Week 3 Grades -- Colts at Niners

[Superman]

I'm thinking this is what Grigson and Pagano have in mind when they talk about 'building the monster.' Great game, knocked down a formidable opponent in their house, and beat them at their own game. Lots of fun to watch this one.

 

Box score 

Week 2 grades

 

Offense, B: 67 plays, 336 yards, 23 first downs (9 passing, 9 rushing, five from penalty), 5/12 on third down, 3/4 in the red zone, zero turnovers, 27 points (and another missed field goal); dominated time of possession, finally got something going in the second half

 

QB: Solid and steady performance, took what the defense gave him for most of the game, and also made some big plays and throws, into coverage, and helped the offense shake off the rust to get some points. He wasn't great when pressured, though, as I believe he was 0/8 with a scramble on nine pressures. Most of their pressure came without bringing extra defenders though, so it's not like he had a lot of chances to burn blitzes. And of course, the flip side is that he was 18/19 with no pressure, pretty much perfect. The keeper was awesome, especially if he called his own number on the spot. Kind of nondescript from the QB, but that's positive when you score 27 points. Imagine if Luck had been on fire. B-

 

Backs / receivers / tight ends: Just an awesome, awesome game. It started with DHB looking like a potentially dominant receiver, even making hands catches. Reggie caught everything that was thrown at him, and even had some nice YAC. Fleener only had a couple of catches, but he was off the field a lot because of the 3WR/2RB sets, which eventually started yielding some results. The receivers had some trouble getting open during the drought. The backs just did everything right. Richardson got himself involved, but it will be a while before he's really at workhorse status for us. Donald Brown got involved on some nice carries. But it was Bradshaw's day, and he set the tone for the offense. Ran hard, ran long, and ran well, finally getting the payoff on the last touchdown, and you could tell he wanted it from the way he tried to dive in from the five yard line on the previous possession. AB's performance basically said "I'm a lead back, not a bench warmer," and I think we might have one of the best RB tandems in the league. B+

 

OL / blocking: Tough, hard fought game for the line, against a really good defensive front, and they took the Niners' best punch and then returned in kind. Great effort. I've been expecting the line play to gradually get better, but I'm surprised that they played so well with essentially three replacements along the interior. Some missed assignments, some matchup losses (mostly from Linkenbach, back at his favorite position, RG), but this was a solid performance. Best of the year, easily, from the line. McGlynn looks better at center, and that's a good thing. Allowed some pressures on the quarterback, but not a whole lot. The run blocking wasn't dominant, but again, very few bad run plays. Only two for a loss (-2 and -1, respectively), and three for no gain. Lots of short gains, but those started turning into 4 and 5 yarders, and then we broke a couple for 11 and 15 and finally Bradshaw popped out for 27. Just a winning performance, bell to bell. B

 

Defense, B: 53 plays, 254 yards, 14 first downs!!! (8 passing, 6 rushing, zero from penalty), 3/12 on third down, 1/1 on fourth down, 1/1 in the red zone, two turnovers, 7 points

 

Defensive front: I think we got saved by a questionable gameplan from the Niners. It seems they want to prove that Kaepernick can handle a pro style offense and carry the team with his arm, and whether that's true or not remains to be seen. But rather than sticking with the run, they decided to throw it. Our pass rush was solid, and we kept Kaepernick contained on his scrambles, but Gore averaged 7.5 yards/carry. We were sloppy on some off tackle runs, letting their backs get outside. Most of what they tried up the middle was shut down, which has been the pattern through three games now. We pursued and chased well, showed a lot of effort, got to the ball quickly and tackled pretty well. We moved Kaepernick off his spot, but struggled to get home and bring him down. The one read option play they tried got swallowed up for a five yard loss, but I can't understand why they didn't use this early and often, considered how sloppy we were at defending the Raiders read option stuff two weeks ago. This was a nice performance, but again, I think we got off easy. B-

 

Pass defense: I'm not complaining that they were trying to throw the ball, because it allowed the secondary a great chance to flex their muscles. Just going to point out here though that the Niners were without their two best receivers (Crabtree and Davis), and Kaepernick hasn't seemed comfortable in two weeks. But the secondary and the linebackers were just draped all over their receivers, no matter how they moved them around and positioned them before the snap. No room, even when Kaepernick extended plays with his legs. They played fast and aggressive, and hit hard, but were also disciplined (zero penalties, no big plays). A couple of mistakes in coverage -- no surprise there, it happens to everyone. Boldin can make plays, but he's an intermediate receiver, not a burner, and so athletic corners can keep him contained. And that's what we did. Delano Howell was active and strong. Again pointing out the folly of not sticking with the run game, the Niners had an adjusted average of 5 yards/pass attempt. Nice game. B+

 

Special teams, B: AV's miss is irritating, but at least the leg is still there. It's curious to me that both of his misses were just to the left. McAfee did a great job hanging the ball in the air and dropping them inside the 10. Coverage was mostly good, except for the one punt return, which was close to being a six point disaster. 

 

Coaching / playcalling, B:

Seemed purposefully conservative on offense, which luxury we had due to the good performance of the defense. The formations and personnel packages were good to see, and while it's kind of annoying to keep seeing the unbalanced line stuff, we had a chance to break to trend on the bootleg. I liked some of the passing concepts, especially the angle route for Bradshaw. I'd like to see a few more downfield opportunities. But we finally put some points up in the second half. B

 

On defense, before I get too excited with the results, I want to see the defense get stress tested. I don't know about the run fits, but the secondary play was better. The blitzes were more effective, and the pressure kept Kaepernick uncomfortable. We used Moala as a joker, which was interesting, but having a 6'4" lineman standing upright in the middle of the field seemed to throw off passing angles, so good work. B+

 

Game management was routine, no real big decisions. Could have been a little more aggressive earlier on. The math says you go for 2 when it's 19-7, because you already have a 2 touchdown lead either way. But if you get 2, you're safe from a defensive meltdown. The defense rendered this decision moot, but I think going for 2 is the move there. B

 

Game ball, offense: Ahmad Bradshaw. He lifted his teammates up, and Castonzo confirmed that with his comments today. Very happy for him.

 

Game ball, defense: Jerrell Freeman. I think we all like Freeman, but through last year, he was just a nice find by Grigson who was serviceable as an inside backer. This year, he's looked like a pure playmaker. He thumped, he got to the QB again, and he blew up the read option for a loss. Great game for Freeman.

 

Next week, @ Jacksonville. Last time we went down there, we rolled them. If our secondary can play like they did this week, we might get a shutout. 

[Nobody]

Shoot, you are a tough grader... What do we have to do to get an A somewhere?

[Superman]

Shoot, you are a tough grader... What do we have to do to get an A somewhere?

 

Like where? What unit(s) do you think deserved an A? Why? 

[MR. Blueblood]

Like where? What unit(s) do you think deserved an A? Why? 

How about some love for the D, which for the exception of one drive shut down the 9ers offense.  And special teams deserves an A, IMO, also.  With the exception of the long missed FG, they gave SF awful field position all game long.  What KRs the 9ers tried to run they were tackled almost immediately.

 

I just find it hard to believe that this team plays a nearly flawless game on the road against a team that nobody outside of this fan base gave them a snowball's chance of winning, and they don't get a single A.  C'mon man!

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

Like where? What unit(s) do you think deserved an A? Why? 

can there be a separate unit for "Punter" and "Heat hustle and Muscle Bradshaw". McAfee always deserves an A, and I think Bradshaw just flat out embarrassed such a "powerhouse" d. But i love your grades, they're as conservative as Pep's game-calling . 

[Superman]

How about some love for the D, which for the exception of one drive shut down the 9ers offense.  And special teams deserves an A, IMO, also.  With the exception of the long missed FG, they gave SF awful field position all game long.  What KRs the 9ers tried to run they were tackled almost immediately.

 

I just find it hard to believe that this team plays a nearly flawless game on the road against a team that nobody outside of this fan base gave them a snowball's chance of winning, and they don't get a single A.  C'mon man!

 

I think the secondary played great, but I was saving the A for the game where they force a bunch of turnovers (hopefully next week at Jacksonville). It's still early.

 

I don't think the run defense was all that great, personally. I think the Niners stopped running it, but before that, we were having trouble stopping them.

 

I marked special teams down twice, once for the missed field goal, once for the 14 yard punt return. Maybe that's harsh, but they weren't perfect.

 

I love how we played, but I don't think the performance was anywhere near flawless. I think there are a ton of things that we didn't do all that well. I'm not trying to be a perfectionist, but I try to grade based on effort and execution, not just results.

 

Last thing, there's nothing gospel about my grades. It's just one fan's opinion. I'd love to see everyone else's grades, as a matter of fact.

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

I think the secondary played great, but I was saving the A for the game where they force a bunch of turnovers (hopefully next week at Jacksonville). It's still early.

 

I don't think the run defense was all that great, personally. I think the Niners stopped running it, but before that, we were having trouble stopping them.

 

I marked special teams down twice, once for the missed field goal, once for the 14 yard punt return. Maybe that's harsh, but they weren't perfect.

 

I love how we played, but I don't think the performance was anywhere near flawless. I think there are a ton of things that we didn't do all that well. I'm not trying to be a perfectionist, but I try to grade based on effort and execution, not just results.

 

Last thing, there's nothing gospel about my grades. It's just one fan's opinion. I'd love to see everyone else's grades, as a matter of fact.

I agree the run d was suspect anywhere but the middle. DId they only run like 10 times at most the rest of the game or is it just me?

[OffensivelyPC]

You missed completely on special teams.  Nothing to downgrade but a missed 51 yard field goal which is tough to criticize no matter who your kicker is.

 

Second half adjustments were something to behold.  Take away the 2nd drive and garbage time (last drive, which ended in an interception by the way...) and 49ers gained 110 yards in 9 drives - 8 if you take away the 49er possession at the end of the first half.

 

Still think you grade too hard.  But appreciate the insight nonetheless.  Coaching and Special Teams should have been in the A range.  Everything else is at least close.

[Superman]

You missed completely on special teams.  Nothing to downgrade but a missed 51 yard field goal which is tough to criticize no matter who your kicker is.

 

Second half adjustments were something to behold.  Take away the 2nd drive and garbage time (last drive, which ended in an interception by the way...) and 49ers gained 110 yards in 9 drives - 8 if you take away the 49er possession at the end of the first half.

 

Still think you grade too hard.  But appreciate the insight nonetheless.  Coaching and Special Teams should have been in the A range.  Everything else is at least close.

 

I'm not ready to cut AV because of the miss, but I do think we expect him to make those. It's not easy, but it's his job, and we know he has the leg for it. And leaving three points on the field is a big deal.

 

There was also the punt return that was almost a disaster.

 

But I agree that the special teams grade was a bit harsh. The pins by McAfee and the kickoff coverage were fantastic. 

[Superman]

I agree the run d was suspect anywhere but the middle. DId they only run like 10 times at most the rest of the game or is it just me?

 

It's not just you. They had several possessions where they didn't run the ball at all, then punted. To me, that's really bad coaching by the Niners. It's not like we shut the run down and forced them to throw. It was actually the other way around, and they just didn't want to run the ball.

[OffensivelyPC]

I'm not ready to cut AV because of the miss, but I do think we expect him to make those. It's not easy, but it's his job, and we know he has the leg for it. And leaving three points on the field is a big deal.

 

There was also the punt return that was almost a disaster.

 

But I agree that the special teams grade was a bit harsh. The pins by McAfee and the kickoff coverage were fantastic. 

Fair enoguh.  I guess I just choose not to dock a facet of the game based one what could have happened.  The "almost disaster" was still just that...almost.  It wasn't a disaster and we did make the stop.  Just my 2 cents. 

[krunk]

This was another game that proved to me once again that we are better than last year.  We could have never won a game like that last year against an elite team. We could barely do it against Detroit, let alone anyone top level last year.

[Nobody]

I think the secondary played great, but I was saving the A for the game where they force a bunch of turnovers (hopefully next week at Jacksonville). It's still early.

I don't think the run defense was all that great, personally. I think the Niners stopped running it, but before that, we were having trouble stopping them.

I marked special teams down twice, once for the missed field goal, once for the 14 yard punt return. Maybe that's harsh, but they weren't perfect.

I love how we played, but I don't think the performance was anywhere near flawless. I think there are a ton of things that we didn't do all that well. I'm not trying to be a perfectionist, but I try to grade based on effort and execution, not just results.

Last thing, there's nothing gospel about my grades. It's just one fan's opinion. I'd love to see everyone else's grades, as a matter of fact.

A+ is perfect. I think ST should at least get an A- or A, as well as the secondary.

[OffensivelyPC]

I think the secondary played great, but I was saving the A for the game where they force a bunch of turnovers (hopefully next week at Jacksonville). It's still early.

 

I don't think the run defense was all that great, personally. I think the Niners stopped running it, but before that, we were having trouble stopping them.

 

I marked special teams down twice, once for the missed field goal, once for the 14 yard punt return. Maybe that's harsh, but they weren't perfect.

 

I love how we played, but I don't think the performance was anywhere near flawless. I think there are a ton of things that we didn't do all that well. I'm not trying to be a perfectionist, but I try to grade based on effort and execution, not just results.

 

Last thing, there's nothing gospel about my grades. It's just one fan's opinion. I'd love to see everyone else's grades, as a matter of fact.

I have little disagreement with most of your grades...so I really don't see the need to put m own grades when I agree with you for the most part.  My own probably wouldn't have been dissimilar give or take a plus or minus in either direction .  Just giving my input on the grades I truly think were off.  Again, I appreciate you taking the time to watch and analyze.  Just adding to the post on what I find to be off the mark.  I'm not arguing for the sake of argument, even if it seems like I am.  It's not my intent.

[Danfish98]

My grades are as follows:

 

Offense B:  Still looking for consistency for 60 minutes but came much closer yesterday.

 

QB C:  C is average and that's all Luck needed to be.  Great game manager, didn't force things, looked great with time and pretty awful when pressured.  

 

RB/TE/WR A:  Anything that includes grading the RBs today is going to get an A.  Bradshaw was in beast mode today and proved he deserves to split carries with Richardson.  Solid day from DHB and Reggie was Reggie.  Think TY's groin was bothering him as he was pretty invisible.

 

Oline B:  A+ in run blocking, C- in pass blocking.  We need a couple more guys before we'll be a good pass blocking team but they're proving to be one of the best run blocking lines in the NFL.  Convenient given our newfound commitment to the run!

 

Defense B:  F in the first quarter, A's for the last 3 quarters.  That averages out to a 3.0 GPA, exactly a B.

 

Defensive front B:  Didn't contain Gore on the scoring drive at all but got good pressure on Kaepernick when the 49ers forgot Gore existed for the rest of the game.

 

Secondary A:  They should have dominated against a 49er team that is severely hurting at WR.  Boldin caught a few for minimal gain and everyone else was completely shut down.  Made Kaepernick look the way I expected Pryor to look in week 1.  I've been especially hard on Toler the first 2 weeks and he was rock solid.  Very happy to see aggressive coverage all game, that must continue.

 

Special teams A-:  AV missed a tough one into the wind, otherwise nearly flawless.  We have the best luck with awesome punters.  Never thought we'd top Hunter the Punter but McAfee may be my favorite Colt.  Seeing kickoff coverage pin the other team inside the 20 is quite odd for a Colts fan but awesome.

 

Coaching A:  Committed to the run and stuck with it until the 49ers were worn out.  Stark comparison to their opponent who had lots of success running early and abandoned it.  Props to Manusky for dialing up the pressure finally.  That's the kind of defense I expected to see and I hope it continues. 

[Superman]

I have little disagreement with most of your grades...so I really don't see the need to put m own grades when I agree with you for the most part.  My own probably wouldn't have been dissimilar give or take a plus or minus in either direction .  Just giving my input on the grades I truly think were off.  Again, I appreciate you taking the time to watch and analyze.  Just adding to the post on what I find to be off the mark.  I'm not arguing for the sake of argument, even if it seems like I am.  It's not my intent.

 

Dissent doesn't bother me. I post my grades to share my viewpoint, and I hope it generates discussion. I appreciate your feedback.

[OffensivelyPC]

Dissent doesn't bother me. I post my grades to share my viewpoint, and I hope it generates discussion. I appreciate your feedback.

Grades aside...love the win above all...that much I believe we can agree on.  Go Colts!

[Carlos Danger]

Great Post! I agree with all of your grades and justifications for them, except that I would give the Secondary an A-... Sure you should save the A+ for the game that they get a bunch of turnovers, but its hard to expect more than what we got from them... they were all over the SF Receivers on every play... and Howell saved us all from future heart attacks about Landry's health.

 

Other than that, I agree on all points... It was a great team win against a very good opponent, but an A grade should be reserved for greatness. Lets see what our Offense does against Seattle and how our defense plays against Denver... If we can hold Denver to the offensive numbers that the Niners had yesterday, then we will really have something to brag about..

[dw49]

I'm thinking this is what Grigson and Pagano have in mind when they talk about 'building the monster.' Great game, knocked down a formidable opponent in their house, and beat them at their own game. Lots of fun to watch this one.

 

Box score 

Week 2 grades

 

Offense, B: 67 plays, 336 yards, 23 first downs (9 passing, 9 rushing, five from penalty), 5/12 on third down, 3/4 in the red zone, zero turnovers, 27 points (and another missed field goal); dominated time of possession, finally got something going in the second half

 

QB: Solid and steady performance, took what the defense gave him for most of the game, and also made some big plays and throws, into coverage, and helped the offense shake off the rust to get some points. He wasn't great when pressured, though, as I believe he was 0/8 with a scramble on nine pressures. Most of their pressure came without bringing extra defenders though, so it's not like he had a lot of chances to burn blitzes. And of course, the flip side is that he was 18/19 with no pressure, pretty much perfect. The keeper was awesome, especially if he called his own number on the spot. Kind of nondescript from the QB, but that's positive when you score 27 points. Imagine if Luck had been on fire. B-

 

Backs / receivers / tight ends: Just an awesome, awesome game. It started with DHB looking like a potentially dominant receiver, even making hands catches. Reggie caught everything that was thrown at him, and even had some nice YAC. Fleener only had a couple of catches, but he was off the field a lot because of the 3WR/2RB sets, which eventually started yielding some results. The receivers had some trouble getting open during the drought. The backs just did everything right. Richardson got himself involved, but it will be a while before he's really at workhorse status for us. Donald Brown got involved on some nice carries. But it was Bradshaw's day, and he set the tone for the offense. Ran hard, ran long, and ran well, finally getting the payoff on the last touchdown, and you could tell he wanted it from the way he tried to dive in from the five yard line on the previous possession. AB's performance basically said "I'm a lead back, not a bench warmer," and I think we might have one of the best RB tandems in the league. B+

 

OL / blocking: Tough, hard fought game for the line, against a really good defensive front, and they took the Niners' best punch and then returned in kind. Great effort. I've been expecting the line play to gradually get better, but I'm surprised that they played so well with essentially three replacements along the interior. Some missed assignments, some matchup losses (mostly from Linkenbach, back at his favorite position, RG), but this was a solid performance. Best of the year, easily, from the line. McGlynn looks better at center, and that's a good thing. Allowed some pressures on the quarterback, but not a whole lot. The run blocking wasn't dominant, but again, very few bad run plays. Only two for a loss (-2 and -1, respectively), and three for no gain. Lots of short gains, but those started turning into 4 and 5 yarders, and then we broke a couple for 11 and 15 and finally Bradshaw popped out for 27. Just a winning performance, bell to bell. B

 

Defense, B: 53 plays, 254 yards, 14 first downs!!! (8 passing, 6 rushing, zero from penalty), 3/12 on third down, 1/1 on fourth down, 1/1 in the red zone, two turnovers, 7 points

 

Defensive front: I think we got saved by a questionable gameplan from the Niners. It seems they want to prove that Kaepernick can handle a pro style offense and carry the team with his arm, and whether that's true or not remains to be seen. But rather than sticking with the run, they decided to throw it. Our pass rush was solid, and we kept Kaepernick contained on his scrambles, but Gore averaged 7.5 yards/carry. We were sloppy on some off tackle runs, letting their backs get outside. Most of what they tried up the middle was shut down, which has been the pattern through three games now. We pursued and chased well, showed a lot of effort, got to the ball quickly and tackled pretty well. We moved Kaepernick off his spot, but struggled to get home and bring him down. The one read option play they tried got swallowed up for a five yard loss, but I can't understand why they didn't use this early and often, considered how sloppy we were at defending the Raiders read option stuff two weeks ago. This was a nice performance, but again, I think we got off easy. B-

 

Pass defense: I'm not complaining that they were trying to throw the ball, because it allowed the secondary a great chance to flex their muscles. Just going to point out here though that the Niners were without their two best receivers (Crabtree and Davis), and Kaepernick hasn't seemed comfortable in two weeks. But the secondary and the linebackers were just draped all over their receivers, no matter how they moved them around and positioned them before the snap. No room, even when Kaepernick extended plays with his legs. They played fast and aggressive, and hit hard, but were also disciplined (zero penalties, no big plays). A couple of mistakes in coverage -- no surprise there, it happens to everyone. Boldin can make plays, but he's an intermediate receiver, not a burner, and so athletic corners can keep him contained. And that's what we did. Delano Howell was active and strong. Again pointing out the folly of not sticking with the run game, the Niners had an adjusted average of 5 yards/pass attempt. Nice game. B+

 

Special teams, B: AV's miss is irritating, but at least the leg is still there. It's curious to me that both of his misses were just to the left. McAfee did a great job hanging the ball in the air and dropping them inside the 10. Coverage was mostly good, except for the one punt return, which was close to being a six point disaster. 

 

Coaching / playcalling, B:

Seemed purposefully conservative on offense, which luxury we had due to the good performance of the defense. The formations and personnel packages were good to see, and while it's kind of annoying to keep seeing the unbalanced line stuff, we had a chance to break to trend on the bootleg. I liked some of the passing concepts, especially the angle route for Bradshaw. I'd like to see a few more downfield opportunities. But we finally put some points up in the second half. B

 

On defense, before I get too excited with the results, I want to see the defense get stress tested. I don't know about the run fits, but the secondary play was better. The blitzes were more effective, and the pressure kept Kaepernick uncomfortable. We used Moala as a joker, which was interesting, but having a 6'4" lineman standing upright in the middle of the field seemed to throw off passing angles, so good work. B+

 

Game management was routine, no real big decisions. Could have been a little more aggressive earlier on. The math says you go for 2 when it's 19-7, because you already have a 2 touchdown lead either way. But if you get 2, you're safe from a defensive meltdown. The defense rendered this decision moot, but I think going for 2 is the move there. B

 

Game ball, offense: Ahmad Bradshaw. He lifted his teammates up, and Castonzo confirmed that with his comments today. Very happy for him.

 

Game ball, defense: Jerrell Freeman. I think we all like Freeman, but through last year, he was just a nice find by Grigson who was serviceable as an inside backer. This year, he's looked like a pure playmaker. He thumped, he got to the QB again, and he blew up the read option for a loss. Great game for Freeman.

 

Next week, @ Jacksonville. Last time we went down there, we rolled them. If our secondary can play like they did this week, we might get a shutout. 

 

 

OK... I thought the DB's should get an A . When you blanket the opponents WR's for the entire game mostly one on one. That's an A.

 

B- is really tough on Luck. I think 4 of those incomplete's were dump offs to Richardson . They hardly know each other , so neither guy should get fault from that. It's tough to know without being at the game , but on some of those "pressures" , I don't think anyone was open. Poor Andrew , he gets criticized when he keeps a bad play going and points off if he gets rid of the ball. Anyway if I remember correctly , the TV replays showed a lot of plays where there was no separation. B+ for me.

[T Y Goodbye]

I have to disagree on the O-Line grade. What you failed to mention is that the O-Line was makeshift, played together for the first time, McGlynn at center, a rookie at guard, and they looked like a well-oiled machine, especially with the run blocking, against, what is arguably a top 5 defense, and, up until the game, a legitimate Super Bowl contender. I would agree with your grade, had it been our normal line, but, you have to factor in what they accomplished, you have to give the O-Line an A...No O-Line is perfect, there are going to be missed assignments, and bad plays..but to accomplish what they did, the way they did it, and how they did it, there is no doubt they deserved, for this game at least, an A..They dominated the Defense the entire game...what else do you people want?..They opened huge holes, no penalties, and literally beat the holy bejeezus out of a top Defense...They controlled the line, they controlled the clock, they did a very good job on protecting Luck..."well..um..Luck got sacked one time..the really need to improve..." uh..on this one play, this guy didn't do this, etc etc..that's all bull...for the entire game they played awesome and deserve more kudo's than i have seen given out..

 

I don't know what else you can want out of a group that was just thrown together at the last minute..you all need to stop being so critical, and nit-picking every little thing..This was an awesome performance, not only the whole O-Line, but with everyone...This was as close to a perfect game as anyone could play, in a hostile environment, against one of the top teams in the league...But, I guess some people will never be happy...

[colts1993]

This was another game that proved to me once again that we are better than last year. We could have never won a game like that last year against an elite team. We could barely do it against Detroit, let alone anyone top level last year.

We beat the packers last year and they were considered elite

[Gavin]

We beat the packers last year and they were considered elite

True but that was at home, not to dismiss the GB win  but we won at Candle Stick in a convincing fashion during that stadiums final year before it is demolished to a team thats pretty good when there coaching staff has there heads screwed on tight (why they went away from the read option almost completely I have no clue)

[Warhorse]

We were suppose to get rolled.

 

A

A

A

A

A

A

 

Game balls to Mathis, Bradshaw, McGlynn, the D, and Patty.

[Superman]

I have to disagree on the O-Line grade. What you failed to mention is that the O-Line was makeshift, played together for the first time, McGlynn at center, a rookie at guard, and they looked like a well-oiled machine, especially with the run blocking, against, what is arguably a top 5 defense, and, up until the game, a legitimate Super Bowl contender. I would agree with your grade, had it been our normal line, but, you have to factor in what they accomplished, you have to give the O-Line an A...No O-Line is perfect, there are going to be missed assignments, and bad plays..but to accomplish what they did, the way they did it, and how they did it, there is no doubt they deserved, for this game at least, an A..They dominated the Defense the entire game...what else do you people want?..They opened huge holes, no penalties, and literally beat the holy bejeezus out of a top Defense...They controlled the line, they controlled the clock, they did a very good job on protecting Luck..."well..um..Luck got sacked one time..the really need to improve..." uh..on this one play, this guy didn't do this, etc etc..that's all bull...for the entire game they played awesome and deserve more kudo's than i have seen given out..

I don't know what else you can want out of a group that was just thrown together at the last minute..you all need to stop being so critical, and nit-picking every little thing..This was an awesome performance, not only the whole O-Line, but with everyone...This was as close to a perfect game as anyone could play, in a hostile environment, against one of the top teams in the league...But, I guess some people will never be happy...

Holy... it's grades. There's plenty of praise and celebration from me and others throughout the board. But despite how happy I am with the way we played, the game wasn't perfect.

There's being critical, and then there's being observant. I can point out what I think we can improve on and still be happy. I don't understand the beef.

[T Y Goodbye]

Holy... it's grades. There's plenty of praise and celebration from me and others throughout the board. But despite how happy I am with the way we played, the game wasn't perfect.

There's being critical, and then there's being observant. I can point out what I think we can improve on and still be happy. I don't understand the beef

 

 

There's no beef, I just don't see how anyone can criticize the performance. Let's put it in this perspective. Name one game...ANY game ever played, where the team was "PERFECT" There have been perfect passer ratings, but their total performance was not "perfect" There have been players that caught all the balls thrown their way, but did they mis-run a route and it wasn't thrown to them...i can go on and on...

 

What I wrote in my post, was that if this were our normal line..I would agree with you...

 

What I disagreed upon is that this line was thrown together at the very last minute, with replacements, a rookie, and switching players from normal positions. How can you not say their performance was nothing less than spectacular..nothing less than an A. The O-Line far exceeded ANYONE'S expectations, opened holes, protected Luck very well, considering they were playing against one of the top defensive teams in the league, on their home field. The question is...what more do we want from this rag-tag group of linemen, that everyone bashes, saying dump this guy and dump this guy, yet they turn out a performance like this one? The line was dominant the entire game..We ran the ball down their throats..We won by 20 points as 10 point underdogs..We beat up one of the best defenses, ESPECIALLY against the run, with a thrown together O-Line..

 

You and everyone else are entitled to their thoughts, and opinions, and again, I hold no beef against you, or anyone else for what they believe, as you thought I had with you..I just disagreed with your assessment, and asked..what more do you want out of a team? There are always going to be mistakes, going to be times where someone messes up, and times where you are just outplayed on a play or two...The line went above and beyond what anyone thought possible before the game started.

 

To me..its an A performance, in a difficult scenario, against one of the best defenses, away from home...this is a no-brainer..

[Coffeedrinker]

_{Thanks Superman.  The thing I look forward to most during football season, outside of the game itself, if your weekly grades.  Excellent job and thanks for the time and effort you put into it.  Sometimes I disagree with some of your points but I think you are spot on this week.} 

[Dustin]

I agree with most of your grades.

 

There's no need to give out 'A's all willy-nilly.

[SteelCityColt]

Good stuff as always Superman, appreciate the time you take to do these every week. Don't 100% agree with all but it's certainly there or there about with what I saw IMO during the game. Only thing I'd change is the O line to a B+/A- to reflect as some have said playing away with a make shift line against a strong D but that's splitting hairs. 

[bavanlan]

I think the secondary played great, but I was saving the A for the game where they force a bunch of turnovers (hopefully next week at Jacksonville). It's still early.

 

I'm not sure that's fair.  That's like holding Darrelle Revis accountable for low INT numbers when the reason he has low INT's is because his coverage is so good teams aren't throwing his way at all.

[Superman]

There's no beef, I just don't see how anyone can criticize the performance. Let's put it in this perspective. Name one game...ANY game ever played, where the team was "PERFECT" There have been perfect passer ratings, but their total performance was not "perfect" There have been players that caught all the balls thrown their way, but did they mis-run a route and it wasn't thrown to them...i can go on and on...

 

What I wrote in my post, was that if this were our normal line..I would agree with you...

 

What I disagreed upon is that this line was thrown together at the very last minute, with replacements, a rookie, and switching players from normal positions. How can you not say their performance was nothing less than spectacular..nothing less than an A. The O-Line far exceeded ANYONE'S expectations, opened holes, protected Luck very well, considering they were playing against one of the top defensive teams in the league, on their home field. The question is...what more do we want from this rag-tag group of linemen, that everyone bashes, saying dump this guy and dump this guy, yet they turn out a performance like this one? The line was dominant the entire game..We ran the ball down their throats..We won by 20 points as 10 point underdogs..We beat up one of the best defenses, ESPECIALLY against the run, with a thrown together O-Line..

 

You and everyone else are entitled to their thoughts, and opinions, and again, I hold no beef against you, or anyone else for what they believe, as you thought I had with you..I just disagreed with your assessment, and asked..what more do you want out of a team? There are always going to be mistakes, going to be times where someone messes up, and times where you are just outplayed on a play or two...The line went above and beyond what anyone thought possible before the game started.

 

To me..its an A performance, in a difficult scenario, against one of the best defenses, away from home...this is a no-brainer..

 

I hear you, and I understand what you're saying. If you disagree with me, that's fine. But what annoys me is the idea that I'm complaining or unhappy about the performance because I'm not as enthusiastic about a particular aspect of the game as you are. I'm not nitpicking; I set out to grade the team, unit by unit, and after observation, that's what I came up with.

 

The offensive line deserves a ton of credit, and I mentioned that they turned in the best line performance of the year, with three fill-ins on the interior. But they weren't great. I disagree with the bolded above; I don't think they were dominant all game long. I think they fought hard all game long, and they didn't really get beat all game long (as a unit; there were some missed assignments here and there). But for much of the first half, there was little room to run the ball, and there were a few pressures on the quarterback. 

 

As the game went on, the line play got even better. More credit to them. This was a lunch pail kind of performance, where the line's grit and determination just won out over the course of the game. Again, I loved it. But grading it, I think there are a couple of areas on a few drives where the line was having a tough go of it.

 

Like I said, I'm not being a Debbie Downer. Not complaining, not nitpicking. I'm not trolling the board because I want attention, and the best way to do that is to be contrarian. I'm just saying what I thought about the way they played. It was definitely an A level effort from the line. I just didn't think it was an A level performance.

[Superman]

I'm not sure that's fair.  That's like holding Darrelle Revis accountable for low INT numbers when the reason he has low INT's is because his coverage is so good teams aren't throwing his way at all.

 

Not really. If I'm grading Revis, I'm basing it on his play, not his interceptions.

 

Thing about the Niners game is that they were without their best receivers, and Kaepernick has looked lost the past two weeks. I didn't think our defense really got tested. We blanketed receivers,but we didn't force any turnovers, and there were a couple of coverage mistakes and missed tackles. I think B+ is a really strong grade, actually. It's the best grade I handed out...

[Coffeedrinker]

Not really. If I'm grading Revis, I'm basing it on his play, not his interceptions.

 

Thing about the Niners game is that they were without their best receivers, and Kaepernick has looked lost the past two weeks. I didn't think our defense really got tested. We blanketed receivers,but we didn't force any turnovers, and there were a couple of coverage mistakes and missed tackles. I think B+ is a really strong grade, actually. It's the best grade I handed out...

I don't think many people have taken the bolded part into consideration.  Boldin is an excellent receiver but he can't stretch the field and the 49ers lacked anyone that could challange deep and that really helped the D.  Before the usual suspects jump all over me, I'm not taking anything away from the Colts D, they did an excellent job but they were not playing the team that played in the SB last year.

 

On the flip side of that as well, the 49ers were without their starting NT... the guy who is good enough that he made two players (both Colt starters) expendable. 

 

It was a good win and when you pay attention to individual performances like AC, Thornton, McGlynn, CG, DHB, Toler, Freeman, Bethea, etc one could see improvement in those players.

[braveheartcolt]

No beef with the grades from Super, particularly if an A Grade is seen as perfection. I'd give the RESULT an A+ mind you.

[Warhorse]

Holy... it's grades. There's plenty of praise and celebration from me and others throughout the board. But despite how happy I am with the way we played, the game wasn't perfect.

There's being critical, and then there's being observant. I can point out what I think we can improve on and still be happy. I don't understand the beef.

Just for clarification, my grades were not in response to yours, just my excitement and addition to this thread.

[Moose Of Woe]

Everything: A   About as solid an overall team effort one can hope to have.  A- at worst.

 

I don't think you can say A+ unless you blank the other team and light them up for 40+. That's fairly unrealistic against NFL Teams.  Then again, we do play Jacksonville this week.

 

The last time I saw a team play an A+ game was the Patriots slaughtering the Titans in the snow. The final was 59-0 or something ludicrous.

 

Edit: This game:

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=291018017

 

...And that was through three quarters of football.

[Indi Warrior]

One more name I'd like to throw in there is Hugh Thornton. I know the O-line played very well, but like everyone else, I was following the ball. So as I'm watching the replay now, I'm paying more attention to the individuals who make an impact- enter Hugh Thornton. So far I've seen exceptional pass and run blocking on Justin Smith- not easy for anyone to do, let alone a rookie. Hats off to him.

[Superman]

One more name I'd like to throw in there is Hugh Thornton. I know the O-line played very well, but like everyone else, I was following the ball. So as I'm watching the replay now, I'm paying more attention to the individuals who make an impact- enter Hugh Thornton. So far I've seen exceptional pass and run blocking on Justin Smith- not easy for anyone to do, let alone a rookie. Hats off to him.

 

Yeah, they let Smith through intentionally on some draws and misdirections, and I think maybe that tired him out as he kept overrunning ball carriers. But Thornton and McGlynn got some nice double teams on him also. He wasn't the disruptive force I expected him to be.

[colts_mp]

No beef with the grades from Super, particularly if an A Grade is seen as perfection. I'd give the RESULT an A+ mind you.

I would knock Pagano and Pep a tad for missing an obvious 2 point conversion attempt and also that drive before the half where we had 2nd and 1 at midfield and called 2 very conservative plays.

 

Overall a solid B+ for the whole team.  Saving the A for the Seattle or Denver game.

[Coffeedrinker]

I would knock Pagano and Pep a tad for missing an obvious 2 point conversion attempt and also that drive before the half where we had 2nd and 1 at midfield and called 2 very conservative plays.

 

Overall a solid B+ for the whole team.  Saving the A for the Seattle or Denver game.

A two possession game with about 7 minutes left and the opposing team really struggling offensively... there is no reason to attempt a 2 point conversion in that situation.

[Superman]

A two possession game with about 7 minutes left and the opposing team really struggling offensively... there is no reason to attempt a 2 point conversion in that situation.

 

There's no reason not to. A 12 point lead in that situation is just as good as a 13 point lead, which is what the kick gives you. But a 14 point lead is better than a 13 point lead, especially on the road. I think going for 2 would have been the right decision there, given the score and the time on the clock.