The 49ers have opened the season at 2-1 fresh off a blowout victory over the hopeless lions 31-13. The excitement and talk of a winning season after a second consecutive year starting 2-1 was quickly washed away by losses to the saints, patriots, and eagles respectively. The 49ers, once considered fast rising contenders in the wide open NFC, allowed 31, 30, and 40 points during their current 3 game losing streak. The biggest heartbreak occurred last week when the 49ers gave up 23 points during the 4th quarter. San Francisco is allowing a staggering 27.8 points per game which ranks dead last in the NFL and the team's turnover differential is a disappointing -5.
Supposedly this was an up and coming defense led by reigning defensive rookie of the year in Patrick Willis. Willis leads the team with 44 total tackles (plus 10 assists) and has defended 5 passes. He isn't the only player on defense making a difference as free agent pickup Takeo spikes has a team leading 3 interceptions and 26 tackles of his own. Still, 2 players solid play can't make up for 9 others not doing their part. The 49ers had many attempts to put Philadelphia away but numerous times allowed Donovan mcnabb to beat them. What gives? Isn't head coach mike Nolan the supposed defensive specialist? Perhaps its time for Nolan to take away the play calling duties from defensive coordinator Greg manusky? "We collectively discuss a lot of it," Nolan said. "There’s not a whole lot of calls that I would've changed, but at the same time we look at where can we do our part to assist the players". By that statement Nolan isn’t willing to take the defense into his own hands and attempt to fix the mistakes. When asked if any changes would be implemented to the defense Nolan also said no, stating that he was just looking for the team to play better. For that to happen the 49ers need to do a better job of putting games away and not letting the other team make the big plays whenever they see fit.
Up next for the 49ers are the New York Football Giants who came off a disappointing Monday night game vs. the Browns and are looking for a rebound. Eli Manning threw 3 costly picks in the game but don’t look for him to have the same type of sluggish performance against the 49ers. The Giants still have a high powered attack and will punish the Niners dline with plenty of Brandon Jacobs. Stopping the run will be key but not the only mission during the game. Eli Manning must be pressured early and often so he can be forced into making throws and mistakes like he did against Cleveland. While the 49ers have no Shaun Rogers, they do have Patrick Willis who can shed tackles with ease and go after the qb. It’s up to the rest of the team to make room for him and Justin Smith to live up to the free agent contract he signed during the off season (a contract which he hasn’t lived up to as of now). The 49ers will stay in this game and won’t be blown out like some would expect, still this will be a very tough contest for them to win considering how the team has played the past 3 weeks.
Heading 2-5 into the Seattle game could be a sign of the end of Mike Nolan’s rocky tenure. Reports have surfaced that if the team is 2-6 entering the bye Nolan could be replaced. If those reports are true, then the next 2 weeks are considerably must win games for Nolan to stay in place. The question is just how much do the players want Nolan to stay? “Coach Nolan is a great head coach and a great guy and I like him a whole lot,’’ Frank Gore said recently. A nice guy sure, but one with a coaching record of 18-36 since arriving in 2005 and one that at times shows as if he is unable to manage a full 60 minutes of football. The next 2 weeks will prove a lot about this team, and maybe those chants of “Nolan must go” will finally come to fruition by the bye week.
