SF @ SEA.
# The game was close until the 4th. As much as SEA crushed SF a couple plays going the other way and SF could have taken the lead. SFs DEF was good all gamequite a few SEA points came after costly turnovers, not poor DEF play. Kap also played better in the 2nd half. Falling behind and forcing plays lead to SEA pulling away. Much respect to SFWeek14 will be a tough game. It could decide Home Field, or worse, may knock both out of home field. That is the problem with having two great teams in one division. And SF is clearly a very, very good team. Their running game is concerning but they played great D. SEA D just played a little better. Both QBs struggled but this is the difference: Wilson is better at taking care of the ball. Kap has more big play potential but Wilson takes care of the ball. Even his INT was due to his receiver falling. Kap vs. Wilson should be a good rivalry for the next decade if they can stay healthy. It is an interesting contrast as they are both mobile but play very different. A SF vs. SEA match up would be a great playoff game this year for the NFLbut as a SEA fan I really dont want to see SF in the playoffs unless it is at home. SF is a good team. Much props.
# SEA is no longer soft. Last year against SF @ home the SEA strong safety (Chancelor) got flagged for a clean hit that took Davis out of the game. In the past SEA would often crumble under the pressure of a bad call or a big play. Of course in that game they forced SF into a field goal situation and blocked the kick and returned it for a TD. Last night saw some similar situations, namely the poor call on the blocked punt and the SF off sides on the 4-1. One play gave SF the ball within the SEA 30 and the other ended a SEA drive. SEA lost Okung and still is without Harvin, Clemons, Browner, and Irvin. The old SEA throws up their hands. This group plays a lot better with adversity. Sure they break at times (MIA and DET last year) but they have played a lot of close games and seem to rise up to the challenge more times than not. IMO SEA is a fun team to watch.
# Penalties marred a great DEF effort from both sides. Both teams had a ton of stupid penalties. If either have SB aspirations they need to clean that up. Both teams could have lost the game on penalties.
# REFS. I dont know how they could miss the off sides on the 4-1 play. I understand letting each team play but procedural stuff (like the 6 players on the line SEA was flagged for) should be flagged every time. Every time. Off sides, illegal motion, too many men on the field, delay of game, not enough players on the LOS/illegal formation, etc should always be caught. Pretty poor job all around, especially for not calling false start on the blocked punt at minimum. If there was a whistle play should have been dead; if there was no whistle it is a false start. The fact the blocked punt was allowed to stand could have been a game changer.
# Hits on QBs. I have no problem with a QB who is taking a running/scrambling posture being hit. Nevermind Harbaughs hypocricy from the week prior. I do take issue with a sliding QB being forearmed in the head. Willis better get a fine for thatshould have been a penalty. It was more than a, Oh, he is sliding and incidental contact. He clearly rammed his forearm into his head. Cheap play. If that was Manning or Brady that is a flag. I dont have issue with a defender making incidental contact due to momentum. But that was clearly a cheap shot.
# Cut blocking. I know it is part of the game, but I hate it. I love running teams, but I wont shed a tear if they change the rule that all blocks have to be at waist level of higher (allowing clipping above the waist in the box hip and higher). Same thing goes for unprotected shots at the knee of ball carriers (especially from the side/rear when the defender is driving downward). I hate seeing players careers ruined by this trashy play. Also, reading a lot of SF whining about the cut block, specifically some quotes by Willis. I am onboard with the criticism of the rule. But the way SF is presenting it strikes as being hypocritical. Nevermind SF does the same thing and a SF DB went low on Miller late in the game. It is OK for the Niners to go low on tackles, hit QBs on anything resembling a fake, and chop blockbut oh dear oh my no other team should ever do these things. Just last week Harbaugh was lamenting the hits on QBs and yet SF was clearly going after Wilson. Willis or Brookes (forget who) had no problem when Wilson was going out of bounds to not just hit him but to carry the tackle through as violently as possible well out of bounds. Which seems to be within the rules but makes SF look bad. I am actually sympathetic to player safety and think the game needs more open, intelligent dialogue. But the way SF carries themselves (especially the coach and QB in how they interact with the press) is pretty snotty. Which is unfortunate because SF is a great team. Back to back trips to the NFC championship game and a fiery coach and players. There is a lot to like there. But they take their fair share of shots and pushing the rules but whine about everything.
# Playoffs. Could you imagine how chippy a playoff game would be between these teams? The over-under on ejected players would have to be 1.5 and players inured who could not return at 3.5. I think both teams like each other even less after yesterday. It makes you wonder how they will approach Week14 as neither want players hurt entering the playoff run.
# SEA D-Line. Kap got out for a couple nice runsis there a scarier QB on the run? He rivals Vick in his prime. When Kap takes off as a SEA fan I get scared as he can take it all the way every time. He also can pull up and complete passes anywhere on the field. That said I was impressed with the contribution of Avril and Bennet. The SEA D-Line was harassing Kap all night and the LBs were doing a good job of shadowing to prevent many big plays. Kap escaped quite a few near sacks where defenders had arms on him. Outside Kap, Wilson, and RGIII most of those are sacks. Aggressive DL play was the biggest element missing from last years squad on the DEF and why losing Clemons was such a big blow. The improved line play forced a lot of awkward scrambles where no one was open. Teams with less mobile QBs will be in a lot of trouble if SEA can keep this up.
# A. Smith. He is a monster. He had a dumb penalty but came right back with a big play. Exactly what you expect from your stars. Sure, Okung went down, but Smith was having his way on the weak side against the run and pass. As a fan you really have to appreciate those players you fear. They are rare and are a treat to watch. Smith is one of those players. Smith reminds me of the great D. Thomas. You had to account for him every down and if you didnt double team you needed to move away from him. Smith seems to have matured quickly as he really does seem to handle running at him well (usually a weak spot for young pass rushers). The SF linebackers had a good game overallthey are a blast to watch.
# S. Rice. A dropped pass in the End Zone and 2 stupid penalties. Look, I agree with the arguments that Rices numbers cannot reflect other No. 1 wide outs. SEA doesnt pass enough. But No. 1 receivers dont drop passes in the end-zone and limit stupid penalties. Rice is hurting SEA more than helping, which is a huge problem when he is your No. 1 and paid like it. I dont like it when players taunt after a TD, but after a catch? Yes he took a big hit for a first down but getting penalized for stupid behavior like that is
stupid. He better step up his game if he wants to be in SEA next year. Based on production it will be hard to pay him his $8M and Harvin his $11M and also keep Baldwin and Tate. On Tate, while he had some nice returns he also took some stupid risks on returnsI get the feeling he will lose SEA a game based on a botched return (like picking up off the bounce or diving catches). If there is a weak spot on SEA it is the receivers. GB sliced SF last week. Some of the issue is Wilson (he makes some nice reads but also has missed on some throws) and the line (average at best for pass protection) but most of it is the receivers. In Atlanta last year Rice and Tate could not get separation. And again this year neither of them has stepped up their game. There really is no excuse: SEA has a great running attacks teams respect and Miller and a solid TE. With Wilson scrambling to create advantageous passing angles SEAs passing attack should be better than it is. I know SEA needs a big presence on the outside but I wouldnt be surprised if SEA kept Harvin and Baldwin and let Tate and Rice go unless Rice takes a big pay cut.
# The concussion on the Rice tackle. I forgot the players name. The talking heads were noting how by going lower than the head they put themselves in awkward positions. Wrong. The DB was being aggressive and did what I was always told (put your head on the downfield side if the ball is not exposed to prevent the ball carrier to run through you). If the DB had put his head more naturally to the back side he would not have been hurtbut Rice might have broken free. This is football. The player put himself in that position, but he had a choice. Even if the league outlaws head and knee shots you will have players with concussions from getting kneed in the head or more blunt injuries. It is a violent, contact sport. Obviously there needs to be some degree of protection. There is a reason face masking has been illegal foreverit is very dangerous. Ditto launching with your helmet or horsecollar tackles. I am less comfortable with situations where WR drop down and get hit in the head. I think the league should penalize clear launching or head-to-head and then take all the other questionable ones during the week and fine them (I propose a Quarters worth of pay, a Halfs for repeat offenders)or even suspend if warranted.
# SF Receivers. Boldin and Davis had 300 yards against GB. Against SEA? They might as well have not been on the field. GBs secondary may be bad (hard to tell against the Redskins as RGIII is hurt but the yards he got were pretty much garbage time) but it is night and day. Some of this was to be expected; Boldin ate GBs zone alive whereas SEA plays more man and has the best defenders in the league. Boldin isnt really fast but uses his body wellbut that doesnt work so well against SEAs bigger DBs. So I would chalk up the poor showing on a poor match up. But SF clearly has issues at WR and needs to get it resolved. Boldin and Davis cannot be the only serviceable wide outs. On the flip side you can also see how the great SEA coverage is motivating the DL. Bennet and Avril looked like great additions. And I dont expect Clemons to return to form this year but with Irvin coming after 2 weeks and Browner getting healthy the SEA DEF could even be better come mid-season. In these two teams next meeting I would expect SF to run more screens, quick short passes, and roll outs to give the receivers better angles and to buy Kap more time. They will need to do something because SFs receivers clearly struggled against SEA and were a non-factor.
# R. Sherman. Speaking of SEA DBs. Sherman is backing up his talk with stellar play. I dont care if Revis is better, Sherman is clearly a shut down cornerwhich is funny considering he was a WR at one point in college and a very late round pick. The pick he had looked like he was baiting Kap. He was all over his coverage all night and it looked like he gave just enough space to make Kap feel he could get it in there. Kap put the ball where it needed to be but Sherman played it perfectly. He did something similar in the Ram game last year by playing off enough to bait Bradford to force a ball in. SEA looks loaded in the defensive backfield. Thurman covered Boldin a bit and was all over himand he isnt even the starter (Browner iswho has been a Pro Bowler). Thurman and Lane made Winfield expendablewhich is amazing as SEA got him to solidify the slot which Trufant did a poor job in last year.
# F. Gore. It makes me sad to say but he is on the decline. He still may have a great season but the burst and tough running look off. He is at that age. SEA fans better appreciate Lynch now because in 2 years he, too, will be on his way out. SEA was wise to get Turbin and Michael to ensure there is little drop off in the run game. Btw, this is why the 4 year contract rule on RBs is so dumb. Their careers are so short. Locking them into the league min during their best years seems so wrong.