Maybe it had to do with how damn impressive we looked in the first two weeks and I was expecting a Week 3 letdown (but obviously, not to the level that we seemed to have it last week).
Or maybe it had to do with the Darrelle Revis injury, knowing that one half of the field that'd normally be shut down was now open for business.
Or maybe, just maybe, it had to do with the fact that what I've seen of the Vikings and what I had seen of the Jets showed me that the Vikings are simply a better team than the Jets. I can't believe I just typed that last sentence, but the Jets bring no rushing game to the table (Shonn Greene is a BumB with two capital Bs and will not be starting in the backfield when the end of the year comes) and have some guy from USC as a QB impersonator behind center.
A few folks that I read on a somewhat regular basis were projecting that Ponder would take a big step this year in his quarterback progression, but I really didn't buy into it until last week when he contributed to all three TDs en route to the double digit win against the 49ers. Ponder still has a ways to go and needs to shows consistency, but his brief flash of success thus far this season has been exactly what the Vikings needed to become a legitimate team.
Anywho, back to Week 4....
Handy Kaep
I know back in April 2011, I wrote a blog wondering if Colin Kaepernick would be the answer to our QB woes. When writing that, I believe I caught a severe case of pessimisticia that I contracted from my Dad when it comes to being a Debbie Downer about sports teams.
I had seen all of the QBs that the 49ers had trotted out there since Garcia left town, so naturally, my pessimisticia kicked in after the draft and I said I didn't think he'd be the answer.
Now, after seeing him succeed briefly in his role on Sunday (and all the rave reviews he got during training camp and preseason), I believe the 49ers may have found their replacement to Alex Smith. My friend Nick Tweeted me during the game about the Kaep appearance.
He's probably surprised at my comment mainly because my 2011 blog was a Debbie Downer piece about him and how he probably wouldn't work in the NFL. I can't be faulted for being critical of 49ers draft picks at that point since the past 6-8 years haven't produced much for them in the draft outside of Patrick Willis and Frank Gore.
I do believe Kaepernick will continue to see an expanded role in the offense, with a couple starts this year not out of the question. He threw one deep ball (was incomplete, but he definitely showed more arm strength in that one throw than Alex Smith has in his career. According to Pro Football Focus, entering this week, Smith had attempted only four throws for 20+ yards. Part of that may be by the design of Coach Harbaugh's offense. But the main part of it IMO is due to the fact that Smith just can't throw it deep.
I am a big fan of what Harbaugh has done in maximizing the skills that Smith has (his intelligence and speed) while turning the Niners into a more balanced offense. While Smith doesn't have the arm strength, he has solid options that are good possession receivers. However, that's not always going to cut it, especially when playing from behind.
Kaepernick has a chance to take the reins from Smith in the next year and develop a nice career in the Bay Area, full of playoff appearances and perhaps a Super Bowl or two.
Captain Bounceback
Week 3 was Harbaugh's fourth regular season loss as coach of the 49ers in his first 19 games. The bounceback (34-0 thumping of the Jets) was no surprise given how the team responded to the three losses in 2011:
Week 2 - Loss to Dallas 27-24; Week 3 - Beat Cincy 14-8
Week 12 - Loss to Baltimore 16-6; Week 13 - Beat StL 26-0
Week 14 - Loss to Arizona 21-19; Week 15 - Beat Pitt 20-3
Take note of the game scores to the right. After their only losses, the Niners won by an average of 20-4, allowing no touchdowns in the week following a loss (two of those teams were playoff teams in 2011, I might add). This 34-0 thumping fits in nicely to this trend and shows me that we can count on Harbaugh getting his team focused after a disappointing loss.
Next Week - vs. Buffalo.
The Niners head back home to face the Bills for the first of three straight games at Candlestick, where they've won their last nine games, (including playoffs). The Bills looked like they may stand alone at the top of the division when they were ahead 21-7 against the Patriots towards the start of the second half, but the Bills wagon derailed as the Patriots outscored them 45-7 the rest of the way en route to the relatively easy win. Fitzpatrick started out hot but ended up negating his four touchdown passes with four picks. You just can't do that against a Brady-led team
Given the fact that the Bills just got done facing their division rival and faced such an emotional 180 during the game (going up 14 to losing by four scores), I anticipate the Bills coming out really flat and get blown out in this one. Currently, the Niners are nine point favorites w/ an over/under of 44.5. I think the Niners continue mixing Kapernick into the offense and the Niners take advantage of an average QB for the second week in a row. I think the Niners will win by three scores.
Niners 31-10.
No comments:
Post a Comment