Okay, so it wasn't exactly Montana-to-Taylor.
Still, for this fragile, rickety, scotch tape-and-paper clips 49ers offense, that 10-play, 72-yard touchdown march in the fourth quarter at Cincinnati's Paul Brown Stadium was a pretty big deal.
Not only did rookie Kendall Hunter's 7-yard scamper around left end give the visitors a lead they would not relinquish -- unlike last week, when they surrendered two separate double-digit leads to Dallas -- but it also allowed quarterback Alex Smith and his offensive mates to unburden themselves somewhat after they spent the better part of an afternoon being totally frustrated by an ordinary-at-best Bengals defense.
Let's start with Smith, as we always must.
The best thing that can be said about his first half is that he didn't turn it over. He underthrew Michael Crabtree twice, missed a couple of open receivers and took at least one sack due to indecisiveness. Generally speaking, he did nothing to absolve himself of blame from the goose egg on the 49ers end of the scoreboard.
However, he had by far his best second half of this young season, completing 11-of-13 passes for 127 yards and spreading the ball around. He was robbed of a third quarter touchdown pass to Crabtree by some horrid officiating and a lazy, incompetent FOX broadcast team that couldn't be bothered to give a damn.
Trailing 6-3 with 8:57 to go after a Frank Gore fumble cost them three points, Smith was 4-of-5 for 48 yards, with the last three completions going to Vernon Davis (8 receptions for 114 yards). Sprinkled in between those passes were stretch plays and tosses to the sparkplug Hunter, who got some meaningful playing time because Gore was either benched or hobbled by a second quarter ankle injury, whichever explanation suits you.
Gore did carry it once for four yards on 3rd-and-2 from the Cincinnati 31 on the drive, but was otherwise thoroughly stymied for the third straight afternoon, totaling 42 yards on 17 carries. You'll note the consistency of his 2.5 yards-per-carry average.
Overall it was the kind of game for Smith that might win him a couple of admirers in his locker room and some begrudging respect from a coach or two, but one that won't make a blip on the national consciousness. As far as the talking heads on the highlights go -- particularly the ex-players -- Smith's name is synonymous with a joke and two or three pretty passes to Davis aren't going to change that perception anytime soon. Neither will passing numbers after 60 minutes of work that typically resemble a good quarter for Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, et al.
While it's cliche for pundits to mention the revolving door of offensive coordinators and head coaches whenever they feel like making the obligatory excuse for Smith, what I find interesting that is that his supporting cast -- particularly that offensive line -- is hardly ever mentioned.
I mean good lord, when are people out there gonna wake up and realize that this offensive line is every bit the tire fire as the ones that get Jay Cutler and Michael Vick knocked around goofy week after week? At least those teams can run block somewhat. Gore has no holes. None. Or maybe he's just too slow to hit them these days. Hunter certainly had no problem cutting back and exploding through cracks on that fateful touchdown series.
The line got Smith sacked five times -- though he might have been responsible for two -- and committed six penalties as well. Right guard Chilo Rachal in particular was an abomination, with two sacks allowed, two holding penalties and a false start. He got benched in the second half for Adam Snyder, and one has to think that Jim Harbaugh is giving serious thought to making that switch permanent. Rachal has been definitively the worst lineman on the team for three years running now, which is a formidable accomplishment.
Looking at my notes, I have the least negative plays for left guard Mike Iupati, so I guess he wins the Best 49ers Offensive Lineman of the Game award, which is about as impressive as being the Best 49ers Fullback (nice debut for Bruce Miller with four grabs for 25 yards), the Best 49ers Free Safety or the Best NFC West Team Through Three Weeks. I've got it as Iupati, Jonathan Goodwin, Joe Staley, Adam Snyder, Anthony Davis and Rachal last. Your order may differ. Either way, we'd be arguing the aromatic and gastronomic semantics of various kinds of rotten fruit.
Also, it would be nice if just once somebody noticed that the receiving crew that Smith is working with isn't exactly the '99 St. Louis Rams. In fact, this bunch might rival Cleveland for the saddest wide out corps in the NFL. Braylon Edwards was supposed to change that, but he's hurt. Crabtree is maybe 70 percent at most and has had no training camp so he's rusty as hell. Smith has had to make do with Joshua Morgan, who is slow; and Ted Ginn, who is soft. Yes, the elite quarterbacks out there could make those guys look good. But if they had to work with these receivers and this offensive line? Well good luck to whoever wants to take that Pepsi Challenge.
Alright, enough whining on Smith's behalf. He certainly doesn't ask for my help and he could've left this place for greener pastures if he wanted to. After four thousand words I've spilled on what is charitably a mediocre offense, I suppose it's time to give credit to the fellas on the other side of the ball who were actually responsible for the win.
Obviously, having Dashon Goldson and Shawntae Spencer back in the secondary made a huge difference, and after a surprising opening drive for the Bengals, where rookie QB Andy Dalton sliced through them effortlessly, the defensive backs slammed the door the rest of the way, punctuated by late fourth quarter interceptions on consecutive series by Carlos Rogers and Reggie Smith.
Cincinnati only converted 1-of-10 third down conversions and for all intents and purposes the Niners held them to just that opening field goal for the whole game. The Bengals five other points came virtue of that Gore fumble early in the fourth quarter and from 49ers punter Andy Lee running backwards 18 yards to take a safety on purpose on the penultimate play of the game.
The run defense was stout as usual, holding Cedric Benson to just 64 yards to extend their league-leading streak of holding individual rushers below a hundred to 25 consecutive games. Surprisingly, the secondary was able to cover up Cincy's receivers without the benefit of a pass rush. Ahmad Brooks had one bone-rattling blindside sack of Dalton, but outside of that he was pressured but a handful of times and seldom hit.
Strong safety Donte Whitner suffered what he described after as a non-serious hip injury, but it impaired him enough to miss all but the opening series. Madieu Williams filled in admirably in his stead, as did C.J. Spillman and Smith, in spots. The odd man out was Tramaine Brock, whose nickel role was seized by Spencer, despite the fact that Brock had an interception in each of the past two games. That's a good call by the coaches, looking at the film and not the stat sheet. Spencer is a clear upgrade at that spot.
Rogers gets the game ball on defense from me, not only for his interception but also for making a touchdown-saving tackle of Benson on a run play after Gore's fumble. It forced the Bengals into a first-and-goal instead of a 10-3 lead and they stalled out three plays later. An honorable mention goes to linebacker NaVorro Bowman who was a tackle machine and has easily been the team's best linebacker through three games, despite having Patrick Willis as his partner inside. Spencer was solid in coverage and Goldson made his mark by laying the wood whenever he could. If only those two could've played last week, this team is probably 3-0.
It was an ugly game, but full credit to the Niners for being 2-for-2 in "must-wins" so far. For their efforts they're the sole leaders of the NFC West with a 2-1 record and they'll be in great shape if they can even one of their next three games on the sked (@Philadelphia, vs. Tampa Bay, @Detroit).
Great Job Michael!
ReplyDelete