So, this week Florida comes to California in the shape of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yet another weirdly inconsistent team in a league full of weirdly inconsistent teams. The Succaneers bring the 22nd ranked offense and the 24th ranked defense to the table yardage-wise. Somehow they are 23rd in yards given up, but are 8th in points given up. The +8 in turnovers has something to do with that I’d guess.
They give up a ton of yards in the air, therefore they are pretty stingy against the run. 6th best in run D. Again though, that is because they get cooked giving up 267 in the air, good for 31st. They do have a solid pass rush though with Vita Vea leading the way with 4.5 sacks, so the Niners have to account for him, as well as Shaquill Barrett. For all our defensive prowess, TB has 25 sacks on the year. 2 more that the 49ers.
Offensively, TB is bottom of the barrel. Baker Minshew, Gardner Mayfield, uh, Bakner Minfield is 13th in QBR, but has a decent 14-5 TD/INT ratio. They have no run game however, ranking 31st, so they get one-dimensional in a hurry. Still and all, they’ve only given up 16 sacks for all that throwing.
The question becomes, who shows up for the Niners? The dominating offense and defense that has won 6 games? Or the stagnant, penalty-laden offense and the sieve-like defense that gives up 15 play 85 yard drives?
This season has been strange to say the least, and part of the struggle was due to losing both Deebo and Trent Williams. Their absence from the offense cannot be understated. Defensively? That’s a different kettle of fish, and things would have been a bit different had Wilks not gone cover zero in that fateful Minnesota game. Then again, Moody makes the FG and that is another different outcome. But there is no going back.
My usual concerns are what was bogging us down last week. Penalties. Too many first down mistakes forcing us into 3rd and forever situations. The Niners had 2 turnovers that gave us the ball at midfield or better that resulted in 2 punts. We can’t do this stupid shit against good teams, let alone mediocre ones.
Keep the train a’rollin’ boys.
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
Amazing what is out there in the ether . . .
Saw Aerosmith do this at Anaheim Stadium back in 1976 or 1977.
Were they any good? I saw them in ’78 and they were absolutely terrible. They forgot the words to this song and a few others. AC/DC opened, Van Halen next, Pat Travers, even Foreigner kicked their ass.
There were 60,000 fans when they started. By the time they ended, there was about 1,500 people left. They cleared out the Oakland Coliseum in an hour. Those of us that stayed were laughing at them. They were fucked up beyond redemption.
Actually, they were great. The main band I wanted to see was Lynard Skynard. They got in a bar room brawl 2 nights before and couldn’t play. They were scheduled to play before Aerosmith.
Starz opened. Then Prince got booed off stage. Jan Hammer was next, followed by Jeff Beck. Then Hammer and Beck played together. Then Smith. Smith was great, Beck was better. I wasn’t very familiar with Beck before that show. I became a fan of his that night.
Vea is local Bay Area guy, played HS ball at Milpitas then onto to UW Huskies.
Didn’t know that. Remember him with the Huskies.
The one thing TB has is Mike Evans. If Bakefield can get him the ball, he’s dangerous. As is their RB Rashaad White. He’s good at screens and throws to the flat so we HAVE to watch for that as that has been killing the Niners lately.
https://apple.news/AYV-f5LWfSP-4soAIM1JJvQ
https://apple.news/AzzJWJtFnRGqNc_k0K6Lmbw
Tell ya one thing, not seeing Oliver out there was nice. Thomas did give up some stuff (and the usual Mooney Ward PIs) but he is much more physical than Oliver, and his strip/recovery/(shoulda been) TD was pretty awesome.
He has his work cut out for him going against Mike Evans.
lol
nice
Seems as though JVerrett is on the radar again as a practice squad addition since being released in Houston.
See what happens…
No shit. He;s good when healthy. Why not?
Exactly my thought. The guy can cover as well as any. And then he gets hurt.
Big Game here at Stanford this afternoon. Someone breaks losing streak, as Cal hasn’t won on road in long time, and Stanford at home hasn’t been good either, losing to Sac State earlier this year. Cal has had Axe for last 2 years. Knew family whose daughter played HS basketball and helped me coach youth group girls team she had played with earlier in her career. both parents went to Cal, and she told me there’s nothing red in their entire house.
The Big Game used to mean so much to me but this year it means next to nothing. It broke my heart when both Cal and Stanford decided to leave for the east coast. Tradition means nothing and cash is everything, hope they enjoy themselves. Curious to see how Wash St and Org St fair.
I don’t see how this is going to work in Cal’s or Stanford’s favor. I guess just have to wait and see what next years schedule looks like. Pretty sure recruiting will be somewhat more difficult unless recruits from the East Coast would benefit by staying closer to home.
My prediction is Wazzu and OSU will get control of the PAC-12 because the by-laws are clearly stated. When that saga defines itself, they suck in the Mountain West. IMO, Cal and Stanford will wish that they stayed, at some point in the future.
At least, that is how I hope it works out. I think it is possible I am just predicting with my heart. But, there is logic behind it. I would love to see the Pac-12 survive with Stanford and Cal coming back.
Berger- I was thinking the same thing. I read where both WA St and OR St. were already looking to expand the PAC. Both Stanford and Cal are land rich and I don’t see Stanford or Cal for that matter hurting for money unless I am missing something. There is probably some politics that I am overlooking but to me it just seems like greed. It will come back to bite em in the ass.
Winder- I think they panicked because of the money. Cal is in heavy debt from the stadium upgrade. The lawsuits will continue for a while. I believe they end up settling.
OSU and WSU will try to do something for ratings. Sucking in the entire Mountain West probably won’t maximize that without relegation and sucking in the top end of another conference, like the American. It will be interesting to see what happens.
These two songs are the types of songs I listen to on the radio I listen to
Love me some JW
Good shit, Irish!
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