Sunday, October 29, 2023

Gameday Week 8: Bengals vs. 49ers

 


Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the live blog for 49er football. The 49ers are coming off two tough losses on the road and will be looking to right the ship. The first thing they can do is establish the running game. The second thing they can do is stop the run. Do both of those things and the 49ers can get back on track. Burrow is the 3rd fastest in the NFL in getting the ball out thereby mitigating his porous OL. To help facilitate getting the ball out so fast the Bengals are moving Chase all over the field, although they still favor 11 personnel primarily. The 49ers have blitzed on 14 snaps when in zone coverage and 60 snaps when in man to man. They'll need to be careful doing that against Chase. This Bengals team is a favorable matchup but they will present a significant challenge if the 49ers defense plays like they did the last 2 weeks. Go Niners!

49ers inactives: QB Brandon Allen (3rd QB) T Trent Williams (ankle) WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder) LB Jalen Graham RB Ty Davis-Price DL Kalia Davis TE Brayden Willis

99 comments:

  1. Given KS' past glowing comments about Julio Jones, why didn't the team go after him?

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    Replies
    1. Aiyuk was pedestrian the last game. Deebo's hurt a lot. Jones just got his first TD with the Eagles.

      Delete
  2. That injury to Cousins looked exactly like Rodgers'. Six bucks and my right nut says he tore his achilles.

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    Replies
    1. Dang -- in a contract year! He was having such a good season, too.

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  3. Learned a couple of things this morning: Niners are 29th in the league in run D in nickel personnel -- and the Bengals run a lot of 11 personnel. Also, in both losses where they scored 17 points, Niners' offense faced three safeties (every snap against the Vikes and over 2/3rds of the snaps against the Ravens). So the 3-safety formations have had some success against the Niners' 21 personnel.

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  4. Alumni weekend -- 49er legends in the house.

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  5. Read that an ex-player thought it was a bad idea for KS to call out Wilks the way he did. Normally, I might feel that way, but not in this case. I hope KS follows through if Wilks doesn't get it together. That bonehead call last week wasn't even worthy of being called a rookie mistake.

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    Replies
    1. Calling out Wilks was borderline wrong. Firing him would have been better!

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  6. Is this the worst D in the league?

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    Replies
    1. I though I saw that they are rated 31st against the rush. So yeah.

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  7. Is this the worst run blocking O line in the league?

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  8. This D is embarrassing. I should have known better than to buy into the hype. The difference between Ryans and Wilks is like the depth of the Grand Canyon.

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  9. That was a horrible spot on Purdy's run they spotted as if he was giving himself up when he was diving foreward for the 1st down

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  10. Confused D wastes TO. Wilks should be fired at half time

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  11. I doubt this is all Wilks fault. I’m seeing a lot of missed tackles again. No one is putting pressure on the QB except Bosa. What ever happened to Hargrave and his huge contract. I never hear his name called.

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    Replies
    1. Felix,
      Thats funny coming from you. You were the one questioning Wilks last week.

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    2. The only thing I questioned was that one call at the half.

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    3. Questioning is Questioning

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  12. Another horrible call by the officials should have been a face mask

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  13. We are averaging 2 yards per carry for the running backs.

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    Replies
    1. Thats the product of a lousy O line.

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    2. KS thinks he is an offensive genius and figures he can scheme around a poor OL. It's been that way for a while now.

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    3. And he’s been mostly right.

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  14. There's no fire on this defense like there used to be for Ryans. I think players would have walked through a wall for him. Does anybody believe that is true for Wilks.

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  15. That last pass shows the advantage of having a strong arm QB Vs a guy who is still healing

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  16. The only question now is will the Bengals score again with about one minute left before halftime.
    Wilks has to be shaking in his Nike's right about now.

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  17. Personal best for Burrows. 17 straight completions.

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  18. Defense has only forced one fumble in the last six quarters.

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  19. BA is not a number one. Rather than pay him, I'd look at upgrading to a proven guy.

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  20. Frustrating, Burrow is carving up the Niners zone. They better figure something out or we're gonna lose this game.

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    Replies
    1. D line has to put more pressure. But first they have to stop the run. Run D has been like Swiss cheese.

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    2. D Line has been like swiss cheese versus the run since they let DJ Jones go. He was the biggest loss on this D in my opinion.

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  21. 242 yards and 20 first downs for the Bengals. Really??!

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  22. Purdy is playing at a very high level. D has to get stops and get the ball back to the offense.

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  23. If they can force a quick punt they have a chance. If Cinn score in their first possesion its over. imho

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  24. Without Williams the running game has been bottled up. Plays right into Anarumo's game plan, unfortunately.

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  25. We don't play complementary football. The defense holds them to 3 points and our Offense has penalties/drops and we punt. Not good!

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  26. WELL 9ER FANS, IT COULD BE WORSE!
    RE Murphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong!
    * Willy Robinson was the DC for the 9ers in the 2004 season. Robinson's record as the team's DC was 2-14-0, making him the least successful DC in the 9ers history.
    Wilks is safe, he's won 3

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  27. Looks like BP is falling back to his performance in the last 2 second halfs

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  28. Yes...more Press man coverage....stop the soft zone. D goes 3 and out for the first time!

    We getter points on this drive.

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  29. I said it all summer BP throws too many Ints. There was someone here who argued with me. Who was that?

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  30. That's it. Games over.

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  31. Feeeeeelix,
    Where are you?

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    Replies
    1. What’s your point? Gleeful that the Niners lost?

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  32. The Cindarella Purdy story is over. Overwhelmingly things return to the norm or expectation eventually.

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  33. Purdy's TC Int's have reared their ugly head. This should put an abrupt stop to the Joe Montana comparisons.
    The only way Brock get his groove back will be if he can find a way to win thus game.

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  34. Burrow has completed 87% of his passes.

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  35. Can we trust a Wilks defense to stop the Bengals right here?
    NO!

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  36. Wilks may not be the only problem. But he needs to be fired. I can't imagine some assistant couldn't do a better job.

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  37. Next game is against Jacksonville on the east coast. That won't be a cakewalk and if KS can't right the ship, it will be a loss.

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  38. It's official. Time to temper my expectations of a Superbowl this season.

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  39. They need to fire Wilks and make 2 major trades during the bye week

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    1. Who's going to take Wilks' job?

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    2. Any DC coach could do a better job than that loser.

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    3. Felix,
      Thanks for the kind words but i'm more of a basketball coach and I think Steve Kerr is safe

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  40. Anarumo's D plays their best game in the fourth quarter. Niners' D used to be like that till recently.

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  41. With Washington losing today it means Sweat will be available. Sweat a DB and a new DC could be the shakeup that they need. I think Johnny Holland would be a good replacement

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    Replies
    1. Eventually ShanaLynch is going to have to realize that the phrase "the game is won or lost in the trenches" includes investing in the OL and not just the DL. But KS' arrogance keeps him from realizing this because he believes the hype that he is a genius and figures he can design around it.

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  42. Felix,
    Absolutely no glee. After all of the abuse and disrespect you have piled on me and other faithful it would be nice for you to admit how wrong you have been. Now that I got that off my chest I will go back to not responding to your drivel.

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  43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtGxusvUT3k

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  44. This team is not good. Period.

    Someone has to tell them that though....they think that this is a temporary thing and magically everything will come together. Even now Kyle's message to the team is "We have been in this situation....and we can dig ourselves out of it, we have the players in our building".

    Kyle Shanahan gets way too much leeway in the National Media. There is only one way for Kyle to win. He needs to be up by 2 scores always to win. In the past his defense used to get turnovers and give favorable field position. That won't happen always in the NFL.

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  45. Mugee,
    If "This team is no good." "Period" How do you explain the first 5 games? I think getting Williams and Deebo back will improve the O. The D needs a shakeup, either replacing Wilks or Wilks making some changes. A trade or 2 should help. It wouldn't surprise me if Montez Sweat is not a part of the team by Tues Morning. If BP plays another poor game after the bye we might be seeing Darnold.

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    Replies
    1. Man, I love watching GP2 play. We need more guys like him on the 9ers.

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    2. OId Coach....who we play matters:

      Steelers.....they have one of the worst Offenses in the league. Do you know, they have not had a 400 yard offense in like 3 seasons. They are 4-3..just above 500. TJ Watt single-handedly disrupted that game...we were lucky and couple of fumbles went our way.

      Cardinals....who are 1-7. No further comment.

      Giants....did you know today after 4 Quarters against the Jets, NY Giants had 7 yards passing total....let that sink in...7 Yards and they are 2-6

      Rams....we always own the Rams in the Regular season.

      One good victory was against the Cowboys.

      So, this team is not good. The moment it faces a team with a good defense or a competent DC, it folds and chokes.

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  46. What happened to the front-runner?

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  47. How many times does Kyle Shanahan NEED TO FAIL?

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    1. I hear you bro! It's like a broken record!

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    2. I DON'T KNOW, OR CARE, WHO YOU ARE....BUT WOULD APPRECIATE YOU STOP USING GEEP! IF YOU'RE TOO ASHAMED TO ADMIT WHO YOU ARE, WHY SHOULD I, OR ANYONE, CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY?

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  48. Time to GET REAL, guys. What's the common denominator!

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  49. The 49ers will need to seriously assess their team going into the bye week. The first move needs to be the dismissal of Wilks. There were some concerns by many 49ers faithful when the team signed Wilks to run the defense. They were right to be concerned. The defense is playing with lack of passion and enthusiasm, which, the more I think of it, mimics Wilks' personality.
    Saleh and D. Ryans provided the enthusiasm and fire on the sidelines, which in turn inspired the defense. That seems to be sorely missing now.
    Wilks is just not a good fit for this team. The faster he's released, the faster they could bring in someone that can inspire the defense.

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    Replies
    1. Great post, AES!

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    2. AES,
      I think they need more than just Wilks firing. There are two differences in the 9ers D from last year to this year #1 no Jimmy Ward #2 Ebukam, Omenihu and Willis. I believe that the 49ers need to trade for 2 players a Defensive end and a CB or NB. I think the O can take care of it self with Williams and Deebo's return. I think they have to give BP a chance against Jacksonville, if he plays well he stays, if he plays poorly again Darnold gets his chance. I think a stronger arm who can stretch the field may open some lanes for the running game. This team has basically the same talent that brought us to the NFCCG last year. I think with some changes and additions over the bye week there is no reason why this team can't be at least a wild card team. imho

      Delete
    3. Coach,
      You make very good points. But sadly, it sounds like both the offense and the defense is lacking pieces at this juncture. Purdy had some good moments, but like last week, the not so good moments may have caused the loss.
      The Int with the team inside the Cincinnati 10 yrd line was a deal breaker. It should have been a TD to Mitchell had he thrown the pass a little higher over the defender.

      Neither Trent or Deebo would have
      made a difference on that play.
      You and I, voiced our opinion during TC that Purdy had not yet, been tested in bringing back from behind. So far, he's to prove that he can.

      Also, I felt after the losses to the Browns and Vikings that all the 49ers needed to do is win our division. Now, that may be a problem with the Seahawks coming on. Heck, the winner of this division will likely be settled by the two games against Seattle now.

      Delete
    4. he's *yet* to prove...

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  50. Kurtenbach: "Coaching, QB failures have 49ers sliding down NFL pecking order"

    RIP Jack Hammer!

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  51. If TREY LANCE ever ends up being a franchise QB, whichhe just might be, KYLE SHANAHAN should NEVER be in charge of an NFL ROSTER ever again .... EVER!

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    Replies
    1. Right now, Lance is the least of the 49ers worries.

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  52. # Why can't Kyle Shanahan evaluate the QB position?

    A question 7 years and COUNTING!

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    Replies
    1. Add Andy Reid to your list too. Mahomes put up 9 points and had a 59 QB rating against Denver yesterday.

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  53. Hate to sound like a broken record but how does Kyle continue to have the Offensive Genius reputation when he has always relied on defense to win games. Really? Now it's get rid of Wilks and ..... Loved the early two times he had second and 2 or so and then ran two times straight into the teeth of the Bengals D for virtually nothing. The game starts to look like a shootout (and the score kinda shows it) but he still wants to just barely keep up and run the clock out. Maybe KS is an offensive genius and maybe he's a good HC but I think he sucks as a play caller.

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  54. No problem: Play Trent Williams on defense, too.

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  55. Watching the game again.

    2nd Touchdown by Bengals, right at the end of the 1st Quarter. Watch the effort from the D-Line. Kinlaw jumps offside....Bosa gives up, Armsted gets stymied 1-on-1. Ferrel gets double teamed. Surprisingly no Hargrave on this down.

    Not trying to give Wilks a pass....but what can Wilks do differently here? Players need to execute.

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  56. 1 Day until the trade deadline.

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  57. Mug,
    My first reaction over a 49ers loss is frustration, which unfortunately, causes me to blame someone. Wilks has been my target since the Minn. game.
    I will try to refrain from this going forward. But, please understand that our defense went from a league top 3, now, to an average one at best. This should not be the case with the talent on this defense.

    My hope is that the team is only in a funk and they will pull themselves out of it much sooner than later.

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    Replies
    1. I totally understand AES. Us 49er fans are faithful and passionate. We will die with the team :)

      But one thing that we all fail to consider...this Defense is not the same as last year's. We had a terrific Slot Corner/Cerebral player in Jimmie Ward, who hit hard and was great in coverage. We had excellent pass rush depth pieces in Omenihu, Ebukam and Willis to an extent.

      In addition to this on our Nickel package, we had Azeez-Al-Shair who was equal to Greenlaw IMHO. You know how underrated Al-Shair is....in his first season with Tenessee Titans, this guy is already a Team Captain voted by Players and doing press conferences.

      And most importantly both Saleh and Demeco were home grown in this Defense and were able to adjust to wide-9. They knew the players intimately. Wilks on the other hand has never been in a system with the Wide-9. Plus he did not have Bosa for the entirety of the Offseason. He does not know the strengths/tendencies of the players.

      So considering all the above, and the brain farts that our players seem to have in the past three games, IMHO the D will get better after the Bye.

      The real concern for me is still the Offense. We are supposed to be a Smash-mouth Running offense and we struggle with running on 2 and 1, 3 and 1. And the best guy who can get these short yardages in Jordan Mason, never gets snaps.

      This is on KS. In fact I think Purdy's regression is partly due to KS, because Purdy thinks he has to carry this offense and starts playing Hero Ball (a la Josh Allen). He does not have the arm nor is that his strength.

      A good head coach adapts to new personal/players and makes changes to scheme. KS while being a successful HC is not adaptable is my main criticism. Waiting for Deebo/Trent to comeback is not a good strategy to win games.

      Delete
  58. Mug,
    All good points. I certainly agree with Wilks still getting acclimated with the players. But what I see is a lack of fire and enthusiasm on the defense. Losing many players to FA can create a hole, but, the Safeties played very good last year after Jimmy Ward walked.

    Hargrave is better then any of the Dline players that moved on. Our current LBs are ball'n out, but they are having to make tackles that reach the second level.
    So, back to Wilks. If the players are OK with him, then I will try to as well.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AES,
      Maybe I missed it but I haven't heard any defensive players giving a full throated endorsement to Wilks. In fact they have been suspiciously quiet. I would love to have an ex defensive coach look at last years tape and compare it to this years and give an opinion on whats different. One aspect thats not different than the last 3rd of last year is no pass rush. This is not a problem that i lay at the feet of Wilks it was starting to happen last year. The total lack of run D and the terrible pass D schemes I do lay at Wilks feet. The lack of effort I don't believe in thats a fans reason because fans understand effort not schemes so they blame it on effort. Lack of emotion I think comes down to having two very emotional DCs before Wilks who also coached from the sidelines. As to the O i'm not nearly as worried about the O as I am the D. The addition of Williams and Deebo will help enormously and KS is a top 5 OC, he will figure out the scheme. My biggest worry is about BP and his Ints. You and I were there all summer talking about his penchant for hitting the defense in the hands way too much. Thats why I think this next game after the bye has to be a tryout for BP. He fails again lets see what Darnold can do. imho

      Delete
    2. Coach,
      Here's Fred Warner after yesterday's game.
      "That's the least of my worries," Warner said of the criticism toward Wilks. "Honestly, I think players win games, not coaches. I think he's done a great job."

      Hopefully, someone can light a fire under the defense going forward. Either they've been sleep walking over the last three weeks, or they're not as good as the fans and pundits thought they were in early September. I sure don't know.

      Delete
    3. AES,
      I admire Warner for not throwing Wilks under the bus he is pure class but I disagree with his statement that players win games not coaches. At some levels yes but it is widely known that whether its HS, college or the pros football is a coaches sport. No other sport gets a week to prepare between games. In no other sport does play stop between every play allowing coaches input. It is commonly held that football is the coaches sport while basketball is a distant second and baseball is far behind basketball. I don't know enough about soccer or hockey to comment. imho

      Delete
  59. IT'S NOW PAINFULLY OBVIOUS:
    * Cinderella's INT's has turned him into a pumpkin. * Without TW and Deebo, the smash mouth offense is toothless. * The defense is soft and has lost it's identity! * The D-Line can't stop the run, or pressure the QB. And the DB's can't cover the receivers!
    * Even worse, Wilk has NO CLUE how to fix any D's problems!

    * The 9ers now have a bye week to get healthy, figure out how to fix
    the problems and get ready to play the Jaguars, TB, Seahawks, Eagles, and Seahawks again. * All but TB are in 1st place in their divisions. If the 9ers don't correct their problems, they're looking at losing to all but TB...And I'm not confident they can beat TB.





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  60. Wilks vouched for Oliver -- saying he was the best free agent NB having played against him in the NFC South. Defended him when he was "demoted" in training camp. Well, his coverage stinks as does Hufanga's who also rarely wraps up but instead misses tackles trying to blast the receiver/back.
    If as Shanhan says, the answer is in house, then maybe in house means playing Brown and Womack of whomever in the secondary.

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    Replies
    1. Brown is kind of the forgotten man isn't he. Infact other than Moody is there a single other player from this years draft class contributing? If you say Bell I would agree after the first 2 or 3 games but not since then.

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Breaking

  Jeremy Fowler @JFowlerESPN · 2m Source: the #49ers and corner Deommodore Lenoir have reached a five-year, $92-million extension.