Yesterday, we had a post about recent comments from Steve Young in regards to the 49ers offense and, in particular, quarterback Alex Smith. Young didn't talk about any game in particular, but went on in general about how the team should be opening up the offense and going for the deep throws more, just to see how it works out. More than that, Young asked whether or not Smith could get the job done if he had to throw the ball the upwards of 40 times in a single game.
When asked whether or not he believed Smith could do it, offensive coordinator Greg Roman said "most definitely." We opened discussion on the matter - whether or not you folks would like to see Smith throw the ball more, and I think the general consensus is ... one of caution. Sure, we want to see Smith do it - but why risk it at this point? The team is 7-1 with quality wins under its belt, and that situation is one that should only be faced head on if it must.
There's a couple things going for the 49ers in that regard. One is my feeling that Jim Harbaugh knows what he's doing, and if Smith is faced with that kind of situation, he'll be prepared for it. Two is the fact that the 49ers won't need to be doing any of that this weekend. The New York Giants have a pretty porous run defense, allowing 127.1 rushing yards per game, so Frank Gore should be the go-to guy once again.
Greg Roman had some things of note to say about the Giants defense and their packages when speaking to the media on Wednesday, though. He noted that the Giants are very gameplan-oriented, and didn't adjust their pass defense package when the New England Patriots were clearly showing run - which probably will mean the opposite for the 49ers.
Q: The Giants tend to sub a safety for a linebacker quite a bit. Do you expect to see a lot of that?
ROMAN: I think we'll probably see some. They're not going to tell us ahead of time, but when you look at what they've done they've been very multiple on defense. New England six O-linemen and two tight ends, two backs and they were in nickel defense. You've got to be ready for anything. They can do whatever they want. We can do whatever we want. They've been very liberal with that package. They're a very game-plan-oriented defense and team, so we're going to have to adjust on the fly.
So, you know, it kind of up in the air at this point. The 49ers could probably throw the ball 40 times against the Giants and get away with it, because they'll continue to key in on Gore and try and stop the run. But again, it's such an important game right now, especially in regards to potential playoff seeding, so the 49ers should probably stick to what I outlined above: just run the ball against a team that hasn't been able to stop the run all season. Don't throw the football 40 times and don't try and "make a point." Win the football game.