Vikings: A True Test

With the 49er defensive line playing in top shape, challenges still seem to come one after another. After holding the last two opponents too few points, the 49ers defense will have their work cut out for them this weekend, when they face the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota will try and run and pass all over the 9er defense on Sunday, due to the fact that they have two of the leagues most sought after offensive players, being Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre. Peterson is known for dominating the run game and Favre is looked at one of NFL's greats, partly because of the way that he plays with heart and muscle, as well as takes risks, that can make or break him and his team.
The Forty Niners need to stop the offensive line from opening up holes for Adrian to break through and bring as much pressure onto Brett Favre as possible. By doing this it will, hopefully, force Peterson to come up with alternative ways to gain yardage and will tire the offensive line. Our Defensive Backs need to add as much pressure on the Viking receivers as they can, so that Favre will be forced to take risky moves, in order to move the ball. If the 9er defense can force bad decisions on the Vikings quarterback, hold Peterson to fewer yards that he has been gaining in previous games this season and guard the Viking receivers like Gary Payton did most NBA guards, then the 9ers have a good chance in being 3-0.
I’m not too worried about our offense, after seeing them play last Sunday. However, we do need to not turn the ball over and convert drives into points.

A Bright Sunday

Sunday morning brought more than sun ray filled sky’s to the city of San Francisco. It also brought the 49ers offensive line, which help aid Frank Gore, the 49ers starting running back, gain 207 yards on sixteen carries and two touchdowns and ultimately ending in a victory for him and his teammates.
For the first time, in the 2009 NFL season, the 49ers played their first home game. The team was coming off a victory versus the Arizona Cardinals, which took place last Sunday. The team was hoping to carry over their focus and intensity, which they brought to the field last weekend, in order to pursue a victory over the Seattle Seahawks. They did just that.
Roars filled the air, as the 49er starters were sent dashing out of a Candlestick tunnel. This was immediately followed by two Air Force jet airplanes that wisped by, above 69,732 eager fans heads.
The 49ers started the first quarter by kicking off to the Seattle Seahawks. The strong, knowledgeable 9er defense stopped the Seattle offense, resulting in a Seahawk punt. They then went on an eight minuet and seven second rant, which resulted in a 37 yard field goal. This made it a 3-0 lead by the 49ers. They then followed that up with a beautiful Frank Gore 79 yard touchdown run to end the first quarter, with the 9ers leading 10-0.
Although the 49ers would score 3 points in the second quarter, Seattle answered back. They kicked one 36 yards and scored a touchdown, on a pass, just before the clock died down to end the quarter. This sent both teams into the locker room for halftime, in which Coach Mike Singletary boosted the teams’ moral.
The third quarter started off with a kick off, from Seattle, which was booted into the end zone, resulting in a touch back. The 49ers then, wisely, called a play for their veteran tailback and team inspiration, Frank Gore. Gore then took the defense on a track race, when he busted through the 3 hole and ran in a 80 yard touchdown. The 49ers defense held down the third quarter, holding the Seahawks to 0 points, making the score at the end of the third quarter 20-10, 49ers.
The fourth quarter continued to bring smiles to 49er fans. Their Defensive Backs continued to play great, as the 9er defense didn’t allow any more Seattle points and little offensive completions. Meanwhile, the 49ers offense continued to dominate. They finished the fourth quarter with a 16 possession, 9 minute and 27 second drive down the field, resulting in a field goal. The final outcome of the game resulted in a 23-10 point victory for the 49ers, over the Seattle Seahawks.

New Team: Better Results

With the look of determination in the eyes of the 49ers, the 2009 NFL season begins. The players that make up this firm team are finally ready to embark on their 16 regular season game journey, in hopes of making the playoffs. However, the 49ers are aware of the fact that Mike Singletary stresses the importance of taking each game on, with full intensity, one a time.

This past Sunday the 49ers faced off against the Arizona Cardinals, where they were guests in the Cardinals home stadium. Being a division game, as well as a season opener for both teams, the 49ers needed to set the level of concentration and focus that they can carry out for the remainder of the season. Although he 49ers looked strong in various aspect of the game, some areas still need to be finely tuned.

The 49ers offense had many positive features to offer the team. The offense took care of the ball, throughout the game, and made it extremely hard for the Arizona defense to knock it loose. The offense, as a whole, cut their penalties to 1, which is a great turn around when compared with last season. The offense made plays when they were needed, like a 50 yard completion to Isaac Bruce in the second quarter. This play was made possible due to the numerous amounts of reps. that Shaun Hill and Isaac Bruce had taken during the preseason practices. This valuable time spent, between the quarterback and receiver, allowed Hill to have the ability to read Bruce’s routes and patterns correctly, knowing where Bruce would end up on the field, at any given time. Although the 49ers looked decent in their air attack, their running game was a different story. They gained only 21 yards on 25 carries. But, despite their lack of yards gained off the run, coach Singletary stresses that he is not concerned about their running game, when asked about next week’s division game verses the Seattle Seahawks. As well as struggling with the run verses the Cardinals, the offensive line didn’t help much either. How can a team expect to run the football if the defensive lineman are penetrating the offensive line, ready to swallow the ball whole, almost every play? Practice and changes are in need, if running the ball successfully is desired.

On defense, our defensive backs were outstanding. Their timing was on, while guarding the Cardinals receivers, making it possible for the 49ers defensive line to attack Kurt Warner and the Cardinals offense. Justin Smith played great, adding more and more pressure to the Cardinals offensive line, throughout the game.

So far, the 49ers hard work and determination has paid off, as they start the season 1-0. The 49ers face the Seattle Seahawks, in San Francisco, this Sunday at 1:05 pm, which will be broadcasted on KTVU Fox-2. If the 49ers can match their intensity that they displayed during the Cardinal game, I personally think that the 49ers have a great chance in receiving a victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Sun Sets on the NFL Pre-Season: But Aids Light to the Future

With the start of a new NFL football season comes excitement, quickly followed by many questions and concerns, bottled up in the bodies of eager enthusiasts. Hope and dedication is always present at the beginning of a season, with optimism that one’s team can reach and become victors of the grand prize, becoming super bowl champions. However, before the special teams squad enters the field, of the season opener, and sends the ball sailing high over the heads of devoted, encouraging fans, one thing must take place. Pre-season. During this time teams must try and work out as many kinks, untie as many knots and view as many new and returning players as possible, in order to ensure success.

Mike Singletary, the 49ers head couch, knows this just as if not more than any other player, president, GM, assistant or coach that is part of the National Football League. Being a prior player of the game turned coach, adds a sense of keenness and commitment to Mikes mentality on and off the field.
This past week was the last of the NFL’s meticulous pre-season training. The 49ers faced the San Diego Chargers, in San Diego. Although the outcome resulted in a defeat, much needed information was retrieved, studied and acted upon. My main concern, and or observation as a devotee to the 49ers, was that our offensive line needs to figure out a reasonable strategy that will able them, as a group, to act and react to multiple defensive plays and formations. Our offensive line seemed to not react quickly enough to the defense, enabling them to pick up the Chargers defensive line, as well as blitzing linebackers and cornerback. This lack of recognition resulted in unneeded pressure on 49er quarterbacks and tailbacks, which then in turn resulted in loss of yardage and in some cases sacks on the quarterback(s).
It is obvious that throughout the league there is much work to be done. But, growth and knowledge doesn’t come from constant success, in most cases. One must experience wrong, in order to prevent mistakes from repeating themselves. In this case, pre-season hopefully did just that.

1. http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/4129/take-deep-breath-before-anointing-49ers-savior
The first blog that I read was one on espn.com. The blog was about the current situation with the 49ers third string quarterback, Nate Davis. I like the fact that the blogger had a strong position on the subject, as well as raised questions regarding the quarterbacks future on the teams roster. I liked that the blogger used a question to further the discussion and let people react to the question he has raised. In that way he made the blog interactive to all readers, which was effective.

2. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/09/03/sports/s005447D29.DTL
The second blog that I read was one on sfgate.com. The blog talks about Brad Penny, the new San Francisco Giants pitcher, as well as their 4-0 victory against the Philadelphia Phillie's. I liked that the blogger added a lot of Penny's stats, in order to show validity towards his report of to nights game against the Phillie's and back up his perspective about Penny personally. I also liked how the blogger remained semi unbiased, but added his thoughts carefully, biased on the facts and stats throughout the game. He also wrote the Blog in a timely manner, not wasting any time to report on the game, minuets after it ended.

3. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/02/BAS919H7LN.DTL&tsp=1
The third blog that I read was also on sfgate.com. It had to do with the current situation regarding the Bay Bridge being closed, starting on Thursday. I liked how the blogger didn't just focus on the fact that it might cause commuting problems, but focused on the positive aspects of the decision. The blogger was very good at informing the readers about other ways that the city will take advantage of the bridge being closed. Some of these ways include training firemen, fixing old light bulbs, painting, trimming trees as well as other maintenance work. The blog was very informative and the writer keep the readers attention by providing new, easy to understand and read information.

Two Ideas: 49ers, Skateboarding