Here is a dose of intriguing matchups for tonight's 49ers game against the Cardinals in the desert.
Regardless of how the 49ers fare tonight - and what the remainder of the season holds for the club - this is a significant game for the organization's future. The reason is because the young receivers will be on full display.
That's why Josh Morgan and Jason Hill are at the top of the list when it comes to the matchups.
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Niners WR Josh Morgan vs. Cardinals CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie: Morgan has been the main split end, ahead of Bryant Johnson, in the 49ers' past three games. He has six receptions in those games, including a five-catch, 86-yard performance against the Giants. However, he also had a dropped pass of a nicely thrown deep ball in that game. He shows flashes, but he also has been inconsistent. O.C. Mike Martz says when young players are learning a system and their heads are swimming, it's quite common for drops to occur. It'lll be rookie vs. rookie in this matchup, as Rodgers-Cromartie gets the nod in place of Eric Green. Rodgers-Cromartie was a first-round draft pick. Morgan was a sixth-rounder.
WR Jason Hill vs. DB Antrel Rolle: Remember back in '05 when the 49ers owned the No. 1 overall pick? The club brought in four players and touted them as potential selections with that first selection: Alex Smith, Aaron Rodgers, Braylon Edwards and Rolle. After three seasons, the Cardinals moved Rolle from corner to safety, where he now plays. But when Hill is on the field, in place of injured Arnaz Battle, Rolle will move to nickel back and cover the slot receiver. Hill played just 30 snaps of offense all of last season. This will be his first big chance to show what he's got. Rolle had a 40-yard interception return for a TD last week against the Rams. He has taken back four picks for scores in the past two seasons.
LT Joe Staley vs. OLB Chike Okeafor: Staley has to keep the heat off of Shaun Hill's blind side. That was a problem with J.T. O'Sullivan, who never was able to sense that pressure. O'Sullivan fumbled 11 times in 7 ½ games. Okeafor, a third-round pick of the 49ers in 1999, is fifth on the Cardinals with 30 tackles. He also has recorded three sacks. Staley got off to a rough start, but his play has improved incrementally.
TE
RB Frank Gore vs. SS Adrian Wilson:
CB Nate Clements vs. WR Larry Fitzgerald: The last time these teams met, Clements did a very nice job of Fitzgerald. He caught a 1-yard TD pass over Clements, but Fitzgerald finished with just three receptions for 31 yards. Last year at Candlestick, Fitzgerald had three catches for 20 yards. But when Fitzgerald got on his home turf, he torched the 49ers with nine catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Clements has been up and down this season, but he has generally played very well against top receivers. Fitzgerald is one of the best in the game.
FS Mark Roman vs. QB Kurt Warner: On the other side, Walt Harris is going to need some help against Anquan Boldin. That's where Roman comes in. Roman has to put together a strong game while playing center field against the Cardinals' potent passing attack. Warner enters the game with a 104.2 passer rating, and is a legitimate MVP candidate as we begin the second half of the season. Roman has started 88 consecutive games, the second-longest active streak of consecutive starts in the NFL. But in his 40 starts with the 49ers, he has produced just one interception.
LB Patrick Willis vs. RB Tim Hightower: The rookie runner from
DE Justin Smith vs. RT Levi Brown: Smith will line up on both sides tonight. He'll probably be matched against more against LT Mike Gandy. But Gandy is an eighth-year pro. Brown is in his second NFL season. We think that Smith will get a few chances to use his veteran experience and savvy against Brown, one of the top picks in last year's draft. Despite the national perception, Smith has been very, very good for the 49ers. He's not going to the Pro Bowl or going to garner any post-season awards, but - in the words similar to those of Dennis Green - he is what we thought he was. He's very active against the run, and he is relentless as a pass-rusher. Smith has three sacks and 26 QB pressures. And Smith plays almost every down, so Gandy and Brown should be prepared for a full night of work.
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Looking forward to seeing what we have in the 2 young WR's Hill and Morgan, as well as eager to see if the other Hill, Shaun, can lead this team to another win. He played the best of our QB's last year, but ended up as 3rd string, so it'll be interesting to see if he really is a "gamer". As far as a prediction goes, I think we'll look better, but will fall short. 27-17 Cards. Hope I'm wrong...
I wonder if Mark Roman will a) ever make another interception again, and/or, b) keep his starting job thru the rest of the season?? Honestly, a FS who can't make a pick...and it's not as though he ever gets his hands on a pass even to break it up. It's like playing D. with 10 men, at times.
Still, that said, go Niners!
I think the niners can be competitive tonight. They played some tough teams close this year. I think the last game with the Seahawks would have been closer with Hill under center the entire game. We will see. Go 49ers!!
Good stuff as usual TJ. I 2nd that about the WR's. Someone mentioned here before that Hill catches the ball into his chest a lot & because of that he'd never be a legit NFL WR. I haven't seen that too much, has anybody? He has used his hands. I'm still wondering about him getting consistent separation.
On Morgan I wonder if his timing might be slightly off by him, the QB, or both? I say that because I see a lot of his routes where he's left hung out to dry..the ball gets there right as the defender gets there & he gets blasted. That could make any WR a little gun shy. I wish there could be more routes called or balls thrown where we could hit him in stride going towards open space.
This is a BIG game for Coach Sing. 2 weeks to prepare, I'm anxiously waiting to see what happens. And to Manusky this is a huge one ON YOU as well. Quit playing so damn scared my man..if we're gonna go down let's go down punching. I want to see more consistent & variety of blitzes especially on 3rd downs. Let's stay AGGRESSIVE....GO NINERS!
If we can hit Warner we have a chance to
win the game. 49ers 24 Arizona 21
Lombardi scouting AZ....
LINK:
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2008/11/arizona-looks-to-stay-perfect-at-home/
1) Pressure on Warner & getting some licks on him is a GIVEN but moreso now..there's blood in the water as he's been taking care of a sore throwing hand.
2) Because of that the D has to step it up a notch vs the run as AZ will try to take some pressure off Warner by trying to establish Hightower.
3) Coach Sing has to prepare to keep the Defense & Special Teams on alert for the eventual few trick plays Whisenhunt likes to throw in at certain opportunistic times in the game.
On a sidenote..AZ's changed Warner's game recently to more 3 & 5 step drops getting the ball out quickly relieving him of even more hits against him. I suggested more steady blitzing but Manusky has to be prepared to ADJUST in case we can't get near Warner due to the short stuff.
I'm just glad Nolan's gone now so these kids can get a shot at playing (morgan and hill, well both hills). At least now we have something interesting to follow during the game. Go 9ers!
As an optimistic fan, one could argue this is our last and VERY SLIM chance of hope for anything this season. Let’s come out fast and "hit them in the mouth". I’m excited to see more of Manny tonight. He seems to be getting better each game and returning to the form we all remember in late 2006. Also glad to see the young pups getting more PT tonight. Its time to figure out what the core of this team is going to look like over the next few years.
Mike in MD - "On a sidenote..AZ's changed Warner's game recently to more 3 & 5 step drops getting the ball out quickly relieving him of even more hits against him." -- really too bad martz couldn't figure this part out earlier in the season with JTO... They may have actually won a couple more.
If you believe football is a game of match-ups, then you cannot like the 49ers' chances tonight based on what Matt posted here. You'd have to give Arizona the edge -- not in all the match-ups, but most of them). It will be interesting to see what level of intensity this team plays with tonight for Singletary... That will be more telling than the one-on-one battles.
shootme - that's a hard one to swallow. I believe it was vs Philly when Martz was successful making that adjustment. The thing is he could have done that much earlier in the season to build up JT's confidence even more.
Also I think Martz's philosophy rubbed off on JT in a negative way. He got in a bad habit of trying to go for the homerun downfield throws too much even when the shorter/intermediate stuff was open. Martz could have coached him up more on taking what the Defense gives you but his nature is to go for the big play. Since JT out of all our QB's had those tools he stuck with it longer until he finally self destructed. It could have been handled much better.
I can't argue against Martz, he did turn around the Offense but eventually for him to get his rep back on track he needs to find more balance & protect his QB & adjust to his OLine's ability better. JT might still get his chance again & this is a good thing to sit him down & let him re-evaluate what he needs to do. And now we get to know the real Sean Hill now that he's starting in games that count where the season for all teams are still in play.
My game plan, other than the obvious (nor turnovers or unforced penalties):
1. Offense -- Use the play-action pass, short-range passing game, roll out Shaun Hill. In Game 1 Gore had a lot of success running right, behind Jonas Jennings & Wragge, can Snyder do that?
2. Defense -- Play a 4-3. Do not blitz. Make the Cards execute lots and lots of times in order to get anything on the scoreboard. Some fans want sacks & blitzes, but not me. I just want the Cards to have to earn everything they get, and confine them to FG's.
Rich - if you give Warner time in the pocket, he will absolutely murder you. There is no way ANY secondary in this league is built to cover the likes of Fitz, Q, and Breaston for longer than 3-4 seconds. If they sit back, Warner will carve them up like Brees did. If the niners had a defensive line that could bring consistent pressure with their front four, I'd agree with you... but they're not there.
We need to come out in our 3-4 and send pressure from all different angles... If we let Warner sit back, we will be toast. We also need to watch the underneath routes and flats. Boldin lines up in the backfield on occasion and can be deadly out alone in space.