NY Times article on 49er Struggles

[yossarian]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/s...g-apart-or-snapping-back.html?ref=sports&_r=0

I'm sure there's stuff in there to quibble with, for one, I don't Reid has played poorly at all or struggled that much.

 

[TobyTyler]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/s...g-apart-or-snapping-back.html?ref=sports&_r=0

I'm sure there's stuff in there to quibble with, for one, I don't Reid has played poorly at all or struggled that much.

The only thing I would quibble with would be the writer's assertion that the front 7 are the main culprit for the 49ers poor showing so far. I'd put in on Kaepernick, the wide receivers and a horrendous job of coaching preparation and game planning.

 

[49ersLLC]

The only thing I would quibble with would be the writer's assertion that the front 7 are the main culprit for the 49ers poor showing so far. I'd put in on Kaepernick, the wide receivers and a horrendous job of coaching preparation and game planning.

Agreed ^ i also agree with the writer on Reid who has been taking bad angles and has missed several tackles this season. On some of Reid's missed tackles he has looked like a fish out of water at this point and time i'm not overly impressed with Reid.

 

[purguy12]

I think reid has been great for us. His bad angles happen in the 1st game. I think he is doing his part as a rookie. He hasn't let up any big plays.

 

[zman1527]

" After a sensational half-season as a starter in 2012, Kaepernick is finding defenses much more challenging. It is easy to forget that he has thrown just 397 passes in his career, including the playoffs. He may have helped lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl, but Kaepernick still has a lot of room to grow as a passer.

The more worrisome issue for the 49ers is the lack of viable targets in the passing game. "

Bingo. I think most of the issue is the receivers. Kap is the same guy who led us to the SB and put up over 400 yards against GB. He did not go bad in two weeks. Seattle exposed the WR core and the Colts took it from there. That and we gave up on a great run performance early on.

Amazing how long our WR corp has been weak. Even with Crabs we are not that great. Much better, but still lacking a speedster.

 

[TobyTyler]

Agreed ^ i also agree with the writer on Reid who has been taking bad angles and has missed several tackles this season. On some of Reid's missed tackles he has looked like a fish out of water at this point and time i'm not overly impressed with Reid.

Reid is coming along. As long as he plays within the system and doesn't fall in love with the big hit I think he'll be OK

 

[CalamityX11]

Reid?? I didn't think he was missing tackles at all or at least not a significant bunch? wtf.... i know the CBs have been whiffing... not Reid...

Reid is laying people out, finishing up tackles and getting some picks...

 

[RoboticDreams]

Reid is actually a positive so far. I think he's going to be a stud for years to come.

 

[zman1527]

Reid is actually a positive so far. I think he's going to be a stud for years to come.

Agreed, he looks like an impact player already, in more ways than one. 3 ints in 3 games (one called back for penalty).

 

[clyde_carbon]

...who's Chase Stuart?

 

[49ersLLC]

The writer is correct Reid has been missing tackles.

 

[luckyluke22]

The writer is correct Reid has been missing tackles.

Multiple players have missed tackles. Are you staying that Reid fits this category or are you asserting his inability to tackle has cost us games? If it's the latter, I strongly disagree with you.

 

[Yoshi]

" After a sensational half-season as a starter in 2012, Kaepernick is finding defenses much more challenging. It is easy to forget that he has thrown just 397 passes in his career, including the playoffs. He may have helped lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl, but Kaepernick still has a lot of room to grow as a passer.

The more worrisome issue for the 49ers is the lack of viable targets in the passing game. "

Bingo. I think most of the issue is the receivers. Kap is the same guy who led us to the SB and put up over 400 yards against GB. He did not go bad in two weeks. Seattle exposed the WR core and the Colts took it from there. That and we gave up on a great run performance early on.

Amazing how long our WR corp has been weak. Even with Crabs we are not that great. Much better, but still lacking a speedster.

Maiocco mentioned after the 49ers Press Conference Live airing that Kyle Williams is just getting manhandled at the line of scrimmage. In addition, Maiocco questioned why Marecic, and not Baldwin, was activated for the game.

Sorry, but I am not a fan of KW as a player. Similar to Jenkins, he doesn't have the size to be effective in getting off the line of scrimmage. He isn't even contributing much in the return game. So what does he do? I'm not expecting miracles from Baldwin either, but I want to see him use his size because the Niners need that physical receiver to at least be open and create an option not named Boldin for Kaep to throw to.

 

[Yoshi]

Agreed ^ i also agree with the writer on Reid who has been taking bad angles and has missed several tackles this season. On some of Reid's missed tackles he has looked like a fish out of water at this point and time i'm not overly impressed with Reid.

Reid has been the lone bright spot in the secondary, which along with the wideout spot, is the most troubling aspect in the 49ers roster. Rogers and Brown have either been beat or have been flagged, and we all know Whitner can't cover a wounded duck if his life depended on it.

 

[dredinis21]

The writer is correct Reid has been missing tackles.

I agree with this only to a limited extent. With many plays he is cutting the ball carriers angle off by covering a side and if he misses the tackle, it is because he baited the runner towards a teammate staying in his lane. There was a running play in the last game where he dove and missed the tackle, but the runner had to stop and go right....right to the waiting arms of Aldon Smith.

In pass coverage, he has taken a few bad angles, but his overall play is IMO already at where Goldson left off minus the terrible penalties.

 

[MrChangoT97]

Reid has missed a few open field tackles in every game so far that have lead to first downs.

 

[TobyTyler]

Maiocco mentioned after the 49ers Press Conference Live airing that Kyle Williams is just getting manhandled at the line of scrimmage. In addition, Maiocco questioned why Marecic, and not Baldwin, was activated for the game.

Sorry, but I am not a fan of KW as a player. Similar to Jenkins, he doesn't have the size to be effective in getting off the line of scrimmage. He isn't even contributing much in the return game. So what does he do? I'm not expecting miracles from Baldwin either, but I want to see him use his size because the Niners need that physical receiver to at least be open and create an option not named Boldin for Kaep to throw to.

I don't think that's the problem. Deshawn Jackson doesn't seem to have any trouble getting off the line. The problem with Williams is he lacks talent.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Reid missed at least one tackle badly last week, and probably one or two more. As far the the INT called back for a penalty, Rodgers never would have thrown that ball but for the penalty, so while it was a good play, can't give him too much credit for it.

In general, I've been very pleased with Reid. He's shown well in coverage - I think better than Goldson, frankly, and has been aggressive and - when he takes proper angles - sound in his tackling. But he has had a few slip-ups. He's hardly the problem on D, though.

The run D is a huge head-scratcher. We lead the league - I think by two - in rushing TDs allowed. That's inexcusable for this defense.

 

[49ersLLC]

Reid has missed a few open field tackles in every game so far that have lead to first downs.

And Reid fans need to calm down no one is saying Reid is looking like a bust just pointing out he has missed tackles he's still a rookie so no biggie.

 

[SeattleOspreys]

From Pro Football Focus

San Francisco – Three Performances of Note - PFF

Still Lacking That Spark

In the latter half of the 2012 NFL season we got used to seeing explosive plays from the 49ers’ offense from all over the field. Watching them the past two weeks you would be excused for thinking that you weren’t looking at the same team. Certainly the loss of Michael Crabtree, so influential in the second half of last season, hurts the team but the offense in the past two weeks has just looked devoid of the threat to hit an opposing defense at any point on the field.

Colin Kaepernick’s (-2.8) only completion on a pass targeted 10+ yards downfield came to Garrett Celek late in the fourth quarter with the game already dead, and his receivers couldn’t break a short pass into a longer gain to spark the offense. With the 49ers erring away from the ground game, they looked short of the big play that might have thrust them back into the matchup.

Stifling 49er Defense AWOL

Having been so dominant, so consistently, for so long, we should probably excuse the San Francisco defense for this down day. It wasn’t universal, but it was strange to see this defense so off form. Up front there were solid displays from Ray McDonald (+1.9), Glenn Dorsey (+1.2), and Ahmad Brooks (+1.3) but behind them there were more down performances from the 49ers in one game than you’d expect to see combined in a month. Both Justin Smith (-2.5 run defense) and NaVorro Bowman (-2.9 run defense) were uncharacteristically poor against the ground game, as were reserve linemen Tony Jerod-Eddie (-2.5) and linebacker Michael Wilhoite (-2.1). Meanwhile, Aldon Smith (-1.5 pass rush) chipped in with only two pressures (one sack, one hurry) in a sub-par pass rushing display.

Making things worse, rookie safety Eric Reid registered three missed tackles, and both corners struggled in coverage, with Tarell Brown committing three penalties. The 49ers’ defense was poor yesterday, but should we expect this to continue? No, this is a one-off and I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised to see a big bounce-back performance on Thursday night in St. Louis.

The Forgotten Ground Game

The most puzzling aspect of this game is that the 49ers were in this contest, on the scoreboard at least, for so long and yet they didn’t choose to just send a heavy dose of the ground game at the Colts to try and power their way back. On only 11 carries, Frank Gore racked up 82 yards, with 60 of those coming before contact. Alex Boone (+3.1 run block) and Bruce Miller (+2.5 run block) had big games on limited opportunities, as did Kendall Hunter.

On their combined 15 carries, Gore (+1.9 running) and Hunter (+0.7 running) forced five missed tackles. The Colts got some stops in early, but even considering that, in such a close game with a struggling passing attack the 49ers’ ground game was conspicuous with its relative absence this week.