10 years later, the 49ers are back in the playoffs with a first round (wild card) bye waiting for their next opponent to come into town.  This season has been a complete shock to the 49ers, which most NFL analyst predicted the 49ers to have a mediocre season at best.  With rookie sensation, Aldon Smith, San Francisco’s first round draft pick, the 49ers are starting to show some dominance similar to the way the Baltimore Ravens did when they won their first Superbowl under Brian Billick and Ray Lewis’ smash mouth defense.  Averaging a total of 77.2 yards per game and allowing only 3 rushing touchdowns, the 49ers run defense is remarkable and very consistent.   They haven’t allowed any running back to run for more than 40+ yards this season and their tied second in the NFL for most fumbles caused.

In the playoffs, the 49ers will need to set up on offense and score touchdowns inside the red zone.  Time after time the 49ers shot themselves in the foot by relying on David Ackers and not scoring a touch in the redzone.  This has to change in the playoffs and they have to produce more touchdowns than field goals.  The defense will do its part and consistently manage the game against high-powered offenses like the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.   However, Jim Harbaugh will need to create unique plays in the passing game and get Frank Gore at least 20 touches, but the key to their playoff faith will depend on their defense.  Lets take a look at the San Francisco 49ers defense in 2011 and admire what they have done this season.

PTS

14.3
(2nd)

YDS

308.1
(4th)

PASS YDS

230.9
(16th)

RUSH YDS

77.2
(1st)

Ideally, every coach wants their quarterback to play in a timely system where the ball is out within 3 seconds of the snap.  For Big Ben and the Pittsburg Steelers, scrambling and getting more time to throw really takes away the strength of most great defenses.  Even if the defense brings the house, Ben has the ability to scramble and use his big size to get the ball off or gain potential yards for a first down.

Let’s take a look at this career stats (as of November 8th, 2011)

• Games Played: 108
• QB Rating: 92.6
• Completions: 1969
• Attempts: 3121
• Completion Percentage: 63.1
• Total Yards Passing: 25134
• Passing Yards per Game: 232.7
• Pass Yards per Attempt: 8.1
• Passing Touchdowns: 159
• Interceptions: 94

He obviously doesn’t have the best numbers, but with Ben, the Steelers have an above average quarterback who can get on fire sometimes and a 2 time Superbowl champ.

Overall QB Rating: 84/100

Shannon Sharpe Throwback Jersey

Denver Broncos selected him in the seventh round of the 1990 NFL draft to play wide receiver, but surely after his rookie season, coach Dan Reeves advised Shannon Sharpe to play tight end and it turned out to be a great move for the team.  By his third season, Shannon Sharp caught 53 receptions, 640 yards, and 2 touchdowns.  By his fourth season, Shannon Sharpe exploited the league with 81 receptions, 995 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Knowing that Shannon Sharpe was not expected to perform like a Pro-Bowler by his fourth season or even his career, many people can now say that the big mouth intelligent receiver may go down as the best tight end to ever play.  Shannon Sharpe possessed the ability to out-tough defenders and consistently get the job done, and cause of that we would like to honor him with Official NFL Jerseys player of the week.  Make sure to check out his his Hall of Fame speech – Shannon Sharpe Hall of Fame Speech 2011.

• 100% nylon
• Ribbed v-neck collar
• Screen-printed player and team graphics on the chest, back and sleeves
• 1984 Throwback jock tag embroidered on the lower left front above the hem
• Decorated in the team colors
• Officially licensed
• Imported