For good or ill we are finally on the brink of the 2015 season. Coach Tomsula has said that Kappy and the first stringers are getting the first quarter, and Gaine Blabbert and the rest of the crew get the remaining 3. I guess they need to see what they can get out of Gabbert as he was rated the worst backup in the league. This from a guy drafted 10th in 2011, 26 spots ahead of one Colin Kaepernick. 25 spots ahead of Andy Dalton. 2 spots ahead of Christian Ponder. He was also 2 spots behind, Jake Locker, and 9 spots behind #1 pick, Cam Newton.
Of the 6 QBs taken in the first 2 rounds that year, only Dalton and Newton are pro bowlers. But only Kaepernick has had playoff success. He’s the only one to get into a Super Bowl, anyhow. And he’s the only one with a winning playoff record.
- Kappy has a 4-2 playoff record, (90.6 rating) with a couple impressive road victories among them.
- Newton? 1-2 record, 80.6 playoff rating.
- Dalton? Eeeesh. 0-4 with a 58.7 playoff rating.
- Ponder led Minn to their only recent playoff berth in 2012, but missed the game due to injury. Since then, he dropped to 3rd string last year and is now a Raider.
- Locker has been hurt and ineffective his career and has retired.
- Gabbert? Well, 5-22 (66.2 rating) on a shitty team does no good. No playoff experience.
Much has been made of Kappy getting help this offseason. As in why didn’t he do it before? Well, I thought we had the quarterback whisperer. Wasn’t he the divine savior of passers? Well, I guess not. But looking at that large class of QBs, you realize that what appears to be a slam-dunk often isn’t. The next guy taken after Kappy was Ryan Mallett with the 74th pick in the 3rd round by the Pats. He’s now a Texan. One start in his career, but he’ll battle Brian Hoyer to be the starter. Ricki Stanzi of KC and TJ Yates have actually seen a little success, but TJ’s now a Brown, and Stanzi is bouncing around the league and has landed on the Giants.
Anyhow, on with the season!!! Go Niners! Let’s all pay attention the the play clock.
My first priority now. Anyone want to put money on a false start?
Forty Niners Forever 
The 0-line is holding up surprisingly well , even the right side. Eli Harold and armstead have done some good things too
Don’t sleep on Kenneth acker guys. IMHO He’s a keeper
Good news on getting the plays off quickly. Not too sure we got all those
creases filled tho
Eli Harold needs to heed John Wooden’s saying of “play fast but don’t rush”. He’s quick but he gets there so fast he has nothing left to make the play. This guy is a project but you can see a lot of talent. I hope he gets it soon.
Mike Purcell was the star of the game for us. At times it seemed he was everywhere.
If Harold and Lemoneir ever have to start on defense, the offense better score a lot of points. Lemoineir is almost useless vs the run. That is a big improvement from last year when he was completely useless vs the run.
I did not recognize our QBs. Were those 49er QBs standing in a pocket with time to throw? I could have sworn I did see that!
The play calling made sense. That might have had something to do with the offensive line playing better than last year. It’s nice to see the “dumb schemes” gone for one game, even if t was only pre-season.
Hayne looked good!
My biggest question is can we get off the field on 3rd down. Nothing can be learned from game 1. We had not one starting LB on the field to go along with 2 new starting CBs. Looks like that will be the biggest thing to watch for next week when we play a much better Dallas offense.
I also need to see Kap get a whole half in the next two games. I did like seeing him have time to stand in a clean pocket and throw a ball 60 yards in the air. That would not have happened last year. That play was there and overthrown by maybe a yard or two. That might have just been communication. Smith was running more left to right and Kap threw it up field. Kap and Smith will get better at that with time providing the line keeps blocking like they did yesterday.
The one player who had a really tough day was our 3rd string QB. Dylan Thompson looked more like Bob Dylan out there. A rookie in his first game and he looked like it.
What I like to see from the rookies are signs that they are going to be good. Armstead and Tartt showed just that. Armstead had a play where he took on the blocker across the formation then stepped over a fallen 49er lineman and stuffed the play near the line of scrimmage. You can’t ask for more than that. He also stood up a block and made a near open field tackle with the help of Okoye. Nice. At this point it looks like a solid 1st round pick. I did not pay much attention to Tartt but I kept seeing him make pays. Another nice!
Seems some so called blog experts and Tim Ryan disagree about Armstead. Ryan liked what he saw and said he just needs reps. Blogman David Fucello said he didn’t like what he saw. Since Ryan played the position in the NFL I am inclined to go with Ryan. Moreso, I am inclined to go with what I saw. He looked raw but did show signs of what I want to see.
What Fucello is lacking to tell us is Armstead played basketball until his senior year. He didn’t start until his senior year. He missed most of camp because of an NFL rule which wouldn’t let him practice until Oregon had its graduation. His raw talent is unmistakable. He needs reps. Luckily for us we have a very deep D-line. He has time to learn but he won’t get a lot of playing time once the season starts, except for injuries.
Most D-linemen need a year to develop because it is the most physical position and requires good technique. Tim Ryan said he was showing why he might be the best D-lineman in the draft. I think he just needs a little time. I like reading Fucello but he is being a little hasty on this call. As John Wooden might have said, he needs to write fast but don’t rush to judgment.
Didn’t see too much of the game. Did see some nice quick crossing routes to the TE Bell. Near as I can tell Gabbert got the 1st half and the scrub guy played the 2nd half? Saw some of Hayne’s highlights. He looks like a big threat to score on any possession. Got to work him into the short passing game.
From what I hear, the protection was solid. Which would be a relief. But they weren’t playing their big boys, were they? Did Watt play?
I don’t think Watt played a down.
I’ve read a couple of articles about the difference between Gabbert from last year to this year and nobody has mentioned the obvious. Last year he was under siege and this game he had time to throw. It’s a simple game. When the QB has time to stand in the pocket and throw he somehow magically becomes a better QB. Funny how that works.
There’s nothing simple about football, but I get your meaning.
As for Jarryd Hayne, he makes the team if only for his returning ability. From what I saw, he’s sure-handed, tough to bring down, pretty fast and, must of all, DECISIVE. Ellington may turn out to be a serviceable WR, but he stinks as a returner of any kind. He hurts the team when he’s returning kicks.
Kick returners need to be north-and-south guys, and Hayne seems to be exactly that. That was a glaring weakness for the 2014 Niners.
Blake Bell demonstrated good hands and the ability to take the ball upfield on his 2 catches, Purcell looks like a potentially good NT. He’s certainly got the lower body for the position. The Niners are young on the d-line, but there’s talent and depth there. It remains to be seen how they develop. Carradine, Dial, Purcell and Dorsey are pretty stout guys and should be tough against the run.
Linebackers have a lot to show. That’s going to be a question mark for me until they get into real game situations and show they can do the job. Losing the guys we did is going to be tough to make up for.
What do you guys think of Moody? Does he have the ability to be a good pro? He hasn’t been talked about much since he was drafted and has been almost exclusively on ST. Opinions please.
I’m watching the game again, and Hayne has some really nice feet. Quick cuts are a strength of his. He left a few Texans in his wake and scooping up their jockstraps on his run and the punt returns.
I didn’t get a chance to watch the game either but i did get to see clips and read a little on it. It seems like we got exactly what a first pre-season game is supposed to be. It looked to me like the team was playing with a lot of intensity and we got a glimpse of the potential of Haynes and a few others. From what I did see we looked pretty good.