. . . broken hearted. Tried to hope, but looked retarded.
My Breakdown . . .
The Vegas oddsmakers notwithstanding (4.5 wins), the feeling about this team from the prognosticators ranges from wildcard possibility at 10-6 to abject failure at 2-14. Of course most of the talk has been of the negative kind. I don’t really understand this as I can’t count on both hands and feet the teams that have come from obscurity to relevance overnight (or over the course of a season).
The salient points being:
- Horrible defensive coaching last year. Jim McNeill was over his head, and lost as DC. The scheme appeared to be hold the line with the D line, and drop the LBs into coverage. This opened up numerous holes in the run game. Even with NaVorro Bowman, the team was terrible on defense. Without him, they were awful.
- Misguided offensive coaching. Chip Kelly’s offense solved one problem plaguing the 49ers. Getting plays off on time. The rest however was a disaster. Neither Gaine Blabbert or Colin Kaepernick ever got any kind of consistency in an offense that was bereft of talent at WR and TE. Most routes consisted of the WRs running to a CB and sitting. Kaepernick had no patience despite decent numbers, and Gabbert had little accuracy despite decent protection. The run game was nil as the team was usually down quickly and forced to pass all the time.
- Lack of talent. Our no 1 receiver was a no-show most of the year, mainly because we never threw deep. Our no 1 TE is known more for dropping passes than catching them. Our no 1 RB was constantly stacked up behind a fair to middling line.
- Lack of pass rush. The order of the day appeared to be playing guys out of position. There were times, usually about 1.5 quarters a game, where the team looked decent defensively. However, a big play would usually ensue, or an inopportune penalty.
- Front office ineptitude. We’ve beaten this horse into the ground so many times since the Jethros took over the team in 2003 that the dead horse is now in China. But it bears repeating that the front office meddled, whispered, and painted themselves into a corner with the Jimmy Bag-o-Donuts, and the Go-Go-(nowhere) Kelly offense. Both sets of coaching searches and hires were beset with stupidity, arrogance, and in the end, hilarity. Hello Adam Gase, the Jimmy T fart-a-rama, and the Chip Kelly debacle. He made the worst offense in the league even worser.
- Trent Baalke. ‘Nuff said.
Now? Well, they hired a coach with no experience and they hired a GM who’s latest job was as a TV analyst. This sounds stupid, but I have to give Jed props for hiring guys who seem to have a grasp of the game of football. The good news?
- John Lynch, the Stanford safety who was an overachieving pain in the ass to every WR he played against, and a hard-hitter to boot, brings a large amount of cred along with his football smarts.
- Kyle Shanahan directed and (almost) won the Super Bowl last year amid a career of being an offensive guru, and son of the last OC to with a Super Bowl with the 49ers.
- The latest draft. The 49ers managed to draft two top-five talents in the draft by getting Salomon Thomas with the 3rd pick, and Reuben Foster with the 31st on a trade up. The Bears were fleeced by Lynch to trade up one spot and garner more picks.
- The WRs. Garcon and Goodwin are the best pair of WRs in a long while. The backups are an intriguing batch of speedsters, including Trent Taylor and Victor Bolden.
- The run game. It hasn’t shown much yet, but Shanahan seems to be good at this, and hopefully Carlos Hyde will do a better job of waiting on his blocks, but the addition of FB Jevzvxvksfjdhjl should help immensely in bailout plays and bocking help.
- DC George Saleh. So far, and yeah, it’s preseason, and without showing our hand, the defense is much more active and attacking. If the pass rush comes around, I feel this team can really be a force on defense. I’m worried about the corners, and I hope Jimmie Ward hits the ground running, but overall I see a vast improvement defensively. Reuben Foster has been the 2nd coming of Patrick Willis so far.
- The Jedster. He APPEARS to be learning something about how to make his moves and shut the fuck up. Not a peep out of him, and that’s how I like it.
I think this team does have an outside shot of reaching the playoffs. the NFC West is not near as strong as it was, and I think we can at least pass the Rams and the Cards. Seaettle is still the #1 team in the West but the gap is closing.
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
My hope is that the team can stick around the .500 mark till the last 5 games. Even at 5-6 they could run the table. The Bears, Texans, Titans, Jags and Rams close the season. If they have coalesced into a well-oiled machine (or just a decent facsimile), they could win all those games. Boom. 10-6.
It’s either that, or be king doomer on skkkeebers blog. . . .
Hyuk!
chuck- I don’t see picking a 4 win season as being a doomer. Just the opposite, I see us blooming into a good football team. The problem I see is that we have no depth and injuries happen. It has been years since the 49ers lived in a perfect world. If we win more all the better. I just don’t see it this year. At the moment I could not be happier about the way this team looks.
I’m hopeful the 49ers can grab six wins. 10 win thinking will force me to drink the Kool-Aid spiked with rum or whiskey. Staying free from major injuries will help greatly.
I used to drink lemon Kool-Aid with Gin whenever I ran out of real lemonade. It was a great summertime drink.
Good post, Chuck. I’m anxiously awaiting Sunday’s game but I’ve no idea how I’m going to watch it. The Shithawks play at the same time as the Niners, so TV is nada. I may have to look into one of those package deals. If anyone has any ideas, I’m all ears.
Yeah, injuries in the NFL are the great equalizer, and the Niners haven’t been lucky in that regard so far. Maybe their fortunes will turn once the regular season starts. Next year’s draft should consist of looking at potential QB’s, CB’s and depth pretty much across the board. That’s one thing Seattle has had for about 5 years now [depth] and it’s helped keep them in the hunt. But Russell Wilson has yet to suffer any kind of significant injury, despite the poundings he’s taken. With that suspect line, I’d say he’s due. He goes down and everything in the NFC West gets turned on its head.
We just picked up a LB that was waived from the Panthers. I hope he comes with the playbook. I just got to like our FO a little more.
That’s a total Seattle move. They’ve been doing that to the 49ers for years.
If you told me not a single player would get injured this year I’d be a *polly* and hope for a playoff game. But once we start getting hit by injuries we’re completely done. No depth. But I like Shanny and Lynch and am willing to be + about them turning the team in the right direction. I would take the under on 5 wins this year, tho.
The reason the 49ers are a 4 win team is because they don’t have any good players. Regardless of the recent purge, this is still a Baalke team. Vegas knows it. It’ll take two or three years for Lynch’s impact to be felt. And who knows if Lynch will be any good?
The sad thing for you faithful jackwagons is that Dork will fire coach Kyle before Lynch’s picks come of age. I know, I know…. Dork gave Lynch and Kyle long-term contracts and promised that wouldn’t happen. Whatever. For the first two years, Kyle will be asked to turn straw into gold. He won’t. Vegas knows it. You simply can’t win without players. In three years, the heat will once again be on Kyle and Dork won’t be strong enough to keep his promise and stand behind his head coach. Instead, Dork will leak and Kyle will be gone. We’ve seen it too many times before. Then, if the Lynch pieces don’t fit the next head coach, Lynch will get fired and you maroons will be back to square one, yet again.
The sad thing for all you 49er faithful is that Dork was so close …. All Dork had to do was ask Harbaugh for a GM recommendation to replace Baalke and the 49ers would still be a perennial playoff team. Dork was close with Harbaugh dominating with McCloughan players. But once the McCloughan players left through attrition, the Baalke bullets didn’t fit in the gun. That’s why Harbaugh left. Dork needed to assess this correctly. But when have you ever known a kid born with a silver spoon in his mouth to assess anything business related correctly? Instead, Dork got his panties in a bunch and let Rome fall. And this is exactly why Dork had to hire a rookie, untested GM to draft the talent, and it’s also why 2 out of his last 3 hires have been rookie head coaches. The NFL knows that working for Dork is a dead-end job. Vegas knows the 49ers aren’t going anywhere with Dork. You guys are just slow to catch on.
spit- a lot of what you said about York is true. But, I don’t think you have a clue as to what this new regime is about, Of course we aren’t gonna win many games this year. That is a given and the reason isn’t the players aren’t any good it’s that they are young and plentiful with little to none NFL experience. Lynch and KS can only make York shine even if it takes a few years to be competitive. The fans will be buying tickets this year and that is the bottom line. That is what Jed wants a full stadium and the media giving him some praise for his decision on hiring them. Vegas’s odds have nothing to do with York. And if you haven’t noticed players want to be here. I think you are way off-base with this one.
He’s still singing the same tune he was when Harbaugh was fired, verbatim. Blah, blah, blah. Nothing but white noise at this point.
Winder – Crack kills. It’s bad for you. Please stop. Please take care of your body.
Nobody wants to be a 49er. Nobody. Rookie head coach and GM? Worst owner in the NFL? Track record of losing? Do you know how you tell if players “want” to be there? It’s when guys take less. Kevin Durant wants to be a Warrior. Nobody takes less to be a 49er.
But you’re right. I don’t know about the current regime. ….. and neither do you. Right now it’s all pie in the sky. They’re all 0-0. I’ll wait two years and say, “I told you so” like I did with NJ49er and all the other Baalke lovers who sided with Baalke over Harbaugh. Oops, York did it again…..
And young players aren’t good. They might become good. But generally speaking, young players suck for a couple of years. Alex Boone was on the practice squad, then the bench, then a starter. If you put Alex Boone out there year one, he’d get trucked. Vegas knows this. Vegas knows Lynch potential doesn’t win ballgames.
Just another infantile response from spit. This is a 49er blog it’s full of 49er fans most of whom have seen and been though numerous ups and downs in this organization. I don’t think anyone here is dwelling on the past and certainly not about Harbaugh. Open up your narrow minded thinking, you might find it enjoyable.
Spit did you get indoor plumbing yet?
Chuck, nice to see you allow 1 doomed/troll on the blog(that would be you Spit) anyway, I like the way the 1st stringers looked in the 3rd pre season game, offense looked good. Now can that carry over to the regular season? Hopefully, the first game will be telling, if they revert to not being able to get into the EZ it is going to be a long season. If I see 2 runs and then a pass or an attempted pass on 3rd and long I will be pissed 😡 it will be the same old same old. With that said I will be the homer and say my bet with a Raider fan stands, Niners will go 8-8.
I can guarantee you Shanahan won’t be running the Harbaugh offense. Which alone is enough for me to be happy. Harbaugh for all his glory was not very good with the offense. He’s brilliant in college, but not so much in the pros. He had a very talented team that he did well with but he leaned on the defense way too much and wouldn’t get creative unless behind.
And yeah, I’m optimistic. I’m not down on people for thinking that we only get 5 wins, or even 4. I just think it’s stupid to not look at what is going on and not be hopeful. Sure it could all come undone with a few injuries, as the team has little depth outside the D line, but I’ll bet the over.
Everyone is welcome here except for Dennis and Flying V. Racism is not tolerated. Go to Skkkeebers blog for that. He enjoys his tiki torches and Harbaugh outfits.
As for you, Spit, brevity is a virtue. Jesus. Cliff notes, motherfucker. You spend 10,000 words to say you don’t know about this year’s team. Got it.
I got no room to talk, but that’s some funny shit.
You heard it here first Reuben Foster isn’t good. Myles Garrett isn’t good. Rookies never make an impact in the NFL. Jesus, Spit. Smoking crack would help you with your thought processes.
He’s letting his hatred get in the way of common sense.
No, he just likes to see himself type.
He’s a blowhard, nothing more.
Life in the ‘Shire.
Mirror, mirror, on the wall……
Guess he told me?
Doctor and a lawyer and an Indian chief,
They all dig that crazy beat.
Way-Out Willie gave them all a treat
When he did that hand jive with his feet.
why the hell did we cut Kerley ! ? did Larry and moe beat him out ?
No Rob!!!
Taylor and Bolden did!!!!
why cut the leading receiver from last year with this group of WR’s ??? It’s not like we’re stacked at the position ! lol
Better than we were it seems.
Added Goodwin and Garcon too
Goodwin is 2x faster than Kerley. We have a lot of speed at WR now. Kerley is Kerley. A lost relic of a bygone era.
OK so we have Garcon , Goodwin … and who ??? c’mon man
Taylor, Bourne, Robinson and Bolden for starters.
Well, I think the stink of the last regime has something to do with Kerly’s demise, ROB!!!
Taylor looks to be a great slot guy. Jason Bourne? Who knows? Hey, I don’t know. I was surprised as well, but these last 3 regimes had gigantic problems even coming up with decent pass plays, let alone decent pass catchers. Shanny and Lynch appear to have done it in 4 months.
Super 70s Sports. My favorite twitter site. Twitter only exists for this stuff.
Go team!
I think Skeebers left the door to the loony bin unlocked and ol’ Shittie escaped. Time to bring him back in, Skeebs.
lqtm
This new management team wants all new blood and young blood. Trying to not have players who will remind the fans of past teams failures. That was on local Sac sports radio
Kerley didn’t really fit that description but whatevs. I’m behind this youth movement.
Kerley lands with the Jets. Good luck to him on a bad team.
He just might be their best receiver. I know he was a Jet years ago too, I think he came up in that organization..
Jets appear to be throwing the season.
I see it that way too.
New thread is up.