Niner Game

[trents]

With all those mistakes, I can't believe we actually won that game. That was a barn burner! "Game on the line Russ" came through again.

Did you guys notice how many niner players left the game with injuries? I have a feeling that will bite them down the stretch. I understand they have a tough schedule ahead so I don't seem them running the table from this point on. Of course, the hawks also have a tough schedule. Do you think we can catch them?

I wonder how bad Locket's leg injury is? I hope we didn't lose him for the season. Remember that nasty leg injury he had a couple of years ago?

Tonight was the best defensive effort Seattle has put forth this year by far. There is hope for them yet!

[jshawaii22]

Lockett didn't look that serious, as he was walking around, but you never know anymore.

From the doghouse to the penthouse as our DLine finally breaks through to look like a real NFL line and joining them is our 'all-pro?' kicker who did his job and won the game with another kick 12" from the right goalpost.

What a great game. For those that are interested, Richard Sherman and Russell greeted each other after the game and exchanged jerseys which is about as classy as you can get.

I also want to give a hand to whomever called down to to the field after the first quarter and told the refs to put the damn flags away for the rest of the game. They handed the 49'ers points. Both teams like to grab and pull.. .let 'em play!

[RiverDog]

My dogs think I'm going crazy yelling "Don't Throw it, Russell.." but he did. Great win for the team and i don't care if they don't think this was a 'rivalry' game, it sure felt like one. Wow.

Ironically my wife chastised me several times tonight for scaring our 1 year old Labrador Retriever.

That was a huge win.

[trents]

Double post. Sorry. Anyway to delete a post?

[trents]

Lockett didn't look that serious, as he was walking around, but you never know anymore.

From the doghouse to the penthouse as our DLine finally breaks through to look like a real NFL line and joining them is our 'all-pro?' kicker who did his job and won the game with another kick 12" from the right goalpost.

What a great game. For those that are interested, Richard Sherman and Russell greeted each other after the game and exchanged jerseys which is about as classy as you can get.

I also want to give a hand to whomever called down to to the field after the first quarter and told the refs to put the damn flags away for the rest of the game. They handed the 49'ers points. Both teams like to grab and pull.. .let 'em play!

Ha! Yes, Meyers likes that right goal post, doesn't he!

Gordon and Diggs both made significant contributions tonight. I hope that will continue and as they become more comfortable with Seattle's playbook it should. I thought the Hawks' coaching staff did a good job of putting them in situations where they could succeed.

[jshawaii22]

So it looks like most of the later moves JS has made this offseason seem to be paying dividends. Hollister rocked tonight -- NE has to be wondering why they traded him for a 7th rounder, but that was a great pickup as well as the more publicized Clowney, Diggs and maybe Josh, too. We'll see on him in a few weeks. Only Ziggy seems to be still out of it a little.

[trents]

Yes, Hollister is turning out to be sleeper acquisition. No one ever dreamed we would see the output he has delivered. He and Clowney might be the best steals of the year in the NFL when it comes to price/performance ratio.

But we are real thin right now at TE. I hope Hollister stays health and Dickson is ready to play again soon.

[trents]

Pete was saying recently that Ziggy has not been able to do much in the weight room because of the shoulder injury and has dropped 25 lbs. below his playing weight. We may not see much from him this year and he's no spring chicken.

[obiken]

Yes, Hollister is turning out to be sleeper acquisition. No one ever dreamed we would see the output he has delivered. He and Clowney might be the best steals of the year in the NFL when it comes to price/performance ratio.

But we are real thin right now at TE. I hope Hollister stays health and Dickson is ready to play again soon.

No doubt Clowney came to play, he had one the best games at DE I have ever seen, except maybe Jacob Green that's going back a ways.

[RiverDog]

It was one of those good news/bad news games. The bad news was that we turned the ball over 3 times, one that resulted in a touchdown and another that took away a scoring opportunity in overtime. Russell did not have an MVP-like performance and played statistically his worst game of the season (so much for his Monday Night magic) and misfired in his first attempt in OT. We weren't nearly as effective running the ball as we normally are, Hunt got blown up then either he or Iupati screwed up and allowed a DT to come in untouched to sack Russell. Metcalf's turnover at the end of the first half cost us at least 3 and likely 7 points and could have been the difference in the game. Chris Carson put the ball on the ground again, but this time got lucky and got it back. Garappolo is a very pedestrian QB, easy to mess up with a little pressure, finished with a QBR of 18.9 and probably the worst QB play we'll see the rest of the season. We committed 9 costly penalties.

The good news is that we won. The DL played its best football of the season. Clowney was constantly in the backfield disrupting plays. Hopefully this is a break-through game for them and not an anomaly against a very pedestrian QB and an OL that has it's problems. If it's not just a fluke game, we might be punching our ticket to another SB. If not, we could be in trouble as we have a number of very tough games ahead and could easily lose 3 or 4 of them. Jason Myers redeemed himself. After last week, I thought that we could be looking at Blair Walsh 2.0. Russell shook off the INT he threw and came through for us in the end.

All in all, it was an exciting but very sloppy game with the turnovers, penalties, missed assignments, and sub par QB play. But make no mistake, this was a HUGE win.

We got a bit of a schedule break as our MNF game will not result in a short week as we head into our bye before making the long trip to the east coast for the 2nd of 4 consecutive Prime Time games. The Niners have an equally tough slate ahead of them as they get a rematch against a team that nearly beat them last week then a stretch of 3 games against the Packers, Ravens, and Saints.

[trents]

The sloppy play and bad offensive numbers, QB ratings, etc. on the part of both teams need to be put into the perspective of two exceptional defensive efforts. The niners have played great defense all year and the Hawks terrible defense all year until last night. As you say RD, hopefully this game was the coming out party of a Hawks' defense that has been underachieving until now. I would also add that though Clowney and the DL seemed to be bringing much better pressure last night than they have all year it was also true that Seattle's backers, corners and safeties were often locking down the niner receivers to give the DL more time to get to Garapalo. He wasn't able to consistently get the ball out quickly to wide open receivers. That was different too. Sacks and pressure by the DL and tight coverage of receivers go hand in hand.

[RiverDog]

The sloppy play and bad offensive numbers, QB ratings, etc. on the part of both teams need to be put into the perspective of two exceptional defensive efforts. The niners have played great defense all year and the Hawks terrible defense all year until last night. As you say RD, hopefully this game was the coming out party of a Hawks' defense that has been underachieving until now. I would also add that though Clowney and the DL seemed to be bringing much better pressure last night than they have all year it was also true that Seattle's backers, corners and safeties were often locking down the niner receivers to give the DL more time to get to Garapalo. He wasn't able to consistently get the ball out quickly to wide open receivers. That was different too. Sacks and pressure by the DL and tight coverage of receivers go hand in hand.

Playing Devil's advocate, the Niners were without their top receiving target, tight end George Kittle, and their biggest deep threat, WR Emmanuel Sanders, who left the game in the first quarter with a rib injury. RB Matt Brieda left the game with an ankle injury. They had just gotten their two OT's back off of injury and they might not have been in game shape. Garappolo really sucks at handling pressure.

I sure hope that this was a break through game for our defense, but there's just as many reasons to think it was an anomaly and not the new norm.

[trents]

Some good points. But Deebo Samuel played like a beast at receiver.

Also, seems to me Wags might be slowing down a bit. This year he's wiffed on some tackles that I felt he would have made earlier in his career.

[Uppercut]

It is quite clear that the Seahawks win when they play totally crazy with mistakes and chaos from all. They do not do as well in a very controlled type game. When they become a bull in the china shop it usually ends well but makes makes one nervous.

[idhawkman]

Ha! Yes, Meyers likes that right goal post, doesn't he!

Gordon and Diggs both made significant contributions tonight. I hope that will continue and as they become more comfortable with Seattle's playbook it should. I thought the Hawks' coaching staff did a good job of putting them in situations where they could succeed.

Clowney also did well. All three of those pickups this year have paid dividends. I'd love to see Ziggy start contributing soon too.

[idhawkman]

It was one of those good news/bad news games. The bad news was that we turned the ball over 3 times, one that resulted in a touchdown and another that took away a scoring opportunity in overtime. Russell did not have an MVP-like performance and played statistically his worst game of the season (so much for his Monday Night magic) and misfired in his first attempt in OT. We weren't nearly as effective running the ball as we normally are, Hunt got blown up then either he or Iupati screwed up and allowed a DT to come in untouched to sack Russell. Metcalf's turnover at the end of the first half cost us at least 3 and likely 7 points and could have been the difference in the game. Chris Carson put the ball on the ground again, but this time got lucky and got it back. Garappolo is a very pedestrian QB, easy to mess up with a little pressure, finished with a QBR of 18.9 and probably the worst QB play we'll see the rest of the season. We committed 9 costly penalties.

The good news is that we won. The DL played its best football of the season. Clowney was constantly in the backfield disrupting plays. Hopefully this is a break-through game for them and not an anomaly against a very pedestrian QB and an OL that has it's problems. If it's not just a fluke game, we might be punching our ticket to another SB. If not, we could be in trouble as we have a number of very tough games ahead and could easily lose 3 or 4 of them. Jason Myers redeemed himself. After last week, I thought that we could be looking at Blair Walsh 2.0. Russell shook off the INT he threw and came through for us in the end.

All in all, it was an exciting but very sloppy game with the turnovers, penalties, missed assignments, and sub par QB play. But make no mistake, this was a HUGE win.

We got a bit of a schedule break as our MNF game will not result in a short week as we head into our bye before making the long trip to the east coast for the 2nd of 4 consecutive Prime Time games. The Niners have an equally tough slate ahead of them as they get a rematch against a team that nearly beat them last week then a stretch of 3 games against the Packers, Ravens, and Saints.

All three turnovers had scoring implications in them. The strip at the two before half was a huge turn that prevented us from going into the locker room with the lead.

I'm not as critical of our team as you are just because that is a great defense we played and mistakes will happen when playing a great defense. RW did have the one bonehead play when he underthrew Collister but I bet he doesn't do that again. This game in my opinion boosted my evaluation of RW more than some of his other games just because he did it against a great defense.

Needless to say, I'm stoked but at the same time I agree with another poster that the injuries to both teams may have long term impact on our abilities to win down the road. This was a very physical game and we couldn't ask for a better time to get a bye. Too sad for SF that they've already had their bye and they still need to play the two teams we lost to.

[NorthHawk]

I think Schottenheimer called a pretty good game considering our OL was largely overmatched.
He kept their Defense off balance when it counted and called plays that put the Offense in a
position to succeed. When you have a good or great QB, all you need is a slight advantage
and Russ took advantage of it when it was really needed.

[RiverDog]

I'm not as critical of our team as you are just because that is a great defense we played and mistakes will happen when playing a great defense. RW did have the one bonehead play when he underthrew Collister but I bet he doesn't do that again. This game in my opinion boosted my evaluation of RW more than some of his other games just because he did it against a great defense.

I wouldn't characterize it as "bonehead" mistakes, but Russell had quite a few bad plays/decisions, including the sack/fumble, the INT in OT, a decision to force a pass into a covered receiver vs. 15 yards of open space, some overthrown receivers.

Needless to say, I'm stoked but at the same time I agree with another poster that the injuries to both teams may have long term impact on our abilities to win down the road. This was a very physical game and we couldn't ask for a better time to get a bye. Too sad for SF that they've already had their bye and they still need to play the two teams we lost to.

I'm a lot more optimistic following this game than I have been after other contests, mainly due to the quality of our opponent. Our defense is stating to show some signs of progress and we've put ourselves in as good of a position as anyone in the conference. On the other hand, I'm reminded of Atlanta's win over the Saints this weekend, where a team that had a league low 7 sacks suddenly gets 6 and keeps an offense led by a HOF QB out of the end zone.

I think the league is still trying to figure out its power structure, at least as far as the NFC goes. Last week, the Packers and Aaron Rodgers get held w/o a TD until a garbage time TD late in the game and this week, the Saints and Drew Brees suffer the same fate at the hands of a team that had won just once all season. It's been a pretty whacky season so far.

[LTH]

Wow! What a game...

I think this was an organizational win... from JS making sure this team has adequate depth with amazing low cost pick ups to fill holes, from the coaches putting together a solid game plan, from the player executing their successes and being resilient in recovering from their mistakes and their unwavering support of each other... just an amazing win! This organization is clicking!

I have always been of the opinion that Carroll coached teams are based off of a progression of momentum, confidence and belief as the season moves forward... This win was bigger than most think. This win was like a sling shot that is going to propel this team to the next level they just proved to the whole world they are for real and Carroll is going to ride that momentum as far as he can... this was the game he was looking for!

The Hawks took a lot of heat from the fans even though they were winning but not playing as good as their record indicated... at least on the .net board which I had to leave because of negativity...

This team is now ROLLING and they are to say the least DANGEROUS! I think the Hawks have the NFL's attention now! Lots of tough games a head but now the D has some confidence 5 sacks and a bunch of hurries and an admirable stand against a very good 49er running attack... That's the defensive performance we wanted to see at the exact right time definitely something to build off of definitely something to be excited about... I'm VERY impressed!

LTH

[HawkDawg]

At the end of the day, we stripped them from a perfect record...in their house...while missing our #1 receiver during the most crucial moments of the game. Win or loss, they have provided some quality football this season have turned into one of the most exciting teams to watch!

[Hawktawk]

Yes there were some mistakes,a lot actually. There were a lot of flags whatever one thinks of the officiating. IMO DK has a touchdown before the half. The guy doesn't strip it away from his one hand until its across the plane. Sort of like the golden hail mary in 2012, one hand = possession as long as it never comes off the ball. Oh well, turnovers, rare mistakes from Russ and we still knocked off an 8-0 team in their house on MNF. Pretty good.For the first time all year the defense looked as good on the field as it did on paper. This team is a contender that can go all the way if the defense is that good the rest of the way.

Perfect time for a bye, get everyone healthy for a brutal last 6 games.

[jshawaii22]

49er's came in with the #1 ranked defense in the NFL for scoring, yards, first downs and passing D... Their D did not have any injuries to blame performance on. Yes, they sacked Russell 5 times, but most of that was in the first quarter++. Their "superstar" rookie Bosa did not have a sack or any meaningful stats and it was their blitzes that hurt us. I think our OLine did a good job, considering the opponent. How many holding / hands to the face / or other typical mistakes did they make? A couple of false starts and assignment issues with Hunt? OK -- That's a lot easier to fix.

On another note, we have a far better group of receivers then SF, that's for sure. We simply don't drop balls. The fumble by DK was a 100% hustle play by a rookie that looks less and less like a rookie every game he plays.

Fumbles may be our downfall this year --

this was the first game I didn't travel to the Bay Area in 4 years to see the Hawks play. Last 3 years the tix were available from $40 up to maybe $200... this year, when I looked 2 weeks ago, the cheapest seat was $600.00 -- yesterday, stub hub had only singles for $800 and up. Talk about 'fair weather' fans down there in the South Bay!

[RiverDog]

49er's came in with the #1 ranked defense in the NFL for scoring, yards, first downs and passing D... Their D did not have any injuries to blame performance on. Yes, they sacked Russell 5 times, but most of that was in the first quarter++. Their "superstar" rookie Bosa did not have a sack or any meaningful stats and it was their blitzes that hurt us. I think our OLine did a good job, considering the opponent. How many holding / hands to the face / or other typical mistakes did they make? A couple of false starts and assignment issues with Hunt? OK -- That's a lot easier to fix.

Except for the first couple of drives, our offensive line didn't play THAT badly considering the competition. But Ifedi did get beat badly on that strip sack of Russell then had a brain fart and tried to run with it. I was thinking the same thing you are about Hunt. He got bull rushed badly on one play then either him or Iupati had a screw up that left an open lane to the QB, and our running backs got held to less than 100 yards rushing. So I guess I'd give our OL a B. They played well enough to win.

On another note, we have a far better group of receivers then SF, that's for sure. We simply don't drop balls. The fumble by DK was a 100% hustle play by a rookie that looks less and less like a rookie every game he plays.

Fumbles may be our downfall this year --

this was the first game I didn't travel to the Bay Area in 4 years to see the Hawks play. Last 3 years the tix were available from $40 up to maybe $200... this year, when I looked 2 weeks ago, the cheapest seat was $600.00 -- yesterday, stub hub had only singles for $800 and up. Talk about 'fair weather' fans down there in the South Bay!

You have to qualify the Niners receiving corps performance by noting that they were without their top two targets, Kittle and Sanders, but I do like how our receiving corps is shaping up. Hollister has done a good job stepping in for Dissley, made some tough catches.

Agreed about the fumbles. We put the ball on the ground 3 times yesterday. A run first, ball control offense like ours can't afford turnovers and penalties.

Interesting info on ticket prices. I'd love to see the Niners take hold in Santa Clara. It sure was a fun rivalry when Hairball was there.

[jshawaii22]

anyone else hear the audio for the OT coin toss and Geno called "tails" --- it was heads, and awarded to us? It caught me off guard and i was ready for Sherman to blow up. I'm not the only one, either. It was mentioned on a few national blogs.

[RiverDog]

anyone else hear the audio for the OT coin toss and Geno called "tails" --- it was heads, and awarded to us? It caught me off guard and i was ready for Sherman to blow up. I'm not the only one, either. It was mentioned on a few national blogs.

Nope. It was a pee break for me.

[Anthony]

anyone else hear the audio for the OT coin toss and Geno called "tails" --- it was heads, and awarded to us? It caught me off guard and i was ready for Sherman to blow up. I'm not the only one, either. It was mentioned on a few national blogs.

I re listened to it 8 times, even put it through some sound tools to isolate and enhance it. he called heads. Also, if he called tails and then it was heads, and we still got it Sherman would have gone nuts.

[jshawaii22]

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2 ... led-hails/

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/20 ... ch+Results

i told you i wasn't alone. Lots of people heard "tails" --

[obiken]

You have to qualify the Niners receiving corps performance by noting that they were without their top two targets, Kittle and Sanders, but I do like how our receiving corps is shaping up. Hollister has done a good job stepping in for Dissley, made some tough catches.
Agreed about the fumbles. We put the ball on the ground 3 times yesterday. A run first, ball control offense like ours can't afford turnovers and penalties.
Interesting info on ticket prices. I'd love to see the Niners take hold in Santa Clara. It sure was a fun rivalry when Hairball was there.

We won no doubt but their kicker who was a replacement makes the FG to win, we are all having a different conversation. I think they are a better team we just have the better QB. In OT the better QB is everything.

[Rambo2014]

Seahawks are the only team that can screw up a coin toss!

Look at SB 48 too

I heard Tails but ref probably was instructed to give it to Sea

[mykc14]

100% sure he called ‘Heads’ because I was mad: I always go with the adage “Tails never fails.”when I heard there was a controversy the next day I thought somebody messed with the audio and put it on the internet or something. He recently called heads. There’s also more evidence: Sherm must have heard heads too because nothing about his body language suggested that he won the coin toss when the Ref said ‘heads’ and he had no negative reaction whatsoever when it was awarded to the Hawks... Maybe the Hawks spend hours each day teaching their backup QBs to call the coin toss in such a way that it sounds like both heads and tails so they always win!

[RiverDog]

My wife says with 100% certainty that she heard Smith say "heads." Case closed!

I heard an explanation today that the echo from the ref's microphone was responsible for what to some sounded like "tails". Smith himself said he called heads, and as multiple people, including Coach Carroll have pointed out, Richard Sherman would have bitched loudly as surely as a rooster crows at the sun if the refs improperly awarded the coin toss to Seattle.

We're going to get to a point where they have to hold up one finger or two and make it a reviewable call.

[trents]

Just read on ESPN.com that Wilson's performance, though sub par compared to what he usually does, earned him the highest QB rating of anyone who has played against the niners this season. That was a pleasant surprise and puts it in perspective.

[RiverDog]

I usually don't give a rat's behind about individual player awards, but it was nice to see Clowney being voted the Defensive Player of the Week and for others to recognize what most of us saw Monday.

Even though Clowney was credited for just one sack, he was in the backfield constantly blowing things up.

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/jadeve ... whPFNZ_vlE

[NineR]

Tough game guys, you guys deserved it, interesting to see what week 17 brings

On the coin flip I definitely heard "Tails"but it was some sort of echo or the voice of "Bill Walsh"

[Hawktawk]

He said heads in a southern twang hAIds. It was heads, just a weird tone of voice he used. It was meaningless as both teams possessed the ball multiple times. If Russ had put another foot of air under the ball to Hollister it would be worth a debate.

[Hawktawk]

Tough game guys, you guys deserved it, interesting to see what week 17 brings

On the coin flip I definitely heard "Tails"but it was some sort of echo or the voice of "Bill Walsh"

Love to see other fans come in here with some class and humility. You're welcome any time with that attitude. It could have gone either way like most of our games this year.

You've got a hell of a good team there 9er. CU week 17.

[RiverDog]

He said heads in a southern twang hAIds. It was heads, just a weird tone of voice he used. It was meaningless as both teams possessed the ball multiple times. If Russ had put another foot of air under the ball to Hollister it would be worth a debate.

It wasn't meaningless. We got the ball twice and the Niners once because of it.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

We did get the ball for one more possession than the 49ers, but it was 3-2, not 2-1.

Seattle drives, throws pick.
49ers miss FG
Seattle goes 0-3 and punts
49ers go 0-3 and punts
Seattle drive and kicks field goal.

Three is better than two, but the 49ers blew it when a lot of teams might not even get one shot in overtime.

[RiverDog]

We did get the ball for one more possession than the 49ers, but it was 3-2, not 2-1.

Seattle drives, throws pick.
49ers miss FG
Seattle goes 0-3 and punts
49ers go 0-3 and punts
Seattle drive and kicks field goal.

Three is better than two, but the 49ers blew it when a lot of teams might not even get one shot in overtime.

Thanks for the correction. But it doesn't change the point I was making. The point is that the overtime coin flip was not, and never is, meaningless. It has a much larger consequence than does the coin flip to start the game as it gives the winner either an extra possession or equal possessions and never fewer possessions, not to mention the possibility of closing out the game with a TD on the first possession of OT.

[Hawktawk]

In hindsight it made no difference. SF had 2 chances to win the game. Plus he called heads anyway.