I just received some of the psot-game notes and quotes from the 49ers and thought some were worth throwing out there.

• With his 130 yards today, Gore passed QB Steve Young (3,581) and RB Kevan Barlow (3,614) to move into seventh place on the 49ers all-time rushing list with 3,692 yards for his career. HB Hugh McElhenny is sixth with 4,288 yards.
• QB J.T. O’Sullivan entered the Detroit game with an NFL-high of seven pass completions over 25 yards. He completed a 25-yard pass to WR Bryant Johnson in the second quarter.
• The 49ers offense had 351 yards of offense last week at Seattle and 370 yards today against Detroit. Last season the 49ers went over 300 yards in total offense just twice.
• The 49ers scored 33 points last week at Seattle and 31 points today against Detroit. It is the first time the 49ers have had back-to-back 30-point games since the 2003 season when they won 30-10 vs. St. Louis (11-2-03) followed by a 30-14 win vs. Pittsburgh (11-17-03).

Mike Nolan
Whether he was surprised that Detroit played more of a read-and-react defense rather than doing a lot of blitzing:

“I saw them blitz some. I didn’t study their play-by-play, what they called, so I don’t think it’s wise for me to comment, to be honest with you, on that opponent, because I’d be wrong. I’d just be speculating on what I saw.”

Fooch: If they were in fact not doing a lot of blitzing, I'd be a bit stunned.  If they had scouted out the 49ers the past two weeks they would see an offensive line that struggled and a QB who took a beating even when he got some time.

On who decided to go for it on 4th down (him or Martz):

“No, that’s my decision. Just like when we don’t make it, that’s my decision too. It was one yard to go but it was inches the first play. When Frank (Gore) got hit, I wasn’t sure if it was a yard, a yard-and-a-half or two yards. Somebody actually hollered out, ‘Two yards.’ That’s why I ran down the side to kind of see, and that’s why I called timeout when I got down there. I saw that it was a yard. We went for it.”

Whether that attempt was meant as a statement play:

“No, I did reflect on it – our offense was moving the ball. They were playing well. They had a lot of confidence. I thought that they would’ve had every reason to feel like they could stick it in. If we had not gotten the points (Detroit was) still two scores and a two point (conversion) at that point away from it, and the ball would have been on the one-yard line. So I felt to go 99 yards, basically to have three scores and still beat us it would be a good choice.”

On whether he wanted to talk to O'Sullivan about sliding at the end of runs:

“I thought about it two or three times today in the game, but I thought I don’t need to do that in a ball game. Just let him play because he was playing well. You don’t want to get a guy out of their game. But believe me, I thought about it a few times…about saying, ‘Look, just do something.’ But anyway, he makes plays. You don’t want to take a guy out of the zone because that’s where they get. They just get to playing the game and things happen. They happened well. He did it last week as well.”

Isaac Bruce
On the team's overall performance:

“[It’s] very evident that the word of God works. He’s confirming his word and sings following. His favor is going toward this team.”

Fooch: I can see why people call him the Reverend.  There was a vote against using The Reverend so I'm down with that.  Bruuuuuuuuce works just fine with me.  Either way, I'm a fan of his game.

Frank Gore
Had the quote of the day when asked about how it feels to rack up big numbers: “It’s not about stats. It’s about winning.”  Hell. Yes.

About as close as he'll come to slamming either Jim Hostler or Alex Smith:

How do you like playing in the Mike Martz offense?  “The passing game is a whole lot better. The more we throw the ball, the more the receiver catches the ball, the better it’s going to be for me in the run game. Whatever it takes to win, I’m with it.”

J.T. O'Sullivan
On improving going forward:

"I think we are moving in the right direction, but I still feel we left a lot of yards on the field. I think I missed throws and from that standpoint, I want to get into the film and keep us going in the right direction.”

Everybody is saying the right things in terms of improving going forward.  As previously mentioned, the Saints game is a big one.  I'm willing to accept that we can't be sure how good (or not good) the 49ers will be this season.  They've won on the road at a beaten down Seattle and at home against a god-awful Lions team.  Next week will certainly be a better marker of the team's progress (or lack there of).

I really think that announcement by the head ref at the end of the first half summed this game up perfectly.  Even when the 49ers went into a virtual prevent offense the Lions could not make much of anything happen.  I realize the Lions are a bad team, but it would have been easy to play down to their level.  It looked like we were heading in that direction in the second half before the Allen Rossum touchdown on fourth down.

Prior to the game there was mention of not winning any games in a comfortable manner.  Well, today's victory was the largest margin of victory for the 49ers since beating Arizona 50-14 in 2003.

Game Ball: I think after wins I'll give out the game ball for the MVP of the game....or at least a guy/group of guys I think was a key to victory.  Today we've got a tie: Frank Gore AND the 49ers secondary. 

Gore: How's about 130 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown and 32 receiving yards from the motor of this offense.  The numbers would have been even more spectacular if he hadn't been tripped up on a play he was ready to break for a big one.  Gore struggled last week, but taking a big lead early allowed the 49ers to focus on the run.

Secondary: My one worry was the potential of Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson, combined with the numerous other receivers the Lions could throw out there.  However, Nate Clements and Walt Harris absolutely took care of business, holding the big two to 6 catches for 58 yards, most of which occurred after the game was well in hand.  Jon Kitna was 14 for 29 for 146 yards and never got into a rhythm.

The Good
Justin Smith - Absolutely worth every penny, and then some.  Smith had 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT and forced a fumble, although the Lions recovered it.  The man has been an absolute terror on the line and a leader for this defense.

J.T. O'Sullivan - I'll take 16/23, 189 yards and 2 TDs most any day (assuming Gore brings it on the ground).  JTO was sacked only once as he learned how to throw the ball away finally.  Throw in another 32 rushing yards and it was an all around solid performance for the QB.  Although the offensive line play was solid, JTO did a good job stepping up into the pocket as well.

The Bad
The Let-up - For a good chunk of the second half it seemed like the 49ers were happy to go on cruise control.  Thankfully they went for the jugular on that fourth down play.  I'm hoping Mike Martz learned from this and will not let up in the future.

Aside from the 2nd half let-up, this was a very solid effort on all sides of the ball.  There was some sloppy tackling at times, but for the most part that happened after the game was in hand.  The Lions dropped a lot of passes today, but part of that was fearing the impending hit.

Next week officially becomes a huge checkpoint for this team.  The Saints are a team that can put points on the board in a hurry, something they've done in the recent past to the 49ers.  Even with Marques Colston out, the Saints bring a solid group of receivers to test the 49ers secondary.  While New Orleans will be favored, I do think the improvement by our offense makes this a winnable game.  A win next week would definitely put the rest of the league on notice that the 49ers are a team to be reckoned with.  It's been a while since we had one of those games and I'm already excited for it.

Thanks again to everybody for taking part in the game thread today.  22 users making 474 comments.  Very nice.

Continue reading this post »

  vs. 

Date: September 21, 2008
Time: 1:05pm PST
Location: Bill Walsh Field @ Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
Records: 49ers (1-1) Lions (0-2)
Bodoglife.com Spread: 49ers -5; Over/Under 46.5; Money Line: 49ers -210, Lions +175 - I'd take the over in this game.
Weather: 66°, 10% chance of showers, wind W 8 mph
TV Broadcast: Fox - Dick Stockton, Brian Baldinger, Brian Billick
Radio: 107.7 The Bone, 680/1050 KNBR - Joe Starkey, Gary Plummer, Rod Brooks
Spanish Radio: KIQI 1010-AM, KATD 990-AM - Fernando Arias and Ambrosio Rico
Lions Coverage: Pride of Detroit

Streaming Video Options

Sports Bar Thread

Week 3 Prediction Contest - If you forgot to pick any of the games, you can always just predict the later ones to get any points you can.  If you miss all of today's you can just pick MNF if you want.

Injuries
49ers: Questionable - CB Donald Strickland; Out - CB Shawntae Spencer, OT Jonas Jennings

Lions: Probable - S Gerald Alexander, QB Drew Stanton, DT Langston Moore; Questionable - DT Cory Redding, DE Corey Smith, LB Jordon Dizon

Inactives (Updated 12:40pm)
49ers: CB Shawntae Spencer, CB Donald Strickland, CB Marcus Hudson, QB Jamie Martin, OT Jonas Jennings, C Cooper Wallace, LB Tully Banta-Cain, LB Ahmad Brooks

Lions: QB Drew Stanton, CB Ramzee Robinson, LB Jordon Dizon, G Manny Ramirez, T Damion Cook, DE Cliff Avril, DT Andre Fluellen, DT Landon Cohen

Interest stat in Maiocco's blog yesterday: In the 67 49ers games since 2004, the 49ers have won 19 games and only two of them were by more than a touchdown.  Today's game had an opening line of -3.5 and has since moved to -5.  Folks are putting money down on the 49ers because let's face it, Detroit just doesn't appear to be that good.

Good teams, playoff teams, are able to win decisively over teams they're clearly better than.  A crappier team might stick around, but the good teams eventually put them away.  We don't know for sure (or really even at all) if the 49ers are a good team.  Last week's game was mentioned by MM as a "GPS game" and I think this might count as one as well in a manner of speaking.  As banged up as Seattle was last week, it was still the four-time defending NFC West champs.  This week, the 49ers appear to be the better team, and accordingly, they should handle their business.  The 49ers need to take the early lead and then they need to go for the jugular. We'll see if they can step up and do it.

And just a reminder, but I posted the link above to the FanPost discussing potential options for streaming video of the game if you aren't in the viewing region.  Here it is again, if you missed it.

GO NINERS!

Here's the final injury report heading into tomorrow's matchup with Detroit.

49ers
Questionable
Donald Strickland

Out
Jonas Jennings
Shawntae Spencer

The most notable piece of information is that the 49ers still don't know how long Spencer might be out.  Apparently the swelling on his knee hasn't gone down enough to determine if he tore his ACL against Seattle.  Supposedly there will be more information released today.  Spencer says he feels ok and doesn't think it's that bad, but maybe after the swelling goes down he'll think differently.  It'd be a shame to lose such a solid nickel back.

Speaking of corners, Donald Strickland did fully take part in practice, so we'll see if he misses any action.  Either way, part of the triumvirate of Marcus Hudson, Tarell Brown and Reggie Smith will see a decent amount more action this weekend.

Lions
Probable
S Gerald Alexander
DT Langston Moore
QB Drew Stanton

Questionable
DT Cory Redding
LB Jordon Dizon
DE Corey Smith

The only player on this list that missed all of practice the last few days was Cory Redding.  The remainder had limited participation in practice.  If Redding and Moore were both inactive this Sunday we'd see a some younger talent getting playing time on the defensive line.  The Lions defense has struggled as is, so banged up players certainly can't be good for them.  Anything to slow down any pass rush has to be a good thing for JTO and the 49ers.

I received an email today from Jason Jenkins, 49ers Director of PR Operations with some fun news for 49ers fans.  After renaming the field at Candlestick Bill Walsh Field, the team put a plaque dedicated to Walsh in the tunnel where the 49ers come out of before the game (and I'd assume halftime).  Jason said they wanted to add something for the fans to see, so this Sunday a new sign will be unveiled in the South End Zone:

The 49ers host the Detroit Lions this weekend in a game many of us are feeling pretty good about.  The Lions are struggling and the 49ers offense might finally be coming together.  I exchanged five questions with Sean over at Pride of Detroit and he was kind enough to provide some insight on his beloved Lions.  I answered five of his questions, so feel free to check out the answers over at Pride of Detroit.

NN: In the preseason the Lions gave up 32 points in going 4-0.  Obviously that was only the preseason, but is there anything from those defensive efforts that would possibly show up on Sunday?

Pride of Detroit: The Lions looked great defensively in the preseason, but none of that has translated to the regular season.  The defense was shredded by Aaron Rodgers last Sunday and even a little bit by Matt Ryan as well.  Michael Turner set a franchise rushing record for Atlanta with well over 200 yards, and the defense really has looked pretty clueless at times.  The secondary seems like it's just as bad as last year despite a few transactions that were supposed to improve it.  Also, the defensive line actually looked better in the preseason without Shaun Rogers, but there has been no pass rush so far in a real game and I honestly don't see why that would change against San Francisco.

NN: The 49ers offensive line has been pretty rough at times.  J.T. O'Sullivan has been sacked on approximately 23% of the pass plays, not a shocker in the Martz offense, as Kitna attests.  Do you have certain guys that are a threat or is it a very tame defensive front 7?

PoD: Detroit's defensive line did look good in the preseason and did a great job of getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks.  However, the regular season hasn't looked anything like that.  The Lions only have 2 sacks so far this season and both of them were by Dewayne White.  I'd say he is someone to look out for, but he isn't really a threat by any means.  Out of the entire front 7, the best player by far is linebacker Ernie Sims.  He flies around the field and does an excellent job of getting to the ball quickly.  He isn't necessarily used for pass-rushing purposes, but he can put pressure on opposing quarterbacks every once in a while.

In the past, as part of a game preview I've exchanged 5 questions with the SB Nation blog of the opposition.  It allows us to get some good info from a person who pays close attention to their team.  And of course everybody likes talking about their favorite team, so it's win-win.

This week, we're facing the Detroit Lions, who are represented by Sean Yuille over at Pride of Detroit.  We exchanged questions last night, with the plan being to post answers Friday morning.  While awaiting his responses (and formulating my own), I came up with an idea to mix things up a little bit.  Sean sent me 5 questions that I plan on answering at some point today.  While I certainly love talking about the 49ers, wouldn't Lions fans want to hear from more than one 49ers fan?

So here's the deal.  I'm posting Sean's questions and I'm hoping some (if not all) of you would take a few minutes to give your own thoughts.  You can answer one of the questions, you can answer all five of the questions.  You can write one line one each, you can write a long thesis.  It's up to you how much you want to talk about.  The plan is then when Sean posts my answers, he'll also link to this thread for his readers to check out if they want.  If he decides on something similar, I'll let you guys know.

So, here are the questions.  Again, answer as many or as few as you'd like.  Much of this is stuff we've talked about ad nauseum, but NFL fans outside the Bay Area haven't had quite the same opportunity as us.

1. Perhaps the biggest storyline surrounding this upcoming game between Detroit and San Francisco is Mike Martz.  He had a messy divorce with the Lions after the 2007 season and since then both he and Lions players have traded jabs in the press.  Even though we're only two games into the season, I'm curious about what your opinion of Martz is.  Do you see him as someone that has immediately upgraded the 49ers' offense or someone that controls things a bit too much and is stunting the growth of the team?

2. Staying on the topic of Martz, what are your general thoughts on his play-calling so far?  Just looking at the stats alone it appears he's running a much more balanced offense than he ever did in Detroit, but do you think that is because his running back is Frank Gore rather than Kevin Jones?

3. The 49ers' starting quarterback, J.T. O'Sullivan, wisely followed Martz to San Francisco after spending a year with Detroit as Jon Kitna's backup.  In the time he was on the field he did look like a decent QB, but has he really become a legit NFL starter?  To me it seems like Martz's system has benefited him more than his actual talent.  Am I correct in that assessment?

4. Back in the 2007 draft there was talk that the Lions might trade down and draft Patrick Willis.  Considering Detroit's future starting middle linebacker is Jordon Dizon, I sort of wish that would have happened, especially since Willis is so talented.  What specifically makes Willis such a dominant linebacker, and should Kevin Smith be afraid for Sunday's game?

5. Looking at the NFC West, the standings certainly aren't what I expected coming into the season.  Arizona is 2-0, Seattle is 0-2, and San Francisco is in between at 1-1 (and the Rams just suck).  Looking at the rest of the season, do you think this trend will continue with the Cardinals at the top or is it only a matter of time until the Seahawks retake first-place?  And finally, could the 49ers make a run at the NFC West title?

Thanks to my handy-dandy text updates from the 49ers, I recently was informed that Jonas Jennings and Shawntae Spencer were already ruled out for this Sunday's matchup with the Lions.

Barry Sims will be filling in for Jennings and after last week's game, maybe that's a good thing.  Jennings had a bit of a holding issue that will hopefully be lessened with Sims filling in.  WHile JTO had his issues with pass protection, we'll see how a full week of first team practice helps sharpen things up.

On the defensive side of the ball, I'd have to guess that Donald Strickland will fill in as the nickel back.  Of course, if Dashon Goldson is able to play (and it sounds like he will), he is a very interesting option as a nickel back.  He is listed as a free safety but he got a lot of time at cornerback in college.  Either guy is a solid option as the #3, but Goldson and his ball-hawking ways brings a little more intrigue.

Week 3 will see the 49ers hosting the fighting Matt Millens, also known as the Detroit Lions.  The Lions are represented here at SB Nation by Pride of Detroit, a blog written by Sean Yuille.  The Lions are an interesting team to analyze, in part because of the talent on the field and in part because of the ineptitude that seems to follow Matt Millen.  This is, after all, a general manager that selected a wide receiver with their first round pick in 4 out of 5 drafts.  Will the Lions draft another receiver is a joke that will not get old anytime soon.

Overview
A 6-2 start last season had many Lions fans thinking the team was finally turning the corner to respectability.  A subsequent 6-game losing streak brought the Lions crashing back to earth, resulting in a 7-9 finish.  While the offense was stocked with some solid playmakers, the defense was abysmal, giving up the most points in the league.  While Calvin Johnson flashed amazing skills, he also struggled as rookie receivers are prone to do.  Kitna continued his resurgence finishing with 4,068 passing yards.  However, the lack of any consistent rushing attacked (Kevin Jones led the team with 581 yards) definitely hurt the team.  A more consistent rushing attack might have kept the defense off the field a little more, but the Lions offensive line struggled making that a no-go.

Additions
The man who could conceivably make the biggest impact is 3rd round draft pick, Kevin Smith.  Smith was an absolute beast at Central Florida, finishing with 2,567 yards and 29 touchdowns for the season.  We'll see how he handles top notch competition, but it seems like people expect Smith to be starting pretty quickly.  Gosder Cherilus, a guy projected to the 49ers in many mocks, looks to be their starting right tackle, while 2nd round pick Jordan Dizon is projected at middle linebacker.

Free agency brought in three potential starters on defense: Dwight Smith, Brian Kelly and Chuck Darby.  All three are seasoned veterans which could certainly help a Lions team in need of some defensive leadership.

Subtractions
The biggest lost is Boss Bailey, although that's certainly not the end of the world.  They lost TJ Duckett, but considering the hype coming out of Michigan State, Duckett hasn't done much with his career and Kevin Smith has plenty more upside anyways.  And of course J.T. O'Sullivan split town for the greener pastures of the Bay Area, so I'm sure he'll have revenge on his mind when he's carrying a clipboard (if even that).

2008 Questions & Answers
The Lions offensive line was rather woeful last season, so I'd imagine they're expecting big things from Gosder Cherilus.  If the Lions are too develop a legitimate rushing attack, the offensive line is going to have take control of the trenches.  If not, defenses will be able to tee off on Jon Kitna all game long.

The Lions passing attack should continue to improve with Calvin Johnson having a full year under his belt.  Of course, two questions arise here.  One revolves around the fact that Jon Kitna will turn 36 the day of this game.  At some point he'll run into the wall and the stats will come back to earth.  The other question is how Roy Williams' contract situation will play out.  He apparently has been saying all the right things, which has to make Lions fans happy.  Maybe he figures if he just keeps his mouth shut and performs the money will come.

vs. San Francisco
Over at Pride of Detroit, Sean did a preview of the schedule, month-by-month.  My favorite prediction is his prediction of a victory over the 49ers culminating the Lions 3-0 start (although to be fair, he does predict a 6-10 season overall):

I don't know if this is the Kool-Aid talking or what, but believe it or not, I have the Lions starting off the season 3-0.  Out of the first three games this one worries me the most as being a possible letdown, but the 49ers aren't very good.  Look for a low-scoring affair hopefully resulting in a Lions victory.  This is one of those games where Jason Hanson will be a busy man, and in a battle of kickers he will lead Detroit to victory.

He feels the new Martz offense might still have some kinks to work out and I think he would like the revenge win over Martz, who's been talking a bit of smack about his former team.  Coming off divisional games versus Arizona and at Seattle, I think the 49ers will be looking to get to 2-1.  Considering the weapons they have, I think the Lions can be just as explosive without Martz running the offense.  This will be a big test for the relatively new look defense.  On offense, I think we'll have a pretty good idea of what the season has in store for us at this point. 

I actually think this is one of the hardest games to predict on the schedule.  The Lions can be god-awful at times and they can look like the most amazing world-beaters at times.  They're the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde team.  I'm going to predict a win though.  If the 49ers are going to make some noise this year, games like this are absolutely must-win.  2007 record-wise, the Lions are the "worst" team the 49ers face through the first 11 weeks, as everybody else was at least 8-8 in 2007. 

I'm thinking the offense connects as Martz wants to get a little obnoxious against his former employer.  Frank Gore and DeShaun Foster will be keys to this game as the 49ers must do everything they can to keep the high octane Lions offense off the field.  Pre-training camp, I'll predict a 26-24 49ers victory, thanks in large part to the leg of Joe Nedney.