Sunday, December 12, 2021

Gameday Live 49ers vs. Bengals

 #49ers Inactives:

RB Elijah Mitchell (concussion, knee) LB Dre Greenlaw (groin) DT Maurice Hurst (calf) CB Dontae Johnson (personal matter) LB Tyrell Adams OL Colton McKivitz



40 comments:

  1. 49ers fan sign, "Chuck Norris wishes he was Kittle".

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    1. Let's hope that Kittle has another 2-TD game. Surprisingly, last week was his first.

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  2. JG needs the threat of the run to be effective as a passer. Run the ball.

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  3. It's not like Bengals front 7 is going to lie down and have the Niners run all over them. They are probably going to put 5-6 men on the line and focus on taking away the outside runs.

    Success in the run game will depend on plodding mostly through the middle and converting on critical third downs. Wilson seems to be a volume back and Hasty will suffice as a third down back. Not ideal backfield, but serviceable.

    When Niners convert at least one-third of their third downs this season ,they are 6-2. Less conversion than a third? They are 0-4.

    Niners can probably win just by playing mistake-free football.

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    1. Not sure why Juice can't carry the ball more to ease some of the workload.

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    2. I'd think because he's not quick in small spaces to get through inside gaps or fast enough to beat defenders to the edge. If Juice comes in a 11 or 12 personnel package it will be clear that he's the runner and defense will adjust quickly. But beyond blocking, he's so valuable as pass catcher leaking away thru the middle from a fake block in 21 and 22 sets.

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  4. Hope Thomas can hold up.... interesting he leap-frogged Lenoir.

    Prefer to see McHasty to Wilson, I think.

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  5. Another big play for naught - penalty

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  6. I said the Bengals aren't going to let the 49ers run the ball today, so Jimmy Garoppolo has to pull his pants up, roll up his sleeves, and get to work, but then again, when you have a DEEBO SAMUEL, I suppose anything is possible.

    I'd call DEEBO a major difference maker, but to call him that, would be a lot like calling a Lockheed Martin F-35 Fighter Jet, a nice little combat airplane!

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  7. Add Ambrey Thomas to the list of young 49ers players who have lost their confidence before they ever really got a chance to gain it in the first place!

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    1. Hey, I think I figured something out, guys! I think I figured out a way for the 49ers to make a deep postseason run after all.

      All they need is for their opponent's Special Teams to play even worse than their own Special Teams.

      Woohoo!

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    2. That's the formula, guys! It's all coming together!

      Who cares if Jimmy is averaging 4.9 YPA, and his deep ball is coming up 10 yards short of his streaking, wide open Wide Receiver, when all they really need to do to get those explosive plays, which Kyle knows are a critical component to his offense, is to just put the ball on Mitch Wishnowsky's right leg!

      Imagine how this can potentially unlock this offense as the postseason approaches. For instance ... why wait until it's 4th down to punt the football? Why not get Mitch involved sooner than that? Why not not use some of Kyle's trademark misdirection with Wishnowsky lined up in the backfield alongside Deebo?

      I know, I know, some of you guys are probably thinking Jimmy is making too much money to justify benching him in favor of their punter, but maybe they can line Jimmy up out wide as a $27M decoy.

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    3. Holy cow Jimmy, pull the damn trigger!

      Come on Kyle, let's find some redzone plays for the Ausie assasin!

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    4. I kid you guys about Jimmy. He's trying.

      BTW, the 49ers are doing exactly what I said they needed to do defensively, as the key to the game. They aren't allowing Joe Burrow enough time for their routes to develop.

      Really though, if Jimmy had just a little more to his game, the 49ers could have put this game way already, and that's the frustrating thing for me!

      The 49ers pass rush is making life rough on burrow, and the LB's and DB's are flying around the field, with the exception of the 3rd round pick (#102), who looks completely lost.

      Thankfully we are witnessing one of the worst Special Teams performances in the entire NFL, so far in 2021, and it's not ours for a change! But the offense is still sputtering in fits and stops, and that's mostly on Jimmy G, IMO, even though his numbers aren't horrible, and he's been able to avoid those backbreaking INT's.

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    5. Woohoo, we'll take it!

      Somehow, someway, Garoppolo found himself on the winning end of a game where he got outplayed by his counterpart, but he managed to make enough play to get it done, despite making one of his critically bad decisions at a critical juncture of the game, fortunately the defender dropped what should have been a winning pick six, but that's the way the ball bounces.

      So good for Jimmy, and good for the 49ers, they needed a break, and boy did they get just that!

      It's just so incredibly unfortunate that they are essentially backing their way into the postseason as a west coast wildcard team, which is an almost impossible position to make the Super Bowl at, but let's be real about who the 49ers are as a team this season.

      The one circumstance that is undeniably a good thing for the 49ers is that these game do likely inflate Jimmy's trade value, which is a really big help because they desperately need it with as much turnover as we are going to see during the offseason!

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  8. Nice to see a role reversal in this one - Bengals mistakes gifting the 49ers points.

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    1. Yes, let the Bungles bungle.

      As I commented earlier, Niners can probably win just by playing mistake-free football.

      Hoping for Kittle to get his second TD in the second half.

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  9. Thomas you let you man get behind you all game long, when are you going to learn.

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  10. 49ers inability to move the ball in the 2nd half costing them now.

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  11. Dont lose hope....Jimmy will win this for us...or at least take it to overtime.

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  12. I was thinking that Niners should have gone for a short pass to reduce the kicking distance.

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  13. Are you kiddin' me Gould?

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  14. Has to be a TD!

    Got out of jail on this one, after another second half offensive fade out.

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  15. What a game and what a play by Aiyuk! Tough love is a success!

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    1. "What a game and what a play by Aiyuk!"

      "Tough love is a success!"

      Haha, way to be honest about what we all just watched, Razor.

      Brandon Aiyuk is a shell of the receiver he was in 2020. Today, in a game the 49ers desperately needed Brandon to step up, with Deebo having to moonlight as a RB, and the 49ers special teams needing a boost, Brandon Aiyuk was merely "PASSABLE" at best. Brandon barely caught half of his targets (6 of 11), barely broke 60 yards receiving (61) and despite possessing the talent to be a deep threat, once gain his longest reception was barely 20 yards on the day! On top of that, he still looks like he's never returned a punt in his life, woefully misplaying the football.

      You call that "tough love success"?" Come on Razor. At least he didn't muff a kick, and he did make a nice play to end the game, so he wasn't bad by any stretch. But let's not pretend he's playing as well as he did as a rookie, because he's not, and the analytics (and simple numbers) prove it. This is a first round pick, Razor, and he had 200 more yards receiving last season, in one less game played.

      Also, while I do subscribe to the saying that a win is a win, that only applies to the standings. Not all wins are considered well played games, and while the 49ers should be happy with the win, the fact of the matter is that they are still struggling to put it all together as a team. Today's win was nearly a loss, and considering the way the Bengals bungled their ST, and gifted the 49ers TWO momentum changing muffed punts, the 49ers still managed to nearly lose the game, because frankly, they didn't play very well.

      The Bengals outgained them, had more time of possession, averaged a full yard more per play (including 2.5 more yards per passing play, which is significant) and without question Joe Burrow was the better QB today as well. In fact, once again Jimmy giftwrapped what should have been a backbreaking INT, in one of his classic misreads, only today's gaff should have been a game losing pick-six, but the Bengals CB thankfully failed to hold onto to what should have been an easy catch, so Jimmy essentially got away with one today!

      No, this was nothing more than the 49ers squeaking out an exciting, but excruciating win, even though the Bengals Special Teams did everything they could to give the game way to the 49ers, without the 49ers needing to break a sweat. But that's not who the 2021 49ers are. They don't close teams out even when gifted opportunities to do so. And Jimmy continues to struggle with his accuracy, misreading middle of the field coverage, and he's simply not a threat to beat teams with the deep strike.

      The 49ers did do the one thing that they needed to do today to give themselves a chance - they pressured Joe Burrow and didn't give him a lot of room to breath. NICK BOSA continues to be a one-man wrecking ball, and AL-SHAAIR continues to make plays oat every level. Special teams was better today, but still not very good (Gould missed another big, makeable FG), and Trey Lance is still all dressed up with nowhere to go, like he's being stood up by his prom date.

      Meh!

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    2. The good news is that I do think the 49ers are probably going to get a 2nd round pick for Jimmy, which is what they gave up to get him, so that's something. And a playoff birth is a playoff birth, even if they are a .500ish football team. But I'll be damned if I'm going to get my hopes up for a miracle postseason run they way this team is currently constructed, that's for dang sure.

      But I will enjoy the ride for what it is ... the Jimmy G farewell tour!

      Razor, you need to come up with some lyrics for Jimmy's farewell tour song. I'm thing something not too dramatic, with a sexy, Barry White sort of vibe :)

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  16. Heck Yeah!
    What a win!! Is this the win that turns around this season?

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  17. Jeff Deeney
    @PFF_Jeff
    Garoppolo finishes 27/41 for 296 yards, 2 TDs, and a passer rating of 103.3. He was money in OT going 6-6 for 77 yards and the TD on the game-winning drive. #49ers

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    1. Stat line looks good. He did enough at the end to pull out the win. But his play through the 3rd and most of the 4th quarter also was part of the reason he needed to pull it out at the end.

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    2. 4 second half sacks had a decided effect on his play, and the offense in general, in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Sacks his fault for holding the ball too long? We'll need some of your film analysis, Scooter.

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    3. Combo of both holding the ball a bit longer than usual and pass pro not holding up. Not sure whether holding the ball was nobody open or not pulling trigger.

      Part of the issue was also missing some throws he should have made, putting them in 3rd and long.

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  18. I agree with that, but he deserves credit for that last drive. That thread the needle pass to Kittle to keep the drive going was incredible.

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    1. and the right side of the line remains a problem...... I liked the game plan today and think developing some screens on that side might help as well- having Kittle chip to help and release from there as well.

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    2. He did it last week as well. Just couldn't finish thanks to a great play by Dunlap.

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Gameday Week 10: Seahawks vs 49ers

  Sounds as if Kittle is out for this game and Williams will likely play. Can Eric Saubert step up and fill some of that void? I think he ca...