Click here to see all recaps on a single page
| Other Week 4 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI at NYJ | ATL at CAR | BAL at PIT | BUF at STL | CLE at CIN | DEN at KC | GB at TB | HOU at JAX |
| MIN at TEN | PHI at CHI | SD at OAK | SF at NO | WAS at DAL | |||
Week 4 Game Recap: San Francisco 49ers 17, New Orleans Saints 31
What you need to know
| San Francisco 49ers |
San Francisco was unable to mount any type of consistent offense against the Saints. It seemed that when they had good opportunities to score touchdowns they would make a mistake and only be able to come away with a field goal at best. The defensive game plan of the Saints was to concentrate on the running game and force the 49ers into passing situations, where the Saints could blitz aggressively and force the 49ers into mistakes.
J.T. O'Sullivan seemed to be affected by the pressure being applied by the Saints front seven. O'Sullivan was under pressure and rarely had time to get comfortable in the pocket. The pressure forced him to hurry his throws and make bad decisions.
49ers coaches did not abandon the running game, even when they got down by three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Frank Gore was used extensively in both the running and passing game, only came out for a short breather in the fourth quarter.
Arnaz Battle and Isaac Bruce were a formidable receiving combination, when O'Sullivan had the time to get the ball to them. Battle was the main focus of the quick slant routes and Bruce stretched the defense out by going deep.
| New Orleans Saints |
The Saints started slow, punting on two of their first three possessions and throwing an interception on the other one. After that the offense started to click. Drew Brees threw three touchdown passes on the next three drives to give the Saints a commanding 21-6 lead at halftime.
The offense seemed to react positively to the presence of Deuce McAllister in the backfield. McAllister, starting for the first time this season, gave the offense a lift with his hard running style. He gave the Saints an effective inside rusher, something they have lacked in the previous three weeks.
With injuries to Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey it appeared that the Saints would be short handed at receiver. Lance Moore was able to rise to the occasion and provide Brees with a reliable target at wide receiver and Billy Miller was able to adequately fill in for Shockey.
What you ought to know
| QB J.T. OSullivan, Pass: 18 - 36 - 257 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 0 - 0 |
O'Sullivan was under constant pressure from the Saint front seven as he was constantly harassed by aggressive defensive lineman and blitzing linebackers. He started good, completing four of his first five passes and getting sacked just once. The incompletion was on a ball that was almost intercepted at the goal line. After that things went downhill as he was only able to complete three of his next twelve passes before half time. His timing appeared to be off as he was not able to get into any type of rhythm while being pressured into bad passes. In the second half he was able to generate some drives, but they were stopped on two bad throws that were intercepted in the end zone. On his only touchdown pass he was forced out of the pocket and was running away from the rush when he say Isaac Bruce open in the corner of the end zone.
| RB Frank Gore, Rush: 16 - 82 - 0, Rec: 2 - 31 - 0 (6 targets) |
Frank Gore was able to average over five yards per carry in spite of being the focal point of the Saints defense. The defense seemed to key on him, giving him limited room to run. Gore was able to slip through some small creases in the line for long gains, but was not able to bust a run for more than 11 yards. His main contribution was running the football as he had problems catching the ball. Of his six targets he was only able to haul in two passes. He dropped both of his targets in the first half on screen plays that had the potential to gain good yardage. On the first drive of the third quarter he touched the ball on the first four plays, gaining a total of 40 yards. The big play of the series was when he found himself wide open in the flat and took a pass 25 yards.
| RB DeShaun Foster, Rush: 1 - 9 - 0, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (1 targets) |
Foster only saw two touches in limited relief of Frank Gore.
| RB Zak Keasey (1 targets) |
Keasey dropped his only target during the third quarter.
| WR Arnaz Battle, Rec: 7 - 120 - 0 (13 targets) |
Battle was the beneficiary of the pressure being applied to J.T. O'Sullivan. Battle was the hot read on most pass plays and had to be ready to catch the ball on little notice. Battle was able to take the short quick passes and turn them into long gains as he caught the ball in stride and was able to get downfield quickly. He could have had an even bigger game if he had been able to connect with O'Sullivan twice in the end zone. On the second end zone target the defensive back ran in front of him and intercepted the pass.
| WR Isaac Bruce, Rec: 5 - 54 - 1 (10 targets) |
Isaac Bruce knows the style of offense being run in San Francisco from his time playing under Mike Martz in St. Louis and used that knowledge for his benefit. On the second drive of the game he was the intended receiver on a pass that was almost intercepted in the end zone. He seemed to be the receiver that O'Sullivan looked for when a play was needed, but was unable to connect with him often. Bruce showed his veteran skills on the touchdown reception when he noticed O'Sullivan scrambling and ran toward the corner of end zone to give an open target and was able to haul the pass in.
| WR Josh Morgan, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (2 targets) |
Morgan only saw action during the first half and had no targets in the second half.
| WR Bryant Johnson (4 targets) |
Bryant Johnson was unable to connect with O'Sullivan on any of the four passes that come his way. The passes were either to high or behind him.
| TE Vernon Davis, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (1 targets) |
Vernon Davis was not involved in the passing game until late in the fourth quarter. He was able to convert his only target into a 19 yard reception on the 49ers only touchdown drive.
| TE Delanie Walker, Rec: 1 - 21 - 0 (1 targets) |
Walker mainly saw action as the second tight end when the 49ers were in a two tight end set.
| PK Joe Nedney 3 - 3 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 9 points |
Nedney was busy in the first half as the 49ers were unable to convert scoring opportunities into touchdowns.
| SF Rush Defense |
The 49ers rushing defense was tough as they limited the Saints to just over 100 yards rushing. They were able to bottle up Reggie Bush and prevent him from getting outside and breaking off long runs. However, they were victimized by the hard inside running of Deuce McAllister, as he was able to gain over three and one half yards per carry on mainly inside runs.
| SF Pass Defense |
The 49ers pass defense was shredded by Drew Brees and the Saint receivers. Defensive backs were torched for over 350 yards, mainly on deep balls that they were unable to get the proper position on to bat away or intercept. The defensive backs were not helped by the pass rush, which was unable to generate any pressure on Drew Brees
| QB Drew Brees, Pass: 23 - 35 - 363 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
Drew Brees did not seem to be affected by the loss of two of his main receiving weapons. He was given plenty of time to throw by his offensive line and he used that time to find receivers three times on deep passes that led to three touchdowns. Brees started slow, only connecting on five of his first thirteen throws, with an interception. The passing game began to open up in the second quarter as Brees began hitting his receivers in stride on short routes. The success in the short passing game led to openings on deep passes and Brees took full advantage by connecting with his receivers on two long touchdown passes, and almost had a third one when the receiver was tackled at the one yard line.
| RB Deuce McAllister, Rush: 20 - 73 - 1, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (1 targets) |
Deuce McAllister saw his first extensive action since last season's knee injury. He started and saw his first touches on the second series, gaining tough yards inside. On his first carry he showed that he is healthy by refusing to stop moving until he heard the whistle blow, gaining an extra couple of yards just by keeping his legs moving. McAllister is a fan favorite who inspires the team with his hard nosed style. When the Saints got the ball on first and goal from the two early in the fourth quarter they gave him the ball on two consecutive carries to provide the final touchdown of the game.
| RB Reggie Bush, Rush: 10 - 31 - 0, Rec: 5 - 7 - 0 (10 targets) |
Bush was able to do most of his damage while being paired in the backfield with Deuce McAllister. When the two were on the field together Bush would be used to catch short screens or quick passes in the flat designed to get close to the first down marker. Bush seemed to have trouble running inside among traffic, but was also unable to get outside on runs against the quick line backing corps.
| RB Olaniyi Sobomehin, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (3 targets) |
Sobomehin filled in for an injured Mike Karney. He almost scored on his last target but was stopped just short of the end zone before fumbling on a fourth down play.
| WR Lance Moore, Rec: 7 - 101 - 2 (10 targets) |
Lance Moore stepped in for the injured Marques Colston and was frequently targeted while the Saints were establishing themselves on offense. He saw eight of his ten targets in the first half as he was open mainly on crossing routes. His career day was capped off by two touchdown receptions in the first half, the second of which was on an excellent throw that he caught between two defenders in the end zone.
| WR Robert Meachem, Rec: 2 - 99 - 1 (3 targets) |
Meachem's first reception was on a beautiful deep ball that he was able catch while in stride and take it all the way into the end zone. His second reception was on a flea flicker play where the ball was slightly underthrown, but on target. This reception led to the final Saints touchdown.
| WR David Patten, Rec: 1 - 21 - 0 (2 targets) |
Patten saw both of his targets in the first quarter but was only able to come down with the first pass thrown his way.
| WR Devery Henderson, Rec: 1 - 81 - 0 (2 targets) |
Henderson did not see any targets until the fourth quarter, but was targeted on back to back plays. On the first play he caught the ball in the open field and was on his way to the end zone only to be tripped by the trailing defensive back and he fell at the one yard line. He was targeted in the end zone on the very next play, but the ball was thrown way to high.
| TE Billy Miller, Rec: 3 - 30 - 0 (6 targets) |
Billy Miller started at tight end due to the injury to Jeremy Shockey. It took him a little while to get adjusted to the flow of the game as he was unable to haul in his first two targets, one of which was intercepted. After the initial problems he was able to settle down and provide a reliable target over the middle.
| TE Mark Campbell, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
The second tight end for the Saints offense was Mark Campbell. He only saw one pass thrown his way and he came up limping after the reception.
| PK Martin Gramatica 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points |
Gramatica connected on his only field goal attempt and was perfect on his extra points.
| NO Rush Defense |
The rushing defense concentrated on stopping Frank Gore and forcing the 49ers into passing situations. They were able to do that early and held the 49ers to 91 yards rushing. 49ers backs had very little room to run and were often met in the backfield before they could locate a hole.
| NO Pass Defense |
The Saints were able to put pressure on J.T. O'Sullivan and force him to make bad decisions. The defensive line sacked O'Sullivan six times and he was intercepted twice. The defensive backs covered the wide receivers well and disrupted their routes and the timing between the receiver and quarterback.