Season 1 - Week 3 [v KC] - Severus21's Blog

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Severus21's Blog

Season 1 - Week 3 [v KC]

Posted on September 16, 2010 at 08:19 PM.

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A loss that brutally exposed San Francisco for what they are at this point in time: a 1 dimensional team.

The run game was locked down by Kansas City from the beginning and they held Frank Gore to a measly 20 yards on 9 carries before he was knocked out the game in the 3rd quarter. His replacement Westbrook found it a lot harder to maintain his pre-season form against this defense and he was was held to 20 yards on 8 carries, rounding up a miserable day for the much vaunted Niner's ground attack.

The main reason for the run game being so ineffective is the lack of experience from Iupati and Davis, who were beaten by the Chief's d-line all day long and even had Gore knocked out of the game from a brutal hit by Glyn Dorsey who beat Iupati to get to Gore. Despite the fact their mistakes today means that Frank Gore will now miss 9 weeks with a broken hand, I know with time they'll both get better and so i'm not too worried about their growing pains. What i am worried about is what happens when our run game becomes poor without Gore, because today when Alex Smith was forced to start passing, he was constantly harassed by the Chief's who only allowed him to complete 10/22 passes for 126 yards, with 2INT & 1TD which was to Ted Ginn ,whose speed has the potential to be a game changer when he lines up in the slot, he flat out burnt Eric Berry for a 60yd TD today.

All the knocks Smith took forced him out of the game with 5 minutes left with an abdominal tear, at which point Troy Smith came into the game and sparked a mini comeback by moving the ball effortlessly down the field on a drive which ended with him connecting with Crabtree for a 12 yd TD. What impressed about Troy Smith,was the fact that despite the o-line's problems his mobility allowed him to make plays and he picked up 36 yards, nearly Gore and Westbrook's yards put together, on just 2 runs, so look for Smith to get more reps if our o-line and Alex Smith continue to struggle.

For all of the problems on offense for San Fran, the defense needs to take some of the blame too, as they allowed Cassell to go 19/29 for 328 yards, 3TDs & 1INT from Terrell Thomas for a rating of 123.9. This pass defense problem is becoming a real concern as every QB we've played leaves with a rating over 100, which is worrying. To add insult to injury Thomas Jones who i wrote off in the preview had a monster day with a combined 163 yards from scrimmage and 3TDs!

Next Week

SF Injuries:
Takeo Spikes - MLB - [Broken Collarbone (5 weeks)]
Frank Gore - HB - [Broken Hand (9 weeks)]

ATL Injuries:
Will Svitek - OT - [Dislocated Kneecap (3 weeks)]
Kerry Meier - WR - [Complete ACL Tear (Season)]