. . . 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 
Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!
Dear Lord …..Persuade the inept Yorks to sell. Somehow these people are too damn dumb for sports.
Amen.
Hard to think the D line is doing anything but sucking hard, Bergs. 312 on the ground last week? Our Des regularly get washed out and the ILBs are getting pushed back. we offer little resistance. A 21 yard run on 3rd and 20 is horrific. This team defense is scattershot at best. SOME of it is scheme, but we regularly get pushed around up front.
Baalke has been drafting for defense for 6 years now and we have little to show for it.
He is the constant in these last 5 years as the talent has left or grown old, and the young players don’t make the grade. Fuck Paraag. He’s a guy in a suit who may or may not be sticking his nose in too far.
The MAIN reason this team got good was because of Scotty’s drafts in the 00s. That and a coach who had a decent plan when he got here when the talent was there.
And yes, Harbaugh initiated his departure. He saw the talent drain coming and manufactured a lot of the bullshit that is attributed to the front ofice.
Deande Smelter is back
I think we have a talented D-line that is being misused. The LBs make them look worse too because they are not very good at all. If you draft tall athletic D-linemen their job should be to make plays, not two gap. Our ILBs are so bad our DC should be attacking with the line and have the LBs fill the gaps. We are trying to do the opposite. It is really making me question the coaching.
BTW, not having a stout NT hurts too.
I know in the land of Harbaugh bowing I’m not going to be popular with this post. Harbaugh saw the talent was getting old and players were starting to get injured. IMO, he orchestrated his exit by feuding with ownership. He was reading a book about dividing to win. I think he was saving his legacy.
Whatever happened, he is gone now. This roster lost a lot of players from age and many more who weren’t expected to leave. What went on with Kap and Aldon is still having an effect IMO. We lost Aldon and Kap is now taking orders from his ex girlfriend.
In the meantime, The lines had to be rebuilt. That is almost done. The back of the defense is done. Nobody expected Bowman to go down again. Ray Ray is out too. We are terrible at ILB. On offense it is obvious that Gabbert and Kap are not the answer. Ponder probably isn’t either but I would like to see. In any event we do need a QB and some WRs.
My hope is the coaches are just using this year to feel out what they have and we will use the coming year to fill in the holes. The QB situation is tricky. You can’t just say we need a QB and go get one. At some point a team needs a little luck in choosing. Like Montana in the 3rd, Brady in the 6th and Prescott in the 4th. Every team passed on all those players multiple times. That is why I would give Ponder a chance soon, you never know. Maybe at the least he can keep a spot until we find an ‘it’ QB.
All in all, this team lost talent much faster than expected. It can’t be fixed over night. Some continuity is what we need. Is Baalke the guy? I don’t know but he has been put in a tough spot. Any GM would be struggling with a talent purge like we had. I wish he would have picked a different coach but for now we have Chip. One thing a do know is changing coaches and GMs every year is a loser. Baalke has began his rebuilding process and is set up up for a huge off season with the tools he has at his disposal. I wouldn’t be upset if he goes away but I can see what he is trying to accomplish. Finish shoring up the defense and see if we can get a QB.
I know some will disagree but this Kap situation IS having a huge affect on this team. IMO, we need to get it in the rear view mirror.
Gerald Hodges will get more playing time . Good move
Harbaugh had success here and moved on to his dream job at Michigan. Move on.
My biggest Concern now is our DC
I don’t know who you are talking to Bergs but I said 2 years ago that Harbs did what he did on purpose. He orchestrated his way out. He knew Baalke was not very good at his job so he butted heads with him and angered Jed with the ‘men only’ comment.
Whatevs.
Baalke is in a tough spot? Uh, no. He’s done nothing but draft 2nd stringers for 4 years now. He has actively ignored our glaring needs and missed out on free agents that could have helped immensely. The team had abundant talent when he got here and now the cupboard is bare.
The O line is playing a little better in pass pro, but run blocking sucks. The D line and ILBs are turnstiles. The DBs can’t cover for 5+ seconds so we get burned deep.
A bare cupboard is a pathetic cupboard. Sniff…….
And speculate all you want about Kaepernick. It is fallacy to think it is doing anything to the team. The team sucks all by itself. Players all over the country are joining in. College and ugh school. In different sports. Except baseball. Gee I wonder why.
The quality of suck is declining. Not the quantity.
I think he’s talking to all the people who seem to think Harbaugh is some kind of angel who descended from heaven and took our team to the Superbowl single-handed. Only to be driven off on purpose by the jealous demons Baalke and Jed. Lol
new thread