We got injured. Again and again and again. In today’s NFL, it is getting harder and harder to field a team that can survive the rigors of a typical season and stay healthy enough to reach the playoffs in good shape. And go from there. Even harder, although Philly just did it, is the ability to pick up the pieces should your quarterback go down.
We of course are in the middle of this with the injury to Jimmy G. Our backup, CJ the Beater, seems to be able to keep us in games, but can’t get us over the hump the way Jimmy G did. Last year. For all the hooraw around Garoppolo, and I was firmly entrenched in the love-fest, Jimmy G was 1-2 to start this season before getting hurt. Funny thing is, with CJ’s next start, both CJ and JG will have 8 starts under their belts. Jimmy is of course 6-2, and Beathard is at 1-6, and more than likely to not be able to beat Green Bay on the road for a 1-7 start to his career.
Looking at the Beater’s numbers last week, and they look like a team that was playing from behind. Which they were. But they shouldn’t have been. 34-54 for 350 and 2 TDs is a good job, and the 150 rushing is also very solid. We statistically dominated the game. Josh Rosen was 10-25 for 170. 75 of that came on the first AZ play. Ooops. So Rosen went 9-24 for 95 yards the rest of the way. AZ rushed for 56 yards and was 2-12 on 3rd down conversions to our 10-17.
And they had a 16 point lead with time running out.
The big problem with this game of course was the turnovers. FIVE in total. Pierre Garćon provided AZ with their first one on our revolving brand of our usual customary whiff on a catchable ball that was then picked off. CJ was responsible for three more as he was strip-sacked twice, once for the backbreaking TD the other way that salted the game for AZ as we were behind 2 with 4 minutes left, once on a promising drive early in the 3rd quarter, and a pick on a desperation pass on 4th and 19.
The worst turnover however, was the fumble by Robert Mostert, the guy replacing the guy (Brieda) replacing the guy who was supposed to be the starter (McKinnon). The Niners were driving quickly down the field and would have taken the lead. A lead they held for all of 10 seconds this game.
For all the shit the defense has been getting, this was a solid effort by them. Granted, it’s the Cards, and AZ dropped a shitload of passes, and generally looked like a winless team, but the tackling was better than in recent games. Rosen had some pressure, but 1 sack ins’t enough.
So, once again, we are at the point where we need to lessen the turnovers and make plays. Good luck in GB . . .
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
For me it’s getting really hard to stay focused on the team as a fan. I find myself playing a lot more daily fantasy just to remain interested in the sport. The Niners and the Giants haven’t been interesting to watch in literally years.
I would like to hear from Lynch to see what he has to say about all this. I think the major focus should be on the Oline this coming year. McGlinchey was a good start but obviously not enough. Then go for OLB’s, we need a few of those. It seems none of our scouts can pick a pass rusher Dlineman so OLB is probably the way to go. And, just about every DB position. Send Ward packing and spend some money on FA.
Rogers is licking his chops on how he’s going to dissect the secondary..
Even if Mason can’t make a FG anymore it won’t matter anyway he can miss points after TD’s instead to the tune of 33-13 Packers..
Oh, we’ll keep it close somehow. Prolly a low-scoring affair that will end with yet another tipped pass INT. 24-16 Pack.
What is the deal with CJ? He has so many passes tipped at the line. To go along with all those drops.
CJ is definitely going to have to change the way he does things if we are ever going to win a game. His supporting cast isn’t helping him very much either.
I was robbed on the Under in the last minutes, had it in the bag.
I could see Kyle wanting to spend our 1 on a potentially elite WR. I don’t know who’s out there. That said, here’s my draft based on need:
1) LEO (versatile sack master RDE)
2) FS – I thought our secondary would be good. It isn’t.
3) LDE pass rusher specialist
4) SAM – strong side line backer, preferably a versatile one who is a decent blitzer
5) CB – that or a free agent to complement Sherman
6) OT – need another tackle to prepare to replace Staley. Maybe wait and get a FA in spring ’20?
7) OG – a warm body who won’t trip over himself
There are more holes (backup TE) but only so many draft choices.
Having some concerns about the development of the QB position Chuck.
For all the whispering associated with Shanny and the position, CJ is not showing much progress IMO.
He’s staring too much, likely a good ingredient to tipped passes and, late to pull the trigger.
He’s got to lead these Receivers open on the inside routes. Defenses are squeezing windows, Receivers aren’t adjusting routes.
Perplexing, frustrating and flat out unacceptable in year 2.
This WCO System is timing critical. Once you hold the ball a tic too long, nothing good happens.
Let it rip. Give your receivers a chance to make a play. However, the biggest difference I see is, CJ isn’t nearly as accurate as Jimmy, leading to several of these tipped INTs.
Now the run game is weakened, more pressure to throw, less chance to succeed, if CJ doesn’t pick up the pace.
And, here we are.
Again.
Stats thus far suggest our Offensive output has been equal to GB.
Haven’t ever seen McCarthy rely on, or be successful with, a ground game.
ARod isn’t getting away from people either due to a gimpy knee.
Not going to suggest a W on the road for us but…..we ought to keep it close, if our Secondary can get their collective heads out of their butts.
Our glaring red flag statistically speaking is the amount of Pts allowed on D.
Nothing exciting about this years’ round of SF/GB whatsoever.
If we could keep Brieda on the field, Sherman on the field, not to mention out QB, we’d have a chance. As usual, we will play almost to the level of our opponent and will come up short.
We need to go all-in on pressuring Rodgers. That is our only chance.
So what’s the deal about not bringing back Joe Williams?
Good question..
He wasn’t very good.
GB actually have some pretty good rb’s, with Rogers quick release he will toss the small stuff all day if we rush to many people. I think the only way to win is keep him off the field. The only way to do that is stop making stupid mistakes. They really aren’t playing that great of football themselves but it’s still way better that what we are doing. There WR’s are pretty banged up so that is a good thing. GB 34-23
A little trivia. Packers and Niners have played each other 66 times that includes playoff games.
GB 35 SF 30 with 1 tie
Wow, the Giants are really, really bad. Barkley is everything he was advertised to be, but he’ll be a FA before that team is rebuilt.
Are they still trotting Eli out there?
I think the only pass he’s thrown beyond 5 yards was off-target and intercepted, lots of bubble screens.
Joe Williams is a very big red flag about talent evaluation if nothing else.
Including the drama that surrounded Shanny wanting him as badly as he did at the time.
Swing….whiff.
I just hope Shanny did a better evaluation of McKinnon given the investment made.
Blown Draft Pick on Williams doesn’t impact the budget at least but, ACL rehab on a RB is tough to invest in too heavily IMO.
If Winder is right, about the McKinnon Contract structure, Le’Veon might not be a bad fall back, if he’s a FA option of course.
I’m not an advocate of spending big bucks on ANY RB.
Way more pressing needs to invest in.
Not to mention getting more value from the Draft.
http://www.espn.com/blog/san-francisco-49ers/post/_/id/30946/breaking-down-jerick-mckinnons-four-year-contract-with-the-49ers
It really is a possibility that Shanny is in over his head at this point. It is one thing to inherit a decent team and strengthen it. But a total rebuild like we are doing is moving around a whole lot of pieces. I wish him the best and hope we can get our shit together.
Jesus. Eli was done 2 years ago. And yet they draft a RB. Wow. Must really suck to be a Giants fan, but they’ve had more recent success than we have.
As far as we go, I’m certainly guilty of feeling too good about this team this year. The truth is we are thin and inexperienced. And Lynch can also catch heat along with Shanny for the fits and starts, but the reality is, to rotate out all the crap from the Kelly/Baalke/Tomsula era takes time. Lynch has done well with his maneuvers and picking up/drafting helpful guys, but we look like at least one, if not two, drafts from being serious contenders.
Over their heads? No. They are still dealing with a team that is short of talent and can’t overcome the injuries they’ve had. Most teams would falter if they lost their QB, their two top RBs, their top WR, and their top CB along with the myriad other injuries.
Joe Williams may have been a big whiff, especially since Kyle wanted him bad and traded up for him, but still and all, he’s a 4th round bust. the league is littered with those.
Yeah, I do think KS knows what he is doing and after all he’s got a 6 year plan. A lot of it is the media who love to proclaim winners and losers. I had fairly high expectations this year also and seeing what has happened I realize I was jumping the gun.
Seeing what Garoppolo did last year (and what Harbaugh did in 2011) just goes to show how close the talent is in the NFL. It really comes down to 2-3 plays a game that can shift the balance. Like last year w/o Garoppolo, we were in just about every game but never got over the hump.
And the NFL is built to raise up the lousy teams by favorable scheduling (for the most part) and of course the draft. Some teams take forever to get it, while some stay relevant for long periods of time. We are in the middle of the road on that account.
I will say we did play screen passes better this last game than we have all year. In fact the defense played a pretty good game, with the help of some timely drops by AZ.
And poor skeebies is hoping for a Monday night failure so he can stroke St Jim’s pole a little more.
I’ve recovered from Jimmy G.’s injury. I’m not as down on the team as most, I guess. With a healthy Jimmy G., we’d be 3-2 and talking playoffs. But this, this must be fixed! That’s why my draft is D loaded:
The 49ers Defense
12 TD passes given up 28th in the NFL
99.0 QB Rating 21st in the NFL
1 int tied for 30th in the NFL
9 Sacks Tied for 24th in the NFL
A pass rush would fix most of those problems. Which is why I think if we got Khalil Mack, we’d be in MUCH better shape.
That’s why my draft was pass rusher heavy. I don’t think it’s enough, however. I think the secondary needs to be upgraded as well, both at corner and at safety. Definitely pass rush first.
Mack got $150 mil as well as the two 1sts. All moot, though, imo. No way the Raiders were trading him to us.
We need some veteran influence I think we should hit FA hard and draft the BPA for the whole thing.
Granted it’s an opinion from a former 9er but….Kinda makes ya wonder, whether Saleh made this call or, if he and Lynch differed somehow on what this Defense was supposed to be?
Top Pick, limited production thus far, now this?
Donte Whitner says Solomon Thomas is not fit for 49ers’ scheme
https://tinyurl.com/yas72at5
The Broncos have showed 1/2 of what we’ll need to beat the Rams. They have a very good secondary and have slowed the Rams O to a crawl.
The bad side is an O-line that’s getting mangled by Aaron Donald and Co. and a mediocre-at-best QB in Case Keenum. If it weren’t for an idiot receiver’s taunting after he thought he’d scored a TD, it’d be 13-10 Rams, with the Broncs showing tons of fight. Uh, well make that 20-10.
The Broncs have put pass rush pressure on Goff, as well. But the coverage has been as good as you can hope under the new rules.
RAMS!
That taunting penalty wound up costing the Broncs 7, Rams won by 3. The Rams showed they can be beaten.
Well, after the Rams bye week next week, they’ll be 7 and OH baby. 🙂
Too bad the dogs are dying, Capon.
Why is taunting a thing in the NFL? Didn’t see the play, but really. These are grown-ass huge men trying to kill each other out there, and we equate trash talk with head hunting?
Stupid. Yet another dumb thing about the NFL.
new thread is up.