Marvin49":t2k33q2z said:
You guys are funny. ;-)
All he said was that he dialed back the playcalling. He didn't say they weren't trying to win. His point was only that they weren't going to show off their entire offense for playoff teams to prepare for.
...and it worked.
Yes, they lost in Seattle...but all they had to do was beat Arizona to take the NFCW. Even if they lost both games, they'd still have been a wildcard. More importantly tho they rolled out that offense vs. Green Bay (MUCH more of the Pistol). 550+ yards and 45 points. Kaep with 263 yards passing with 2 TDs and 181 yards rushing with an additional 2 TDs. In Atlanta the following week the Falcons had no answers either. The offense played very well in the Super Bowl as well...just a bit too late.
Look...as a Niner fan it pains me to say that the Seahawks are good. They are. You guys tho are making WAY, WAY to much out of ONE GAME.
NONE of these are excuses as teams should be up for every game, but the below are all FACTORS in the way that game played out.
1) Justin Smith was out. That first TD by Lynch was right at his spot and is one of the reasons the Niners didn't resign Ricky Jean-Francios and DID sign Glenn Dorsey.
2) Aldon Smith was hurt. He had 19.5 sacks during the season but NONE in the final 3 games and playoffs. Some say it's because Justin Smith is the reason he gets those sacks. Right...as if no other OLB has had a really good DE lined up next to them. As far as I know tho, none has ever had 33.5 sacks in his first 2 years. Aldon was hurt. It was revealed just a few weeks ago that he played the end of the season with a torn labrum. It's no coincidense that the 49ers pass D fell apart after both Justin and Aldon were hurt. No pressure on the QB. It started in the second half vs NE and continued all the way through the Super Bowl. Even when Justin came back, he was essentially playing with one arm.
3) Fatigue: The 49ers D almost never substitutes. Most of their defenders play the entire game. NE's strategy the week before (and in every game really) is to run a HUGE number of plays so the defense simply can't keep up. In this case, the D was on the field for NINETY snaps. Thats nuts. Follow that with a short week and then going into the Clink where the 'hawks were playing like their hair was on fire....predictable results.
4) Vernon Davis was injured in that game as well. He never came back after that hit by Chancellor (sp?).
The Seahawks won that game...fair and square. Not saying otherwise....but you guys seem to be of the mindset that it was the "changing of the guard" game or something. That ONE game is the thing you cling to more than anything else despite the fact that you BARELY beat a team that the 49ers beat hadily twice (Packers), LOST to the team the 49ers beat in the playoffs (Atlanta...and I've read on here a few times that the Niners had a week off and played them at home...um, no), and are STILL 1-3 vs Harbaugh and actually only split the series this season.
I've seen the thumping of the chest about how you guys "owned" Kaepernick. Against that D in that building he did in fact have his worst showing as a pro, but his QB rating was only 72 in his SIXTH career start. To put that in perspective, what was Wilsons QB rating in his SEVENTH career start in SF? 38.7. Wilson has the makings of a great young QB, but you guys seem to think that he's the only one who improved as the season progressed.
Was the win by Seattle impressive? Of course it was. Does it keep the 49ers up at night? Not really. While Seattle is thumping its chest about a game that got out of hand in December, the 49ers are driven by a game they lost in FEBRUARY. If you guys are expecting 42-13 again, you are in for a big letdown.
Don't be ridiculous. ATL did have answers for the "pistol" Kaepernick threw and ran for just over 250 yards. That's not domination. SF was also 33% on 3rd downs in that game. Again, not dominant. Just because you pimp-slapped an ill-prepared Packers team at HOME, doesn't mean that you were killing everyone with the "pistol" infact, in the Super Bowl it was largely shutdown. Without some serious breaks-- Ie. Fumbles and punt returns. 10 easy point got SF back into the game.
I don't want to hear about the lack of substitution on SF defense. That's on them. It's no one's fault but their own that they don't trust anyone else to play. The lack of playing time for the young players will cost them in the years to come, IMO. I also don't want to hear the garbage about a "SHORT WEEK," and having to suffer through 90 plays against New England.
Guess what- Seattle had it even worse in the first meeting between SF and Seattle in SF. Seattle played New England and won at home. Only to have to play SF on THURSDAY night football. Much shorter week than what SF had to deal with in SEattle. Yet, SEattle only lost 13-6 with plenty of opportunities to win.