49ers Vs. Cardinals Recap, Stats, and Notes

The 49ers lost 23-13 to Arizona in Week 1.

The 49ers lost because they were outplayed and outcoached.

Mike Nolan refused to gamble offensively and this cost his team. Did anyone believe he would actually go for it on 4th and 1 at the end of the second quarter with his team down 10-7? 

The 49ers settled for the FG instead to tie up the game 10-10.  J.T. O'Sullivan pretended to go for it and try to draw the Cardinals offside but they were not going to fall for it.  

No team will believe the 49ers will gamble on offense as long as Nolan is the head coach.  

On the other side, Ken Whisenhunt went for it on fourth down three times and was successful twice. That was a big key to the game.  Whisenhunt clearly outcoached  Nolan.

Nolan did look better than Whisenhunt though. Nolan once again looked great in his sunglasses, white shirt, and tie.  Too bad he isn't as good with the X's and O's.

J.T. O'Sullivan played poorly and threw an interception along with two fumbles. This guy has no pocket presence whatsoever.

O'Sullivan had timing issues with his WRs as expected.  I wanted O'Sullivan to get more playing time in the preseason but Nolan insisted on playing Alex Smith and Shaun Hill more instead.

Did Isaac Bruce play? I don't know if he did or not.  

RB Frank Gore had a good game with a nice 41-yard touchdown run. 

Where are the plays to Vernon Davis?  Davis thinks he is the best TE in the league.  He is not even top five.  He might be the highest paid TE or the strongest, but he is not the best TE.  

Davis hasn't been able to show the fans much over the years but it is not all his fault. Much of the blame goes to the coaching staff for not utilizing him properly.

The 49ers defense could not stop the running game or the passing game of the Cardinals.

Anquan Bolden abused the  49ers' cornerbacks and caught eight passes in the second half.

The Cardinals dialed up  blitzes all day long on  O'Sullivan and had four sacks. O'Sullivan never saw so many different coverages in preseason.

If you watched the Bears Vs. Colts game last night, you saw how the Bears utilized their two TEs Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen.   Delanie Walker and Davis are more talented than those two TEs but the Bears used their TEs more effectively on Sunday.  

The 49ers face the Seahawks next week and Arizona takes on Miami at home.