When is a win not a win? Yesterday. I think there were 7 injured Niners with 3 seconds elapsed in the 2nd quarter. TE George Kittle and RB Matt Breida both had shoulder injuries that look kind of significant. Kittle’s hurt hurts a little more because he was hurt reaching for a bad Jimmy G pass downfield. Salomon Thomas and Gary (Ian) Gilliam both had concussions, and Malcolm Smith (the hologram LB) pulled a hammy during the National Anthem.
Sure it’s good to win, but as Aluminum Mike Singletary proved, preseason wins mean nothing when the season starts.
The Niners looked slow from the get-go, and Dallas simply drove down the field at will and scored on that first possession. Then they went to scrubs on O. Garoppolo wasn’t as successful as Prescott, but he looked OK converting a couple 3rd and long situations minus the missed pass to Kittle that got him hurt. Hmmm, where have I heard that before? Anyhow, CJ BeatHard was beaten hard and did OK for a midget QB. Lots of tipped passes and missed shots.
The guy whose stock rose the most was Julian Taylor. Arik (who?) Armstead’s backup was all over the field making tackles and getting fairly decent pressure on Dallas’ QB for most of the game. DJ Reed had some nice pays, Dante Pettis looked very solid despite letting one get into his pads, but got so open on a deep ball that he still caught it despite being underthrown 10 yards by CJ. Bourne made some nice adjustments out there as well.
What to gain from this? We have the makings of a strong team but I’m sure worried about our depth. This team cannot afford too many more injuries and we are as week 1 of the preseason.
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
It really does make you wonder just what our strength conditioning coach does. We were bombarded with injuries most of last year and if it happens again it’s gonna be very hard to evaluate players. I don’t read much into yesterdays game but I do hope Kittle is ok.
In the first Q the running game went no where!! The Oline and the back looked totally lost. Let’s hope this was just preseason crap
The big problem with the last strike and subsequent negotiations is that the players got a lot of practice time (and hitting) removed from training camp. They’ve only had like 10-11 practices in full pads. That used to be done in the first 4-5 days. These games are basically TC. It’s no wonder guys go down. They aren’t used to the rigors of game day.
Kittle and Breida look like the worst injuries that we can’t afford. I think Thomas will be fine. Smith? Will he ever get on the field? All the WRs looked pretty good to solid. They were getting open for the most part. Run blocking as noted was awful but for a couple plays.
The way Kittle asked to come out immediately, I don’t think he is OK. He’s proving to be as fragile as a china doll. I love the way Jullian is grabbing the bull by the horns and making the most of his opportunity. He looks like an animal out there and like a guy who wants a career in the NFL. This may be the death knell for Armstead’s 49er career.
JG converted a couple of third down’s, but one was a nice play by Richie James on a poor throw. He was off, no question. A lot of his balls are fluttering right now. Let’s hope it’s just an aberration.
Other concerns, lousy line play overall on both sides of the ball. Couldn’t run block, couldn’t pass block, and they got hardly any pressure on the Dallas QB’s. That’s just more of the same from last year. Gotta get better.
Mostert and Williams looked good, I thought, despite crappy blocking. Mostert is a stud who also kills it on ST. He may not be featured back material, but he plays his ass off. He’ll stick if only because of his special teams play.
Oh well. One game. Shake it off and get better. I’m just disappointed they didn’t come out with more fire, which prompted my press clippings comment from last night. They absolutely looked slow. Not good.
First game jitters or whatever, I’ll let this one slide. I was more concerned about the defense. They didn’t make stops when they had the chance. No pressure is the biggest concern. It’s hard to cover guys when there’s no stress on the QB. Especially a guy like Dak. I hated the formation that he ran up the middle for a 1st down as there was no none lined up in the middle, and the run was where the LB vacated. Someone was way out of position.
If the pass rush is a concern after week 3, we can pretty much write off the Minnesota game, as Foster will be on the bench for that one.
The Vikings game is going to be tough any way you cut it, but, yeah, they’d better find a way to get in Cousins’ face.
The Viking game might just be the toughest game we play all year. I am glad it’s the first because there is always a chance to sneak up on em. i don;t think last nights game means much of anything I still think we will be much improved on both sides of the ball. There was nothing to prove last night.
Breida and Kittle both with separated shoulders, should be ready for week 1, per Shanahan, which seems very optimistic to me. Those don’t heal quickly and can be problematic long term if not allowed to fully heal.
Thomas and Gilliam in the concussion protocol, which means a whole bunch of nothing right now. Could be short, could be long.
Harold day-to-day with a knee contusion, Smith out for this week with a hammy.
NFL.com reporting that Kittle has no tears or structural damage to his shoulder, so that is good news. I’m not sure how you separate your shoulder without doing damage, but that’s the latest. It could’ve been worse. Several teams lost drafted rookies to season-ending ACL tears.
The Lambs got spanked in their first game, so there’s that.
Good news on Kittle. He’s going to be important.
Didn’t realize that Dallas has both Marcus Martin and Joe Looney on their team.
I think people are going a little too gaga over Julian Taylor. He got pushed out of position against the first team a lot. Armstead would have definitely stayed in position allowing others to make the plays. That is his strength. I guarantee those runs to the right would not have been successful with AA in. We are a good run defense with him in and a bad run defense with him out. Plus, he gets a decent pass rush for a run plugger.
If Armstead stays healthy all year Buckner could be DPOY. With Armstead in Buckner gets a lot of single blocking, with Armstead out Buckner is constantly doubled.
What I saw in Taylor is a guy who’s style looks like he could battle for the LEO position and Solomon Thomas’s position. He one gaps too much more the strong side DE. He did a decent job two gapping once the starters left the game.
You guarantee? How could you know, he’s never on the damn field.
I can guarantee that you hate Arik Armstead. It would be impossible for you to be rational about the player.
The best news for me was that the two guys I wanted to see came up big. Richie James and Jullian Taylor both had good games ! It looks like we’ve added two guys who will give us some real depth at WR and D-line !
I hope Pettis’ 53 yd catch was a sign of things to come.
Good news ,Kittle and Harold weren’t seriously injured and now Breida looks to be out short term ! We dodged some bullets this time !
Righti Rob. Just saw the report on Breida. Great news.. He and Kittle are important pieces of this offense.
Bergs, maybe you love AA a little too hard for a guy who is fragile. He’s played 10 out of a possible 32 games these past 2 years. Fairly or unfairly, that’s bad luck, or bad conditioning, or whatever. The whole point is he ISN’T stopping the run from the sidelines.
He may be the next Reggie White, but it’s hard to tell from the whirlpool. remember Todd Shell? They didn’t call him Crystal Todd for nothing.
I will give you that, he needs to get healthy. When healthy he is a force. He does make a huge difference. I am just rooting for a healthy AA so we can be a better team.
Something very interesting about the trying to replace AA movement is who is the latest candidate. Julian Taylor missed most of 3 years of college action because he was always hurt with knee injuries. I think I read that he played 3 games in 3 years because of injuries. He did play 12 games his senior season but teams were staying away because he had issues staying on the field. I’d say he was an excellent 7th round pick.
No, I don’t hate Armstead, I just think he’s on thin ice and that he’s severely underperformed given his draft status, which he has. If he steps up this year I’ll be front and center giving him his due. When you say things like “you guarantee” something, you’re going to get called on it. You have no idea what he would or would not have done in Taylor’s place. Try to keep your emotions in check.
I guarantee he would have plugged the run on the first drive that went for about 15 yards. Taylor over ran the play and got pushed out of the way. The LB did not play it right either but that does not matter if Taylor plugs the hole. AA is great at holding his ground and pushing OL backwards. That is just plain unbiased analysis.
We do not have another player like AA. We have NTs but they don’t have the combination of one and two gapping ability like AA. The guy we drafted in the 4th, Kent Street, is that kind of payer. Unfortunately, he is out for the year because of what else, injuries. There is nothing more physical in any sport than the style of play AA and Street play. Basically they are playing like a NT while containing the edge which means they have to be more athletic than a NT. It is a major luxury to have a player like AA. Those players usually have short careers and I give John Lynch a lot of credit for recognizing this and getting a 2nd guy like AA in Street. Guys like that create a lot of stats for the LBs.
I hope he turns out to be a Hall of Famer. That would make me very happy. He’s still being listed as week-to-week with the hammie, so I’m sure the Niners are shooting for having him ready for opening day. But he’s also not getting reps, so that’s the down side.
Sounds great, Bergs. Just have to wait and see. I’ld love to see what he can do as well.
Another scary moment:
Kittle and Breida done for the rest of preseason:
The Niners game is being replayed on the NFL Network at 6 pm if anyone is interested.
Got to admit when the Steelers and Raiders of the 70’s got together it was some great football.
I got a treat when I went to the Dallas game, I got invited to the BNY Mellon club, right behind the Niners bench on the field. Interacted with some of the players, stood next to Kittles Mom, who said he was feeling the best he had in years, about 10 min before he got hurt, and ran into Ricky Watters who was a really nice guy and took pics with everyone, saw Steve Bono too.
Good times.
Shout out to Roy for the hook up.
Excellent when that happens 12th.
Had a similar encounter in Canton with Derrick Deese and Keena Turner when Jerry went in.
I’ll make my request, once again, for an empty Bud Light aluminum SF logo bottle if anyone can oblige along the way this season.
Always room for 9er memorabilia in my Man Cave.
Thanks in advance if anyone can help… 😀
Didnt see any yet but if they do it this year NP.
Nice.
Throw some of those pics up, if you’ve a mind to.
I’m not sure how to do it so I sent Chuck a few to share.
I can’t remember what happened to mine ! https://www.ebay.com/itm/2017-Bud-Light-NFL-Kickoff-Can-San-Francisco-49ers-Football-Since-46-Bud-Light/222689440840?hash=item33d9533448:g:dlUAAOSwCtJZ7XQb
Great story, 12th. Funny story, when I was ski-bum in Colo during the Miami-SF Super Bowl. There was a big bunch of tourists from Miami skiing that week so I was catching a ton of flak from them (wearing my Niner hat). My response was, the Niners are practicing against the best defense in the league. Miami? Not so much. We are going to crush Miami.
I see a 40 something guy and his wife wearing 49er garb and say to them, ‘thank God! I’ve been seeing all these Miami folks around here.’ I said, ‘where are you guys from?’ They said they were from Texas but that their son, Bruce Collie, played for the Niners. Ended up talking to them off and on the rest of the day. Had to ski off the mountain, catch the bus to Aspen, and walk the 1/2 a mile (in the snow in ski boots) to our place and walk in the door 45 seconds before the Super bowl kick off. Great day.
Those times are special. Added Niner bonus.
Nice stories!
And I still have my 1994 Super Bowl 49ers Wheaties box. Right next to my Step Curry 2015 NBA Championship Wheaties box.
I was at the first game of the season that year. Raiders/Niners, got a shirt that was billed as a Superbowl preview. Niners killed the Raiders and went on to win the SB, Raiders sucked.
Still have the shirt too.
WOW we just signed Alfred Morris ! At 222 lbs. he and Mckinnon should make a nice combo !
Morris was drafted in 2012 and has gone to two pro bowls in six seasons so far !
Even better Shanny was Morris’ coach both times he went to the pro bowl !
NiIce!!!! Didn’t hear that.
New thread is upon us.