Dannell Ellerbe's Game Saving Tackle

While watching NFL Network's Total Access show this past week, I ran across a key play made by Ravens Inside Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. Host Amber Theoharris and analyst Brian Baldinger discussed Ellerbe's paly in depth, leading Baldinger to claim that it might have been a game saving play for the Ravens. The analysis was very interesting being that it was my first time hearing or reading about how well of a job Ellerbe had done in tackling Gore before a potential score to take the lead.

The situation was a 49ers 1st and 10 with 2:47 left in the 4th quarter and two timeouts available. The Baltimore Ravens still had their three timeouts left. Beginning at the 2:52 mark, you can see the 49ers handoff the ball to Gore from their Pistol formation. He is able to race down the left sideline until about the 8 yard line where Ellerbe shoves him out of bounds after escaping a tackle attempt by Ed Reed. The play ends at the 3:00 mark and if  you take a closer look your able to notice that before making his great play, Ellerbe was held by Left Tackle Joe Staley near the line of scrimmage. After being bullied around for sometime, he was finally able to free himself and make it in time to prevent a touchdown. This play certainly made me gain a higher level of respect for Ellerbe's value to the team.

Some might say that the Ravens timeouts combined with the 2 minute warning, would have easily gave them back the lead but when considering the momentum built by the 49ers since the third quarter they should think otherwise. I myself didn't realize how important of a play Ellerbe had made until Brian's analysis. Stopping Gore led to the Ravens goal line stand which left 1:46 on the clock and became the signature moment of their victory. The series essentially took more time off the clock and gave momentum back to the Ravens after squandering a 28-6 lead. Even though they weren't able to score again on their next possession, Sam Koch took a safety in the endzone before punting to the 49ers with 4 seconds left on the clock. It had to be one of the more intelligent coaching decisions I have seen in a while.

As controversial as the non-call for the contact between Jimmy Smith and Michael Crabtree on the last play of the 49ers series has become, it will now forever be remembered in Super Bowl folklore as "4th and goal". After taking a closer look, denying Gore a touchdown wasn't just an obvious contribution by Ellerbe since his effort to make the tackle and it's role in the bigger picture will always make him an unsung MVP.

Big Ben Might as well have been cheerleading on Monday Night

The Steelers seemed outmatched by the 49ers on a Monday Night game which included two power outages at Candlestick Park. The story of the game was the 49ers defense which sacked Ben as well as intercepted him 3 times, hit him 8 times, recovered 1 fumble, accounted for 9 pass deflections and totaled 6 tackles for a loss. The comparison's with the 49ers defensive efforts shows a very lack luster performance from the Steelers. Missing suspended linebacker James Harrison surely hurt but given Ben's injury, one would think that the black and gold defense should have found a way to be the story of the game instead.

The Steelers defense left Alex Smith untouched and only attained 3 tackles for losses and four pass deflections. Even more telling were the 6 more total tackles that San Fran gained over Pittsburgh's defense. So far the Steelers are ranked 24th in defensive turnovers compared to finishing 5th in that category last year. Seemingly, their opportunistic nature of the past has faded away leaving an older and less efficient defense. On the other side, the 49ers are currently ranked 17th in that category and more impressively their 15 game streak of not allowing a rushing touchdown matches the 1985-86 Bears for the longest since the 1970 season.

Ben Roethlisberger finished the game with 25 completions for 44 attempts and 330 yards. Alex Smith threw for 187 yards with 1 TD and completed 18 for 31 passes. Along with not throwing any interceptions, Smith was clearly the more efficient quarterback last night. The 6 more passing first downs that the Steelers gained over the 49ers could be more deceiving than Ben's numbers but if you watched the game you would have realized how little that stat means. Most of those throws were in an effort to come back in the game while Ben's deep passes sailed over receivers and didn't look nearly as accurate as they usually do. To his credit, a lot of the intermediate throws he made hit his wide outs in a timely manner but there were several chances for key plays that could have made a difference in the game's outcome. The ability to step into his throw on deep passes just wasn't there.

As defenses in the NFL know all too well, a healthy Ben would have been able to avoid rushers and make big plays with his arm as well as his feet. His 6'5 241 lb. frame is usually a nightmare for defenders to take down but as we saw last night, a hobbled ankle provided a sort of kryptonite for the 49ers. For a moment, the frustration on Ben's face as well as his words of disgust were clear for everyone to see. Even more evident of his lack of abilities was the anguish he showed when trying to complete passes during pre-game warm ups. Monday Night football analyst and former 49er Steve Young, questioned the Steelers decision to start Roethlisberger on numerous occasions, before and after the game.