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Persistence pays off for 49ers in opener
By Daniel Dullum September 13, 2009 |
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GLENDALE, Ariz. – Earlier in the week, San Francisco linebacker Patrick Willis made it clear that he didn’t hold the defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals in awe. On the contrary, Willis told the media, “I don’t even look at them being the NFC champions. It’s a whole new year. That’s what they were last year, so this year, to us, they’re a team on our schedule. They are No. 1; we want to win, so it starts with them.” Willis played a key role in making that initial goal a reality Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium during the 49ers’ 20-16 season-opening victory over Arizona. Willis racked up 11 tackles, assisted on two others, and had one of the two San Francisco interceptions off of Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner. He wasn’t around to talk, but Niners defensive end Justin Smith was. He picked up where Willis left off. “The biggest thing, and we all talked about it, is that it is a division rival,” Smith said. “It really doesn’t matter what anybody did in the NFL last season. Teams change so much. It’s a division rival. You’ve got to win your division if you want to play later in the year “We’re 1-0 in our division. That’s all we cared about, and we were able to get it done.” After thanking God for the victory, the players on the roster, the coaches on the staff and the opportunity to be a part of the 49ers staff, Head Coach Mike Singletary said, “We talked about coming out here and just believing. Just fighting and knowing that it was going to be a difficult game, to come in here to their backyard off of everything they’ve accomplished. We knew it was going to be a tremendous challenge, and I’m thankful that we came out of it. “The guys believed, they fought, scratched and kicked. We came out on top.” After ending the 2008 campaign with the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl appearance, Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt was visibly disappointed with the way the usually high flying Cardinals came out of the gate. “You can’t have mistakes like we had today and expect to win,” Whisenhunt said. “I give credit to the 49ers. They played hard, they made plays when they had the chance to make plays, and we didn’t. It came down to that. “We’re very disappointed, he continued. “Especially in the penalties “ As usual, it’s not the number of penalties that hurt the Big Red, but when they occurred. All together, Arizona was whistled 12 times for 82 yards, while the 49ers were penalized four times for 31 yards. One of those situations that galled Whisenhunt the most occurred with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter, when the Cardinals opened a drive at their own 38-yard-line with 3:13 remaining with an illegal procedure call, followed by a holding penalty. “The pre-snap penalties, that’s all about discipline, especially when you’re playing at home,” Whisenhunt said. “We all just took turns making mistakes and against a team that’s opportunistic like they are, you can’t make the mistakes that we made.” For the better part of the day, the Cardinals offense sputtered, mostly in the first half. The 49ers, meanwhile, didn’t perform much better with the ball, at least until they forged a 15-play, 80-yard game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Shaun Hill capped the drive when he found a wide-open Frank Gore headed toward the right corner of the end zone. A score coming moments after Arizona took its first and only lead of the afternoon. “It was probably, as far as their assignments, the best drive we had the whole game,” Hill said. “Not making a big mistake, just converting on third downs, we had some third-and-manageables, and we were able to convert on them and move the chains.” Singletary added, “[Tight end] Vernon Davis came alive. Shaun Hill rallied everyone together and did a nice job of helping everyone understand. He told them, ‘This is it. It’s time to go, and it’s time to make magic.’” Cardinals safety Antrel Rolle said, “We couldn’t get them off the field like we had been doing all game. We had one let-up in the game and that can show you what happens. We had a few blown coverages and we just have to pick up on that for next week.” The Niners caught a couple of breaks midway through the first quarter. First, Cards wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald was whistled for offensive pass interference, followed by a false start. Then, Warner was picked off by Willis, giving San Francisco the ball at the Arizona 38, eventually setting up a 38-yard field goal by Joe Nedney. But, as San Francisco was establishing field position, a blunder by the special teams gave the Cardinals new life. With 3:44 left in the first quarter, the 49ers were flagged for having 12 men on the field. San Francisco challenged the call and won a reversal. Referee Don Carey had a terrible time sorting out the details, but in the end, the challenge held up, and San Francisco had the ball at its own 43. Besides being somewhat befuddled on a couple of ball placements, Carey kept the crowd entertained by leaving his microphone switch open for a couple of extended stretches. An unnecessary roughness penalty against Cardinals corner Nate Clements moved the ball to the Arizona 25. But a sack by Chris Okeafor forced the 49ers to settle for a 50-yartd field goal by Nedney with 1:22 left in the quarter. Two scoring drives on a total of 41 yards. It seemed like it would be just a matter of time before Arizona would get itself organized and almost did. Warner competed a 40-yard pass to Jerheme Urban, a 16-yard pass to Tim Hightower, and as the second quarter began, Arizona was knocking on the door at the San Francisco 29. However, the 49ers secondary did an effective job of keeping wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald out of the offensive flow, forcing Warner to dump passes to running back Tim Hightower instead. And the Cardinals saw their first drive of the second quarter fizzle, settling for a 44-yard field goal by Neil Rackers. “Some of those situations were just pressure where I couldn’t get the ball down the field, so I had to just dump it off to Tim and let him make something happen,” Warner said. “It was really just a combination of things and sometimes it was the only thing open. Sometimes it was the quickest thing open to get the ball out and make a play.” San Francisco’s first touchdown drive was nearly squelched by its own penalties. Following a 55-yard punt, the 49ers were called for an illegal block that moved them to their own 27, instead of starting at their own 42. On third-and-10 at their own 44, Hill completed a 50-yard pass to Isaac Bruce, moving the Niners to the Cardinal 6. From there, Frank Gore powered in for the game’s first touchdown with 2:23 to play in the first half. “They had a great game plan for our type of offense,” Gore said. “But I’m happy we got the W. We keep going; we keep fighting. We made plays here and there and we won. So I’m happy about that now.” Arizona, at the same time, hardly looked like a Super Bowl participant. Warner’s frustrations continued when, after he was flushed out of the pocket, threw an interception to Nate Clements while trying to avoid a sack. “They were playing guys hot and they always had deep safeties down there,” Warner said. “There may have been some shots down there, and those were the times where they got the pressure, so you couldn’t hold it to take a chance. “It was just a variety of things,” he added. “We just didn’t finish off the plays.” In the second half, Warner tried to get Fitzgerald back into the game with an 18-yard completion. Rookie Beanie Wells rambled to the 30, and a swing pass to Hightower put the Cardinals at the San Francisco 5. Two plays later, a scrambling Warner found Fitzgerald open in the end zone, tying the game at 13-13. Fitzgerald caught six passes for 71 yards, and Hightower snagged 12 passes for 121 yards. But the Cardinals only totaled 40 yards on the ground, though the 49ers didn’t fare much better, with only 21 yards on 25 carries. “As a secondary, we did a good job,” Clements said of holding down Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. “The D-line did a good job as well. They were getting after him. We just ran our coverages, and we just stayed fundamentally sound.” “Those guys played us well, and they do a lot of things well,” Fitzgerald said. “They all did a really good job on their coverages, and they never come out and give you the same look. They always keep you on your toes. They always keep you guessing. “Next time we play them, we have to do a better job.” Arizona had one last shot with under a minute to play, but Smith sacked Warner as time expired, giving San Francisco something it hasn’t enjoyed in a while – two years to be exact – a season-opening victory. “’Realize that this is one game,” Singletary told the 49ers after the game. “We’ve been 1-0 before. It’s really important to understand that this is one game.’ “I told them to enjoy it, they deserve it and earned it, but let’s keep that proper perspective,” he concluded. “We have to go back this week and prepare for Seattle.” 49er NUGGETS: Arizona has won five of the last 10 meetings between the Cardinals and 49ers, and swept last year’s series. … CB Marcus Hudson suffered a chest contusion in the first half and did not return. … Tony Pashos, a seven-year veteran offensive lineman from Illinois, was signed by the 49ers as a free agent and was in uniform for the game against Arizona. Pashos played for Niners O-line coach Chris Foerster for two seasons when both were in Baltimore. … 49ers’ WR Brandon Jones has a fractured right shoulder and is not expected back until October. … The Cardinals’ 2008 NFC championship banner was unveiled prior to kickoff. No banners exist, however, for the Chicago Cards’ 1947 NFL championship or 1948 NFL Western Conference champs… Phoenix native and American Idol star contestant Jordin Sparks sang the National Anthem. …. The attendance was 61,981, a sell-out that prevented a local TV blackout. |
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