The 49ers' loss to the Falcons on Sunday was their worst home defeat since that game.
I fill out my report card immediately after the game. I do the best I can. But a lot of times I miss some stuff. Later, I'll freely admit that I could've graded it differently here or there.
This time, I'm sticking with my grades. Check out my 49ers report card right here.
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Cornerback Dre' Bly has received a lot of criticism for showboating 75 yards from the end zone after intercepting a Matt Ryan pass. As he was bringing the ball into his body, Roddy White stripped him of the ball, causing a fumble.
In all fairness, here is Bly's explanation of the play . . .
On if he thought his interception was a touchdown:
"I wasn't sure where Roddy White was. When I catch a pass like that, and I get a head-start, when it's just me and the quarterback, I was gauging if I was going to cut back on the quarterback. And that's when the dude stripped me."
On if he was showboating on the return:
"I did it when I caught the ball. I'm going to be me--that's who I've been. I like to have fun when I play the game. When I make plays, I've made a lot, I express myself. But I had that ball tucked, and he got the ball. That was a great play by Roddy."
On if he knew Roddy White was behind him:
"I didn't know where he was. I knew that I had to get on my horse, but I didn't know he was that close to me. But when he stripped the ball, it wasn't like I had the ball up here. The ball was right here, and the ball came out as I was coming to the ground. The ball was out when he hit my hand, and it came out. Like I said, I've made a lot of plays in this League, I have fun when I play, and that's who I've been. I fumbled the football, I'm mad that I did, but I'm not going to beat myself up. I've just got to move on and get ready for next week."
On if Mike Singletary spoke to him about the fumble:
"He just said, 'high and tight.' We work on fumbling drills in practice, tucking the football and causing fumbles, and I fumbled the football. Predominantly, when I throw the football, I throw left-handed, but when I run with the football, and when I return punts, I always keep it in my left hand. So, probably the better thing for me to do, probably was to put it in my right hand. But, he made a great play. I have to give him credit. He was able to cause a fumble, and the ball came out."
On if the celebrating had anything to do with the fumble:
"I feel like if I would've had the ball like this, if he hit my arm, it wouldn't have even been close, because I felt like I fumbled the football as I went down to the ground. Like I said, I'm going to be me. That's who I've been my whole life, that's who I was in college, I have fun. Dre is going to be Dre. I felt like I had the ball tucked at the time, and he made a great play. I'm going to be me. Like I said, I'm going to be me. I'm not going to change who I am."
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Singletary said after the game that he did not see Bly showboating. Singletary meets with the media at 11:45 a.m., and we'll see how he answers that question after watching the film.
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Dear Mr. Bly,
If you MUST celebrate, do it in the endzone, not when you've got 75 yards to run. And preferably only when your team is leading the game instead of down by 25 points.
Thank you,
Rame
Matt, completly agree with all your grades. These are the easiest games to grade, everything that could go wrong, went wrong.
I can deal with last minute Favrerations, but to loose due to mental mistakes really gets to me. This loss comes at a good time, just when we are feeling like contenders we get bitch slapped back to pretenders. We have a lot of talent on this roster, we just need to find the will to win.
Everyone is being way to hard on the team, tough loss but we wil turn this around, coach sing and the leaders will turn it around.
Can't wait to take it to the Texans with our new toy Crabtree.
Go Niners!!!
The Cal Bears were rated # 8 in the nation and then lost to Oregon 42 to 3. The next week we all thought they would rebound back and they lost 30 to 3. Now the niners riding in on their own press clippings lost 45 to 10. How do teams, supposedly great one week lay such bombs the next? I don't get it. Is the work ethic gone? Was Crabapple that big of a distraction? Apparently they need leadership, and they need it from more than a "when I played I was great!" coach. They need it from all the position coaches. They also need it on the field. From the quarterback. A quarterback who gets pissed at the play calling, argues with the coach over plays. Hill is playing like a place holder, just doing what's called in. Finally his last run where he dove head first was done with passion/anger. How about more of that passion (not necessarily diving head first), unless he lacks the confidence.
Matt, have the 49ers unestablished themselves as the team to beat in the NFC West based on their sobering loss and Seattle & Arizona's Victories? Do you feel this is a result of the brutal training camp?
There is a simple explanation for what happened: The Falcons changed alot in 2 weeks. The Niners prepared for one team, and a different team showed up. Niners tried to keep in the game, but were demoralized by the second quarter. There were elements of Hubris; Crabtree distraction; pre-bye-week let-down; and probably just an overall exhaustion from being ridden hard from day 1 of training camp.
I think that they will regroup, and come out strong in two weeks.
The only disagreement I have with your grades is the O Line. They were truant. They never showed up.
Over the last four years we have had one of the worst O lines in the NFL. I do not understand why we haven't solved it. It is the primary reason Alex Smith was a failure and until we solve that problem neither Hill, Smith, or Davis will be the future.
We saw Sunday what a great young QB can do when he has time.
Truth hurts, eh Matt? I can't really disagree with your grades, other than to say that the OL might have an F minus...
It was, indeed, a team effort. Bleh.
Does this matter at all? I mean really. Is anyone surprised with today's athletes? If we are talking football great! If the game hinged on Dre's act it would be worth talking about. But none of it mattered. The 9ers got there asses handed to them yesterday. Next!!
Matt;
Your parents had their hands full with such a precocious lad. In '67 the 9ers were having a dreadful time. As I remember, on Oct. 29. 67. I whent to the Avalon Ballroom to catch Quick Siliver Messenger Serivce. Much better than the 9er's and much more fun!
So you're saying the Falcons coaching staff dominated the 9ers coaching staff which resulted in the most lopsided home loss in over 43 years for the 9ers? Sing has established the worst 49ers coaching staff in 43 years. This staff is worse than the Dennis Erickson era or the Mike Nolan/Jim Hostler era. Is that what you're saying?
We all make boneheaded mistakes at work but when you can't cop to them you become someone with whom no one wants to work.
And no one likes working with a B.S. artist.
Fess up Dre admit your lunk-head mistake, don't make it again and then move on.
No - that's taking my words, and stretching them into a form that loses the essence of what I'm saying... First - life is not all or nothing. Saying that the Falcons out-coached the Niners does not equal "The Falcons are infinite Good and the Niners are Infinite Evil". Yes - the Niners were out-coached. But the fact that the Falcons were able to make a large transformation is more a compliment to the Falcons, rather than an insult to the Niners. The falcons were better, yes. the niners were unprepared, yes. There are some mitigating factors - that I mentioned. There is a chance that the niners will recover, and regain the vector they were on. Or not. Nolan after a bye week always came out looking worse... We'll see with Sing manages to do.
I have been a big supporter of Hill, that is, he is the best we've got. I have been a big detractor of the OL, thinking that it sucks. I am now conflicted, because I can't tell if Hill is not starting to negatively impact the play of the OL. Here is what I mean:
Are opposing defenses so able to prepare for Hill's lack of zip and arm, that the OL is made 5x worse because the D can just play red zone D wherever they are on the field and Hill can't beat it?
I am wondering about the connection of the lack of threat in Hill and how that might impact how the D schemes the OL. It' gotta be harder to play OL if 40% of the possible plays are eliminated from the scheming due to personnel.
It's too early to freak out, but it just occurred to me that the poor play of the OL is probably made worse by the fact that the D knows that there are not that many things the O can realistically call.
If our O continues to stink like it has all season in te next few games, MS is going to have to consider an Offensive, and possibly QB, plan B.
Too easy to give all failing grades. If you watched closely at PWillie's play, every other tackle he was trying to strip the ball and make something happen out of an abysmal day.
Linebackers: D+
Unwind your panties folks, remember those shiny positive comments you posted when we won the first 3? We must learn from this loss, but it's not the end of the season. The season is still at a very early stage a lot of things can happen. The niners will recover, let's see how we return after the bye.
Take it easey, winners find a way!
I agree with all those grades... and speaking of unprepared... A few days ago I made a foolish statement that insulted a few people. I was arguing that it's incomprehensible for an OC to say he hasn't studied film of a teams 1st round draft pick. A few people educated me on the ways of the NFL stating that the OC is preparing for the upcoming season and the scouting department is responsible for selecting the right players in the draft. I disagreed and so I emailed a former NFL executive to ask how it really works in preparing for the draft and should Raye have studied film of Crabtree. Below is his direct response,
"Raye should have seen him and at least written a report. Listening to his advice is another subject, but he should have studied the player."
What caught my eye about the response was that this former executive seems to be saying Raye's judgement is lacking. So my worry after the Falcon game is that the issue is not being ill-prepared - at least on offense. The issue is that Raye has no clue as to how to run an NFL offense and utilize the talent he has available.
it's not that hill can't fling it deep, it's just a matter of if the receivers can catch it or not. I'm not in love with hill, but when you have guys coming up the middle at you, or the edge rushers get that inside cut back, you just can't play like that. it also doesn't help when you receivers aren't on the same page regarding hot routes.
that being said, the only bright side to the game was... punt coverage... that gets a B.
Matt,
I'd say those are FFFFFFFFFair grades.
Do you think McCloughan might be rethinking his positon that you can pick up decent guards for cheap in the draft? The Niners can use a couple.
Also, I'm beginning to think Hostler has competition for worst OC. Raye seems to have a hard time adjusting his system to his personnel. Why does it seem like it's always 3rd and long? Oh! because it usually is. Why do you call for long passes on 1st and 2nd(incomplete) then the QB dumps off a very short pass on 3rd and long when you're behind big time? It's not all Raye's fault by any means but isn't he the one who's supposed to be fixing it??? 5 games in and I really don't see any improvement in the offense. The play calling just seems so disjointed. That's even accounting for the poor O-line play. Last thing, he doesn't seem do much to disguise his running plays from passing plays and vice versa. Seems like too many times the opposing D knows what's coming next.
"We saw Sunday what a great young QB can do when he has time. "
i think we would seen very different play from that young QB if he was protected by our guards, did not have Roddy White or Tony Gonzalez as receivers, or did not have the powerful one-two punch of Turner-Norwood in the backfield.
Football is a team game, and the opponent will mercilessly exploit the weak link or links in the chain to break it up. The relative strengths of the individual links is a moot point.
dre bly: he puts his need for self-expression above the needs of the team - cut him
I twisted your words to an extreme to make a point. The Falcons used their bye week to make adjustments which all worked out extremely well. The 9ers coaching staff is now in the exact same position with a bye week. Even with the Falcons game, I still believe the 9ers are at the edge of greatness on defense. The offense on the other hand is abysmal. Let's see what Raye does to generate a better running game and more points. I honestly don't think he has the ability to devise a game plan that will generate anything you could even call average on offense. I hope I'm wrong.
"F" was too kind. I'm thinking the grades should have been along the lines of what happened to "Old Yeller."
While I will not singularly blame Shaun Hill for this loss, I will point this out. Matt Ryan made his team untouchable by throwing completion after completion. After he established the passing game, Michael Turner suddenly got it going and after that, we simply could not stop anything they did. Shaun Hill's answer was to get pissed off calling his cadences and make erratic throws all over the field, nowhere near his intended receivers, often making me wonder who his intended receiver was.
Shaun Hill was not directly to blame for this loss, as it certainly was a group effort. However, when things get adverse, this is who our quarterback is like it or not. The 49ers outplayed the Vikings but were beat by a Hall of Famer making one play at the end of the game. The 49ers never got anything going against the Falcons because a very good young quarterback took the game directly to them from the very beginning. The strategy was to bully them and punch them in the mouth. Matt Ryan showed up with a different plan. He got in our faces and swung first. Our QB simply was not able to respond.
We all love Shaun Hill because he is a "winner" and he brings intangibles to the team. Not having "tangibles" is not the same as having "intangibles". When it comes right down to it, he has been a career backup for a reason. He simply does not pack the gear to be a quarterback who wins games. At this moment, our coaching staff seems content to not desire a quarterback to win games rather one who will not lose games. Yesterday's game drove home the fact that a good quarterback makes all the difference in the world. A team with a quarterback who can win a game will beat a team with a "game manager" almost every time.
I do not think our season is over by any stretch, and I have high hopes of watching 49ers playoff games for the first time in a long time. However there is only so far this team will go with #13 behind center. We need a quarterback who can keep this team in a game when the other team comes out firing. We have receivers who can make plays, now we need a guy who has the undeniable ability to get them the ball. We need a guy that regardless of who the Offensive Coordinator is demands an offensive game plan that can win ballgames. I was discouraged to see Carolina beat the Skins this week. They are bad enough to deliver us a top ten draft pick, perhaps a top five. Hopefully we get the quarterback we need to deliver on the high hopes we all have these days. I just hope we don't get him with the top ten draft pick we earn with our own record.
Thanks for the perspective. We forget that this is almost the same team which was hurtling down the toilet around this time last year.
Folks, Sing has done a heck of a job painting lipstick on this pig. He has even made it fly, but it occasionally crashes down to wallow in the mud.
This team has been devoid of the necessary stock of NFL starter-level talent for since The Great Donahue Purge. We are still in the rebuilding phase because McNolan has done a less than adequate job with the draft and free agency. I put significant blame on the Niner's scouting staff (and hence, Nolan, who built it).
Contrast it with Tom Dimitroff's excellent work as the scouting chief with the Falcons and now as the GM. Note Arthur Blank's friendship with Robert Kraft was instrumental in Dimitroff's move to Altlanta. Rich McKay who moved to the President position, elevated Dimitroff to the GM position. This top-notch front office will take the Falcons to the Super Bowl sooner rather than later.
Jed just took over the reins from his parents who had no respect among the owners, and I suspect he is not going to let McLoughan not be accountable for his decisions, especially his inability to build the OL and DL after 4 years. But this rebuilding will need time. We fans, meanwhile, need to keep perspective.
This Dre Bly thing is disturbing. I am more upset about that than the loss cuz the fact is losses happen, bad losses happen. the 94 super bowl team got destroyed in one of their games mid-season. Ok we are not a 10th of the team that team was but it happens. as i have mentioned before im not throwing the whole season under the bus over one game. we get blown out in houston after a bye week, ill change my tune. I wanna look at the little things inside the game and i cant get over blys actions/comments and feel like EVERYONE is being to soft on this guy. Sing said nothing about it, media hasnt been to hard on him. im loking forward to hearing the after the film comments. I just cant believe a guy comming out and sayin, yea im gonna celebrate when i pick a ball off. come on man!! again if you HAVE to fine do it in the endzone or when the play if over. That and the walker "fumble" biggest plays of the game. still hurts
Just heard on KNBR how Sing brought Bly up to the podium this morning to apologize for his actions yesterday. Look like Bly back-tracked after Sing put his foot up his ass. Great move!
Wasn't very impressed with Deion act either but the defensive backfield is much better with him playing. Hopefully seeing the play on 'film' infront of his teammates will make him realize what a total ass he made himself look like as well as hurt the team.
I saw the press conference. Bly apologized, basically said he was wrong for doing what he did. Further, MS said that Bly came to HIM to apologize.
I say enough on Bly. He screwed up. Now he has owned it. There are bigger things to address.
Personally, I watched the Joe Thomas years, the Erickson-Donohue years and every year since 1968.
If this game was F's all the way across the board, some of those games in those other years were Gs or "incompletes." (Remember Cody Pickett playing QB?)
In the short, medium and long run, and with all due respect, I guess the grades Matt gives are food for thought for a few seconds and then we should move on.
I think the 49ers and Singletary are moving on. So am I.
Rossum just got cut to make room for Crabtree... Says no hard feelings and thanked Coach for the opportunity
I agree with the grades, as I left the game I kept trying to find something of a positive--maybe Willis & J Smith, but it's hard to feel good about it.
I need to stop reading Bly quotes, he's just going to piss me off further. Yesterday I didn't like the 'gotta be me' line, now it's reconsidering which hand to carry the ball. How may years has this guy been in the league? And he doesn't know how to return a ball? He needs to just shut the heck up. Like I said last night, finish the year then pack your bag.
Wait a minute, just read uknowit's post, and the comment from barley, I may have to review this statement from Bly. Thanks for sharing guys.
To those that say 'they will bounce back' or that it wasn't as bad as it seems. What's Coach's line? "Don't tell me, show me." I need to see it, a loss like yesterday's can have devastating results on a club. It will be important to see how we respond. I have confidnce in coach, but I gotta see it
That sucks, Bly believed he could fly touchdown and point to the sky, I was hoping for an Usher spin move at the end too, but Roddy White put up a tough fight.
All i know is Atlanta still has a tough shot to make it in the playoffs. Sorry to look so ahead in the 2nd quarter of the season but Atlanta also got whooped going into the bye. We'll also find out how much they prepared and motivated themselves for the 9er game next week when they host the Bears.
Matt,
I believe it is the second time I heard you (today) mention in the last couple of months that Alex Smith has been throwing well and looking good in practice. Since the Niners are 29th in passing, and a playoff team has never been that low as best as I can remember, are you starting to believe it is time for Alex Smith at QB? Do you believe Alex is the better choice right now? You mentioned that there are those in the organization that believe Alex still has upside, when would this possibly take place? To me, "managing the game" is another way to admit mediocrity. With Alex you would get a combo of excellent plays with bad plays but I believe all QB's started that way and that's how they learn. I look forward to hearing more from you on this subject especially since you graded the QB play as an "F" for yesterday. I like Shaun's heart but I don't see him winning games when we are down by 14 or defense is playing poorly. Thanks Matt!
Thought I would be a fan for once, have some fun and post here. I have to say that most of you guys pretty much get it. The only thing I would say to some of the comments is that we never really know what goes on within the coaching staff.
Here's 4 typical questions all coaches face and the answers we are not allowed to give:
(1) A booster or reporter would ask why don't we bench a certain player? They obviously hadn't seen the backup.
(2) How can that player miss such an easy play? Well, he's playing hurt and even hurt he's better than the backup.
(3) How can you run such a simple offense? It's not my decision. I would prefer to open it up more but the head coach is too conservative.
(4) Why don't you play the backup QB to find out if he can do it? Because I got outvoted by coaches unwilling to risk an internal team split.
As for Sunday, you can pile on the O-Line all you want ... but ... the 49ers offense is easy to prepare for and because of that the O-Line is under great pressure. Maybe they are limited but maybe there are other factors. (And, no, I wasn't an O-Line coach but they are the best group to coach. Hands down.)
Barley, I completely agree. I have made the same statement before. With this offense, you need the threat of the long pass (15-20+ yards). Hill is more of a WCO qb. Hill has all the desire in the world, just not the tools. I think he is making it more difficult for us to run the ball, because they are stacking the line for the run and the dump offs. In the 3rd quarter, alex had his helmet on. could be wrong, but I think he was getting ready to warm up. We might see alex very soon.
the 49ers offense is easy to prepare for and because of that the O-Line is under great pressure.
Thanks OFC, just like Martz, Raye puts undo pressure on his line because the opposing D knows whats being called( run or pass) most of the time. More creativity and deception sure would help the O-line out a lot. You'd think Raye would know what he can and can't do by now and, as the OC, he isn't putting his players in the best position to succeed.
Matt, just one question... Where are the grades?
Matt, why would the Niners put in a claim on DT Michael Bennett of Seattle (Bucs got him instead)? Who would he replace on the Dline?
i think matt ryan is going to be a great qb...with the OL that he has! i don't care if you're peyton manning or shaun hill. there's no way you're going to be a great qb if your OL can't give you time. do you all remember peyton manning early in his career? john elway? steve young in tampa bay? they got trashed, manhandled, demolished, ran for their life, until the line solidify. matt ryan is so freaking lucky that he came into a football team that gives him so much time to throw.
i think that shaun hill is not a great qb. i think he's a good qb that plays his heart out and get us wins while running for his life! shaun hill is a smart qb. all he knows how is to win, but even he can't always survive being pummeled the way it has been. imagine imagine imagine if s. hill actually have TIME to throw the ball?? he got us to 3-2 with the dumb-butt protection that the 49ers' have now. it's all about teamwork. defense is probably the best we have, but imagine if the OL was clicking on all cylinders.
the moral of the story again? - doesn't matter how great the qb is, if the OL can't protect him, then he's just any other schmoe that lines up behind center.
Now come the rats to feed on anything, including crap, that they can get their mouths on!
Without a doubt the 49ers looked like garbage yesterday on the field that resembled a garbage dump after fans watched what they thought would be a football game. OK! But remember they're not the first team ever to loose a game like that, and they won't be the last!
The rats on this comment page include the bold rats who attack everywhere, even in the light of wins and try to rip anything that happens into a negative against anyone in the organization or team they hate and want to destroy. These rats, being bold, want to bring consistent damage no matter the outcome! And they are easily seen by their consistent attacks, and most of the time they set the traps that catch themselves in their logic!
Then there's the rats that sneak out in the darkness of a gloomy game, decisions by the coaches, or the organization. These rats are a little harder to be seen on the comment page. They wait until until they think it's safe to come out because the bold rats seem like they've taken the area over. Their comments go with the negative flow! They're a little harder to trap. And this is because they scurry their diseased words about agreeing with the flow of negativity the bold rats have created and love! But as usual for this rat, they just can't stay away from the trap. They become entangled in their negative comments and will stop commenting on the game or team when caught in the traps. And when caught they begin to attack people commenting, even until the last key on their computer! For those uaware of these diseased vermin, they're named yellow back rats!
Finally there are the rats who stay in their rat holes they've made by chewing on every word that's negative about the 49ers that sports writers or the talkies on the Sports Networks write and say! They have no logical thought patterns of their own so they feed off these mentioned above and just use quote after quote because they think quoting these people is some kind of unabashed authority! They can be easily caught because after the so called experts are done trying to pretend they know everything about the team, these rats can offer nothing, and then are caught by the bait of useless commenting over and over again!
So yea! The 49ers stunk it up for one game! Big deal! They have 2 weeks off and will take the field again! And even if they win, the rats will bring up this game over and over again like anyone will care!
So rats! We know who you are! It's easy to tell! Everything is always negative and dark! But remember, most commenters who stay with the team can easily catch you as you scurry about the Blogs! Then everyone will hear the SNAP of the trap! And everytime you do it to yourselves!
Gilroy Al,
Hard to say where the direction is coming from. Raye coached under Norv Turner who is a descendant of the Sid Gillman coaching tree so I'm guessing Raye certainly has the x's and o's knowledge.
In the college ranks we often play a young player because even though he isn't better than the senior at the moment he will be shortly provided he gets playing time. And sometimes your young kid isn't good enough to help win a championship either. At least you know what you need for next year.
They are going to have to open up the offense regardless of who is at QB. They have the bye week to get it implemented. Or we are in for a long season and looking to next year's draft once again.
They are going to have to open up the offense regardless of who is at QB.
Marshall Faulk was talking about another team's offense on one of the pregames and was saying that team needs to pass more out of running formations and vice versa. It seems The Niners might try the same as there are a lot of times when there are atleast a couple defenders meeting the ball carrier before he even gets back to the line of scrimage. Then it usually ends up being 3rd and long. With what the Niner offense has shown so far, it's not causing any sleepless nights for opposing DCs. Hope they don't wait til Dec. to open things up. Also with as much experience as Raye has, you'd think he'd have a few more tricks up his sleeve to counter some of these blitzes.
Everyone gets an F. Dre Bly is a stiff. I gotta be me.. yea Dre big deal. You sucked at Detroit, St Louis and was CUT by Denver. And if Sing chewed Duke Davis last year for what Duke did he should CUT Bly. I think the next time I get to work on time I will do a high step dance too. Hey Dre TIRED ACT SON. PLAY FN BALL and if you want to dance go on Dancing with the Stars and dance for Bruno
BUT being a 3 point favorite at home and you give up the WORST beating ever at Candlestick? Not even the 2-14 teams lost like that.
On offense- Aside from one missed tackle that lead to the Morgan TD they had ZILCH out there.
Coach Sing let his emotins get to him and the team didn't react positivly to his passion/emotions.
On defense-Team timeout Sing chews on them and what do they do? Give up a long TD.
Overall- It was one game and it may be an anomoly or an omen.
Fortuantly the Falcons aren't in the WEST any longer.
But if Matt Ryan lit them up I shudder to think what the Colts game will look like...
Am I the only one who got a HUGE belly laugh out of Terry's rat rant? 11 NO MAKE that 13 rat referneces one vermin and one SNAP of a trap? hilarious..
It may have been the funniest thing I have read on a sports blog..
One suggestion however, have the 19980's hair band RATT playing behind the post and it would have been a good rock video..
LOLROTFLMAO at the rat rant..