Mr. Turner

 

Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out

Welcome back, to that same old place that you laughed about

Well some names have changed since you hung around

But those dreams have remained and they've turned around

Who'd have thought they'd lead ya

Back here where we need ya

Week 3 Post Game Review: 49ers @ Broncos

By Scooter_McG

What do you get when you pit two out-of-sync offenses against two of the best defenses in the NFL? Well, a great punting battle. At least that's what we got tonight. 

The 49ers went down 11-10 against the Broncos in Denver, sinking them to 1 win and 2 losses on the season - the same record they had after three games in 2021. It was both a disappointing result and a disappointing performance. 

The game will go down as one of the most dire offensive displays in some time. Neither QB could get in a rhythm all game, and while the running games had their moments, it wasn't enough to overcome the miscues in the passing game. 

The 49ers actually got lucky with what was a boneheaded play by Jimmy G to step out the back of the end zone, but turned out to be the better outcome as his throw would have resulted in a pick 6. JG also missed an open Deebo Samuel on a blown coverage despite looking at that side of the field, while he underthrew him on another one where he beat Jewell out of the backfield on a wheel route. The one where he didn't see Deebo wide open it could be argued was just down to progressions, but the frustrating part is his progression started on that side of the field on what looked like a concept that put three receivers at three different levels to the right. Of course, with the game on the line, Jimmy G came up with the crucial turnover as he threw to a well covered Deebo and the ball got tipped for the INT.  

On the flip side, both defenses had strong displays that kept their respective teams in the game and came up with big plays throughout. 

Here's what stood out to me:

• Aside from one good drive that ended in a TD in the first quarter, the 49ers offense couldn't get anything going. The running game was largely bottled up, and Jimmy G looked, well, let's say rusty. Aside from the misses by JG outlined above, the team had a number of opportunities starting in good field position but failed to make anything of it. It was a sloppy offensive display with some penalties that backed them up in the first half, and some turnovers in the second.  
• The 49ers appeared to go away from the running game a bit too often in this one given how good the Broncos pass defense is and how much JG was struggling to get anything going. In particular on the play that was a safety, it seemed a very strange play call given the situation. To then lose Trent Williams on that play was adding insult to injury. 
• Jaylon Moore was woeful when he stepped in for Williams at LT. He whiffed on his first snap, almost got JG killed when he literally decided to block nobody rather than his man, and his last snap saw him back pedal faster than Tyreek Hill to ineffectively try and block. He was mercifully benched for McKivitz after that, who didn't fare a whole lot better. Replacing Williams if ne needs to miss some time could be problematic. 
• On defense, they did an excellent job of stalling the Broncos offense for the most part, getting some timely negative yard plays to stop drives. However, the run defense did have some issues and when it mattered most in the fourth quarter they were once again unable to close out the game. In saying that, the offense has to wear the bulk of the blame for this one.
• Interestingly, Demo Lenoir got the start in the slot over Womack and he made a lot of good plays in this one, routinely being around the ball. 
• It would be remiss not to mention the excellent job by Wishnowsky and the punt coverage unit. They did a good job of making the Broncos start from deep in their territory most of the game, bar on the turnovers. 

Week 3 Matchup: San Francisco 49ers vs. Denver Broncos

Russell Wilson under pressure this season:

6/20, 30 yards, 1.5 yards per attempt - The 49ers defense has gotten pressure on 47% of opposing teams drop backs this season. They'll be without Armstead this evening but Shanny has spared no exSpence to ensure our defensive front stays fresh. Go Niners!

Week 3 Game Preview: 49ers @ Broncos

By Scooter_McG

The 49ers travel to Denver to take on the Broncos in week 3, in a battle that will pitch two pre-season Super Bowl hopefuls against each other. Both teams enter the game with records of 1 win and 1 loss, including disappointing losses to weaker opponents in week 1 where both teams were guilty of beating themselves. Both teams rebounded with week 2 victories, however, while the 49ers made fairly easy work of the Seahawks, the Broncos had a tougher time with the Texans. 

The 49ers enter the game with a new starting QB, albeit a familiar face, as Jimmy Garoppolo takes over following Trey Lance's unfortunate season ending injury against the Seahawks. For most teams losing the starting QB for the year would be signal the end of their season, but the 49ers are in a fortunate position of having the man that took them to two NFCCGs and one Super Bowl in the past three seasons ready to step in. The main question for Jimmy G will be how rusty he is following off season shoulder surgery and limited practice time during pre-season.

JG will be helped by having George Kittle return for his first action of the season, in a big boon for the 49ers. However, Armstead is questionable after missing practice this week.  

The Broncos will be led by long time thorn in the 49ers side Russell Wilson. Wilson has looked below par through two weeks this season as he finds his footing in new environs, but the 49ers should know better than to treat him with anything less than the respect he deserves.

Here is what I see as the keys to victory in this one:

• The defense has been strong through two weeks, but Justin Fields in a monsoon and Geno Smith are not the biggest tests the 49ers will face this season. While Russell Wilson has yet to impress with the Broncos, the 49ers need to make sure they aren't the team that let him start 'cooking'. The pass rush needs to generate consistent pressure while also maintaining discipline to not allow him easy escape routes to extend plays where he is at his most dangerous.
• The strong play from the secondary and LBs will also need to continue this week, to make sure Wilson has no easy passes to get in a rhythm while also staying with their assignments when plays start to break down to not allow big explosives if Wilson is able to extend the play.
• Containing the Broncos running game will also be a key. The combination of Williams and Gordon are averaging around 5 yards per carry, which has helped the Broncos outgain their opponents by more than 50% in total yards through two games. 
• On offense, the 49ers could be in for a tough time. The Broncos defense has dominated their opponents through two games and come in to this week with the third ranked defense in total yards allowed. Both the run and pass defense has been stingy.
• The 49ers OL against the Broncos defensive front should be a real barometer of where the OL is at. The Broncos employ a 3-4 defense and boast a good defensive line (which includes former 49er DJ Jones in the middle who we know can be menace for opposing running games) and edge rushers in Bradley Chubb and Randy Gregory. If they can generate holes for the running game and keep Jimmy G reasonably clean it will be a big step forward for the 49ers OL unit and is probably the biggest key to the 49ers offensive success this week.  
• The 49ers run game will likely need to power the offense this week and it will be important they are able to consistently pick up yards while also getting a few explosive runs. The Broncos pass defense is one of the best in the NFL and with Jimmy G somewhat underdone in terms of practice, things could get ugly if the game has to be put on Jimmy's (surgically repaired) shoulder. I'm expecting Deebo to get a lot of touches this week on runs and short passes. 
• Finally, and probably most importantly, the 49ers need to show the same level of discipline and attitude they displayed last week. This should be a tough game and the 49ers can ill afford a sloppy or ill disciplined performance.     

General/Open Discussion Friday

TREY LANCE 40 Runs As A Starter:

Scrambles - 14

Zone-Read - 10

Power - 9

Draws - 4

Sneaks - 3

Week 2 Post Game Review: 49ers vs Seahawks

By Scooter_McG

Heading into a season every team's worst nightmare is seeing their franchise QB go down with a season ending injury. That nightmare became reality for the 49ers in week 2 against the Seahawks, with Trey Lance suffering an ankle fracture on a designed run up the middle on the 49ers second drive of the game, on what was Lance's third designed run up the middle of the game.

The decision to have Lance running so regularly into traffic through five quarters of the 2022 season has already divided 49ers fans. I won't get into that now, outside of saying it isn't what I believe Shanahan should have been doing even aside from the injury.

The 49ers are, however, one of the very few teams that are built to withstand such an injury. Courtesy of what seemed a very unlikely scenario this offseason, the ability to retain Jimmy Garoppolo now becomes the greatest asset in hopes to salvage the season despite losing their starting QB.

Jimmy G was able to steer the 49ers to a 27-7 victory over the Seahawks after entering the game up 3-0. 

Here's what stood out to me:

• After ill-discipline and mistakes lost them the game against the Bears it was a far more composed and clinical 49ers team this week against the Seahawks. Yes, the offense sputtered at times due to some missed assignments, but gone were the penalties and the defense played an excellent and clean game. 
• The running game continues to be the backbone of the offense no matter who the QB is. Today the running game once again outgained the passing attack, with 189 total rushing yards led by Jeff Wilson and Deebo Samuel. Wilson in particular had a good game, while Deebo's 51 yard run showcased just how good he is at making something out of nothing. TDP also saw his first NFL action and had a couple of nice plays, but the OL seemed to leave its worst plays to when he was getting a carry with three TFLs on TDP due to missed assignments. 
• Jimmy G was efficient early on but struggled as the game went on. But given this was his first action since the shoulder surgery the 49ers would have to be pleased with how he and the team performed once Lance went down.
• There were some less than stellar moments, but for the most part I thought Banks and Burford did some very nice things in both the run and passing game. Brendel was a little less impressive from what I saw, with I believe some of the missed assignment on him. Still room for improvement for sure, but the OL through two weeks is showing signs of not being the huge weakness many feared. Today they gave up just 9 pressures on 36 pass plays, with no sacks.
• The defense was excellent across the board today. The Seahawks offense with Geno Smith at QB had no rights to be a threat, and the defense made sure that was the case. The DL was able to generate decent pressure throughout, while the back seven played fast and smothered both the run and passing lanes. 
• Once again Hufanga stood out as a playmaker, with his tipped pass gifting Gipson an INT being the highlight. But he was everywhere once again and made a number of other excellent contributions. 
• Greenlaw and Warner were also superb and all over the field making plays. Greenlaw stood out a little more and it was a nice bounce back game for him, made all the sweeter with the announcement he had signed a two year extension. 
• The starting CBs of Ward and Moseley looked good again. The duo give the 49ers a very nice pair of CBs. I didn't see Womack make many plays, which could be a good sign (in that he was anonymous, and thereby hopefully locking down his guy). I'd love to hear what someone like Crocky makes of his first two starts after watching the all-22. 

Week 2 Game Preview: 49ers vs Seahawks

By Scooter_McG

There's no such thing as a must win game in week 2, but there is also no doubting the 49ers find themselves under as much pressure as any team to come away with a victory this week. 

The 49ers are Super Bowl hopefuls coming off a bad loss in Chicago week 1. This week they take on the division rival Seahawks that most pundits expect to be bottom of the division (and one of the worst teams in the NFL) in 2022. And the team then heads into games against other expected Super Bowl contenders in the Broncos and Rams in weeks 3 and 4. 

A loss here would put the team in a hole early with some tough matchups coming up on the schedule. It would also place a lot of focus and scrutiny on the 49ers QB situation. 

So while it isn't a must win game... it is an important one to win and get the 49ers season moving in the right direction.

Unfortunately it looks like the 49ers may need to do it without George Kittle again in week 2. A lot has been made about how important Jimmy G was to the 49ers success in recent years, but you only need to see the 49ers record in the past 10 games Kittle has missed (2 wins/ 8 losses) to realise the importance of Kittle to the offense. His combination of excellent receiving and blocking provides a mismatch almost every snap and helps create a lot of opportunities for big plays.  

Making matters more interesting, the forecast is for another wet football game. Last week the weather played its part in levelling the playing field and it has the potential to again help bridge some of the talent gap between the two rosters. The only positives are that the 49ers now have experience in wet weather and the conditions are not expected to be as bad as last week.

In terms of the matchups, this is where I see the game being won or lost: 

• First and foremost - discipline. The 49ers simply can't afford to make as many mistakes as they made last week, both in terms of penalties and in terms of errors. The mantra this week should be "don't beat ourselves". On paper the 49ers have the better roster and if they play a clean game they should have the horses to win. 
• Get after Geno and the inexperienced Seahawks OL for four quarters. The 49ers pass rush was dominating the game against the Bears in the first half. Fields looked lost the entire half as he had no time to sit back and process. But in the second half the DL looked gassed. Part of that comes down to penalties extending Bears drives, part comes down to the offense not giving them sufficient time to recover, but a part I believe also comes down to early season conditioning and a wet field that resulted in some tired legs. This week they get to go against two rookie OTs, and while the interior has more experience there is nobody on the Seahawks OL that is an established, dominant player. The 49ers pass rush should dominate them in the early going when fresh, but need to find a way to keep it going across four quarters.
• Stop the Seahawks WRs. Obviously if the DL is making life difficult for Geno throughout the game that will have a big hand in stopping what the Seahawks WRs can do, but the WR group is probably the strength of their team and the 49ers secondary will need to be on their game. The Ward/ Moseley matchup against Metcalf/ Lockett should be a good one, and winning that matchup could go a long way to deciding the game.
• Getting the 49ers running game going. This is a key to the 49ers season really. With the inexperienced Lance at QB it will be important every week that the team has a good running game to take some of the pressure off Lance. But with Mitchell getting hurt in week 1, the rest of the RB group and the OL need to step up and make sure the offense doesn't miss a beat. 
• YAC attack. The other area on offense that I think could be a key to victory is getting the playmakers the ball in space to create yards after the catch. This is a staple of a Shanahan offense and an area the 49ers have excelled in recent seasons, but remains something of a question mark with Lance at QB. Can Lance consistently deliver the ball to his playmakers in stride and in space? TBD.    

Week 2 Matchup: Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers

 

Welcome to our week 2 matchup. Can the 49ers get that bad taste out of their mouths that the Bears left them with against a division rival? On paper it should be no contest, however the 49ers are 1-0 in beating themselves. Let's hope they play disciplined ball and get the win. Go Niners!

Week 1 Post Game Review: 49ers @ Bears

By Scooter_McG

While it was nice to have the NFL season started, there is no denying the performance and result was far from what any 49ers fan was hoping for. The 49ers lost the season opener to the Bears 19-10 in a wet and sloppy game, and one the 49ers really should have won comfortably. Yes, the weather made it difficult, but it impacted both teams equally and can't be used as an excuse. 

No, the 49ers can only blame themselves for this loss. They absolutely dominated the first half from a field position and yards gained point of view, but only managed to come away with 7 points to show for it, as Deebo Samuel fumbled away the ball on the opening drive in the red zone and Lance overthrew a wide open Tyler Kroft for what would have likely been another score. Including the third quarter they reached the red zone three times (plus the missed TD to Kroft) but only put 10 points on the board. In the end the team outgained the Bears on offense to the tune of 331 yards versus 204 yards. Yet somehow they only managed just over half the Bears points.  

The loss can squarely be put down to two things. They allowed the Bears to hang around despite dominating the game, which meant the Bears only needed a limited number of opportunities and a couple of big plays to take the lead. And they continually committed dumb penalties to extend Bears drives, which finally came back to bite them in the second half when, combined with some silly errors in the form of blown assignments in defense and a poor intercept from Lance, gave the Bears some quick momentum and points to take a lead they would never relinquish in the fourth quarter.

As razor put it, an "undisciplined pile of poo by the 49ers team today".

We've seen this story before. We witnessed it over the first nine games of last season. It was troubling how long it took the team to correct their attitude in 2021 and start playing with the level of ruthlessness and discipline that championship hopefuls need to have. Talent isn't the issue for this team, just as it wasn't last year, and hopefully it won't take them long this time around to find their footing and start playing some good football.  

Some other notable points from the game:

• Talanoa Hufanga had his best game as a pro as he was routinely around the ball and making plays. He was easily the 49ers best on the day. However, i won't yet go proclaiming him as the 49ers next great safety - the wet weather also suited his style of game as it allowed him to play aggressively downhill without fear of getting beat deep.
• The pass coverage in general was actually pretty good throughout the game, bar a couple of missed assignments from Greenlaw. But again... the wet weather helped. 
• Speaking of Greenlaw, he probably had his worst game as a pro, with far too much ill discipline. 
• The running game was good and the OL did a nice job of opening lanes for the RBs (and Lance) to find positive yards. However, the pass protection left a lot to be desired on too many occasions and will need to be cleaned up. 
• Lance had an up and down day, but mostly down. As he outlined in his post game presser, there were a few mistakes from him that proved costly in this one. But... much like with the 49ers pass coverage, it needs to be noted that the weather did the QBs no favours in this game.   

Week 1 Matchup: San Francisco 49ers vs. Chicago Bears

 

Welcome to opening day! It's been a long offseason filled with clickbait, but we're finally ready for the Quest For #6. Let's get it started right with a win. Go Niners!

Week 1 Game Preview: 49ers @ Bears

By Scooter_McG

The 2022 NFL season proper is upon us! The 49ers travel to Chicago in week 1 to take on a Bears team looking to start strong under new head coach Matt Eberflus. 

The headline matchup for this game is all about the two second year QBs - Lance and Fields - and how they will lead their respective teams. Of the two, Lance heads into the game with the perception of more pressure on his shoulders courtesy of the draft capital involved in his selection, the 49ers passing on Fields, and the 49ers expectations for 2022. However, Fields will likely be the player that is asked to carry his team more both in this game and in this season, with the supporting cast around Lance a lot stronger. How both players respond to the pressure will go a long way to determining the outcome of this game.

Making life a little more difficult for Lance and the 49ers, it looks like the groin injury George Kittle picked up earlier in the week will keep him out of week 1, and potentially longer. Aside from the impact this has in terms of taking a weapon away in the passing game, Kittle has proven to be a key cog in the success of the running game in recent seasons. However, it should be noted that in past seasons the run game has been heavily reliant on off tackle runs in the outside zone scheme, where elite perimeter blocking is paramount, and it appears the team will focus more heavily on running between the tackles in 2022. Regardless, it will be vital that the 49ers find a way to get the run game going despite Kittle's absence. 

Here are the other key storylines I will be watching in this one:

• What does the 49ers offense look like in week 1? The past few years have seen some wrinkles, but overarchingly the offense has remained relatively similar in scheme ever since Shanahan took over. During pre-season it still looked quite similar, but with a little more of a mix of gap and zone in the running schemes. But with Trey Lance now at QB, and the OL and RBs seemingly geared more towards a combination of gap and zone, I'm looking forward to seeing how Shanahan's offense will evolve in 2022. I can't help but think back to how the Washington offense in 2012 was tailored to RGIII's skill set, and I would be somewhat surprised if Shanahan doesn't look to mold the 2022 49ers offense to accentuate Lance's skills. 
• Can the 49ers DL get Fields off his game? Justin Fields has already stated he wants to have a big game against the 49ers to prove a point after Shanahan and co passed on him in last years draft. He was one of the stars of pre-season - for whatever that is worth - and expectations are growing for the young signal caller. However, if there is one area he has consistently struggled so far in his young career it is pocket presence. The Bears OL looks very shaky and the 49ers DL will be poised for a big game. If they are able to generate consistent pressure on Fields it should go a long way to securing victory.
• How does the secondary look without Ward and Tartt? Over the past few years the tale of the 49ers secondary has been simple - without at least one of Ward or Tartt at the back the defense has fallen to pieces. When both were playing, the 49ers defense often dominated. With Tartt a FA and Ward on IR, the 49ers will be without both players to start 2022. The hope will be that a fully healthy DL and LB group, along with an upgraded CB group, will make up for the losses at the back. But all it takes is for the safeties to miss a couple of assignments to give the Bears some easy scores and keep the game interesting.
• With a new HC at the Bears, will the 49ers be properly prepared for what the Bears throw at them? This is always the risk against teams with a new coaching staff - there is less film out there to help prepare for their tendencies. I wouldn't be surprised if the Bears look to try some trick shots and shutting those down will be important to avoid giving the Bears some easy points.  

I can't wait for this one, and hopefully the 49ers are able to start the season with a roads victory.