Football is back, the weekend warriors have set up shop in their domains, fantasy teams are in the process of being drafted, or fantasy league enthusiasts are carefully monitoring every game and getting point updates on their players. Anyway you look at it, the NFL is back after what felt like an eternity of a lockout, and any given Sunday is still any given Sunday.
However, many that expected the 49ers to show more in their first regular season home game against the Seahawks were still treated to the same vanilla offense that the 49ers displayed in the exhibition season.
Maybe the Seahawks thought Harbaugh and company would unleash the dogs so to speak but it appeared that Carroll and friends over analyzed the situation and were totally unprepared for the soft offense accompanied by the ground and pound scheme that the 49ers brought to the field on Sunday.
Frank Gore and the running game were stopped completely. It’s going to be a long road to run if the 49ers can’t open up the running game when defenses are already accustomed to eight-man just to keep [Frank] Gore from breaking big chunks of yardage. Gore gained 59 yards on 22 carries. At one point in the game, Gore had 6 carries for zero or negative yardage.
For Alex Smith fans who love to hate or love the former first-round pick, nobody could really say anything but the 49ers starting quarterback did everything his Coaches asked of him. Although Smith averaged 6.2 yards per pass attempt, nobody is complaining since [Alex] Smith was able to get the ball out of his hands quickly which is always more enjoyable to watch instead of when he does the complete opposite. The fact that Alex Smith went out there and put a huge block up to open space for Frank Gore was what separates the new Alex Smith from the old Alex Smith.
Alex Smith’s final QB rating was 90.4 as he was 15 for 20 and 124 yards. Smith also racked up 22 yards in 7 rushes for 1 touchdown. Harbaugh pulled Smith into a seconds-long bearhug after he hustled to the sidelines after his short TD run Although Smith played mistake free and threw no interceptions, the 49ers converted only one of their twelve third down situations.
The 49ers lead in the fourth-quarter was all part of contributions of brilliant defensive play and four field goals by David Akers. The legs of Alex Smith also showed up and added a touchdown but his arm did not as Smith was unable to find an open receiver in the end zone.
Things got a little interesting as the Seahawks started to put points on the board and move closer to the 49ers and their lead. However, in a little over a minute in the fourth quarter, 49ers return specialist Ted Ginn Jr. sealed a dismal game where offense struggled and defense shined.
The Seattle Seahawks had cut a 49ers lead within 3 points in the fourth quarter when Ted Ginn Jr. returned a kick for 102 yards and a touchdown the following kick off. Seventy seconds later, Ted Ginn Jr. found daylight and was in the end zone for another touchdown as he returned a Seahawks punt for 55 yards. Ted Ginn Jr. totaled 268 return yards on the nine kickoff returns and punts he fielded.
As for head Coach Jim Harbaugh, he and his staff came out victorious in and set the epitome for a great rivalry in the NFC West between the 49ers and the Seahawks. A coaching rivalry that goes back to their days in Pac-10, it looks like now that the college slate is wiped clean, in the NFL the record stands at Harbaugh 1, Carroll 0.
For the record, the two coaches shook hands after the 49ers 33-17 win over the Seahawks and there was no problems with anybody’s deal.
In other NFL news related to Jim Harbaugh, his brother, John Harbaugh, Head Coach of the Baltimore Ravens, also won their Sunday kickoff as his team defeated their division rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers forcing seven turnovers with a final score of 35-7. The Harbaugh brothers will meet and go head to head as they meet in the Thanksgiving Classic this year which ends a long drought for the 49ers for the last Thanksgiving Classic they played was against the Dallas Cowboys in 1972 where the 49ers defeated the Cowboys 31-10.
The 49ers face old time rivals the Dallas Cowboys at home for their week two match up in Candlestick on Sunday. The Dallas Cowboys are coming off a Sunday night defeat as they fell 27-24 to the New York Jets.