. . . the weird turn pro. My old neighbor Hunter Thompson would be highly amused by the NFL these days. At le4ast with the state of the 49ers. Hunter, who at one point talked football on the press plane with Richard Nixon while vilifying him in his Rolling Stone articles, recounted the story of Nixon recommending a few plays to then Redskins coach George Allen. Turns out they lost 6 yards and field goal position and ended up losing the game.
Ooops. Sounds familiar, eh? The new up-tempo offense, and the revamped coaching staff has produced the same result so far as last season. Well, actually, no. We managed to beat Baltimore while my wife and I were driving around the Tuscan region of Italy last year, so we had the stellar record of 2-4 last year. So we are a game worse. Changing QBs didn’t help things much, but then again, the injury depleted defense was ripped to shreds by LeSean McCoy. Someone who seemed to want to prove something to his ex-coach. To the tune of 140 rushing yards.
Colin Kaepernick looked weak and rusty as he missed passes and couldn’t seem to get into the flow. Then again for a guy who is 4 months behind Gabbert, he looked just as mediocre. Which is good, I guess. He’s playing for his ticket out of here, so we’ll see how this goes the next few games. He did extend some drives with his legs, and did hit Torrey Smith for a deep TD for a change, but all in all a sub-par game.
For all the shitty play though, the Niners were still in the game midway through the 3rd quarter, down by 4 and driving after a 26 yard scramble by CK. On 3rd and 1, we tried a run up the middle. of course we tried the same thing on 4th and 1 to the same result. From that point, Buffalo took control.
And this is where I get pissed about play calling. Chip HAS to know that if he doesn’t get the 1st down on 3rd and 1 that he is going to go for it on 4th down. If that is the case, then take a shot on THIRD down. Play action 5 yard pass to a TE or some shit. Something more imaginative than 2 runs up the gut. As it was, Buffalo took over, and 4 plays later scored a touchdown, putting them up 24-13.
Folks will call the game a blowout, one we didn’t have aa chance in, but the game turned on that 4th and 1 stop. Even the beginning of the 4th quarter, the Niners were down one score (24-16) after the FG to start the 4th. As usual, the Niners got Buff into a 3rd and 8 initially, and the defense did its stellar job of giving up an easy 1st down to continue the drive. The clown-car act of the 4th quarter sealed the game. Fumbled kick return, offsides penalty on a punt for a 1st down, on and on. Once again, a game that looked like a stupid performance, but per usual, was determined by a couple stupid plays on a crucial drive.
Forty Niners Forever 
Speaking of 2nd half woes, Ryan Fitzpatrick has 0 TDs and 10 picks in the 2nd halfs of his games.
So it ain’t just us.
Tell ya another thing. These O linemen we regularly face are very able to get leverage on our tall DEs. Because they aren’t as tall. No one is. Leverage is about getting low, not being lanky. They aren’t even using their length to block passes. They are consistently getting pushed around. Name a dominant DE that was tall not named Too Tall Jones?
Bergs, are you saying that if the Niners drafted Ragland, he would have gotten hurt here? Interesting.
No. It was just an interesting coincidence considering some of our ACL chats.
Who’s going to get fired first?
A. Trent
B. Chip
C. Jed
D. The hotdog vendor
E. The turf guys
F. The DC
F, at least I hope!
I said in print about a week or two ago that our D-linemen are being misused. I blamed the coach. I even mentioned that Tomsula was an excellent D-line coach.
Former 49er D-lineman Dennis Brown just came out and said something very similar. He said we are two gapping even though we drafted more athletic type of players. He said if those are the type of players we drafted we should be using their athleticism to one gap and get penetration. I have to agree with Dennis.
I’m willing to give this coaching staff some time since I have no choice or say in the matter but I think this coaching staff is not so good. They misuse players, call college running schemes and get outcoached with half time adjustments.
Well, this is why I’m so frustrated with Baalke. We have needed ILB help for 2 years now and we ignore it.Random chance would get more positive hits than he’s gotten. Wilhoite is a backup at best, yet we don’t sign an FA or draft for a glaring need. You can say the same for the QB position, WR, and CB.
If he’s going BPA all the time then he sucks at it. And I don’t want to hear about Paraag in this process. Paraag doesn’t draft people. He doesn’t set the board or tell Baalke how to draft.
Unless you really think, Parraag is saying “don’t draft skill players at high spots because they cost more.” they fuck around in the building, but I can’t even imagine it comes to that. NO GM in their right mind would stick around for that.
I think we’ve had a lot of turnover in a short period. Baalke fixed the O-line and is getting there with the D-line. We have DBs. I don’t think his drafts are the problem. I think not filling in enough FAs and picking some bad coaches are his problem. We need more quality players and instead of payers we have massive cap space. If he gets fired he has at least set up a desirable situation for whoever takes his place. A young team and lots of cap room. The problem he would leave behnd is the coaching situation. Tomsula to be paid for two more years after this one and firing Chip probably won’t happen with his new contract.
I guess we’re all lucky in a way. We not responsible for this mess. If I were Trent I would grab a Greyhound out of town for parts unknown the sooner the better. His hoarse voice must be getting hoarser by the minute. He’ll start blaming his coaches to save himself trying to fool Jed again.
Not we but “we’re”
Blaming the coaches would be a real problem for him since he is responsible for selecting them.
Harbaugh must be laughing at this mess. “So they fired me?”
Make no mistake, Harbaugh orchestrated his exit. He must’ve seen the talent that was about to turnover and decide to save his legacy.
We are the worse team in the league and it’s because we have a bunch of no talent players. Anyone who thinks we are even close to being ok is not seeing what I am. Maybe it’s me that isn’t seeing clearly but at this point I don’t think that’s the case. We are in a progression of imploding and it is just gonna get worse. I don’t expect any miracles but I do expect some change. Pretty soon the paying customer base is gonna speak and I don’t mean on blogs like this. They made their money for this year but unless there is some sort of over haul I doubt next year will look so good.
I think it’s a combination of what you and Bergs are saying. There IS talent on this team. It just isn’t being used right. We have lost a lot of talent, and we aren’t replacing it. That is the biggest problem. Scheme, play calling, run defense all pretty much suck. Whether it’s beause of the read and react defense or guys just getting washed out at both levels, well, I don’t know for sure.
Offense? Well, work in progress as we switch to Kappy. He did fine in the 1st half. 2nd half? Well, our offense goes bye bye. With both QBs. Do they both suck, or is it a coaching issue? Are we out-schemed every game? Well, this is how it got under Harbaugh. Same problems by the end of his run.
The biggest problem is the lack of impact players. And I don’t think Baalke drafts well for defense as well as offense. 6 years of drafts have netted little. Hia shining guy Eric Reid is fading as the talent around him fades.
Teams that are worse than the Niners?
A. Browns
B. Dolphins
C. Jets
D. Panthers
Shit, the Browns may be 10-6 but for their injuries. I think every starter has gone down.
Kevin, if you are out there, I’ll be there this Sunday. I’m bringing 2 of my kids.
Anyone else out there going?
Yes I will be there, crying in my beer 🍻
Again?
Go Dodgers!
You have chance to see Chuck on Sunday. What do you do?
A. Run for the hills
B. Claim a headache is got you down
C. Bring a whole shit load of food
D. Complain about the Niners
E. Bring along Bullit and Skeebers
You forgot
F. All of the above
Eddie’s daughter Lisa wants the Jedi out:
http://www.49erswebzone.com/news/99498-lisa-debartolo-called-jed-york-article-interesting/
Fuck the fans. When family is calling you out, there’s trouble.
Family division. I favor debartolo over york.
Yeah the Yorks suck big time. No question. Send Jed back to Youngstown.
Chuck my issues regarding Paraag have everything to do with his insertion into what I’ve been defending all along, ‘a non-football guy getting between the football guys.’
No, Paraag doesn’t select players but, he does influence the roster with Contract decisions.
Baalke owns his selections, good bad or, indifferent.
What blows this process up is, Ownership’s decision to meddle in the football Ops.
Paraag had no business in the booth, meddling with things that he knew nothing about.
He’s another layer of interference between the Staff and the GM that simply didn’t need to be there.
If Harbaugh wanted to retain Iupati and Paraag low-balled him, he’s gone.
Now Baalke has a hole to fill.
When Ownership cans a Staff, the GM is on reset with yet another Staff, trying again to fill more holes, created by idiots at the top who just can’t stay out of view.
Eddie eluded to communication issues. Wonder why?
Inept Ownership.
No one wins when they’re battling front office politics that don’t need to be there.
Blow the whole thing up. We the fans have nothing anyway.
Jim Harbaugh is invited back to the next half time home game. He rides in on a white horse waving at the fans. Cheers would reign down from the stands. Jed announces his abdication as leader more cheers come down. The owners box is vacated! People are excited again! Oops…….the daydreaming is over……sorry. Gots to eat something.
Snickers?
NJ, I think you excuse way too much with this Paraag stuff. He did contracts, no scouting, setting the board or making selections, that is Baalke, plain and simple and accountable. Time you stopped making semi valid excuses and faced facts.
No excuses 12th.
It’s a clusterf*k created by Ownership.
Whether Baalke stays or goes isn’t my concern.
Be it Trent or any other GM in this situation, we’re the second coming of Danny Snyder under this scenario.
I simply want Ownership to stay the eff outta the way.
They’re directly responsible for creating chaos where it doesn’t need to be.
I’ve been on the Paraag is evil train for a long time. He and Jed came into the organization at the same time (I’m not sure but I think Jed got Paraag the job – needs checking). They’ve been best buddies from the beginning. I think if Jed grabs a Kleenex, Paraag leaps up to wipe his nose with it.
If I remember correctly, it was Paraag who sold Dr. York his analytics nonsense that led to Stanford interns rating college prospects for our draft. Paraag was also in the OC booth during Sing’s tenure. Don’t kid yourself that he doesn’t get involved in the football nuts and bolts of the team.
Paraag in the booth? Leaking his displeasure with Kaep and Harbaugh to the media?
There’s just been way too much involvement for a Cap Guy IMO.
It’s undermining the stability needed for a HC/GM to do what needs to be done.
Players don’t like constant scheme/Staff changes either.
Could have had a lot to do with all the defections following Harbaugh’s dismissal too.
Had Fangio stayed with Gase, who knows?
I’m just fed up with all the meddling and media musings surrounding these clowns.
RT that’s how I’ve understood the scenario also.
Baalke has been handicapped if nothing else.
Both Jed and Paraag are football wannabes assigned by Dr Daddy.
Perhaps they’ve moved Paraag out of view but, we know he’s still influencing things somewhere behind the scenes.
Cap money isn’t spent without his approval either.
GMs screw up Picks, no great news there.
What compounds it is constant turmoil involving Coaching.
We’re a 3-Ring Circus no matter where you choose to point the figure.
Point the finger….
I would give Baalke one more year. He has rebuilt the O-line and is close with the D-line. On defense we need one pass rusher, NT, some ILBs and a DC. On offense we need a QB, some WRs and a better scheme. It is really hard to foresee Eric Reid taking a dump like he is doing but
Ward should be able to move over.
IMO, Baalke’s biggest flaw is the coach he hired. That coach is going nowhere this off season no matter who the GM is. He is just getting paid too much for too long. We don’t know what they are talking about behind the scenes but Baalke has set himself up nicely with a lot of cap space. He needs to use it this off season or start looking for other employment. He has the tools to fill in the roster very nicely in 2017. I’ll join the hanging posse next summer if he screws this up.
To that end Berger, the Cap space is likely generated by Paraag and the roster moves orchestrated since the post-Harbaugh meltdown occurred.
I personally don’t know of any GM that isn’t happy to spend on needed players in this game.
Comes back to my basic debate of who runs the show.
Baalke wears the GM title, he’s accountable in the personnel sense but, he’s not managing the budget.
Knowing the cheapskate practices surrounding the Dr Daddy Regime, I seriously question the motives of sitting on the Cap surplus while we painfully struggle through yet another Coaching curve.
Agree also that Chip is here for whatever length of time his Contract calls for I’d guess.
Baalke will take the fall if Jed feels it’s necessary to offer up yet another sacrificial lamb as proof of his unending quest for success.
We’re f*cked with this Ownership Circus unfortunately.
I don’t agree but that doesn’t mean you are wrong. None of us know what goes on behind the scenes. I can see Chip lasting only two or three years if he continues coaching the same as this year. He might be in a situation where he knows he is in a building mode and just being patient. Again, we don’t know what talks are going on behind the scenes.
I am pretty sure every team has their Paraage, the NFL is big business. He was hired for his business skills. So what if he sits in a booth during a game. I think you guys are deflecting the blame away from Baalky. There are draft caps now that ensure that rookies don’t break the bank anymore. I think Baalky got a big head and thought his shit don’t stink. He has made bad decsions across the board. And, I don’t blame not signing any FA on Paraage, that is all Baalky.
Winder Baalke accepts responsibility for the roster.
I’m clear on that front.
How Paraag was assigned to the booth to ‘assist’ with challenges and the sort is way beyond what most Cap Guys are paid to do.
It’s simply my contention that it’s divisive by nature to the continuity normally associated with the football Ops.
The Baalke/Harbaugh dynamic should not have had to deal with personal differences involving Harbaugh/Kaep and Paraag.
Fly in the ointment kinda stuff IMO.
It likely fractured the relationships needed between the HC/GM/QB leading directly to the media leaks and, igniting the fuse that eventually burned down a successful run under Harbaugh.
I won’t lose an ounce of sleep if Baalke is replaced either.
I simply can’t see anyone who replaces him having any better results when Coaching Staffs are constantly being replaced or meddled with in the manner we’ve seen since Jed took the reigns.
Bigger picture issue for me is that Ownership determines who gets hired.
Good Coaches recognize the situation they’re coming into due to the instability involved.
Look no further than DC or Dallas for years.
Even Parcells got tired of Jerruh playing on the ego trip he’s offered since he fired Jimmy years ago.
We’re traveling down the same road.
Chip was on the rebound. Gase was willing to make a go of it, a move that might have benefited Kaep greatly at that time.
We’re just spiraling out of control from the top down.
I just don’t see anything positive happening until Ownership wises up or, better yet, moves on.
I am afraid that ‘wises up’ is our only option.
We’re a hot mess Winder.
Glad for now to see Eddie’s daughter Lisa chiming in at least.
For whatever that gets us anyway.
Never thought I’d see the day this franchise would crash and burn as it has.