Charlie Garner is Allen's double
threat running and
receiving.
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Allen Starts Strong/Fizzles
In End
Two frustrating losses sent Wayne Allen back into the labs this
week, and boy did he emerge with two blockbuster schemes to upset
both Jacksonville and Oakland, and pull ahead in the AFC West.
The key for Allen was simple. Limit the mistakes and score the
ball in the red zone. That is exactly what he did vs. Oakland.
But the biggest key of the day, could have been Allen, quietly
making a quarterback change, going with Jeff Garcia instead of
Rick Mirer. The result? Garcia was 18-29, 512 yds, 6 td's and
get this....1 interception in his two games. In the first four
games, Mirer threw 9 picks and had a dismal 68.1 qb rating. The
key now will be whether Allen can stay with Garcia, limit the
mistakes, and continue to stay atop the AFC West. Allen made some
key adjustments in the Oakland game defensively after Barrow continuously
hit him with the big play to Tim Brown. Brown had 8 catches for
247 yards and 3 scores. Allen called for a looser zone coverage
to stop Brown getting deep behind his corners. He then shifted
his linebackers, placing them in a better position to make plays.
The result; Plummer and McDonald reaped the benefits, both getting
a pick each. Although Garcia only completed 89 passes in the game,
most of them were for big plays. Both Stokes and Owens went for
over 100 yards on only 2 catches each. It was typical Wayne Allen
football when he is at his best.
Allen's defensive
scheme proved to be the key in the late game vs.
Jacksonville. Allen matched Hilton, audible for
audible, thus confusing Hilton, and bating him into
playing 49er style football. Allen conceded the
flats until Hilton got in the red zone, where he
could no longer throw deep, then he shutdown the
flats and play hard nose defense. The impatient
Hilton rushed throws and got desperate late, only
to have the 49er secondary playing deep waiting to
feast on the opportunity. And that is exactly what
49er safety Lance Shulters did, picking off Brunnel
deep twice. Shulters and obscure LB John
Engleburger have lead the defense for Allen.
Engleberger's 13 sacks is among the league leaders
and Shulters has 5 ints already. Next week the
Niners face the Jets and the Redskins. In week one,
the Niners offered up a 6-0 stinker vs. the Skins.
Allen knows he will have to be more productive
scoring the football if he plans to tackle the
skins. A win over the Skins and Jets places Allen
in great shape at 6-2 at the mid way point in the
season. Only the Bucs, Cowboys, and Rams remain on
the schedule with records over .500. True enough,
San Fran cannot afford to sleep on anyone. But if
he wins the games he should, Allen will be sitting
pretty for the PFL playoffs.
Game
One Box Scores
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Keys:
Allen
- No Turnovers
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Passing:
Gannon (Oak) -
Rushing: Jervey - 7-23
Receiving: Brown (Oak) 8-247-3
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Game
Two Box Scores
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Keys:
Allen
shutdowns Jimmy Smith & Jags deep
ball
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Passing:
Garcia -
Rushing: Taylor (Jax) 7-48
Receiving:Soward (Jax) 10-67-1
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 Wayne
Allen Press Conference:On beating Hilton
and the Jags
49er
Team Stats
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