I didnt think they would be able to run like they did. I got the feeling they could have ran it all day had they wanted to. Yes we held them to 13 points so I am not bitching about our defense. But is anyone else surprised, and yet concerned, about how easily it seamed we were ran on at will?

Nope. How the hell did gore get like 2 40 yrd gains

The D-line got handled pretty well, but that is expected with their stellar offensive line. My major concern was our linebackers frequently missing their gaps and not staying in their assignment.

I am. Their o-line completely dominated us, both in pass and run blocking.

The D got tired.Wr couldnt catch a cold.

They were sure gouging us up the middle there, it looked like they were really getting us on those traps and plays where thay got us spread out. Wagner had a tough game I think they really targeted him and kept him guessing, we also got hit on a bunch of underneath passing in the second half in his zone. They have a great o-line, makes me think the Giants could be headed back to the superbowl when considering what they were able to do with their pass rush, and of course their explosive offense...and ground game, they're good.

Not concerned at all. They scored 13 points, the defense was fine.

VHawk wrote:The D got tired.Wr couldnt catch a cold.

bullshit

stop the run. I hate blaming one side for another's shortcomings. Make plays and it doesn't matter what the offense of the defense doesn't or doesn't not do.

I'm not concerned. SF has probably the best running OL in the entire league. They have 3 first round draft picks, the best LT barnone, possibly the best LG and a top flight RT. Like Mayock said, they found a play in that quick trap that was working and they exploited it to perfection in the third quarter. That together with the checkdowns to the RB's to keep the sticks moving tired out our D-Line. Mebane and Red are good but they aren't super human. SF isn't the number one rushing team in the NFL for no reason. I'm not concerned at all.

Tech Worlds wrote:

VHawk wrote:The D got tired.Wr couldnt catch a cold.

bullshit

stop the run. I hate blaming one side for another's shortcomings. Make plays and it doesn't matter what the offense of the defense doesn't or doesn't not do.

Tech Worlds how well did they run in the red zone? Just shut up and stop whining, the defense is NOT the problem in any way, shape, or form.

SuperBowlXLChamps wrote:

Tech Worlds wrote:

VHawk wrote:The D got tired.Wr couldnt catch a cold.

bullshit

stop the run. I hate blaming one side for another's shortcomings. Make plays and it doesn't matter what the offense of the defense doesn't or doesn't not do.

Tech Worlds how well did they run in the red zone? Just shut up and stop whining, the defense is NOT the problem in any way, shape, or form.

shut up? thanks for bringing something to the table. whining ? not at all. concerned? yes I am.

you? head in sand. hmmm... so i should tell you something insulting now since you were an ass to me?

Piss off.

Yes, my head is "in the sand" because I'm not whining and crying about a top 5 defense in nearly every category that just gave up 13 points to one of the best teams in the NFL.

Sometimes you have to hand it to the competition. San Fran's O-Line was kicking butt all game and dominated in the 2nd half. Team will dust themselves off and start thinking about how to handle Detroit.

[off-topic]
This one stings I am sure because of the obsession fans have with beating the 49ers but the 49ers hung tough in the first half and our guys couldn't make a play. Surprised with Turbin's drop. That was the trendsetter. Tate's drop at the start of the second half. These two have been clutch in catching the ball. Nerves or something got the best of them.
[/off-topic]

SuperBowlXLChamps wrote:Yes, my head is "in the sand" because I'm not whining and crying about a top 5 defense in nearly every category that just gave up 13 points to one of the best teams in the NFL.

not whining at all. I just expected us to stuff the run better.

hopefully this isnt an issue down the road. I noticed in the last game when the pats ran the ball they were getting good yards as well.

I am totally happy with how we held the score down today. I just dont like the way we were gashed by the run game. This is a concern.

SuperBowlXLChamps wrote:

Tech Worlds wrote:

VHawk wrote:The D got tired.Wr couldnt catch a cold.

bullshit

stop the run. I hate blaming one side for another's shortcomings. Make plays and it doesn't matter what the offense of the defense doesn't or doesn't not do.

Tech Worlds how well did they run in the red zone? Just shut up and stop whining, the defense is NOT the problem in any way, shape, or form.

Goodbye.

Iupati is a man. We watched every play twice and my buddy who's a Niners fan kept pointing out how badly Iupati was beating up on our interior linemen. That dude is amazing. There were a couple plays where Branch looked like a high schooler being blocked by an NFL hall of famer.

Tech Worlds wrote:

SuperBowlXLChamps wrote:Yes, my head is "in the sand" because I'm not whining and crying about a top 5 defense in nearly every category that just gave up 13 points to one of the best teams in the NFL.

not whining at all. I just expected us to stuff the run better.

hopefully this isnt an issue down the road. I noticed in the last game when the pats ran the ball they were getting good yards as well.

I am totally happy with how we held the score down today. I just dont like the way we were gashed by the run game. This is a concern.

Agreed. We can't use the offense as a scapegoat for every issue the defense might have.

Just because the defense is very good doesn't mean it's perfect. It still has things it can improve on as well.

kmedic wrote:Like Mayock said, they found a play in that quick trap that was working and they exploited it to perfection in the third quarter. That together with the checkdowns to the RB's to keep the sticks moving tired out our D-Line. Mebane and Red are good but they aren't super human. SF isn't the number one rushing team in the NFL for no reason.

This plus the post route to VD is basically their whole offense and we couldn't gameplan to stop it. They are not a deep ball team. Our guys got tired, but more disappointed that the coaching staff wasn't able to scheme their tendencies.

kmedic wrote:I'm not concerned. SF has probably the best running OL in the entire league. They have 3 first round draft picks, the best LT barnone, possibly the best LG and a top flight RT. Like Mayock said, they found a play in that quick trap that was working and they exploited it to perfection in the third quarter. That together with the checkdowns to the RB's to keep the sticks moving tired out our D-Line. Mebane and Red are good but they aren't super human. SF isn't the number one rushing team in the NFL for no reason. I'm not concerned at all.

Staley is not the best LT.....not even top 10 IMO.

Surprising they were run on like they were. I expected more, as I'm sure the team did as well. Credit a great offensive run game and run blocking. They did a thorough job, and we didn't.

Tech Worlds wrote:I didnt think they would be able to run like they did. I got the feeling they could have ran it all day had they wanted to. Yes we held them to 13 points so I am not bitching about our defense. But is anyone else surprised, and yet concerned, about how easily it seamed we were ran on at will?

The run defense up the middle was surprising to me as well. But if the whole game we only gave up one TD and two FG's that is a pretty good effort.

I'm still more concerned about our offense and how we can't seem to develop a consistent effort week in, week out on that side of the ball.

Seahawk Sailor wrote:Credit a great offensive run game and run blocking. They did a thorough job, and we didn't.

That's the bottom line.

Particularly in the late second half they were running quick hitters and our defense was slicing upfield instead of staying at home. Just got a little aggressive which you can't really blame in that part of the game.

Surprised the hell out of me though, not used to seeing that.

Also Iupati is a beast, that was a beautiful pull he had, so nimble for such a big man.

From a 49er fan's perspective:

San Francisco's passing game stalled in the first half, in large part, because Seattle's physical corners were getting away with a lot of holding and PI, and at one point Alex Smith threw incomplete when a D-Lineman grabbed his face mask. Alex Smith also missed Kyle Williams a couple of times deep in the 1st quarter, but the number of times San Francisco's WR's were in a good position down the field prevented Seattle from jumping on the shorter routes.

At half-time, realizing the refs were not going to call many penalties on contact down the field, San Francisco made the necessary adjustments. The disadvantage of being overly physical on WR's routes is that the WR's have an easier time blocking, since they are in better position to do so. Usually when you see runs and check-downs going for decent yardage, it means that WR's are blocking CB's down-field.

Seattle's LB's are not terrible, but clearly are the weakest area of a very good, very physical defense. This gets hidden a lot of the time due to the speed and physicality of the D-Line and secondary, but when San Francisco was able to win on those levels, the LB's were exposed. They simply were not going to be able to stop the run without more help from the secondary and D-Line, while also trying to cover the short routes in the passing game.

BlueTalon wrote:

Seahawk Sailor wrote:Credit a great offensive run game and run blocking. They did a thorough job, and we didn't.

That's the bottom line.

As an added theory...

I think it might be the football gods at work.

You know how we never let Steven Jackson do anything against us? How he's been stonewalled against Seattle his entire career, even when our defense was nothing special?

Well, in payment for that luxury, the football gods have made us extra susceptible to Frank Gore.

I wasn't happy with how well they ran the ball against us but I'm not concerned in general and I won't be unless I see other teams not named SF do it to us.

In specific though I'm am peeing in my pants worrying about them doing it to us when we play them next.

hawk45 wrote:I wasn't happy with how well they ran the ball against us but I'm not concerned in general and I won't be unless I see other teams not named SF do it to us.

In specific though I'm am peeing in my pants worrying about them doing it to us when we play them next.

Won't happen in the CLink.

That is what a good o-line will do for you. The "experts" around here always think that we are ok, or even good, and we simply are not.

You saw what they did to our very good D-line.

Gore has always done that to us and they are always right up the gut.

SuperBowlXLChamps wrote:Not concerned at all. They scored 13 points, the defense was fine.

If only everything was as simple as just looking at a number and making a conclusion.

3 days of practice. (If that.) The 49ers can throw a lot of looks because of that beastly O-line, and our linebackers needed to see a lot more of it in practice. It wouldn't have solved the issue completely, but I have a feeling they would have stayed home a lot better.

manders2600 wrote:From a 49er fan's perspective:

San Francisco's passing game stalled in the first half, in large part, because Seattle's physical corners were getting away with a lot of holding and PI, and at one point Alex Smith threw incomplete when a D-Lineman grabbed his face mask. Alex Smith also missed Kyle Williams a couple of times deep in the 1st quarter, but the number of times San Francisco's WR's were in a good position down the field prevented Seattle from jumping on the shorter routes.

At half-time, realizing the refs were not going to call many penalties on contact down the field, San Francisco made the necessary adjustments. The disadvantage of being overly physical on WR's routes is that the WR's have an easier time blocking, since they are in better position to do so. Usually when you see runs and check-downs going for decent yardage, it means that WR's are blocking CB's down-field.

Seattle's LB's are not terrible, but clearly are the weakest area of a very good, very physical defense. This gets hidden a lot of the time due to the speed and physicality of the D-Line and secondary, but when San Francisco was able to win on those levels, the LB's were exposed. They simply were not going to be able to stop the run without more help from the secondary and D-Line, while also trying to cover the short routes in the passing game.

Spot on. You're right, brother. That is exactly what happened.

It was a short week. Sunday's game took a toll on both sides. Not surprised at all that they were able to run the ball, same as us.

Did anyone else see the Seahawks run on the vaunted Niners run defense with similar results? Elite rushing offenses will get theirs. Both did last night.

2nd in the league in rush defense going in and the best rushing team in the league has a good day at home against them and now it's a concern??? What a ridiculous thread this is.

I always hate seeing Frank Gore active against the 'hawks. I'm not exactly sure how well he's done against Seattle in recent years. It just ALWAYS seems like he has his best games against this team!


(A bit off topic) My friend was complaining about how frank gore is a mediocre fantasy player, and I told him he has two awesome fantasy games a season...the days he plays Seattle.

SF was 'I think' leading the league in rushing offense with 179 yards per game average, I could be wrong though.

MLOhawks wrote:SF was 'I think' leading the league in rushing offense with 179 yards per game average, I could be wrong though.

oh so i guess we should just accept getting gashed then. I got it.

Since i was out to sea and couldn't watch the Carolina and Patriots game i rewatched them. The biggest runs i seen in those games? Right up the middle. I think the 49ers keyed on that and it is really becoming a concern to me. Now teams haven't been able to run sideline to sideline on us but where there is a significant run for a big gain it does seem to be up the middle without a doubt. Missed gaps shouldn't happen but i think the 49ers Heavy or Jumbo sets really confused our boys. I have faith PC and Bradley will get that fixed the next time around. I think we should have allowed our LB to play Man to Man coverage more because all the 49ers were doing was bringing 3 guys up through the middle of the formation using play action out of the back field in those full house sets. If the LBs are man to man that doesn't and should not happen. It's ok though i am pretty sure we will stomp a mud hole in their ass at Clink. Just need to get a couple victories going into the bye get the boys some rest and kick ass those remaining games most of which are at home. We have good shot at the playoffs if we pick up some wins before the bye.

Tech Worlds wrote:

MLOhawks wrote:SF was 'I think' leading the league in rushing offense with 179 yards per game average, I could be wrong though.

oh so i guess we should just accept getting gashed then. I got it.

No, but S.F. knew they weren't going to be able to throw on us, so they focused on the run even more. When you have an all-world O-line, you can do that, unfortunately. : /

I remember in the 3rd Q thinking 'Why aren't they throwing the ball to Vernon Davis?' Then after a cold hard look at things today, I realise it was possibly because they didn't have to.

Fair play to SF (as has already been noted) they found a weakness and exploited it. You have to give credit where it's due. Still say Harbaugh's a whiny little bitch though.

I know we did a good job in the red zone, but it was shocking to me when on several occasions their RB would break through our D line and there was nothing between him and our goal line but the deep safety. Fortunately we made the tackles, but not before a big gain.

Yeah, it's a concern......but I like to look at the whys and wherefores of it.

1. San Fran is a good team. We Seahawks fans don't like to admit it, but it's true.

2. Obviously there were missed assignments and poor gap control. I assume (hope?) that the coaches will be addressing this. That's one of those coachable things they can work on.

3. Fatigue. Everyone wants to cover their ears and holler "Excuse!" but face it. That was their third game in ELEVEN days. First a tough east coast road game, then an emotional game against New England-with, I might add, not a lot of work defending the run, then another road game on Thursday night. The emotional let down after a win like the Pats game is something our young team will have to learn to deal with. Pile it on top of that kind of brutal schedule and its not a surprise to me he had our d!cks put in the dirt.

So, I'm going to file this one under "Games we probably couldn't have won under the best of circumstances." Conditions certainly weren't ideal the other night. The upside here is that they have 10 days until their next game, something to practice and learn from, and a chip on their shoulder to take out against Detroit.

Sure, I'm concerned about our run D, but I couldn't care less how that game affects our position in the rankings. I'll jump on the worry wort bandwagon next time this happens, if ever.

Tech Worlds wrote:

MLOhawks wrote:SF was 'I think' leading the league in rushing offense with 179 yards per game average, I could be wrong though.

oh so i guess we should just accept getting gashed then. I got it.

The alternative would be to address any and all counterpoints with synical responses.

Tech Worlds wrote:

SuperBowlXLChamps wrote:Yes, my head is "in the sand" because I'm not whining and crying about a top 5 defense in nearly every category that just gave up 13 points to one of the best teams in the NFL.

not whining at all. I just expected us to stuff the run better.
I noticed in the last game when the pats ran the ball they were getting good yards as well.

Ridley 16 Carries, 34 yards. 2.1 YPC (Longest run was 6 yards)

Team 26 Carries, 87 yards. 3.3 YPC.

Is that getting "good yards".... Do people like you just make stuff up to complain about?

Shane Falco wrote:I am. Their o-line completely dominated us, both in pass and run blocking.

"Dominated" is a strong word considering the D only gave up 13 points.

IMO the 49er game was more a product of;

- short week
- bad gap control by the D line and linebackers on the quick inside runs
- Defense being tired in the 2nd half due to offense stinking up the joint
- 49ers having VERY good guards that pulled out and blocked to perfection on those long runs by Gore


None of this is going to happen against the Lions

The sf run game was unique, not only in their ol talent, but also in design. Quick dives and traps are tough to stop, and reduce a play to 2 or 3 defenders. That removed the influence of most of our best run stoppers such as wright, red, and kam.

Tech Worlds wrote:

VHawk wrote:The D got tired.Wr couldnt catch a cold.

bullshit

stop the run. I hate blaming one side for another's shortcomings. Make plays and it doesn't matter what the offense of the defense doesn't or doesn't not do.

We held them to 40 yards UNDER there average. I'd say that is a good job, not great but good.

A World Peace wrote:Nope. How the hell did gore get like 2 40 yrd gains

I saw several holds that didn't get called, so it seems the Refs were letting both sides get away with crap.

That's one reason why I think Hardbaughhhh is stupid for pissing and moaning about the hardnose physical play of our Corners.

suppaball wrote:

Tech Worlds wrote:

VHawk wrote:The D got tired.Wr couldnt catch a cold.

bullshit

stop the run. I hate blaming one side for another's shortcomings. Make plays and it doesn't matter what the offense of the defense doesn't or doesn't not do.

We held them to 40 yards UNDER there average. I'd say that is a good job, not great but good.

Say what? What stats are you looking at?

S.F. rushed for 175 on us, their average was and still is right around 176. A more accurate statement would be that we held them to their average which is exactly why it's surprising considering we were #3 against the rush going into this game. That is not a good job by any means.

Tech Worlds wrote:

VHawk wrote:The D got tired.Wr couldnt catch a cold.

bullshit

stop the run. I hate blaming one side for another's shortcomings. Make plays and it doesn't matter what the offense of the defense doesn't or doesn't not do.

You're delusional if you think such a skewed time of posession won't have a negative affect on our D.

Our defense has been extraordinary considering how often they've been out on the field all year.