Yep.
It's like the silliness about Michael Vick being a great QB after his big season last year.
Let's see him do it a few more times.
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NFL Week #19 the Playoffs - Divisional Round
- Thread starter mrpackerguy
- Start date
Yep.
It's like the silliness about Michael Vick being a great QB after his big season last year.
Let's see him do it a few more times.
That first fumble was the very definition of a caused fumble. He just couldn't take getting hit that hard.
bassman314
I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process...
Second, kudos to the 9er's, the Saints crapped the bed in the first quarter, they took advantage of it, and deserved the win, even though they ALMOST didn't get it. That said, the ONLY reason it ended as it did was the 5 turnovers. (Gregg Williams needs to be tarred & feathered, drawn & quartered, then have his head on a pike in front of the Saints practice facility for his piss-poor defensive calls on the last two drives, making Alex "I can't hit the broadside of a barn with a target painted on it" Smith look like the second coming of Joe Montana...)
Go Giants (I expect they won't give any gifts to the 9ers next week, and there will be a great big grease spot on the field at Candlestick where the 9ers used to be).
Saying that the Niners "ONLY" won because of turnovers is like saying that the Saints came back and nearly won the game "ONLY" because Drew Brees had such a great passing game.
In the regular season the Niners coughed up 5 fumbles while taking away 15. Alex Smith threw 5 interceptions all season while the Niners D grabbed 23. They were a +28 in turnovers. Close to that was Green Bay at +24 with the third place team (the Lions) being +11. The Saints were a -3 for the year.
I like the Saints and I'm especially a fan of Brees who I've liked since he came out of Purdue. The Chargers trading the #1 (Vick) to get Tomlinson and then taking Brees while adding extra picks is one of the greatest drafts hauls ever. They should have never let him go to make room for Rivers. But I digress.
My point is, the Niners have taken the ball away all year. It isn't as if there were bungled handoffs or balls skipping off receivers' hands into a waiting defenders arms. The Niners knocked and stripped balls loose and the secondary made plays on the ball each time there was an interception. Brees did what he does (looking like a maestro running the offense and distributing the ball) and the 49ers did what they do.
Given the years of mediocrity and how much this season exceeded my expectations I was upset with how the Saints engineered their last scoring drive to take the lead again but still content with a great season and resigned to seeing a talented and experienced New Orleans team walk out with a win. Because if the Niners put up a field goal I didn't like their chances with the way the game was becoming a shoot out late.
But that last pass from Smith was not luck. It wasn't an awful defensive call. It was an absolute laser that was right on target.
People have decided that they know what Alex Smith is and they look for any other reason to credit for the Niners wins. He's not an elite arm talent and he's not a guy that has Brees' seemingly supernatural talent to see the field, but he's become an effective quarterback that doesn't manage games but wins them.
Ask the Giants. Back in November they loaded the box to stop Gore (who had 6 carries for 0 yards and left the game hurt) and Smith torched them through the air early and often. And they picked off Manning twice in that game because that's how they play.
The Giants are really playing great football and I felt like the Niners matched up better with the Packers (ESPECIALLY in Lambeau field in January) but all season long people have expected the Niners to get crushed or exposed as pretenders and it hasn't happened yet.
But even if the Giants roll them or if the Saints had come in and run up the score to a big victory I'd have been incredibly satisfied with the turnaround under Harbaugh. Any postseason success is just gravy at this point.
bassman314
I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process...
Wow. Hats off to the 9ers...that was an awesome, awesome game!
And who'da thunk Alex Smith and Vernon Davis would replay TO's game winning touchdown catch & subsequent bawling?
Giants look like they did when they won the Super Bowl...it's really going to be a great game when they play San Fran! TBH, I'm glad it's not the Packers/Saints sexy matchup it was supposed to be...
And who'da thunk Alex Smith and Vernon Davis would replay TO's game winning touchdown catch & subsequent bawling?
Giants look like they did when they won the Super Bowl...it's really going to be a great game when they play San Fran! TBH, I'm glad it's not the Packers/Saints sexy matchup it was supposed to be...
Werd. I love sports. They are fun, and being a fan is almost the most fun you can have, BUT, I do not, and never will lose sleep or let games affect my mood for longer than a few minutes.
That's the NFL. Williams is always going to be Williams and there was about a 0% chance that he wouldn't bring pressure on that last 49ers play.
Of course, what if he hadn't brought extra rushers and Alex Smith had all the time in the world and THEN completed at TD pass? Then fans would be irate because he abandoned his whole philosophy at the worst time. Either way as a coach, you can't win when you lose.
I was thinking about the Saints defense on their Superbowl team and what the difference is this year and last. The whole time they've been aggressive defense that got pressure but not a lot of sacks and fast in terms of flying to the ball and making hits but not great at fundamental tackling. And I realized that the only real difference (IMO) is that the Saints team that won it all was much more opportunistic about takeaways and scoring off them.
I think that's actually what finally bit the Packers this year. Their defense is sub par but it has created a lot of turnovers this year, most of them interceptions and many of those returned for pick sixes. They had two interceptions for touchdowns against the Chargers in a game that they only won by (I think) one touchdown.
Being on the wrong side of the turnover battle really exposed their defense more than usual. And I don't remember Rodgers (a fellow Chico AND Cal guy who i root for) having to come from behind to win many (if any) games this year.
Both teams will see some big changes on defense no doubt.
Exactly. I'm sure it means that I don't get the same rush of excitement that people more emotionally invested get when their teams win but I'm more than happy with the tradeoff of not having big losses ruin my day or week.
Sports can be great entertainment and a good diversion but letting it be much more than that is unhealthy.
My opinion to follow, take it for what you paid for it....the difference I see between the Saints defense on the SB team and the ones since is it looks to me like guys are more into making big hits and bragging about it than making a play then returning to the huddle to get ready to make another one.
The offense seems to have stayed the same. Drew and company made plays up and down the field for 60 minutes, and you couldn't tell if they were up by 21 or down by 21.
-Mike
The offense seems to have stayed the same. Drew and company made plays up and down the field for 60 minutes, and you couldn't tell if they were up by 21 or down by 21.
-Mike
I'm a lifelong Saints fan, through the good and the bad (mostly bad) and the fact of the matter is, the 49ers kicked it up a notch and won the game. It was very obvious from the first drive of the game that the 9er D was in it 110% and the Saints never adjusted to it. How many times do you have to be told that they are out to strip the ball and you need to hang on to it. When the Saints scored their last touchdown, I really didn't think about the clock as I didn't really think that Smith was the type of quarterback that could beat you but he sure did. I have a feeling that the Saints just didn't respect him enough and you see how that went.
I do find it interesting that both of the fun and gun teams (Saints and Packers) both went down to great defenses. I guess by the end of the season, it's just too hard to keep outrunning everybody. Let's just hope that the NFL doesn't find another way to hamstring the defenses in this league next year because it sure seems to me that they were already put at a disadvantage this year.
I do find it interesting that both of the fun and gun teams (Saints and Packers) both went down to great defenses. I guess by the end of the season, it's just too hard to keep outrunning everybody. Let's just hope that the NFL doesn't find another way to hamstring the defenses in this league next year because it sure seems to me that they were already put at a disadvantage this year.
Agreed. This is especially important now that I have a son in the house. Earlier this season, when his Steelers lost on a last second play to the hated Ravens, he had a meltdown the likes of which I had never seen from him. Now we're working on keeping sports in perspective. We were both upset about Denver's overtime winning play, but this time, were more disgusted at the Pittsburg pass defense, which was pretty bad for much of the game.
The two million dollar question is....if he does win those two games, does Mike Nolan get his job back?
-Mike
-Mike
