San Francisco 49ers Discussion

adrian522

https://twitter.com/VishKumaran/status/1398000674525356038

Foxtrol

Skule and Moore out for the season from injuries. Not the biggest names but decent impact to the depth. Until now it was great having such a fantastic attendance for OTAs to build on the lost season last year - practically every fit player unlike other teams, Seahawks only had 35 players turn up.

At some point the injury luck has to turn, last year was near historically bad and even the Super Bowl run was mid table in injuries.

https://twitter.com/AadrijU/status/1323364944042053632?s=20

myate

Not good...its only June. Even last week there was a bunch of receivers banged up. The game stuff last year you can understand...but the injuries that are strange are the ones like Hurd last year on the sideline, Wilson Jnr this year.
The other thing thats a bit of an issue is how many players they are signing who are coming off big injuries. I’m all for taking chances on some guys but you see these guys playing and are constantly worried about that acl or what have you.
Only good thing about it happening today is they have time to get replacements in quickly.

Foxtrol

Historically I'd agree but I think they've been a bit more careful this year, most of the draft and the relatively bigger FA money went to guys who missed quite few games.

I don't mind cheap deals on the likes of Tony Jefferson or Reed last year, if they hit there's big upside if not it doesn't cost much.

Our injury 'luck' is actually even worse than I remembered

https://twitter.com/akashanav/status/1402312262753259520?s=20

Foxtrol

Plans are for Jimmy to get one drive and Lance to get the rest of the first half. Can't wait to see what that looks like. Chiefs apparently expected to keep all their starters in for the first quarter so Lance likely to be under a lot of pressure surrounded by backups

Foxtrol

Kyle was having fun yesterday. Will be very interesting to see how things pan out into the regular season. Expecting Jimmy to start with a good sprinkling of Lance, though not as much as the 2 initial drives yesterday. Kyle is going to have DCs pulling out their hair.

Don't expect too many surprises from cuts tomorrow. Maybe trade a piece or two rather than cutting but I'd prefer if they kept their DL depth. Wouldn't be surprised if a few veterans are initially cut so we can sneak some guys onto IR and then the veterans re-signed - Johnson, Benjamin, and maybe Kerr

https://twitter.com/ElMarcosSanz/status/1432185392485240836?s=20

Foxtrol

Sad for how we got there but delighted to see Lance on the field. He was definitely very uncomfortable but it is all we could expect for him coming in on no notice, with no gameplan tailored to him, and his first real game in nearly 2 years (never near that kind of level).

Even saying that I think we already saw some of the positives he brings that can elevate the team. I don't think it'll be too difficult for Shanahan to scheme things up for him to get to the low level Jimmy has been performing at and I'd rather Lance be out there learning from rookie mistakes than seeing Jimmy do similar as a vet while Lance plays scout team.

Podge_irl

If Jimmy is out a couple games its hard to see him getting back in I think. Lance was most definitely not amazing, but Jimmy G was his usual mildly infuriating self. Nice to see the D coming back out strong for the most part but definitely some worries there. Cards will be faves to send the 9ers to 2-3...

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117977204#Comment_117977204

Yeah, there doesn't look like an easy path for Jimmy to get back in unless Lance puts in repeated performances like Field's first game or Lance's first drive - where he look completely lost. If Lance does poorly and they lose more games and are out of the playoff picture then they might as well give Lance more reps and if Lance does well then why put Jimmy back in.

The offense was so infuriating during the first half yesterday, it must have been what it was like being an Eagles fan during the first half of the week 2 game. Jimmy is now claiming that he was injured after the first drive but I don't see it as being an excuse - he and the offense have played like that for the majority of the season.

Cards should be sizeable favorites but we could be a banana skin for them - they're coming off a huge win and won't know what to expect from a Lance/Shanahan game plan.

Podge_irl

And yet another season looking like going down the drain...

myate

In January 2020 I said feck it & went to the Divisional playoff game in Levis...you never know when they'll get back to the playoffs again. How true. That game last night was utter rubbish. 2 good drives, and nothing else. Aside from Mitchell, no decent run game (Hasty isn't great, where's Sermon?)...on a night when every single person in the Bay Area knew it would be lashing rain, getting heavier as the game went on. That game isn't on Jimmy, he wasn't great (few QB's are in the rain), but the play calls were terrible and the OL is certainly not great. Also, when has he played in gloves, if ever? Who 'coaches' the secondary? It's like the DB's can't play without putting their hands all over the receivers...instant flag, everytime. Rest of the D is still solid though, linebackers & line...Bosa is a machine. Glad we don't have to hear about the Buckner trade again, but at the same time I'd say John Lynch now knows it was a huge mistake...or at least that most people think it was!

Fun listening to the Bay Area sports radio now...going off on the team, as they should. Bears next, an L there & it's over, with the Cards & Rams after that. The Tomsula & Chip Kelly 'eras' were bad, but they were short lived and there was light at the end of the tunnel. I don't see much light at the moment...don't see any surprise trade's getting made this/next week...Sanders was the last good trade of a player relatively in his prime.

Hope I'm wrong & they can get going somehow. A win against the Bears, and somehow sneak it past the Cards next time & they could get going. The Rams always stumble against us but they want serious revenge now with Stafford...that could be a good thing if McVeigh looses his s&(t!!!!

But as of right now looking at the rest of the schedule...I can see a win against the Bears, Jags, Texans. Falcons are getting together, Vikings usually sneak something at the end. Bengals are too good now. Titans no chance. 5-12 would be bad, with no first round pick!

Foxtrol

Since my rant at halftime last week, I let myself stew on the 49ers performance. Very thankful to hopefully be past the Buckner talk for a few years - Kinlaw hasn't worked out yet but I make that trade every time. I loved Buckner but despite his PR offensive, he simply wasn't taking close to the money that Armstead accepted and letting him go allowed the team to extend other key pieces.

Today is such a huge game for the team, they have used all the excuses available to them and the Bears are just not a good team right now.

DB penalty situation handed last week to the Colts and it wasnt the first week. Bears have been poor in passing with whatever QB they've put out and they simply can't continue to give away penalties on balls that likely won't be caught.

https://twitter.com/JasonAponte2103/status/1454523999694770179?s=20

Shanahan has admitted he hasnt been able to get into rhythm and that isn't news to anyone who has watched the team. In multiple games the team appears to have an edge in a certain area and Kyle has decided to get cute and go away from it for no apparent reason - while he is trying to find his groove he needs to step on teams when he gets the chance.

Rumours coming out of the 49ers appear that Jimmy is now on a very short leash and he should be. Moving on from Jimmy isn't going to fix all the issues with the team but we continue to get passive play from him while also multiple rookie mistakes every game. We're getting the downside of a rookie with none of the upside that Lance can bring - the chart below gets the point across better than I can.

https://twitter.com/benbbaldwin/status/1452675986605096973?s=20

myate

That was the game we needed. But, who are the real 49ers this season? If they keep playing like this for the rest of the year, we make the playoffs and should be feared. But a short week, an east coast flight and a game we're expected to win will almost decide how the year goes I think. It's mid-November, now the real NFL games begin!

adrian522

I think to make the playoffs at a minimum they need to win two of the next 3 games... Jacksonville, , Minnesota, Seattle.

If they do that they have a good chance. They still have winnable games against Houston and Atlanta.

Then they'll need one of Cincinnati, Tennessee or the Rams on the road.

I think they'll need 9 wins to make the post season.

Podge_irl

Just makes last week loss even worse.

Foxtrol

The loss last week was bad but it was caused by very much what went right last night - early turnovers. If we don't have those out of character turnovers by Kittle and Aiyuk then I think our performance last week would have been very similar to what the Panthers put up on Sunday. Similarly, I'd be concerned of how last night would have gone without us getting them.

NFL is so tight this season that a turnover or two completely changes the complexion of games and many are turning into blowouts. With Jimmy, our defense, and our focus on the run game we simply can't get too far behind or everything falls apart.

Vikings, Seahawks, and Falcons will likely be all in the running for the wildcard spot so wins are vital against and very doable if we can get near to the similar performance with no glaring disaster games by position groups - like we've seen in most of our losses.

myate

Aside from some injuries, everything we needed to go right this weekend, pretty much went right! Rams, Philly, Saints all lost. We started wobbly but it came right. Every game now is essentially going to be like last night, almost playoff level. We're on to Seattle!

jonok28

Solid game from Trey Lance last night. Started off jittery but found his rhythm before halftime and made some nice plays in the 2nd half. I'm getting less and less concerned about the 49ers as a whole going into next year. I still think that CB1 is of the utmost importance. I like Ambry Thomas and Emmanuel Moseley but I think that if the 49ers can land a shut-down corner, then this team is capable of special things. They have a great D Line, the linebacker group is borderline elite, I trust Jimmie Ward at FS, They do need to address SS long term.

The offense is borderline stacked. Trey can stretch the field with his arm and can make plays with his feet. I'd love to see if the 49ers could get Gardner Minshew off of the Eagles for a 5th rounder and have the QB room have a Trey, Minshew, and add Nick Mullens to the practice squad.

Mitchell is the next 1000 yard RB for the 49ers. I'd still bring Mostert back if a team-friendly deal can be found, Hopefully, Sermon makes a leap in year 2, Wilson and Hasty are solid.

Deebo is a superstar, Aiyuk is finally showing his promise, Jennings has been really good and impressed me as a blocker. I still think the 49ers need A speed receiver in the draft like John Metchie III and a big-bodied Red Zone Threat that they can throw the ball up and he can make a play, I'd go after N'Keal Harry from NE. He has been bad for them but I think if he was asked to just be a red zone, box out his defender, and just jump vertically, he could be effective.

Obviously, Kittle is a beast and Charlie Woerner has improved leaps and bounds but I'd still like another TE who can be more of a receiving threat so Kittle isn't being overused. I'd love David Njoku or Zach Ertz if they can be got for $7-9m a year.

The O Line has come together really well. I think if the 49ers can maybe bring in a new face who can play guard and center and keep guys like Compton, Tomlinson, Brunskill, McGlinchey, Moore, Mack, Banks, and Williams, they will be in a really strong position next year.

I'd try and trade Robbie Gould in the off-season to a team that needs a kicker, I just don't think he is the same player he once was and I question his loyalty to the franchise when he held them to ransom to trade him to Chicago a few seasons ago until he got a bigger payday. I'd give his money to Younghoe Koo off the Falcons. Have a younger special teams unit with Taybor Pepper as the long snapper, Mitch Wishnowsky as the Punter, and Younghoe Koo as the Kicker. a group you could build around for a decade-plus and not have to worry about special teams for a very long time.

The 49ers biggest needs going into the off-season are:

CB1 - JC Jackson (F.A)

SS - Brandon Joseph ( Draft 2nd round)

QB2 - Gardner Minshew - (Trade future 5th)

WR3 - John Metchie III ( Draft 3rd round)

C/OG - Ben Brown ( Draft 5th round)

K - Younghoe Koo ( F.A)

TE2 - David Njoku (F.A)

DE2 Nolan Smith (Draft 4th round)

WILL- Brandon Smith ( 3rd round Draft- Texans Trade for Jimmy G)

adrian522

Pretty optimistic draft and FA scenarios there. I'd reckon a CB in FA would be a good shout, I'd imagine they will go pass rusher in round 2 this year.

Last years draft has been pretty disastrous so far. They've gotten no production from anyone other than Mitchell. Even if you give Lance a pass I think that trade was a huge reach given they could have stayed put and traded up on the day similar to the Bears or waited until their own pick like the Patriots.

It seems like a waste of future draft capital. I haven't been impressed by Lance at all so far, Fields and Jones have shown much more. I get that he was the less developed QB but I'm not sure I see his development as being on track after 1 year in the league, he's a bit behind where you would hope he would be. His passing looks slow and a lot passes are wobbly or inaccurate, and as a runner I thought he would be much more dynamic.

He could still improve dramatically but I would have hoped he would have beaten out Garoppolo by now. Huge offseason for him.

The later rounds were disastrous. They could have drafted Asante Samuel in the 2nd round and got a high level starter, instead they reached for Aaron Banks (who would have been available much later), is too small and can't even get on the field with injuries along the line.

Ambry Thomas has been atrocious so far. He gets targeted by every QB he goes up against and is not ready to play.

Trey Sermon, another bust, even with every other RB injured he couldn't get any snaps.

Lenior/Hulfanga - Fine I guess given where they were drafted but nothing special.

Overall the drafting and FA additions have been poor from Lynch and Shananhan, the lack of investment in the secondary is astounding.

This is a huge offseason for them, they need to nail some draft picks with no first rounders until 2024.

adrian522

The 49ers secondary is a huge area of weakness anyway, but now they have added 4 members of the secondary to the covid list:

Amby Thomas

Jimmy Ward

Kawann Williams

Dontae Johnson.

They all still have a chance to play Sunday but it could get ugly if these guys can't play.

jonok28

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118420107#Comment_118420107

The pass rush has been really good the last couple of weeks I thought. Samsun Ebukam is finally learning how to be a 4-3 DE. Arden Key, Jordan Willis, and even Arik Armstead have gotten better and of course, Bosa is a beast.

I think the 49ers did the right thing by sitting Trey. Countless times you see QB's handed the reigns to a team too early and they get destroyed and it messes with their confidence long-term. The 49ers had a QB in Jimmy who brought them to the Super Bowl, it made sense to roll with Jimmy for the year, improve his trade value and hopefully land a day 1 or day 2 pick for him in the upcoming draft. I think right now Jimmy fetches a 3rd. If he comes back and pushes the 49ers to maybe the divisional or conference finals, then he could land them a late 1st off a team like the Saints or Steelers.

I think Ambry Thomas has gotten better week by week and is now a really solid corner. He isn't a starter just yet but a quality backup. Lenoir again is a good backup who can play outside and nickel. I think the 49ers let K'Waun walk and replace him in the draft with a late-round player like Marcus Jones from Houston who is an outside corner but is undersized at 5"8 making him a perfect candidate for the nickel corner.

I think they use some of the cap space on JC Jackson. He can go up against the elite WR's in the league and can shut down one side of the field.

The Aaron Banks pick I'm not going to give up on just yet but it could be a bust. He has a chance to be decent but I think he needs to shed a bit of weight and become a bit more nimble. I also think the 49ers have found a good balance with the O line especially in run blocking so they aren't going to change things.

The 49ers should super charge the offense for Trey next season. Bring in a receiving tight end and a WR3 who can burn teams with speed.

adrian522

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118423132#Comment_118423132

Lenoir also on the Covid list now.

Ol' Donie

Well, this evening ain't turning out to be a whole heap of fun.

Thank God for that last drive.

myate

That game wasn't good for the heart!! Jimmy G absolute clutch, and why he's still our QB. Onto the old 90's rival next!

Foxtrol

Wow, yesterday was the full Garoppolo experience, from absolutely bone headed, rookie type mistakes to clutch drives. Had completely written them off at half time but the team showed great fight.

Playoffs will really hang on getting 'good Jimmy' and hiding the secondary gaps we have a chance of upsetting a few teams. The latter showed improvement yesterday with Moseley back and Thomas getting better with every game.

myate

100% this team makes a deep run dependent on good JG playing. Good thing is he likes the limelight, nationally televised games is when he seems to do pretty well. As much as he is up & down, I do think Kyle trusts him more now, more than the playoffs in 2019. It's pretty obvious the team won't win without going at least 30 runs/30 pass plays per game. Hang on tight, going to be a bumpy ride!!

Ol' Donie

Getting pretty anxious here now waiting for this.

myate

This team doesn't do anything easily!! They pretty much did everything to try to loose that game. A win is a win, especially in the playoffs. On to Lambeau.

adrian522

I think the keys to this game are the Green Bay run defense and the SF pass rush. If SF doesn't have a big day running the ball they won't win. Similarly, if AR is not under pressure from the SF D-line then I think the back end of the defense will struggle.

Hopefully JG isn't severely impacted by that shoulder injury as he's play fell off a cliff after the injury on Sunday.

"Garoppolo was 11-for-13 for 133 yards and a 10.2 yards-per-attempt average before the injury and 5-for-12 for 39 yards and 3.3 average per attempt after it."

It's tough to see a win, but there is a path to it, the defense is much better than it was in week 3 and Deebo has bought so much to the run game but hard to see Jimmy playing mistake free or Rodgers turning the ball over.

Also special teams have been awful of late, gave up a fake punt and a rouging the kicker penalty. That sort of thing is hard to overcome.

More hope than expectation to be honest.

Chardee MacDennis

Need a much better second half performance today. I have a feeling we might sneak it, but Jimmy has to take better care of the ball.