By Scooter_McG
This is a bad team. There, I said it. No more excuses about how this team could be so much better if they stopped making mistakes, stopped shooting themselves in the foot. The mistakes are endemic to this team and don't look to be going away any time soon.
Today's performance was emblematic of the 49ers season. It started with Shanahan abandoning the run from the first drive. It was followed by two fumbles by two of their key playmakers - Kittle and Aiyuk - which led to 10 Cardinals points. Both fumbles were equally egregious. Kittle's put the defense in a short field and gave the Cardinals their opening points. Aiyuk's not only led to a Cardinals FG, it occured inside the Cardinals 10 and took 49er points off the board. Compounding the fumbles was the obligatory couple of drops by the receivers on catchable balls that stalled the first and third drives.
Complementing the mistakes on offense, the defense consistently let the Cardinals stay ahead in down and distance while looking surprised by the game plan of the Cardinals to run the ball and use a lot of quick game and screens. It should have been the obvious game plan to defend, yet somehow the defense looked unprepared for it. Making matters worse, with the game at just 7-0, the 49ers defense gave up two back breaking conversions on 3rd and longs that set up the Cardinals second TD. First was another screen which they let Conner get out in space and Al-Shaair missed the open field tackle. The second was on a sack to end the drive, but Armstead was flagged (albeit dubiously) for a face mask penalty to negate the stop.
The embarrassment of a first half was complete when Josh Norman inexplicably gave away a taunting penalty in the 49ers red zone after Williams made the stop on 3rd down, to keep the Cardinals drive alive. While it didn't change the result (the Cardinals still only came away with a FG), it was the pinnacle of the complete lack of discipline the team has played with for the majority of this season. Norman then proceeded to get into a shouting match with the Cardinals coach as well as his own teammate Wilson. He managed something no other 49ers player has managed in a game this season - getting hooked for lack of discipline. He may have also gotten himself sacked from the team, we'll have to wait and see.
It was the type of complete and utter undisciplined and selfish act that typifies the current 49ers "team".
While the 49ers went to the half only trailing by 10, after a late TD before the half, the 49ers looked like a team that was finally starting to break.
It came as little surprise then that the second half started with two easy TD drives for the Cardinals to push the lead to 31-7 mdway through the 3rd quarter and put the 49ers away. Both TD drives were characterised by poor tackling, poor scheme and poor gap integrity. The 49ers continuously tried to blitz McCoy throughout the game and Kingsbury continuously called plays to let the blitz come and get the ball to his playmakers hands in space with blockers in front (and 49er defenders behind the play). Ryans attacked McCoy like he was a 1st year QB, not a seasoned veteran. He's not a good QB, but he is smart and if you keep giving him easy completions he will gladly take them all day.
There were some nice individual performances, but that has been the case all year. As Mood put it very eloquently, the team is less than the sum of its individual parts. Individually the talent is there. But together, the collective actively sabotages the good of any individual.
The 49ers now find themselves at 3-5, and while mathematically they remain in contention the way the team has played there really doesn't seem much chance they will turn things around enough to make a push for the playoffs.
To be honest, they don't deserve to. They are currently getting what they deserve.
I remember Patrick Willis put ball carriers down where he hit them. This defense could learn a thing or two from watching him tackle.
ReplyDeleteA little less than two weeks ago, I posted the statement that: Kyle was whistling past the graveyard, and that things obviously needed to get worse, before Kyle was willing to admit that changes need to be made, and here we are on 11/7/2021, and the fact of the matter is ....
ReplyDeleteTHIS IS NOT A GOOD FOOTBALL TEAM! Period .... END OF STORY! That's a fact, Jack!
And there are many reasons for this that need to be addressed, and fixing this team, and figuring out how best to prepare this team to to have success in 2022, needs to be the focus for the rest of this season!
And that's where we are at! There are a lot of good players, it's just not a good team.
Cohn is such a tool. Yea, the direction of the franchise hinged of this game. Dumbass!
ReplyDelete"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt."
DeleteLincoln
Lol, Grant Cohn thinks he's ahead of the curve ... he's NOT!
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that there is a lot of talent on this team.
ReplyDeleteIs there though? I am starting to question that now.
DeleteMitchell is a great running back.
DeleteI sure hope Kyle takes an INTROSPECTIVE approach. He needs to look inwards as much as outwards.
ReplyDeleteJimmy's INT here at the end of the game was so "APROPOS"
ReplyDeleteAdjective - of an appropriate or pertinent nature
Synonyms: APPROPIATE - suitable for a particular person or place or condition etc;
"apt", "pertinent", being of striking appropriateness and pertinence; of an appropriate or pertinent nature
Razor, I respectfully disagree with you Garoppolo assessment. His numbers today looked good, but a close inspection of his performance shows a lot of off target passes, and poor pocket awareness and movement. Jimmy's WR's shouldn't need to make an acrobatic catch on every other reception. The fact of the matter is: Colt McCoy, the Cardinals backup QB, was every bit as good as Jimmy today, if not slightly better. And that's simply not good enough Razor. Not 4 years into his 49ers tenure. Sorry. Yes, the 49ers problems go far beyond Jimmy, but he's definitely on that list!
Agree with most of your thoughts, Scooter. Ryans was schooled and looked like a first year DC with the offense reading all his blitzes. Al-Shaair was rusty and the LBs were getting trucked by Conner all day.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'm not questioning Kyle for calling mostly pass plays at the beginning. He clearly saw something about the way Cardinals were defending the run. The problem on offense was execution in the form of two costly fumbles and lack of pass pro once McGlinchey got injured.
Wish some reporter would have asked Kyle why Kirkpatrick is playing ahead of Lenoir.
6 defensive lineman from the Cardinals. That's what prompted the passing.
DeleteBTW, the fact that TOM COMPTON is the first guy off the bench to replace McGlinchy, is another failure on Kyle's part, IMO. I could care less how versatile Compton is if he can't play RT!
DeleteWTF Kyle?
That's right Razor. SIX DL's because the Cardinals don't respect Jimmy Garoppolo as a passer!
DeleteI'm sorry but that's the truth!
Razor .... does somebody need to answer for the 49ers letdown, at home, vs a backup QB? If so, who do you think needs to be held accountable?
DeleteI think it's obvious that Kyle needs to make some changes with the way he operates during the upcoming offseason. Everything he did during this past offseason was poorly conceived, IMO. And the 49ers are ultimately losing because of their misguided offseason, IMO, and it starts at the QB position!
Mood, bad things happen every time Shanahan abandons the run.
DeleteAnd, BTW, Kyle made another poor tactical decision not going for 2 with the score 31-13 midway thru the 3rd QTR. The book says you definitely go for 2 there, to get it to 2 possession game. For some reason, Kyle still hasn't improved in terms of clock management or other tactical decision like going for a 2 point conversion.
ReplyDeleteRazor, Kyle said: I thought Jimmy was "alright" ... well there you go.
"Alright" would have been pretty good had we held onto the football. Jimmy was the last reason we lost that game.
DeleteYou are right that Jimmy wasn't the reason we lost. But he also wasn't the reason the 49ers pulled off a victory today either.
DeleteIn fact, the 49ers were more competitive as a team, with Trey Lance at QB, in part because of the 49ers ball control (Time Of Possession). The 49ers controlled the clock against the Cardinals a few weeks ago (the 49ers controlled the ball for over 31:00 last time they played, compared to just over 23:00 today).
Held on the foot ball, yeah. That's probably a 14 point turnaround right there. Also the collective defense seemed to think the screen pass was a completely alien concept. This was a team loss from top to bottom.
DeleteNo question this was a team loss. But that doesn't change the fact that Jimmy G. has been limiting this offense since he tore up his knee. The way in which Jimmy limits this offense doesn't always show up on the stat sheet, but it does usually show up on the scoreboard, and as a long time fan, I can certainly feel it!
DeleteAll Kyle needed to do is go with his gut this season. He needed to evolve his offense with a strong armed, mobile QB, and he needed to bring in an experienced DC. But Kyle wasn't man enough to make the changes he knew he needed to make, despite giving up an absolute fortune in order to draft him.
Unfortunately, the affects of Kyle's poor decision making has now matastasized into something much bigger!
I hopped on the internet after the Cardinals scored their 31st point, to vent over Kyle's dependence of washed up CB's, specifically DRE KIRKPATRICK, after he got absolutely TRUCKED by the Cardinals ball carrier!!
ReplyDeleteSimply an unacceptable personnel strategy. Cornerback is a position where guys fall off the cliff usually around the age of 30.
How old is Dre? He was born in OCT of 1989 ... meaning he's 32 fricken years old! SMH!
Sad showing for the 49ers. I'm getting tired of Shanahan being out-coached leading me to believe that he is not head-coach material.
ReplyDeleteI'm not completely sure what his philosophy is at this point. Deviating from the running game and watching Josh Norman disrupt the game are evidence that he is no longer a respected voice as a head-coach.
If Shanahan wants to reclaim the locker room he needs to cut Norman asap. Norman is precisely why I would not want OBJ on the team. These guys are two disruptive forces that we do not need. Especially, at a time when the 49ers are in survival mode.
Also, after watching Aiyuk play today I'm left to wonder how much better the 49ers might have been if he had been involved more early in the season.
This team is no longer playoff material and Shanahan has regressed as a head-coach. They can't win at home against a team without their star offensive players. Losing home games does not bode well for future ticket sales and not receiving help with high future draft picks could potentially ignite a dumpster fire 2.0.
When you put it all together, it would not surprise me if Shanahan and Lynch are shown the door much sooner than later.
What'll probably happen, what should happen, is that York gives those two a win or else ultimatum next season. With a raw inexperienced 2nd year QB? Good luck with that. Kyle should realize the jeopardy he's in, and start Lance the remainder of this season to prepare him for the real deal. And not try to get cute with Lance-centric game plans that in his mind gives the team the "best chance of winning" (yesterday the team had it's best chance of winning all season and fell flat on their faces). Lance was this pocket QB in college, right? Give game plans to prepare for NFL pocket play.
Delete"And not try to get cute with Lance-centric game plans that in his mind gives the team the "best chance of winning" (yesterday the team had it's best chance of winning all season and fell flat on their faces). Lance was this pocket QB in college, right? Give game plans to prepare for NFL pocket play." ~ Ribico
DeleteYes sir.
As long as the CB,RG and QB shortcomings arent solved we gonna keep having problems.
ReplyDeleteI SAID LAST WEEK THE ARIZONA GAME WOULD DETERMINE IF THE 2021 9ERS WERE CONTENDERS, OR PRETENDERS...WELL NOW WE KNOW!
ReplyDeleteI left the game in the middle of the 3rd quarter after Arizona scored their 37th point. I could no longer stand to watch a 9er team that began the season with SB aspirations, disintegrate. That all the happy talk after the Bears win, was obscuring the fact this is a team with too many flaws to be a contender.
Rather than beat a dead horse and dwell on the negatives, it's time KS accepted the fact this debacle is as much his fault as the players. The future of the 9ers, as well as the future of KS, is sitting on the bench and I don't mean just Lance. I'm not saying he should start, but he needs significant playing time to prepare him for 2022. For the most part, the entire 2021 draft has not seen any playing time! It's time to cut the dead wood (Kirkpatrick, Norman and Brunskill) and with 9 games left in the season, find out if the rookies and backup players can contribute to the teams long term success, or not!
GEEP,
DeleteMitchell is far and away our best 2021 draft pick (at this point). Hufanga started yesterday by default did ok, but showed slow foot speed that may have cost the 49ers two touchdowns.
One of the negatives coming out of college for TH was his lack of speed. In yesterdays game, TH was one step away from stopping Conner' long TD run and just didn't have the speed to tackle him. He was also slow in reacting and did not have the makeup speed to catch the Cards WR who easily out-ran him for the receiving TD.
A few points here:
I am of the belief that we should start Demo Lenoir at CB. Norman is not only washed-up, but after his antics yesterday, he is more of a liability than help. Kilpatrick best days are behind him. Lenoir' early mistakes this season seemed to have to do with adjusting to the NFL speed of the game as well as inexperience. He showed some good flash in training camp and preseason. He only needs experience.
"Colt McCoy, the Cardinals backup QB, was every bit as good as Jimmy today, if not slightly better. And that's simply not good enough Razor. Not 4 years into his 49ers tenure. Sorry. Yes, the 49ers problems go far beyond Jimmy, but he's definitely on that list!." ~ 49reasons
I have tried to be fair when it comes to Garoppolo. I've lauded his play when he deserves it, and been critical when he also deserved it.
But, I believe that the above statement from 49reasons is closer to the truth than many of us want to accept. Garoppolo just isn't good enough to get us over the top. Yesterday's loss doesn't entirely fall on Jimmy as much as the defense and the turn-overs. But, there has to be something deep inside JG that ignites everyone around him to play at their at optimum level, and it's simply not there.
Some of you may remember the 49ers QB Steve DeBerg who was good enough to put up respectable stats, but just didn't have a gut level will to win. It's a good thing that we had a guy named Joe Montana waiting in the wings to take the reins. Hopefully, we can see the same scenario when Trey Lance is ready to receive the keys to the car.
Apparently during the game, the 49ers hid tweets on their social media from fans calling for the firing of KS and return of Harbaugh. After being called out, the fan tweets were restored.
ReplyDeleteThis event has suddenly got me thinking that KS wants to be the undisputed, unquestioned guy. The insistence on hiring a rookie GM - someone who basically would defer to KS in all important decisions. The unwillingness to bring in a seasoned DC. Always having an excuse for a loss that does not squarely fall on his shoulders.
And, at the CB position, are Dre and Josh really better than Lenoir and Thomas? Are these rookies in the "doghouse" as well.
cubus
DeleteTRUST ME....What the tweets were saying about KS were
MILE compared to what many season ticket holders were saying about him, the coaches and the team. Suffice it to say they were NOT HAPPY CAMPERS!
If the 9ers continue to play poorly and KS refuses to play Lance and the rookies, I wouldn't be surprised if some season ticket holders decline to purchase them next season...ME INCLUDED! Not when I can find entertainment that does NOT put me in a foul mood and ruin my weekend.
**were MILD**
DeleteI would make some drastic changes
ReplyDelete1: Lenoir needs to play you cant fool me that he is more worse than Norman or Kirkpatrick and Dontae J.
2:Jaylon Moore and
Aaron Banks should get some minutes so that our RG and RT are held accountable.
Trey Lance should start cuz what Jimmy G brings is not enough.
Robber
DeleteEVEN "IF" Lenoir is not as good as No(r)man (who should be cut immediately)and KirkPUCKrick, he needs to be on the field gaining experience for 2022. That also applies to Ambry Thomas. NOW is the time to find out if they can contribute, not next year!
BTW: I also question the competence of the coach who made the decision to start both, rather than Lenoir.
Exactly GEEP,what i find disturbing about Shanny is that he by his actions he only holds the same couple of guys accountable,but the guys who play like sh.. or below average hé keeps them in that's mind boggling
DeleteMaybe Shanny should let Mike Mcdaniel calling the plays.
ReplyDeleteAES
ReplyDelete"Norman is precisely why I would not want OBJ on the team." I am 100 percent behind you regardless how cheap OBJ may be. Tired of the lack of discipline on this team. KS is much like the parent trying to be 'friends' with their adolescent child at the expense of parenting.
"KS is much like the parent trying to be 'friends' with their adolescent child at the expense of parenting."
ReplyDeleteI would say this is true for veterans, but it doesn't seem to be true for rookies. The rule there seems to be that they have to work their way out of the doghouse.
Are they really in the doghouse or is it that they just are not good enough yet.
Deleteundercenter
Delete"or is it that they just are not good enough yet."
So how do the 9ers find out, with them setting on the
bench? At least not until next year, when it's too late to prevent suffering thru another losing season.
cubus,
DeleteYou make a good point. And that philosophy may have hurt the 49ers by not utilizing the talents of Aiyuk. I have felt that BA had proved himself last season and deserved to be on the field from day one in 2021. I'm not sure what caused a rift between Shanahan and Aiyuk, but not allowing him to play only hurt the team and many players in the locker room may be aware of this which could become a negative for Shanahan going forward. One of the reasons that Deebo has had a pro-bowl year (which is great) is because there really hasn't been a player to replace Aiyuk. Sherfield has disappeared and Sanu is a backup WR at best. We saw what Aiyuk is capable of. Aiyuk has been sorely missed in this offense.