Don't Count Us Out Quite Yet

The Cowboys are supposed to be an NFC powerhouse and with the return of Tony Romo, some could write off the 49ers as an easy win. Not so fast there, "experts." San Francisco is experiencing a resurgence under Mike Singletary and with Shaun Hill at the helm. The way they disposed of the Rams last week was what I believe the first of many victories to close out this less than glorious season. Why not start this roll with our old rivals? The Cowboys looked strong against the Redskins last week, relying on Marion Barber to do the heavy lifting. The Redskin's defense is one of the best in NFL, so how can San Francisco be expected to stop the Barbarian? There are a couple points I would like to bring up, first and foremost the 49ers running defense. Anyone can ask Adrian Peterson what it feels like to play against Patrick Willis. He was so happy that Willis was the NFC, just so he wouldn't be against him in the Pro Bowl. Not only can Willis single-handedly stop the run if need be, he has Takeo Spikes and Michael Lewis in the middle of the field to help him out. Lewis, while not the best cover safety, is known for stopping the run and makes sure to leave a mark on his prey. Don't expect a repeat of Barber's performance this week. As for Romo, Owens, Williams, and Witten... they don't have the most favorable matchups across from them. Nate Clements always steps up against big name receivers and Owens isn't even having a good season. He should be easy to handle for Clements, as should Williams for Walt Harris. Harris is a veteran who knows how to play his man. The trouble could come from the tight end Witten... if not for the fact that Manny Lawson could end up lining up across from him. Lawson is substantially quicker than Witten (or most tight ends) and won't get beat very often. The entire Cowboy's offense could have problems with Singletary's D. On the other side of the ball, the Cowboy's defense hasn't been outstanding against the pass or run and neither has the 49ers offense. But the 49ers offensive scheme has seen change over the past couple weeks as the ball is going to Frank Gore more and more. If this philosophy stays in action, Frank Gore could tear up the Cowboy's less than stellar lineman and linebackers. Now "experts," why are you counting the San Francisco 49ers out already?
Prediction: If the 49ers lose, I guess I'll have taken a dive for them this week
SF 17, DAL 14

Signs of Life

The streak is over... after 6 straight losses, the San Francisco 49ers have come away with an impressive victory over the St. Louis Rams. The entire offense was electric. Frank Gore was able to get off 106 yards on only 18 carries. As for the passing game, Shaun Hill continued to impress, throwing 15/20 for 213 yards and 2 touchdowns. The defense didn't play exceptionally well, but they got the job done as evident by the scoreboard. In the second half, San Francisco played very conservative offense and the Rams were able to make a small comeback, but this game was all about the niners. Final score: St Louis 16, San Francisco 35.

A Tough Sunday Night in Arizona

So the final whistle was about an hour ago and I'm still devastated. I don't think I've ever seen a better game... well yeah I have, the last Monday Night game where we actually made the comeback. ARI 29, SF 24. I'm disappointed in the scoreboard, but not so much with the team or head coach. Shaun Hill wasn't Montana-like, but he played an o.k game until he started to force it at the end. 2 touchdowns say alot, but so do 2 interceptions. In my opinion, if he'd been starting the whole season, tonight would've been another story. All in all, Hill impressed me with his composure for the most part, but alot of the credit has to be given to the receiver core. Jason Hill had an unbelievable night for someone who had only 30yds receiving before tonight. He grabbed 7 for 84 and it would have been more if not for a horrible out-of-bounds call by the refs. Morgan and Davis did not play as well as I'd expected but they both showed up and the feel good moment of the night was Davis and Singletary embracing after his touchdown grab. Frank Gore was unstoppable the whole night until he slipped on that touchdown run. I admit, the refs made the right call in that situation, but I wish that the refs would've messed up just one more time. The defense did... an average job. They shut down the run, but what else would you expect from the likes of Patrick Willis and Takeo Spikes. As for the coverage team, they were torn apart by the likes of Warner and Co. There's a big need for help in the secondary as was made apparent tonight. Even though they were destroying us through the air, we stayed in the game thanks to a partly more conservative offense. Gore got 23 carries which is only his second 20+ carry game. He is our biggest weapon, we need to find a better way to utilize him. All things considered, I'm happy with the team's effort and I'm positive they left it all out on the field.

*Read more of my blog at 49ersblog0catch.blogspot.com*

San Francisco 49ers on MNF

I'm anxious to see if our team will be able to perform on Monday Night in Phoenix. The one thing the 49ers are famous for is playing well on Monday Night, 38-23 all-time. The last Monday Night victory was against the Cardinals, but they were a different team then. I give credit when credit is due, the Cardinals have a high-octane offense (coincidentally the type that Martz would like to achieve in SF...) Kurt Warner is seemingly ageless and they have THREE good running backs, so it will be hard for our defense to cover everything. Patrick Willis will no doubt keep the middle plugged, but our secondary could have some trouble keeping up with the speedy receivers. On the opposite side of the ball, Frank Gore can and will have a field day against the Arizona D, that is... if Shaun Hill can lead the passing game to a high enough standard to keep Arizona from loading their run D. Its possible, this week more than ever. Vernon Davis may have (quote: "may have") learned his lesson after being publicly embarrased last week. He'll be out to prove that he is as good as he thinks he is and could put up a 60yd game as the linebackers focus on Gore. Also, Josh Morgan is, in my opinion, the future at the receiver position. He's also going be lining up against Rod Hood for the majority of the game, which is certainly a matchup in his favor. I expect another big game for the rookie receiver. This is the week for the 49ers to finally stop this losing streak. I'm putting my faith in my team and saying we upset the NFC West leaders and keep the division close.

San Francisco 49ers on MNF

I'm anxious to see if our team will be able to perform on Monday Night in Phoenix. The one thing the 49ers are famous for is playing well on Monday Night, 38-23 all-time. The last Monday Night victory was against the Cardinals, but they were a different team then. I give credit when credit is due, the Cardinals have a high-octane offense (coincidentally the type that Martz would like to achieve in SF...) Kurt Warner is seemingly ageless and they have THREE good running backs, so it will be hard for our defense to cover everything. Patrick Willis will no doubt keep the middle plugged, but our secondary could have some trouble keeping up with the speedy receivers. On the opposite side of the ball, Frank Gore can and will have a field day against the Arizona D, that is... if Shaun Hill can lead the passing game to a high enough standard to keep Arizona from loading their run D. Its possible, this week more than ever. Vernon Davis may have (quote: "may have") learned his lesson after being publicly embarrased last week. He'll be out to prove that he is as good as he thinks he is and could put up a 60yd game as the linebackers focus on Gore. Also, Josh Morgan is, in my opinion, the future at the receiver position. He's also going be lining up against Rod Hood for the majority of the game, which is certainly a matchup in his favor. I expect another big game for the rookie receiver. This is the week for the 49ers to finally stop this losing streak. I'm putting my faith in my team and saying we upset the NFC West leaders and keep the division close.