NINERS: Less than 30 seconds left, they eke out the win!

[VF21]

At this point, a 49er fan has to take the wins when they can get them!

And this NINER fan was very happy to see the offense get it together and get into the end zone to send the Arizona Cardinals home without a win by a score of 20-17.

While most of the game was not really what the loyal SF fans wanted to see, the ending erased all the angst and made it a season-starter to build on.

Who knows why it took Alex Smith so long but it was the final drive that made the evening a success. Smith passed for 60 yards on that drive, scrambled on a 4th and 1 call for 25 yards and connected with Battle on the one-yard line. Battle went into the endzone on a handoff to cement the win on the newly named Bill Walsh Field.

Any win is a good win, fellow 49er fans, and seeing our guys drive down the field like that warms this fan's heart!

NINERS!!!!!

 

[nebs]

Very CLUTCH performance! The drive started with a little dunk to Battle.. reminded me of that SuperBowl XXIII drive against the Bengals. Not on the same level obviously but it reminded me.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I picked the 9ers as my sacrificial lamb from the NFC this year so I'm glad they eked this one out. Smith looked good that final drive although the play calling was awfully suspect.

 

[G_M]

After watching this game I could only think of one thing; please come back Norv Turner......

I'm glad the 9ers won but the play calliing was poor to be kind.

Psstttt........throw the ball to Vernon Davis..........

How bout a bootleg? Roll Smith out, anything...............

 

[Jechtsphere]

Great last drive but...

The defense was great especially the secondaty.

Clements was worth every penny.

They held two pro bowl WR's in Fitzgerald and Boldin to 22 yards a piece I believe compared to years past where they destroyed our secondary.

Willis was great too, he's a beast. (11 tackles and a forced fumble)

vote for Willis for rookie of the week!

http://www.nfl.com/partner?partnerType=Rookies

 

[uolj]

I was very happy with the game.

Very good defense and a win.

 

[JoMama]

It was a dog game but worth staying up to the end. Smith may just have gained the confidence to lead this team with some conviction. Sometimes a great, last-minute drive for the winning TD is all it takes to set a career in overdrive. Man would that be juicy!

 

[PixelPusher]

Wow, we actually have real secondary, for first time since...well...M.C. Hammer was rich and famous. And this "Patrick Willis" fellow just might make it in the NFL.

 

[uolj]

Yup... gotta love Willis' play.

 

[Prophetess]

For the first time in 9 years the 49ers have started the season 2-0.

 

[PixelPusher]

Ha, we can put week 2 into this same thread and keep the title intact.

 

[VF21]

I'm just very happy they beat the hated Lambs.

 

[hoops4kings]

I'm just very happy they beat the hated Lambs.

Me too. A wins a win. Woot!

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

For the first time in 9 years the 49ers have started the season 2-0.

Isn't this one of the signs of the apocolypse??

Be afraid...be VERY afraid!

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

We need to fire Jim Hostler already, our offense, outside of Gore, is impotent. We have far too many weapons now to struggle like we have as many 3 and outs that we've had...why the hell did we run the ball like 88 straight times on Sunday(no offense to Mr. Gore) Hello!!!...Mr. Hostler, do we not have Vernon Davis?? Do we not have Darrell Jackson?? Ashlie Lelie?? Oh, and I think that Gore guy can catch the ball pretty good, too. Mix it up already! I miss Norv already.

 

[uolj]

Gore has been impotent too. Outside of the nice touchdown run on fourth down (that was almost stopped short of the first down) he's averaged 2.5 yards per carry. I can't say that it is necessarily his fault, but the whole offense hasn't been doing well.

Of course, I don't really care right now. The team is winning, and doing enough to win. When they needed offense against Arizona, they got it. We'll just have to see if they can get it when they need it as the season moves along.

 

[VF21]

We have a lot of offensive weapons but we still have Alex Smith... Sorry, but I'm just not in the "I LOVE SMITH" camp ...

 

[uolj]

It's hard to say. He's made some nice throws, and I don't remember a lot of bad ones. But other than the drive against Arizona he hasn't shown a ton this year.

Part of me is thinking that's just fine. The 49ers don't need Dan Marino. If they can get Gore untracked and continue to play well defensively then they only need Smith to be like Dilfer was for the Ravens. Don't make mistakes, run the offense, let the running game do most of the work. If he can engineer some drives through the air at the ends of games when needed, even better.

 

[Rowdyone]

I'm not ready to jump on the Alex Smith bandwagon just yet but the playcalling is putting a lot of pressure on him. Teams are taking away our ground game and daring Smith to beat them. But we keep running and counting on our defense to keep us in the game. Passing on first down and down the field to stretch the D would be a welcome sight and take some pressure off the ground game. These 5-10 yd tosses are driving me crazy and are playing right into the hands of the defense.