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49ers’ Smith still questionable for Sunday
By David Zizmor October 15, 2007 |
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The San Francisco 49ers are still not sure if Alex Smith is going to come back and play his first game since his shoulder separation injury to play against the Giants this Sunday and it could be still Trent Dilfer were really not we'll see as the week progresses and get near game time at the Meadowlands this Sunday. The decision will become clearer as the Niners head closer to game time and it would be a good time for the Niners, as Smith was hurt and Dilfer knows the offense. Your talking about a guy who really hasn't played regular in a couple of years at the very least he really needs time getting his legs under him. Obviously, there are some guys who are dinged up here and there on defense and offense and that need a chance to recover to take a break, and most importantly this past bye gave the Niners a chance to catch their breath. The Niners offense has been playing so terribly they needed a chance to step back to figure out exactly what their doing and find a way to fix it. We'll find out if the Niners are going to be successful in doing that or if Jim Hostler is going to get a one way ticket to the unemployment line. For the Niners it has been a tough first six games out of those two wins in those first two games everything was going as planned the Niners were back on track to maybe being a playoff team that didn't make it the last couple of years that worked its way out. The next three games for the 49ers were complete turn around from those opening ones. They looked okay against Pittsburgh they weren't able to hang with them but everybody thought it was okay against Pittsburgh they're one of the top teams in the AFC and then boy the next couple of games against Seattle and the Baltimore Ravens were horrible the offense didn't show up. Alex Smith was knocked down in the third play of the game against the Seahawks the Ravens defense just completely just shut down the 49ers offense. The offense for three weeks really has been horrific. It was like a car accident you couldn't bear to watch. It's been one of the worse offenses that we've seen here in San Francisco and it hasn't been getting better but it's been getting worse in the last three weeks so hopefully the bye weeks will let them assess the problem and fix it again. It'll be tough for the Niners, since the New York Giants have a pretty good defense they're not one of the best defenses in the league. The Giants have given up quiet a few points but at the same time they have some very very tough players. Osi Umenyiora the defensive end for the Giants had six sacks against he Philadelphia Eagles, a couple of weeks ago and he way the Niners offensive line has been playing lately it's been a lot of trouble keeping him out of the back field he's someone that they've definitely have to stop. Aaron Ross one of the top picks in the NFL draft this past year has been great at quarterback this last few weeks for the Giants including Monday night's game against the Falcons. The Niners have to find a way to get around him, in the passing game and have to find a way to get Frank Gore started. They have not been able to give him the running lane and part of it is because the passing has so little respect from defenses that their stacking eight, nine guys in the box and daring the Niners to pass and the Niners keep running it like your running into a brick wall. Thats why Gore has such a tough time he had no room if they don't establish the passing game Gore isn't going to have much room to run the rest of the season its really that simple unless they open up the passing game. The running game is going to suffer the rest of the way and hopefully for the 49ers they figured out a way to get the passing game started to get guys like Arnez Battle and the guys they signed in the off season Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lee involved in the offense. Hopefully Vernon Davis will be closer to recovering from his injury and that'll help out the offense as well. The Niners have a big test here against the New York Giants as the NFC West is wide open. Seattle lost to the Saints, the Rams are 0-6 and Arizona not only lost Matt Lienart, but possibly Kurt Warner. In the NFC West even at 2-4 you still have a position to be in a much winnable situation for the 49ers. That shows you how badly the NFC West is and the Niners have horrible three weeks in a row and the Niners still have a shot if the Niners can get things together they actually have a chance to win this division. David Zizmor covers 49ers football each week read his column and listen to him on the 1690 KFSG Sacramento. |
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