Not much going in in the preseaonalia of the 2019 football season. Except to report that the 49ers were on the short list (apparently) of the HBO Hard Knocks show. Now there are only four teams left in the running. I guess there are a shitload of rules around appearing on it, but suffice it so say, you need to suck, and suck for a few years, to be on the list. The remaining teams are the Lions, the Raiders, the Giants, and the Redskins. You know. Suck.
And here’s a weird tidbit from Bleacher Report. There’s talk in whatever universe they inhabit that the 49ers have the best backfield in the league. To quote Maurice Moton (yes, THAT Maurice Moton):
“In today’s league, the best running back stables aren’t filled with potential 1,000-yard rushers,” Maurice Moton writes. “There’s been a shift toward an emphasis on pass-catching ability in the backfield, so the top tailbacks can also rack up receiving yards in the short passing game.”
Matt Brieda and Jerick McKinnon certainly fill that bill. As does Tevin Coleman. With our bolstered receiver corps, the hope is this offense can get a lot out of plays in the flat, quick hitters to keep off the pressure, and the occasional deep pass to keep defenses honest. As well as some actual running.
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
Nice post, Chuck.
I think there is a real chance of seeing some creative offense from us this year. But, I thought the very same thing this time last year. Hopefully a full year off for McKinnon hasn’t left to much rust on him. I love that we got some weapons in the draft, Deebo should be a starter pretty much from the get go and if Hurd is what’s advertised then it should be fun. Easy to be optimistic this time of year.
We’ve added Deebo, Hurd and Coleman. Taylor can hopefully put his family tragedies behind him. Jimmy G. and McKinnon will return from the ranks of the injured. Our battered O-line will start out healthy at least.
Natch Jimmy G. is far and away the most important piece.
Yeah, no one can say we are not trying
The NFL now is just more and more about attrition. If you can get through a season without too many injuries and you can do well.
And in transaction news, the 49ers have:
Signed OL Wesley Johnson to a one-year deal and waived TE Marcus Lucas.
Claimed OL Willie Beavers off waivers from the Chicago Bears and waived RB Matthew Dayes.
Signed LB LaRoy Reynolds to a one-year deal and RB Austin Walter to a three-year deal. In addition, the team has waived DL Ryan Delaire.
Signed undrafted rookie free agents LB Azeez Al-Shaair, S Demetrius Flanniigan-Fowles, DL Jamell Garcia-Williams, DL Kevin Givens, S Cameron Glenn, WR Malik Henry, TE Tyree Manfield, WR Shawn Poindexter, G Ross Reynolds and QB Wilton Speight.
Signed WR Jalen Hurd, LB Dre Greenlaw, TE Kaden Smith, OT Justin Skule and CB Tim Harris to four-year deals.
Signed P Mitch Wishnowsky to a four-year contract.
Hopefully those OL signings are an improvement instead of camp fodder.
I’m hoping Deebo can be a quicker version of Anquan Boldin for us.
I think he’s got a similar mental style, once he has the ball in his hands.
Bigger concern for me is whether Jimmy can handle the mental part of playing on a repaired knee.
McKinnon too.
Best backfield in the league ? Well this does make me feel a lot better about our stable of RB’s ! At least we have more options if one or even two go down like happened last year !
Yeah, we were down to 4th string guys by the end. But that did give us a chance to look at a lot of the bench. One year of that is enough, however . . .
A good article analyzing ShannyLynch’s Niners:
https://www.ninersnation.com/2019/4/28/18521897/reading-between-the-lines-are-we-there-yet
Good article, I do think it has it’s flaws though. Since the game is about milliseconds I still feel the game is more won in the trenches than in the middle. Play from the trenches dictates what goes on in the middle. I do agree about the speed being an absoulute necessity for LB’s and WR’s in the slot.
Funny thing about the article is the line it is virtually impossible to trade for an elite QB.
Uh, didn’t we just do that? Jacksonville as well? They just traded for Foles. I guess ‘elite’ is subjective, but both teams hope that they did that.
Looks like Celek’s days are numbered. We are apparently signing TE Levine Toilolo, 6 year vet from Stanford who played for the Falcons, and last year for the Lions. Decent numbers, solid backup.
Carry on.
Probably right, Celek would cost way more but I still think it might be hard to push him off the team. they might go after the 3rd stringer whoever that is. you figure Kittle and Kaden are locks. They say that Toilolo is more of a blocking TE even though he’s 6’8″.
Winder, it’s all about the red zone these days. If Toilolo can catch 50/50 balls in the end zone (at 6′ 8″) then I like the shot we’re taking.
The achilles heel of this team has been the red zone for so long it drives me nuts.
Wouldn’t be nice if we could get to a 35/40 percent success rate once we get there. That’s probably a higher than league average but with the weapons we have it should be doable.
Patrick Peterson suspended six games for PEDs. No games against us, unfortunately. Football news!
Yeah, was just gonna post that. Funny that to the NFL, these PED suspensions rarely merit more than a passing glance. No appeal, just bide your time and hit the ground running. So much for trading him, though. He was already unhappy with the team.
They probably won’t win to many games but they should be fun to watch. They will tax our D-line chasing their QB.
They’ve gotten two wins every season against us since they only got one in 2014.
Ouch. ust like we could only beat the Rams.
Arians is a helluva coach. We get his new team on the road Week 1.
New thread is up.