Thanks for chiming in here. Let me tell you guys that contrary to popular belief ... there ARE actually 49ers fans out there who are intelligent and who don't jack cars for a living (I'm sure this guy only does that on the side).
Seriously though, my best friend is a 49ers fan. Our friendship goes back to the days of Montana and Rice and when the Seahawks were in the AFC West, so we've never thought of ourselves as being true rivals. That said, here is my .02 (which will undoubtedly be the exact same comments I have for my friend later on) ...
Carhanu21":158l2n56 said:
1. Alex Smith is, always has been, and always will be garbage.
You betcha. My 49ers friend LOVES to defend Alex Smith and I always tell him the exact same thing. Alex Smith AT BEST is an accurate passer who is a game manager. But, if you put pressure on him ... or if you need him to actually WIN a game for you -- he'll choke.
2. Russell Wilson is garbage right now. Not sure what he will become in the future. He has alot of good qualities. However, his short height looks like it might be a problem. He may have problems with seeing the field and finding open receivers, especially the short routes. He seems to be good at the long passes because its easier to see down the field with longer routes.
Absolutely wrong on that one. As has been mentioned many times by myself and others, he had the biggest offensive line in all of college football last season (they averaged 6'6") ... and even IF you're 6'6" yourself - you don't throw through the back of an offensive lineman's head, you throw through lanes. He completed 72.8% of his passes last season (including going 19 for 25 [76% Comp Rate] for 276 yards and 2 TD's vs. the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl. That's a very impressive feat against the Nation's #4 Defense) -- and several of those were on shorter to intermediate routes. So to me, the issue of Wilson's height is much ado about nothing. From what I saw, much of the blame for Seattle's ineptitude on Thursday had to do with Seattle's receivers not stepping up and the Offensive Line's inability to keep from getting pushed back and to create passing lanes. For me, that last play was like a microcosm of the entire game and the issues the Hawks have had in pass protection. If I remember correctly, the Niners only rushed 3 and I was watching lineman getting steamrolled and plowed back. I was like -- What the heck is going on here? If I'm John Schneider, I'm putting major resources in to scouting offensive line and receiving draft prospects because these groups need big time improvement from what I can see.
3. Seahawks and Niners are competing for the title of Worst Wide Receiver Corps in the NFL. Before last night, i thought Niners had a stranglehold on that title going back several years. Looks like the Seahawks are trying to overtake them this year.
You'd be hard pressed to find a Seahawk fan who doesn't agree with that assessment. The Giants were able to put up the kind of numbers they did because they have quick, big, physical WR's across the board. The Seahawks -- outside of Rice and really Miller - not so much. As far as the Niners are concerned, Crabtree's never truly scared me so to me, Davis is their only true threat. I'd agree with that.
4. Gore is a solid back but the real credit goes to the Niners offensive line. Those guys monsters in the run game. Especially Staley, Iupati, and Davs.
Gore is solid for sure ... but he's able to do what he does and to put up the kind of numbers he has BECAUSE of his offensive line. I said to myself back in 2010 when the 49ers took Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati in the draft -- watch out for these guys in a couple of years. Unfortunately, I was right. The offensive line is the strength of this 49ers team and the real reason that they are able to put up the kind of numbers that they have on the ground.
5. Really impressed with the Seahawks secondary. Sherman, Browner, Chancellor and Thomas are probly the best secondary group in the league. They completely shut down the Niners receivers and tight ends.
I've said it many times before -- this Seahawks secondary might just be the best in the NFL. And I'm not the only one who thinks that. Brandon Browner, Earl Thomas, and Kam Chancellor all went to the Pro Bowl last year ... and Richard Sherman might just be the best CB in the NFL right now. They're an amazingly impressive group for sure.
6. I am very impressed with Marshawn Lynch. That guy is probly the scariest RB in the league right now. He's probly the only guy that is capable of being productive regardless of how well the O-Line plays. Most RB's are dependent on their O-Line to open holes.
I would have to agree. He runs with such anger and relentless drive -- it's scary. If Lynch was running behind San Francisco's Offense Line ... I fully believe that Shaun Alexander's single season rushing records would be in jeopardy.
7. Looks like the Niners may have exposed a weakness in the Seahawks defense. Just pound the ball down the gut and run straight at them. I dont think the Seahawks were prepared for that. The Seahawks defense has tons of speed and can cover the sidelines very well. But that speed doesnt help as much against bruising, downhill running games like the Niners have.
You wouldn't have thought that if you seen this group play the previous 6 games. Brandon Mebane was drawing comparisons to Cortez Kennedy ... and Red Bryant and Alan Branch were like boulders in the middle of the stream, as opposing RB's weren't finding much in terms of running lanes up the middle at all. Mebane had been in the opposition's backfield upon hearing the word, "hike" as he'd basically been unblockable. I don't know what happened on Thursday because this defense has certainly been bruising.
Of all that happened Thursday, getting gashed like that in the running game was undoubtedly what was most disappointing to me. Our defensive line got pushed back for the first time all year long really. Now the 49ers Offensive Line is really good ... but so is Seattle's Defensive Line. What drove me crazy was seeing that trap play work to near perfection against us. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but those trap plays looked basically identical to the ones that Holmgren ran when he was in Seattle. Perhaps I'm asking too much, but you'd think guys like Leroy Hill and Marcus Trufant would be saying to themselves, "this looks familiar." It should -- because you guys used to have it run against you in practice all the time. The 49ers did to us what we used to do to other teams all the time -- use our own aggressiveness against us. For a team that is highly aggressive and likes to pressure the QB as much as Seattle does ... those and screens can be extremely effective weapons if they're executed properly. And San Francisco most definitely did with that trap play. Virtually nothing I saw from the Niners in terms of offensive scheme was all that innovative. On too many occasions they simply used the Seahawks aggressiveness against them ... and watched the running lanes for Gore open up. I'd be highly surprised if we see a repeat performance of that when the 49ers come to Seattle.
8. I dont think either of these teams will go very far in the playoffs, if they make the playoffs. The offenses are just way too flawed.
I don't know that I agree with that. I've seen some funny things throughout the years. In many ways, it's all about getting IN the playoffs that counts. Strange things can happen to teams once the post-season begins. Seattle I do believe CAN and WILL still make the Post-season ... but more than likely it'll be as a Wild Card. Being 0-3 in the division might be too deep of a hole to climb out of, but again, a lot of things can happen in 9 weeks -- including to the offenses of both these teams. There are so many ebbs and flows throughout a season. Teams might start out playing great and then peter out (like the Cardinals look like they're about to do) ... while others start off slow and catch fire later on (like the Packers). It is possible for both these offenses to improve over the next 9 weeks. Whether or not they actually will remains to be seen.
