Friday, October 12, 2012

5 Burning Questions and a Week 6 Prediction


Here are 5 questions that 49ers fans should be looking for answers to during their week 6 matchup with the New York Giants:

1)  How will the offense follow up it's record setting performance?

  • The 49ers offense put together a performance for the history books last week against Buffalo.  While they almost certainly will not match that type of production this week against New York, it will be interesting to see how close they can come.  
2)  How involved will Randy Moss be in the passing attack?
  • Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said Moss this week, "Just a matter of time before he gets a big-catch day".  Although his receiving totals are low, Moss has already had a big impact on the improvement of the 49ers passing game.  He is often the focus of the defensive coverage, creating openings for the other receivers that were almost non-existent in 2011.  He was also targeted in the Red Zone over the first 3 weeks.  It will be interesting to see if Harbaugh's comments this week were a sign of things to come.
3)  Can the 49ers get enough pressure on Manning with their front 4?
  • Eli Manning beat the 49er defense with 4 touchdown passes in their 2 meetings last season.  The common theme on 3 of those?  He was able to beat the blitz.  If the 49ers are going to slow him down this week they will need to have a great game out of their front 4.  It worked well for them in the 2nd half of the NFC Championship Game when they were all over Manning, and able to keep at least 6 in coverage.
4)  How will Carlos Rogers handle Victor Cruz?
  • In their 2 matchups last season Victor Cruz dominated Carlos Rogers catching 16 passes for 226 yards.  This matchup could very well tell the story of the game.  If Cruz is able to keep drives going with 3rd down receptions like he did last year the 49ers will be in trouble as it will allow them to stick with the run, speed up the game, and reduce the number of opportunities the 49er offense has to beat their defense.
5)  Will Brandon Jacobs suit up against his former team this week?
  • There has been a lot of buzz this week regarding some comments that Jacobs made regarding his current playing situation.  It will be interesting to see if he makes it onto the 46 man roster this week.

Prediction:

My feeling on this game is that it is going to be an extremely tough matchup for the 49ers.  I see both teams moving the ball on offense with touchdowns being tough to come by.  I see this one coming down to the end, and have to go with my gut on this one.  Final score: Giants 23 49ers 20

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