Speaking of the O line, this line may cause lots of people to a lot of toking very soon. Granted, they are mixing and matching a lot of guys, and they have oodles of film on who has not been cutting it, but the right side of the offensive line is unsettled at best.

Eric Pears at RT has shown to be pretty much a big fat problem. He is slow off the line, and gets beat fairly easily. Yeah, the Niners were playing against Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, not to mention Shane Ray, once of the league’s best pass rushes, but the Niners offered little protection for Kappy, who struggled his way to a 2-6 performance. He did bust a couple runs once Denver went into man coverage downfield, and but for T Smith not going for the 1st down, and dumb Boldin penalty, the Niners had a shot at tying the Denver game after losing the TOP game badly.

The problem with the line is that if the Niners are going to move the pocket, they’d prefer to roll right. As it is now, they can’t do anything to the right side, as it is beyond weak. Staley is holding up his end, and Boone at LG keeps that side stable, but C, RG, and RT are all up for grabs at this point. The installation of Boone at LG is curious as the weakest link by far is RT. You know, the spot vacated by Anthony Davis. After the free agent period, and after the draft. Silberman was a no-go and Pears was flat awful, so the next man up appears to be Trent Brown. With possibly Brandon Thomas at RG. Martin at C until Kilgore comes back.

Frankly, I think they should set this as their lineup, and take their lumps as they develop. Pears is doing no one any favors by stinking up the joint, and at least with Brown and Thomas, you have a pair of young guys who can get their trial by fire. If they are severely lacking, then they can make changes once Kilgore comes back and they can move Martin to RG.

Of all the maelstrom around the team, AD ‘retiring’ would appear to be the most damaging. Everyone knew Iupati was going. Same with Gore, Crabs, Cox, and Cully. Borland and Willis were surprises, but the team has some depth at LB. As we saw last year, even WITH Iupati and AD, the line was not very good at pass protection. Kilgore, the lynchpin at C is still not set to come of the pup list. The Nienrs have until next Saturday to either activate him, or lose him for the first 6 weeks of the season. He got a good report from the doctors, but what that means is unclear at this point.

The new offense that the Niners are working on, at least with Gabbert, involves quick passes and short TE drag routes. Having a right side that can block this play is very important. SD on Thursday, and the first cut-down day (to 75) is tomorrow. See if someone shakes out soon.