49ers Special Teams Makes a Winner of Harbaugh -- A Ginn

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.

49ers-Seahawks Preview, Week 1 Picks

Ordinarily in this corner we don't rush to Alex Smith for juicy pregame quotes, but considering that the only alternative is one of Jim Harbaugh's thousand-yards-in-the-distance stares when asked anything more substantive than whether he has the time (answer: nope), we are left to turn our lonely hearts to the 49ers beleaguered quarterback.

So, take it away, Alex. How are you feeling going into the opener of what will be the seventh season of your heretofore Greek tragedy of a career?

"Excited. This is a huge game. I mean they are all huge games. This is number one. This starts it off. It’s a division game at home. Seattle coming down, a lot at stake and excited for it. I’m excited for the challenge."

Neat-o.

With all due respect, if the Seahawks pose as any kind of challenge to Smith and his mates, the 49ers will be in dire straights in 2011, just as they have been lo these past eight years. We're talking about a Seattle team whose offensive line has been in constant flux, whose best receiver last season -- Mike Williams -- was a castoff from the Detroit Lions and whose two best pass rushers -- Chris Clemons and Raheem Brock -- were little-used backups on their former teams. The Seahawks jettisoned quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who was 34-year-old, brittle, and ten kinds of awful last season (12 TDs, 17 INT, 73.2 QB rating) and somehow got worse at the position, bringing in Tarvaris Jackson to replace him.

The Seahawks didn't do much of anything to upgrade what was the 27th-ranked defense in the league last season and by all appearances they seem to be if not flat out tanking for Andrew Luck then at least not terribly bothered by the perception of being among a handful of likely candidates for his services.

Despite all of that, it won't be easy for Smith to beat them on Sunday, because nothing has ever come easily for Smith during his 49ers career. After all, if he had played the way he's played for almost any other organization, he would've been told to hit the bricks a long time ago. Also, just about any other pro quarterback would've had the self-respect to leave for greener pastures with his dignity intact, defiantly thrusting his middle fingers at the vague direction of 4949 Centennial Blvd. as their private jet pointed him somewhere -- anywhere -- else.

No, it's never been easy for Smith, but more often than not it has been interesting in a morbid way, especially against Seattle.

In 2006 he went 2-0 against the defending conference champions, including a 24-14 win in week 15 at Seattle where he threw for two scores and scrambled for another. This was his second season, back when Norv Turner was his coordinator and Smith showed just enough promise that the fan-base was still mostly behind him.

In 2007, things turned sour. The forgettable Jim Hostler took over for Turner as offensive coordinator once Norville got hired to be the head whistle at San Diego, and though the team had a 2-1 record through three weeks, Smith's play had regressed from his sophomore season. In the fourth game against the Seahawks, he got flattened by defensive tackle Rocky Bernard and separated his right (throwing) shoulder. By all intents and purposes the injury should've knocked out Smith for a good long while, if not the whole season, but he was bullied into playing with it by former coach Mike Nolan just three weeks later, which only damaged it worse. Smith came back to play three terrible games where he hardly could throw at all before being shut down, and lost all of the 2008 year due to surgical complications.

In 2009, Smith didn't wrestle the starting job away from good friend Shaun Hill until the sixth game. In a crucial early December loss at Seattle he finally recorded his first 300-yard passing day in 36 starts and played quite well besides, but he was done in by a Frank Gore fumble and another on a punt return and poof went the 49ers division hopes.

Buoyed by Smith's play down the stretch and what looked by far like the best team in the division on paper, many expected the 49ers to make playoffs last year. The campaign was supposed to start with a laugher at Seattle, where an experienced Niners crew would teach a thing or two to Pete Carroll, who was returning to the NFL to coach the Seahawks after a long (and successful) sabbatical in the college ranks. Smith started well, but was off just enough to miss wide open receivers Joshua Morgan and Moran Norris in the end zone on a pair of early drives. The 49ers were up 6-0 20 minutes into the game when it should've been 17 or 21-0. Eventually the Seahawks warmed up, they took advantage of a rusty and unprepared Michael Crabtree and won going away 31-6.

Later in the same season, when all hope was mostly lost, Smith got a measure of revenge against the Seahawks, playing brilliantly and throwing three first-half touchdown passes en route to a 40-21 thumping of the visitors. It was the most points the 49ers franchise ever scored against Seattle, besting the efforts of any of those Joe Montana and Steve Young teams (albeit the 'Hawks were in the AFC back then and we didn't see them very often).

So here we go again, another season opener against the Seahawks, this time at the friendly confines of the 'Stick. More than any quarterback on the Sunday slate, Smith will be walking the proverbial tightrope. He absolutely needs to win this game, and hopefully look good while doing so.

He doesn't have poor coaching as an excuse anymore -- not only will Harbaugh, a former first-round pick himself be coaching him up between series, but he'll be personally relaying the play-calls into Smith's headset and giving him pointers and advice before every play. The past two head coaches Smith had either didn't even bother wearing the headphones when the offense was on the field (Nolan) or imparted useful advice such as "don't throw an interception." (Mike Singletary.)

The cast around him won't be an excuse either. Gore is back healthy and Kendall Hunter looks like a dynamic understudy. Vernon Davis remains one of the elite players at his position. Whereas last year they had to rush Crabtree onto the field and play him 65 snaps even though he missed all of preseason with a neck injury, this time the 49ers have Braylon Edwards to complement Morgan, giving them two starting-caliber receivers to play most of the snaps while Crabtree mixes in gradually and to his comfort level. It's true the offensive line has looked atrocious at times during the preseason, but generally they've been a group that plays far better at home than on the road and Seattle's pass-rush, which wasn't reminiscent of "The Fearsome Foursome" in the first place, will be further limited by Chris Clemons' wonky ankle.

It's true that there is potential for Seattle to score a few points of their own, even without Sidney Rice and road-grader Robert Gallery. The 49ers will start an entirely new secondary than the foursome that played most of the snaps in 2010. Corner Carlos Rogers and strong safety Donte Whitner were free agent additions penned into the starting lineup from day one, while free safety Madieu Williams -- another free agent -- plays in place of injured Dashon Goldson and Tarell Brown starts at the other corner spot in favor of Shawntae Spencer, who missed all of camp with a balky hamstring.

In fact, eight of the 11 49ers defenders who figure to play a lot on Sunday will be different than the ones who got the lion's share of the game reps the year before. There will be two new starting linebackers in NaVorro Bowman and Ahmad Brooks and first-round pick Aldon Smith will sub in for Parys Haralson in all passing situations. At the front line, Ray McDonald will replace the departed Aubrayo Franklin, causing Isaac Sopoaga to slide inside to nose tackle. Justin Smith and Patrick Willis will be the only constants.

The new-look 49ers defense will have youth and speed to its advantage, but with that youth comes inexperience. There doesn't seem to be anyone on the roster who can deal with Seattle tight end Zach Miller (Whitner gave up 10 touchdowns in coverage as a Buffalo Bill last year) and the Houston Texans showed during their preseason drubbing of San Francisco how vulnerable the 'backers could be to play-action passes. It also remains to be seen how staunch the front seven will be against the run. Can McDonald and Bowman plug the gaps inside the way Franklin and Takeo Spikes did?

Ultimately, I'm picking the 49ers to win -- by a score of 24-16 -- because they have to, they need to, and it just feels like they want to more. If I'm wrong, well, there's a first time for everything, I suppose.

Here's what I do know: If they somehow flub this game, then what's the point? They might as well start rookie Colin Kaepernick in week two and just use the rest of the season as a learning experience for him (and if that means 1-15 and Andrew Luck, so be it). The Seahawks at home might very well be the easiest game the 49ers will have on their schedule all year.

So yeah, darn tootin' you better be excited, Mr. Smith. It's only the most important game of your career.
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Other thoughts/picks for Week 1:

Philadelphia at St. Louis (+5): The Andy Reid/Marty Morhinweg combo are one of the best in the league when they have multiple weeks to game plan for somebody and Reid has a great track record against former pupils. Philadelphia's the speediest team in the league and now they play on the fast track in St. Louis? Yeah, I think I like 'em in this one. Eagles 34, Rams 17

Indianapolis at Houston (-9): The Colts have all the motivation in the world because everyone thinks they're doomed without Peyton Manning. What they don't have: Any talent besides Peyton Manning. Also, that coaching staff is about to get exposed in a bad way. Texans 27, Colts 13

Detroit at Tampa Bay (-1): I find this line kind of ridiculous, quite frankly. The Buccaneers and Josh Freeman get no respect. The guy had an incredible season last year and Detroit's secondary is awful until proven otherwise. Buccaneers 30, Lions 20 *THREE POINT SPECIAL*

Atlanta at Chicago (-3): I'm not high at all on the Falcons, mainly because I don't think any more highly of their defensive backs than Detroit's, but I'm even more down on the Bears, who might have the worst offensive line in the league. Falcons 20, Bears 13 *TWO POINT SPECIAL*

Cincinnati at Cleveland (-7): I think the Browns will improve and the Bengals will be among the worst teams in football, but Colt McCoy isn't that far removed from being a rookie himself and I'm not about to give him seven points against anyone but Kansas or Iowa State. Browns 17, Bengals 13

Buffalo at Kansas City (-6): I like Ryan Fitzpatrick more than most and I just have a hunch the Bills will have a frisky offense, even with a crummy line. The Chiefs offense looks hobbled at receiver, Matt Cassel has a broken rib and tight end Tony Moeaki is out for the year. A funky upset pick here. Bills 27, Chiefs 23

Tennessee at Jacksonville (-1): What a snoozer. Why can't both teams just started Jake Locker and Blaine Gabbert? Sure, it'd still be a terrible game, but in an interesting way. Titans 27, Jaguars 10 *FOUR POINT SPECIAL*

Pittsburgh at Baltimore (-2): I picked the Ravens to make the Super Bowl. For them to get there, they'll have to win games like this. It's that simple. Ravens 23, Steelers 20

Carolina at Arizona (-7): I think the Panthers will finish with the worst record in the league if Cam Newton starts all 16 games. They can't draft a franchise QB three years in a row, can they? Cardinals 26, Panthers 9 *FIVE POINT SPECIAL*

Seattle at San Francisco (-6): See above. Six points is a lot though. I have no confidence in this pick.

Minnesota at San Diego (-9): I like the Chargers, but they typically start slow, and nine points against a team with Adrian Peterson on it is too rich for my blood. Chargers 26, Vikings 20

NY Giants at Washington (+3): The Giants have zero momentum headed into the game and their defense is so beat up at all three levels. If Washington can run the ball at all, they should spring the mild upset. Redskins 23, Giants 17

Dallas at NY Jets (-6): I'm high on the Jets, but it's a leap of faith to back them by almost a full touchdown against what could be a high-octane Dallas offense. Oh, what the hell. Jets 23, Cowboys 13

New England at Miami (+7): You know what this will be? It'll be one of those games where all the bettors will confidently pick the Patriots to win in a blow out and then get pissed as hell as New England sleepwalks through three quarters and Miami takes a three point lead late into the game. Then, just when everyone who bet on the Patriots will root for them to lose outright out of spite, of course Tom Brady will throw a touchdown pass to Wes Welker with like 58 seconds to go and they'll win by four, to piss off the bettors AND the people who hate them. That's what it will be. New England 24, Miami 20

Oakland at Denver (-3): I can see a close Broncos victory or a Raiders blowout. I'm going with the close Broncos victory. Denver 24, Oakland 19

W-L Record: 1-0
W-L Record Vs. Spread: 1-0
+/- Points (all games count as one unless specified): 1