My thoughts on the game

[Crimsoncrew]

Gonna try to pull this together quickly while I'm thinking about it.

Both first teams looked good. The first team offense drove right down the field. Kap made some very nice plays, and really fit some balls into tough spots. The completion to Boldin against tight coverage and the third down ball to Moore - granted short of the first down - in particular. LMJ had some nice runs early, but the fumble kind of spoiled the night, even though he got it back. He also appeared to be trying too hard to break it. I meant to pay close attention to Kilgore, but didn't key on him as much as I wanted to. I didn't notice any glaring errors, though.

The D looked nice all night. Some big plays by Asomugha and Reid, and Cox had a very strong game, though he may have blown coverage on one third down conversion. Dobbs held up against the first team, and made some nice plays against the second team. I was impressed with Williams. He was really getting some nice push. Wilhoite a bit up and down. Some nice plays, but also a little late on some. I still think he's the clear #3 LB at this point.

The offensive standouts after the firsts left were Vance McDonald and Dixon. McDonald had the one very bad drop, but also some very nice catches, particularly when he was hit in stride and ran away from the defense, and when he went up to catch the ball up high. He even made some nice blocks. I think he's got a lot of potential in this offense, especially when Davis draws defensive attention. Dixon was running with purpose, and made some good plays on STs as well.

The dark spots on offense were the backup OL and the WRs. If we lose Davis or Staley, we're in some trouble. The backup OTs seemed to really be struggling. I didn't catch who was playing second-team LT, and he may have been tolerable, but Omameh was a disaster at RT. None of the WRs seemed to step up, unless it was Osgood. Moore had a nice third down catch - short of the marker, but a tough ball. But Jenkins had the fumble and may have been out of position. Hawkins had at least one and maybe two drops. Lockette drew PI once, but didn't do much otherwise - though he might make a bid for a roster spot as a gunner.

On D, Lemonier had some nice plays, though he lost contain a couple times. Haralson had some fun beating up on backups, which is a good sign. I spent a fair bit of time watching Cam Johnson, and I was disappointed. He blew a couple plays, and just seemed tentative. He was clearly thinking of holding the edge at times, but I thought he could have helped out with some tackles, and instead he just seemed to be trailing the play.

And Dawson has to get used to Candlestick. They should bring the kickers and return men to Candlestick once a week.

Overall a pretty solid start, but lots of room for improvement.

 

[threelittleturds]

I think if the 49ers lost either Staley or Davis they would bounce Boone to tackle and maybe throw Kilgore at guard? At least, I hope that is what they'd do after watching the backup tackles.

 

[EaseUrStorm]

I'm still not giving up on Jenkins. He's our new Alex Smith. Really wish for his mental health that he didn't fumble because he made a nice move on that play to get by the defense. I don't know if he'll be able to pull it together, but it seems like he's like a batter in a major major 0-50 slump. He'll keep getting reps to do something but the window is starting to close when guys like Chad Hall, Marlon Moore, and Osgood are all stepping up, and he's floating around not making plays. He's going to fly to New Orleans and do some voodoo and come back a completely different player. His bad slump will be passed back to Alex Smith when they meet next week in K.C.!

 

[yossarian]

How much more rope do the coaches give Jenkins before they pull the trap door? I mean, when someone like harbaugh, who never hangs his players out in the media, says his game "could have been better" it's bad.

 

[Hangman]

Lockette drew PI twice not once. Looked fast running down the field on STs and made a big play at the 2 yard line.

AJ Jenkins was running open a lot, ball just not thrown to him. When it was he caught it and fumbled and one that was uncatchable. He did beat his guy and was wide open for that catch if the ball was in there better. Instead it was an INT.

McCoy looked rusty and had no accuracy. He went down early with a hurt throwing shoulder.

Tolzien was frustrating. Some throws were perfect others were way off. He threw into coverage a bunch of times instead of the open guy. A few times he had AJ and McDonald wide open and he threw down the field more for incomplete passes. He also tried running the ball a few times but he makes drew Bledsoe look fast. I was disappointed with his play.

LMJ looked good with the starting oline, but when they went out he sucked. Looked really good up the middle and was running like Gore, but when he went to the outside he got smothered. Would have liked to see him catch the ball.

Dixon looked good against 3rd teamers and on ST. However, he missed 2 blocks in pass projection that led to 3 and outs. Rand with force, no happy dancing feet.

Osgood looked good on ST and catching the ball. Tolzien and Osgood had a connection going for a while.

Harper looked bad and should be cut soon.

Hawkins looked bad and should be cut soon.

Netters played LT after Staley went out and had a hold and looked slow. Got beat constantly.

Looney looked big, but had a hold on a play that would have been a big gain without his hold. Also cost the niners points. He did settle down and looked better later on. But that was against worse competition

Moore looked real good. He made a fine catch on a bad 3rd down pass didn't get the first. But it put the team in good position to make the FG.

Boldin looked like a bad ass. he was getting catches when he was covered just like i hoped he would.

Kaepernick played great in his only series.

Dawkins had 3 kicks. A make then a miss then a near miss. he better pick his kicking game up. Niners need those 3 points.

Lemonier played great. Got to the qb and forced him to run or throw the ball early a few times. Almost got a sack as well. Missed an assignment on a 3rd and long that led to a first down. All and all he played great for a rookie. He is clearly a good player in the making.

Haralson also played great. Was in the backfield a lot and when he was out there you saw him around the ball at all times. He looked like a starter on most teams.

Wilhoite played good, but is clearly a back up and missed too many tackles.

Ian Williams crashed the pocket. He is going to be the starter.

Aso made a few nice tackles and looked good in coverage.

Dorsey looked like a 4-3 DT and not a NT. Didn't hurt the team, but didnt help it much either.

Reid looked fast and was all over the place. He made tackles when he got to the ball and hit hard. He was calling out plays and positioning players as well. Looked the part of a starter and a first round pick. Never tested out on throws, but it was because there was no one open around him. He was always there in coverage.

Dahl looked like a starter and made a few plays. Missed a tackle early on, but he made up for it with a good tackle the next series. He looked like he could be the back up FS or for the first games the starter.

Cam Johnson is fast and looks like he fit, but his play didnt show it. he was out of position 4 times that I saw. He has no instincts and seemed like he was out there running around and not accomplishing anything. He is going to be cut or practice squad.

Robinson looked good. Glad he is healthy. He disrupted some plays that had big play potential. He got in the backfield and missed the tackle, but it allowed others to swarm to the ball and get the stop.

Moody looked like he was headed out of the game filling in well at ILB, but got hurt. he looked impressive and was probably the 3rd best ILB out there on the niners today.

My first impression of the team is the backups have a long way to go to get good and the starters looked awesome.

 

[EaseUrStorm]

How much more rope do the coaches give Jenkins before they pull the trap door? I mean, when someone like harbaugh, who never hangs his players out in the media, says his game "could have been better" it's bad.

The clock has got to be ticking. I think there is a difference between him and Mays though. I think he can do it, it's just a mental thing above everything else. Mays couldn't physically cover. The question is if he can get it together mentally though for how long the leash is.

If this is the way the practices have been going since last year, then patience has to be running out. A lot will depend on if he's running the right routes. If he ran the wrong route when Hall caught that pass in front of him, it wouldn't be good at all. Once he gets the voodoo going though it will be on.

 

[NinerSickness]

If the preseason is any indication, then I would be VERY happy to have underestimated Ian Williams. He always seemed like a marginal depth player to me, but if he can be the starter that's another huge feather in Baalke's cap.

If he can play this well when it counts, I'll no longer want the Niners to pay for Richard Seymour. I'd much rather see 'em make some moves if a starting-caliber WR or CB hits the trade market or gets cut.

Plus give Perrish Cox a contract extension.

 

[I_am_1z]

AJ Jenkins was running open a lot, ball just not thrown to him. When it was he caught it and fumbled and one that was uncatchable. He did beat his guy and was wide open for that catch if the ball was in there better. Instead it was an INT.

It's a conspiracy I tell ya!

 

[Pattersonca65]

Collie had a nice catch and run. He might be okay if he can stay healthy

 

[NinerSickness]

I am extremely excited at the proposition of having 2 TEs who can both split out wide, play in the slot and (eventually) in-line block extremely well and be red zone threats. With Kaepernick being able to throw the ball further than 6 yards (Alex), the offense is MUCH less predictable than it was when they couldn't pick up a first down against the Giants the last 2 times they played 'em.

The only thing they're missing is a consistent deep-threat, starting WR to make this offense unstoppable. If they can find or develop one of those in the next couple of year or so look out! Doesn't look good for Jenkins to be that guy though.

 

[Yoshi]

Gonna try to pull this together quickly while I'm thinking about it.

Both first teams looked good. The first team offense drove right down the field. Kap made some very nice plays, and really fit some balls into tough spots. The completion to Boldin against tight coverage and the third down ball to Moore - granted short of the first down - in particular. LMJ had some nice runs early, but the fumble kind of spoiled the night, even though he got it back. He also appeared to be trying too hard to break it. I meant to pay close attention to Kilgore, but didn't key on him as much as I wanted to. I didn't notice any glaring errors, though.

The D looked nice all night. Some big plays by Asomugha and Reid, and Cox had a very strong game, though he may have blown coverage on one third down conversion. Dobbs held up against the first team, and made some nice plays against the second team. I was impressed with Williams. He was really getting some nice push. Wilhoite a bit up and down. Some nice plays, but also a little late on some. I still think he's the clear #3 LB at this point.

The offensive standouts after the firsts left were Vance McDonald and Dixon. McDonald had the one very bad drop, but also some very nice catches, particularly when he was hit in stride and ran away from the defense, and when he went up to catch the ball up high. He even made some nice blocks. I think he's got a lot of potential in this offense, especially when Davis draws defensive attention. Dixon was running with purpose, and made some good plays on STs as well.

The dark spots on offense were the backup OL and the WRs. If we lose Davis or Staley, we're in some trouble. The backup OTs seemed to really be struggling. I didn't catch who was playing second-team LT, and he may have been tolerable, but Omameh was a disaster at RT. None of the WRs seemed to step up, unless it was Osgood. Moore had a nice third down catch - short of the marker, but a tough ball. But Jenkins had the fumble and may have been out of position. Hawkins had at least one and maybe two drops. Lockette drew PI once, but didn't do much otherwise - though he might make a bid for a roster spot as a gunner.

On D, Lemonier had some nice plays, though he lost contain a couple times. Haralson had some fun beating up on backups, which is a good sign. I spent a fair bit of time watching Cam Johnson, and I was disappointed. He blew a couple plays, and just seemed tentative. He was clearly thinking of holding the edge at times, but I thought he could have helped out with some tackles, and instead he just seemed to be trailing the play.

And Dawson has to get used to Candlestick. They should bring the kickers and return men to Candlestick once a week.

Overall a pretty solid start, but lots of room for improvement.

He essentially played to his draft status, which was a 7th round pick.

I also noticed Brock getting beat a couple of times but also having nice coverage on a few plays during the game.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

He essentially played to his draft status, which was a 7th round pick.

I also noticed Brock getting beat a couple of times but also having nice coverage on a few plays during the game.

Yeah, but a lot of people were very surprised he went as low as he did. He was Kiper's "best available" for three or four rounds. I'm not expecting him to be an impact player, but I thought he could contribute. Less confident of that now.

 

[willtalk]

.

The only thing they're missing is a consistent deep-threat, starting WR to make this offense unstoppable. If they can find or develop one of those in the next couple of year or so look out! Doesn't look good for Jenkins to be that guy though.

Even if he gets his head right I doubt that Jenkins can ever be an edge receiver. I think he would end up as a slot receiver at best.

 

[shouldakepowens]

Lemonier,Cox, and Reid were impressive I think. Ian Williams looks legit as well. I really hope collie can stay healthy

 

[Yoshi]

Yeah, but a lot of people were very surprised he went as low as he did. He was Kiper's "best available" for three or four rounds. I'm not expecting him to be an impact player, but I thought he could contribute. Less confident of that now.

Yep, I remember reading articles questioning why he dropped so low, but if tonight is any indication, then it's a no brainer.

Granted, a lot of players looked rusty and there's room for improvement. However, OLB is probably one of the deepest positions on this team, and with little time to prove oneself, Cam Johnson is going to be hard pressed to land a spot on the 53 man roster.

 

[TobyTyler]

No speed at all at wide receiver. Watched only a little of Jenkins; enough to watch him stop on a pass from McCoy over the middle because he thought he might get hit.

Defense looked pretty good.

After watching McCoy, if Kaepernick goes down, we are done.

 

[MHSL82]

No speed at all at wide receiver. Watched only a little of Jenkins; enough to watch him stop on a pass from McCoy over the middle because he thought he might get hit.

Defense looked pretty good.

After watching McCoy, if Kaepernick goes down, we are done.

Barring our ability to get someone else, while Kaepernick is healthy, that 8 million looks like a lot. If Kaepernick gets hurt for the season, then that 8 million looks smaller. Not that we'd ever feel good without Kaepernick. Some would just take the loss and write off the season regardless of our backups - SB or nothing.

 

[Rvnight18]

No speed at all at wide receiver. Watched only a little of Jenkins; enough to watch him stop on a pass from McCoy over the middle because he thought he might get hit.

Defense looked pretty good.

After watching McCoy, if Kaepernick goes down, we are done.

dont remember that throw? He had three passes his way. One he caught then fumbled. One behind him, and one overthrown and intercepted.

 

[Hangman]

dont remember that throw? He had three passes his way. One he caught then fumbled. One behind him, and one overthrown and intercepted.

I know of the play he is talking about and it was thrown low and off target. He followed the ball with his eyes then looked at the QB to ask if it was for him. It must have been cause there was no one else nearby, but it was almost certainly uncatchable. It also looked like he was just starting his run across the middle of the field and didn't have his eyes on the QB yet. The pass was a throw away caused by the pocket being non existent and a sack immanent.

 

[Rvnight18]

Ok it was the pass behind him that he never would have caught. Nothing to do with AJ being afraid of getting hit.