Tale of Two Halves
by: Bryan Hersh
A football game is actually 60 minutes long. To most people that should be obvious, but apparently the 49ers needed a reminder. Hopefully they will read this post, and someone will come to the realization that you do not win many football games in the NFL playing hard for only 30 minutes. Playing half a football game seems to be the common trend for the team in recent weeks. Whether it is the incredibly cold starts, or the inability to finish a game, the 49ers have shown that they are not a 60 minute football team. If that does not change quick, the 49ers may as well kiss the season goodbye.
I will be the first to admit that the Titans are a far better team than their record. In fact, last week, I predicted that the 49ers would lose on the basis of: Injuries, Alex Smith, and Run Stopping. Turns out, I believe I was largely right.
Working from the outside in:
The 49ers, who boast the second best rushing defense in the league, could not contain the Titans run game. Why? Because the Titans watched film and new how to counter it (either that, or they read my previous comments). They used angular blocking and attacked the outside the tackles - where the 49ers happened to be susceptible with Nate Clements out of the line up (Clements is an exceptional CB when it comes to run support). Not surprisingly it worked. Injuries also were a factor in taking players out of the game like Delanie Walker ... that is not exactly what I predicted though. The loss of Clements though was. I am actually surprised by how well the offensive line held up without Joe Staley.
Alex Smith was the other reason this game was lost, and please do not get me wrong, I am actually still supporting Smith and believe he is our best chance to win at the spot right now. I also believe it is imperative that we see what Smith is about as we finish out the season and prepare for the future. Yet, as predicted, the 49ers lost because of Alex Smith. Yes, the turnovers were a factor, but more specifically the team spent a week focusing on how to change the offense to better utilize Smith, taking focus away from preparing for the Titans. That combined with an offense that still lacked killer instinct (see: Raye, Jimmy) played a big roll in the loss.
Now the 49ers are two games back in the NFC West, a far cry from playoff contention even with almost half of season of football to play. The team is also faced with a short week as they prepare for the Bears on Sunday night. Starting to play a full 60 minutes would be a good step. So would finding a balance of running and passing, not one extreme over the other. At least the short week provides something to look forward too, but with the longest post-game injury report of the season, the short week may end up being a brutal penalty.
Bryan Hersh is the Founder and President of 49ers Paradise, www.49ersparadise.com He is a good friend and supporter of Hooked on the Niners. Please contact Bryan with any questions or comments at bryan_hotn@49ersparadise.com