After failing to choke away the game in Seattle the 49ers were successful against Dallas. They once again got a lead and then went into turtle mode allowing the Cowboys to tie the game and then win in overtime.
The Good
- Anthony Davis - If I'm going to rag on the guy when he blows it then it's only fair I give him credit when he does well. The lone bright spot on the offensive line had no penalties and didn't miss any blocks that I saw.
- Alex Smith - It hurts my liver to type this. He actually had a decent game until the coaching staff took the ball out of his hands in the third quarter. He had two really bad throws in the second half but he looked great in the first half (116 QBR). His recovery of a bad snap that turned into a good play was fantastic.
- Carlos Rogers - He looks like a real cornerback and he broke Romo's rib.
- Run defense - held the Cowboys to 45 yards and is now #1 in the league.
- Special Teams - both returns and return coverage units are doing well under new coach Seely.
The Bad
- Everyone on the O-line besides Davis. They put the "offensive" into "offensive line." The gap between Staley and Iupati was especially troublesome.
- Vanilla Singletary - two games in a row now the 49ers have shut down the offense in the second half trying to turtle up on a lead. It looked like the 49ers went into their 4 minute offense mid-way through the third quarter. This is the same thing Nolan and Singleltary did and they didn't cost $5 million a year.
- Madieu Williams - he can't cover and he doesn't tackle well.
- Pass Defense - allowing nearly 8 yards per attempt
- 4th and 5 - The 49ers could have won the game on this play. Instead they decided not to cover Whitten.
and the 49ers
- The first time I have ever seen Candlestick Park taken over by the opponents fans. The crowd sounded like it was a Cowboys' home game.
- Harbaugh's "West Coast Offense" is really just a dink and dunk up the middle with a few college gimmick plays thrown into the mix. Real WCOs spread the field horizontally and use "advanced" ideas like crossing patterns. Three receivers running 7 yard hitches is not a WCO. That's a college spread offense.
- Continually running the ball into the teeth of an 8 man front doesn't work. Just ask Singletary. He got fired for doing that. Try the occasional toss, draw or sweep. And I don't mean draws on 3rd and 18.
- Braylon Edwards - Of course he gets hurt just as he's starting to look really good.
- Taking the three points instead of the 15 yard penalty. Good lord, how quintessentially Mike Nolan. The penalty would have given the 49ers a first down on the Dallas 22. Even if they only managed to run the ball into the line three times for no gain they would have eaten up nearly 2 minutes and still had a chip shot for Akers. Harbaugh showed absolutely no faith in his offense and you have to believe the players noticed that. Looks like $5 million buys you a big name but not necessarily a pair of balls.
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