49ERS POUND SAINTS 31-21

      By 

   Scary
  Barry Rodriguez 

November 25, 2012

Super dome , New Orleans - The San Francisco 49ers transcended the extremely loud environment of the Super dome , 73,000 revenge minded New Orleans 's fans and spotty game officiating, to deliver another blow to the New Orleans Saint's rapidly diminishing hopes of reaching the playoffs. Some Saints fans were holding signs that read " payback " but all their team got was a smack down ! For the second straight game the Niner defense administered a brutal beat down of their game opponent.        Colin Kaepernick started at quarterback for the 49ers for his second straight game. Poor Alex Smith spent the game pacing the sidelines like a disciplined schoolboy hoping for a chance to redeem himself !

The first half of the contest started well for the Niners but degenerated into a slop fest ! After the Saints went three and out on their first offensive series San Francisco was quickly successful on offense. Colin Kapaenick directed the 49ers on a shockingly fast drive consisting of 4 plays for sixty yards . This drive featured a 40 yard pass to Mario Maningham and Kaepernick scampering untouched into the end zone from seven yards out for the game's first touchdown. It didn't take long for Drew Brees and the Saints to answer by going on a long drive which culminated with a 10 yard touchdown pass to RB David Thomas to tie the score at 7-7.

In the second quarter after the Niner defense had held the Saint's offense in check , punt returner Ted Ginn Jr. for some inexplicable reason elected to make a return instead of making a fair catch and fumbled the ball away to New Orleans. Presented with such a gift at the nineteen yard line , Brees took little time in passing to            Marcus Colston from ten yards out for New Orleans's second touchdown. This put the Saints ahead 14-7.

Then the Niner offense aided by dropped passes and a holding penalty stalled. Kaepernick was experiencing great difficulty handling changing plays and repositioning blockers due to the extremely loud noise level. There was a delay of game penalty and two time outs used. The New Orleans defensive unit didn't really have to perform just watch the Niner offensive stumble around ! Just when it appeared that Drew Brees would be able to capitalize on the 49er offensive confusion the Niner defense came to the rescue as the second quarter was coming to an end. Niner LB                 Ahmad Brooks stepped in front of a Saint receiver , intercepted a pass and rumbled 50 yards for a touchdown. Just prior to this, the hometown fans were smiling but this unexpected development left a bad taste in their mouths as the half ended at 14-14 !

San Francisco had won the game coin toss and had elected to kick so the second half started with the Niners receiving a kick off. It was apparent to the Scary one that they needed to put up some points quickly or fall prey to the Saint's offensive juggernaut. Then, directed by Kaepernick the 49ers went on a 6 play 80 yard drive which was capped off by a 6 yard pass to Frank Gore for a touchdown. This put the Niners ahead 21-14. The drive included a 45 yard pass completion to Delanie Walker , his second long catch of the game.

The Niner defense in the third quarter had more success in pressuring Drew Brees. Every Saint runner or receiver was taking hard tackles. The defense had really stepped up ! Then to the dismay of the Saint fans Drew Brees threw high to a receiver , who was then tossed high in the air by a big hit and the ball  jarred loose. The hard hitting , ball hawking safety Donte Whitner intercepted the pass and following a caravan of 49er blockers, ran 41 yards for a touchdown. The second pick six of the game for the Niner defense ! The score was 28-14 and New Orleans was in trouble. Brees managed to direct another scoring drive which culminated with a short pass to Jed Collins . This brought the Saints within one score of San Francisco 28-21. The 49ers responded by going on a long drive which used up nine minutes of the game clock , that took them into the 4th quarter. David Akers booted a 27 yard field goal to put the score at 31-21 in favor of San Francisco.

Most of the 4th quarter featured the Niner defense sacking Drew Brees. Aldon Smith, Ahmad Brooks , Patrick Willis and Justin Smith ganged up on the helpless Saint offensive line to put Brees on the artificial turf ! The Niners on offense just used game clock up. David Akers missed a 50 yard field goal attempt and had another attempt blocked. It didn't matter because the San Francisco defense was relentless. Drew Brees tried to marshall his troops for a comeback in vain. The game ended at 31 to 21 for another 49er victory.

There shouldn't be jubilation for the 49er's coaching staff. The special team unit performed poorly and could have cost the Niners the game. The offensive play calling was pedestrian. Once again the Niners drew 10 penalties for 68 yards. On offense there was confusion at times and Kaepernick had a tough time getting the signals right. Yet for all the stumbling enough went right for San Francisco to win ! The defensive unit should get the game ball. They had two interceptions for touchdowns and sacked        Drew Brees five times. They were the beat in beat down ! Colin Kaepernick's rocket arm and mobility was      important . Frank Gore used up much game clock time in the 4th quarter with his hard nosed running. It was good to see Delanie Walker get back in the offensive mix with 3 catches for 81 yards. The next game is against the St. Louis Rams. If the Niners don't clobber them the Scary one will consider them pretenders not contenders !

Note: This article is dedicated to the game television broadcasters Troy Aiken and           Joe Buck. Their complete lack of color in the commentary didn't even register on the Charismo meter ( See Scary Barry's glossary of terms ) for the game. I  rename them as Dork # 1 and Dork # 2. Fox can always call me in to replace them ! Boring can be beautiful if you work for a major sport's network ! Peace and love to all the fans !