hard-hitting, punishing style of defense.

They are suppose to win games by keeping the opposing offense off the field. They cannot and will not win games when their opponent holds on to the ball for more than twice as long.

While watching the game on Sunday, it appeared as if the 49ers coaching staff thought throwing the football on offense and sending just four rushers on defense was their gameplan to beat the Packers.

But the 49ers played exactly opposite of the way they should have.

Since the 49ers typically don’t blitz and don’t have a strong pass rush with just their front four—21st in sacks heading into Sunday’s game—the defensive gameplan should have called for bringing blitzers from multiple angles to try and throw off Rodgers.

Offensively, the plan should have been to pound the rock time and time again. Frank Gore had just seven carries in this game, despite breaking lose for a 42-yard gain in the first half.

The running game was working, and, yet, the 49ers abandoned it.

If the coaching staff doesn’t start putting their players in the best situations to succeed, the 49ers will continue to disappoint.

This was another winnable game. But poor play calling and worse execution lost it for them.

The fact they are so close to success but yet so far is what makes the 49er faithful want pull their hair out.

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Earth to Bill Belichick: It’s Okay to Think Inside the Box

In Sunday’s game against the Indianpolis Colts, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick decided to go for the win on fourth and two from his own 28-yard-line with a little over two minutes remaining even though his team was up six points at the time.

The conversion failed, the Patriots would lose the game and the controversy began. Just on this site alone there have been probably over 25 different articles covering this subject since the game ended.

But before you flip over to your facebook page or your fantasy football on ESPN, take some time to read one more substantive review of the now infamous play call and the subsequent post-game reactions.

First and foremost, your ESPN and NFL Network analysts would make you think the world was coming to an end with their reactions.

Former Patriot defensive stars and current television analysts Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi ripped their former coach for not having faith in his defense.

Plus former NFL quarterback and ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer criticized the decision as did almost every paid sports anchor around the country.

However, these reactions didn’t seem to have much thought put into them before they were delivered.

It wasn’t that Belichick didn’t have faith in his defense it was that he felt that having more faith in his offense gave his team “the best chance to win.”

If the fourth down play had been longer, say four or more yards then Belichick would have definitely punted the ball away. Saying he didn’t have faith in his defense means Belichick would have gone for the win no matter how many yards they needed.

With the short distance to go, Belichick had too much faith in his offense, not too little in his defense. He simply put the game in the hands of his prolific offense. Not a terrible idea. But an unnecessary one.

Now for those writers on Bleacher Report trying to think “outside the box” by arguing Belichick made the right call, I simply am going to tell all of you and Belichick that sometimes it is okay to think “inside the box.”

For those writers claiming the statistics of making the fourth and two was more likely than stopping Peyton Manning from going 70 yards, I must ask,  “where did you get that information?”

Can you predict the future?

Let’s just say the Patriots punted the ball away and the Colts started on their own 30. What if Indianpolis’ receiver Reggie Wayne tore his ACL on the first play of the drive?

What if a couple false start penalties back the Colts up further into their part of the field? Or better yet, what if there is a block in the back on the punt return and Indianapolis has to go 85 yards instead of the presumed 70?

Writers claiming the odds were in favor of Belichick’s decision can give me all the saber metrics they wish, but what it all boils down to are the “what-if’s.”

What if the Patriots had converted on fourth down? Then the Patriots would have won the game.

What if the Patriots had punted?

Well, the Colts could have returned the kick for a touchdown. But then again the punt could have been fumbled, and if New England recovered the game would be over.

If the Colts got the ball back, they could go four and out.

Or they could have gotten a couple first downs and then turned the ball over.

Or they could have marched all the way down the field and turned the ball over in the red-zone since they needed a touchdown.

Essentially, at any point on the drive they could have turned the ball over on downs and the game would have been a win for the Patriots. Just one big play from a defensive player would have been all it took for a New England victory.

The fact is that if New England punts the ball away instead of going for it, there are so many more scenarios to be played out where the Patriots end up victorious.

However, there would be only one scenario where the Colts come away victorious. Everything goes right for the Colts, no penalties, no injuries, every play works, they manage the clock to perfection and they win the game with a last second touchdown.

But the Patriots didn’t punt.

They went for the fourth down conversion and failed, giving the ball back to Manning with just under 30 yards to go for a winning score.

Belichick turned a 60 minute football game where a punt would have given his team numerous chances to win, into a do-or-die play.

Patriots get that first down, they win. If they don’t, the Colts win. Simple as that.

It is eerily similar to a team going for a two-point conversion with no time on the clock to win the game. Score and you win, miss and you lose.

But this game shouldn’t have come down to just a single play. Belichick didn’t need to make the game into a do-or-die situation.

Now punting the ball away wouldn’t have meant a certain victory for New England. Manning could have drove down, however long a field needed, to score a touchdown and win the game.

But regardless of the quarterback, if you have the opportunity to make the opponent drive the length of the field with just two minutes left to score a touchdown, you take your chances.

More often than not, a defense will have the ability to hold on for the win. The percentages are in favor of the defense coming up with a stop.

If the percentages were in favor of the offense scoring in that situation then fans wouldn’t fuss over all these great fourth quarter comebacks because they would be a common occurrence.

But they aren’t.

As great as all the current hall of fame and future hall of fame quarterbacks are, quality defense will beat them more often than not in these types of situations.

However, a fourth and two conversion is simply a 50-50. Flip a coin. Don’t tell me the percentage of fourth and short conversions this year is 60-40 or whatever the actual numbers may be.

Going for it on fourth down is like flipping a penny. Even though it may land on heads seven out of 10 flips, that doesn’t mean heads has a 70 percent chance on every flip.

It still has a 50-50 shot.

As for the Patriots, they couldn’t gain a meager two yards on their third down play, so what made them so confident they could get the necessary yardage on fourth down?

Belichick didn’t give his team the best chance to win with his play call, he took the entire team’s performance throughout the game and bet it on a single play.

Punting in that situation would have given his team the best chance to win because they would then have had multiple opportunities to make a game-winning play, not just one.

Furthermore, when was the last time anyone has seen a team go for a fourth down so deep in their own territory when they were winning the game?

Belichick’s decision to go for it is a move most of us make when were playing Madden on PlayStation, but nowhere close to what we would do in an actual game.

Granted I’ve only been an avid NFL follower for the past 7-10 years or so, but I can’t recall any coach making a similar decision in that span. Nor can I think of any big-name coach in the history of the NFL make a call like Belichick made.

Sometimes thinking outside the box can be quite beneficial but this time around, thinking inside the box would have given the Patriots the best chance to win.

When it comes to a team with the lead late in a football game and they are facing a fourth down deep in their own territory, it should be an automatic punt, no questions asked.

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A Win in Green Bay: How the 49ers Can Beat the Packers

After the San Francisco 49ers broke their four game losing streak by narrowly beating the Chicago Bears last week, the team had a couple days to relish in the victory.

However, three days after pulling out their first win since week four, the division leading Arizona Cardinals matched the 49ers with another win of their own.

Unfortunately for San Francisco, the Seattle Seahawks couldn’t hold onto a seven point half-time lead and the Cardinals now remain two full games ahead of the 49ers.

If the red & gold have any hope of making the playoffs this year, it will have to come by winning the division.

And in order for that to happen, the 49ers are going to need to win a game in which they have no business winning.

The only two games remaining on their schedule that fit this profile are at the Philadelphia Eagles later in the year and at the Green Bay Packers this weekend.

If you aren’t a follower of either the Niners or the Pack, you might not be aware of just how little success San Francisco has had against Green Bay.

The 49ers have not beaten the Packers in the regular season in almost 20 years. You have to go back to the 1990 regular season to find the last time the 49ers won a regular season contest against the Pack.

San Francisco won that game by a 24-20 final at Lambeau and in order for them to break their current 0-4 streak in the state of Wisconsin, they are going to have to put up over 20 points once again.

However, if the 49ers attempt to play the same offensive style that limited them to just 10 points in their win against the Bears last week, they might just get shut out.

Even though it may not be cold enough to snow in Green Bay, the temperature is bound to be below 40 on Sunday with the windchill near freezing and a possibility of rain.

Combine the weather with a Packers secondary featuring Charles Woodson, Al Harris, and Nick Colllins, saying Alex Smith is going to face an uphill battle throwing the football would be an understatement.

So how can the 49ers put up 20+ points? The answer is simple, put the ball on the ground and keep Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers off the field.

Rodgers, the quarterback the 49ers passed on during the 2005 draft, is currently on pace to throw for over 4300 yards, 30 touchdowns, and just nine interceptions.

Much like games against the Texans and Colts, the 49ers can ill afford to get into an offensive shootout against the Packers.

San Francisco will not win this game 38-35; it’s just not going to happen.

In order for them to win, they have to get Frank Gore at least 25 carries, if not 30 if they want to come away with a victory.

With the offensive line being as inconsistent as it has been thus far, simplifying the game will allow the 49ers to limit the mistakes.

Pounding the rock will also help benefit the potential passing game with Smith at quarterback.

Despite the fact the winning formula includes a heavy douse of Gore running the ball, Smith is going to have to make some big throws in certain situations to keep the Packers defense honest.

But over the last few weeks, Smith has essentially been dropping back and throwing out of the pocket. On numerous occasions he has attempted to fit the ball into windows that only Peyton Manning and Tom Brady can fit balls into.

Now this isn’t Smith’s fault, he can only run the plays called by offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye.

However, if Raye has any wits about him at all, he will start to put Smith in situations that allow him to succeed.

Smith, whose best asset is clearly his mobility, needs to be rolled out of the pocket and allowed to throw on the run or in space.

How many times have we seen similar quarterbacks make big plays down field while outside of the pocket? Guys like Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo, and Donovan McNabb are always seen making throws outside the hash marks up by the line of scrimmage.

The best chance Smith is going to have to make that clutch throw for a big first down is when he has the ability to read the defense away from the pocket and away from pressure.

However, if the 49ers continue to call plays that simply have him drop back in the pocket and throw down field, the interceptions are bound to continue and if San Fran starts turning the ball over, there going to have little to no chance of beating the Packers.

But if the offense can follow the aforementioned parameters and execute, it will allow their defense to stay fresh enough to perform their game plan for a full 60 minutes.

Defensively, the 49ers need to bring every single blitz package in their play book and bring it hard on Rodgers.

If Green Bay has any problems, it is with their pass blocking. Despite being a game above .500 at 5-4, the Packers have allowed an NFL worst 41 sacks this season. Nine more than the next worst team, the Kansas City Chiefs.

Granted, the 49ers are tied for 21st in the league when it comes to sacking the quarterback, they have the ability to give opposing offenses fits if they can stay fresh enough for the entire game.

Just three weeks ago, the 49ers sacked Peyton Manning three times even though the Colts had allowed just allowed two sacks all season long before that game.

The pass rushing ability is clearly evident on the 49ers defense, they just need to start letting their pass rushers do what they do best and let them take advantage of Green Bay’s poor pass protection.

Linebackers Manny Lawson and Parys Haralson need to be bringing pressure on the majority of snaps on Sunday and when you add in middle linebacker Patrick Willis and defensive end Justin Smith, these four players in particular are going to have to step up their game and attack Green Bay’s offensive line.

Assuming the 49ers coaching staff has the wherewithal to create a game plan in this fashion, then San Francisco has a significant chance of coming away with a victory.

But if they continue to fail at putting pressure on the quarterback like they did against Atlanta and Houston, the defense will be shredded apart by Green Bay’s passing attack.

However, that won’t even matter if the 49er coaches continue to put more faith in Smith as a pocket passer than they put in Gore as a tailback.

For the sake of 49ers fans, let’s just hope Mike Singletary puts together an adequate game plan for beating Green Bay.

 

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Will the Real San Francisco 49ers Please Stand Up?

The San Francisco 49ers came into the 2009 season as a run-first, run-second, pass-if-necessary type of football team.

Why did they start the season that way? Because their best player wears a jersey with No. 21 on the back.

Everyone who claims to be part of the San Francisco “faithful” knows that the 49ers offense is centered around tailback Frank Gore.

Wait, check that. Everyone who claims to be an NFL fan knows that the 49ers offense is led by Frank Gore.

Over the last few seasons, Gore has given the 49ers a running game equal to a Grade A steak.

However, over the last few seasons, the 49ers have had a quarterback equal to Grandma’s over-cooked turkey on Thanksgiving.

Now to begin the season, the 49ers marched out to a 3-1 record with the combination of over-cooked Turkey and Grade A steak.

Of course, the larger portion of the meal was Grade A steak, and the over-cooked turkey did just enough to keep the total meal positive in the minds of the consumers.

However, when the over-cooked turkey started to fail to get the job done, the team turned to Uncle Alex’s turkey, which is significantly better than Grandma’s, but still nowhere as tasty as Papa’s Grade A steak.

Instead of keeping the ratio of steak and turkey relatively the same, the 49ers over-estimated the quality of Uncle Alex’s turkey and began to cook more of it than Papa’s steak.

Why would they make such an idiotic change in ratio? Perhaps Aunt Crabtree’s impressive gravy made the family feel more like turkey, but that still doesn’t negate the fact that the steak is still the tastiest food available on the table.

For those of you who can’t follow my food analogies, let me explain in football terms.

When a team’s running back is their best weapon on offense, it doesn’t matter how much the passing game improves mid-season, the running game should still be the focal point.

In the last two games, the Grade A steak (Frank Gore) has been just as scrumptious as ever. With touchdowns in back-to-back games and yards per carry averages of 7.0 and 5.5 against the Colts and Titans respectively, how come the family has decided to cook such a small amount of the steak?

Over the last two weeks, Gore has run the ball just 28 times, 13 carries against Indianapolis and 15 carries against the Titans.

Mike Singletary stated that his 49ers team would win games with a strong running game and solid defense.

If that is the case, then why has the 49ers offense gone away from the running game?

For his career, when Gore receives 20 carries or more, the 49ers are 14-3.

Simply put, giving Gore the football equals success.

What does giving Alex Smith the football equal? Well, it equals some impressive passing plays and many, many mistakes.

However, Smith currently gives the 49ers the best chance to win. If the 49ers are forced into a situation where they need to pass and pass often, Smith is the best-suited quarterback they have.

But on the same note, just because Smith is a better quarterback than Shaun Hill, it doesn’t mean the 49ers have to become a pass-first team.

Smith in the lineup allows for a much better all-around offense. With the former No. 1 pick under center, the 49ers have a passing game that can actually make big plays.

And Smith’s passing ability is important for the 49ers to have on the field. In order to succeed offensively, every NFL team needs a balance of run and pass. When Hill was at quarterback, the passing attack was ineffective. With a more athletic quarterback now on the field, the passing game has been much more productive.

Yet the ratio of run/pass should only be adjusted slightly with the improved passing attack.

When Hill was at quarterback, the 49ers were a run-first, run-second, pass-if-necessary team.

With the change to Smith, the 49ers should be a run-first, pass-second, run-third type of team.

San Francisco still has the same group of players they had at the beginning of the season and their running game is still the best part of their offense.

Now that the passing game is improved, it makes sense to throw the ball more often than they did earlier in the season, but the running game still has to be the epitome of the offense.

Until the 49ers return to the true identity of their offense, the losses will continue to stack up.

For the sake of Thursday’s contest with the Chicago Bears, let’s hope Gore goes beyond the 20-carry mark.

After all, that equals success in 49er land.

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San Francisco 49ers: What in the World is Mike Singletary Doing?

When 49ers head coach Mike Singletary took over as interim head coach midway through last season, he wasted no time getting the 49ers faithful on his side. In just his first game, he switched from an awful quarterback in J.T. O’Sullivan to fan-favorite Shaun Hill, whipped Vernon Davis into shape, and gave a powerful postgame press conference.

The demeanor, intensity, and winning attitude of the Hall-of-Fame linebacker-turned-head coach was a drastic difference from the regime led by Mike Nolan, who seemed to have zero ability to create chemistry among his players.

Under Singletary, the 49ers finished last season 5-4, including 5-2 in their final seven games, and overall could have finished even better—as games in Arizona and Miami were very winnable games.

Going into this season, expectations were high for Singletary when he was given the full-time head coaching position. Fans expected this team to continue their winning ways.

However, after a promising 3-1 start to begin the season that was very nearly 4-0, the 49ers have dropped three games in a row and currently find themselves a game back of the Arizona Cardinals for first place in the NFC West.

Granted, injuries, poor performances on the field, and an unlucky tough portion of the schedule have contributed for the current losing streak, but the head coach hasn’t done much to help his team, either.

There are two specific instances that have been eerily frustrating the past couple of weeks in particular. Both the return game and clock management have been major concerns that haven’t been run properly.

First of all, ignoring his current injury with the Dallas Cowboys, former 49ers return man Allen Rossum should never have been cut.

GM Scot Mcloughan handles player management, but Singletary benched Rossum for two straight games before his release. It sounds like “Samuri Mike” had the issue with Rossum, not Mcloughan.

Furthermore, the 49ers don’t have a quality replacement for Rossum in the return game. Unless Singletary convinced Mcloughan Rossum should be cut, why would the 9ers GM let his best return man walk?

To be fair, Rossum did have a bad game in his last contest with the 49ers. He muffed a couple of balls against the Rams in week four, but that hardly put his team at a disadvantage. San Francisco still won the game, 35-0.

Since being benched, his replacements have been excruciatingly terrible. Both backup tight end Delanie Walker and Arnaz Battle have given up costly turnovers, not just muffed punts—which Rossum got back for his team in his one sub-par performance.

However, the fumbles aren’t even the full story. Without Rossum, the kick return game is now extremely slow. Michael Robinson is best known for his special teams in blocking and making tackles, not returning kicks.

Even if he catches a kickoff outsid the end zone, he can still barely make it beyond the 20-yard line. There is no explosiveness whatsoever with Robinson returning kicks. But that can be expected when the only other option to return kicks is the aforementioned Walker, who is just as slow if not slower than Robinson. But at least the backup running back can secure the football.

All of these miscues were developed in the past two games prior to Sunday’s matchup against the Colts. But the biggest miscue of them all came against Indianapolis when Singletary elected to put his No. 1 corner on special teams as his punt returner.

Even though Clements has superb return skills, putting an $80 million defensive player on special teams is the most idiotic coaching decision I have seen in years.

Why would a coach subject his top cornerback to injury? It only takes one play for a season-ending collision, and it appears that may have been what happened on Sunday. Reports are not official, but word is Clements might be gone for the season with a fractured shoulder blade.

Can you say, “Good-bye, playoffs,” for the 49ers?

All because the 49ers cut their top return man for no other known reason but to make a roster spot for Michael Crabtree? Surely a backup linebacker or defensive lineman could have been an easier pill to swallow.

Instead, the 49ers outright released a returner who had one of his best seasons last year, and is still easily a top-five return man in the NFL.

What could he possibly have done to irritate “Samuri Mike” to warrant his release?

Things just don’t add up, and the 49ers are suffering because of that.

However, the return game is not the only issue that is starting to get fans scratching their heads. The second complaint is what in the world is Singletary saving his timeouts for?

Two games in a row, first at Houston and second today at Indianapolis, the 49ers were down to their last 10 yards. One more first down by their opponent and the game would be over.

With under three minutes left in both games, Singletary let the time run down to the two-minute mark and used the two-minute warning as his first timeout instead of his last.

Remember, his team is losing the game by one score. He is letting time dwindle away with timeouts in his pockets?

The 49ers offense needs all the time it can get, and if the defense gives them a stop, it would be much more beneficial to use the two-minute warning as the last timeout instead of the first.

Getting the ball back with 1:55 and no timeouts is much more beneficial then getting the ball back with 1:35-1:40 and no timeouts. That 15-20 seconds that you lose by calling your timeouts after the two-minute warning is what could cost your team the game.

Poor return game and poor timeout usage are both troubling, but at least one of them can be fixed. Although the 49ers can’t magically get Rossum back onto their roster, they can start to improve their time management.

However, with issues like these—which clearly should not be problems—perhaps Singletary isn’t the mastermind coach we all hoped he would be after last season.

Will he be able to realize his clock management failures? Considering he is a coach who benches his best return man, perhaps the best moves aren’t clear. Calling your timeouts at the right time may seem easy, but when the coach shows he may not have the brightest wits about him, maybe it’s not that easy—for him.

I mean, why was Singletary benching his best return man?

Why does he continue to hand cuff his own offense with poor timeout usage?

Just what in the world is he doing?

Hopefully he is just making rookie coaching mistakes, but they appear to be simple issues that shouldn’t be complicated.

Don”t bench/cut your immensely talented return man, and use your timeouts before the two-minute warning, it shouldn’t be that difficult.

 

 

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San Francisco 49ers: Playoffs This Year, Title Contenders Next Year?

After the San Francisco 49ers were blown out at home by the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, two things became clear: Dre Bly is not Deion Sanders, and Shaun Hill is not Joe Montana.

First and foremost, when your backup cornerback is celebrating a “pick-six” while he has yet to pass his own 30-yard line during a game in which his team is down 35-10, your franchise has issues.

If the “pick-six” had actually come to fruition, then the 49ers might have had a chance to climb back into the game. However, even if Bly had scored a touchdown on that play, the 49ers would still have been down three scores with an offense that does not have the capability to make big comebacks.

And why can’t the 49ers make big comebacks? Well, their quarterback does not have an arm strong enough to make that happen. Although I was an admitted supporter of Shaun Hill being named San Francisco’s starter during training camp, it is clear now Hill is not the quarterback to lead the 49ers back to the promised land.

Am I making the call for Alex Smith to take over the starting job? Absolutely not. The former No. 1 overall pick has had his chance to prove himself and failed time and time again. Unfortunately for Smith, injuries played a major part of his demise. But while on the field, the former college star never adjusted to the speed of the NFL and his career numbers show just that.

For the remainder of the 2009 season, the 49ers ought to stick with Shaun Hill because the former undrafted free-agent out of Maryland has the ability to get this 49ers team to the playoffs. By limiting the mistakes and allowing the running game and defense to lead the them, Hill can get this rather mediocre football team to the playoffs due the absolute putridity of their division.

However, the 49ers do not have the talent to truly make a run in the playoffs this season. Whether they face the Vikings, Falcons, Saints, Giants or Eagles come the postseason, this current group of 49ers will be absolutely smashed come Wild-Card Sunday.

But not having the talent for a deep run this season doesn’t mean the 49ers aren’t close. Over the last few seasons, the 49ers have drafted quite well—when you disregard the drafting of Alex Smith.

In that 2005 draft where the 49ers booted the first overall pick, they essentially stole Frank Gore in the third round and also picked up their current starting left guard David Baas with their second round choice that season.

Furthermore, the 49ers have drafted three of their starting linebackers since that ’05 draft, as they picked up Manny Lawson and Parys Haralson in 2006, and Patrick Willis in 2007.

Not only that, but their 2008 first-round pick, Joe Staley, played in all 16 games as a rookie offensive tackle last season.

Oh wait, shouldn’t I be done thinking of impact players drafted by the 49ers in the last four seasons? I probably should be, but I cannot forget that stud tight-end Vernon Davis was also drafted in the first round of 2006 along with the aforementioned Manny Lawson and Parys Haralson.

OK, seven superb draft choices in the last four years should be enough, right? Wrong.

Granted, those are the headline players drafted over the last four years, but I almost left out quality players such as tackle Adam Synder (third round, 2005), right guard Chilo Rachal (second round, 2008), free-safety Dashon Goldson (4th round, 2007), and wide receiver Josh Morgan (sixth round, 2008).

NYou may be getting a tad vexed by my naming 49er draft picks, but I have done so for good reason.

The 49ers have drafted 11 of their current offensive/defensive starters in the last four seasons. Perhaps Mike Nolan wasn’t the greatest head coach, but you have to give the current Broncos defensive coordinator major props for putting together some quality drafts.

With 11—and soon to be at least 12 with Crabtree now signed—starters who have been drafted in the recent present, the 49ers are young and inexperienced. However, you can clearly see the talent developing. With that talent and Mike Singletary now driving home the necessary work ethic, this team is bound to go far in the near future.

Combined with the up-and-coming young talent is a solid group of free-agent pickups like cornerback Nate Clements, defensive end Justin Smith, and linebacker Takeo Spikes.

This combination of youth and veteran leadership shows the makings of a true contender.

However, there are still two glaring holes the 49ers need to fill in order to transition from playoff contender to Super Bowl contender: quarterback and defensive tackle.

Good news for the 49ers: They own two first-round draft choices in 2010.

And luckily for San Francisco, the Carolina Panthers are just 1-3 and have two quality division opponents ahead of them in the standings. Coincidentally, there is a good chance one of the 49ers first-round picks falls in the top 10.

There is a significant chunk of the 49er faithful that wishes to stay away from using another first round choice on a quarterback after the Alex Smith debacle.

Yet it must be noted how different the surrounding talent the 49ers will be come 2010 then it was in 2005.

Players like Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, and Michael Crabtree are much more talented than guys like Kevan Barlow, Eric Johnson, and Brandon Lloyd.

Knowing there are a handful of talent quarterbacks coming out of college, either one of the following potential draft choices could be the next Matt Ryan with the surrounding talent the 49ers have on both sides of the ball.

Perhaps the 49ers could draft either one of the Heisman Trophy-winners in Sam Bradford or Tim Tebow. Even Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen could be a possibility.

Either way, the 49ers need to find the quarterback that can make the plays down the field when needed. Just look at last year’s Super Bowl, and essentially both quarterbacks won their team a championship by making the clutch throws when needed.

If the 49ers draft a quarterback who can make those plays, along with adding a defensive tackle who can free up space for their talented pass-rushing linebackers, only then will they become true title contenders.

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2-1 San Francisco 49ers Have Lacked a Killer Instinct

Despite nearly jumping out to a 3-0 record (if it weren’t for the late heroics of Brett Favre) the now 2-1 San Francisco 49ers have an alarming trend through their first three games.

Each and every week this season, the 49ers have forced a turnover on downs late in the game only to punt the ball away and give their opponent another chance with the football.

In their huge Week One upset (in Arizona) over the defending NFC champion Cardinals, the 49ers forced a turnover on downs with 1:51 remaining in the game. Instead of mixing up the play calling to ice the game with a first down, the 49ers ran the ball all three times and took just 43 second off the clock before punting. Fortunately for San Francisco, their defense was up to the task against a rusty Kurt Warner.

Furthermore, the same scenario occurred in the 49ers home opener against the Seahawks. Even though San Francisco had this game much more in hand, (leading 23-10 at the time) the offense still couldn’t muster a first down. Rookie running-back Glen Coffee ran the ball three straight times and the 49ers held onto the ball for just 23 seconds before punting it away.

And finally, in this past week’s heart-breaking loss in Minnesota, the 49ers should have had the game won. With just 1:49 remaining, cornerback Dre Bly knocked down Brett Favre’s fourth down pass attempt and the game appeared to be over. If the 49ers could have gotten just one first down, they would have been 3-0.

However, instead of going to either Isaac “Mr. Reliable” Bruce or the man of the day in Vernon Davis, (seven catches, 96 yards, two TD’s) the 49ers ran the ball three straight times (again, for the third game in a row) and were forced to punt. Granted, making sure no plays went as incomplete passes meant the 49ers forced the Vikings to call all three of their timeouts. But in all honesty, is giving Brett Favre another chance with the football the way to win a football game?

The drive in which the 49ers needed just one first down to win the game, the offense went three and out. By running the ball all three times, San Fran took just a miniscule 20 seconds off the clock. Favre and the Vikings now had nearly a full 90 seconds (1:29 officially) to move down the field and score a touchdown.

Needless to say, the Favre led Vikings managed a miraculous game-winning 32-yard touchdown pass with two seconds remaining. But the drive should never have happened. Although 49er fans like myself have blamed safety Mark Roman for falling over in coverage on the winning touchdown and others have blamed the prevent style defense during the entire Vikings’ drive, the one to blame is offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye.

To be fair, we don’t know how much input head coach Mike Singletary gave on the play-calling for his offense’s final drive, so the blame may be spread amongst both offensive coordinator and head coach.

Either way, the decision to run the ball three straight times on the final drive was a clear-cut example of why the 49ers lack a killer instinct.

Now it is understandable to run the ball in that situation in games where the defense is clearly playing at the top of their game. However, on Sunday in Minnesota, the 49ers defense wasn’t playing at the same level as the first two games of the season. Plus with Frank Gore injured, the running game wasn’t at the top of it’s game either. But the passing game, led by Shaun Hill and Vernon Davis, had won this game for the 49ers.

Hill had been clutch in the fourth quarter by driving the 49ers down the field and Vernon Davis was a machine inside the redzone catching both 49er touchdowns. Conventional wisdom would be to allow your hot players to put the finishing touches on a victory by letting them make a play.

Instead of running the ball three straight times with rookie Glen Coffee, (who the Vikings weren’t going to let gain a first down) Raye and Singletary should have put the game in the hands of Shaun Hill. Whether or not he finds Bruce or Davis, a short high-percentage first down pass would have sealed the game.

With Brett Favre on the sideline, the safest way to win the game is by keeping number four off the field. With the Vikings known for a stellar run defense, did the 49er coaching staff really think Glen Coffee would be able to gain 10+ yards on three straight carries?

Especially on third-and-six, did the 49ers expect Coffee to gain the first down on a run up the middle? Where is the play action? If the receiver isn’t open, take the sack and you still force the Vikings to waist their final timeout.

The facts are simple. The 49ers have played three games. In every single game they had a lead in the fourth quarter. In every single game they had a chance to ice the game with a first down. In nine out of nine plays to ice the game, the 49ers ran the ball. In zero of the first three games have the 49ers gotten that first down and hence have yet to finish a game with a Shaun Hill kneel down.

Now in all honesty the 49ers arguably have a better defense than offense, but that doesn’t always mean the offense has to play it safe. With a future-hall-of-famer on the sideline as the opposing quarterback, your offense needs to have that killer instinct to keep him off the field.

Yet the 49ers play calling at the end of the Viking game showed they weren’t playing to win the game, instead, they were playing not to lose.

However, as the great Herm Edwards says, “You play to win the game!”

If the 49ers want to continue winning football games, they are going to have to find a killer instinct. Regardless of the fact that most fans have already given San Francisco the division title, continued lack of finishing will allow both the Cardinals and Seahawks to sneak up on San Francisco.

Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and the rest of the injured Seahawks will be back healthy before we know it and they will continue to be a force. Plus with the best pair of receivers in the NFL, nobody should count out the Cardinals at this point in the season.

Even though it is still early on in the NFL season, the 49ers failed miserably on an opportunity to open up a two-game lead over both the aforementioned teams. If San Francisco had held onto their victory in Minnesota, they would be 3-0. Both the Seahawks and the Cardinals are currently 1-2.

Despite it being only Week Three, a full two game lead would have been extremely beneficial. Especially considering the fact that the 49ers have already beaten both Arizona and Seattle, an extended division lead would already be extremely difficult for fellow NFC West teams to overcome.

But what’s done is done and the 49ers cannot think in the past, they have to move forward. And in order to move forward, they have to find that killer instinct. That instinct which will enable them to start finishing off football games.

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