- Thread starter
- #1
Niner Outlaw
Stay out of my territory.
Well, we find the Niners in the NFC Championship game on the road against the #1 seeded Eagles.
This will undoubtedly be the biggest test the Niners have had all year. It's by far and away their toughest, most well-rounded opponent. The Eagles are GOOD on both offense and defense.
On offense, the eagles:
--are 3rd in points scored and 3rd in yards gained
--have a 1,000 yard pro bowl rusher in Sanders who averaged 4.9ypc
--are a top 5 rushing offense
--have an All Pro WR in Brown, who beat the crap out of us when he was with the Titans
--have good secondary receiving options in WR D.Smith who had 1,100yds and TE D.Goedart who had 700yd
--OLine is one of the best in the league
--worst of all, the eagles have a mobile QB and the Niners defense is weak against mobile Qbs
On defense, the eagles:
--are 8th in points allowed and 2nd in yards allowed, the Defense is VERY good
--they can rush the passer like no other team in the league, they have a whopping 70 sacks on the season!
--they have 4 different rushers with 10+ sacks
--their pass pressure rate is 25.5%, which is just a tick under Dallas's and they pressured us all day long
--have a pro bowl CB in Slay and some other good pieces that should not be underestimated
--if they have a defensive weakness, it's on the ground where they are 24th in yards per rushing attempt, giving up 4.6ypc
This will be the Niners first road playoff game this year (after having 3 straight last year) and it's in a very loud environment in Philly. Still, Purdy and the offense held up pretty well to the noise in Seattle, so that bodes well enough.
One has to assume that the Niners will try and establish the run in this one considering that that is how teams have beaten the Eagles--by not giving up on the run and converting on 3rd and middle or 3rd and short. The rushing game will slow down that pass rush and take pressure off of Purdy. Then again, Shanny might decide to go play action from the beginning and come out throwing it. There is really no telling in this game, but considering how conservative Shanny was against Dallas, I'd expect him to do the same early on in Philly. On defense, first and foremost, the team has to prevent big plays and make the Eagles take the ball the length of the field. The Eagles just have so many ways their offense can hurt you and I'm not sure the defense can hold up against all of it. Hopefully, the Niners got their freak-accident turnover out of the way in Dallas (thanks Ray Ray).
Vegas has the Niners as 2.5 point underdogs. Considering that the game is in Philly, that's practically a pick em on a neutral field. It's strange b/c the KC/Cincy game has changed its line to even too!
Well, what do we think?
This will undoubtedly be the biggest test the Niners have had all year. It's by far and away their toughest, most well-rounded opponent. The Eagles are GOOD on both offense and defense.
On offense, the eagles:
--are 3rd in points scored and 3rd in yards gained
--have a 1,000 yard pro bowl rusher in Sanders who averaged 4.9ypc
--are a top 5 rushing offense
--have an All Pro WR in Brown, who beat the crap out of us when he was with the Titans
--have good secondary receiving options in WR D.Smith who had 1,100yds and TE D.Goedart who had 700yd
--OLine is one of the best in the league
--worst of all, the eagles have a mobile QB and the Niners defense is weak against mobile Qbs
On defense, the eagles:
--are 8th in points allowed and 2nd in yards allowed, the Defense is VERY good
--they can rush the passer like no other team in the league, they have a whopping 70 sacks on the season!
--they have 4 different rushers with 10+ sacks
--their pass pressure rate is 25.5%, which is just a tick under Dallas's and they pressured us all day long
--have a pro bowl CB in Slay and some other good pieces that should not be underestimated
--if they have a defensive weakness, it's on the ground where they are 24th in yards per rushing attempt, giving up 4.6ypc
This will be the Niners first road playoff game this year (after having 3 straight last year) and it's in a very loud environment in Philly. Still, Purdy and the offense held up pretty well to the noise in Seattle, so that bodes well enough.
One has to assume that the Niners will try and establish the run in this one considering that that is how teams have beaten the Eagles--by not giving up on the run and converting on 3rd and middle or 3rd and short. The rushing game will slow down that pass rush and take pressure off of Purdy. Then again, Shanny might decide to go play action from the beginning and come out throwing it. There is really no telling in this game, but considering how conservative Shanny was against Dallas, I'd expect him to do the same early on in Philly. On defense, first and foremost, the team has to prevent big plays and make the Eagles take the ball the length of the field. The Eagles just have so many ways their offense can hurt you and I'm not sure the defense can hold up against all of it. Hopefully, the Niners got their freak-accident turnover out of the way in Dallas (thanks Ray Ray).
Vegas has the Niners as 2.5 point underdogs. Considering that the game is in Philly, that's practically a pick em on a neutral field. It's strange b/c the KC/Cincy game has changed its line to even too!
Well, what do we think?