For a guy who stepped off the plane after painting his house, not a bad start for Ponder. Sure it was against the Walmart Brigade, but it still had to give Gabby some shivers. Throw in the fact that Kaepernick was throwing 50-60 yard passes yesterday suddenly puts the QB battle on the front burner.
While this really doesn’t mean squat, unless QB battles mean anything (and they do) at least Gabby looked better yesterday than the other day. He still has the maddening habit of throwing for 5 yards on 3rd and 7, but this is the dink and dunk offense. Again the run game looked pretty solid, as did the line blocking. D Ware wasn’t playing, so there was that, but the takeaway from this game is much like last week.
The line play on both sides appears to be in much better shape than last year. Or even 2 years ago. The 1st and 2nd O lines did very well as Gabby wasn’t sacked, and I don’t think Driskel was either. Even he looked much more settled than last week. My onl;y concern offesnvely is the lack of passes to the WRs. Something we didn’t see till Ponder came in.
Defensively the first 2 lines played well enough, and this was without Armstead or Buckner, the bookend Ducks. The DBs were solid down the line, and except for a blown coverage on the Brooks blitz to a wide open TE, the LBs on the 1st and 2nd string were active and hitting. The defense didn’t give up many big plays, but that first drive was kind of easy.
So, it reality, despite the fact that these games are meaningless, I don’t think this team is as bad as everyone is making them out to be. I tell you one thing, John Elway didn’t get ANY sleep last night. Siemen threw a pick 6 on a fairly easy read/bait by Eric Reid. Mark Sanchez tried to re-enact his butt fumble a couple times, and Paxton Lynch got into the act by overthrowing for a pick. None of these guys look very good. Sanchez may get cut in a couple weeks.
Hey, maybe we can trade Ponder for Ware . . .
Forty Niners Forever 
Unrelated to your topic Chuck, but I just posted it to the last thread before I saw you had this one rolled out –
Not sure if this was discussed here recently but, Mr Pick Magnet better start working on prison locks.
He’s gonna be there for a LONG while.
Douchebag…..
http://tinyurl.com/z7lm2w5
Better news was the accolades bestowed on TBrown for stoning Von Miller.
Not a bad start for a 6’8″/355lb behemoth against a small/speedy edge terror.
AD better get used to the RG experiment if he wants a starting OL job.
Brown is athletic enough for LT IMO.
Sweet feet and a long wingspan 12th.
Certainly could happen in due time.
Kick AD inside if necessary.
Extend him if possible at OG prices too.
AD and Garnett on either side of Kilgore ain’t such a bad compromise IMO.
AD has the disposition required in the run game to fare just fine inside.
I’m very impressed with TBrown’s feet for a guy his size.
Personifies that age old axiom, ‘Dancing Bear’ to a tee.
I also think AD realizes how good this kid is.
His hiatus may have cost him OT money in hindsight.
So far Brown has shown as much talent as AD and he is still learning the position. I don’t see AD taking RT. He was smart to offer to play RG. The line should be Staley Garnett Kilgore Davis and Brown and they have very good depth too. Worlds away from last years line.
Running game should do well, now if they can just figure out QB, but I have to say I’m not a fan of Gabbert so far. He plays too safe and won’t or can’t take risks when the game dictates he should. Alex Smith redux.
Kaep better get himself into this battle this week 12th.
Only redeeming quality I see with Gabbert is that he’s getting production from VMcD.
I had read some suggestions that VMcD was having trouble handling the Kaep fastballs.
We’ll see soon enough I guess?
Also..
What a coup, if Baalke can replace a former 1st RD RT with a bargain basement pickup like TBrown too.
Puts AD into another salary range with little to no leverage on his behalf.
Unless Kap does something amazing, like his first start in Chicago, I don’t see him beating out Gabbert. Not enough time. In reality there is only this week and the GB game Friday, after that they won’t want to split starting reps.
For a practice game last night’s game wasn’t bad. I watched until the end which I seldom do anymore. I must ponder what this means.
Brown stoning Von Miller was significant. Pears is probably gone. Lemoneir is on thin ice.
To say Davis was player of the game last week, which I read from more than one person, is to say running through huge holes is difficult. Our O-line was dominant last week. This week it looked good, just not dominant. These were both good defenses so it is very encouraging.
Ball security is going to weigh heavily with Rathman as well.
Not only does he expect his RBs to block, they’d better secure the ball as well.
Somewhat of a surprise with MDavis too.
He wasn’t known as a fumbler in College.
I read he had 7 fumbles in college. That seems like a lot to me.
Somewhere in the 230-240 carry range though Berger.
Lost 6
Not terrible with the workload he carried.
Point is, he’s not doing himself any favors with Tommy.
Next week’s game should tell us a lot more. Of course I don’t know the chipster’s philosophy on who plays or for how long. Seems to me that there are battles at every position at this point and that is a good thing.
DT Garrison Smith sure looked good again. This guy is rising from nowhere. Purcell should be noticing. And 5th rounder Blair looks like the real deal!
That’s exactly what this team needs, some young players that just want to pound the opposition. I am not a fan of Baalky’s but he does on occasion find some good D plays in the later rounds.
I’ve noticed you don’t like Baalke. You are entitled to your opinion. I just disagree. I think Baalke is doing a good job. Harbaugh was a good coach but incredibly disruptive. Baalke has stayed steady through it all. I think this team might surprise you this year.
I have a friend who played QB in the NFL. I explained the Sardine Can Offense to him. He liked the description but said the OC’s probably wouldn’t! LOL!
One thing is for sure, Chip does not run the SCO.
Well the big is fight is at QB. I’d think Kappy gets a good chunk of the 1st half on Friday if not all of it. Ponder can get the ones next Thurs.
From what I can tell, the only two blogging fans who like Baalke are NJ49er and me.
He’s got his weaknesses Berger, specifically on Offense.
I just don’t know how the guy functioned with the likes of Paraag hanging over his shoulder.
Need I beat the table regarding the Gase hiring efforts? Sheesh.
Just hoping he and Chip can play to their collective strengths and get along for the sake of the roster.
Baalke is straight outta the Parcells Camp.
Run.
Play Defense.
Keep it close enough to win tight games with a QB that doesn’t hurt your chances.
Phil Simms.
Jeff Hostettler.
Need I say more?
It looks like the O-line has been sufficiently rebuilt. I think this organization has been stuck on SCO coaches for too long. Most spread coaches are pass happy. Chip is what I like for a running coach. He gambles too much for my liking but I guess I’ll just have to live with that.
On defense we look good all around if we can get a pass rush. Looks like we might even have that.
IMO, Baalke has managed the Harbaugh attempted coup and roster purge professionally and intelligently. I expect we are on the upswing right now and even have enough talent to be a winning team.
As you know well NJ, I do not go with the crowd to be accepted like most people do. Too many wrong people get hung by the hanging posse. My problem with Baalke is not getting the right WRs. But with the job he is doing at O-line it is just another where I can live with that.
BTW- With the SCO offenses we’ve been running for so many years we could’ve had Jerry Rice in his prime and he would’ve just been another WR.
Not sure who is going along with the crowd to be excepted but it certainly isn’t me. I don’t like Baalky because of his draft record and that is it. His overall drafts have sucked in my opinion. I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes with the FO but even with destractions he’s responsible for the players on the squad. This year he got lucky and Buckner fell into his lap. That was a no brainer. But, I respect your opinion too, after all we are Niner fans
Winder, the hanging posse is all over Baalke. He completely missed in 12 but look at the drafts since. 6 of the top 7 from ’13 are still on the team and most are important players. 8 players from ’14 including Ward, Hyde and Lynch. 2015 is looking good, especially taking Trent Brown in rd 7. I’m sorry you don’t like those picks but I’m not complaining.
berger- I do like some them, I think Tartt should be on that list too. Hyde might just turn out to be good but so far he hasn’t done squat. Same with Brown he looks like he’s coming along faster that most and hopefully he will pan out. There is a reason some of this years drafts look far better that the last few and that’s because they are pretty much stiffs and anyone who shows some gumption looks good. I honestly hope they all pan out.
Berger, from yesterday, I would love to see Rush step up and replace Lemonier, who’s been nothing but dead weight since the Niners drafted him. I’m hoping, and actually confident, that Kelly will be the guy who finally starts trimming the fat from this roster. I won’t be able to watch this game until the rerun later today, but the roster has talent, now it’s time to coach them up and mold them into a winning team, as the U.S. men utterly destroys Serbia for the hoops gold. What a mismatch.
GO NINERS!
I did not pay attention to Rush against the run. Maybe he is good there? One thing is for sure, he can get after the QB. If all he turns out to be is a situational pass rusher then that is a valuable piece. See Dean, Fred.
Berger, I think the most impressive thing about Davis last week was not he had big holes to run through, but that his quickness and explosion into and out of his cuts was clearly better than last year. He looked like a legit NFL back. We’ll see how it plays out, but it’s encouraging and shows that he takes this shit seriously and that he put a lot of work in this off season.
I was not trying to diminish Davis’s running and I even agree that your assessment is correct. I was trying to say the emphasis should’ve been on the holes the O-line was opening. They were huge. It’s just my opinion that when the holes are that big the RB is just doing his job.
NJ, I agree that Kap needs to get in there and start practicing and playing. As of right now, with just a few weeks left until the regular season, Gabbert is already the starter, imo. Kap may overhaul him at some point, but you all know coaches hate playing guys who aren’t practicing. Gabbert’s been there since the OTA’s, which gives him a leg up. Bottom line, it’s going to be tough sledding early while everything gets going and the staff continues to tweak who fits best and where. New systems are being put into place. All of it takes time, but I, for one, am excited about football coming back.
GO NINERS!
Agreed!
Not sure if the Chipster is going to show much of his game plan in the preseason. However, last two games were more entertaining than most of last year. The players look like they have bought into the new system and I think a healthy Kappy is just what is needed. I am gonna have to start drafting the Niners D in my FF leagues.
There isn’t a lot to Chip’s offense. I keep reading blog experts calling it a gadget offense. If you have read my responses over the last couple of years I keep saying there is nothing special to his offense. He spreads out the defense, has different keys on each play and the players read them.
Mostly it is a basic run offense using spread formations. The QB can change it to a pass play pre or post snap. We have already seen most of it. The beauty is the ability to change a play in the middle of a play. The QB can literally read to keep the ball and then see a receiver wide open and throw instead. Because of the zone blocking a lineman should not be downfield. It’s like being able to audible after the play has started. It keeps the defense guessing.
Baalke’s drafts are here for all to see. I think he outsmarts himself too much and drafts too far to the future, and tries to get cute other times. He has done little to nothing for the offense. The drafting of injured players has not worked for him. The amount of draft choices he’s had and who has panne out isn’t very good. We’ve needed WR help for years yet pass on many guys they could have drafted. Keenan Allen being a large miss they. Or have had in the 2nd or 3rd round.
Baalke is a great wheeler dealer and I like some of the picks, but I think he’s missed on a lot of picks with odd punter choices and all the injured risks he’s taken. This last draft actually made sense. Something the last couple didn’t.
I agree, Chuck, the injured draft picks strategy hasn’t worked out. It may look good on paper, but it just hasn’t panned out on the field. Hopefully Tank can find his groove and become a solid player, but if an injured guy doesn’t work out, it just turns into a wasted pick. Things are too tight in this league to waste picks.
As for wideout, that’s just baffling. Since the A.J. Jenkins debacle, Baalke hasn’t really even tried to get a guy in the first 3 rounds or so. It’s still the most glaring need on offense, imo. Some of the young guys stepping up would be a welcome development. I still think Flipper Anderson’s kid has the pedigree to be a good one. He’s super athletic and not intimidated by the NFL game.
The bar is still pretty low for Kaepernick to pass Gabbert. And I think Kappy gets the whole first half on Friday.
They are showing the game over on NFL. Bethea looked awful early.
There wasn’t much to Vince Lombardi’s offenses either. Great running game, conservative passing game. But, as he said time and time again, it’s all about the execution. He hammered his players with that mantra and it resulted in 5 championships. The simplest plays, executed well, will be successful.
I’m not trying to lump Kelly in with the great Lombardi, but if he can get his guys to play fundamentally sound and execute well, this team has enough talent to make things interesting this year. Those two things were sorely lacking in 2015. It’s hard to imagine Kelly not getting the team to play with more energy and better fundamentals.
Yep!
It is all about the lines. This is why I’m encouraged.
I’m watching the Broncos game right now, and I agree about Brown. Really quick and light on his feet for a guy who’s basically a mountain. The o-line is going to surprise some people.
Don’t see AD as being significantly better than Brown and the kid is improving.
I think we’ll be seeing the line with AD at guard and Brown at RT. From what I’ve read, it was Davis who approached Kelly about playing guard anyway, so he’s definitely on board with the move. He’s got a nasty streak, too, which is perfect for the guard position.
Chip singled out Smith and Rush as players that had a “very, very, very good game”
or words to that effect.
Rush is a serious motor guy. That alone should give him the strong edge over Lemonier, who often appears like he doesn’t give a shit. Rush should’ve had 4 sacks, but Lynch stepped out of that last one.