My take on this game in terms of how it "felt?" RW had one of his lesser games, Newton was good, and we stopped the Panthers running game. In reality, RW passed for 300 yards for the first time in a regular season game, Newton was bottled up, and the Panthers averaged over 5 YPA on the ground. I don't know how to explain that...this was game that defied perception.
Danny Darko wrote:2. Running game- I noticed Lynch was back to dancing too much before hitting the hole. I do wonder if this isn't just early rust and also more concerning would be the Robinson affect. This could be a a combination of him not being their to lead the way and not being there to say "Marshawn stop dancing and hit the hole".
I'm not sure how much Mike Rob matters in the long run. If we used a fullback in 35% of offensive plays last year, and Lynch had a better YPA on runs out of single back formations, how important is the fullback? I thought Coleman looked pretty good as a blocker and pass catcher. Lynch will be fine...he just needs to have the line get him some holes.
Our offense was very "vanilla" in the first week. I think we'll see a lot more creativity in week 2.
Danny Darko wrote:3. Receivers- Not much I could say that wasn't already obvious other than how glad I am that Baldwin looks like the man again, Tate is ready this season, Kearse looks legit, Rice doesn't look dominant anymore, and Coleman is actually a nice option coming out of the backfield. Wilson and Miller did their job.
Baldwin looked incredible. Being fully healthy and having some time to practice with RW has done wonders.
Rice looked good considering he didn't practice much and played 0 snaps in the preseason. I think he'll get comfortable and begin to look a bit better. Or if he can just hold on until Harvin comes back, I think the team will be fine.
Danny Darko wrote:4. D-Line- considering the injuries I was fairly pleased, but the lack of pressure when only rushing 4 isn't something we can get away with time and time again. I hope Jordan gets back healthy soon and provides a bit of interior pass rush.
Oh, I was definitely pleased. No pass rush and we somehow still stopped the run just enough and controlled the line of scrimmage. Seriously, once Avril and Clemons come back on the line, and Irvin comes back as a LB, the pass rush will be insane. Throw Jordan Hill into that mix, too.
Danny Darko wrote:4. Secondary- Wish Sherm had gotten that gimme int. Let's hope Thurmond stays health. What a luxury in terms of depth and at nickel would be perfect. I did think we missed Browner's ability to straight up piss off WR's. Smith would have been a little less affective with Browner knocking the snot out of him imo.
It wasn't the type of game that made me feel we had to re-sign Browner though. I think Browner will be a huge asset against Boldin next week, but I wouldn't be shocked if Browner walks and the team focuses on keeping WTIII.
Danny Darko wrote:5. Special Teams- Hauscha really has improved his power. Loved the kickbacks and laser FG. Containment was also pretty good, which is why Farwell earns his money.
Don't forget Ryan. That punt out of the back of his own end zone was amazing. He kicked the ball nearly 70 yards and didn't outkick his coverage.
Danny Darko wrote:6. Russ- he was worrying me early and in fairness he did seem to take some risks. He also got banged around and hung in there. Really glad we have this guy... waiting for mid season form, though.
How amazing it is that, in a bad game, the put up 300 yards and leading a game winning drive late? Compare this game to our first game against Arizona on the road last year and the loss on the road to the Dolphins. This game very easily could have suffered the same fate, but RW's experience last season was huge. He put it all together when it mattered.
I'm so excited for next week's game against SF. The Niners looked pretty good against the Packers, but our secondary puts the Packers' secondary to shame. Boldin won't do to us what he did to Green Bay. I imagine our defensive strategy will be similar to Green Bay's [stop the run, make Kaep beat you with his arm] but we have the secondary to pull it off.
