I believe the point of the article is that Tim Tebow is putting religion into your football articles.
Zuwadza
5722
So the 49ers are two games away from going a whole season without allowing a rushing touchdown. I don’t like Seattle or St. Louis’ odds, either. That’s quite an accomplishment for their defense.
nixon66
5723
Maybe we’ll get some Lynch beast mode and change that stat, but I don’t think there are enough Skittles to make that happen at all.
I’m not sure how more obvious they need to make it.
Their or any defense. It’s not an empty stat either IMO because it shows the Niners refuse to let opponents punch it in and it’s the “don’t break” part of a bend-don’t-break defense that they run.
I think a lot of it is going to depend on whether or not Patrick Willis can finally play.
On a side note I have to say I am fairly impressed with Tarvaris Jackson’s play in the latter part of the season. Pretty odd that Alex Smith, Jackson and John Skelton are all playing well when it was mostly assumed that in the NFC West only Sam Bradford was likely to be playing well.
Zuwadza
5726
Yeah, I was certainly understating the accomplishment. It’s really incredible. The whole Niners defense deserves a lot of recognition this season, allowing an average of 77 yards per game and 13.2 points per game. I don’t care how easy or tough your schedule is, that’s amazing.
Personally I think the Cardinals and the Seahawks are pretty underrated this season, especially the Cards. Both teams suffered a lot from the shortened off-season and injuries and both have come through and played some damn good games. NFC West is shaping up to be a fairly competitive division.
Sarkus
5727
I know I’m a homer, but even on national radio last night the Seahawks were being overlooked. But the game is in Seattle, they managed to beat the Bears (who admittedly suck right now) without Lynch busting out - and he still got a couple of TDs, and the Seahawks still have a faint playoff hope to play for. And don’t forget that the first game was pretty close until the TD returns by Ginn. So I expect it to be a close game.
Shadarr
5728
The key to not giving up a rushing TD, in addition to not allowing anyone to break a long run, is not letting teams get down to the 1 yard line. Even the best defense in the world has a tough time stopping you from getting one yard. The last time I can remember that happening was the Ravens, and CJ Spillman came up with a huge tackle for a loss to keep the streak going. Pittsburgh never got anywhere close.
Very close and I would not be remotely shocked if Seattle wins. Although beating the Bears is not something I’d brag about at this point in the season. They are horrible without Cutler and Forte.
Shadarr
5730
Well, they also beat the Ravens.
I would say the game will come down to two things. First, whether the Niner offense can punch it in for touchdowns. David Akers is kicking a lot of chip shot field goals the last few weeks. And second, whether the defense can stop the big play. The Ravens and Cardinals were both able to get big passing plays, mostly because of poor coverage and tackling by the safeties. Goldson had a couple missed tackles last night, but they were able to get the guy on the ground before he broke it and consequently the Steelers only managed two long field goal attempts. If they can tackle against the Seahawks, I don’t think the Seahawks will be able to methodically drive the ball down the field.
I also think the first game wasn’t really indicative of how this game will go. That was the first game of the season, after the shortened training camp, with one team having a whole new coaching staff and the other team getting a new QB. Both teams have a better idea what they’re doing now. Based on what we’ve seen recently I think it’s a game the Niners should win. However, so was the Cardinal game.
Thongsy
5731
This is a game the Niners should win, but Seattle is no pushover especially at home. So like Bill I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they lose. There is just something about Seattle at home that allows them to be able to beat virtually anybody there.
Seattle is very tough at home. I’m not sure it’s an easy call to make the Niners the favorite.
Sure, I just said I didn’t remember it, not that it wasn’t there. I remembered seeing it was a Grantland article because that’s the first thing that loaded, and then I scrolled down to the article.
Anyway, I will yield. Apparently sportswriters must infuse any article about Tebow with thoughts about religion too, and this is because Tebow somehow demands it. Fair enough. I know now.
To be fair, that’s not really a bend but don’t break defense, as those defense allow a lot of yards, but not points. The Niners don’t allow yards (5th in yards allowed) OR points…so let’s just call the defense what it is. Great.
Whoa 5th? I hadn’t seen that. They have really clamped down over the season.
And by Football Outsiders’ advanced stats, San Francisco is second overall in the league for defense, ranking 8th against the pass and first against the rush with a -32.5% DVOA (for defense, negative is better), with the #2 team at -21%. Not only that, but San Francisco ranks fourth for defensive consistency, meaning they’re that good all of the time. Yikes!
Zuwadza
5738
And yet, I still don’t view the Niners as a huge playoff threat. As a Saints fan I’m more afraid of pretty much any other playoff team in the NFC. Atlanta’s defense and offense have been ascendent in the last stretch of the season. FO has them ranked at 7th in defense and 3rd in weighted defense, which places less emphasis on games earlier in the season. If Philly makes it to the playoffs they will be a huge wildcard and I wouldn’t take any game against them for granted the way they’ve been playing with Vick back.
San Francisco’s offense is still really, really soft. They protect the ball well and Smith has been reasonably efficient, but he still can’t really make plays down the field. Even John Skelton has made longer passes. Frank Gore hasn’t been having that great a season; FO has him ranked 38th and with 252 rushes it certainly isn’t because he’s not getting enough touches.
I don’t mean to hate on the 49ers. If anything their success this season has been really fun to watch. I just don’t think much of their chances in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see what happens when inevitably face one of the higher scoring teams in the playoffs. As good as their defense is I’m not sure they can stop a team like New Orleans or Green Bay or even Atlanta. New Orleans especially has won against some of the tougher defenses in the league this season.
I think as a Saints fan you should be afraid of every team in the NFC West. We’ve already seen what Seattle can do!
I’ll point out that if GB doesn’t improve their O line and get healthy the Niners (as well as a lot of teams) can stop them easy. Also both New Orleans and Atlanta have played some pretty terrible games at times this season. Big wins over two of the worst teams in football over the last week doesn’t mean they’re going to just roll over everyone, sorry.
That said, it’s hard for me to imagine SF playing well enough to win unless they are at home, for sure, unless GB is still beat up. But they are as good as any team in the playoffs at home. They have beaten the Eagles, Giants, and Lions whether at home or away, and those are all potential playoff teams. They beat the Giants by coming out passing which Alex Smith handled just fine and they beat the Lions on a clutch 4th and goal pass by Smith. And the Niners almost beat both the Falcons and Saints last year. I am not saying I won’t surprised if they lose but I don’t think the Niners offense is “so, so soft” that it cannot compete. It was a tough enough offense to win 11 times so far this year.
