From the 'Stick: Where the Cameras Aren't

I was lucky enough to get tickets to the game at Candlestick but not lucky enough to get out of work soon enough to get there on time.  I walked in just in time to watch Orton fire his first interception in the end zone. I walked down to my seat on the 15 yard line on the Bronco sideline, 15 rows up from the field.  I got out my 10x50 binoculars and for most of the rest of the night, I watched players away from the ball.  I also watched the cheerleaders, but that is fodder for another cannon.

We all talk about what players can do when they have the ball, but it is just as critical to do the right thing when the cameras aren't on you: when you are away from the ball.  During games, RBs have to sell fakes.  They have to pick up the correct rusher.  WRs have to sell the pass and then run block.  When I was at raider games when Moss played there, I could tell in a split second if the play was a pass play by watching Moss come off the line at the snap.  If it was a run, he took a few tenative steps and rarely contacted the DB.  For some run plays, he didn't even pretend: he just stood there.  In a preseason situation, what a player does away from the ball can indicate how well they understand what they are doing and can demonstrate how consistent they are in the fundamentals. 

I watched several different players over the course of the game and it might provide some insights that don't show up on highlight reels.  Mostly, I watched the front 7.

I guess this is where I say: More after the infamous jump...

I mostly watched the backup DL and OLBs on defense, and watched the bottom end WR on offense.  On offense, I also tried to watch the playcalling tendencies, but as several others have noted, the 2nd half was pretty vanilla.  But, there were a few interesting things there.  Offense was also when I just enjoyed the flow of the game and had some "chats" with the red-n-gold fans around me. 

Ron Fields - He played well.  I see from the box score that runs up the middle were pretty well stuffed (with a few missed assignments).  Fields pushed the pile.  I saw him take on double teams and on some of those, he was pushed around, but even on those, SF had to keep 2 men on him to get him to move.  He seemed to tell where the play was developing and pushed to that side creating a pile.  It's just what we want a nose to do and I thought Fields did it well. 

Robert Ayers- He played like a rookie, but like a coachable rookie.  He was where he was supposed to be doing what he was supposed to do, although he didn't do it with any real passion.  In a first preseason game after a holdout, it's entirely expected.  In fact, I thought it was a good omen.  Once he fully learns the defense, he'll be able to play with both talent and abandon.  I'm guessing he'll have it figured out by Week 1.  I watched him on several plays where it was his job to pick up the back out of the backfield.  He spotted it as he was rushing and dropped out to follow the back into the flat.  No throws came his way so I didn't see any pass defensing skills, but it was good to see him making the right decision.  He didn't have to do much but hang around the outlet back so I didn't see if he can cover, but he did what was expected of him.  Knowing his abilities, this is a good sign.

Jarvis Moss- I was disappointed with his rush.  He did register 3 tackles although I wasn't watching him on any of them.  I watched him rush several times and he wasn't able to generate any rush.  There was a lack of power, lack of speed, and no real moves to speak of.  After the reports of him working with Nunelly on his hands I expected more from him, but he looked like the Moss of last year.  Barring any monumental changes, I expect he won't make the team.

Tim Crowder- He got in on several plays playing SOLB.  He didn't seem to create any problems for the SF offense.  I saw him easily handled by the tackle and by the TE.  He was also in on some ST and made no noise there, either.  Given that he is at the bottom of the depth chart and the play of some of the other LB, he may not make the roster.

Darryl Reid- He played much better than Crowder.  He showed power into the line, speed, and seemed to be able to discern where the play was headed.  He was physical.  He was playing SOLB and I didn't see him have to pass cover anybody.  I didn't get to see much of Haggan, but if Haggan loses his starting spot, Reid might be the person to take it.

Chris Baker- This kid can play.  He moved people almost at will.  I saw a play when he was taken down by a doubleteam, but if that's the only way to get him out of the play, we have a winner.  There were some plays that he didn't see coming, but I'm betting he'll better deal with those when he gets some more experience. 

Carlton Powell- I only watched him on a few plays (he only played of few).  I'm pretty sure he played at RDE next to Baker after the onside kick near the end of the game.  SF ran right over him for 25 yards or so, but the next few runs didn't go anywhere.  I didn't see enough of him to make any decisions.  Pedescleaux was playing LDE during that drive and I didn't watch him. 

Josh Bell - I was not impressed at all.  He didn't cover well and he seemed to be confused as to where he was supposed to be.  His cover wasn't very tight and I would have considered his man as open most of the time even though he was only thrown at a few times.  I wasn't watching him on those times he was thrown at, but the fact that he made the tackle didn't surprise me: it meant his man was open.

Nate Swift- This kid seemed to me to play smart.  I was watching him on his only reception.  It was a crossing route and he did a nice little acceleration as he was passed off from one LB to the other (or so it looked to me).  That got him some separation and it was a well thrown ball and easy catch.  He was also part of the reason McKinley was so open in the end zone - he was shallow and McKinley was deep.  The DB was caught in between the two and couldn't cover both, but he tried to, and so both were open.  Simms threw deep and if the DB had played the deep man it would have been a pick.  But, Swift did exactly what he needed to do.  I saw him on several pass plays making really good cuts and he was open on several occasions.  At the end of the 3Q he was open deep but Simms just overthrew him.  I thought the DB held him a little after Simms released the ball and McKinley looked at the ref and made the "throw the flag" motion.  Cojones from a rookie to confront an NFL ref in his first game.  I think he has a good head on his shoulders and I liked him better than Jackson or Lloyd.  To be fair, I didn't watch Jackson or Lloyd away from the ball.

Kenny McKinley - He looked good.  He was all over the field and was open on several plays where the ball didn't get thrown to him.  He isn't big but he seems able to get in people's way when he is supposed to block them.  He also seemed to know exactly what he was supposed to do on each play.  As others have noted, after he missed a key catch he came back and caught a touchdown.  Shaking off a bad play is a key ability to have.

RBs -After seeing Moreno make only a few runs in the second quarter, I was impressed.  He looks like he has a gear the other players don't have.  If you can forgive the Bolts reference, he looks like a blend of LT's moves and power with the speed of Sproles.  Compared to that, neither Jordan nor Buckhalter seemed to even come close to that.  Hillis didn't either, but Hillis brought the whole "I refuse to be stopped" mentality.  He also looked like he was more willing to change direction/holes as opposed to his method last year of running over anyone in front of him.  He still did some of that, but he looks to be a much smarter runner.  This bodes well for us.  I didn't watch the RBs extensively so I can't comment on how well they did when the cameras weren't on them.

Orton/Simms: I didn't watch the QB play at all. But, what I did see was that on the field, Simms was quite comfortable in running the offense.  I realize that it was 2 different offenses, but nontheless, Simms was the general yesterday (although I did not see Orton's first drive).  Orton did not seem to be running the offense; he seemed to be just doing his part of the play.  I assume that has to do with the complexity he was facing.  As others have said, this is the first preseason game and everything should be taken in light of that.

Intangibles- Here's a few other thoughts.  I watched Orton on the sidelines after he was done.  He was surrounded by teammates and didn't seem phased by his performance.  He was watching the game and talking with the first string offense, mostly.  He appeared to me as a leader of the team in spite of his on-field persona.  Oddly, so did Larsen judging by the way he was interacting with his teammates.  Brandstater's haircut is worse than mine (marginally) and at 6'5" it was easy to see.  I didn't see much of him talking to others.  McKinley's enthusiasm was infectious.  A few people spent some time on the stationary bike, but other than that, I didn't see anyone sitting on the bench off by themselves.  There looked to be good chemistry, high fives, yelled support, and so on throughout the game.  In other words, the team seems to be acting like a team.

So in summary, I think this team is 180 degrees different than last year.  I think they are being coached really well but some guys are picking it up better than others.  Some of our undrafted rookies are going to make the team and some of the returning players won't.  From what I've heard, the coaching staff is expecting 100% on every play, even those plays where you won't touch the ball (or ball carrier).  Some of our players have taken that to heart and have shown they can do that.  A few are still confused as to their assignments.  That will clear up. 

Here's the crux.  We have some people on this team that realize the way to win is not playing 60 minutes of football.  They recognize you have to play 660 minutes of smart, physical football every game, and they do it.  From my seat in the 15th row, we looked pretty good.