49ERS TIE RAMS 24-24 !

By 

Scary Barry Rodriguez

November 12, 2012

Candlestick point , San Francisco - Coming off a long layoff , the San Francisco 49ers were down 14-0 to the St. Louis Rams after the first 13 minutes of the game ! This Niner team is still  trying to find itself . As all the other contenders are starting to implode , one would think that Sunday was a golden opportunity to nuke the Rams to improve their division standings. The Scary one equates a tie with soccer not football.

In the first quarter the Rams put together two long drives including nine first downs and 159 yards against the highly touted 49er's defensive unit. Niner fans and the team itself seemed confused. In the Second quarter Alex Smith and Michael Crabtree teamed up to put a touchdown on the board via a 14 yard pass. Then mid way through the quarter Alex Smith was taken out of the game due to a concussion. The seldom used Colin Kaepernick then played quarterback for the duration of the game. At the half the score was 14-7 in favor of St.Louis.

In the second half the Niners staged a rally. The Ram's rookie place kicker Greg Zuerlain capped off 16 play 60 yard drive with a 27 yard field goal putting St.Louis up by a score of 17-7 . This drive was kept alive by two 49er penalties, un-sportsmanlike-conduct by Dashon Goldson and roughing the passer by Ray McDonald. This was all the scoring in the third quarter.

Then in the fourth quarter Kaepernick put together a 11 play 81 yard scoring drive which culminated with him running the ball in from 7 yards out. This was one of the best performances of the season for him. The Niners then took  the game lead when they recovered a fumble and Frank Gore scored from 20 yards out to put them in  the lead for the first time in the game 21-17. Directed by QB Sam Bradford , the Rams came back and scored another touchdown putting them ahead again 24-21. Featured in this 14 play 81 yard drive was rookie punter Johnny Hekker's 19 yard completion to Lance Kendrick on fourth down. This was Hekker's second pass on a fake punt in the game. The Niner defense didn't get the message even on the second time around. Regulation time expired with the score tied 24-24. In the overtime the Rams had an opportunity to score but couldn't convert on a long field goal attempt by Zuerlain. Then the Niners had the opportunity to win the game but   David Akers missed on a 41 yard field goal attempt. Much to both team's dismay that was it ! A no decision tie !

During the day's other games , three quarterbacks were lost to injuries. With                 QB Alex Smith out can Colin Kaepernick handled the load on a regular basis if needed ? The answer is no according to the Scary one ! Coach Jim Harbaugh has been fooling around with using Colin in the Pistol formation taking advantage of his running prowess but this doesn't count for enough game experience ! The Niners need an experienced backup  quarterback. With the new NFL protocols on concussions every team has to have two experienced quarterbacks on the active game roster. The 49er brain trust should have taken this into consideration from the start of the season !

Whats up with the 49er defense ? Is Danny Amendola of the St.Louis Rams good enough to baffle the Niner seconday ! Again the 49ers hurt themselves with penalties 7 for 66 yards . The defense had some big ones. Aldon Smith continues to rumble , picking up two more sacks . Generally the Niner defense had a sub par game ! The offense has the talent to breakout but the coaching staff is dropping the ball. The game planning has to be better for the 49ers to be consistent week after week ! I realize that last season's unexpected success is a hard act to follow but this years squad has even more talent ! Sign up Jeff Garcia as a backup quarterback and get some fresh bodies to add depth to the defense !

Note : This article is dedicated to President Barack Obama's re-election ! Hopefully the Republicans and Democrats in Congress can remember that they are supposed to be working for the people not just big corporations or themselves ! Lets get past the partisan logjam and represent !

PS. Coach Harbaugh,you can always consult with Scary Barry for help in an emergency!