49ers are 10-1: So why are they a ‘punching bag’?
‘We’ll never silence the critics’
The naysayers, and the rest of the NFL, keep coming at them; next test is the Ravens on the road.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – As the wins have piled up this season for the 49ers, Jimmie Ward has found himself wondering when the chatter will cease.
The naysayers keep offering reasons he and his teammates can’t be taken seriously.
They take issue with the quality of their opponents. They point to the deficiencies in his quarterback’s game. There’s always something, it seems.
For a while, Ward kept thinking the 49ers would eventually silence those critics. He has started to remind himself that just isn’t going to happen.
One of those instances took place late Sunday in front of the free safety’s locker as he reflected on San Francisco’s 37-8 drubbing of the Packers.
A prime-time game billed as a marquee matchup because of each squad’s lofty perches atop the NFC standings wound up being a lopsided affair after the 49ers dominated Green Bay in virtually every facet of the game.
“It was a big game because it was the next game, and I know that we’re probably going to see them sometime down the line, in the playoffs, but also to beat a good team,” Ward told USA TODAY Sports.
“Hopefully that’ll silence the critics,” Ward continued before catching himself and in the same breath declared with resignation, “but we’ll never silence the critics, and we’ve got to beat a good team (Baltimore) coming up. But to have 10 wins right now, it’s great.”
Sunday’s victory did represent a statement win for San Francisco. It wasn’t just that the 49ers improved their record to 10-1. How they did it that spoke volumes.
Their defense rattled one of the top quarterbacks in the league and throttled Green Bay’s offense as a whole.
The offense had its way against a Packers’ defensive unit that generally gives foes fits with its fierce pass rush.
The disparity between special teams units was clear.
To state it plainly, the 49ers thoroughly defeated and embarrassed the Packers, who by their own admission got outplayed and outcoached.
But Ward predicted continued questioning from the critics. He expects the conversation of the coming week to center on how much of a hard time San Francisco will have against the Ravens on Sunday in Baltimore.
But it’s fine, he says. “That’s just the name of the game,” Ward explained. “People get paid to criticize people.”
It was hard to find faults with Sunday night’s performance, however.
The defense set the tone by
forcing and recovering a fumble deep in Green Bay territory five plays into the game, and the offense scored a touchdown on the very next play as San Francisco went on to take a 23-0 lead at halftime.
The defense held Aaron Rodgers to 104 passing yards and a quarterback rating of 75.8 by sending wave after wave of pressure. Rodgers, who was yanked from the game with 4:58 left on the clock, admitted that, at times, the 49ers’ defense confused him because of all the disguising and mixing of their coverages and blitzes.
The offense relied on a balanced approach that featured two rushing touchdowns; 253 passing yards, two touchdown throws and a season-best 145.8 passer rating from Jimmy Garoppolo; and a six-catch, 129-yard, one-touchdown outing from tight end George Kittle, who played despite breaking a bone in his ankle less than a month ago.
San Francisco players said that with each victory, they’ve had to answer to the retort, “yeah, but they haven’t played (Team X).” So they expect no different going forward.
“We’re just the punching bag that people come punch on,” cornerback Richard Sherman said. “We don’t worry about the outside noise, though. … At the end of the day, we understood what kind of team we have. We don’t worry about the opponent because you can’t control what they do.
“You can control your execution, your effort, your attitude and your approach. Most of the time, that will be good enough.”
It’s true that early in the season, very valid questions surrounded this team. The defense has played a physical, disruptive and many times dominant brand of football. But the Garoppolo-led offense left a lot to be desired. The run game clicked, but inaccuracy and a lack of game-changing plays plagued the quarterback.
Inconsistent play from Garoppolo led to San Francisco’s first loss of the season (an overtime defeat to Seattle in Week 10). But since that game the quarterback seems to have elevated his play. He threw a game-winning touchdown pass against Arizona last week, and this week he played turnover-free ball and averaged a season-high 12.7 yards per pass attempt while completing 70% of his passes.
Because of the complementary brand of football the 49ers are now producing, it’s time to give them serious consideration as Super Bowl contenders.
The NFC is wide open and it’s hard to find squads that are as well-rounded and deep as San Francisco.
When you have a defense that’s as impactful as the 49ers’, you always have a chance. Whether they’re forcing a big turnover, or recording crucial thirddown stops, the unit keeps its team in every game.
And now, the offense that is starting to find its rhythm and display an ability to capitalize on opportunities and score quickly. Three touchdowns Sunday came on scoring drives of three plays or fewer.
Sherman said there was a feeling during training camp that the 49ers had a roster capable of competing for a Super Bowl, but that few, if any outside the organization, took that belief seriously.
But because they are a part of the process and have witnessed the construction of this roster from the inside, San Francisco’s players sensed something special brewing.
This is Ward’s sixth NFL season, and San Francisco’s 2014 first-round pick has endured the lean years where hope was hard to come by. He has seen the gradual progression of John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan’s construction projects the last three offseasons.
At the same time, Ward has endured injury-shortened campaigns in four of the last five seasons. Now fully healthy for the first time in a long time, he’s an integral part of what looks like a championship-caliber defense and he believes that whether if the outside world believes or recognizes it, he and his teammates are now primed to reap the benefits of their persistence.
“I’ve been through the storm. I’ve broken bones for this team when the defense wasn’t so great, and now it’s coming together,” he said. “I’ve never had a winning season. I haven’t been to the playoffs. So I’m excited … We’re just trying to get better.
“I don’t know what the other teams are going to do, but I know we’re going to give our best shot, so it’s exciting.”