Just saw on the ESPN crawl that Jim Harbaugh is ‘torn’ about accepting the Michigan job. His friends and family are encouraging him to take it, but he says he’s curious about what is around in the NFL. In other words, Jimbo is looking for more money. He’s going to play coy and see who writes the biggest check. I still think it’s going to be Michigan after all is said and done.
Frankly, I’m glad. Yeah, this regime of ineptitude could very hire another shitty coach and we go into the toilet again for 4 years, but I don’t see this team as it is currently constituted doing well if everything stays in place. Not that it could even come to pass, but Harbaugh has a habit of doing exactly what he’s doing here and that’s pissing off everyone around him. Not that this is a determining factor to keep a coach, but Harbaugh was handed the keys to a very talented but underachieving team. He basically rode the team by time and again leaning on the defense to make stops and keep the scores low.
For Harbaugh supposedly being an offensive coach, this was curious to me. There’s trying to be smashmouth and there’s constantly leaving points on the field. Whether Smith or Kaepernick was the QB, the offense was a lot like the previous offense. A whole lot of Gore and a whole lot of keeping the scores down. The offensive problems plaguing this team from day one of the Harbaugh era remain. No sense of urgency in getting plays off quickly, using up all of the play clock and more, red zone inefficiencies, and the inexplicable inability to make any kind of offensive adjustments on the fly.
This season it became insanely apparent as the 49ers were able to score pretty well in the first halfs of games, scoring an average of 13 points in the first half, and sucking down to an average of 5 points in the 2nd half of their games this season. This leads me to believe these coaches can game plan during the week pretty well, but when teams adjust things at the half, the 49ers don’t counter the changes they face, and end up fading as the defense ends up playing too much in the end. The 3 wins over NO, NYG, and Washington all followed this path, and the losses to Chi, AZ, Seattle, StL, and Oakland followed this deal. Early leads given up in the 2nd half.
The defense has been able to keep these games close over the years, but not this year. This year’s offense seemed bound and determined to abandon the run completely, and the results are pretty obvious to see. No continuity, massive substitutions and motion, all destined to use up play clock and stow down the offense. The same inane pass plays. Outs and fades. Nothing over the middle anymore. No screens, no slants, nothing to slow down the relentless pressure Kaepernick faced. To the tune of the most sacks in the league.
The game tomorrow? All I can hope for is no injuries as we play out the string.
Forty Niners Forever 
Franchise record 355 yds rushing yet we somehow still come out on the short end.
Fucking Rod Serling couldn’t write scripts this unbelievable and bizarre for “The Twilight Zone.”
Hated the team more with Erickson, Nolan and Singletary as the coaches Dennis!!!
Atleast Harbaugh brought them back to respectability again as a franchise, with SB apperance, 2 championship games etc. Stupid of this org to let every one bicker about each other.Should have never happened, really wish rJed Dork would just sell out, which of course the little brat won’t!!
His fucking Dork daddy,knew jackshit about football as well, fucking pathetic having brainless owners getting involved with decsions with org moves and players! the real good owners in the league just stay out of the way, kick back at their prestigious Golf Country Club and leave the major decision to their competent GM and their coaching staff!!
Respectability? Since Harbaugh’s arrival we’ve lead the NFL is number of arrests and the team just released a serial rapist. That’s one helluva respectable operation Harbaugh’s been coaching over there.
Yeah, the three fumbles were the issue in this game but not the reason we are 7-8. Our biggest problem is a lack of a pass rush. We win vs Chicago, St Louis, Phoenix and tonight if we have any pass rush. Any stupid idiot can bring up other reasons we lost those games but the common denominator in all 4 is a lack of a pass rush. With those 4 wins we would have 11 and be in the play-offs. Defensive lines win championships.
I forgot the Oakland game. That was probably our worst pass rush all year and it made the rookie QB look great. Take the exact same team that we have and add a pass rush and we most likely have 12 wins right how.
It looked to me that we were calling one play in the huddle and Kap made about 4 or 6 audibles. For the first time this year we had some rhythm to the play calling. This calling two plays in the huddle is just too complicated.
In the end, Harbaugh found another way to lose.
I say Harby found another way to lose but his lack of a pass rush was really just more of the same.
Change the name to the Santa Clara 49ers. May as well they do not resemble the SF version at the Stick.
Well the quick passes sure dried up in the 2nd half. SD played it tighter up close and our response was to run right into it, As usual we had no response for their 2nd half adjustments.
The lack of pass rush was terrible. If not for the gift INTs, well, i don;t know, we would have lost anyway,
The 3 fumbles and two called back TD passes is what killed us the most in this game. having said that, we still win if we have a better pass rush.
I didn’t see the VD TD that was called back. The one before Kappy’s fumble. Just found out about it now. Oh well. I figured theyd lose this one, just not quite in this epic a fashion. 21 point lead going into the 4th quarter. Even with all the backups on defense, that shouldn’t happen.
What I loved was after the 3rd 2nd half TD, we go run run run punt. Brillliant.
Nothing like playing to lose there.Jimbo.
I want to find out the name of the Asian guy that Kaepernick got to take his Wonderlic test for him. Now way in hell does a guy that doesn’t know to stay in bounds late in the game to keep the clock rolling score a 37 on his own.
Not a great move on his part but that play had ZERO chance of working.
If you don’t want the runner to go OB, DON’T RUN A FUCKING PLAY THAT IS DESIGNED TO GO TO THE SIDELINES. That was a designed run that got strung out and stopped.
Roman should be shot. That was the most pathetic turtle job I’ve seen, in a season full of turtle jobs by Harbaugh and this offense, Yeah the defense sucked. Esp in the 2nd half, but the Niners offense did them no favors by getting 3 first downs in the 2nd half.
Well if Kap’s so smart, he should have changed the dump play call in the first place. Last time I checked QBs are still allowed to audible in this league.
Not to mention that Harbaugh had the right of first refusal as he gets the call from Roman then relays it to Kap from the sideline. Horrible play call by Roman. Horrible decision by Jimbo to not overrule it. And an equally horrible decision by Kap to stick with it.
They ALL suck.
It is hard to argue with Del’s logic on that play. Bad play call, bad decision to run out of bounds. Why would a coach even call a play designed to go to the sideline in that situation. Bad play by Kap to go out, worse call by the coach to run that play in the first place. Checkers vs chess. The way Gore was picking up yards the ball should have gone to him. The coach just outsmarted himself again.
That play would not have mattered if we had a pass rush.
I’ll take fangio or shanahan as head coach next year
No matter the HC and staff next season, Niners looking like a non-playoff team. Defense should be OK, but they really need to load up on D lineman that can rush. And, OL again. Oh, and WRs. Oh, and another RB to help out Hyde. No, Frank does not need to come back, despite yesterday’s efforts. Need to get way younger, faster at RB. Kap gets one more season to figure out how to get to a second read with an OC that doesn’t have play calls as long as War and Peace. What kind of offense never can beat a blitz on third down? Time to reset this team…
IMO the Niners look like the 4th team in the NL West heading into next season. They’re getting old, fast. Bowman and Willis are questionmarks. Rams are way on the upswing — if they can get a QB, they are in the hunt for a division win or WC. Cardinals there already. I don’t see the Shawks declining, unless Lynch goes somewhere, which he might, even then, their defense is too good. I don’t think it will be Sing or Nolan ugly, but it looks like a lean year or two ahead…
BLEEP UGLY?
The silver lining in his season is the young guys and the backups got a ton of playing time and played well, in some cases amazingly well. When the starters come back this team will have unheard of talented depth.
Anyone catch the comments from Bill Cowher on the Pre-Game Show, regarding the Coaching turmoil in SF?
In a nutshell, he suggested that the HC, (any HC) should learn the pecking order and, not attempt to circumvent it’s structure.
Plenty of good debate surrounding this years’ shortcomings but, Jed obviously hired Baalke to run the show.
Nothing works, when there are too many Chiefs and not enough Indians.
I still can’t wrap my head around the stat that we fail to have success in the 2nd half of games on Offense.
Defenses adjust, we fade away.
Even the Raiders are winning at home! ……Santa Clara is a jinx.
Hey Berger –
As I continue to dig through the Draftees, take a look at DE Alvin Dupree from KY.
6’4″ 267 / 4.65
Depending on where he grades out, he might be worth some consideration, along with Shelton for our D-Line come Draft time.
From the looks of the current projections, the strengths in the range of 15-20 lean toward Defense.
Good crop of projected WRs there too.
All that will change over the coming months.
The Raiduhs can’t even get losing right. They’re winning meaningless games, and blowing the top pick that they could have traded for a fistful of picks to stock up. Way to go, Raiduhs…
Berger –
One guy I’d like to see hanging on the Draft Board for us is CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu from Oregon.
He’s a small dude but I think he’d be an immediate starter at CB for us.
He’s about the size of TBrock and maybe more physical.
He could be around in the middle of RD1, we’ll see?
I’ve seen him play. He’s good.