For the third straight season the 49ers went into the Louisiana Superdome and walked away behind a rather embarrasing loss.  We spent all week pondering Reggie Bush and how the 49ers defense would contain him.  Of course, it appears that in concentrating on one player, the defense forgot about the rest of the offense.  Thanks to a pass rush that give him all day long to pass, Drew Brees absolutely picked apart the secondary with deep bombs, while Deuce McAllister made some key plays in the ground game.

The Good
As awful as this game was, there were definitely some bright spots.  Unfortunately they didn't do enough to overshadow the crap-tastic display of other parts.

Frank Gore - I remain baffled at the lack of touches for Gore considering how successful he was.  Gore touched the ball 18 times for 113 yards but he clearly did not touch the ball enough.  Whatever ratio they planned for Gore either wasn't enough or simply wasn't reached.

Arnaz Battle - Battle had his first career 100+ yard receiving day as he became the go-to guy for J.T. O'Sullivan.  Of course, when Battle has been the team's leading receiver in the past, the team has been pretty bad.  Just something to think about

Patrick Willis - Bamm Bamm was all over the field making plays and helping to contain Reggie Bush.  When he was involved in the pass rush, his athleticism showed as he almost snagged a sack.  I understand his role on the defense but sometimes it's interesting to see what he can do when he pins his ears back and goes for the QB

The Ugly
I'm skipping over the bad because really there was only ugly.  Deuce had a decent day but in reality, the 49ers did an ok job in stopping the run, holding the Saints to 3.3 yards per carry.  Of course when you're getting shredded through the air it really doesn't matter.

The pass defense - I was going to break this down between the secondary and the pass rush, but they were equally awful.  The defense garnered no sacks and it never really seemed like Drew Brees was concerned about being sacked.  Given this much time, it's no wonder the secondary got shredded on several deep balls.  At the same time, the receivers seemed to have absolutely no trouble getting behind the secondary. 

J.T. O'Sullivan - After looking sharp early on, things absolutely went in the crapper for JTO thanks to turnovers.  The fumble was a clear case of holding onto the ball too long.  The two interceptions in the red zone?  Wel those will absolutely kill a team, which they did too the 49ers.  Given the way the Saints were moving the ball I don't know if the 49ers necessarily would have won without the turnovers, but either way it doesn't really matter.  I certainly am not giving up on O'Sullivan as I think his turnovers are based on correctable mistakes.  He has a problem with staring down his receivers and holding onto the ball too long.  Both of those can be fixed in practice.  Of course he had a similar problem in week 1 and the first half of the Seahawks game, so maybe it takes a little more to fix that.

All in all, this was not a pretty game.  As people said, it's especially disappointing because it was a winnable game before all the turnovers.  The biggest issue, and one that I'll open up for discussion later in the week, is the pass rush.  As bad as the secondary was, I think more of the blame rests on the shoulders of the pass rush.

This Saints game was the first in a long stretch of tough ball games coming up.  The Patriots come to town next weekend looking to rebound from an ugly loss to the Dolphins last weekend.  Matt Cassel may or may not be a good QB, but if the 49ers continue to struggle in developing a pass rush, they could very well make him look like Tom Brady.  If the 49ers want to have any hope of a .500+ season, they likely need to split the next 4 games (vs. NE, vs. Philly, @ Giants, vs. Seattle).  There are numerous mistakes to be corrected, so hopefully they can get a good week of practice in.

I missed out on the discussion today but had a chance to go through it just now.  Thanks to everyone who took part as we finished with 554 comments from 32 people.  And yes I think howtheyscored is in the running for most vitriol per comment.  Of course, after a game like today the vitriol was quite high.

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As mentioned in the game thread, I'm away from my tv until about 1 or 2pm so I've TiVoed the game, to be watched as soon as I get home.  I've got internet access all morning, but I'd rather wait and watch the televised version.  If somebody at school gives up the score I may break something.

Whatever point we're at in the game, feel free to use this thread for post-game and afternoon football discussion.

  vs. 

Date: September 28, 2008
Time: 10:0am PST
Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Records: 49ers (2-1) Saints (1-2)
Bodoglife.com Spread: 49ers +5; Over/Under 48; Money Line: 49ers +170, Saints -200 - I'd take the 49ers and the over.
Weather: 79°, 0% chance of showers, wind? It's a dome, so depends on the AC
TV Broadcast: Fox - Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan, Chris Myers
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
Saints Coverage: Canal Street Chronicles

Streaming Video Options

Sports Bar Thread

Week 4 Prediction Games - 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 - S Dashon Goldson, CB Donald Strickland, WR Bryant Johnson, S Keith Lewis, S Michael Lewis; Out - CB Shawntae Spencer, OT Jonas Jennings

Saints: Probable - OT Jammal Brown, LB Scott Fujita; Questionable - CB Randall Gay, TE Mark Campbell, RB Aaron Stecker, LB Troy Evans, WR Terrance Copper, DT Antwan Lake, C Jonathan Goodwin, WR David Patten; Out - WR Marques Colston, CB Aaron Glenn, TE Jeremy Shockey, FB Mike Karney

First off, a school committment means I will be TiVoing the game and watching it during the afternoon games.  Accordingly, I've pre-scheduled a post-game thread to go up around 1pm pacific time.  I'll have a recap up probably around 5 or 6pm pacific time (possibly earlier since I'll be able to fastforward through commercials, halftime and boring announcer stuff).

As for the game itself, well it's a big one for the 49ers.  The Saints are banged up, providing a decent chance at stealing a road win early in the season.  A 3-1 start would be huge for the 49ers going into a tough stretch of the schedule.  Of course, a 3-1 start will require execution in all phases of the game today.  Even thought the Saints are banged up, Drew Brees and Reggie Bush are healthy and that could certainly be enough to defeat the 49ers.  Either way, it should be an entertaining game.

GO NINERS!

The final injury reports were released, and depending on which of the questionable people are playing, the matchups will be rather intriguing.

49ers Pass Rush vs. Saints offensive line
The Saints will be without starting left guard Jamar Nesbit, center Jonathan Goodwin is questionable and left tackle Jammal Brown is probable after being limited in practice all week.  For the 49ers, the pass rushing is starting to gain some traction as we've seen the likes of Parys Haralson and Roderick Green step up and make plays.  Justin Smith will continue to be moved all around the field to create matchup havoc.  And of course the impact of Manny Lawson is unknown at this point since we have no idea what defense the 49ers will roll out.  I'd say that more 3-4/4-3 than nickel/dime would make sense, but after the Seahawks game, who knows what will happen.

Either way, I think this is one area the 49ers may have the advantage.  If Drew Brees gets enough time he'll absolutely pick apart the 49ers defense.  Once again, I'd let the corners play man-to-man and come with an extra blitzer to create havoc in the backfield.

Whomever v. Reggie Bush
Although it's only a guess, I think it's safe to say somebody will be spying Reggie Bush the entire game.  Bush has absolutely shredded the 49ers in his short career, but the 49ers might finally have the talent to contain him...at least somewhat.  The two primary options for defending Bush would be either sticking a DB on him all game, or going with Manny Lawson for the first ten yards and a DB thereafter.

Personally, I think this is a perfect opportunity to unleash Dashon Goldson in a one-on-one situation.  He's listed as questionable this week but it sounds like he'll be able to play.  The other options is running a cross between zone and man on Bush.  Lawson would cover him in the first five or ten yards and then hands him off to a DB for the rest of the field.  The problem with that is confusion could result leaving just enough of a hole for Bush to run wild.  This is the most intriguing matchup of the day in my opinion.

49ers Receivers vs. Saints secondary
Bryant Johnson is questionable for Sunday and I'd imagine is a game-time decision.  Randall Gay is also questionable due to a hamstring injury and has been limited by the injury since week 1.  If Gay is out Mike McKenzie gets the start opposite Tracy Porter. 

If Johnson is sitting for the 49ers, I'm honestly not sure who would start opposite Isaac Bruce.  Arnaz Battle has settled in as the #3 receiver, so it's entirely reasonable to see Jason Hill or Josh Morgan starting opposite Bruce.  Hill has been getting more time on special teams, but he showed some impressive skills in the preseason.  I'd like to see either of the two get a little more playing time, but for my own personal benefit I've got Josh Morgan starting in one fantasy league where week 4 byes are killing me.  A quality game from Morgan would certainly be all the more beneficial.

One other brief point on the passing game is the effectiveness of Vernon Davis.  There has been plenty of discussion about Vernon Davis and his issues with catching the ball.  However, folks seem to agree that Davis's speed has been sufficient to at least spread out the defense and open up holes underneath.  The counter would be that eventually they might let Davis roam a little more free, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.  He makes big plays on the short passes so I'd imagine there is still the worry about what he could do catching balls up top.  Hopefully we'll see Davis explode tomorrow at the Superdome, but as long as he's being covered, hopefully the underneath remains open.

We've got an updated injury report after a couple days of practice and both teams have injury issues that might cause concern.

49ers
Bryant Johnson - Did not participate in practice Wednesday or Thursday with a hamstring injury

Keith Lewis - Did not participate in practice Wednesday or Thursday with a knee injury

Dashon Goldson - Limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday with a shoulder injury

Donald Strickland - Limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday with a knee injury

While I never want to see injuries, if the injuries to Johnson and Strickland keep them out of this Sunday's game, youngsters could benefit tremendously.  If Johnson is hurt Josh Morgan and Jason Hill could see a lot more playing time and more balls thrown in their direction.  If the stories about Josh Morgan losing 15 pounds are true, this bump in playing time could not come at a better time for him.

At cornerback, if Strickland is out, Tarell Brown remains the #3 cornerback with Shawntae Spencer's ACL surgery.  Brown had his first pick last week and will be looking to build on it.  Even if Strickland were to play I think Brown could be playing his way into the good graces of the coaching staff.  I like Strickland, but I'd love to see what Brown can do with some serious playing time.

Saints
WR David Patten - Did not participate in practice Wednesday or Thursday with a groin injury

C Jonathan Goodwin - Did not participate in practice Thursday

CB Randall Gay - Limited in practice Thursday, did not participate Wednesday with a hamstring injury

LB Scott Fujita - Limited particpation in practice with a knee injury

WR Terrance Copper - Limited participation in practice Wednesday and Thursday with a hamstring injury

CB Aaron Glenn - Out for this Sunday

One important issue for the Saints is the 4-game suspension of left guard Jamar Nesbit for violating the steroid policy.  It sounds like rookie Carl Nicks will get the start in his place.  Always fun for the defensive line to be facing a rookie offensive lineman.

At wide receiver, it sounds like Devery Henderson and Lance Moore will get the start, with Robert Meachem settling in as the #3 receiver.  I have to admit, the Meachem-Tarell Brown matchup could be a lot of fun to watch.

Among the rest of the injured folks, Fujita missed the last two weeks so I'm not sure if he'll be up to probable or not at this point.  If Gay could practice yesterday, I'd imagine he'd be closer to probable, but we'll see.  Also, we already knew Colston and Shockey were out but I had not made mention of Aaron Glenn, who's been declared out for this weekend with a strained ligament in his ankle.

When the final official injury report comes in I'll post it.

My new favorite phrase is that "I know the 49ers are not bad, but I don't quite know yet if they are good (or how good I suppose)."  The team is 2-1 with an improved offense, but the two wins came against a god-awful Lions team and a beaten down Seahawks team.

That has led to an increased discussion of how much this Sunday's game means or doesn't mean in the grand scheme of things.  If I'm just thinking in terms of overall wins and losses and a more number oriented approach, I'd think any win is a good win.  If 9-7 could get this team into the playoffs (a very real possibility), does it really matter which 9 games you win?  Of course not.

On the other side of the coin is the idea of momentum.  The 49ers have won two straight and a win at New Orleans would give them some incredible momentum (as well as their first 3-game winning streak since 2006).  Considering the opponents following this weekend, we could use all the momentum we can get.

So, with that in mind, I thought I'd throw out some reasons why this game is not any bigger than any other, and why it's the biggest in some time.  While there are various tweaks on the arguments, for the most part people seem to fall in one of the two camps.

Why this game is not more important than any other game
1. The Saints are banged up like the Seahawks were so we're getting them at a lucky time.  They'll be missing Shockey, Colston and possibly Patten among others (to be discussed more later today).  We can't claim any sort of great win against a team playing short-handed.

2. As previously stated, a win is a win is a win and each game is as important as the next (insert any other cliches here that you would like).

3. Even if a win leads to more national press coverage as mentioned below, who cares what the national media thinks.

Why this game is more significant than most
1. A road win at a usually popular Saints team would give the 49ers some serious national credibility.  For now, people see the 49ers as 2-1 and think they're the cute little upstart that will fade into Bolivia (to quote Mike Tyson).  However, a win at New Orleans though and the national critics are suddenly hopping on OUR bandwagon.

2. The team has struggled mightily in the recent past against the Saints and particularly Reggie Bush.  If they can get over this hump, it's reasonable to think they could gain even more confidence.  This goes to the momentum argument in the boost the team could take from such a win.

3. No matter who they roll out their on offense, the Saints will provide a stern test for the 49ers defense thanks to Reggie Bush and Drew Brees.  The defense showed some solid improvements against the Lions in shutting down their passing game.  Reggie Bush presents a unique threat, and if they can shut him down, all the more respect.

Where do I fit in this whole paradigm?  Shockingly enough, somewhere in the middle, although leaning towards the importance of this particular game.  While I try not to get too high over a single game, I am a big believer in momentum.  While momentum doesn't win football games, I think the confidence from that momentum can help.  A 3-1 49ers team that is 2-0 on the road suddenly thinks, "Hey, we won at one of the toughest road trips in the league (Seattle), we shut down one of the best receiving duos and we beat the all-world Reggie Bush...there ain't nothing that can stop us."

So maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but hopefully you get the point.  Aside from momentum, 3-1 is certainly a lot better than 2-2.  Given the stretch of schedule they've got coming up before the bye week, the 49ers certainly need every win they can get.

So where do you fall?  Is this a huge game for the 49ers or just another tough game they would love to win?  One reason I don't like getting too high about one game is that if they lose, and particularly if they lose big, it can be a crushing blow.  However, I do think it is reasonable to anticipate this particular game more than you might normally anticipate a game.

So we're trying something different this week in terms of interaction between the blogs.  Instead of exchanging five questions I've posted a FanPost over at Canal Street Chronicles and later tonight Saintsational will throw up a FanPost over here.

The way it is broken down is the body of my Post is a quick preview of the 49ers offense and defense and how to potentially beat them.  Really quick and dirty.  The second part is that I open up the floor to questions from CSC readers.  They'll ask their questions in the comments and I'll answer them one at a time.  The same will happen when Saintsational gets his FanPost up here later this evening.

To get this even a little more interactive, I thought I'd encourage you folks to go over to CSC and give your thoughts as well, if you are so inclined.  To keep it organized, what I'd like is if you find a question you want to respond to, make sure and reply to that question rather posting a separate answer further down in the comments.  Make sense?

Also, a little smack talk is certainly welcome, but I think is more meant to be informative (unless those crazy Saints fans start talking some serious trash!).

Over the first two games, the 49ers seemed snake-bitten as crazy bounces were not going their way.  They righted that ship and are certainly showing signs of progress.  One area though where things have worked in their favor are opposing team injuries.  The Seahawks were absolutely decimated, which was one of the reasons the 49ers pulled out the road win.  Last week again Detroit, the Lions were missing offensive and defensive linemen and the 49ers were able to pounce.

The string of opposing team misfortune continues against the New Orleans Saints this week.  The timing on this comes as the Saints announced Jeremy Shockey would miss 3-6 weeks with a sports hernia.  That follows Marques Colston's continued absence after thumb surgery.  David Patten was sitting as their #1 receiver, but he left this past Sunday's game with a strained groin.  Also Sunday, the Saints lost left tackle Jammal Brown to a groin injury with no word on whether he'll play this coming weekend.

As you can see, the Saints are joining the list of teams suffering serious injury issues.  The 49ers are fortunate in that all their injured players this past Sunday are not expected to miss the Week 4 battle at New Orleans.  There is still no word on Shawntae Spencer, but it's appearing more and more likely that he's headed to the IR with a knee injury.  While not a devastating blow, it certainly doesn't help matters.

So, what do all the Saints injuries mean for Week 4?  Well, I'd imagine we'll see a nice fat serving of Reggie Bush.  In two career games versus San Francisco, Reggie Bush has accumulated 281 total yards and 4 touchdowns.  Not too shabby and plenty of reason to keep him extra active on Sunday. 

If Patten is also out that would leave Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem and Lance Moore as the starting trio of receivers.  Probably more formidable than Seattle's group the other week, but a group that can be contained.  So, do the 49ers run the nickel/dime package all game long?  Would it be wise to give up the rushing yards to Bush but prevent the receiving yards?  He always seems like more of a threat in the passing game, so an option could be to have a DB shadow him the entire game.  A guy like Dashon Goldson would be able to keep up with him, but I could certainly see Bush shaking him off as Goldson over-pursues.  So, another option is a veteran like Mark Roman spying him.  Thoughts on that?

Aside from Anquan Boldin's second half performance against the 49ers, I feel safe letting them handle the receivers, whomever they may be.  I'd imagine most coaches don't like overplaying their hand and game-planning a single player.  However, Reggie Bush, at least against the 49ers, has turned into that type of player.  If they can contain Bush, I have confidence they can contain the rest of the receivers.

As the injury reports are updated I'll pass that info along.