49ERS STOMP ARIZONA 24-3

                     

                         

By                        

Scary Barry

Rodriguez

October 29, 2012

Glendale , AZ - As 23 states braced themselves against the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy , the Arizona Cardinals faced another type of storm. The San Francisco 49ers improved their record to 6-2 by slugging out a victory over the hapless Cardinals. Coming into the game there were questions about the Niner offense and its inability to score touchdowns. Fans have been groaning every time the Niner offense settles for a field goal instead of a touchdown in the red zone.

At the start of the game the 49ers played sloppy and drew three penalties . Alex Smith led the team on two first quarter drives that resulted in ten points. Michael Crabtree caught a three yard touchdown pass and David Akers booted a field goal from 43 yards out. The Arizona offense at this point was MIA. The score was 10-0 after a quarter in favor of the 49ers. The only scoring in the second quarter consisted of a 9 yard touchdown reception by Michael Crabtree , his second of the game  . This put the score at 17-0 for the Niners at the half. Arizona managed only four first downs in the first half.

The second half saw more futility on the part of the Cardinals. The Niners offense continued to run the ball and then scored again when Randy Moss caught a pass and scampered 47 yards for a touchdown. This put the game out of reach at 24-0 in favor of San Francisco. The only scoring by Arizona in the second half was on a 28 yard field goal by Jay Feely. The Niner defense totally shut down the Arizona running game , limiting them to 7 yards gained for the entire game. Cardinal QB John Skelton spent the game dodging the 49er pass rush and took some big hits. His game statistics were misleading 32/52 for 290 yards. Alex Smith went 18/19 for 232 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was one attempt short of setting a NFL passing efficiency record.

Despite the 24-3 beat down administered by the San Francisco 49ers there remains some unanswered questions. Once again the Niners committed too many penalties 10 for 80 yards. These miscues could have been fatal  against a better opponent. Sometimes the multiple running formations devised by the offensive coordinator confused his own players ! Confusion caused the use of timeouts when this happened. It seems the offense  is still a work in progress. Also the Niner offense went conservative too soon in the game !

The 49er defense live up to its hard hitting reputation. They forced many bad throws by Skelton and sacked him four times. Aldon Smith had two sacks and continues to impress. This season he is being asked to also handle pass coverages and needs work in this area. The secondary did an excellent job reducing Cardinal standout Larry Fitzgerald to a non factor in the game. Special teams also excelled again. The Niner's next game is against the improved Chicago Bears. This game will be a real test ! So hang on fans !

Note : This game is dedicated to the many people in the eastern part of the United States who are suffering from the affects of Hurricane Sandy. I pray for all of them to be safe !