NINERS OFFENSE LOSES TO SAINTS 23-20

Vs.

Colin Kaepernick

Super Dome , NO. - The San Francisco 49ers had an opportunity against the New Orleans Saints to right the ship ! Colin Kaepernick had an opportunity to answer his many critics. Unfortunately the Niners have the same conservative offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Obviously Roman didn't take into account the vastly different defensive schemes of the Saint's new defensive coordinator for 2013 , Rob Ryan. The Niners snatched defeat from the jaws of victory , losing to New Orleans. This is the pattern for the remainder of the 2013 season!

Greg Roman

Rob Ryan

In actuality , this dismal season and this game are the result of the fateful decision of the 49er organization to replace Alex Smith with Colin Kaepernick and then before the 2013 season , not provide  reliable receivers for their playbook challenged football wunderkind. Kaepernick is too inexperienced to thrive in prime time ! The game has been over for many hours now and he still can't get the plays in on time ! Hey , its too late now Kap ! How many years can you put on a wristband ?

Alex Smith

Frank Gore

The 49ers lack of offense in the first quarter illustrates the points I have already made. The Saints defense put eight men in the box to stop the rushing attack , forcing Kaepernick to throw . The ever accomodating offensive genius Greg Roman continued to send Frank Gore straight up the middle on the few plays where a play action pass could have stymied the run stopping defense ! The stout Niner offense gave up an 11 play 97 yard drive that resulted in a New Orleans touchdown via a Brees to Josh Hill pass from 3 yards out. Even the toughest guys can't always cover for the offense !

Josh Hill

Drew Brees

In the second quarter the 49er special teams provided a scoring opportunity . Lance Moore fumbled a punt return which was recovered by the Niner's Ventrone on the Saint 11 yard line. Given a short field to work with Kaepernick hit Anquan Boldin with a bullet pass for a touchdown. This tied the score at 7-7. On the Niner's next possession Kaepernick was intercepted by Corey White. Displaying his over the top athleticism Kaepernick caught up with White forcing him to drop the ball as he was nearing the goal line for a touchdown. The ball then traveled out of the end zone for a touchback !

Anquan Boldin

Lance Moore

The Niners managed to turn this near disaster into a score as Phil Dawson hit a 55 yard field goal to put them ahead 10-7. It didn't take long for the 49er special team to return the favor. T. Cadet took the kick off and raced 82 yards to put the Saints in scoring position. Eventually Jed Collins , the New Orlean's fullback, rumbled in from 1 yard out to put the Saints ahead 14-10 at the half. In the first half , according to form, the Niner defense managed to hold the volatile offense of New Orleans to 14 points. The Niner offense was lucky to have put ten points on the board  compliments of the defense !

Corey White

Phil Dawson

In the third quarter the Niner defense tried their best to win the game. Ahmad Brooks intercepted a Brees pass deep in Saint territory. Then Kaepernick capitalized on a short field again and hit Vernon Davis on a 17 yard touchdown strike. This put San Francisco ahead 17-14. The offense of the Saints was kept in check for the duration of the quarter. With its rushing attack almost completely shut down the Niner offensive unit couldn't go anywhere !

  

T. Cadet

Jed Collins

Early in the fourth quarter Kaepernick , using a short pass attack managed to drive the 49ers down to the Saint 29 yard line. Unable to convert this field position into a touchdown the 49ers had to settle for a 29 yard Phil Dawson field goal to increase their lead to 20-14. At this point the 49ers had a chance to control the game with just one more score. This was not to be !  The experienced Drew Brees drove his team down the field enough to provide for three Garrett Hartley field goals. Showing his inexperience Kaepernick couldn't produce in crunch time even with multiple opportunities on offense.

Ahmad Brooks

Vernon Davis

Analogous to the many JFK assassination conspiracy theories , post game, the many San Francisco bay area sports talk radio shows tried ad nausem to attribute bad officiating for the 49er loss. Yes, Ahmad Brooks was called for a questionable illegal hit on Drew Brees late in the fourth quarter, which overturned a fumble recovery . The telecast commentators pointed out a non call by officials when Vernon Davis was held by a Saint defender in the end zone. The creme on the top of the coffee was the hit by Karim Osgood on a Saint punt receiver which resulted in a Fair Catch Interference call and great field position for the start of the Saint's game winning drive ! Bad Karma !

 While every other team in the NFC west is improving game by game the San Francisco 49ers are finding new ways every week to lose ! I hope Colin Kaepernick isn't going to be put in the same position as Alex Smith was in his first years. Clearly the 49er organization took a gamble and rolled the dice ! It almost paid off. Kaepernick caught lightening in a bottle and the 49ers lost in the Super Bowl to the savvy defense of the Baltimore Ravens.

Garrett Hartley

 

Karim Osgood

Alex Smith

Now the full import of the decisions made by the 49er organization in 2012 are being felt ! Coming into the 2013 season the 49ers knew that Kaepernick needed a comfort zone. Yet they didn't provide reliable experienced replacement receivers for him. He still has a limited knowledge of the 49er offensive playbook. He still doesn't have the ability to run through his progressions and hit the open receiver. He was rushed into being a starter ! Now the fans are blaming him for the dismal failure of the 49er offense. If the situation doesn't improve soon fans will start seeing him as another Alex Smith ! He could end up being the scapegoat for the poor decisions of the 49er ownership and their management team. They trashed Alex Smith and they can do it to him !

 

Note : It will not be a surprising if many other sports writers , sports radio commentators and the talking heads on television sports programs jump on my bandwagon ! The Scary one has been consistently predicting the consequences of the decisions made by the 49er organization. At the start I was a lone voice in the wilderness. Now , I'm sure , those that played it safe can jump in without fear of corporate reprisal ! Thats entertainment folks !

BarryRodriguez (c) 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Layout by Magic Merlin Paul Malolot