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| Daniel Leroux. 13th September, 2010 - 2:25 am
 In the months preparing for the California Bar exam, the best piece of advice I got was that at some point, you?re going to get blindsided with something- the real test is shaking it off, moving on, and getting what you can get.
San Francisco's 31-6 Week 1 loss at Seattle served as both an encapsulated illustration of what can go wrong when things snowball and a teaching tool that must be learned from moving forward if this season is to be a success.
The first quarter will likely be described by many as one of missed opportunities. This is the easy stance, as the fourth down non-conversions serve as a flashpoint and were important. However, each was the correct decision as costs/benefits of going for it were better than simply taking the points and walking away. Furthermore, the play calls were fine (albeit not perfect), though Alex Smith has to know that a 4th down pass to a fullback has to hit him on the numbers- it?s unfair to expect more than that.
While most will focus on the Seattle offensive juvenation (it cannot be a rejuvenation going from nothing to something), yet the biggest play may have been when the Niners could not get a snap off on what could have been another fourth and goal from Seattle?s one yard line. This delay of game penalty set the game at 6-0 Niners and San Francisco never had the ball with the lead again.
On the ensuing possession, Matt Hasselbeck played Nate Clements like a fiddle, using his aggressiveness on a nice double move by Mike Williams which set the table for Matt?s rushing TD. A small jolt that could have been rebounded from.
The next drive, Smith threw a pass for Michael Crabtree, which was a poor throw regardless of where Crabtree was supposed to be. Unsurprisingly, it ended up in Seattle hands for a game changing interception that was immediately followed by a touchdown to make it 14-6. On that play, the Niners? DB?s were again victimized by a double move, this time on a guy who was actually double-covered. It sure seems like having two players bite on the same route hurts the cause no matter where the ball ends up going. In less than five minutes of game time, San Francisco went from third and goal at Seattle?s two yard line up 3-0 to down eight and reeling.
Luckily, the game went in to halftime still clearly within reach. Most San Francisco fans (including myself) probably could not shake the feeling that if the bounces just went 50/50 the rest of the way, it was an incredibly winnable game.
The second play from scrimmage in the second half was another interception for Seattle, this time returned for a touchdown by Marcus Trufant. The defense, which was what kept the 49ers? heads above water through the first quarter, had only given up thirteen yards of offense on the last two Seattle touchdowns.
San Francisco got the ball back and still had a chance to win the game considering the amount of time remaining. Three plays with zero positive yards later, Seattle had the ball again. After a monumentally stupid penalty on Dashon Goldson, who decided to hit Seattle?s TE on a ball nowhere near him, it only took Seattle six plays to drive the remaining forty-five yards to get the touchdown to Deion Branch that pretty much sealed the game.
With six and a half minutes left in the second half, the 49ers had a tenuous hold on the game. Within ten minutes of game time, it was effectively over.
When dealing with failures like that in such quick succession, there are twin hopes: that the team can shake off the mistakes and not get in to a funk (which will not be helped by the Champs coming to San Francisco on Monday night) and that they can learn from these miscues and not make them again. Time will tell whether this was an aberration or an omen, though it is worth remembering that this division is so weak that even a rough start can be overcome.
They just need to remember Vince Lombardi?s quote: ?Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.?
Feel free to e-mail Daniel at Daniel.Leroux@realgm.com or follow him at twitter.com/DannyLeroux |
