Kyle Williams. All the finger pointing has been going towards the direction of the second year wide receiver after the San Francisco 49ers fell short against the New York Giants in the NFC championship game. Williams had two costly fumbles that eventually resulted in 10 points for the Giants. The crucial fumble coming in overtime, this gave the Giants great field position to set up a game winning field goal. When the game concluded I was seriously depressed. I am sure many Niner fans were sharing the same emotions, if not worst. When I had time to cool down and evaluate the game I realized that it is unfair to put all the blame on Williams. I do believe in the saying, “We fall as a team and we rise as a team.” Here are the other factors that contributed to the Niners defeat. (more…)

The match-up between Lewis and Mays has many factors.  Most importantly is Lewis’ health.  He suffered three concussions last year, two in the preseason and the last one in week 5.  Even though Lewis only missed one game his health will be a concern as the next concussion he suffers could be the end of his career.

Taylor Mays is a hard hitting physical stud but needs to better develop his coverage and footwork.  The 49ers brought in Ronnie Lott in the off-season to help Mays with his development.  Lewis just needs to stay healthy through training camp and the preseason and he will win the starting job.  If Mays is not the starter he will contribute on defense as the blitzing safety and on running downs when the D stacks the box to prevent the run.

Free Safety: Dashon Goldson vs. Reggie Smith/Curtis Taylor

The 49ers were known for giving up big pass plays last season.  This however had more to do with a lack of getting a pass rush without using the blitz which left the secondary exposed.  Dashon Goldson had a break out year last season recoding 94 tackles, 4 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 sacks.  Unless Goldson has a horrible training camp he is a lock for the starting job.  I hope Reggie Smith and Curtis Taylor have a great training camp because it will bring depth to the secondary that was beat deep often last season.  Goldson is in a contract year so we should see another good year out of him as NFL players bring out everything they have to get awarded with a new hefty contract.  Smith and Taylor know that if they have a solid training camp the 49ers can look to them in the future as starters if Goldson does not sign a contract.  Smith can come in and make an impact right away if Goldson goes down to injury.

Cornerback: Nate Clements vs. Tarell Brown

Age might be finally catching up with Nate Clements.  Clements can still get the job done as a reliable cornerback but the 49ers signed him to be a play-making defensive back.  Even as a dependable corner the 49ers had better talent on the bench last season.  Clements was benched against the Colts in week 8 last season and was replaced by Tarell Brown.  Clements did not start in another game the rest of the season.  Despite Clements big contract the 49ers seem willing to let Brown into the starting lineup if he proves to be the better of the two corners.  Brown did well finishing with 38 tackles and two interceptions after taking over for Clements.  Clements is the better open field tackler which helps with the run but he knows that Mike Singletary and Greg Manusky are willing to replace him in the starting lineup if he does not have a good training camp.  This will be motivation for Clements as he does not want to become the highest paid cornerback that is not a starter.  Regardless of who wins the starting job both will be a factor in the Nickel defensive set.

Running Back: Glen Coffee vs. rookie Anthony Dixon

Frank Gore has the starting job locked up.  The battle at running back in training camp will be who backs up Gore.  After Gore went down to injury against the Vikings in week 3 Glen Coffee had a great opportunity to show his talent but only averaged 57 rushing yards a game, 3.0 yards a rush, with one touchdown in the three games.  Coffee was still developing but not being able to take advantage of playing time last season does not make him the clear favorite to be the number two running back.  Each season the 49ers try to keep Gore’s legs fresh to avoid injury.  One way to do this is not bringing Gore in on third-and-short and goal line situations.  Coffee was not reliable last season on those plays and with the physical and blowing ball style of running Anthony Dixon showed in college he should transition well into this role.  But Dixon is a rookie and learning the offense.  Coffee has the advantage of a year of knowledge of the offense under his belt.

Quarterback: Alex Smith vs. David Carr

The training camp battle at quarterback is not one many people expect to pay attention to however the 49er Faithful showed keep an eye on this one.  Alex Smith has been named the starter, will have the same offense in constructive years for the first time in his career and is coming off last season with the most confidence in his career.  After going 5-5 as a starter Smith finished the season with 2350 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, completed 60.5 percent of his passes and had an 81.5 QB rating.  The 49ers have upgraded their offensive line with draft picks that can start right away so this will make Smith more comfortable in the pocket.  The 49ers passed up on drafting quarterbacks and trading for some of the available ones like Donovan McNabb to show their faith in Smith. They did however sign former number one draft pick David Carr.  I expect Carr to have a great training camp and give Smith good competition for the starting job.  Unless Smith has a bad showing in camp and in the preseason or if he goes down to injury, which is prone to doing, Smith will be under center at the start of the season.  Carr brings stability as a back up and will be a great mentor to Smith as he has been a back up for two Super Bowl quarterbacks.  Both Smith and Carr have a lot to prove as they have been written off by many as quarterbacks who cannot start in the NFL and lead their teams to winning records.

49ers Win Big

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Regardless of last week’s result against the Seahawks last night’s Monday Night Football game was a must win for the 49ers.  If they had beaten the Seahawks and with the win last night the 49ers would have pulled within one of the game the NFC West title along with the owning the tiebreaker against the Cardinals.  The Niners are still technically alive for a playoff spot but in order for them to win the NFC West the Cardinals need lose their last three games (Lions, Rams, Packers) which seems unlikely but more importantly the Niners need to win to take care of themselves and win out the last three games (Eagles, Lions, Rams) to hope for a long shot spot in the playoffs.  The 49ers have two teams in front of them for the wild card, Giants and Falcons. With the NFC East being played out like a slugfest and with the Falcons big two playmakers in Matt Ryan and Michael Turner hurting and not at 100% there is a small window for the 49ers to creep up in the playoff standings.  Nonetheless the way the 49ers came out and defeated a very good Cardinals team that embarrassed the playoff bound Vikings last week the performance by the team, especially the D, showed that no matter the previous weeks results they learn from it, let it go and can come out and beat a team favored to win 24-9.  Let’s hand out some game gold nuggets:

(Game gold nuggets are based on a one to five scale, one being the lowest, five being the highest)

OFFENSE :

Anytime you switch to a spread offense your run game will suffer.  With rushing attempts of 9, 16 and 7 in the past three games for a total of 117 rushing yards it looked as though the 49ers best offensive player, Frank Gore, was becoming an afterthought in the run as offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye tried to suite the offense to Alex Smith’s abilities.  Being down in the second half in two of the last three games the switch was natural for the team looking for any type of offense and a quick score.  However last night Raye showed that the 49ers can still run the spread to move the offense but when the clock needs to be ran out to preserve a win you can always count on Gore.  With 25 rushing attempts for 167 yards, 6.7 average per carry and one touchdown Gore reminded everyone that he is the best offensive player on the Niners and that offense should run, literally, through him.  Smith did not have a spectacular game stat wise completing 19 of 35 passes for 144 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions but he ran the spread offense effectively.  With the defense creating turnovers that got the offense back Smith’s two interceptions only yielded nine points for the Cardinals.  But what does not show up in the stat book is how poised and how much of a presence Smith had on the field last night commanding the offense.  Smith is emerging out of his old shell and becoming a quarterback that you can rely on in passing situations.

There were times last night when Smith and Michael Crabtree were off as far as knowing where the receiver was going to be and where the quarterback was going to throw.  This is one of the negative side effects I see with Crabtree missing so much time before signing with the Niners but this is something that will correct itself as Smith and Crabtree work more with each other and it becomes instinct on where the two know the ball will be thrown and where the Crabtree needs to be.  Crabtree finished with 5 receptions for 67 yards with one touchdown.  His lone touchdown catch of the night gave the 49er Faithful a glimpse of his athletic ability and what to expect in the future when he pulled down a pass out of the air, continued running along the route and stiff-armed his way for a 35-yard touchdown.  That gave the Niners a 17-0 halftime lead and added momentum on top of the five turnovers by the 49ers D in the first-half.  The 49ers offense is starting to roll and finding its identity as maybe a pass first team but when the time calls for it they run the football effectively whether out of the spread or normal formations.

Another reason for the 49ers success last night was the excellent play by the offensive line that lead Gore to a big rushing night and protected Smith giving up only one sack.  The play that stood out the most to me by the O-line was on Gore’s 36-yard run in the first quarter with right guard David Baas leading the way with a crucial block that allowed Gore’s big gain.  Individually the O-line stats don’t show up in the box score but when you only give up one sack, the offense rushes for 189 yards and have 36:45 time of possession the offensive line as a whole has had a great game

DEFENSE :

The 49ers defense last night was stellar in all aspects: Seven turnovers, five in the first half, that included two interceptions (INT), seven forced fumbles (FF) recovering five of them to go along with 4 sacks.  The D got everyone involved with interceptions by safety Dashon Goldson, who also had 2 FF, and cornerback Tarell Brown.  The five fumbles were recovered by defensive end Parys Haralson, cornerback Dre’ Bly, safety Mark Roman forced the fumble he recovered and defensive end Justin Smith.  Linebacker Ahmad Brooks was the most impressive with a FF and recovery to go along with three sacks.  It is well known how good of an offense the Cardinals have and with the way quarterback Kurt Warner was playing the last four games in which he had 12 touchdown passes and no interceptions with at least a 120 passer rating in each of the games the 49ers D proved it is a force to be reckon with.  The 49ers D have been great against the run this year but it was the weak play against the passing game that opponents exploited so to shutdown a high-powered offense like the Cardinals (Anquan Boldin 5 receptions for 40 yards; Larry Fitzgerald 2 receptions for 22 yards) and limiting their big play makers the 49ers D showed to the nation how good their defense can be and how they rise to the occasion.

A lot has been said about Alex Smith and his development as a quarterback being hindered because of all the various offensive coordinators he has been through.  The 49ers D have shown what the team can develop into if they have consistent coordinators on the sideline.  Greg Manusky is in his third year as the 49ers defensive coordinator and with big games this year against the Rams (five turnovers, shutout), Colts (held Peyton Manning and company to 18 points) and holding Pro Bowl running backs Steven Jackson, Adrian Peterson, Michael Turner and Maurice Jones-Drew all under 100 rushing yards the 49ers are showing a blueprint for the offensive side of the football.

SPECIAL TEAMS :

The only blot on the special teams was Joe Nedney’s 53 yard miss in the second quarter.  It was a long field goal but there was no wind last night at the ‘Stick.  Because of the defenses performance the missed field goal did not matter but at the time the 49ers were to add to a 10-0.  53 yards is within Nedney’s kicking distance and he will need to make these kicks in the last three games of the season.  Andy Lee was his normal self averaging 41.2 yards on each punt.  He did shank one punt in the third quarter that set up a Cardinals field goal.  The big play of the game on special teams came from defensive end Ray McDonald who blocked an extra point which made the score 17-9.

COACHING :

A lot of credit has to be given to Mike Singletary in the way he prepared the 49ers for last night’s game and for making the team forget about the tough loss against the Seahawks that was a win within their reach.  Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye called a great game by starting out in the spread formation and passing a lot making the Cardinals D think that was going to be the case all night.  But slowly and effectively Raye called running plays for Gore and it worked out to their advantage.  Another great defensive scheme was set-up by defensive coordinator Greg Manusky.  The 49ers brought pressure all night on Warner and made him look like a rookie and forced him to throw into double coverage.  Manusky masked his zone coverage very well and most passing downs he was dropping seven into the zone and on one play only had two rushers and the 49ers caused an interception.  What the coaches need to do now is make sure the 49ers can carry this confidence and momentum over to the next three games if the Niners even want to entertain thoughts of making the playoffs.

Up Next @ Philly:

The 49ers will travel to Philadelphia on Sunday against an Eagles team fighting for the NFC East.  The 49ers have only won once on the road this year which was in week one against the Cardinals and the 49ers have a short week.  Anything is possible but the 49ers will need a performance like last night to be able to keep up with the Eagles.