The cards were stacked against the offense of the San Francisco
49ers before they even played Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens
at Monster Park.
San Francisco – The cards were stacked against the offense of the San Francisco 49ers before they even played Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens at Monster Park.
They had recorded the third-fewest amount of points in the league, so few that the offense was labeled conservative (not good). They were up against one of the most formidable defenses in the league, one ranked fourth in the NFL in yards per game (uh oh). And the names on the injury report included their stud tight end (Vernon Davis) and their starting quarterback (Alex Smith), just to name a few (well, that’s just great).
So then, with that being said, what exactly were Niners fans expecting from the offense?
Considering the boo birds were out in full force a mere 12 minutes into the first quarter, I’d say a lot.
At least I’m pretty sure they were boos. The Niners are void of a Luke, or a Moose, or a Drew on their roster, or any other name that makes that unmistakable oooo sound when said aloud by 67,885 people.
On Sunday, the Niners lost at home to the Ravens 9-7, compiling 163 yards of offense, and many questions surrounding their lackluster game plan.
And while the team has been playing it safe on offense, and were up against a top defensive team without their quarterback and tight end, the Niners’ attack, with all their inadequacies, was surprisingly stale.
“That’s been the story of my life,” said quarterback Trent Dilfer of the early booing. “If I was up there, and I was as frustrated as they probably are, I’d probably boo, too.”
Too bad they weren’t booing for Dilfer so much as the offensive play selection. That’s probably because Dilfer didn’t throw the ball enough to warrant any negative Lukes, or Drews, or Mooses from the Monster Park crowd.
The Niners went three-and-out for the first quarter, and picked up their one and only first-half first down on a 10-yard run from running back Frank Gore. Dilfer was a dismal 2 of 8 passing in the first half, recording a total of eight yards.
Gore wasn’t too much better, running nine times for 37 yards, while the 49ers trailed 6-0 at halftime.
The first half, at the very least, was stale, indeed.
“We made some attempts with some plays we had, but as you saw, there was also some pressure. So we’re trying to protect him,” head coach Mike Nolan said as to why the offense wasn’t vertical in the first half. “It was a put-you-to-sleep kind of game some of the time. But at the same time the objective is to win. Where we are offensively, we gave ourselves the best chance to win that game today.”
Dilfer finished the game 12 of 19 for 126 yards, meaning the offense clearly opened up into something more than just a three-and-out fest in the second half.
But let’s not get too carried away.
On their second drive in the third quarter, Dilfer hit Bryan Gilmore 43 yards on a vertical route down the left sideline, and then thread the needle on a 23-yard touchdown pass to Arnaz Battle on the following play.
Suddenly, the boo birds flew away.
“Obviously after the big pass play, the roar of the crowd, believe it or not, had a lot to do with us getting a touchdown on the very next play,” Nolan said.
Who knows if that was a veiled shot at booing Niners fans, who were understandably confused as to where the offense was going against the Ravens.
But if there was any confusion, it all came full circle in the squad’s final drive of the game.
Starting from their own 20-yard line, Dilfer passed for 6 to Moran Norris, then for 13 to Norris again. After Gore went up the middle for five, Dilfer found the running back for 19 on the following play.
But a short gain and an incomplete pass brought the Niners to third-and-nine from Baltimore’s 36, and with boo birds at the ready, San Francisco ran the ball.
Needing nine yards, Gore went up the middle for two, setting up a 52-yard field goal from John Nedney that was wide right.
“On third and long like that, what they were doing pressure wise, we thought we’d pop them,” Nolan said. “We had gotten five, six, seven yards on some third down runs early in the game. They weren’t enough to get the first down a couple of times, but at the same time, with all the pressure they were bringing from the different sides it was an opportunity for us to get another five yards.”
Of course, it’s easy to sit here and second-guess. If Gore runs for 36 yards and a touchdown, Nolan’s a genius. If he doesn’t, Niner fans want to wake up everyone’s sleeper pick with a rousing chorus of boos, which they promptly did.
But while the Niners were in a position Sunday to steal a game at home, in the end, they didn’t. It’s understandable that the 49ers coaching staff played it safe with a plethora of players on its injury list, but it was a little too safe.
Gore finished with 16 carries for 52 yards. The offense moved the chains three times the entire game, and really only looked like an NFL offense when they were balancing Gore’s legs with Dilfer’s arm, which happened rarely.
Baltimore’s rush defense is ranked second in the league. Their pass defense is 12th. I’m not saying the Niners should have thrown the ball all day against Baltimore, but just looking at the rankings, and the very fact that the offense looked decent on their one scoring drive, why not throw a little more with Dilfer?
Niner fans shouldn’t have expected much out of the offense on Sunday. Then again, the Niners didn’t provide enough offense Sunday to expect to win.
