Week 12: Saints @ 49ers

[thesack12]

Jennings = Mr 3rd down

[thesack12]

Mason looked spry there, although Saints D might have given up

[thesack12]

Amazing to see Kyle actually pulling CMC and putting in Mason.

Baby steps...

[Samurai]

Mason's legs definitely look fresher than CMC. Just need to get healthy before the next game.

[thesack12]

Raiders and 'Hawks headed to OT.

Lets go Vegas!!!

[thesack12]

That'll do it

[Dodub]

Victory formation. Let’s hope the the injuries aren’t too bad

[thesack12]

You'd like to see a much more consistent pass rush, but Great/Complete game for the defense overall. Shutouts are rare, and Even forced a couple turnovers.

Offense was quite shaky, and regressed today. They have a lot to work on, namely everything O-line related. Going to need to get things shored up quickly, as with the 'Fins coming to town next week 9ers are going to need to pile up points.

[CrimsonCrew]

Raiders doing their level best to choke away the game.

[thesack12]

Jacobs explodes up the gut for a 80+ yard game ending TD.

Thanks Josh, Thanks

[Samurai]

Raiders doing their level best to choke away the game.

Touchdown RRRRRRAIDERS!!!!

[arich35]

They believe Mitchell sprained his MCL, not believed to be as serious so probably out a few weeks again. Mason and Davis-Price got to step up

[Samurai]

They believe Mitchell sprained his MCL, not believed to be as serious so probably out a few weeks again. Mason and Davis-Price got to step up

Hopefully CMC heals up before next weekend; he looked like he was running in quicksand in the second half. A RB needs two healthy wheels. Mason looked good in his limited carries but I think the Saints had already mailed it in by the time he entered the game.

[CrimsonCrew]

Some quick thoughts. Good to get the win, but it was ugly. The Saints actually have a pretty good, and probably underrated, defense that was getting a lot of guys back. But still, they're far from elite, and they showed some of our vulnerabilities on the offensive side of the ball. If a team has a good pass rush and/or excels in man coverage, they will give us problems. Jimmy does great when he can sit in the pocket and find guys breaking open against a zone. He's not nearly as good finding guys getting open quickly against man coverage. And our players aren't as good at getting open against man coverage. Deebo has one of the biggest differences in the league in terms of his metrics against man vs. zone (incredible against zone, pretty bad against man). Aiyuk is better at it, but is also usually running somewhat slower-developing routes. And the run game continues to struggle.

The defense pitching a shutout was exciting, but I'm troubled by the performance. Lenoir doesn't have it - at least to date - and he's a huge liability. Our pass rush is solid, but we don't have a player who can win quickly with their first move. Bosa is a beast, but he's mostly a guy who works off counters and thus takes a half-second longer to get to the passer. And any QB with a pulse continues to threaten us with his legs.

When this team is right, they can run with anyone. But what are the odds of getting four games of this team being right? It's a dicey proposition. Next week is a big game. Win it and we're in great shape to win the division. Lose it, and we'll probably have to sweep the division. Our next two opponents (Miami and Tampa Bay) may be without a starting OT, so we need to really capitalize on that.

[Samurai]

Some quick thoughts. Good to get the win, but it was ugly. The Saints actually have a pretty good, and probably underrated, defense that was getting a lot of guys back. But still, they're far from elite, and they showed some of our vulnerabilities on the offensive side of the ball. If a team has a good pass rush and/or excels in man coverage, they will give us problems. Jimmy does great when he can sit in the pocket and find guys breaking open against a zone. He's not nearly as good finding guys getting open quickly against man coverage. And our players aren't as good at getting open against man coverage. Deebo has one of the biggest differences in the league in terms of his metrics against man vs. zone (incredible against zone, pretty bad against man). Aiyuk is better at it, but is also usually running somewhat slower-developing routes. And the run game continues to struggle.

The defense pitching a shutout was exciting, but I'm troubled by the performance. Lenoir doesn't have it - at least to date - and he's a huge liability. Our pass rush is solid, but we don't have a player who can win quickly with their first move. Bosa is a beast, but he's mostly a guy who works off counters and thus takes a half-second longer to get to the passer. And any QB with a pulse continues to threaten us with his legs.

When this team is right, they can run with anyone. But what are the odds of getting four games of this team being right? It's a dicey proposition. Next week is a big game. Win it and we're in great shape to win the division. Lose it, and we'll probably have to sweep the division. Our next two opponents (Miami and Tampa Bay) may be without a starting OT, so we need to really capitalize on that.

I agree with your points. While we do struggle more against man defense, a lot of that depends on individual matchups. If we can get CMC or Kittle on a LB, they will win that matchup almost every time. And Jennings is becoming more and more comfortable in this offense. He can be an increasingly strong weapon against man coverage since he has more size and physicality than most corners. Our running backs certainly have the talent to succeed; the weak links in our O-line are what keeps our running game from doing what they are capable of. The more time that Jennings gets can also help our running game because he is like having an additional blocking TE out there from the WR position.

I assume that Lenoir must be absolutely kicking Womack's butt in practice because he certainly isn't showing it in actual games. I'd really like to see Womack get more in-game playing time; can't see him doing worse than Lenoir. And his ball-hawking skills can give him a higher ceiling than Lenoir.

So my takeaway is I think more Jennings can help us when we face man coverage in the passing game and helping out the running game. And I'd really like to see Womack take Lenoir's spot.

[CrimsonCrew]

Some quick thoughts. Good to get the win, but it was ugly. The Saints actually have a pretty good, and probably underrated, defense that was getting a lot of guys back. But still, they're far from elite, and they showed some of our vulnerabilities on the offensive side of the ball. If a team has a good pass rush and/or excels in man coverage, they will give us problems. Jimmy does great when he can sit in the pocket and find guys breaking open against a zone. He's not nearly as good finding guys getting open quickly against man coverage. And our players aren't as good at getting open against man coverage. Deebo has one of the biggest differences in the league in terms of his metrics against man vs. zone (incredible against zone, pretty bad against man). Aiyuk is better at it, but is also usually running somewhat slower-developing routes. And the run game continues to struggle.

The defense pitching a shutout was exciting, but I'm troubled by the performance. Lenoir doesn't have it - at least to date - and he's a huge liability. Our pass rush is solid, but we don't have a player who can win quickly with their first move. Bosa is a beast, but he's mostly a guy who works off counters and thus takes a half-second longer to get to the passer. And any QB with a pulse continues to threaten us with his legs.

When this team is right, they can run with anyone. But what are the odds of getting four games of this team being right? It's a dicey proposition. Next week is a big game. Win it and we're in great shape to win the division. Lose it, and we'll probably have to sweep the division. Our next two opponents (Miami and Tampa Bay) may be without a starting OT, so we need to really capitalize on that.

I agree with your points. While we do struggle more against man defense, a lot of that depends on individual matchups. If we can get CMC or Kittle on a LB, they will win that matchup almost every time. And Jennings is becoming more and more comfortable in this offense. He can be an increasingly strong weapon against man coverage since he has more size and physicality than most corners. Our running backs certainly have the talent to succeed; the weak links in our O-line are what keeps our running game from doing what they are capable of. The more time that Jennings gets can also help our running game because he is like having an additional blocking TE out there from the WR position.

I assume that Lenoir must be absolutely kicking Womack's butt in practice because he certainly isn't showing it in actual games. I'd really like to see Womack get more in-game playing time; can't see him doing worse than Lenoir. And his ball-hawking skills can give him a higher ceiling than Lenoir.

So my takeaway is I think more Jennings can help us when we face man coverage in the passing game and helping out the running game. And I'd really like to see Womack take Lenoir's spot.

The struggles in man coverage are not limited to our receivers, but also our QB. Generally speaking, the crossing stuff that Jimmy is so good at are more effective against zone coverage, where you're pressuring guys to stick with one assignment or break to another, opening passing lanes. Those short crossers don't work as well against man unless you're running some picks, which we don't seem to utilize all that often. Neither Aiyuk nor Deebo excel at shaking man coverage at the line. CMC and Kittle can destroy LBs, but they're often doing it by getting open moving vertically downfield. We saw that with CMC this weekend (granted I think that was Mathieu instead of a LB). Jimmy doesn't throw those balls very well. And those routes often take longer to develop, causing problems with the OL.

You're right that Jennings excels against man coverage. It's a big part of why he's become such a threat on third down. I'd like to see our other guys show some more ability in that area.

[Pattersonca65]

Some quick thoughts. Good to get the win, but it was ugly. The Saints actually have a pretty good, and probably underrated, defense that was getting a lot of guys back. But still, they're far from elite, and they showed some of our vulnerabilities on the offensive side of the ball. If a team has a good pass rush and/or excels in man coverage, they will give us problems. Jimmy does great when he can sit in the pocket and find guys breaking open against a zone. He's not nearly as good finding guys getting open quickly against man coverage. And our players aren't as good at getting open against man coverage. Deebo has one of the biggest differences in the league in terms of his metrics against man vs. zone (incredible against zone, pretty bad against man). Aiyuk is better at it, but is also usually running somewhat slower-developing routes. And the run game continues to struggle.

The defense pitching a shutout was exciting, but I'm troubled by the performance. Lenoir doesn't have it - at least to date - and he's a huge liability. Our pass rush is solid, but we don't have a player who can win quickly with their first move. Bosa is a beast, but he's mostly a guy who works off counters and thus takes a half-second longer to get to the passer. And any QB with a pulse continues to threaten us with his legs.

When this team is right, they can run with anyone. But what are the odds of getting four games of this team being right? It's a dicey proposition. Next week is a big game. Win it and we're in great shape to win the division. Lose it, and we'll probably have to sweep the division. Our next two opponents (Miami and Tampa Bay) may be without a starting OT, so we need to really capitalize on that.

The thought of this team the way it is currently playing against Mahomes is a bit scary.

[Jikkle]

Some quick thoughts. Good to get the win, but it was ugly. The Saints actually have a pretty good, and probably underrated, defense that was getting a lot of guys back. But still, they're far from elite, and they showed some of our vulnerabilities on the offensive side of the ball. If a team has a good pass rush and/or excels in man coverage, they will give us problems. Jimmy does great when he can sit in the pocket and find guys breaking open against a zone. He's not nearly as good finding guys getting open quickly against man coverage. And our players aren't as good at getting open against man coverage. Deebo has one of the biggest differences in the league in terms of his metrics against man vs. zone (incredible against zone, pretty bad against man). Aiyuk is better at it, but is also usually running somewhat slower-developing routes. And the run game continues to struggle.

The defense pitching a shutout was exciting, but I'm troubled by the performance. Lenoir doesn't have it - at least to date - and he's a huge liability. Our pass rush is solid, but we don't have a player who can win quickly with their first move. Bosa is a beast, but he's mostly a guy who works off counters and thus takes a half-second longer to get to the passer. And any QB with a pulse continues to threaten us with his legs.

When this team is right, they can run with anyone. But what are the odds of getting four games of this team being right? It's a dicey proposition. Next week is a big game. Win it and we're in great shape to win the division. Lose it, and we'll probably have to sweep the division. Our next two opponents (Miami and Tampa Bay) may be without a starting OT, so we need to really capitalize on that.

I agree with your points. While we do struggle more against man defense, a lot of that depends on individual matchups. If we can get CMC or Kittle on a LB, they will win that matchup almost every time. And Jennings is becoming more and more comfortable in this offense. He can be an increasingly strong weapon against man coverage since he has more size and physicality than most corners. Our running backs certainly have the talent to succeed; the weak links in our O-line are what keeps our running game from doing what they are capable of. The more time that Jennings gets can also help our running game because he is like having an additional blocking TE out there from the WR position.

I assume that Lenoir must be absolutely kicking Womack's butt in practice because he certainly isn't showing it in actual games. I'd really like to see Womack get more in-game playing time; can't see him doing worse than Lenoir. And his ball-hawking skills can give him a higher ceiling than Lenoir.

So my takeaway is I think more Jennings can help us when we face man coverage in the passing game and helping out the running game. And I'd really like to see Womack take Lenoir's spot.

The struggles in man coverage are not limited to our receivers, but also our QB. Generally speaking, the crossing stuff that Jimmy is so good at are more effective against zone coverage, where you're pressuring guys to stick with one assignment or break to another, opening passing lanes. Those short crossers don't work as well against man unless you're running some picks, which we don't seem to utilize all that often. Neither Aiyuk nor Deebo excel at shaking man coverage at the line. CMC and Kittle can destroy LBs, but they're often doing it by getting open moving vertically downfield. We saw that with CMC this weekend (granted I think that was Mathieu instead of a LB). Jimmy doesn't throw those balls very well. And those routes often take longer to develop, causing problems with the OL.

You're right that Jennings excels against man coverage. It's a big part of why he's become such a threat on third down. I'd like to see our other guys show some more ability in that area.

It's why I cautioned getting overly excited about the team and Jimmy G and living in the moment.

Jimmy G has his limitations and if you shut down what he excels at he really can't just do much to overcome it. Whereas the top-flight guys can usually grind out a decent game even when a defense is playing them tough.

That's why Jimmy has never been great in the playoffs because you're seeing much better defenses and a good defense is going to take away what you're best at and force you to beat them with the things you're aren't great at.

Reality is that without some luck and a heroic effort by the defense we probably lose this game. Because if Olave's catch wasn't overturned and Karma doesn't fumble the 2nd time you probably have 2 TDs there and Saints aren't likely to go for it on fourth down deep in our territory if the game is closer.