Niners - Falcons Takeaways

> Fox's impact on Erin Andrews' wardrobe, in that she wore skin-tight flesh colored pants that the camera panned up on, was somewhat predictable

> The Niners won the toss and elected to defer, which is always the right move to make against a loud home crowd

> On the first long third down of the day, WR Roddy White bailed out QB Matt Ryan on a high ball for the first

> The Falcons' ground game isn't looking all that relevant early, or ever

> WR Julio Jones could not have been more open, and announcer Joe Buck could not have been more excited, for the first touchdown of the day

> If you are starting to wonder if this is the year where defensive secondary breakdowns are just rife, well, um, yes

> Kickoffs in dome games just seem kind of pointless

> An opening three and out from the Niner offense didn't speak well to this game's future drama

> P Andy Lee got 60 yards of net on his punt, which is impressive even for indoors

> The Falcon offensive line kept Ryan absolutely clean early, which is all kinds of important, really

> Jones destroyed a security guard that wasn't watching the game, which stopped the game for some reason

> Ryan to Jones on third and 10 was another very bad moment for S DeShaun Gholston, and the fastest 100 yards you've ever seen for a WR

> The Niners got lucky that Ryan misread the coverage to finally get off the field on third and four in the red zone

> KR LaMichael James nearly made kickoffs relevant again, but the ground clearly caused the fumble

> The guy wearing QB Colin Kaepernick's jersey in the first quarter of this one doesn't look much like the guy who tortured Green Bay

> At the end of the first quarter, this game was an absolute runaway

> Ryan to Jones for the second Falcons TD of the day was a great catch by the WR, and gave me hope that a lot of laundry was going to get done

> The refs were so desperate for this to stay a game, they gave the Niners their initial first down with a very shaky spot, with the Niners seemingly not noticing it and calling a short yardage run anyway

> RB Frank Gore looks fairly spry for a workhorse back on the downside of his career

> Kaepernick's delay of game on third and 2 from the Falcons 37 was not exactly a confidence builder

> TE Vernon Davis for 27 reminds the world that the Falcons aren't always that great at tackling

> James for the TD from 17 shows the benefit of read-option, as well as raw speed

> The Niner defense actually forced a punt in the second quarter, further enhancing the chance for actual drama

> P Matt Bosher was very lucky to not have his first punt blocked

> Kaepernick seems incapable of using less than all of the play clock

> Davis on S Thomas Daiku worked hard for the Niners

> Kaepernick finally ran it with 3:30 left in the first half, and got a big first down from it

> Davis for another 27 was noteworthy from the TE's obviously disappointed body language over not scoring... so Kaepernick fed him again for the subsequent 4 yard touchdown pass

> The only problem for the Niners in that drive was that it left too much time on the clock before the end of the first half

> Both teams had all of their timeouts for use at the end of the first half, because both teams are not coached by Andy Reid

> I'm told that the Niners have a pass rush, but you wouldn't know if from this first half

> Michael Strahan loves him some Carly Rae Jepsen, which makes sense, since Michael Strahan is a big girl

> Ryan to Gonzalez for the third Falcons score of the first half took away any worries that this game wasn't going to hit the over

> James killed any idea of the Niners trying to do something creative at the end of the half with a bad runback

> If you need a CB to play off the WR and give up 22 yard outs, this was the game for you

> This isn't exactly news, but damn, Kaerpnick's got a gun

> If WR Randy Moss is relevant, you don't have a very good secondary

> Gore's touchdown was the second rushing score of the day where the Falcons seemed more interested in staring at the QB than stopping the guy with the ball

> Ryan took a timeout rather than a delay of game penalty that would have given him a 2nd and 13... which is one of those common mistakes that no one calls the QB on any more; the next play went for 14 to Gonzalez and made the timeout effectively meaningless

> The Niners actually got a zero yard sack, which might have been the first time Ryan's been touched all day

> On the next play, Ryan made the big INT mistake that can change things in a big damned hurry

> Davis is just open by a ton on every throw

> WR Chad Hall and K David Akers combined to keep the Niners from going ahead or tying this game, which says much about the wisdom of hiring ex-Eagles

> Akers wound up costing me a gambling win, because he's just evil like that

> Turner going out with an injury helped the Falcons

> Jones made a catch despite a huge hit to convert a 3rd and 10, and the Falcons just aren't dropping anything today, mostly because Ryan is only going to his best targets

> The second and 9 clear air turbulence fumble by Ryan is the second inexcusable thing he's done today, but both in this quarter

> Falcons DE Cliff Matthews took a really dumb 15 yarder to prolong the subsequent Niner drive, which is another inexcusable act by the home team

> The deep cross to Crabtree to give the Niners first and goal was just pretty, really

> Crabtree at the goal line with a fumble is big effort by the WR, but a better play by CB Dunta Robinson, and yet another game changer

> The Niner defense got a three and out after the fumble to keep up the pressure

> Bosher is no great shakes, and the return by PR Ted Ginn Jr. gave the Niners the ball right back with good field position

> When the Niners go to the big short yardage package, it actually works

> Gore's second touchdown of the day looked an awful lot like his first, and gave the Niners their first lead of the game

> Between Kaepernick and Russell Wilson, I don't envy the defenses in the NFC West for the next 5 to 10 years

> On 3rd and 4 from the 37 with 6 minutes left, Ryan took a big hit and connected with Jones anyway for the conversion

> On 3rd and 2 from midfield with 5 minutes left, Ryan found WR Harry Douglass for a huge conversion that withstood a replay challenge and Harbaugh Freakout

> LB Ahmad Brooks forced an elimination play by knocking down a 3rd and 4 pass

> The Niners got the mother of all get even calls on the lack of DPI with 1:09 on a pass to White, though it's within the 5-yard chuck zone

> San Fran took an inexplicable delay of game with 1:04 left and 2nd and 7 deep in their own zone

> Lee made an excellent punt to the sidelines with 13 seconds left under full pressure

> Ryan was too injured to throw deep, and the Niners tackled Jones to end the game and go to the Super Bowl

> Despite the terrible defensive first half, the right team won this game

> There might be a decent Super Bowl after all, especially if the Niner defense shows up for both halves