49ers' report card starts with an F at QB

By MATT MAIOCCO
PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Sunday, October 19, 2008 at 3:39 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, October 19, 2008 at 9:39 p.m.

QUARTERBACK

F

J.T. OSullivan continues his disturbing trend of making crucial mistakes at the wrong time. He threw two interceptions, including a back-breaker late in the first half, and fumbled four times. He lost one fumble, and another resulted in a safety.

RB

C-minus

Frank Gore was more of a presence in the passing game with three catches for 50 yards. He could never get anything going against the Giants active defensive front. Gore managed just 11 yards on 11 carries.

WR

C-minus

Vernon Davis dropped a perfectly thrown pass down the field early in the game. Josh Morgan had his best game, including his first career touchdown.

But Morgan also dropped a deep pass when the 49ers were trying to rally.

OL

D-plus

The line had stretches when it gave OSullivan a lot of time to throw, but things also collapsed when the 49ers were trying to play catch up. The 49ers gave up six sacks and averaged just 2.2 yards per rushing attempt.

DL

C-plus

Aubrayo Franklin had his best game of the season, and Justin Smith was his usual active self. The run defense was solid. They didnt get much pressure on Eli Manning, but they did bat down four passes at the line of scrimmage.

LB

B-plus

Patrick Willis had another strong all-around day. He recorded nine tackles and also broke up a game-high three passes. Manny Lawson saw his most extensive playing time of the year and had four tackles.

DB

B-plus

Nate Clements and Walt Harris were called for pass-interference penalties, but both played very well. The Giants were held to just 161 passing yards without much pass rush. Clements held Plaxico Burress to three catches for 24 yards and a TD.

SPECIAL TEAMS

A-minus

The 49ers became the first NFL team to score on blocked field-goal returns in back-to-back games. Lawson blocked the kick, and Clements returned it 74 yards for a touchdown.

COACHING/OVERALL

D-plus

The game plans were solid, but the 49ers were not sharp. They committed 13 penalties for 134 yards, and failed to execute some plays that could have gone for big yards. The 49ers had a chance to pull off an upset, but they couldnt get the job done.

*****

As I said before, I'm officially off the JTO bandwagon and will be looking forward to a QB change, possibly after the Bye week. Lets see if JTO and Nolan will screw this game up against the Seahawks (most likely they will). Then, if we're lucky, Nolan will be fired and JTO replaced w/ Hill or Martin or some guy off the street who'll throw less INTs.

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