Jimmy Ward

 He's a funny guy. One thing Grant does well and that's interview. I don't know if anyone caught his interview with Jimmy Ward during the offseason, but one topic that came up was the lack of respect by the Rams. Well, it's no coincidence he has provided us with a story about the former 49ers GM, Trent Baalke as we pay him, and his Jacksonville Jaguars a little visit. This is what he had to say:

 “I still think about the day that, I think it was after the [New York] Giants game, playing cover-3,” Ward recalled. “He came up to me and was like, ‘Jimmie, you don’t know how to play cover-3?’ I’m like ‘I'm the buzz player. I’m doing the right thing. You need to look at your other guys. Who ever is in the hook be pushing the hook on the slant.’ That’s something I’ll never forget.

“I couldn’t say that back then. I can say it now, because the players aren’t here, and Trent isn’t here. [I thought] ‘I know I’m a rookie so you’re going to pin it on me but I can’t play the hook and the buzz.’ All right, but shout out to Trent. I wanted to get that off my chest. I’ve been waiting for eight years to get that off my chest.”

Baalke seemed to think he was a secondary coach or something. I know some on here questioned whether or not Lynch should call players out, and I thought it was perfectly fine given he wears a gold jacket. Here's what Ward had to say regarding the GM being around practice fields and such:

"The sighting of a general manager on the practice field is never a good sign. It usually is an indicator to the players that something less than positive is afoot".  “John was a player though, he can’t help it,” Ward said. “He has the gold jacket, and that’s the difference. Trent never played, right? You can’t keep John off the field. John probably still wants to play. He really doesn’t say too much.”

This adds a little intrigue to this matchup. Makes it a little more personal. Should be a great game!

Blocking The Bear

 Daniel Brunskill blocked Aaron Donald one-on-one on 17 snaps Monday night, and the 49ers averaged 9.1 yards per play.  Can he build off of this performance and keep it going? 

Looked as though Shanny's vision of positionless football was on full display Monday night. Will we see more in the evolution of this scheme as the season unfolds? 

Pow Wow!

 Jimmy Ward, Arik Armstead and Fred Warner held a defensive only meeting prior to the Rams game. Among the topics covered was the road forward. Looks as though it paved off. Can they keep it going in Jacksonville?

Week 10 Post Match Review: Rams at 49ers

By Scooter_McG

Prime time rivalry games can deliver some strange results and absorbing contests irrespective of the records of the two teams. In this one it was the reeling 49ers that played like Super Bowl contenders against a high flying Rams that played like the mistake-prone 49ers team we've seen through the opening 8 games of the season.

Shanahan is widely considered to be brilliant with the Xs and Os. However, he can sometimes be guilty of calling the game too much like a chess match, a battle of strategy. To some degree he is correct and strategy is a key aspect of the game. But it can also be part of Shanahan's problem.

After last weeks game I outlined how Shanahan abandoned the run early in the contest and that it contributed to the Cardinals early lead. Looking at the film, abandoning the run in that game made a certain kind of sense from a strategy point of view - the Cardinals were setting themselves up to stop the run at all cost and daring the 49ers to beat them through the air. But as I said after the game, even when that is the case the 49ers should never abandon the run as bad things seem to always happen when they do. 

The reason for that is pretty simple; the 49ers offense is built to run the football. It is their strength on offense. It is the most consistent and reliable aspect of their offense. And while Shanahan likes to outline that it is a reciprical and symbiotic relationship between the run and pass, throughout his tenure at the 49ers it has consistently been the run that sets up success in the passing game, not the other way around.  

Strategy is important, and taking advantage of what the defense gives you is a key aspect of the game. But there is another equally important aspect of the game. Football is also a contest of wills. About who wants it the most. About winning one-on-one matchups and imposing your will on an opponent. This is something Jim Harbaugh relished and was a cornerstone of his 49ers teams. The way the 49ers played against the Rams was almost reminiscent of those Harbaugh teams and it was great to see. 

Bar a kneel down to end the half, the 49ers only had two drives in the first half. But they dominated time of possession none-the-less as they ran it 21 times and passed it just 8 times on those two drives. Nearly a 3:1 ratio of run to pass. 

Shanahan was also very smart in the opening drive. They ran it down the Rams throat, but they mixed their personnel packages to keep the Rams guessing. Three runs came from Deebo at RB with Jeff Wilson playing FB - from a personnel perspective it was 11 personnel to get the Rams playing an extra DB and it gave the 49ers a distinct advantage running the ball. You can just imagine that was what Shanahan envisaged when they drafted Jalen Hurd, so it was somewhat ironic to see them using the package the week they released him. 

It was a signal of intent from the 49ers. This was a team that wanted to bring physicality. They wanted to be the bully. They wanted to impose their will on the Rams.

Before this weeks game I pointed out three things I was going to be keeping an eye on. First was pressuring Stafford into mistakes. While the pressure wasn't really there, Stafford obliged all the same with plenty of mistakes. He only turned the ball over twice (on the Rams first two possessions), but he also put the ball in harms way on many other occasions. 

Second, I outlined the turnover battle. This has been a constant thorn in the side of the 49ers over five seasons, and a major contributor to their win-loss record over that span. Today they played an efficient and clean game on offense, with just four incomplete passes, no INTs and no fumbles. On defense, as outlined above they came away with two Jimmie Ward INTs of which one was a pick-6. A little disappointingly they could easily have had more, but importantly they won the turnover battle and while not as emphatic as it could have been it was clearly superior performance from the team in the turnover battle.

Third, and most importantly, I outlined how I wanted to see the team play some "bully ball". To build some confidence by playing to their strength on offense (running the ball) and playing fast, aggressive football on defense. It was fantastic to see the team take exactly that mentality into the game and get the reward for it. And the team clearly gained considerable confidence as the game went on.

Now comes the tricky part - maintaining that mentality and confidence for the rest of the season. 

Monday Night Football Live Blog

 Tonight vs Rams, Jimmy G can become the first 49ers QB with 3 straight 300-yard games since Jeff Garcia!

Jefferson II elevated from the practice squad. Sanu and Wilson to IR.

49ers Inactives:

DT Maurice Hurst, RB JaMycal Hasty, CB Dre Kirkpatrick, OL Colton McKivitz

Week 10 Matchups to Watch: Rams at 49ers

By Scooter_McG 

It's prime time in San Francisco, folks! The 49ers host division rivals the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football in week 10. 

Looking at the records of these two teams, and how they have played this season, the 7-2 LA Rams should have little trouble with a 3-5 49ers team who haven't won a home game in over 12 months. The Rams will also have additional motivation after last week dropping a game to fall one game behind division rivals the Arizona Cardinals atop the NFC West. 

For the 49ers, they head into the game following the bitter disappointment of failing to build on the Bears victory by losing to the Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins-less Cardinals last week. That loss, which included a listless defensive display and too many offensive miscues, kept them under .500 on the season and fighting for their playoff lives. 

Yet despite the records and trajectories of the two teams, division rivalry games in prime time football can deliver the unexpected. An upset victory here for the 49ers can keep their flickering playoff hopes alive, while defeat will all but consign them to a lost season. 

Here is what I will be keeping an eye on in this one. 

Pressuring Stafford. In the lead up to Matthew Stafford being traded to the Rams there was some debate as to whether Stafford was really that good a QB given his failure to elevate the Lions to the playoffs most years. In 2021 Stafford has put up the best numbers of his career through nine games, has the Rams in a strong position for a playoff run, and is firmly in the race for MVP. Meanwhile, the Lions are winless through eight games. It may just be the Lions are a sorry organisation and Stafford was in fact a key reason they were able to win as many games as they did while he was there. 

However, Stafford is coming off his worst game of the season last week in a loss to the Titans. In that game the Titans defensive front brought consistent pressure on Stafford from the beginning. It resulted in Stafford being taken down five times for sacks, forcing some bad throws, while having his lowest yards per attempt on the season by far. 

If the 49ers are to have any chance in winning this one it will need to force Stafford into a similarly poor outing through defensive pressure. 

The turnover battle. Through five seasons, Kyle Shanahan's 49ers teams have consistently struggled with giveaways and takeaways. The one year they had a positive differential they went to the Super Bowl. The other four years they have given the ball away more than they've taken it away and it has resulted in losing records in all four seasons (including this season to date). 

If the 49ers are going to turn their season around and get the 6 or 7 wins they will need to make the playoffs, a key step will be turning around the turnover differential. Jimmy G has to avoid those careless mistakes he can be prone to and his offensive teammates need to do a better job of securing the ball. And the defense has to start making more plays on the football - five takeaways through eight games is abysmal. 

Bully ball. Winning breeds confidence, while losing takes it away. That is evident watching these two teams this season as they have noticeably different demeanours on the field. 

When you are down on confidence, teams (and individuals) can often make one of two mistakes - go too conservative or try too hard for the miracle plays. Neither one really tends to work very well. But what you can do to try and get some confidence back is try to make things simpler by leaning on your strengths. For the 49ers that strength is their running game and play action on offense, and a fast, aggressive defensive front 7 that attacks the football. 

Let's see if they can get those elements rolling early in this one to help boost the confidence of the team and spark an upset. 

Running On Empty

 The Rams have been using empty sets 19% of the time. That's more than any other team in the NFL. The 49ers defense on the other hand is 31st in yards per attempt at 10.3 allowed versus empty, and 30th in opponent QBR at 88.6. 

Some positive notes:

Rookie rushing leaders through Week 8 Najee Harris: 479 yards (128 carries) Elijah Mitchell: 433 yards (81 carries)

The highest graded offensive player of the 2021 season thus far: Trent Williams (95.6)

Chasing perfection: Trent Williams has a nearly perfect 99.5 zone run-blocking grade this season.