Divisional Round GDT - Vikings at 49ers

[gopherwrestler]

2 hours ago, vikingsrule said:

Hughes went on IR last week. Suddenly, MN has zero DB depth. Rhodes gets hurt every game too, something to keep in mind.

This is absolutely true, the depth is an issue. We do basically have a safety (Sendejo) playing as a slot corner, who surprisingly played very good against the Saints. 
 

but to say we are 100% down on DB’s just isn’t true. Holten Hill would still be up there as one of the best non starting CB’s in the league compared to what a lot of teams have out there, and has proven to be reliable enough to be out there. But outside of him I wouldn’t want us to lean on Sherels or Boyd all too much. 

2 hours ago, NcFinest9erFan said:

What is going on with Rhodes? He seemed like the next big thing a couple years back.

He’s still not terrible, he’s there when he can be physical, teams just have been picking on his weaknesses now. Like most older aging CB’s, when the D-Line is getting pressure he can play great. He had his misplay last week on that Hill pass for a TD, but still limited Thomas to 2 catches for 20 yards last game in his coverage. 
 
Sometimes it just feels like Brain-Farts with him.

[Justone2]

3 hours ago, Forge said:

Yes, it's the same stat. It's 36 carries. Just not enough for me to draw any sort of definitive judgment on. There are too many variables that could have an atypically large sway in a figure like that without context. 

They deserve it, they are good. I do think that there is a little flavor of the week going on because of what the defense did to Brees / Saints, not to mention Cousins finally winning a big game, that is pushing people over to that side in terms of mainstream media. Stopping the Saints is not the same as stopping the 49ers; and that's not to say that our offense is better than the Saints, just that it is structured differently and what stops one doesn't necessarily stop the other. 

The biggest thing though may be the Cousins  angle. The biggest problem with the Vikings all year was that they couldn't really break through against really good teams. They crushed the Eagles, but I wouldn't call them good, and then every time they had a challenging game, they lost for the most part. Their most impressive victories in terms of competition were the Cowboys / Eagles. They did dominate a lot of lesser competition in impressive fashion, but that's not the same as beating a high quality team, even if it's just by the skin of your teeth. They played the Chiefs (without Mahomes, I think), Packers twice, Eagles, Seattle, and Bills. They were 1-5 in those games. So I think people were really hesitant to think that they could make it through the playoffs given that they couldn't seem to get over that hump. Then they beat the Saints, and it's almost like the dam finally broke and people were willing to hop on board thinking that they have moved past it. I don't think the talent on the roster has ever been in question - it's one of the better rosters in the NFL for sure. 

This sounds good in theory, but truthfully, we have done this all year. We've been doing this during the down turn of the defense and we are still giving up the  points. The Seahawks averaged only 4.9 yards per play in week 17, and they should have won that game (to put it in perspective, 4.9 yards per play would be 4th best defensively in the nfl). Their longest play was 24 yards.  The rams averaged 5.6 (would be middle of the pack) and hung up 31 (they never had a play of 30 yards or more). The Falcons averaged 4.8 yards per play and won the game by putting up 23 points (no play over 28 yards). It was only the Saints game where we gave up a ton everywhere and just completely crapped the bed. The Cardinals averaged 4.3 yards per play in that second match up and put up 26 (no play larger than 23 yards). There's just been something off about the 49ers defense lately. On a micro level, they are actually still very tough...just lost the ability to make consistent timely stops. 

Zimmer will be a tough out, I have no doubt about that. He'll make Shanny work for it. Unless he does something that Shanny doesn't expect, I suspect that Shanny will get the better of this matchup as well. He's just so good at designing plays and figuring out the way defenses work. So long as the offensive line or Jimmy doesn't crap the bed, I think we will win. But I definitely think it'll be a hard fought battle. 

I feel the biggest problem with our defense the past few weeks has been we either force a 3 and out or we give up a long touch down drive. There really isn't that much in between where we give up a first down and then get the out. Which makes the stats in bulk look better but the end result is that you give up more point than the yards and other stats would lead you to believe. Especially when it feels like late in games those 3 and outs get less and the long drives increase in volume. 

[NcFinest9erFan]

 

[TecmoSuperJoe]

Game is on NBC. Best broadcasting crew of the weekend.

[Forge]

24 minutes ago, NcFinest9erFan said:

 

Ugh. So annoying. If he's out, or not able to play effectively, this game becomes so much more difficult as I would give the Vikings the edge in being able to hold up against our pass rush more than I would give our line's ability to shut down their pass rush. 

Would make this game much more even

[TecmoSuperJoe]

The time for being safe is over. The medical staff said he can play right?

Edited January 11, 2020 by PapaShogun

[757-NINER]

2 minutes ago, PapaShogun said:

The time for being safe is over. The medical staff said he can play right?

Wrong mindset. If he isn't right he shouldn't play...end of discussion. They tried that once and he literally played like two snaps and made it worst. If he feels any tightness whatsoever they should sit him down. Hamstrings are tricky. Hopefully we'll have two more games after this one. Much rather have him completely healthy in another week than semi-healthy right now. 

[vikingsrule]

4 minutes ago, 757-NINER said:

Wrong mindset. If he isn't right he shouldn't play...end of discussion. They tried that once and he literally played like two snaps and made it worst. If he feels any tightness whatsoever they should sit him down. Hamstrings are tricky. Hopefully we'll have two more games after this one. Much rather have him completely healthy in another week than semi-healthy right now. 

Thielen went through the same exact thing. He was rushed to play against the Chiefs and was pulled after the first series. He missed several weeks thereafter and is now finally looking healthy, until he cut his ankle open in practice.

[TecmoSuperJoe]

51 minutes ago, 757-NINER said:

Wrong mindset. If he isn't right he shouldn't play...end of discussion. They tried that once and he literally played like two snaps and made it worst. If he feels any tightness whatsoever they should sit him down. Hamstrings are tricky. Hopefully we'll have two more games after this one. Much rather have him completely healthy in another week than semi-healthy right now. 

If the 49ers even make it to next week without him. We'll see. 

If Ford says he can play, he should play. He's practiced all week. He's going to know if his body is right.

 

Edited January 11, 2020 by PapaShogun

[N4L]

29 minutes ago, PapaShogun said:

If the 49ers even make it to next week without him. We'll see. 

If Ford says he can play, he should play. He's practiced all week. He's going to know if his body is right.

KD played game 5 of the NBA finals with basically the same injury that Ingram has right now and tore his achilles. 

Ford has a chronic knee injury, and a hamstring injury. Everything on your body is connected. 

2020 vision says he shouldn't have tried to play in NO and that decision is hurting us now. 

Lets be smart about this. We need a healthy 46 tomorrow. Hamstrings are tricky as @757-NINERsays. 

His agility is his greatest ability. If he cant move well, then he wont be able to use his speed. 

I would be fine with having Ford on a very strict 10-15 play snap count and play him mostly in the second half, but I think if hes not able to play a full game then he probably shouldn't play at all. Im going to be greedy here and say that the defensive line with bosa, buckner, armstead with the backers of warner, kwon, and greenlaw and the secondary of sherm, tartt, ward will be enough to get it done. We aren't holding anything back to go win this game. we are approaching it exactly like we should, as a do or die, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't plan on surviving.

a healthy ford would be a huge boost. imagine it happening in miami 

[J-ALL-DAY]

2 hours ago, Justone2 said:

I feel the biggest problem with our defense the past few weeks has been we either force a 3 and out or we give up a long touch down drive. There really isn't that much in between where we give up a first down and then get the out. Which makes the stats in bulk look better but the end result is that you give up more point than the yards and other stats would lead you to believe. Especially when it feels like late in games those 3 and outs get less and the long drives increase in volume. 

It's because we lack the game changing plays, whether it be sacks or forcing turnovers. Alexander is a playmaker and Ford is obviously a force coming off the edge. That would help greatly.

Only QB who had success against us that didn't get the ball out of his hands quickly was Wilson, but that's because we weren't able to get him on the ground. Cousins on the other hand had the slowest release during the regular season. Interested in seeing if Cousins adjusts or keeps doing what he is doing. 

[sherm]

I'll be so glad when the gm starts. So we can stop the who's playing and who's not. We have the talent to win the gm and should win if we play up to our talent. I think this gm will be our toughest test even if we move on. Every gm we've played so far has been with the beginning of season expectations(overachiever). Now we're playing gms as the fav and with SB expectations. Hopefully the guys can keep the nerves down early on. 

[N4L]

10 minutes ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

Cousins on the other hand had the slowest release during the regular season

excellent point. 

where do you find release times for the league this year?

[J-ALL-DAY]

3 minutes ago, N4L said:

excellent point. 

where do you find release times for the league this year?

https://nextgenstats.nfl.com/stats/passing#average-time-to-throw

[N4L]

6 minutes ago, sherm said:

I'll be so glad when the gm starts. So we can stop the who's playing and who's not. We have the talent to win the gm and should win if we play up to our talent. I think this gm will be our toughest test even if we move on. Every gm we've played so far has been with the beginning of season expectations(overachiever). Now we're playing gms as the fav and with SB expectations. Hopefully the guys can keep the nerves down early on. 

yeah, especially off of a bye. I am glad the game is in the afternoon and not at night. Will definitely help with the routine.

I think we will be fine on that front. No matter what happens early, I know we can weather the storm and finish strong. no matter what.