Week Three - 49ers vs. Chiefs

I can't believe I watched the whooole thing...
(said while clutching my stomach)

It was like watching the Seattle game all over again - but even then, there were key plays in that game that needed addressing and could have made a difference; against the Chiefs, the Niners simply looked overmatched in all phases of the game.

One thing that has been on my mind is the notion that even if you (or they) know what's coming, you still have to make the play. It could pertain to any sport - the thing is, it's the not-knowing, the misdirections and the guessing games that give the edge in the first place. For example, in baseball, sure, it can be said that even if the batter knows the kind of pitch and its location, he still has to hit the ball. But isn't it the not-knowing what's coming that's the real challenge at that level? And in football, it's all well and good to say that a team should be able to run the ball even if the other team knows it's coming, so even if the defense 'stacks the box' with eight players, the offense should still be able to make the blocks and gain the yards. So does that mean the defense can put all eleven players in between the tackles and the offense should still be able to run up the middle? Or if the defense knows a play-action is coming and doesn't bite on the fakes, the offense should still be able to complete a long pass?

In my opinion, the more you can keep the other team off-balance and guessing, the better chance you have at success. In the 49ers case, they have a very talented roster of players now, more so than in many years. They have legitimate threats at all positions of the offense: the running game and the passing game. They need to keep opposing defenses guarding against the threat that anything could happen, and not just runs up the middle. That's way too predictable a game plan. In a perfect world with perfectly executed blocking and everything going perfectly, I suppose a good offense should be able to make that work all the time, but defenses are too sophisticated nowadays. The possibility that an offense could direct itself to any part of the field (and again, I believe the Niners now have players that are just that talented) would spread opposing defenses thinner. I'd rather that the 49ers mix up their play calling more (they've done it occasionally, but not enough); I miss seeing medium and long range passes to the wide receivers. I remember seeing lots of quick slants once upon a time... lots of different plays.

Now I've read that the 49ers do call long pass plays and that's when the protection from the offensive line happens to break down. Still, something is amiss with the play calling - the Niners have the talent to break down defenses and gain some major yards. To use an analogy, it's like the 49ers are fighting 21st century battles using trench warfare. Trench warfare was the way battles were fought in their time, but not now. It's outdated.

I wouldn't want to be Jed York right now. It's a tough decision, but it's true: the Niners have to make the playoffs this season or else it's back to square one. Can it be done with the current coaching regime? i don't know. I've been a big supporter of Mike Singletary - I like his straightforward management style. I like him as a leader. But he is the one that chose to hire Jimmy Raye, whose offensive game plans don't appear to be current with the times, yet apparently reflect exactly what Coach Singletary wants. And although Alex Smith has been given a bad series of breaks ever since he came to the team, I'm afraid he lacks the intangibles that are necessary to find a way to make things work when they aren't going perfectly. As the 49ers quarterback, I've been a supporter of his but there's a sixth sense that other quarterbacks have that he lacks. There's a pluck and mettle to pull rabbits out of hats, that some how, some way, is missing with him. Yes, he has good games every now and then, but I wonder if it might be time to consider other options.

As for the 49er defense, they're proving themselves susceptible to fast, elusive barn-burning runners, and the screen pass. They may have matched up poorly to the Chiefs in particular, but there is reason to worry for future games. I wish I could be more positive right now - after a massacre like today's, it surely looks like it's going to be a long season. We'll see...