My game story from the 49ers' 10-3 victory over the Bills is already up on the PD site. the notebook leads off with Nate Clements' good day against his former 'mates. And here are my quickie grades from the game.
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The conditions were extreme today in
A sloppy game was expected in those kinds of conditions.
"Obviously, it does make things a little tougher," Shaun Hill said. "It's hard to catch the ball and sometimes when you're getting the ball out quick, it's hard to grip the ball well. It's part of the game, though. Both teams have to deal with the same elements. We handled them better today."
And that's why it might have been an ugly victory for the 49ers, but it was also impressive to come away with a road victory against a team that entered the day in the AFC playoff hunt.
This was not a game for the meek. The 49ers' defense showed a killer instinct in finishing off the Buffalo Bills.
And a lot of different people on that defense contributed. The 49ers got some big plays from the likes of Justin Smith, Ray McDonald, Isaac Sopoaga, Aubrayo Franklin along the defensive line. The secondary played well, including reserve cornerback Donald Strickland, who made a couple very important plays.
"We're going with the motto, 'They can get the ball down the field a little, but don't let them get it in,'" Strickland said.
The 49ers rank fifth in the NFL in red-zone defense. The opposition has scored touchdowns just 42.2 percent of the time in the red zone (19 of 45).
* * *
There are a lot of kudos to go around. Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky called a winning game. And offensive coordinator Mike Martz did what was needed from him to win the game. The only head-scratcher was that reverse to Jason Hill that had disaster written all over it from the moment it was snapped.
And how 'bout the performance of Joe Fonzi?
You had to feel badly for Joe Starkey, the 49ers' radio play-by-play who said he never missed a game in his 36-year broadcast career for health reasons. He had a nasty case of laryngitis, forcing KTVU-TV's Fonzi to fill in. Starkey was very disappointed his voice did not hold up. He called the 49ers' game-opening touchdown drive and then stepped aside for Fonzi.
Fonzi said he had not done play-by-play since his college days at
* * *
It was a good bounce-back game from the entire secondary, and especially Nate Clements. He wanted to have good game against his former team, and he did.
Clements was the deep man on punts, too. The first time he took his position -- and was announced to the crowd -- he was booed.
Clements says he does not pay attention to the weather or crowd because he is so focused on his job. However, he admitted to hearing the boos.
He quipped that the Buffalo crowd booed him "by default because I'm with the opponent. Deep down, they really love me."
* * *
Linebacker Patrick Willis (ribs) was the only player who showed up on the 49ers' preliminary injury report. He returned to the game. He underwent X-rays after the game, but the results were unavailable.
* * *
It seems that the 49ers coaching staff FINALLY figured out the best game plan for the team.
Keep the 49er Defense AND Offense off the field and let the other Team self destruct on its own.
Of course, if the opponent is NOT inept, put another notch in the loss column!
This was a nice win today, But Buffalo really lost the game with missing 2 FG's & Losman missing that WR underneath on 4th & 2 which would have been an easy TD! In all a wins a win but our Defensive Tackles are just terrible. Not one guy could get penetration to their QB. Our D Line was getting man handled today when the Bills would run Lynch! 9ers are lucky that he Bills were not smart enough to Run Lynch more often today!
A win is a win is a win. It was ugly but I'll take a 9er win any way I can get it. Having said that, I'm officially off the Singletary bandwagon. Calling timeout with 16 seconds left and then kicking a field goal is inexcusable clock management from an NFL coach. Sing needed to let the clock run down so the field goal would have been the last play of the half. That was ridiculous!
This team is getting better, even though they still try to give the game away through turnovers and dumb penalties. On the road, early game, against a decent team playing in bad weather and getting a win, don't discount it. Last week they started strong against Dallas until everything went wrong in the 2nd quarter. I think the defense is starting to play a whole lot better inspite of still needing a couple major upgrades in certain positions. The niners could be 3-1 since the bye week if it wasn't for Martz's brain cramp and inept officiating at the end of the Arizona game. We'll see just how much better they are next week against Favre and the Jets.
Matt- Yes, the whole defense deserves an "A". Last week you reviewed the OL. Any chance the DL could be next?
Matt - how the heck do you give the D-Line an A? They deserve a C at most. Lynch ran right through them like they were not there and once again they got little to no pressure on the QB. The couple of times they did get to either of the Bill's QBs, it was after a good 5 seconds after the snap and because the secondary did a good job in coverage.
Matt, does this win really hurt the 49ers in the draft?" I was hoping to get either TEbow or some other quality player, now we'll probably get another Balmer like player. I was hoping to get that high valued pick in the first round, dump it and get multiple picks. We could've had 5 picks in 2 rounds for the 49ers, now we're stuck with 2 cruddy picks again because we didn't do the job out there. Losing teams play for the draft.
Well, thankfully KC beat the Raiders.
I wanted the 49ers to lose and get good draft picks. I feel really let down right now.
That was Joe Fonzi on the radio? He sounded like Mike Adamle the former ECW broadcaster, he couldn't get things right out there! I was going what happened with Starkey, but now I know. Didn't really matter anyway as we are out of the Tebow contest anyway.
These games are often tagged "soft west coast team." Who was soft today?
Question for Matt: how many tweeners will Scot continue to draft? Despite blitz sacks, Haralson gets tossed around by OLs, can't cover RB and TE. MRob, Snyder, Walker, Lawson, Goldson, Banta Cain, Hudson, J.Moore, Keasey, Duckett (we won't count guys already cut) ... Scot-Nolan have a fetish for adding players who aren't quite one position or another, then trying to mold "hybrids" and rationalizing "we'll find spots for good football players." Do you agree that the front office has gone overboard on this?
First...for Darren...are you kidding? You wanted the Niners to lose? What kind of fan are you?
For the game...I was nervously watchng the scoreboard. Call it an ugly win, but a lot of teams get those nowadays. Any win's a good win. It was a much more concerted effort on defense...progress, but still much work to do. Off-season priority: dramatically upgrade the DL. Interesting stat on RZ defense...I didn't realize we were ranked that high. It had to be a happy flight home...for a change. Congrats...our guys fought hard and were rewarded with a tough road win.
Fans: The 49ers won.
Frank, tell me what we have to play for:
NFC East, 4 teams, all 4 teams, in contention
NFC South, 3 teams in contention, let me read off: New Orleans, Atlanta, Tampa bay, and oh guess what? 2 of those teams are 5 and 6 to fill in the 5 and 6 for the NFC brackets. Dallas/Redskins/Eagles still in the picture, though not by a lot, but certainly not losing it. See how fun it is when teams WIN and make it FUN to analyze who the #5 and 6 area?
THen you got the NFC north Frank, where even 5 and 7 Packers are in contention with Chicago/Vikings.
Even if Arizona were to suck, they are still a joke at #4. That's why the playoff format should be changed and exclude the NFC west and put a team like that as the #6 and allow the better #5 and 6 teams that are at/above .500 as the real #4 contender.
When there is no hope, real teams play for the draft. Come on, we can still keep Singletary and at the same time, get a BETTER player. Hello, better players=a better team. A balmer type player=taking the team to nowhere as usual.
What we do late in the season is an insult. This something that should've been done earlier: Eagles, should've won. Dallas, should've won/contained TO, why couldn't we blitz Romo? Seattle, why didn't we blitz Wallace the sub QB, but we seemingly blitzed Losman? Why didn't we blitz Cassel of the Pats? Winning this late in the seaon takes away our draft pick so congratulations 49ers for letting another Flacco type QB and the DeSean Jackson type WR get away once again and we get the Engelberger/McGrew type busted picks yet again, and then next year, we can go 1 and 3 to the NFC North, 1 and 3 to the AFC South, lose to Dallas, lost to Carolina, and be lucky to go 3 and 3 in our crap division for yet another potential 5 and 11 season whereas we could've gone into the draft and improved our Dline, gotten a WR, and gotten a QB. Way to go, 49ers, congratulations for maybe ruining 2009 and getting a step closer to LA. Big whoop!
Very happy to celebrate a niner victory! Darren, you might be the most negative person in niner blog history. Have you ever said anything good about them? You can draft well from pick # 1 to pick # 32. The "big whoop" is the Niners held a PLAYOFF CONTENDING team who murdered the Chiefs to the tune of 54 points seven days ago ON THE EAST COAST AT TEN A.M. to just three points! That is entertaining "Smashmouth" football. If you can't get excited about that then I'm not sure I can accept that you are a true fan. The Niners were excellent in terrible conditions. Look at the bright side. I'm just as frustrated as you are, but it's nice to enjoy a win. I'm not trying to be a jerk. Nothing personal. I just think you should realize that they did well today. I consider this a statment victory, with a Mike Singletary stamp! I always root for the win. Always! Success in the N.F.L. is built on a winning culture and tradition, not high draft picks.
I just read the stats of the 49ers and...how can a QB have 160 yards passing? Would the 49ers have won like that with a Montana, Young, Garcia? Why do you people accept this from today's 49ers and then say 'win's a win.' No wonder reviewers and sporting people like Maiocco earn big money, you people don't look past it.
The problems I have out of this win are:
We're not in contention
Arizona will still go to the playoffs as the undeserving #4 seed whereas teams like Dallas/Phil/Wash are a lot more deserving right now then Arizona.
We drop in the draft, we lose that key player that could've helped us.
If this win only hurts the team's chances in the draft, how is that a good win?
Question for Darren: Have you ever competed in anything?
Question for bolobar: Have you ever played or watched football? I've seen what it's like to go for the throat and blow teams out. The 49ers can't do that right.
i can understand where you're coming from darren but i think you should just enjoy the rare 49ers win every once in a while, cheers
feels good to win....not just any win, at last a win on the east coast.....our defense line looks big with McDonald on the line, with balmer next yr we will look bigger.....
Joe Montana, 3rd round; Dwight Clark, 10th round (1979). Keena Turner 2nd round (1980). Eric Wright 2nd round; Carlton Williamson 3rd round; Pete Kugler 6th round (1981). Roger Craig 2nd round; Jesse Sapolu 10th round (1983). John Frank 2nd round; Guy McIntyre 3rd round; Michael Carter 5th round (1984). Jerry Rice 1985 16th pick, fifteen teams passed on him and two wide receivers were picked ahead of him (Al Toon and Eddie Brown. Yeah I know. WHO???). And now for 1986: Larry Roberts 2nd, Tom Rathman, Tim McKyre, John Taylor 3rd, Charles Haley, Steve Wallace, Kevin Fagan 4th and Don Griffin 6th. During these seven years we had two great first round picks, Ronnie Lott (seven teams passed on him) and Rice. The other one was Todd Shell in 1984. The other years we had no first round picks. My point is this. You build a team with astute talent evaluation in the lower rounds. Darren's argument is specious and without merit. You very seldom get value, in terms of money spent vs. production, in high first round picks. Now, if you want to argue our talent evaluation and draft picks in the last 5 years, go for it. If you're talkin NBA where one player can make or break a team, losing to improve draft position might make sense (hence the NBA lottery), but in football where injuries, talent, longevity, production and the coaching and schemes are so unpredictable/variable it makes no sense at all. It's much more important to cultivate a positive winning attitude and the idea that management knows what it's doing (feel free to toss that one around, too). I've been a 9er fan for almost 50 years I would never root for anything but victory (and for the Cowboys and Rams to lose big). I would expect the same from anyone else claiming to be a fan.
well put RenoRoy
and 'They can get the ball down the field a little, but don't let them get it in' just rolls off the tongue doesn't it...lol
how about 'bend but don't break'
awesome win. feels like a while since the last low-scoring win
Drafting in the top 5 is a terrible proposition for any team under the current CBA. Salaries are WAY too high for unproven players, especially qbs. The only disclaimer is if you have a Peyton Manning coming out of college. This year there are NO Peyton Mannings. I'm not sure where all this Tebow talk started but the guy is a running qb with a decent passing game. He has a chance to be good but it will take the right system and a great coach. I don't want another qb we have to develop. I'd much rather have a pick in the 5 to 15 range and either trade for more 1st day picks or bolster our 0-line or draft a stud NT.
Darren -- as an armchair GM, I'm glad the team is playing this well because it is when the players are at their personal best that you really see who CAN play and who is just not quite good enough. There is no doubt, for example, that Adam Snyder is valuable as a backup, but not a full-time starter. Same with Abrayou Franklin, Ike Sopoanga. We know that no matter which one you put out there, neiher Harrylson, Banta-Cain, nor Rod Green are capable of consistently pressuring the QB. We also know that Shaun Hill is a guy you can win with, that Jason Hill can cause serious problems for the defense, and that Kentwan Balmer is getting better, too. So it is ok to be happy about winning.
Darren threw down the Mike Adamle. Nice. I miss that guy. I remember him on the old WWF when Mean Gene was still around! Yeah I think Joe Fonzi did a fine job. He's obviously no Joe Starkey, but who is?
Darren are you kidding me. TEBOW is your choice for the niners draft. Dont you remember the last QB we drafted from an Urban Meyers offense. We need to draft OL/DL maybe even a skilled position such as WR/DB. Nice win.
Enjoy the crow for all you Instant bloggers out there who were calling for Manusky's head (and you know who you are).
Be patient. The niners finally got a road win and now building some coaching chemistry as they head into next season.
Even though it was an ugly win, it is still a win. Did anyone else watch Takeo Spikes speak at the podium after the game? The more I watch this guy play the more I like him. I wouldn't mind seeing the niners bring him back next year. This way they dont have to focus on LB as much in this years draft. Good win niners!
Honestly, football season is 16 games long... fans pay to watch a team play 16 games at 100%. It's enough for playoff bound teams to lineup second tier players, and now you are expecting a team like the Niners (or any other non-contending team) stop giving it's 100% for a pick in the draft? Come on... players, coaches, managers and owners have to always remeber that the reason why they make money is because fans like to see the games and follow a team. Keep it honest, give 100% effort every game and I'll bet the fans will be happy picking 10th in the draft instead of 1st.
Matt, check your game grades article ... you may want to make a slight change to it ... "Punter Joe Nedney and kicker Andy Lee".
They won and that is "why they play the game!" Congrats to Coach and his players. What can we take away from this game? The Niners play hard for Coach. But truthfully the Bills are in a tailspin and that was their fifth loss in six games. Statistically they crunched us in all but the most important, final score. The coaching decisions by the Bills were dubious. But our defense gave up almost 400 yards so I wouldn't be passing out game balls. And the O Line had less than 100 yards rushing total and the Bills were missing their best d lineman.
It was a win, but don't take anything to the bank but Coach Singletary makes them play hard and runs the show over Martz. For that I am very thankful.
I agree with Marco... right now we have a coach who can motivate players, thats something we didn't have before. I say keep Singletary for next year, and let him decide if he wants to keep Martz and Manusky.
About Darren's comment on Balmer..we will be in top 10 territory, Balmer was picked on the bottom of the 1st round, there will be someone there who's a premier prospect hopefully 1 of the top 3 OT's or we might have to take Cody if he comes out. Maualuga, TMays, MJenkins, etc...a stud will be there. Plus I'm not giving up on Balmer. I'm not saying he's anywhere near Mario Williams but Williams didn't do jack diddley & looked horrible in his 1st year.
I've been on Manusky's bandwagon since he got here but like Nolan he's such a damn SLOOW learner..he drank too much of his freakin' kool aid & plays it safe way too much. Now that the loser is gone & he's back in his comfort zone of the 3-4 I was hoping for more aggressiveness. The aggression has mostly come from Singletary getting on everyone's a**** & NOT from Manusky's schemes. I'll give him credit that we're starting to blitz more but it's still not enough. In every game it's the same recording & usually the same ole routine, we can't get any heat on the QB. When he first got here Manusky had so much promise....I'm especially talking about the pre-snap movement of our front 7, WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT?? It was so effective & caused havoc for the opposing QB. Can we get back to doing that??! Right now our D looks easy to read on the pre-snap.
I still have some faith that Manusky will come around, of course he needs his stud NT & pass rusher + a FS who shows us he actually EXISTS on the playing field. Just c'mon dude, would you throw away the Nolan karma & send the blitz more on 3rd downs?? More often than not something good happens. At least we're not sitting back letting the QB annihilate our secondary.
there is a very good chance the cards can lose the next 4 games (stl, min, ne, sea) and a very good chance we can win the next 4 games(nyj, mia, stl, was)......this is our last hope to make the playoffs......
I love seeing this comment from Spikes. Its what this team needs to build on for the future. This was a gritty win and for you naysayers saying it should have been closer or that we should have lost we were a Gore fumble and a tick tack VD offensive pass interference call from a blow out win. I think we need to extent Spike's contract this off-season and groom a young linebacker behind him:
"Spikes said that spends Tuesday and Wednesday nights watching film with Nate Clements and Patrick Willis to get a jump on the week of preparation."
MM – I understand we cut Brooks in the hopes of re-signing him this Monday if/when he cleared wavers as an attempt to get another receiver on the active roster for the Buffalo game. Any updates on that?
For those hoping for a high draft pick... Would you prefer to get P. Willis at #11, or A. Smith at #1 (or V. Davis at #6)? I'm not hoping for a high draft pick. I'm hoping for a wise choice - at whatever position we're at.
Guys-I went to the game. It was cold and misreable but sitting in my Niner jacket and watching us get the W was great. Yes, it was ugly but a W is what we strive for every Sunday. I do not think Mike Sing is the answer (although he is leaps and bounds ahead of No Nothing Nolan. We still need help on defense and a young QB to groom would be appreciated. Cold and miserable in B town. But the ride back to Cleveland with some hot cider was all smiles.
D was very good yesterday -- but apart from Smith's good play, the DL remained weak overall and the pass rush was virtually non-existent. (Sure, three "sacks" -- but they were the result of coverage and/or poor QB play.) The STARS on D were the corners and the increasingly potent Willis-Spikes duo. Good sign for the future -- IF the Niners ever get an edge rusher who can get to the QB.
Matt-
Wow, i must have watched a different game yesterday as I thought the defensive line was horrible and got pushed around all day. I wont even begin to talk about their attempts at rushing the passer. We need to address the D-line early and often in this upcoming draft
I think yesterday was the first time in a long long time i saw an offense run the ball into the middle of our defense and got pushed back on a crucial down.....
"in the last three weeks, Willis has had a hip strain, battled an illness, dealt with a sprained ankle and now will contend with sore ribs".....
For those with an eye on next year:
NFL FREE AGENT RANKINGS - 2009
Rk Pos Name Type Team
1 DT Albert Haynesworth UFA Tennessee
2 CB Nnamdi Asomugha UFA Oakland
3 DE Terrell Suggs UFA Baltimore
5 MLB Ray Lewis UFA Baltimore
6 WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh UFA Cincinnati
7 OLB Bart Scott UFA Baltimore
8 DE Julius Peppers UFA Carolina
9 CB Chris Gamble UFA Carolina
10 MLB Karlos Dansby UFA Arizona
11 OT Jordan Gross UFA Carolina
12 RB Brandon Jacobs UFA NY Giants
13 OT Marvel Smith UFA Pittsburgh
14 OT Mark Tauscher UFA Green Bay
15 TE Owen Daniels RFA Houston
16 C Matt Birk UFA Minnesota
17 C Jeff Saturday UFA Indianapolis
18 OG Stacy Andrews UFA Cincinnati
19 OT Jon Runyan UFA Philadelphia
we could pick up one those experienced OT, but the Defensive line players will all be franchised.......
I'm fairly certain Asumogha is going to be franchised, as well. I feel bad for that guy, so good and on such a crap team. Probably should have given him the big contract, not MeAngelo Fall.
If I'm not mistaken Haynesworth was tagged this year, but I think I read somewhere that they agreed to give him a shot at the open market this year.
You're correct, zurdo:
"7/25/2008: Signed a one-year $7.25 million contract. He can avoid the franchise tag in 2009 by meeting certain playing time criteria. 2009: Free Agent"
Just picture this core defense...
Haynesworth, Willis, Spikes and Clements. All we have to do is have him join the Tuesday and Wednesday night video of the week club and we'll have a top 10 defense for sure.
Haynesworth would be huge - but every team in the league will be trying to get him. What about our top three receivers next year being T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Josh Morgan, with Jason Hill in the slot? I also agree we should pick up one of those OTs to fill our right tackle spot.
What about Julius Peppers playing as a book end to Justin Smith? Our D-line would be instantly feared. Again, we need to figure out if we are a 3-4 or a 4-3 team before we decide who to bring in via draft or FA on the D-line and LB spots.
no way titans let Haynesworth go especially after this season.......Houshmandzadeh is going no where, especially since johnson is leaving......Julius Peppers is staying in carolina...........now you see how hard it is to rebuild with FA's or in the nfl period!!!!
I think the free agency market might be much different than normally. The NFL understands the economy is tanking and I really wonder about those huge offers being made. I don't believe the Yorks will open their pocketbooks and maybe they are right. Honestly few free agents really are worth it. Draft Better!
Thanks, Reno Roy1 for the info on past draft choices.
Darren, by your logic, any team that doesn't have a shot at the play-offs should just forfeit the rest of the games. That would spoil the sport. As a fan, I want to see a team that tries to win, and wouldn't attend or watch a game if it was clear the team didn't care.
Aside from that, non-play-off teams do have an effect on the overall standings, and playing out the whole season gives everyone a chance to evaluate talent, coaching, team weaknesses, and so forth.
Hey Matt!! Listening to the Fonz yesterday was a blessing. I actually knew what was going on during the game.
Joe Starkey is the absolute worst football game announcer on the planet. I can not tell you how many times listening to the game on the internet I have switched over and listened to the opponets broadcasters. Joe Starkey needs to go! The Fonz was a breath of Fresh air and I knew exactly what was going on..even when the Fonz did boo boo, I knew what he meant. That is how good he is compare to the down right awful Joe Starkey. A complete and total Dolt!
If the Niners go 4-0 and the Cards go 0-4 the rest of the way, we will win the Division, kick ass and take names in the playoffs!
Stranger things have happened folks... watch out!
Niners 2008 NFC West Champs!
Yall thought it was crazy for an African American to be President too!
Should the NFC West even have a right to be in the playoffs when one team can't win outside the division and the other teams suck? Also Matt, please fix this format, I can't even see what I type! The NFC West is such a poor team whereas NFC East has more contenders. Dallas/Washington/Phil all deserve the #4 seed, Arizona should forfeit the #4 seed to another worthy team. I'd feel the same way if the roll was reversed and all the 49ers did was beat lousy teams and had dumb luck with a Buffalo team like Arizona had with Dallas. The NFC West is such a laughing stock.
If the Cards go 0 and 4, there should be a debate on revamping the seeds and exclude NFC WEst if they can't win.
Ever since the NFC WEst got realigned, let's look at it:
Seattle
then Seattle
Then a St. Louis
Then a Seattle/St. Louis
St. Louis/49ers, but 49ers were killed in the playoffs, Mooch sacked
Seattle
Arizona
And 3 other teams playing for the top 10, or 2 playing for the top, whereas in the NFC East, 4 teams contend, NFC SOuth, 3 teams contend, NFC North, 2 teams contend in Chicago/Minnesota, or sometime Green Bay/Chicago. Why can't the NFC WEst be as contending? I hope Goodell realigns the NFC WEst, I put New Orleans, Atlanta, Carolina in and take out St. Louis, Arizona, and Seattle. I don't care about the logic of where these teams play, I'm sick of watching the toilet division whereas Atlanta/New Orleans/Carolina bring more excitement then the other 3 drips that are not wroth a #4 seed.