Update: I actually didn't even notice this, but Adam Snyder was injured early in the 49ers-Ravens game, and so Chilo Rachal was already in the game for him. That's why Anthony Davis looked so bad. I'm not saying he's actually good - but it's ridiculous how much worse the entire line gets, especially on the right side, when Rachal is in. When he's in (first 3 games of season, remember, when Gore was "bad"?), the run game averages 3.1 YPC. With Snyder in, 5.1 YPC.
Also, I forgot to mention this to you - both our fullbacks were out of this game. For most teams that might not mean much, but the 49ers have relied HEAVILY on rookie Bruce Miller for pass protection this season. So in my opinion we learned very little in this game: no Adam Snyder + no Bruce Miller = 9 sacks. There you go. I agree with you, let's see what happens against the Steelers. In a home game with a full week's rest and projecting to have Miller and Snyder back, the 9ers should have no excuses if they suck again.
Losing an interior lineman doesn't explain why Terrell Suggs was going around and through Anthony Davis on a play per play basis. The full back thing makes more sense to me as you and I talked about Gore's inability to successfully "chip block" Suggs or any other outside rusher.
Overall, I agree that we learned little. Still, there's got to be some alarm about the protection. Believe me, I know firsthand from watching Romo get battered year after year. Perhaps it's as simple as one really, really bad game, or maybe it's not a great matchup for SF. Who knows...the Pittsburgh game will give us a more concrete answer.
Update: I actually didn't even notice this, but Adam Snyder was injured early in the 49ers-Ravens game, and so Chilo Rachal was already in the game for him. That's why Anthony Davis looked so bad. I'm not saying he's actually good - but it's ridiculous how much worse the entire line gets, especially on the right side, when Rachal is in. When he's in (first 3 games of season, remember, when Gore was "bad"?), the run game averages 3.1 YPC. With Snyder in, 5.1 YPC.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I forgot to mention this to you - both our fullbacks were out of this game. For most teams that might not mean much, but the 49ers have relied HEAVILY on rookie Bruce Miller for pass protection this season. So in my opinion we learned very little in this game: no Adam Snyder + no Bruce Miller = 9 sacks. There you go. I agree with you, let's see what happens against the Steelers. In a home game with a full week's rest and projecting to have Miller and Snyder back, the 9ers should have no excuses if they suck again.
Losing an interior lineman doesn't explain why Terrell Suggs was going around and through Anthony Davis on a play per play basis. The full back thing makes more sense to me as you and I talked about Gore's inability to successfully "chip block" Suggs or any other outside rusher.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I agree that we learned little. Still, there's got to be some alarm about the protection. Believe me, I know firsthand from watching Romo get battered year after year. Perhaps it's as simple as one really, really bad game, or maybe it's not a great matchup for SF. Who knows...the Pittsburgh game will give us a more concrete answer.