No, not that McVay. I'm talking about his grandfather, John McVay. Currently I believe Paraag Marathe is both the President of 49ers enterprises as well as Executive Vice President of football operations. I'm beginning to feel as though York needs to hire an executive to be another set of football eyes and wisdom that oversees the decisions Lynch and Shanny make. Clearly this is not in Marathe's wheelhouse. Let him focus on what he does best and that's the numbers. I also wouldn't recommend promoting from within on this position either. I'd like to bring in an experienced, football savvy individual that would be a check and balance to hold both coach and gm accountable, while at the same time shaping a pathway forward to healthy players who consistently win. Whether that means firing the current Strength and Conditioning staff, scrutinizing practice habits and procedures, assessing staff productivity, and/or prioritizing the cb position in the draft and/or free agency; the bottom line is we need the next John McVay. Who is he? I have no idea. Maybe our well informed fans out there have one.
Some old smart 49er great ;-) (Steve,Jerry), or Alex Smith.
ReplyDeleteI could see Alex Smith starting out as a quarterbacks coach which might be an upgrade for us. The combination of Steve and Jerry is an interesting one.
DeleteSteve Young
ReplyDeleteAh, the cerebral color commenter. Good one, George.
DeleteSomething like this will never happen unless the ownership changes. The Yorks have owned the club since 2000 and have never figured out how to do it the right way. Fat chance of this changing. The only hope I see in keeping them a contender is Lance.
DeleteI doubt anyone on the blog has ever heard of him, but the number one NFL draft analyst for the past 5 years, is
ReplyDeleteI guess my computer decided I was done and posted!
Delete* named Brendan Donahue @donnycasino and contributor to sharpfootballanalysis.com
If he's number one at knowing the players every team in the NFL needs to draft, he should be able to help the 9er FO and worth the money to hire him.
Good call, GEEP!
DeleteAccording to The Huddle Report, Brendan Donahue is ranked as the most accurate NFL mock drafter over the past five years.
Here are Brendan Donahue's draft scores for the past 5 years.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thehuddlereport.com/mock.scores.shtml
Never heard of him but he's got an excellent track record.
DeleteWhat's Mike Holmgren doing these days?
ReplyDeleteI like it!
DeleteScooter
DeleteGOOD QUESTION! Wouldn't hurt to knock on his door and
find out.
I thought this was needed when Shanahan and Lynch were hired originally due to their inexperience but that ship has sailed. They are 5 years in now and are not going to hire somebody to oversee their decision making. I know everybody is upset and all but this is the HC and GM of the team for the forseeable future love it or hate it.
ReplyDeleteI congratulate you on your foresight but York is the boss. He can persuade them that it will make them better.
DeleteA lot of people suggested they add a veteran football guy when Shanahan and Lynch were hired and kind of did it with the Martin Mayhew hiring, but this far into their tenure they aren't looking to hire somebody to babysit them nor should they. Overall they've done a pretty good job in building the roster so no real reason to do it.
DeleteField Yates
ReplyDelete@FieldYates
· 54m
The 49ers hosted LB Mychal Kendricks on a visit. Kendricks was released off of IR last month, but a return to San Francisco could be on the horizon.
Breaking News: The 49ers have not ruled out Jimmy Garoppolo for Sunday!
ReplyDeleteHouston, we have a problem!
It's a fricking bruise! Lmao!
DeleteThat's good news. A bruise doesn't sound like much but if your calf tightens up on you you are in trouble. Hard to walk when that happens much less play QB.
DeleteYou call it a bruise, I call it a Charley Horse.
DeleteGaroppolo was sidelined by a Charley Horse, lol.
Accept Jimmy was walking pretty well after the game. Let's face it, Garoppolo is the most injury prone QB in the NFL, and Kyle doesn't have a viable backup behind him right now. Lance is overflowing with physical talent, but his development is apparently not a priority, despite the enormous price the Niners paid in order to draft him. Instead, the 49ers would rather hover around .500 with Garoppolo, if he even survives the season, choosing instead to spend next season going through the pains of developing Lance.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant plan, lol!
Because this looks like a .500 team with Garoppolo. That's simply reality. The 49ers should rip the band aid off and start developing Lance because Garoppolo is an average QB, and he's incredibly injury prone, but Kyle's ego won't allow it.
DeleteAnd BTW, it's really not fair to throw Trey Lance out there without a game plan, but there he was on Sunday. SMH!
ReplyDeleteThat's head-coaching malpractice, IMO!
What is Shanahan expected to do? Draw up two game plans, one for each of his QBs? That's ridiculous.
DeleteIf you don't trust Trey to play, you carry 3 QB's, Scooter. Of course, Kyle can't justify doing that because they gave up a fortune for Lance. Kyle's trying to have it every possible way. He thinks he can win now, with an injury prone - below average QB. And he thinks he can win next year, without developing his raw rookie QB. It's a real pickle, that's for sure, Scooter.
DeleteThe worst thing he can do is play Trey without a proper game plan tailored towards protecting his young franchise QB, but that's exactly the situation Kyle has put himself in!
Poor, delusional planning on behalf of Kyle Shanahan!
It's obvious that Kyle's not really developing Trey, just look at Trey's performance on Sunday ... he's playing "backyard" football. The thing that's really crazy is, his backyard football, is probably more effective than Jimmy's brand of quarterbacking, which I struggle to even label.
DeleteThis team is going nowhere this season, with Jimmy at the helm. That's obvious to most sane observers, so what are they doing?
It's just mindboggling stupidity, IMO!
Have you ever heard the saying:
DeleteDon't waste your time standing around on the dock - either fish, or cut bait?
What they should have done after they traded away the future for Lance, was get rid of Jimmy, because they know he's not the answer. And then you find a backup QB with a similar skill set to Trey. Maybe a poor man's Trey Lance. And then start the process of developing the kid, because in the NFL, there's no time to waste.
DeleteWith Jimmy, they are just wasting away another season, without a valid plan to develop Trey!
"If you don't trust Trey to play, you carry 3 QB's, Scooter."
DeleteWhat are you talking about? How does that relate to my comment?
The team is never going to create two different game plans, one for the starting QB and one for the backup. There simply isn't enough time during the week to install that. So if the backup QB has to come in during a game, for the most part he has to execute the game plan that was devised and practiced during the week.
The fact that Shanahan has only been going with two QBs is a clear sign he actually does trust Lance to do just that if needed. But if he was going to start, then they would likely devise a different plan than if Jimmy G was starting.
As to whether they should have gotten rid of Jimmy G, I actually agree with you. I have said as much many times in the past.
Scooter, it's not fair to Trey to throw him in games unprepared, and without a game plan designed to protect him.
DeleteThat's exactly how young QB's end up as damaged goods.
Either go all in on him with a game plan designed to take advantage of his unique skill set, or have somebody else back up Garoppolo until Trey is ready.
What Kyle is doing is the exact wrong approach to developing a a young, extremely raw duel-threat QB.
If Trey survives Kyle, it will be in spite of Kyle.
DeleteLuckily, Trey does seem unflappable, but still, I've seen plenty of young QB's fail because they weren't properly developed.
I mean, Rich Scangarello? Who the F is Rich Scangarello? Has he ever developed a mobile, duel threat QB? Ever?
DeleteSo you are basically saying no rookie QB should ever be a backup. Either the #3 or the starter With a game plan designed around them. Because no rookie QB is really prepared.
DeleteI think you are being just a little unreasonable.
@Scooter:
DeleteIt seems to me that they have two very different QBs. While I agree that it would be impractical to have two game plans, it sounded like KS didn't have much of a plan at all for TL. It also sounds like TL could not execute a gameplan devised for Jimmy G. If that's the case, you have to have at least a minimal gameplan ready for the backup QB. Maybe they did have this, I don't know. But KS made it sound like not having a gameplan for TL was a reason the result was what it is.
To me this is unacceptable. He knows he has two different QBs and the backup needs to be prepared to play especially if Jimmy G is the QB. Therefore, you have to do as much as you can to get the backup prepared. It's possible that they did, but listening to KS, I wasn't filled with confidence that that was the case.
IMO, it is a mistake to assume that this year is mostly a "classroom" year for TL; not when Jimmy Glass is your QB.
Thanks cubus, but I wouldn't spend too much time tilting at that windmill because Scooter seems to be in serious denial!
DeleteTo act as if it doesn't matter if Trey Lance is inserted in a meaningful game completely unprepared to help the 49ers win, is simply a sign of denial, nothing more.
DeleteIt's obvious to every non-biased observer, that Kyle has no real plan for Trey Lance's development for this season. But, need I remind everyone what Kyle said in their pre-draft press conference, 3 days before the draft?
DeleteI suggest that everyone go back and watch the 49ers pre-draft press conference, and then come back and tell me how any of that lines up with where the team is now at the QB position.
It's obvious that they wanted to improve at the backup QB position, for THIS season, because of Jimmy's injury history.
DeleteBut what they ended up doing, for the short term, is they ended up drafting a kid that is not anywhere near ready to play right away, yet they don't have the time to develop him because they are in "win now" mode.
It's the most backwards plan at QB that I have ever seen.
@Scooter:
DeleteSo apparently KS said the following:
Jack Hammer
@JackHammer_NFL
· Oct 4
Kyle Shanahan last week, "We put in a gameplan for our starting quarterback, the backup needs to be able to do all of that if he gets hurt."
This is partially my point. KS is assuming that the backup QB can run the game plan even though he is a rookie. This statement is what I would expect a HC to say if his backup is a veteran, but a rookie. Maybe there are factors I'm missing or not considering, but wouldn't it be better to have a basic plan for the rookie that doesn't put as much pressure on him as the gameplan which he most likely had very little practice on during the week? But I guess this assumes that the rest of the offense will feel comfortable running the basic gameplan for the rookie. I would think it would be easier for the rest of the offense than the rookie QB, but I don't really have a feel for whether or not that is the case.
Here's the deal:
DeleteThey need to either go all in on Trey Lance's development, or not play him until he's ready to run the offense. One or the other.
This half-a_s approach is not only hurting the 49ers short term success, assuming Jimmy is going to either get hurt, or not be around in 2022, but also hurting the teams long term success, because they aren't making it a priority to develop Lance, yet they are still likely to throw him to wolves because of Jimmy's health, even though Lance isn't unprepared and unequipped to run the current scheme, and that could seriously damage his long term success.
This is looking like a disaster in the making.
What is it about what Shanahan asked Lance to do that you both believe Lance should not be expected to run?
Delete@Scooter:
DeleteI think you're misunderstanding my post. To be clear I am not agreeing with 49Reasons. I'm trying to understand how it works in the NFL. I'm just using what a reasonable person might do in any field when confronted with a project/scenario where you need to have a backup plan in place. I'm trying to understand how it is done in the NFL. I can imagine that different HCs have variations on a standard theme, but I really don't know.
How do you see a backup QB being prepared during the week for game day, if that backup should need to enter the game?
The backup QB will be in all the same meetings and will get a limited number of reps during the week. For the 49ers, Lance will also get some plays each week they learn specific to him.
DeleteIn this game, while the game plan was designed for Jimmy G, it needs to be understood that Shanahan changed the types of plays he called when Lance went in to help the rookie. They played almost exclusively out of pistol/ gun. They called zone read runs. They called some QB runs. They tried to give Lance some easy throws on the move which he just flat out missed.
A lot of what they asked him to do was similar to stuff he did at NDSU. It was mostly stuff he should be capable of handling.
This one was more a case of the player not playing well for the most part, rather than a coach misusing or expecting too much from the player. It happens with rookie QBs.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteOK, I can buy that and it sounds reasonable given the circumstances. What I don't understand is what KS said about the game plan being specific to Jimmy G. Maybe it simply means that they didn't have the time/ability to prepare an optimized plan for Lance. The plan you stated for Lance is what I meant by basic gameplan for Lance. It seems more likely that it wasn't so much the gameplan for Lance as it was poor play from Lance and him not seeing the field as Jack noted.
DeleteNo team has the time to prepare two different game plans in a week. A common misconception is that teams have heaps of time for installing the game plan while also working on skill development, etc. The CBA makes this almost impossible. Teams have very little time during the week, and almost all on field work has to be dedicated to game plan.
DeleteWhat is evident though is that while the game plan was "dedicated" to the starting QB, as it needs to be, they still incorporate a range of plays that Lance should be well suited to and capable of executing.
In this one it was definitely a case of Lance not playing well for the most part, until that final drive. Not a play calling or game plan issue.
I think the misunderstanding here is what Shanahan wants from his QB. If you look back through his history as an OC and now a HC, he has always had QB's who play the majority of the time from the pocket and are able to run the boots in play action. I'm sure he likes the athletic ability of Lance enough to add some RO's like he did with RG3, but his preferred offense is his QB dealing from the pocket. That's why he and his Father really didn't want RG3 and preferred Cousins. That's why he planned on signing Cousins in FA before they traded for Garoppolo. That's why they kept Garoppolo on the roster while they groom Lance to play in the system Shanahan wants to run rather than start him from the get go and have him running around not knowing what he's doing. The idea that Shanahan wants Lance to be a play maker with his legs is way overstated in my opinion. I think he ultimately wants Lance to be what Elway was during his Father's run in Denver. Make the throws from the pocket, use the running game and play action, make a play with your legs when you have to.
DeleteLance has had all offseason to learn the playbook and TC and OTA's to run the plays. They aren't going to come up with a completely different game plan for him. That doesn't make any sense given the rest of your offense is practicing a game plan based on the guy who is starting that week. Lance has his plays specifically geared toward his talents but he has to play within the game plan practiced that week if he is called upon.
If Jimmy had what it takes to win a championship, they wouldn't be in this situation. Don't you get that, Scooter?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you keep asking me? I clearly do get that. I've been saying it since the end of last season.
DeleteWell then why are you defending Kyle, as if he hasn't gotten himself into this situation on his own? Kyle doesn't answer to John Lynch.
DeleteIf I think the point being raised is an overreaction, I will call it out. You make a lot of such points.
DeleteScooter, you're like Kyle, it think they can have it both ways.
DeleteThey went into the offseason knowing that they needed to get batter at backup QB, because their starter is the most injury prone QB in the league, but now their current backup QB is even less prepared to help the team win now, than Nick Mullens was last season.
It's just mindboggling to me, that you can't see the major flaws in this plan!
And to make matters worse, they mortgaged the future on a QB that needs a serious amount of development, but they aren't even making his development a priority.
I'm almost speechless, when I think about just how backwards this entire plan is, in reality.
And now they are risking either stunting Lance's development, or flat out ruining the kid before they even reach the point where they actually put the time into his development.
"Scooter, you're like Kyle, it think they can have it both ways."
DeleteReally? How so?
Q: (reporter) If Lance does have to start, are you confident that he's prepared to do so? And if so, why?
ReplyDeleteA: (Shanahan) "Yeah, when he comes in and gets the gameplan on Wednesday, he'll prepare all week really hard for it, and he'll practice really hard and he'll be prepared to play on Sunday."
Personally, I'd like to see Trey start on Sunday. I mean, even if JG can play I'm not convinced that he can beat the Cards. Let's see what Lance can do after a week of preparation.
Trent Williams might be able to go on Sunday if he feels better by the weekend, which would big.
Razor,
ReplyDeleteI doubt the injuries have anything to do with the strength and conditioning trainers. Every ex-NFL player that I have comment on this topic have said the same thing. Players practice much less and spend a lot of time away from the trainers. A lot depends on the players' regimen during the off-season on which the team has little control. S&C trainers appear to be evaluated how quickly and effectively they can bring injured players back on the field.
I've doubted that the 49ers chronic injury issues were something that the team could potentially have control over, but I've come to the conclusion that it can't simply be bad luck at this point. There simply has to be some kind of causal effect related to the 49ers strength and conditioning. I've come to that conclusion because the odds that the excess number of injuries they experience year after year, are simply coincidental, are astronomical at this point. That doesn't mean it's necessarily related to factors involving their S&D, only that it's likely related.
Delete> That doesn't mean it's necessarily related to factors
Delete> involving their S&D, only that it's likely related.
There are other more likely reasons for Niners' above league-average injury bug than the competence of the S&C staff, starting with the style of violently physical, run-thru-the wall offense and high-speed, all-gas-no-brake defense that Niners play, often with players with significant soft-tissue injury history.
It matters little what fans like you and me think. What matters is what the experts think. To my knowledge, rvery sports medicine professional who appear in media have said that these injuries have little to do with the S&C staff. Most of them agree the single likely reason for increase in league-wide injuries is the shortened and limited off-season activities that leave important S&C regimen to the discretion of individual players.
NFL teams hire the best in the world in this area, and they increasingly use the same state-of-the-art approach to injury healing and basic S&C.
You make some very fine points, Mood.
DeleteThere are most likely a number of different factors that are contributing to their excess of injuries, I agree with that.
I do think their strength and conditioning staff are at the very least, partially responsible, but I admit, I could be wrong about that.
The fact that they sign players who have an extensive injury histories, is without question a contributing factor.
Good call, Mood.
ReplyDeleteTom Pelissero
@TomPelissero
· 1h
The #49ers are signing kicker Joey Slye, source said.
Got a big leg and accuracy issues. So much for the others.
DeleteHe's actually played pretty well. He hit a 53 yarder last week. If we would of had him we probably win that game. Is he as good as Gould? Tbd.
Delete