49ers’ defense shines in weekend blowout

By Jeff Dickinson  |   Monday, August 18, 2008  |  Comments( 10 )

San Francisco 49ers
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Although wins and losses don’t mean much during the NFL preseason, Bay Area fans wearing red and gold had to be smiling Sunday morning after the 49ers shellacked the Green Bay Packers, 34-6, on Saturday night.

The 49ers finally got offensive instead of merely looking offensive; they did so by scoring touchdowns through the air, on the ground and on special teams. Even San Francisco’s kicking game looked solid.

The real unsung heroes for the 49ers, however, were the defensive players.

The 49ers had an aggressive pass rush on Green Bay’s quarterbacks and threw them off their rhythm all night. The three Packers passers were limited to 81 aerial yards for the game.

Following is a summary of how the different units performed for the 49ers against Green Bay:

QUARTERBACKS

J.T O’Sullivan had the best night of San Francisco’s three quarterbacks, but to say he was perfect would be an overstatement. O’Sullivan did pass for 154 yards and one touchdown, but he also had an interception and completed only 47 percent of his 17 attempts. Alex Smith, who followed O’Sullivan, also endured his share of struggles, completing just 41 percent of his 12 passes for 52 yards and no scores. Shaun Hill, meanwhile, faded further into the sunset by only throwing five passes and completing two for 21 yards. It continues to seem that O'Sullivan will start Week 1 of the regular season for San Francisco.

RUNNING BACKS

DeShaun Foster continues to look good as an insurance policy for Frank Gore. Foster was the leading rusher for the 49ers against Green Bay, amassing 37 ground yards and a touchdown. Gore played sparingly, but he still gained 29 yards on six carries. Fullback Moran Norris showed a glimpse of what may come during the season in goal-line opportunities, punching it in from 1 yard out for a touchdown.

RECEIVERS

Rookie Josh Morgan, who had a game-high 114 yards on five catches, continues to impress during the preseason. One of Morgan’s grabs was a 59-yard touchdown pass from O’Sullivan. Morgan is slowly poking his nose into the mix of receivers like Bryant Johnson, Isaac Bruce, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Joe Nedney may have been solid with a 49-yard field and two extra points, but return man Alan Rossum made the real news. Rossum, who was brought in to breathe new life into San Francisco’s return game, scored on a 67-yard punt runback late in the fourth quarter. The 49ers didn’t have a single return for a touchdown last season.

DEFENSE

While some holes could be found in every other aspect of San Francisco’s performance, its defense was stellar. The 'D', which was led by linebacker Tully Banta-Cain’s two sacks, dropped Packers starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers behind the line four times. As mentioned earlier, Green Bay's signal-callers combined for a mere 81 yards.

The 49ers still had too many penalties against the Packers (seven), but they won the time-of-possession game and moved the ball on the ground and through the air. Coach Mike Nolan and his assistants should feel much better than after their team's preseason-opening loss to the Raiders.

The 49ers will look to continue improving when they face Chicago this Thursday.

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About Jeff Dickinson

I have been writing and editing professionally for 18 years. I spent the first three years of my career as a sportswriter for a daily newspaper in Alabama and got to cover sports and get paid for it! It was great until I got married and then it wasn't too much fun being away from my wife every...
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