varaven45

Yag, Webbs out - what are we to do ? Next man up, what else. Look, Steelers are w/o Harrison, probably w/o Ben and/or Pouncey, Woodley (?) vs SF. It is what it is. Besides, here's Jimmy Smith's chance to grow up at CB against arguably the AFCs best receiving corps and top five QB. We'll just have to amp up our pass rush and everyone on D has to have a Suggs-like game. Got to have an ultra effective ground n pound game and keep Rivers off the dang field. Joe is going to have to have a near perfect game.

Crav, I think I ve seen that Ackmed dude managing a Subway restaurant in Va. After ordering the Jarod's special, he asked me whether I wanted it on vite or vheat !

Max, It was good catching up with you at Sundays Indy game. Speaking of which, now that that the vacation is over, we have a very tough game Sunday night. SD's offense is absolutely loaded - Rivers, Gates, Jackson, Floyd, Mathews, Tolbert...............- contrast with last Sunday's opponent. And Rivers is now playing out of his mind. ! With Webb and Ray out, we cannot and I repeat CANNOT afford a slow start from Joe, Rice & Co - 3 and outs, TOs, etc. Our Offense needs to pound the ball - Rice needs a huge game - and the O needs to consistently move the chains all night and try and keep Rivers off the field. We cannot play catch up against that team - not there, not now. This game determines our fate in the playoffs - win and we have a good shoot at hosting playoff game; lose and ..... ?

Max, Great catching up yesterday and super hometown atmosphere. My son and I had a blast. Dominant performance yesterday ~ score was not indicative of teams dominance. Three reactions/observations:: 1. The D was very dominant and sans the last Colts TD ~ garbage time ~ the D pitched a TD shutout. 2. The O was good, Rice had a nice game and Joe played well. Awesome reception by Lee Evans. Torrey Smith got interferred with on the long pass; still he needs to make that catch. Boldin bailed out on Joe on that pass in the endzone. We were right there and Q made little attempt to catch or at least break it up. At the very least, we geta Cundiff FG (or attempt) out of it. Like Cleveland game, wer left about 10-14 points on the field. Should have won at least 31 or 34 - 3. Not a big deal but we cannot afford to get in the habit of leaving points on the field. 3. ST- Cundiff is hurt and his kickoffs were very short. Webb had a couple nice returns. We've got to be careful as Webb is our best player in the secondary and we cant afford to lose him if he gets dinged on a punt return. Justy sayin. Looking ahead, 1. San Diego is an extremely dangerous opponent next Sunday. Of all teams they have faced, Green Bay was given its biggest test by San Diego. Aside from the Giants,no one has put up bigger numbers against GB than SD. Rivers and his WR corps and TE Gates are playing "sick" right now and we will be extremly challenged next Sunday night. Joe will have to match or even exceed Rivers' performance to be competitive in this game. 2. John needs to tell Jim Harbaugh all the inside "Steeler" scoop so San Francicsco can knock off Pittsburgh. We need the Stealers to lose that game- its the only 1 they potentially will lose. Tebow and the Broncos need to knock off NE next Sunday. 3. Like Max,says, we need to host a playoff game. We dont want to go on the road. Got to somehow win out.

Yager, I am with you dude. The Browns with Wallace had the Squealers on their heels. After that pass to Evan (sp ?) - who scored the lone Browns TD agianst us last week - put the Browns around the 5 yd line and goal to go. McCoy, with deer in the head lights look in his face, mucked it up. It would have been tough to get the TD w Wallace but IT WASNT happening with McCoy.' All in all, the Browns blew it but made the Squealers earn the W and get beat up. If Harrison gets suspended (as rumored), the 49ers will give the Squealers everything they can handle. I wonder how much intelligence the Harbs (John to Jim) will be sharing in the next 10 days. We absolutely need to have the 49ers win that MNF game.

Max, Sure thing. We are in sec 115, row 34. Maybe we can hook up there or elsewhere? Wont get to game until 11:00 or 11:30 - doing the red eye from Va Beach

Crav and Max, Taking my son to the game on Sunday. Be in Section 115, Screaming my lungs off with the rest of the 12th men !

Maybe after Joe gets his big contract deal he can start schmoozing with the WRs, buy em dinner, rolex watches, etc. . Seriously, he and his WRs need to get there act together....quick. We wont survive with sub par passing performances in road games at Cincy and San Diego. Boldin, Evans, Smith, Pitta and Dickson need to elevate their game and play at a high level from here on. Speaking of which, the Chargers, while probably out of the playoff picture, may be peaking at the wrong time (for us). Judging from last nights performance, Rivers, Gates. Jackson and Malcolm Floyd are beginning to jell and will be chucking it all over the place when we meet on Dec 18th. They will be a very, very formidable opponent for us. Pagano better get Webb and Jimmy Smith on the same dang page, starting sunday against Indy. Dont think Indy and Orlovsky's going to be bashful about winging it around either.

Max, I agree to some extent. A 38-3 or similar whitewashing should have happened. Instead, while we may have played with them, you have to keep the pedal to the floor from here on out. Look at how Green Bay approached yesterday's Giants game, including the last minute. They try to score at all costs, all the time, and they usually do. Flacco is no Rodgers but he needs to have that same fearless, aggressive approach if he wants to climb the mountain.

Yager, You are probably right. I suppose we were just spoiled w Stover for so many years. Unfortunately, we are going to encounter similar conditions donw the stretch, be it on the road (Cincy - Jan 1 ) or in the playoffs. Either way, Cundiff needs to get it right......soon, Points will come at a premium as we approach January ! ,

Nice, gutty performance on the road. Most importantly a W in the conference and division. From a positive standpoint, the running game was dominant, our D was very dominant (sans the 4th Q, McCoy 4th and 10 garbage TD), and we played with energy and passion for most of the game. From a negative perspective, our offense (esp red zone) isnt finishing the drives. With a first and goal and a dominant run game, our offense needs to close the deal before the half. Cmon man ! We can all say, "its ok, we got the win, and stop complaining", but we made this game MUCH closer than necessary. Our red zone woes didnt hurt yesterday but it will show up in the coming weeks. We left at least 9 - 21 points on the field yesterday and squandered an opportunity to secure a huge signature win, say 33-10 or better. Billy Cundiffs FG woes need to be corrected soon. His accuracy is going to become more critical in the next few weeks (at SD and Cincy). He (we) need to have a confident Cundiff down the stretch, As we go down the stretch, this team cannot let off the gas pedal for one second. Pittsburgh is blazing and going to either win out or lose 1 game max (@ SF). They will go 12-4 or 13-3. This team cant blink an eye and needs to start clicking in all 3 phases, every game. There is no margin for error. Time to get ready for the stretch run !

Crav and Max, It may be a bit premature but in some ways this year's offense and the assertions that it is "starting to hit its stride" reminds me a bit of the SB run in 2000. While that Offense was putrid for the first 1/2 of the season, it really took off in the stretch run. A healthy, cohesive, and consistent O Line is absolutely critical in this stretch run. If we can truly pound the ball, esp on Sunday, it will give the Joe and the O lots of confidence in the passing game and could lead to a high level perfomance on Sunday and in the weeks ahead. Its time for this team to have a statement game. Now !

This opponment, like the Titans, Jags and Seahawks , needs to be squashed from the get go. Shut down Hillis, McCoy and Cribbs on O, establish a smash mouth run game w/ Rice and efficient pass game w Joe on our own, and put these guys awy early. If we dont and they take an early lead, it will be a another long game. We can only hope for the former scenario but not rule out the latter (based on past exp). I am personally tired of watching these games we "shoud",win but its the NFL and am not surprised by anything. Lets get r done boys ! . .

With Ray roaming the sidelines and assuming the role of "player coach", we have observed very positive results and a D performing at a very high level. His influence on the field is immeaurable and he's a 1st ballot HOFer. Meanwhile, the LB corps and his subs - McLain, McLellan Ellerbe, Brendan A, etc. - have been awesome. In fact, you could argue the D has been better across the board wihtout Ray. Understand the "toe" situtation, but I am wondering whether our D is more efective with Ray coaching/cheerleading on the sidelines or having him as starting LB (assuming he can return at a high level). Going down the stretch run, it will be interesting how this all plays out. Thoughts ?

Great season for Suggs. He has a tendency to bring his A-game to the national TV games and disappears in the "lesser" games. Here's hoping Suggs' head (ego) doesnt explode and keeps the foot on the pedal the rest of the season, esp Sunday at Cleveland.

JT, Judging by your narrow escape and 23-20 win (on the heels of a missed ca. 50 yd FG), I suppose you all overlooked the Browns and it would have been on the Bengals too ?

Whatever we do and how we do it, we need to play with the same intensity and sense of urgency as last Thursday night. Bottle her up and open er up on Sunday !

Max, I agree with your Browns analysis just not your optimism on the outcome. I see this game exactly like the Seatlle game: * Crappy weather conditions * Error prone game * Letdown after SF win * Browns Super Bowl * Very tough D - especailly against the pass (# 1 in the NFL I believe) That adds up to a pick em game. Would not be surprised by a FG margin of victory - either way.

Make no mistake - this will be a very, very tough game. In case you slept thorough Sunday, the Browns were a missed (and bad snap) 50 + yd FG from taking a 23-20 victory AT Cincy. Cincy took us the full 60 minutes at M & T and nearly snuck a win.. My point: Another tough game against an often overlooked but potentially dangerous oppponent. Very much like the Seattle game. The bigger point: Here is our opportunity to squash a lesser opponent and eliminate this "playing down to our competition" stigma. We need to come flying out the gates in Cleveland. If we do and assert ourselves early, we will be ok. If not and we go into halftime either down or tied, we are in for another snot knocker......again.

Max, Helluva game. It took a nearly flawless effort to win this game. Our O did not tun the ball over once and committed to the run The D was on fire and made Alex Smith run for his life all game. Thats the kind of intensity/energy this team needs to bring every Sunday whether its vs the Steelers, Texans or 49ers OR the Jags, Titans, Seahawks or....next weeks opponent - the Browns. Thats the challenge for this years team. Lets see if they can turn the corner and play with character, chemistry and sense or urgency that was showcased last night. Meanwhile, last night's perfomance was a thing of beauty and Coach Harbaugh and team should enjoy the moment and this weekend and return to work Monday for Cleveland. Trust me, this will be Cleveland's Super Bowl (just like the Titans, Jags and Seahawks).

Max, I am interested in watching Torrey Smith's would be TD (if Pacman doesnt grab his dreds). Also, didnt the Ref (Ron Winter ?) geet nailed in the scrum after Jimmy Smiths pick ? I hope he's ok. Should be interesting...again.

The Cincy game is featured on NFL network, tomorrow night, at 8:00 - 9:30 PM.

Crav, Could be worse - The Herd has us at No 10 ! Look, these rankngs dont mean squat - its where we are at the end that counts. Besides, I'd rather see us climb the mountain and have time/room to peak.

Agreed Force. I am just wondering situationally for this season.

Watching rooke Andy Dalton carve up our secondary made me wonder whether our pass D, in certain situations, might benefit from having Lardarius Webb playing safety ? I have heard rumors that Webb is heir apparent to Reed. So, if Jimmy Smith and Cary Williams are our long term CBs, perhaps its time to try Webb, in certain scenarios, in the back and learn from Reed. As we prepare for the December/January run and more prolific pass offenses in the post season, I am curious if Pagano is looking at this adjustment. It certainly couldnt hurt after last Sunday's woeful pass defense performance, esp if Smith gets more comfortable at CB in the remaining regular season games. At the very least, Pagano could substitute Webb for Pollard in obvious passing downs, which would combine Webb's and Reed's skill sets - Webb's speed and quickness and Reeds instincts and experience - on the deep ball. I say this because I have observed Reed getting beat on deep balls the last few weeks. Maybe we are already considering/doing. Any thoughts ?