So close, yet so far. the season can’t get started soon enough, but the scheduling Gods gave us a toughie as the 49ers face the NFC Championship game losing Minnesota Vikings on the road. This is the same Vikings team that stole their previous playoff game with an improbable 60 yard TD with time expiring on the clock to beat the Saints. They were so thrilled about the state of things at QB that they let Sam Bradford go, declined Teddy Bridgewater’s 5th year option, and let playoff hero Case Keenum walk to Denver so they could throw a 3 year/$84 million deal to our once and future savior, Kirk Cousins.
The NFL makes strange bedfellows, and we were gifted (maybe) our own savior in Jimmy Garoppolo in a mid-season trade while Shanny’s choice to lead us out of the wilderness is now a Vike. Certainly a storyline that will be followed by many around the league. Cousins certainly has a much better team around him, what with that defense, but we have added some weapons ourselves. Sure, we lost Jarick McKinnon, but we lost something we haven’t had, so there isn’t anything to really miss. He would be great as a pass catcher out of the backfield, but hopefully they’ve been working with Matt Brieda to pick up some of that work.
For this team, it is all about the pass rush. Our defense will go as far as Salomon Thomas, Arik Armstead, and DeForest Buckner can put pressure on the opposing QBs in the base defense. They’ve shown glimpses here and there this preseason, but Thomas looks worlds better than he did last year, and a healthy AA is imperative.
The defensive secondary has improved by a lot on paper, but we will see what happen on the field from the get-go. They face Cousins, Stafford, Mahomes, Rivers, Bradford (or Rosen), Rodgers, and Goff to start the season. Quite the who’s who of NFL QBs.
Two teams get an early kickoff to the season tomorrow as the 2017 divisional playoff game is revisited by the Atlanta Falcons and the Super Bowl Champion Philly Eagles. Should be a fun one. Foles gets the start while Wentz gets fully healthy. Atl will once again ride Matty Ice into the season.
Forty Niners Forever 
Double bad LB news today, Watson to IR for a hammy pull and Smith ruled out for the game.
Smith may never play a meaningful down for us. This is fucked up.
I’d like to know if there’s a correlation between the elimination of 2-a-days and extended hitting in preseason to the rash of injuries teams seem to be suffering through every year.
Well sort of . . .
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2018/fewer-practices-does-not-mean-more-injuries
I was just watching “Invincible” about Vince Papale and the 1976 Eagles, and Dick Vermeil’s first year coaching the team. Early on Vermeil talks about how tough camp will be, with “6 straight weeks of two-a-days.” Aside from the fact that Mark Wahlberg is 6 inches shorter than Papale ever was, that’s a pretty comical contrast to what Chuck was talking about above, when we can’t seem to get to the first game without half our fucking linebacking corps going down with injuries.
Brutal training camps back in the day. I seem to remember the 49ers having camps like that in the oppressive heat of Rocklin during the Walsh years.
I think they did that all through the Redwood City days also. Players might be stronger and faster now but they sure aren’t tougher.
Yup. Went to Sequoia HS in RC in ’79 to watch DB tryouts as a senior in HS.
This article pulls apart all the weaknesses that Kirk Cousins brings to the table. Maybe we’ll win this sucker after all:
https://www.49erswebzone.com/commentary/1894-film-room-49ers-opponent-quarterbacks-vikings-kirk-cousins/
You pressure him, he fades badly. You can say tht about a lot of QBs, but he;s high on the list of happy footed guys.
Our DB’s are gonna be tested. One thing he can do is throw a good deep ball. I think the game for them will rely on Dalvin Cook and how he come back from the injury. They also have the ex-Raider but he is mostly just a power back.
Yeah, they’ll be tested, just not deep.
Here’s an article on cousins’ ineffectiveness.
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2018/deep-ball-project
Might be stat-wonky but watching him try deep passes outside the numbers, he was iffy at best.
New thread is up,