Well, there one way to beat the heat at the newly minted Levi’s Oven Stadium (the big LOS), and that’s to go in November. Again I’d like to thank 12th Man for the tickets. My wife and I had fun walking around, and checking shit out. The weather was crisp and clear and it was nice to sit in the sun.
The game? Oh yeah. So much for victories. This team that came out of the gate this year actually looked fairly decent and made a bunch of games close, but in the end they were losses. As the injuries have mounted up, absurdly so I might add (14 players on IR, 3 listed as out, and another 8 listed as questionable), it is getting harder and harder to maintain any kind of consistency on either side of the ball. The usual suspects raised their ugly heads to thwart any momentum. The game started with a long AZ drive that stalled on the 19. Former Niner Richard Dawson doinked the kick and suddenly the 49ers were on the march. they made it pretty far into AZ territory when our expensive fullback Kyle Juszczyk coughed up the ball for a 60-something return to the Niner 2.
So, 5 minutes after kickoff, I figured the game was over. It turned out to be true, but for what it’s worth, the team is still playing its collective ass off. Especially on defense. Even after the trades and injuries. But again, the team was undone on a few big plays. The defense kept AP under control but for 3 long runs that tipped the balance. Eric Reid had a nice pick in the end zone off of Drew (Who) Stanton, Niner killer that he is to close out the half. The Niners even got it to 14-10 and had the ball, but the usual tipped pass/ineffective run/incomplete pass followed, and the rest was a slow grind to the loss.
The only excitement came when CJ was cheap-shotted by ex-Niner Antoine Bethea on a scramble/slide, and Carlos Hyde got into a scuffle with Frostee Rucker* (best name in football) after the play, and both were thrown out, along with Haasen Reddick. In the end it didn’t matter as CJ then bounced a pass off Trent Brown’s helmet and the drive was stopped short of the end zone. Woulda been 20-17 but as usual, day late, and a buck short.
All in all, the Niners are a team in disarray. CJ was a mess out there, and this was my worry bringing him in. The line is banged up, and CJ was wildly inconsistent. He missed some wide open guys, and lacked the strength to get balls to their targets on a lot of passes. He also held the ball way too long on 3 of the 5 sacks given up. Jimmy G is here to save the season I guess, but we will see if he even gets in after this last debacle. They may be better served waiting until after the bye and hopefully getting healthier. Not a bad strategy. Thing is we all knew the team had little depth and with so many players hurt it is hard to do serious evaluation of talent when they are literally signing guys off the street. This very much reminds me of the 1978 49ers that were signing defensive backs off the street as well.
The latest injuries include Jaquiski Tartt suffering a season-ending broken arm, and Juszczyk suffering a neck injury. So, as with previous weeks, the team finds a new and different culprit to make a mistake and seal their fate.
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
I guess at this point the best thing to say is “what the hell!” As for the QB it pains me to watch him getting hit so much. They have to find a way to protect at least the next QB. Beathard sure can take a hit over and over again. Can Jimmy G. take that kind of punishment? If I were a HC I would hate to find out.
0fer – 9ers, even the announcers were in awe of the injury bug that has hit the Niners. Out of the original 53 roster players I want to say 13 have some sort of injury, I think that was the number at the beginning of the game. So many on the O line not playing the position they should be playing. So now the backups backups are getting hurt
I am still a fan of CJ and unless the play calling gets a little more QB friendly he’s gonna end up a human blood blister. I don’t care if our running game ever got on track you just can’t throw the ball that much with a fucked up OL and succeed. Anyway, KS better start protecting CJ a little better if he wants to keep him. I am beginning to question his play calling abilities.
Foster with his best game yesterday, 14 tackles – 13 solo – and a couple for loss. Another game the Niners could’ve won save for a couple of missed connections for TD’s. Those are throws I like to think Jimmy G can make in his sleep. Beathard is incredibly tough and took a hell of a beating yesterday. He will probably develop into a serviceable backup, maybe more, who knows. It’s hard not to like his guts.
The injury thing is bizarre. Guys are dropping like flies all over the league, but the Niners are #1 on the list. Unbelievable. I don’t know how the Niners can properly assess Jimmy G without playing him this year. He’ll be a FA at the end of the year and a decision will have to be made. I don’t know, maybe they’re already confident that he’s their guy moving forward.
I’m sure he’s there guy because they made too much of a fuss in the media to go back now. Get the OL shored up at all costs to give Jimmy G a fighting chance. Getting pounded by other teams is not in the Niners interests and the HC knows it.
“their” for there.
That must be it, Nip, but I do expect him to play this year, maybe against Seattle or the game after that. If he is their guy, however, you’d expect him to be signed before the end of the season.
Winder, I admire your take on CJ but he was flat awful yesterday. There were at least 3 or 4 times where guys were wide open and CJ skipped the ball to them on shorter routes. He missed badly on a shot to Robinson where he had no one within 20 yards of him on a medium deep route and he missed him by 10 yards. Beyond that, he had a ton of balls knocked down at the line. Yeah, blocking, but this was my issue with bringing him in this year. Getting him out there all to the end of eroding his confidence.
I know CJ’s getting hit, but we have no other alternative but to pass. When you can’t open holes you punt 15 times a half. I’d rather have Hoyer in there. Garoppolo has to be the guy as they need to play him to get any value out of him. Unless their strategy is to hold him till the season ends or they are waiting for an offer NOW for him.
Ballsy if so. That would likely burn whatever bridge there exists between Belichick and Lynch, but all fair in love and football . . .
Echoing what I said above, Chuck. If they’ve decided that Jimmy is their guy, it makes no sense that they wouldn’t sign him now or very soon. Absent that, I expect we’ll see him there before too much longer.
CJ has guts all give him that, especially with a patched OL with no talent whatsoever.Hes just never gonna be mobile enough to be a starter,holds the ball to long, of course the protection sucks, but not always, underthrows open receivers, even a good throw doesn’t get it out their far enough in stride, so they have to wait for it.Career backup but atleast better upside then Hoyer. Niners aren’t gonna start Garappolo until they get some of the OL healthy especially Staley back, and move Brown back to RT where he belongs, they don’t mind CJ taking all the hits for now and not their possible franchise QB..
I agree Kat. I do think CJ could be a very good backup.
With all that has transpired in terms of IR delegates, Lynch should enlist his minions to start raiding PS players that may, or may not, have been on their collective Draft Radar screens heading into last April’s Draft evals.
They poached LB Mark Nzeocha from Dallas last month and, should continue to do the same with any others that might be of interest.
This season is all about evals now. Good time to fill these injury vacancies, with those guys other teams are leaving exposed, on PS rosters.
What else is there at this point?
Trading deadline has passed and, we’re a walking outpatient clinic at this point.
Gutsy or no, he’s taking a lot of abuse and this kind of shit can ruin a quarterback. Running may help some but unless they get more than the usual 1 or 2 yards, that is a no-win situation anyway.
Got to say, reading NoFear on Blog X, as wacky old Phil used to call this place, is funny as fuck. He conveniently forgets that Jim Harbaugh wanted Colin Kaepernick. He recruited him and drafted him. He loves to rewrite history to suit his narrative. He’s sofa king stupid he seems to think that Kaepernick’s contract was a hindrance to signing players here. How fucking stupid is that?
It’s rare to find someone so fucked up in the head that he has to bend the world to fit his warped sense of reality.
One thing is obvious, and it goes back to the SB, with Shanny.
He is overly reliant on the passing game. All good, when you want to put pressure on a Defense I guess but, he’s killing his own Defense in the process.
With a Rookie like CJ at the controls now, I’m sure he’s looking to baptize him by fire. However, this isn’t doing CJ any favors in terms of his health.
Think what David Carr turned into years ago when Houston sought to make him the face of the Franchise behind a turnstile of less than stellar OL-men.
Protect the QB.
Sack the QB.
It doesn’t get any simpler than that in the NFL.
Glad to see TBrown getting some time at LT, because it might be wise to consider him the heir apparent to Joe when the time comes.
Beyond that, swap out as many guys on that OL as time permits this season.
Pass Pro is much tougher than Run Blocking IMO. See who’s got the talent and, maybe, give Joe some time off at LT in the process, while giving TBrown more experience on that side?
I’m not sure he has choice (passing). Hyde usually has no where to run. I don’t care who a back is, running into plugged holes on most plays ain’t going to work. With a good line, Hyde would probably be having a huge year.
Well to start the year we were pass blocking much better than run blocking. It’s all a mess now.
Interior OL is our biggest challenge right now Chuck.
When Staley and TBrown were protecting on the edges, the pass Pro was much more reliable.
When they’re out, it goes to sh!t.
One thing Jerruh learned, after a number of failed attempts, was getting the OL back in order. It takes a TON of pressure off the QB. Literally.
Shanny has one major flaw. He has to start balancing the Offense to give his QB some relief. Especially now, with CJ learning under fire.
Beadles is not very good at guard and and we have been playing him at tackle.
He’s a Guard at best – I’d try him at Center if no one else is viable.
Right now anybody would be better than Kilgore. He’s a revolving door at center right now.
17 guys on IR so far this year leads the league.
OUCH!
Its 22 players on IR since KS took over and a 23rd any day now (Gilliam), some from TC and pre-season, most in the regular season. By far most in the league. On top of that another 10 players missing practice this week. On top of that the Niners were short on star power and had very little depth to begin with.
Another point. BeatHard has played in 4 NFL games, total, and almost got a win against the Skins where a mystery penalty on Garcon was called and cost them the game.
He is behind the very worst O line in football hands down, where every week there is another new face blocking and he has taken the most hits in the NFL at the QB position. Give me a break if the kid is less than accurate. How the heck can anyone say if he is doing a good job or not? Of course he is missing some plays and skipping some balls, most QB’s would be rolling into the fetal position at the damn snap.
KS had a shitty hand to start with but it still looked promising early on. The player attrition rate is unprecedented, something he himself says he has never seen before, yet fans are already saying he is in over his head. Holy shit guys the ghost of Vince Lombardi couldn’t do any better under these circumstances.
And since I’m on a roll, Jimmy G is not here as trade bait or for any other possible future deal. He is here as the soon to be starting franchise QB of the 9ers. Lynch and Shanny tried to trade for him in the off season when he would have cost a lot more than the gift second rounder they eventually got him for. They will certainly sign him to a long term deal.
I also think he starts after the bye, providing CJ can survive that long.
Jimmy G will do a much better job than CJ in terms of reading the D, going through progressions and delivering a quick accurate strike. He is no rookie and although his game experience is limited he has sat behind one of the best of all time for years, see Rodgers, Aaron or Young, Steve. It still won’t be pretty, but Jimmy G won’t be taking all these hits CJ is and the Niners will probably win a few games.
Obviously its all about surviving right now until some players return after the bye but much like Winder I see where this is headed and am optimistic for the future.
Kilgore is a big problem and I don’t get it. He’s had some injuries along the way, but he’s been very good for a long time. Now he’s barely getting in the way of guys.
I wrote my magnum opus and the spam filter ate it.
I found it in the trash. It’s back. Not sure how it got there. WordPress changed things all over the place and things are wonky.
I gotta think Kilgore is a victim of the regime change Chuck, system fit sorta stuff?
It’s an obvious concern but, like everything else, pieces purchased under Baalke likely don’t jive with what Shanny & Co are attempting to do.
As 12th stated, we can’t expect much from the Offense until they get these pieces re-sorted.
Interior OL will likely see major attention during FA/Draft next year. Those positions typically don’t get Drafted high either.
Although, I am seeing my preferred OG Quenton Nelson creeping into the Top 10 conversation already.
Kid is a BEAST.
Would love to have him at this point.
For that matter, ND’s OL on the whole, is pretty talented.
Something to put on your radar if you have an opportunity to partake.
Here’s the guy that came in for Gilliam – Antone Exum.
I did some homework on him several years ago when he was coming out.
He too had the dreaded ACL tear on his rèsumè.
Curious to see how they plan to position him.
He’s got good size. I’m thinking SS/LB, much the same as they were doing with Reid until Tartt got IR’d.
https://tinyurl.com/ydhr42x8
With the NYG coming in on Sunday, gotta wonder if we’ll screw this up with a WIN?
The Browns (54%) and 49ers (44%) are basically in a two-team battle for the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft. The Giants are the next-most likely team to earn the pick, at 2%.
Not if we beat em. The browns are fuckng hopeless. Never has a team sucked so hard for so long.
Sucking hard the Browns specialty.
At this point I am not sure that we even have a scheme. Everything is so patchwork that I think we are back to basics. It we actually win this one I will be amazed, the team we are throwing out there is nothing like the team we started the year with. I like what 12th wrote a little earlier. We not only started out the year with a bunch of untested players we had untested players for backups. Now we are playing many who are considered backups that have no chance of sticking on the team after this year. I have never seen a rebuild like this one but also I have never seen so many crucial injuries. It really does put us in a very bad situation. evaluation wise.
This next game is no better than a pre-season game. Unknown players playing for their futures. Niners have a QB they dare not rush him out there too soon. Injuries are bursting out all over the field. And a miracle happens when people actually show up at the stadium to view this thing. At least at home one can just shut the whole thing off if it gets too bad.
OUCH!
The flip side to that is secondary market tix are seriously cheap now.
Yup. Still trying to find out if my son can get off work to go to the game on Sunday.
I was hoping it would be the first start of our future QB.
Hah!
It might be according to KS. He will evaluate on Friday.
Brown at the least must be coming back for Jimmy G to start. I’d think they’d wait for Staley as well, but hey trial by fire.
Heard on the radio that BeatHard has more starts than Jimmy G now.
Brown played LT last week, had a good game, Staley is practicing this week, might play.
Garoppolo has 2 starts, BeatHard 3.
Yeah, but he’s been getting beat hard.
Feel for CJ- I reckon Jimmy G to start after the by week
In all that mess sunday Trent Brown was the 4th highest rated LEFT tackle while subbing for Staley.
IMO we’re playing for next year. Anybody who stubs a toe is going on IR so we can evaluate everybody on the roster in game action.
Guys like Trent and Tank and Kilgore who the staff have questions about and rookies and free agents are being evaluated
While aiming for a top 5 pick
What Rob said:
San Francisco 49ers: This past week Trent Brown played left tackle in place of an injured Joe Staley. He allowed pressure on just 3.5 percent of pass blocks. That is the fourth-best rate for all players when lined up at left tackle this season for those with at least 50 pass blocks from left tackle
Like Nip said earlier this is gonna pretty much be a training camp here on out. I figure Thomas, Foster, Williams, CJ, Kittle, Taylor, Witherspoon, and Colbert are locks for next year. Also Garnett, Brown, and Staley, Ward, Reid, Buckner, Malcom Smith, Mitchell, should be there( I am sure I forgot a few). After that I think it’s wide open.
No Garoppolo?
Lol. I knew I would forget a few. I think Jimmy G will be our QB for a long time.
Me too. I also think there is a 50/50 chance he plays on Sunday.
Yeah, I hear he might start. My son can’t get out of hie work (new job and all) so I ain’t going.
I wasn’t going to hold you to a beer…
I woulda got ya a couple. There’s still time.
Just messing with ya. Im taking one of my daughters this time.
Speaking of which Brock Coyle was a good addition,!!!
He’s been solid.
Speaking of which Brock Coyle was a good addition,!!!
For those that missed it, just a sick play, and we get to play him in two weeks:
Russell loves him some 49ers.
Time to win one……..beat them Giants! Losing gets old quick. The draft will take care of itself. Anyway no team will out lose to the Browns. They suck and suck for all time.
Those are the plays that drive me nuts about Wilson. And to think Kaepernick was oh so close to that.
The league figured out Kap rather quickly since he couldn’t read defenses, be an effective pocket passer, and look off to more than one receiver. Wilson is an accomplished pocket passer that sees the whole field and can scramble like a pro. I hate to admit it but I sure wish we had him.
Yeah he’s one impressive performer.
Kap also ran out of weapons. His surrounding cast was dogshit by the time he left.
New thread is up.