Jim Harbaugh’s 49ers Play Inspired, Defeat Lions in Detroit
Lost behind all of the talk of the handshake, was how good the 49ers defense played on Sunday, and how much better of a team the 49ers are this year.
San Francisco traveled East to Detroit to take on the undefeated Lions and their potent offense, and offense that a weak earlier had absolutely shredded the Chicago Bears defense on the ground and through the air. On Sunday though the 49ers displayed a mental toughness that was often missing last year despite having a passionate coach in Mike Singletary. The difference this year though is paltable. This is a good 49ers team that is filled with future stars on the defense.
The 49ers haven’t given up a 100 yard rusher in more than a season. They are stout up front led by DE Justin Smith who has 4.5 sacks from the 34 DE position which his impressive. 49ers fans were upset by the loss of Athyba Franklin, but that is negated by the good play of Isaac Sopoaga, who’s not putting up any numbers (6 tackles) but his occupying defenders.
What the real strength of the 49ers defense though is in their linebacker core. Everyone knows how good Patrick Willis is, so there is no need to expound on him, but next to Willi is NaVorro Bowman. Bowman is one of five players I profiled before the season as breakout players in their second year (Jason Pierre Paul, Linval Joseph, C.J. Spiller, and Gerald McCoy were the others) and he has been absolutely excellent. He’s flying all over the field getting to the ball and making it impossible for opposing offenses to do anything short when you brace him with Willis in the middle. Bowman has 56 tackles on the season and 3 passes defensed.
And then there is Aldon Smith who will make his first apperance on my rookie Watch this week who had another impressive performance. He had 2 sacks on Sunday (one which was a safety) and a forced fumble. He has 5.5 sacks in his last three games and is show casing why the 49ers felt he was worthy of a top 10 pick. Smith isn’t the most explosive player in the league, but he really uses his hands well to fight off the defender and then uses his athleticism to get to the quartertback.
The secondary was supposed to be bad in San Francisco but with Free Agent signees Carlos Rodgers and Donte Whitner, they are playing well. They have 8 interceptions already this year.
The offense isn’t flashy, but they are mean up front can really run the ball. Alex Smith isn’t a great player, but he’s playing smart winning football.
This 49ers team isn’t just the best of the “N.F.C. Worst”. This an excellent defense that also happens to really be able to run the football on offense. This is a 49ers team that will be competitive all year and with 7 games left vs the likes of Cleveland, Washington, Stl (twice), Arizona (twice), and Seattle could actually compete for a first round bye.
Maybe Harbaugh has a thing or two to learn about post-game handshakes, but he’s already ahead of the learning curve in getting his team to play inspired football.