From: greco@sun.lclark.edu (Peter Greco)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.pro
Subject: 49ers in trouble
Date: 22 Aug 92 22:33:44 GMT
Article-I.D.: lclark.1992Aug22.223344.8655
Organization: Lewis & Clark College, Portland OR

In a post regarding "49ers in trouble", Ashutosh G. Rege writes:

> ...the 49ers were going up against an OL not known for pass blocking
> and two mediocre backup QB's and yet allowed them to complete passes
> at will. Granted they were missing Haley, but there is no guarantee
> that he'll be back 100%, Tim Harris was barely adequate but overall the
> pass rush was mediocre at its best. 

I didn't see the game...had to catch the end on radio.  The broadcast was
pro-Niner, and the commentators made it clear that they thought the Niners
were using a wide variety of backups, many of whom would not make the
team.  They also indicated that San Diego was going with mostly starters
for much of the game.  You make some good points, Ashu...perhaps you
should look into Niner radio?  Or maybe just yell in Seifert's ear :-)

> ...what is most worrisome is the play of the secondary, I didn't
> see Don Griffin (didn't catch any explanation from two of the
> crappiest announcers in football, Haden and the other fart, who could
> only talk about Montana all the time) but Pollard, Davis, Hanks and
> Lewis were often giving the receivers too wide a berth to catch the ball.

Pat Haden was a Ram...what do you expect :-) ?  Seriously, I've noticed
this as well (about the Niner secondary).  They seem to be somewhat "all
or none", which means that we get an incredible play or no play at all. 
My opinion is still forming, but I guess at this point that they are
relying on individual effort, rather than working as a tight unit.  This
would seem to be likely for a group that has many young players.

>...The player of the game was, of course, Mark Seay, the WR who has a
> bullet lodged inside him and only one kidney - he made some
> sensational catches and got clobbered on a few game attempts; 
> maybe I'm just being sentimental I really hope some team picks him up
> - there's no way he's going to make the team, not unless Lewis
> screws up or someone is injured.

Yup...my wife likes this guy (because of his story...she merely
tolerates football).  She might learn to endure Ninerball for most of the
season if Seay were to make the team.  Of course, I've made no mention of
the fact that he'll probably not be around.

>...the regular season is only 2 weeks away and this team is nowhere near
> ready if today's game was any indication.

I get that same feeling every year...this being no exception.  Geez, the
Niners always go undefeated (or win most of their games) in the preseason by
winning with their scrubs, get a false sense of security, start the season
with a depth chart based on who's being paid the most, struggle for the
first quarter to half of the regular season, then put it together and
finish well.  This year, I'm not so sure about the finish anymore (I did
believe that they were amongst the top five teams in the NFL).

Oh...comments on Musgrave?  Someone posted a week or two ago that the
Niners might be hiding him from the rest of the league.  I'm expecting to
see his name on the cut list soon...what a shame.  I know he's got a long
way to go, but he's earned a chance to continue as a Niner.

Thanks for listening.  Peter.
-- 
Peter Greco <greco@lclark.edu> | 
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