Re-Watch - 49ers

Every Monday, win lose or draw, I go back and take a second look at the game. I do my best to separate the passion and emotion of Sunday from the retrospect of Monday.

"I remember when I was a 2nd year back-up"

Today, everything seems positive. I went to bed with a pretty optimistic outlook, but I didn't expect the bulk of Pats Nation to share my sentiment. Although this is the worst loss (points-wise) of the season, fans are okay with the loss. 

I am convinced that Murphy's Law was in effect for The Patriots last night: anything that could go wrong, went horribly wrong. Colin Kaepernick fumbled 4 snaps, and San Francisco collectively put the ball on the ground 6 times, but lost only 1. The Patriots fumbled twice and lost both. The 49ers also got the benefit of a bounce on Aldon Smith's INT, and the benefit of a no-call on Roger's INT (illegal contact). Let's not forget the unchallengable incomplete pass/fumble and the nearly-touched punt. The fact that the final score was competitive is a testament to the strength of character on The Patriot sideline. 

The Patriots managed to get favorable bounces in the Texans game (i.e. fumble for TD). Nothing went right for Houston, and they went gently into the good night. Not The Patriots. When The Patriots found themselves down 28 in the 3rd quarter (as Houston had), they battled back. They hung 34 points on the #1 Defense in football, and managed 520 yards of offense despite going 2 for 15 on 3rd down. 

Did I mention how nasty B. Lloyd was in this game?
A quiet 10 catches for a sneaky 190 yards. 

San Francisco generated consistent pressure on Brady without blitzing, and they matched-up man-to-man across the board. This is the formula to beat The Patriots, but very few teams can actually pull it off. This was the first game where the absence of Gronkowski was noted. San Francisco was able to match-up across the board because the LBs could handle Hoomanawanui and Fells. I would love to see this rematch in the superbowl with a healthy Gronk. I don't think The 49ers will have as much success against the Boston TE Party.

Defensively, The Patriots needed time to adjust to the crazy wishbone-type formation with Kaepernick in front of Gore and between TEs Walker and Davis. A short week of preparation certainly didn't aid The Patriots in stopping a "most unique offense" (Wilfork). Kaepernick proved to me that he can hold up as a pocket passer, but he really impressed me with his deep passes. Kaepernick made one mistake throwing the ball, but he proved why he's the #1 QB on his team.

The biggest mistakes we made on defense were giving up deep passes, and this is frustrating because most fans had felt like we had put this issue to bed. Still, The Patriots Safeties were out of position far too often, Steve Gregory even got benched in favor of Chung in the second half. I think some of it had to do with the effectiveness of the running game. Other times (on Walker's TD catch) it was just a blown coverage. 

Still, the memorable moment that will frustrate us endlessly this week was the 60+ yard kick return allowed after tying the game at 31. I contend that there was holding on the return team, but I admit that the coverage was bad on our part. Likewise, it takes 15 yards for McCourty to take him down. At this point, all the momentum that had built for us was gone. On the very next play, Crabtree made Arrington look lazy and silly on a catch-and-run TD.

After that, it was just an emotional game that San Francisco was not going to lose. The energy that had drained out of the pass rushers was refueled, and Brady was sacked on consecutive plays. After a failed 4th down, and an easy San Francisco FG, we were at the mercy of the onside kick. And like everything else, it just didn't bounce our way.

Lets take a look at the keys to victory to see how well we fared in the game plan:

1. Expose Colin Kaepernick's Weaknesses - I actually think that we did this well enough. We forced the kid into an INT, and he also had 4 fumbles when forced to go under-center. If we'd won the game, I would think this an acceptable performance, so I'll take it. Just wish we could have make him pay for one of those fumbles

2. No-Huddle Tempo - We definitely did this well. The no-huddle couldn't get rolling in the first half because of 3-and-outs and turnovers, but once the pass-rushing legs got tired The Pats offense was moving. We ran 92 offensive plays, and that did a lot to tire out the Defense. Unfortunately, a big momentum swing brought them back into it.

3. Don't Be Satisfied With Success - I think we relaxed for a second when the score was tied 31-31, and for a brief moment, we were satisfied with the comeback. All of a sudden, we were looking up at the scoreboard and shaking our heads. We need to stay focused the whole way through.

4. Continue The Tom Brady For MVP Caucus Race - Tom Brady was the one guy who really kept us in the game, but when he got the ball down 7 with around 5 minutes to go, he couldn't string together a 5th consecutive TD drive (how dare he?). Still, I think Brady's MVP votes took a hit with his 2 INTs, but his performance also highlighted how important he is to the team. Not many guys in the league can lead 4 consecutive TD drives when down by 28 points. Tom Brady can.

5. Quit Fumbling - The fumbles really killed us in this one. At least one of Brady's INTs is excusable because of a bad bounce, both fumbles came from bad ball security (only one hand on the ball). Also, it stings that both fumbles came on good hard gains. If there is a wake-up call to be heard, its this one. Stop Fumbling!