--- It’s a windy evening here in San Francisco – no surprise there – but Joe Nedney still sends the opening kickoff a couple of yards deep into the end zone. Big-legged Joe is one of several 49ers already quite ready for the regular season to begin.
--- On the game’s first play from scrimmage, linebacker Dontarrious Thomas is isolated in the flat on running back Mike Tolbert, who takes a short dump-off pass from quarterback Billy Volek (the Chargers are resting both regular quarterback Philip Rivers and star back LaDainian Tomlinson). Thomas flat out misses the tackle, not a good beginning for a guy who needs to at least show up to make the final roster.
--- Another gaffe by Thomas, who is hanging all over Tolbert coming out of the slot on a passing play and gets flagged for interference. Later on the play, the ball sails right through the arms of free safety Mark Roman, who is in position to make the pick but watches the ball go right through him. It wouldn’t have counted because of the penalty, but that’s a play Roman has to make, and he won’t get many opportunities for interceptions that are better than that one.
--- There’s Thomas, missing yet ANOTHER tackle on Tolbert in the open field. The Chargers continue to roll down the field with the opening possession, finally scoring on a 6-yard pass from Volek to Tolbert, who once again slips wide open in the flat. That’s a 12-play, 79-yard touchdown drive for the Chargers, who eat up half of the first quarter as they methodically roll to the game’s first score.
--- It will be interesting to see who the 49ers put back deep with Allen Rossum to return kickoffs when the regular season begins. Rossum is sitting this game out as a precaution after suffering a chest contusion at the end of last week’s Chicago victory, so Delanie Walker takes the first kickoff from San Diego tonight. Walker would be a good choice to join Rossum for the regular season as he shows good awareness here to take a short kick back to the San Diego 41-yard line.
--- Coach Mike Nolan said regular starting quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan wouldn’t play long tonight. Well, he’s not playing at all. Alex Smith comes out with the first team, back in a position he has known well over the past three years. And lo and behold, on San Francisco’s first offensive play, Smith sets up strong in the pocket and fires deep down the field for a 23-yard completion to Bryant Johnson, the free-agent newcomer who also is making his first appearance of the preseason.
--- Smith’s next pass, a dump-off to DeShaun Foster, loses four years, and Smith is sacked for a four-yard loss on second down. Smith’s cross-field completion to Johnson on third down is good for 10 yards, and with four-and-long from the 34, the 49ers opt to bring out Nedney for a long field-goal attempt. He drills a 52-yard attempt to cut San Diego’s lead to 7-3.
--- Big play by Parys Haralson, who blows around the left edge and strips the ball from quarterback Charlie Whitehurst as he sets up to throw. Thomas come up with the ball at the bottom of the scrum, and the 49ers are set up in prime position in San Diego territory.
--- Smith telegraphs of a pass to Vernon Davis in the right corner, and cornerback Cletis Gordon steps in front of Davis for the easy pick. But he drops it! Gordon might have had a 94-yard touchdown return if he had held onto that one. Smith made it way too obvious where he was going with the ball.
--- The return of Michael Robinson, who missed the first three preseason games with a knee injury, results in a nice burst up the middle. On third down, Smith finds Jason Hill on a quick slant. Hill takes a big hit after making the catch and fumbles, but he’s able to get backon top of the ball, and the 49ers will have a first down at the San Diego 11 to begin the second quarter.
--- Smith has Hill open crossing the middle on third down and rifles a throw, but it’s a little behind the receiver, giving safety Steve Gregory time to catch up and tip the ball away at the last second. The 49ers go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 6, but instead of spotting a wide open Arnaz Battle near the goal line, Smith tries to force it into the right corner to Ashley Lelie, who is covered closely by two defenders. It’s a poor decision and is easily broken up by cornerback DeJuan Tribble, and the 49ers come away with no points. These two incomplete passes are a vivid illustration of why Smith no longer is San Francisco’s starting quarterback. Those are plays he needs to make.
--- Nice play by Shanwntae Spencer on a deep fly pattern down the left sideline. Spencer is stride for stride with the receiver and knocks the ball away, and after a San Diego punt, Smith and the San Francisco offense quickly go back to work, starting at their own 45.
--- There’s another nice pass down the field by Smith, who finds Battle over the middle for a 25-yard gain. On the next play, Battle is wide open inside the San Diego 10, and Smith has plenty of time as he sets up and delivers. This could be a touchdown … but no! Smith overthrows Battle, who can’t go up and get it as it sails over his fingertips and into the waiting arms of Gordon, who this time doesn’t flub the easy pick. Smith blows it again on another scoring opportunity through the air, and this time the San Diego defense makes him pay.
--- After San Diego charges down the field to the San Francisco 30, another fine play in coverage by Spencer. Receiver Malcom Floyd has a step on Spencer on another fly pattern down the left sideline, and once again Whitehurst puts the ball on the money near the San Francisco goal line. But Spencer makes up space while the ball is in the air, then turns perfectly as it arrives to knock it away from Floyd. Spencer, who has had a solid summer, has come to play tonight.
--- What did we just say about Spencer? The Chargers go right back to Floyd on the very next play with a hitch pass, but Spencer is on Floyd as the ball arrives, sticking him to the ground for a 1-yard loss. A well-developed screen pass is dropped on third down, so the Chargers settle for a 49-yard field-goal attempt by Nate Kaeding, who drills it with the wind at his back to put the Chargers ahead 10-3 with 5:55 remaining in the first half.
--- Uh, yeah, like we mentioned before, we think Walker should return kickoffs this year. Wow!! Delanie just brought back the ensuing kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown to knot the score at 10-10. The electrifying play took all of 13 seconds off the clock. Walker got some help with blocks by Robinson and Jeff Ulbrich – Robinson put a San Diego defender on his back to get Walker around the corner – and Walker did the rest as he curved to the right, turned the corner, then blasted down the sideline. Curiously, Kaeding had a shot at Walker near midfield, but decided not to engage in the contact as Walker blew past him into the clear.
--- That was the first kickoff return by the 49ers – preseason or regular season – since Cedrick Wilson brought one back in November of 2003. Yes, it has been a while.
--- Rookie cornerback Reggie Smith has decent coverage on Floyd, but he makes a gaffe after Floyd curls inside to make the reception. As Floyd goes to the ground, Smith runs by without touching him, and doesn’t even bother to look back as though the play is over. By the time he realizes it isn’t, Floyd is up and trying to tack on more yardage tohis first-down gain. Fortunately, Donald Strickland is there to wrap up Floyd before he can get going again. Rookie mistake. This isn’t college anymore, Reggie.
--- A 57-yard, 10-play San Diego drive ends with a 35-yard Kaeding field goal to give the Chargers back the lead at 13-10 with 1:06 remaining in the half. That’s still plenty of time for Smith to mount a final drive after Walker takes the ensuing kickoff out to the 22.
--- So much for that idea. On first down, Smith telegraphs another throw, forcing it into double coverage, where two defenders have a better shot at the pass than intended receiver Hill. Gordon jumps in front of Hill as the ball arrives for his second interception, setting up the Chargers deep in San Francisco territory. Smith continues to make the 49ers’ decision to go with O’Sullivan look better and better.
--- An outstanding play by first-round draft pick Kentwan Balmer, who stays at home and sniffs out a screen pass. The Chargers have it set up well on the left side with Balmer the only defender to beat, but Balmer breaks through the interference to wrangle halfback Jacob Hester as the ball arrives, and he plants Hester into the ground for a 5-yard loss.
--- With time winding down in the half, the Chargers rush out Kaeding onto the field for a short field goal – and he misses a 34-yard attempt as the half ends. Not such a great half for Kaeding there. Or for Smith, for that matter. It’s 13-10 Chargers as both teams head for the locker room at intermission.
--- Thanks in part to San Francisco turnovers and Walker’s kickoff return for a TD, the Chargers have a whopping 21:49 to 8:11 edge in time of possession at halftime. So it’s no big surprise San Diego also has a 227-77 edge in total yards at the intermission.
--- Smith’s halftime totals: 7 of 12 passing for 76 yards and the two picks, good for a 37.5 quarterback rating. Yikes.
--- But when Smith looks good, he looks good. He sets up and fires a pretty strike to Hill over the middle for a 17-yard gain that moves the 49ers outside their own 40 with the first possession of the second half. Now, if he could just find some consistency.
--- On his first carry of the evening, Thomas Clayton shows good vision and quick cutting ability on an 11-yard burst up the middle. Then, as he walks back to the huddle after the nice run, he looks toward the sideline as though to say, “How can you guys even think of not keeping me on the final 53-man roster?”
--- It’s not exactly pretty, but it’s a touchdown pass for Smith as the 49ers take their first lead at 17-13. On first down from the San Diego 22 after Clayton’s run, Smith rolls right and looks for tight end Billy Bajema on the right sideline. Smith gets his throw over the outstretched hands of one defender, but safety Paul Oliver is covering Bajema like a blanket and has a clear shot at the ball as it arrives. Oliver steps in front of Bajema and gets his hands on the ball, but Bajema gets his hands on it too, and pulls it away from Oliver as Oliver’s momentum pushes him forward. Bajema makes the catch and strolls into the end zone. Instead of a possible third interception, Smith has his most productive play of the evening after driving the Niners 90 yards in 11 plays.
--- After the San Francisco defense forces a quick three-and-out, Shaun Hill takes over at quarterback for the 49ers, and immediately converts his first third-down opportunity by threading a quickly-released 17-yard completion to Jason Hill. Facing third down again, Hill hits Robinson for an 11-yard gain that takes the 49ers to midfield, and the San Francisco offense is on the move.
--- There goes Clayton again, bursting up the middle and cutting to the left for a 19-yard gain. Nice.
--- The Niners are driving right down the field, but Hill overthrows Bajema – who is open down the middle – and safety Tra Battle comes up and makes the interception to stop the drive. The 49ers would have had a first-and-goal situation had the pass been thrown to Bajema instead of Battle.
--- The fourth quarter begins with the Chargers driving into San Francisco territory. But cornerback Tarell Brown comes up to make a nice open-field tackle on a third-down completion, forcing San Diego into a fourth-and-short situation at the San Francisco 38. The Chargers are going to go for it. But they’re going nowhere. Running back Marcus Thomas tries to sweep the right side, but tackle Atiyyah Ellison breaks through the line, and he and linebacker Dennis Haley are there to meet Thomas before he can cut upfield, dropping him for a three-yard loss and giving the ball back to the 49ers.
--- Yes, Robinson is looking fully recovered from his minor knee surgery at the end of July. He powers up the middle for a 17-yard gain and drags tacklers with him into San Diego territory. Alas, two plays later, Robinson fumbles the ball away and the Chargers recover. The 49ers challenge the play, and replays indicate Robinson was down before the ball popped loose, but officials uphold the play and give the ball to San Diego.
--- Not that it does the Chargers any good. Haley unloads on Whitehurst on a blitz, forcing a fumble that the Chargers finally fall on after a loss of 14 yards. Facing a fourth-and-27, San Diego feels fortunate just to have a chance to punt the ball away.
--- Facing third-and-1 at their own 29, the 49ers send Moran Norris up the middle and he’s stuffed. It’s a two-yard loss for Norris, and the 49ers punt the ball back to San Diego with nine minutes to play.
--- Tully Banta-Cain shows some excellent closing speed to force Whitehurst out of bounds for a sack on third-and-long as the San Diego offense goes nowhere again and has to punt back to the 49ers with 8:15 to play.
--- The 49ers pick up one first down on their next possession, with Hill hitting Bajema on the right sideline on third down to get it. But on the next third-down passing opportunity, left tackle Chris Patrick gets beaten badly around the edge by linebacker Antwan Applewhite, who gets to Hill for the sack before he has time to get rid of the ball. The Chargers will get another shot with about four minutes to play.
--- Another Balmer sighting, as the big rookie blows up the middle and drills Whitehurst in the gut just as he releasing a first-down pass, forcing an incompletion. On the next play, rookie linebacker Larry Grant makes a nice play to sniff out a screen pass and limit the completionto a 1-yard gain.
--- On third-and-9, Reggie Smith makes an excellent break on the ball in coverage to break up the play and force a San Diego punt with 2:47 to play.
--- Some wild action on the punt. The snap is over punter Mike Scrifes’ head, but he is able to pick it up and get off a kick before San Francisco defenders can get to him. The ball rolls deep into San Francisco territory, but the Chargers are flagged for having illegal men downfield on the coverage team, so the punt goes over.
--- And that’s a bad thing for the 49ers. Scrub Robert Ortiz, who has had problems fielding punts all evening in place of the injured Allen Rossum, lets the ball bounce in front of him, then tries to pick it up as it bounces toward him to the right. But Ortiz can handle the bouncing ball and it deflects off his hands, where a bunch of Chargers are eager to get at it. Applewhite beats Ortiz to the ball and recovers it, giving San Diego a prime opportunity to pull this game out with a first down at the San Francisco 17 as the clock winds down to the two-minute warning.
--- But after the Chargers get inside the 10, the San Francisco defense stiffens. On third-and-three, Whitehurst throws the ball right into Grant’s hands, but the rookie can’t make the pick. Grant had open field in front of him and might have taken it all the way back. That sets up a fourth-and-3, and this time the Chargers convert, with Whitehurst hitting tight end Scott Chandler on a play similar to the one before.
--- We’re inside a minute now, and the Chargers have first-and-goal at the 4. But two running plays only get them to the 2, with Grant making a big stick to halt the second play. On third down, Whitehurst is harassed by Banta-Cain into an incompletion on a fine defensive play.
--- The outcome of the game comes down to this, with the Chargers going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 2. Whitehurst drops back and finds running back Eldra Buckley at the goal line, where Buckley has beaten Marcus Hudson badly. Hudson reaches back to grab Buckley – interference easily could have been called – but Buckley makes a nice one-handed grab and lands in the end zone for a score that puts San Diego ahead 20-17 with 29 seconds remaining. Could that play cost Hudson a job with the 49ers this year?
--- The Niners get another nice kickoff return by Walker, then get past midfield with a Hill to Jason Hill completion. A nice sideline route by Domique Zeigler results in another nice completion, and he gets out of bounds at the 33 with nine seconds to play.
--- If this were the regular season, the 49ers would be thinking field goal and overtime. But nobody wants to play overtime in the preseason, so the Hill takes two shots at the end zone. The first, intended for the double-covered Ashley Lelie, falls in complete. The second, a Hail Mary lofted high into the left corner of the end zone, comes down in the hands of Battle as now San Francisco receiver makes much of an effort for it.
--- And that’s how this one ends, with the Chargers pulling out a late 20-17 win to leave the 49ers with a 2-2 preseason. Now the real work begins for the 49ers – beginning with Saturday’s final roster cutdown.
|