I
see the 49ers defense as a group of guys who kind of loosely hang
around with bounty-hunter guilds in the off-season. They seem a
little too tough to mingle with normal society, so they might go on a
run with Dog and his wife or just kick back and watch some NBA with
Boba Fett. To remain as fierce as they have all season long, they
probably can't allow themselves but three calendar days of soft
living. Imagine a biker gang in pads and you're somewhere near that
San Francisco D. A fearsome, lethal bunch.
They
have good scheme, but it's their fits that make them the best. On
every level, they have the prototypical 3-4 personnel that as a group
emphasize walloping everything in their way. The front three are
lead by the crazed beer-drinking coon dog, Justin Smith. This guy
plays with a speed-boat engine and just pushes linemen backward,
nothing fancy in his game. As a rookie, Smith was effective in Dick
LeBeau's scheme, but Marvin Lewis brought the 4-3 with him, and Big
Justin never played as well. Now he is back where he belongs playing
with the size and attitude of a young grizzly bear.
The
49er pass-rush is a game-changer though because of the other Smith,
rookie Aldon Smith. The outside speed-rusher is long, has good
individual moves and can track down quarterbacks out of the
pocket—like he did to Drew Brees last week. Mix Ahmad Brooks into
the picture and you have yourself a pair of large, fast pass-rushers
blazing around the edges.
If
the opposing quarterback, in this week's case Eli Manning, does get
the ball off when dropping back to pass he and his receiving corps
are face perhaps an even greater threat. Carlos Rogers has
transformed into the first-round butterfly that Washington and many
others envisioned all those years ago. His marked success in his
first year with San Francisco shows yet again how important fitting
into the right scheme is for defensive backs. Perhaps more than any
other position, veteran cornerbacks prove to be late-bloomers
with a new team. Rogers has excellent man coverage skills which is
crucial to a blitz-heavy scheme and he tackles well in run support.
He is insulated with two jaw-breaking hit-men safeties, Donte Whitner
and Dashon Goldson, who roam well with instinct and ill-intentions.
Crossing slot receivers beware: dem boys can hit!
And
finally, it wouldn't be fare to omit the interior line-backing tandem
of Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowmen. Willis is lauded with thick
gobs of praise for excellent reason. For my money, he's the best
defensive player on the planet and he is the absolute lynchpin to the
best defense in the league. Yet Bowmen is following in those exact
footsteps and has learned from the best how to emulate the best.
These men are like attack dogs against the run. Running backs might
as well be made of bacon.
The
Ravens still have their cast of pirates and the Steelers are always
gonzo enough to hurt anybody at any time, and the Texans look like
hell-on-wheels for years to come, but it's the Niners that get their
man in the end.
Yet
after all of that, I think San Francisco will lose to the New York
Giants in Sunday's NFC Championship Game. The Giants are a team
hanging ten on a tidal wave of momentum. Every phase is humming
right along and Eli knows exactly what he's doing. The G-Men may
sputter every now and then against the biker gang previously
described, but like the Saints, New York will still finds its way
into the end-zone eventually. The Giant receiving trio of Mario
Manningham, Victor Cruz, and the ever-dangerous Hakim Nicks, not to
mention the wild-card Jake Ballard at tight end, are a focused group
that have made the explosive plays for the past five or so weeks. If
NYG does get comfortable throwing, they can then open their stables and
let their horses run roughshod. Even though they are often absent from the best-offense conversation, they are a complete and balanced
unit with a knowledgeable and confident leader under center.
Since
the Giants should put up at least 20 points, San Francisco will then have
to counter with their own big plays, which is where they could
struggle. They certainly have playmakers, but how many times will
the secondary fall over itself and allow a Vernon Davis touchdown
like what happened last week? It makes the most sense to force the
inconsistent 49ers receivers to win and take away Davis by crowding
him in underneath zone coverage. New York can afford zone coverage
because the Giant pass-rush is so reliable. Jason Pierre-Paul is a
long-limbed freakazoid who might get 25 sacks in a season someday.
There are sometimes question marks about how interested he is in
football, but his stock is still soaring nonetheless. He and his
mates have the strip-sack down to a science, and Alex Smith will need
help from his Pro-Bowl studded line.
The
49ers line puzzles me a bit. I know they are absolute 18-wheelers
when run blocking but in the games I've seen, they give up a lot of
pressure and sacks to blitz-heavy teams. The Ravens got them on
Thanksgiving for nine sacks. The Saints had four, three on safety
blitzes last week. Alex Smith has shed the shitty-quarterback label for now,
but there are very few who like his odds of winning if he's
repeatedly crashed to the ground on every passing attempt. We know
SF will run the ball well, but to keep up on the scoreboard, Alex
Smith will need time to throw down field, and that is where they
lose.
Giants
24, 49ers 13
Mojokong-By Roger
Craig's Ghost!
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