The NFL Thread: 2012

[iLikeBeer]

Im loving this QB controversy in SF. I think SF and Harbaugh are making the right decision with Kaepernicus.

The NFC is so loaded offensively, I dont think SF can win a SB/get by all of GB, ATL, NYG, etc. I think gambling with Kaep is the right call. Smith has been quite good, but I think Kaep really increases their chances of a SB win, or even getting there.

What's that you said about learning to blow yourself?      

[CHIMMJFAN]

Wow, yesterday was crazy. I was so pissed about the 49ers miscommunication on defense but I knew if they just stuck with their run game and cleaned up in the second half that we could get back into the game. The Seattle game proved that Atlanta does not know how to stick the nail in the coffin when presented the opportunity.

Sidenote, I usually don't complain about flags but what the hell was Julio Jones doing all game, man you are that big and talented and you still have to push off of our DB Brown all game and somehow it is never called?

The 49ers were able to make plays when they needed to. Great game plan, as Atlanta was so focused in on stopping Kaep on the option that lanes opened up for our rb's.

Happy for players like Willis, Gore, J. Smith, Davis, and all the Niner Faithful that have endured the Erickson, Singletary and Nolan years!

CHIMMJFAN

[rincon2]

Wow, yesterday was crazy. I was so pissed about the 49ers miscommunication on defense but I knew if they just stuck with their run game and cleaned up in the second half that we could get back into the game. The Seattle game proved that Atlanta does not know how to stick the nail in the coffin when presented the opportunity.

Sidenote, I usually don't complain about flags but what the hell was Julio Jones doing all game, man you are that big and talented and you still have to push off of our DB Brown all game and somehow it is never called?

The 49ers were able to make plays when they needed to. Great game plan, as Atlanta was so focused in on stopping Kaep on the option that lanes opened up for our rb's.

Happy for players like Willis, Gore, J. Smith, Davis, and all the Niner Faithful that have endured the Erickson, Singletary and Nolan years!

CHIMMJFAN

The contrasting, and successful, styles of the past 2 SF wins should scare the shit out of Baltimore. Which team do you prepare for? The Ravens defense is going to have to be prepared for ANYTHING on any given play. When you have a quarterback who proves he can hand it off without dropping it, fake a handoff, throw lasers, and run for 50 yards because the defense is covering the other 3 possibilities, it is pretty difficult to defend against. Good thing the Ravens are traditionally known for their defense. They gonna need it.

[CHIMMJFAN]

Wow, yesterday was crazy. I was so pissed about the 49ers miscommunication on defense but I knew if they just stuck with their run game and cleaned up in the second half that we could get back into the game. The Seattle game proved that Atlanta does not know how to stick the nail in the coffin when presented the opportunity.

Sidenote, I usually don't complain about flags but what the hell was Julio Jones doing all game, man you are that big and talented and you still have to push off of our DB Brown all game and somehow it is never called?

The 49ers were able to make plays when they needed to. Great game plan, as Atlanta was so focused in on stopping Kaep on the option that lanes opened up for our rb's.

Happy for players like Willis, Gore, J. Smith, Davis, and all the Niner Faithful that have endured the Erickson, Singletary and Nolan years!

CHIMMJFAN

The contrasting, and successful, styles of the past 2 SF wins should scare the shit out of Baltimore. Which team do you prepare for? The Ravens defense is going to have to be prepared for ANYTHING on any given play. When you have a quarterback who proves he can hand it off without dropping it, fake a handoff, throw lasers, and run for 50 yards because the defense is covering the other 3 possibilities, it is pretty difficult to defend against. Good thing the Ravens are traditionally known for their defense. They gonna need it.

Yep, I agree, 49ers O-Coordinator Greg Roman usually comes up with great game plans, especially with 2 weeks of prep time. I have a feeling like this gameplan against the Ravens is going to utilize the speed of the Niners two TE'S against the Ravens linebackers.

CHIMMJFAN

[Tracy 2112]

Getting a little tired of Ray Lewis' God shtick. He's teetering on the edge of full out WWE crap and it has me leaning towards the hated 9ers (although I love Patrick Willis).

[capt. scotty]

So nothing on Ray Lewis using deer antler velvet extract he bought from a male stripper?? When I first heard it it sounded too absurd to be true but sounds like athletes do actually use it. Also heard from the same company he got menthol drenched and radio wave exposed undergarments. The shit people will try! 

[capt. scotty]

I was surprised to see the spread start at 3.5 for SF but Im even more surprised that it didnt go down and is now at 4 or 4.5

I think Im most excited for this Super Bowl more than any non-Steelers one that I can remember. Just looks like a great even matchup. 2 great OL's, 2 great DL's, 2 very good running games, 2 very good defenses (or at least BAL is playing that way recently). I think SF will have more success running the ball and that could be the difference in who wins, but the real difference between the 2 teams is Flacco and his experience (great playoffs so far but a chokejob tonight wouldnt surprise me) vs the inexperience and athleticism of Kaepernicus.

I think SF is going to win but if I were betting Id take BAL and the points.

[manonthemoon]

Pulling for the Ravens, but think the 49ers win.  I think they won't cover though and the TPs will be over 49 or whatever the line is.

[Tracy 2112]

If they played that Super Bowl 10x it would be 5-5. 2 pretty evenly matched teams and the Ravens happened to win.

[CHIMMJFAN]

The next morning I am still devastated by the 49er loss. What horrible play calling with the ball inside the ten and four downs to get it in the endzone. The 49ers were running with success and you choose 1 out of 4 downs to run the ball 7 yards out?

I'm not going to complain about good/bad calls in the game. Point blank, 49ers dug too deep a hole in the first half and then did not take advantage of their opportunity at the end of the game. Credit to the Ravens.

CHIMMJFAN

[rincon2]

In about 40 years of watching the NFL, I have never seen a player I enjoy watching as much as Colin Keapernick. What a specimen. Extraordinarily talented, with the physical make-up and brains to last. Have to admit, Russell Wilson is right up there with him but being shorter than me is clearly a disadvantage in the long run.

[capt. scotty]

The next morning I am still devastated by the 49er loss. What horrible play calling with the ball inside the ten and four downs to get it in the endzone. The 49ers were running with success and you choose 1 out of 4 downs to run the ball 7 yards out?

And the one time they did run it they didnt even give it to Gore. I realize Kendall Hunter has been hurt for awhile and was getting basically all the backup carries, but LMJames didnt have a carry until a few weeks left in the season, and really didnt see a significant amount of touches in a game until the ATL, in which he also fumbled. I wouldnt have trusted him doing anything vs an opportunistic D like BAL besides returns.

I also question not going to Davis once on those final 4 plays. He was having a great game, and Kaep strugggles in the red zone so going to VD makes a lot of sense. Its also weird how Davis has had back to back great postseasons, but they ignored him much of this regular season - only had 1 game over the last 6 weeks with more than 1 catch (2 catches), only had 1 TD from week 4 on, and had the least amount of catches, yards, and TDs since 2008. I understand they kept him in to block more in the regular season, but he's such a weapon when they go to him it just makes me scratch my head why they dont target him more.

The James fumble was big, I thought Moss gave up on that Kaep INT and possibly couldve prevented it from being one, the kickoff return for a TD essentially won the Ravens the game, but not giving Gore or Davis each a chance inside the 10 at the end I think was a major gaffe.

[CHIMMJFAN]

The next morning I am still devastated by the 49er loss. What horrible play calling with the ball inside the ten and four downs to get it in the endzone. The 49ers were running with success and you choose 1 out of 4 downs to run the ball 7 yards out?

And the one time they did run it they didnt even give it to Gore. I realize Kendall Hunter has been hurt for awhile and was getting basically all the backup carries, but LMJames didnt have a carry until a few weeks left in the season, and really didnt see a significant amount of touches in a game until the ATL, in which he also fumbled. I wouldnt have trusted him doing anything vs an opportunistic D like BAL besides returns.

I also question not going to Davis once on those final 4 plays. He was having a great game, and Kaep strugggles in the red zone so going to VD makes a lot of sense. Its also weird how Davis has had back to back great postseasons, but they ignored him much of this regular season - only had 1 game over the last 6 weeks with more than 1 catch (2 catches), only had 1 TD from week 4 on, and had the least amount of catches, yards, and TDs since 2008. I understand they kept him in to block more in the regular season, but he's such a weapon when they go to him it just makes me scratch my head why they dont target him more.

The James fumble was big, I thought Moss gave up on that Kaep INT and possibly couldve prevented it from being one, the kickoff return for a TD essentially won the Ravens the game, but not giving Gore or Davis each a chance inside the 10 at the end I think was a major gaffe.

Great thoughts!
So apparently Gore was catching his breath when they put in LMJ but why run it up the middle? This should have been pistol option. Now they did try on the next play to run Kaep to the left side behind a Gore block with one corner only to block and I think Kaep would have made it in. Problem was that the play clock went down and a timeout was called.
I'm ok with going to Crabtree but Colin needed to make the throw right away and not hesitate. Then make it a catchable ball from Crabtree on 4th down and at least get up and complain about the holding call!

Throughout the game I was just disappointed in our pass rush. J. Smith's injury really affecting himself and A. Smith. Culliver had a rough game and we just could not get Flacco down when we had the chance.

I agree that V. Davis needs to be more utilized but I think teams really hone in on him and so hopefully other guys step up. Vernon is a great blocker but I would like to see him get at least a few balls during the season, lol.

Moss could have made a much better attempt for the ball that got away from Kaep, but I guess I expected that from Moss.

LMJ's fumble was tough, he's young and I think he will help us in the future. I can't wait to see Hunter and him back there spelling Gore next year.

Contrary to some 49er fans, I am real excited to get Kyle Williams back, he is fast and this year before he was hurt he had a knack for making big 3rd down catches. Couple that with towards the end of the year getting Mannigham back!

I feel good about the team in the future, draft picks and resign Goldson,

CHIMMJFAN

[CHIMMJFAN]

In about 40 years of watching the NFL, I have never seen a player I enjoy watching as much as Colin Keapernick. What a specimen. Extraordinarily talented, with the physical make-up and brains to last. Have to admit, Russell Wilson is right up there with him but being shorter than me is clearly a disadvantage in the long run.

Yeah Colin Kapernick has been real fun to watch this year. How calm he is in big game situations is uncanny. He has such a strong arm, running ability. The scary thing is that he should only get better! And yeah Russel Wilson is a threat in the NFC West, very good young player.

CHIMMJFAN

[manonthemoon]

Definately think they should of rolled out Kaep to the wide side of the field at least one time near the endzone to give him a shot to run it in if nothing was there.

Plus I think they made a mistake by taking the time out to save the 5 yard from the delay of game.  That cost them about 30 seconds of game since the Ravens could run down the clock.

[capt. scotty]

Throughout the game I was just disappointed in our pass rush. J. Smith's injury really affecting himself and A. Smith. Culliver had a rough game and we just could not get Flacco down when we had the chance.

Justin's injury has definitely impacted Aldon's game as well since the injury happened, but SF is probably the only team with a better OL than BAL, and I think BAL might actually be a better pass blocking OL. Flacco's had a ton of time all year, just look at all the deep attempts he has time to take, and yesterday was more of the same. Im not surprised SF couldnt get consistent pressure on him.

I think both these teams are going to be dangerous for the near future, possibly longer depending on cap situations and retaining players. That said, BAL will need to really reload as it seems like theyre going to lose Lewis and Reed, Kruger is a FA but its expected they bring him back. Webb coming back will certainly help. SF I think is set up even better as basically their entire team besides Gore is entering their prime or hasnt even reached it yet. I think Gore used in a committee still will be effective for a couple more years though. Crabtree really had a breakout year and is arguably a top 20 WR, but I think getting a #2 WR better than Manningham would be big for Kaep and that offense.

[Ruckus]

Hey Chi and Scotty, I appreciate you guys' objective review of the game from two who were rooting for the Niners.

I've actually avoided most national sports news and talk radio because of how much emphasis that was placed on the final play.  However Jim Harbaugh continuing to complain about it has really gotten to me.  I've always respected him as a coach and his accomplishments in such a short period of time in college and the pros speaks for itself and has helped me to ignore just what an asshole he really is.  I just feel like he's crossed the line here and is showing such disrespect to his older brother.

As we all know, Navorro Bowman held Roddy White and it was more obvious than this call in which Crabtree ran into Smith and also extended his arm to push off to get off the press coverage.  I've watched the Super Bowl 3 times now and two plays stood out, both on Culliver, that were not called that could have led to points in the end of the 1st quarter and a TD instead of settling for a field goal in the 2nd half.  Also, on the 2nd and goal play at the end of the game, Crabtree clearly extended his arm to push off and gain separation where Kaep had rolled out right.  If it is properly called as offensive PI, it's 2nd and goal from the 15.

This is the nature of sport and while I'm OK with fans whining about it (however uninformed it may be), to hear the coach do it close to a week after the game and somehow undermining his brother's ability to enjoy it is just pathetic.

Had you guys pulled it off, I can only imagine the outrage over here about that call and power outage which proved to be a HUGE momentum shift.  In a game where your team goes down 28-6, the coach cannot be crying about one call in the game.

[Ruckus]

Oh and Culliver..really?  What a piece of shit!  I'm not even bothered by his homophobic remarks because he lacks the intellect to self censor himself.  What got to me was him taunting Sam Koch the Punter after he took the safety.  What was that?!

[manonthemoon]

My take on the whole thing was that Jim is being a cry baby, which is one reason I don't really care for him, even if he is a great coach.  Everyone gets bad calls or no calls in this case, but there was much more going into loosing that game then just that play.  Plus you don't know if they score even if its called and then the Ravens would have had plenty of time to try and get the game winning field goal.

The refs pretty much swallowed their whistles for the entire game and just let them play, kind of like the NBA during the finals.  Unless the offense is really bad then most don't get called, especially in a situation where it could affect the outcome of the game.

The one play that really shocked me that was not called was when Williams shoved the official, he should of at least got a personal foul for that or IMHO he should of been kicked out.  But then again the refs didn't want to kick a starting cb out of the game as that would have severly affected the outcome IMO, so they didn't even give it a personal foul.

The 49ers are a well built team who aren't in a bad cap situation and none of the big names are up for UFA so they should be set up well for next season.  The ravens on the other hand will be hurting as Flacco, who in all due respect earned a big pay day with his play, but isn't a true elite (IE top 5) IMO, will be wanting to break the bank.  Then with Kruger, williams, reed, Elerby all hitting the free agent market, Ray retiring, and no real cap space it could be a rough year as that is a lot of holes on the defense.

[rincon2]

My take on the whole thing was that Jim is being a cry baby, which is one reason I don't really care for him, even if he is a great coach.  Everyone gets bad calls or no calls in this case, but there was much more going into loosing that game then just that play.  Plus you don't know if they score even if its called and then the Ravens would have had plenty of time to try and get the game winning field goal.

The refs pretty much swallowed their whistles for the entire game and just let them play, kind of like the NBA during the finals.  Unless the offense is really bad then most don't get called, especially in a situation where it could affect the outcome of the game.

The one play that really shocked me that was not called was when Williams shoved the official, he should of at least got a personal foul for that or IMHO he should of been kicked out.  But then again the refs didn't want to kick a starting cb out of the game as that would have severly affected the outcome IMO, so they didn't even give it a personal foul.

The 49ers are a well built team who aren't in a bad cap situation and none of the big names are up for UFA so they should be set up well for next season.  The ravens on the other hand will be hurting as Flacco, who in all due respect earned a big pay day with his play, but isn't a true elite (IE top 5) IMO, will be wanting to break the bank.  Then with Kruger, williams, reed, Elerby all hitting the free agent market, Ray retiring, and no real cap space it could be a rough year as that is a lot of holes on the defense.

Flacco, who in all due respect earned a big pay day with his play, but isn't a true elite (IE top 5) IMO,   Not a Ravens fan, but who were the 5 QBs better this year?  You make ZERO sense with that statement.