Ezekiel38":35b7hl63 said:
Marvin49":35b7hl63 said:
Ezekiel38":35b7hl63 said:
Russell Wilson is fantastic and I respect the hell out of him, but I'm not scared of him. Why? Because the rest of the team is just average. This Seahawks team is one tier, maybe two, below the 49ers this year.
Eye test explains it very clearly, and most honest Seahawk fans know it.
49ers will be 11-0 before they have a good chance of losing their first game. Seahawks, Cardinals, Packers all at home and all inferior teams.
Excited to go 9-0 next Monday night and beat the Seahawks soundly in front of the entire country. Not even nervous. If this occurs, the division is a wrap.
The 49ers are the best team in the NFL.
Yeah...not going there.
One game at a time.
Divisional matchups have a way of getting bloody and I expect no less for this one. No way do I assume victory here.
I certainly understand your sentiments Marvin. Your best rebuttal is that it's a divisional match up and we don't know if losing Kwon is going to cause an issue. This Seahawk team could easily be 4-5. Wilson has been fantastic against these inferior teams. The 49ers are not one of those teams.
Seattle doesn't go up tempo. They want to shorten the game as is their philosophy, and even more so because they are playing a superior team. So you don't have to be concerned about this. 49ers will be well rested and the D will have a chip on their shoulder after the AZ game in the 4th quarter. Only chance they have are turnovers or a WTF Jimmy throw. If we turn the ball over like the Pittsburgh game, well yeah we will lose.
IF turnovers are even, Seahawks have no chance.
I think the 49ers have to just play sound defense. Figure out two things:
a) How to limit the run game
b) How to rush Wilson
To me, those two things will be key.
The Seahawks will try to run the ball and will probably have decent success, even if Kwon Alexander was still playing. I think we should expect them to stick to the run game, because despite reports to the contrary, Wilson is still most dangerous when the team can run the ball. If Wilson is going to throw a ton against this 49er defense, not sure that's a ideal look for him.
I have zero doubts the Niners can apply a pass rush on Wilson, but he's the one QB that you can get great rush on him and still lose if you're not careful. Remember what Shanahan said last year, paraphrasing:
"He scrambles around, makes people miss, rolls outside of the pocket and then hits you with a big play. He does that to everyone. Our job is to keep him in the pocket and make him play quarterback".
That's why you have to practice a lot and be disciplined in the pass rush. Bosa and Ford will have to make sure there's no holes opened on their way to Wilson. The Niners being solid all across the DL *might* trigger the 2013-2016 Rams days..... :shock:
Wilson to me is much the same QB he always was in the old days. The difference now is that he hits even better on deep throws/putting air under his passes, and he found a way to play his style of backyard ball more effectively. Lamar Jackson plays a unique style of QB clearly, but people forget that Wilson is very much the same. I'm not saying he can't make a single throw from the pocket, but most of the pocket QBs hang still in the drop far longer, far more often than Wilson.
That's why despite his great success this year, he's a QB you can still beat schematically.
What Saleh did to Wilson in the last matchup was brilliant, covered in an article somewhere. I trust Saleh to take care of his side. Just have to limit the big plays Wilson makes. He will almost always makes them, even in years past when his stats weren't what they are now.
As for the run game, there might be a need to dump the Wide 9 if the loss of Alexander is too much. Wide 9 relies on guys like him and Warner to make it go. It's not just having Bosa and Ford.
