San Francisco 49ers Forever

Huh. Another well-played game that saw the 49ers easily beat the hapless Jaguars 30-10. We looked like the Jags 2 short weeks ago against the Cardinals, but here we are at .500. Kyle continued with his putting Deebo in the backfield, and for some reason, it keeps working. It’s a bit scary to me, but then again, most of his runs are to the outside, and he’s doing that kind of running on the bubble screens anyway.

Kudos again for his seemingly more better play calling. The defense has also improved since that debacle of a game against the Cards. the 49ers held the Trevor Lawrence Jags to 10 points 6 days after holding the high-powered Rams to 10 points.

The offense once again held a huge time-of-possession advantage at 39 minutes to 21 as the Niners used nearly all the 1st quarter to kick a field goal. and, once more, kudos to Shanahan for getting the points. A fail there on 4th and 1 changes the game entirely, and the axiom for 95 years, before the analytics wonks decided 4th down was OK to fuck up, was to take the points on the road early. And Shanny did.

The D stopped the Jags on their 1st possession, and the rout was on. They also forced 2 fumbles (well, one was a muffed punt) and the pass pressure was decent if not a little lax. Nick Bosa continues to be a one-man wrecking crew, but we are still not getting enough consistent pressure. Many many standout players, as the defensive backfield is getting healthier with the return of Jaquiski Tartt, and the penalties by that unit are way down. The run game with Wilson and Deebo was solid enough to keep the Jag offense off the field, and it was a relatively low stress victory.

Unfortunately for the Jags, they were riddled by injurieds during the game.

The next game all of a sudden becomes gigantic. The 49ers better get a home win streak going as they face their once and distant past quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings. Both teams are 5-5, and the winner gets a jump on a wild card playoff spot. Minnesota is coming off an improbable win vs the Green Bay Packers.

Back to reality. This will be interesting in the fact that this is one of those ‘should win’ games we’ve coughed up recently. Shanny seems to have a spell over the Rams, but this flim-flammery does not extend to any other teams in the NFL. The thing about games like this is these are the games where Teflon Mike Nolan and Aluminum Mike Singletary woud puke on their shoes. Even Snappy Khaki tripped over his dick in games like this near the end of his tenure.

Any loss at this stage would be a death-knell for our playoff aspirations as there are a ton of teams fighting for that 7th spot. But no game is easy in the NFL, as so many teams (like Buffalo) have found out recently. The Bills were flummoxed by them and lost 9-6, so anything is possible.

What is encouraging to me is the coaching staff has found a bit of a comfort zone with Jimmy G. One that has precluded Jimmy from using play action as it takes time away from his reading of the defense in front of him. But defenses will now understand this and be able to key on run or pass faster.

Don’t know too much about the Jags other than Trevor Lawrence and Myles Jack, but they do have The Beater as their backup QB and our RB from the past, Carlos Hyde. And they have a win over the Bills.

Hey, that was a great win, and whatever spell or mojo that Shanny has on Sean McVay, well, it continues. Truth be told, if any one of the 3 plays that sealed this game went differently, the entire game shifts. Both he interceptions were caused by the Rams lack of execution and focus, not on anything the defense did. Well, maybe except for Jimmie Ward playing deep safety. Same with the 3rd down drops. Also, if the 4th down play to Samuel fails, the Rams are on their own 40 only down 21-7. Scary territory for anyone that knows Shanny’s close-out ability, or lack thereof.

I’m happy it worked out, and I’m VERY happy that Shanny stuck with the run as he has a tendency to give up on it too early. But the issues remain with this defense regarding our pass rush. Anyone not named Bosa is doing little to get to the quarterback consistently. I’m frankly amazed that McVay didn’t challenge us deep more, but we were dropping Ward deep a lot. And funny thing is, Stafford’s accuracy helps our defense as we usually trip over our dicks on underthrown balls, and Stafford didn’t do that. But the fact remains, Ryans has shown little more than the base defense through most of these games as the defense gets slowly picked apart. Particularly appalling in the Green Bay game.

Running is the only way this offense can get any type of rhythm going. Get the run game just churning out 4-5 yards a rush, and Jimmy G can make his 8-12 yard throws to Kittle and Samuel and hope they snap off 20 more yards. It was a super conservative game plan, and the running negated a lot of LA’s vaunted pass rush. And it also kept the Rams offense on the sidelines. The themselves helped immensely with the two crucial 3rd down drops deep in their territory, but there you have it. A win that could have turned out very differently but for a few plays.

Then again, most games are like this. A bad call here (ask the Bears in their Pittsburgh game), a bumbled reception for a pick 6, an inopportune fumble changes everything.

I do have to give Shanahan props for putting Deebo in the backfield and using him there as it really confused the Ram defense. Scheming ways to get the ball into Deebo’s hands is always a good thing, and it worked out in spades. As noted, he stuck with the run even after the Rams closed the game to 14-7 in the 2nd quarter. The best way to keep Jimmy G safe from fumbles/stupid picks, is to do just that. Keep the defense honest on the run and they can pass.

Another thing I found intriguing is that we did not run ONE play-action pass. Never did Jimmy turn his back to the defense when throwing the ball. A conscious decision I’m sure. If it keeps Jimmy from tossing picks and more time to read the defense, hey I’m all in.

5-0 the last 5 Niner-Ram games. A full 60 minutes. Finally. Huzzah!

Kyle Shanahan shook off the black clouds swirling around Levi’s stadium, and his oversized head, and played a full game off smash-mouth football. 44 runs? Damn. There were no huge run plays but there were enough 6-10 yard runs to keep the Rams vaunted pass rush of Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd, and newly acquired Von Miller at bay. Jimmy G did his best Alex Smith impersonation, going 15-19 for 182 with 2 touchdowns. 8-8 for 89 and 1 TD in the 1st half.

The much-maligned defense made a stand early with Jimmie Ward picking off a misguided throw to the newly acquired Ol’ Dirty Beckham. He paid dividends for us by giving up on the deep route that Jimmie picked off. That led to our 18 play, 11 minute, 93 yard TD drive. Jimmie was then handed a pick by Tyler Higbee and the rout was on. The Rams helped immensely with two crucial 3rd down drops by Higbee and Kupp, and sloppy play in general by the Rams.

The Rams looked very similar to the 49ers last week. They came in with their splashy trade deadline acquisitions expecting us to cower at their greatness. Instead we stuffed the ball down their throats, shit on their lawn, controlled the line, and took it to them all night.

Biggest play of the game, and likely the season, came early in the 4th quarter with the Niners up 24-7 and facing a 4th and 5 on the Rams 40. The game was still in doubt, and a turnover on downs could have changed the outcome. Instead, Kyle strapped in on and went for it. Daniel Brunskill took on and held offf Aaron Donald one-on-one as Jimmy G hit resident stud Deebo Samuel on a shallow cross that resulted in a 40 yard strike. 31-7 sealed the game at that point. The rest was gravy.

Got to hope that the team understands that they CAN play this way. They ARE a talented team, and CAN make a playoff push. We play the two teams in front of us for the 7th spot. Carolina and Minnesota, so we have a bit of control over our situation.

Ahhhhh fuck. Getting harder to find the will to even try and figure out the latest clusterfuck the 49ers find themselves in. The sweet transition to the heir apparent, Trey Lance, has fallen into a sinkhole the size of New Jersey as the once and future Super Bowl contenders find themselves mired in mediocrity as the offense has no flow and the defense just shit the bed in the worst way possible.

Our latest flock of draft picks are either hurt or not good enough to get on the field, the usual cast of injured draft picks and signings are hurt, our happy-go-lucky band of fun-loving players is now dodging bullets from the front office and coaching staff as they go through the motions and trip over their collective dicks over and over as they discover new and interesting ways to lose games, and this coaching staff has yet to figure out how to close out games.

The Rams? They seemed to have righted their ship pretty quickly after trading the moon for Jared Goff and getting mediocre results from him. The Rams fleeced the perpetually Ford-fucked Lions by prying Matthew Staf-Ford away from that sad-sack organization in exchange for the rusty Buick that is Goff. The Rams tossed away picks for Stafford with little concern as they traded for Von Miller and signed ODB. Both of whom will play tonight.

The 49ers? Well, a win by the Rams puts them in a tie with AZ at the top of the West and tied with GB, AZ, and Tenn for the best record in the NFL, and would put us in the West cellar. A place that seems to be a pretty cozy spot for this team during the Shanahan/Lynch regime. 32-40 is not good. Sure, the team was an absolute mess when these guys got here in 2017, and they got good quickly, but game-management issues and the blowing of a big lead in the Super Bowl seems to have ended the run. 5 years into this system, and we are suddenly nowhere NEAR competitive and we are going backward. A loss tonight would pretty much guarantee that the coaching staff will be jettisoned by year’s end. Huzzah.

The 49ers DID make a move, trading for pass rushing DE Charles Omenihu, who of course didn’t play last week. And that is an overarching issue with this team. They trade up for guys that don’t play. They make moves and sit on their thumbs. They act like they are a great team but put in minimal effort. They seem to think the game is played on a spreadsheet, not on the field. They are 1-11 in their last 12 home games. The defense is bland and terrible under DeMeco Ryans. If this game is a blowout, the call for change will be deafening.

Which is why I am completely baffled by the 3.5 point spread. Vegas is usually pretty bang-on when it comes to spreads, but this seems more like the Alabama/New Mexico State game and its 52 point spread. That the Crimson Tide covered!

I will say this, if the Niners can come out and at least play a competitive game, it will give me a little hope that this coaching staff is not as awful as they appear. The word from the locker room as of now is one of solidarity and hope. They aren’t turning on each other or the coaches. Yet. After the latest smack-talk by Lynch toward the players, the wonder is if the players will turn on the management. Maybe it serves as a wake-up call to play much harder than their last pathetic effort.

Oh boy.

Hmmmmm. The baseball team here was all about “let the old guys play”. For the 49ers secondary, that has proven to be a debacle. Dre Kirkpatrick and Josh Norman have been bad to awful. We’ve all seen the PI calls, missed tackles, bad angles, and multiple burns, so now that these guys are hobbled, the rookies Deommodore Lenoir and Thomas Ambry finally get their shot.

Barring utter failure, they can’t be worse than Shitty and Shittier. Can they? I guess we will find out. The Niners with Shanny are 5-3 against the Rams and McVay, including winning the last 4 games. That of course comes with the caveat of Jared Goff being the Rams QB. He of the 0-8 record with the Deetroit Kittens.

What does it mean? I don’t know. But this game will tell a lot about the heart of this team. It is imperative that this team plays well and does not get blown out on the Monday night. A demoralizing loss on the national stage would likely be the death knell for this coaching staff. A hard-fought loss would at least show the team has some guts. A win would fuel the thought that Shanny has Sean’s number. Not really feeling that, but last week’s plethora of upsets showed anything is possible. Jax beat Buffalo. Giants beat the Raiders. Falcons beat the Saints.

Up to and including Miami’s upset over the Ravens. What I loved about Miami is they dared the Ravens to run by putting 7 to 9 guys in the box. Every play. The Ravens couldn’t run or pass against that defense. It took away the short passes, QB runs, and any other runs. Granted, this demands decent CB play, but Miami was getting pressure every pass play, so they never got burned too badly.

Our defense is just to vanilla as to be terrible as we get no pressure from anyone but Bosa. And he’s routinely double-teamed. Ryans has to come up with something other than the base 4-3 and no blitzing. Miami;s 30th ranked defense handled the best rushing team in the league by being ballsy. This defense needs to grow a pair.

This team is in swirly mode. Shanny remarked about Fred Warner:

“Everyone knows we gave Fred a new contract and he’s learned every single bit of it. I think Fred can play at a higher level. I think he agrees with that also. Everyone on our defense can and everyone on our offense can. Everyone sees our record, what it is. We need coaches, players, everybody to play to the best of their ability.” 

John Lynch went out of his way to criticize Fred Warner’s play in the AZ game, and to say Warner is:

“. . . not having the season so far that he expects or we expect. You know, sometimes, I think you get a big contract and you have a lot going on in your mind. You probably try and do a little too much. He probably needs to try and zero in and just focus on his job.”

Ouch. If it is this bad to the media and fans, what are they saying INSIDE the building? Bad as it was, this is on the whole defense. The front office for drafting guys like Jalen Hurd, and Joe Williams, and Reuben Foster, and Solly Thomas, and countless other 1-3 round flops. Lynch needs to answer to his own failings before throwing his players under the bus.

Shanahan at least mentioned himself and his inept play calling. Not to mention his lousy clock management skills, and his complete whiff on the red flag issue. Shades of Teflon Mike Nolan. Warner can’t be everywhere all the time, and as I’ve said a thousand times, missing Greenlaw is REALLY hurting this defense, but we are what we are. A sub-.500 team that can’t finish a game to save our season. Finishing games is on the coaching staff. They are not putting the players in a position to succeed.

And yay, we get a pass rusher Charles Omenihu from the Texans at the trade deadline. And he sits. Why did we get him? To push Armstead into playing better? To keep the bench warm?

Gee, I wonder if ODB plays for the Rams on Monday night. Or Von Miller. Fuck me sideways.

Wow. What a shit show. This team is really good at finding ways to truly disappoint its fans. In a game that should have been at least competitive turned into the Colt McCoy/James Connor show. Who and who you ask? Well, ask DeMeco Ryans. Those two destroyed a defense that shut down Kyler Murray a couple weeks ago. They missed countless tackles, made a couple obligatory stupid penalties and could not stop AZ at all. This team came out flat, uninspired, and was outhit, outplayed, and out-hustled badly in all phases off the game. No Kyler, no DeAndre, no problem.

Gorgeous fall day, and the fans were itching for some solid play, but instead got early turnovers from Kittle and Aiyuk, shoddy tackling, and just uninspired play all around. Jimmy G actually looked real solid, even under pressure, and should have had a better shot at winning this than he did. Instead, James Connor single handedly accounted for 173 yards of offense and Christian Kirk picked up where Hopkins left off for 7/91 himself.

And seriously, why is Josh Norman on the field? He himself prolly has 250 yards of penalties all by himself. He did somehow manage to get Kliff Kingsbury thrown out of the game for taunting. If Ambry can’t get on the field by now, how bad is he?

Fuck, I don’t know anymore. The players get to wear this loss with their lackadaisical fumbles, missed tackles, and stupid penalties, but you really have to wonder if the players have tuned out Shanahan. This team is making the same mistakes over and over and over. Either that, or the coaches just don’t know how to get this team moving in the right direction. They are 0-8 at home, and haven’t won a home game in over a year. The downward spiral continues.

And in other news, the Warriors are 8-1.

I think I do. Turn right at the bottom of the Bay. The 49ers better figure it out. They are 3-1 on the road, and 0-3 at ‘home’. Home being the south Bay mudflats. Home of a billion tech firms, a theme park, and your 49ers.

I guess we will find out at game time, but AZ appears to be nearly as wounded as us, if not worse. The team that beat us a few weeks ago may be without Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins, 2 guys who played a big part in their 17-10 win. And J.J. (5 games a season) Watt is definitely out with a shoulder injury.

We on the other hand will have Kittle and Wilson back, although Mitchell is nursing a rib injury. This will be Jimmy G’s shot at taking down AZ as he missed the last one.

Gonna be the same ole same old. Avoid mistakes, no stupid penalties, win the turnover battle.

. . . is the apostrophe. Uncle Frank got it. This is the halfway mark of the season and we sit at 3-4. Not great, but we still have a lot of games against our NFC West foes. Starting with of course the AZ Cards here at the Unfriendly Confines of the house that Jed’s hot pants built. You know, the cursed facility in the mudflats of Santa Clara. Nowhere South. There’s no there there.

Kyler Murray may or may not play. If so, he’ll be slowed a bit. If not, it’s Colt McCoy time. He of the well-travelled resume. He played (for ONE play) for us back in 2013 and was drafted by (who else?) Cleveland, and had a stint in Washington and is now a Card. 8-22, he is the perennial backup.

So if he plays, we should win. I don;t know, man. AZ has a decent defense, but even in the game in AZ a few weeks back, the defense pretty much stifled the high-powered AZ offense. But this game was all on Shanny and the offense for misusing Trey Lance and fucking up all those 3rd and 4th down calls.

Truth is, we are stronger now than we were then, and AZ is weaker. Kyler Murray may or may not play, no WR DeAndre Hopkins, and no RB Jonathan Ward either for AZ. We (I think) will have Mitchell back, and Gould is back, and there are others close. As usual, if we can run, we should be able to use Jimmy on roll outs and quick throws over the middle. He was effective in the Indy game doing that, and in the 2nd half of the Chicago game. Again it will come down to the protection, so we will see how that goes.

Like I said, the defense did well last time, and the hope is they learned a little about not committing PIs all the time, and playing the WRs not so soft like early in the Chicago game. Lesson learned? We’ll see. Meeting up with a few high school friends at the game so this should be fun. A win at home is well overdue and would make this all the better.

30-20 Niners. Make it so.