Thread: first preseason game

49ers defensive player-by-player review vs. Vikings

An outsiders look at things.....Interesting in that they actually reference the Viking player they lined up against.

Originally Posted by Marrdro

You do realize how windy it was, mixed in with it being his first kick in the NFL, don't you?

In the end, I'm not slobbering, your just pissed you don't have a "Proven" name you recognize on the roster performing kicking duties.....

Nah, I'm not pissed at all. You of all people know how I hated kicks from Longwell that land at the 15.

I hope this kid does great, but he didn't do so well last year. All I'm saying is wait until the guy actually proves himself first. A 26 & 39 yarder mean nothing if the kid can't boot them in for a FG from further out. A 26 yarder is only 6 yards further than an extra point.

Originally Posted by vikinggreg

Not so sure about the 3 times longer since Ponder took 18 snaps and Webb took 14.

Ponder was in for 2 series, Webb was in for 5.

Originally Posted by singersp

The touchbacks are great, but lets wait until he kicks some FG's a little longer than 39 & 26 yards before slobbering all over him.

Well he can only kick what he's given to kick. He's been drilling them from 60 in practice and warmups. Yes, I realize that's not a game, but it's all he has had the opportunity to do so far.

Originally Posted by Marrdro

49ers defensive player-by-player review vs. Vikings

An outsiders look at things.....Interesting in that they actually reference the Viking player they lined up against.

Interesting to see how much better their back ups seem to be than ours! If I were a reporter I would ask Spielman why.

Originally Posted by 12purplepride28

Well he can only kick what he's given to kick. He's been drilling them from 60 in practice and warmups. Yes, I realize that's not a game, but it's all he has had the opportunity to do so far.

Obviously he can only kick what's given to him. Just saying before some people start talking about how great he is, they should wait until he actually kicks a few on game day longer than 40 yards when it counts.

We all know he's capable of kicking them really far, as he's shown in practice, just like he did last year in practice, but when it came to regular season games, he was 21 of 35 & in 2008 he was 15/23.

I'm hoping he's out of that funk he was in last year & returns to 2009-2010 form & is great for us for years to come, but as everyone here should already know, practice & preseason doesn't always carry over to the regular season.

How many times have we seen players have a great camp, make the team & then under perform come regular season?

Winners and losers from Vikings’ preseason opener

Vikings Now» Blog Archive » Winners and losers from Vikings’ preseason opener

Originally Posted by singersp

Ponder was in for 2 series, Webb was in for 5.

That doesn't mean that Webb was in for longer that Ponder. The argument that Ponder took off running too easily, especially when compared to Webb, doesn't hold water. And Webb certainly didn't play 3 times as much as Ponder.

Ponder's first series took 6 plays and lasted 2:26. It went 59 yards, had 1 first down, and ended in a FG.
Ponder's second series took 13 plays (including one penalty) and lasted 6:07. It went 75 yards, had 4 first downs, and ended in a FG.
Total: 19 plays, 8:33, 134 yards, 5 first downs, and 2 FGs. In that time Ponder scrambled twice (both in the second drive) for a net gain of 7 yards.

Webb's first series took 3 plays and lasted 1:06. It went 8 yards, had no first downs, and ended in a punt.
Webb's second series took 4 plays and lasted 2:02. It went 18 yards, had one first down, and ended in a punt.
Webb's third series took 5 plays and lasted 0:51. It went 13 yards, had one first down, and ended in a punt. The first down (and 11 yards) were the result of a DI penalty.
Webb's fourth series took 6 plays and lasted 2:22. It went 14 yards, had one first down, and ended in a punt.
Webb's fifth series took 5 plays and lasted 2:28. It went 13 yards, had one first down, and ended in a punt.
Total: 23 plays, 7:49, 66 yards, 4 first downs, and 5 punts. In that time Webb also scrambled twice.

In the end they played for a very comparable amount of time and snaps. And neither one was quick to scramble IMHO. Given that both of our QBs are mobile, I like to see them make plays with their feet when the opportunity presents itself. Although Ponder needs to learn to freaking slide feet first. If anything I wished Webb would have scrambled MORE because he was largely ineffective passing.

Originally Posted by singersp

Nah, I'm not pissed at all. You of all people know how I hated kicks from Longwell that land at the 15.

I hope this kid does great, but he didn't do so well last year. All I'm saying is wait until the guy actually proves himself first. A 26 & 39 yarder mean nothing if the kid can't boot them in for a FG from further out. A 26 yarder is only 6 yards further than an extra point.

You see this.....

Priefer also loved that Walsh spent the pre-game showing off his leg strength in close proximity to 49ers veteran David Akers. During one sequence, Akers came up short on a pre-game kick from about 55 yards. Just behind him, Walsh responded by hammering a kick from 60-plus.

What wind? Rookie kicker Blair Walsh handled his first NFL action with poise | StarTribune.com

Thats what I call kicker smack talk. I'm going to love this kid even if he misses a couple this year. In the end, he is going to grow just like the rest of the team and eventually you'll wonder why you ever doubted him.

Originally Posted by smegmavike

Interesting to see how much better their back ups seem to be than ours! If I were a reporter I would ask Spielman why.

I hear ya, but you have to remember one thing, they haven't changed much since last year. Most of their backups are more familiar with the scheme than some of our starters.

With that in mind I would expect to see their players more comfortable with what the staff is trying to do.