SAN FRANCISCO -- Football players can be really selfish pricks sometimes.
You think you've got a storyline going, where a certain theme has been established for 55 minutes and change and a chance at a really dramatic ending set up to make up for what was mostly a dull affair.
And then stupid ol' Ted Ginn ruins it with back-to-back touchdown returns; first a 102-yard kickoff he raced back all the way down the right sideline to make it a 26-17 ballgame with 3:45 to go, and then, just for the heck of it, a 55-yard punt return right up the gut a mere 59 seconds later to close out the scoring.
Obviously going into the game all the focus was on 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, but it was another import from Stanford, Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin, who took a short pass from beleaguered quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, broke one tackle and zoomed past the 49ers secondary for a 55-yard touchdown to make it a perilous 19-17 lead for the hosts with 3:56 to go.
The 49ers had been winning, mostly comfortably, for the better part of the final three quarters, but Baldwin's score was supposed to show us a couple of things. It was supposed to give us some kind of definitive proof, one way or another, that Harbaugh's offense, which had sputtered in fits and starts the whole game, could finally get creative enough to manage a couple of first downs when it mattered. Finally, after enduring 55 minutes of Alex Smith playing with one hand tied behind his back, we were gonna witness the extent of just how much Harbaugh trusted his quarterback.
But no, Ginn had other plans.
"On a kickoff you’re always taking a chance," said Ginn afterward. "Sometimes you might not make it to the 20. You might only get to the 10 or 15-yard-line and hurt your offense, but with our special teams you always have a chance."
Harbaugh seemed to think the 49ers had a chance simply by handing it up to gut to Frank Gore -- eight-man Seattle fronts be damned -- and to avoid those dreaded turnovers and sacks. This formula, which he described as "blue-collar" seemed familiar somehow, but I'm having difficulty putting my finger on it.
If you think the comparisons to Mike Singletary are too harsh, then consider try these numbers on for size: The offense managed a whopping 209 yards, Gore averaged a paltry 2.7 per his 22(!) carries and they converted 1-of-12 3rd down attempts while scoring exactly one touchdown on five trips to the red zone. Twice the defense gifted them the ball deep inside Seattle territory in the first half and repeated handoffs to Gore led only to a 6-0 lead, thanks to two short David Akers field goals.
The boys produced another field goal drive midway through the second before finally embarking on their one touchdown drive of the afternoon, right before half. It covered 49 yards, but Smith found Vernon Davis for a couple of receptions and had an 11 yard scramble of his own.
Harbaugh has mentioned multiple times how mobility and "athletic instincts" are traits he looks for in quarterbacks (see Kaepernick, Colin) and one gets impression that Smith the message: Scramble or sit. He ran five times for 24 yards, and his bootleg to the right side from a yard out with 12 seconds to go in the half was a gutty effort, as he dove at the end zone with two defenders bearing down on him.
"I think I have that ability," said Smith. "The last couple of years I got away from that a little bit, there was a different emphasis."
And that emphasis was making him the scapegoat for everything that went wrong, mostly.
Clearly keeping Smith safe and sound is not a big emphasis for Harbaugh. Smith's most important contribution in the first quarter was to serve as a lead blocker for Gore on a misdirection toss play, and Smith did well to wall off two Seahawks pursuers. Smith was wise enough to dive after getting what he could on his scrambles, but asking him to use his legs when the blocking breaks down instead of trying to wait for receivers to get open is a dicey proposition.
Even though Smith completed 15-of-20 passes and managed a perfectly respectable 90.4 passer rating, he only totaled 124 yards through the air (6.2 yards per attempt) and was handcuffed far too much in the red zone. We were led to believe that the 49ers vanilla offense in the preseason was just for show, that they were saving the "real" offense for when the games count, but judging from what we saw today, the August fare was the real offense. What you saw is what you get. Either Smith will have to earn his coach's trust before he's allowed to pass like a real life NFL quarterback, or Harbaugh badly miscalculated in thinking the same dinky bubble screens and tight end screens that worked at Stanford will work here.
Enough negative stuff for now. Offense aside the 49ers did play quite superbly. The defense held Seattle to only 219 yards (64 on the ground and just 2.9 per carry) and made life miserable for Jackson, sacking him five times, stripping him of the ball twice and intercepting him once on a Hail Mary attempt. End Ray McDonald's five-year, $20 million contract looked like a great investment and it was amazing to see how drafting his replacement with the seventh overall pick of the draft rejuvenated Parys Haralson, who had two sacks. Justin Smith added two sacks of his own, which wasn't surprising because he's Justin Smith and the Seahawks offensive linemen were a bunch of rookies who aren't Justin Smith.
The 49ers subbed liberally along the defensive line, using both Ricky Jean Francois and Will Tukuafu to great effect, and they brought in Aldon Smith and safety Reggie Smith for passing downs, replacing Haralson and Madieu Williams, who was the injured Dashon Goldson's fill-in as the starting free safety. Interestingly, it was Tramaine Brock who checked in as the nickel corner (and who got the interception) and not Shawntae Spencer, the 49ers longtime starter who pronounced his hamstring fully healed. Rookie Chris Culliver also didn't play from scrimmage.
San Francisco's real edge, however, was on special teams. Ginn had 268 return yards to Seattle's 114, Akers was perfect on four field goal attempts and punter Andy Lee boomed five long ones, averaging 59.6 gross and 54.2 net. It's damn near impossible to kick ass as a special teams unit more than that, without forcing a few fumbles or blocking a kick or two anyway.
Add it all up and the 49ers are 1-0, beating an opponent they had absolutely no excuses against. Alex Smith still has proven precious little to soothe the fan base and Harbaugh even less. Pre-season officially ended a couple weeks back at San Diego, but for all intents and purposes it ended tonight. The Cowboys come to town next week and 209 yards of offense will not cut it.
Well, unless Ginn goes bonkers again.
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