The defense played poorly in the first half and with a 21-10 deficit at halftime things looked bleak. Then the defense shut down the 49ers completely for the rest of the game until a 51 yard pass on 4th and 10 with the game on the line. In overtime they did everything they could to win the game for the team, but the Saints’ offense was intent on giving it away. The defense deserved better after that second half performance, but unfortunately they couldn’t get a stop when it mattered most.
Cameron Jordan: B+ (2.48) A fairly solid game overall from Jordan. He did give Colin Kaepernick a lot of pressure but merely re-routed him most of the time unable to make a difference. He finished with 3 tackles, a sack, and played the run fairly well. His GPA is slowly rising after such a slow start to the season. He also recovered a fumble for the Saints’ lone turnover.
Junior Galette: D (2.33) One tackle and that’s it. When he was in the 49ers ran almost exclusively to his side. He made almost no impact rushing the passer. A very disappointing performance.
Akiem Hicks: C- (2.45) He had 1 tackle on a nice run stuff but otherwise he was entirely too quiet too. Not enough push up the middle.
Brodrick Bunkley: C (2.15) He finished with 2 tackles and had an up and down game against the run. The 49ers did a good job of blocking him early in the game.
Brandon Deaderick: C (1.62) Not much of a contribution in spot play, just one tackle. He continues to show very little.
Kasim Edebali: D- (2.06) Despite a significant amount of reps, which was surprising, he showed absolutely zero. The Saints often rushed four and he didn’t contribute to that cause.
Tyrunn Walker: B (2.37) He came up with a coverage sack that forced a fumble for the Saints’ lone takeaway of the game.
John Jenkins: C- (2.22) In pass rushing situations he was able to get good pocket push, but he was pushed around against the run. He also had a silly offsides penalty.
Curtis Lofton: B- (2.81) He was poor in the first half and much better in the second half. After missing some tackles early he started to play better in the 2nd half and it impacted the whole unit. Give him credit for decent coverage and ferocious hits on passing plays, too. He finished with 10 tackles and a defended pass.
Ramon Humber: A (2.29) Arguably the best game of his career. He was excellent on defense filling in for Hawthorne as a physical tackle and he was good on special teams as well. He led the team with 12 tackles, including two for a loss. He also sacked Kaepernick on a blitz late in the game.
Parys Haralson: B+ (2.52) He played the run well, finished with 4 tackles and got a sack against his former team. He remains a very underrated part of this defense. He was blamed for a facemask at one point but the replay showed it was Vaccaro’s penalty.
Keenan Lewis: B+ (2.78) He finished with 2 defended pass and his coverage was excellent. What needs to be highlighted is his warrior attitude. Clearly limping and injured, he refused to leave the game. And even hampered, he was still able to break up 3rd down passes to Anquan Boldin. He did give up a touchdown pass but the coverage there was good. Lewis is leading by example and clearly a very positive influence on the team. He deserved better than the final result.
Corey White: C (2.11) He competed, I’ll give him that. At times he was badly beaten like a drum and other times he was very fortunate not to get beat worse. He was targeted almost every time Kaepernick dropped back to pass. He did hold up well on a couple deep balls and drew offensive pass interference once. It wasn’t a total disaster, just very up and down. He finished with 5 tackles and a defended pass.
Patrick Robinson: B- (2.33) He did give up a 3rd down conversion pass but overall his coverage was solid. He finished with 3 tackles and a breakup. He seems a lot more comfortable in his new role in the slot.
Brian Dixon: B (1.83) Once he came in for an injured Lewis he was targeted a few times, including covering Boldin at times. He held up really well, especially in overtime.
Kenny Vaccaro: D- (1.93) Most will blame White for the deep ball on 4th and 10 to Crabtree, but that play was made possible by Vaccaro, the deep high safety, running forward to Vernon Davis which allowed Crabtree to slip behind him. There were a number of missed tackles again in this one. Vaccaro just isn’t the same player as last year after that ankle injury. He had 4 tackles, almost as many missed, poor coverage, and isn’t making an impact defensively.
Rafael Bush: B+ (2.52) Always a sure tackler that never allows a player he squares up to get past him. He finished with 7 tackles and played well.
Shayne Graham: B+ (2.89) He was perfect on 3 extra points and his lone field goal attempt was a 40 yarder right down the middle. Nice job overall, though I would have loved to see him attempt another kick before halftime if Brees didn’t throw that pick.
Thomas Morstead: B- (3.00) He averaged 49.8 yards on 6 punts and 42.0 net. Not bad, except that two went for touchbacks. The 49ers were also able to bring out four kickoffs and Carlos Hyde got decent returns on a couple. He had one punt inside the 20. Not his best game, but he was pretty solid overall.
Ronald Powell: B (3.00) Had a tackle on a very physical punishing hit. Did a good job on kickoff coverage.
Josh Hill: A- (2.78) He once again did an outstanding job on special teams with 2 tackles. No contribution on offense, though, besides a little blocking that didn’t stand out.
Vinnie Sunseri: A (2.73) Made two excellent open field tackles to shut down the return. He’s an excellent gunner but he left the game with an arm injury and did not return. Hopefully it’s not serious.
Todd Davis: B- (3.34) Had one tackle and continues to do a pretty good job on special teams.
Marcus Ball: C+ (1.75) He gave good coverage, help tackling to his teammates and a little reserve play on defense.
Nick Toon: C- (1.67) Made no impact on offense and had a chance to down a Morstead punt at the 1 yard line but slid into the end zone with the ball for a touchback. Poorly handled.
My Defensive Player of the Game: Ramon Humber
My Special Teams Player of the Game: Vinnie Sunseri
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