49ers 12, Broncos 19: Grades

Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 19-12 preseason loss to the Denver Broncos.

QUARTERBACKS: C+. Give Colin Kaepernick credit for gaining 53 yards on three runs. He still is one heck of a runner. As a passer, he seems to be getting worse. Against the Broncos he completed only two passes, pushing his preseason total up to five. Five. Blaine Gabbert completed nine passes in this game alone.

RUNNING BACKS: B+. Carlos Hyde has been the MVP of the offense through three preseason games. Saturday he averaged seven yards per carry. He seems like a big upgrade over Frank Gore. The Niners’ offense will be in good shape next season if they can give the ball to Hyde on every play.

WIDE RECEIVERS: C. It’s almost impossible to evaluate the wide receivers, because the starting quarterback and the starting offensive line were no good. Torrey Smith made his first catch of the preseason and probably could have picked up a first down had he cut upfield. But he ran parallel to the line of scrimmage and got tackled short of the first-down marker.

TIGHT ENDS: B. Garrett Celek made a 22-yard catch on a post route, and Blake Bell made a few catches on play-action roll-out plays. Both tight ends seem to have earned their way onto the final roster.

OFFENSIVE LINE: D. The run blocking was pretty good, but the pass protection was terrible. It was the opposite of protection. It was destruction. Rookie right guard Ian Silberman seemed completely over his head. He is not ready to play, let alone start. Which means the Niners don’t have a right guard. They should have signed Evan Mathis when they had the chance.

DEFENSIVE LINE: C-. Got pushed back by the Broncos’ offensive line until late in the second quarter, and allowed Denver to pick up 79 rushing yards in the first half. The past few seasons we have taken the 49ers’ run defense for granted. Is it still elite? Only one member of the front-seven is returning from last season—nose tackle Ian Williams.

LINEBACKERS: B. NaVorro Bowman played the entire first half and was excellent blitzing through the A-gap—he sacked Peyton Manning twice in one drive. Bowman probably is the 49ers’ best pass-rusher, so expect him to blitz a lot next season. The other inside linebacker, Michael Wilhoite, didn’t make any glaring mistakes, but he gave up two or three catches on the Broncos first drive.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: A. Most of Manning’s passing yards came on throws to tight ends and running backs. The Niners’ corners did a good job against Denver’s wide receivers, but the corner who did the best job was Kenneth Acker. He intercepted a pass in the end zone and broke another pass in the end zone. He should be the Niners No. 2 cornerback.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B. Reggie Bush misjudged a punt and let it bounce all the way back to the 49ers’ 5-yard line. He seemed uncomfortable. Jarryd Hayne did not. He returned one punt for 12 yards. He clearly is the best punt returner on the team.

This article has 685 Comments

    1. It is IMPOSSIBLE to take this writer seriously…I watched this game very closely, and there was NO WAY Kap could’ve been successful playing behind that line. Gabbert wasn’t going against Miller and Ware and that starting defensive line…To blame Kap for his ineffective play is like blaming the d-line fornot hhaving Aldon or Brooks out there. The man was facing pressure ALL night..even coming off of playaction fakes. The Denver D was beating him to the 5th step on his drops…

        1. So that is why Gabbert could run away from them and Kap couldn’t
          and just stood there like a idiot.

          1. No. When he had the opportunity, he eluded the pass rush for some good gains. The O line was so atrocious, Kaep had a pass rusher in his face before he could complete his drop back.

          2. Yeah except THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN EVEN ONE PLAY. Not ONE TIME did Kap get to set his feet that game. NOT ONE TIME did he get get to his FIRST READ before a defender was in his lap. Please gtfo.

      1. Perhaps, but at some point, if you’re getting paid $20M (as Kap is), there are ZERO excuses. If you know your line sux, you dam* well better be getting the ball out more quickly. Enough excuses for Kap. He didn’t improve at all in the offseason & has digressed, not improved, for the past 2 years.

        1. Kaepernick has a $10.4 million base salary that will be paid in full and he can earn up to $12.8 million with workout and roster bonuses. Where are you getting this $20 million dollar salary?

          1. These critics do not follow rational thinking. That is the definition of a hater. They look for negatives and if they do not find them they will exaggerate or create them out of thin air. They don’t hate because of what they see, rather they see things to hate because of some dysfunctional need.

            1. You’re delusional if you think Kaep is getting better. That’s not hate, them is the facts.

              1. Fan, your delusional if you think you can make an honest evaluation of how Kaepernick looks, because our offensive line isn’t even giving him time drop back 5 steps let alone set his feet and drive the ball downfield.

              2. Fan isn’t capable of an honest evaluation. He’s been dumping on Kap since the day he replaced Smith. Doesn’t matter what the circumstance, it’s Kaps fault.

              3. Rocket,
                I was right about Kaep last year wasn’t it? You kept trying to defend him and I kept saying he wasn’t that good.
                You’re delusional if you think it’s just the O-Line is what I’m saying. He’s not a passer. He doesn’t think or act like one. He rather run to make plays, that’s the issue. Unless he starts to change his mindset he will always struggle with grasping what it means to be a QB in this league.

              4. No fan you weren’t right. You continue to ignore the factors that lead to the QB struggling at times and put it all on him.

                There was nothing to do but run last night. A QB cannot complete a pass when somebody is in his face before he hits the last step of his drop.

                I defend Kap against unwarranted criticism, no doubt about it, but I’m not oblivious to his faults. The problem is we can’t see if he’s corrected anything or gotten better if he doesn’t get a chance to throw the ball. That is the part you won’t accept.

              5. Dude,
                Did Kaep suck last year? Did he get past his one read? Did he cost us games? Hmm, like the Bears game, the Seattle game, the Rams game?

                Them is the facts. Now try and spin it positive however you want!

              6. Here ya go Rocket: From the Bleacher report. From a delusional sports writer I guess:

                http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2544359-murphys-law-has-turned-49ers-into-one-of-nfls-worst-teams

                I know this is a quarterback’s league. And Colin Kaepernick has still accomplished quite a lot in a short amount of time. But Kaepernick, who had a lower passer rating last season than scrubs such as Jay Cutler, Mark Sanchez and Kyle Orton, needs more support, not less.

                Among 27 quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts during the final five weeks of 2014, Kaepernick ranked 25th during that span with a 71.2 rating. Per PFF, only four pivots were less accurate.

                He takes too many sacks, he throws too many ducks and there are serious questions regarding his ability (or lack thereof) to go through his progressions.

              7. Fan- My responses to you on this site has little to do with criticism of Kaep. Others Criticism often makes sense. It’s about motivation and intent. Prime for example just doesn’t like running QB’s and thinks they can not be successful. You, however, perfectly fit the definition of a ” Hater”. to a tea. I didn’t even have to know your history to recognize that your motivation is based on his replacement of Alex. Many fans can not seem to confuse boundaries between them selves and the teams and players they identify with. You took the replacement of Alex as a personal assault upon your “team identity”. Much like the first wife hates the woman who replaces her. You have some serious boundary and identity issues. That attitude is where the term “Fan” as short for fanatic comes from. You seemed to have tried pretending for a while that you were not a “hater” you couldn’t help falling back into the role with just this preseason fuel to fall back on. Not a good choice. Reasonable people realize that this line is horrible, and your inability to see that exposes you intent for all to see. Your a hate addict. Like all addicts you need to realize that your addiction is not the cause rather than the effect and consequence of your problem.

              8. Willtalk,

                Before you make any delusional assumptions, just because I was not a fan of Kaep replacing Smith, and I’m not a Smith lover I was all over dumping him for Peyton Manning, the fact remains that Kaep did not win the SB when he had a chance, did not beat Seattle when he had a chance, and regressed last year. The team can only go so far with a QB can take them. We will not win anything if we rely on Kaep’s legs, it’s proven that running QBs don’t win SB. We will only get better when he starts to make improvements as a pocket passer. Even Barrows called him out on it.
                Before you make any assumptions of my psychological mental state of mind, I will say that while I think Kaep sucks, I hope he proves me wrong. I hope he proves to the world, besides all you apologists that he can do the job and be the QB that we think he should be. Harbaugh was wrong about him, and Smith, so he got fired.

                Anything less, he’s wasting our time. The team sucks, isn’t going anywhere. But if he shows improvement then it’s not a wasted season.

              9. Did Kaep suck last year? Did he get past his one read? Did he cost us games? Hmm, like the Bears game, the Seattle game, the Rams game?

                No he didn’t suck last year. He had some bad games as everybody does, but he was far from sucking. I’m glad you mentioned the Rams game too because it is a great example of your blinders in regards to Kap. He had a 97.7 rating in that game and completed 67% of his passes even while under siege against the pass rush all afternoon, and all you focus on is the final play. That’s why your opinion on this topic isn’t worth anything. You wait for anything negative you can jump on and ignore anything to the contrary.

                That Bleacher report article is also interesting in the fact he doesn’t mention Kap’s rating was ahead of guys like Stafford, Dalton, Bridgewater and Newton, meaning rating can be compromised by small amounts of data. That 5 game stretch the author referred to featured one terrible game against Seattle and a hangover the following week against Oakland.

                Kap took sacks last year because often times the pressure came up the middle and was immediate. The same thing has happened this preseason, but all you can focus on is that Kap isn’t getting it done. There is no question Kap has to improve as a pocket passer and that has been obvious from day one because it does not come natural to him, but people like you and Oregon just don’t accept anything positive the guy does. You gave Smith every chance imaginable but all Kap gets is scorn. Kind of fits the pattern of somebody who has a bias against a player for more than on field performance.

                Them is the facts. Now try and spin it positive however you want!

                Feel free to repost anything I’ve said about Kap that isn’t accurate and I’ll never say anything about it again. I’ve posted his winning percentage, his ratings and QBR against other QB’s and his individual performances and everything stacks up favorably to the top ten QB’s of the past few years. He has essentially had one year that wasn’t as good as the previous two, with the numbers being very close to the previous ones, and you want to bury him. Doesn’t matter what other mitigating factors are involved, or if there is nobody to replace him. You have tunnel vision and will never accept Kap as the QB and it’s based on nothing but your personal dislike of the guy.

              10. Rocket,
                You prove my point with every counter argument you make. I don’t hate Kaep. I see his flaws, you don’t seem to admit he has them.
                You bring up his stats yet it’s his mistakes that cost the Niners games.
                You have tunnel vision on how much you don’t want to admit it was a mistake that he’s our QB.
                Why didn’t you post the stats of the Bears game? Or how Kaep has of the worst QB ratings for a QB in the 4th quarter? Oh yeah, for a guy that sees all you somehow skipped those stats.

              11. Smh, I not only accept he has flaws, but have pointed them out a number of times. I support him and appreciate what he’s done, but he has to improve and become a better passer from the pocket. I have never disputed that. I defend him in arguments with you because you rip the guy for every thing that goes wrong offensively, and have an obsessive need to disparage everything he’s done on the field with no acknowledgement for the things he’s done right and all the games he’s won.

                I’m not a Kap apologist as I’ve said a number of times. Just like I wasn’t one for Smith who I also defended for years. If a player shows me he can help the 49ers win games, I support him, which is why I stick up for Kap against the absurd attacks that permeate these boards sometimes. However, if a player shows he can’t get it done and hinders the teams chances of winning, I am all for finding a better option.

                I’m about wins fan. Anyway we can get them.

        2. That’s just silly…lol..Apparently you didn’t WATCH the game or else you would’ve SEEN that he had no time to get rid of the ball period…much less quicker…These aren’t excuses…these are facts…He at least has to have the time to drop back and set up in the pocket..The man didn’t even have time to find a check down, so you KNOW he couldn’t have found a receiver…

        3. CK looked pretty much as he has done the past 2 seasons. Warner can’t turn donkeys into thoroughbreds….

          1. He looked the same because the line looked the same. Interior pass rushes destroy every QB.

        4. Jim,
          Did you even watch the game? Dont matter how much a QB is getting paid, if your O Line sucks you are not gonna be successful. A QB can’t throw if the routes havent developed. The OC didnt call any screen plays, quick slants, bootlegs for a reason. He will let that lose in the regular season.
          This can’t be blamed on Kap. This is the O Lines fault.

        5. Your right Kap is going backwards, but he is only making 13 mil
          and that is guaranteed money, to get that 20 mil your talking about,
          he has a lot of incentives to meet, and we all know he won’t meet them.

        6. So, in your world, if your making $20 million as a QB, it really doesn’t matter how the offensive line plays? But if Kap were making, say $10 million per, it matters? At what salary does the OL begin to matter? So silly man. Do you even hear yourself talking (or typing)? Somebody’s jealous.

        1. He didn’t. Gabbert played with the 2nd unit, against the Denver 2nd unit. How is this fact not obvious?

          1. Leo,
            Just look at those calling for Kap’ head and you’ll likely notice that they only show up when it’s convenient to throw shade on him. Kinda reminds me of Vultures who only show up when they think there’s a meal in the offing.

            Let’s at the very least wait to see the O-line do some efficient pass protecting before putting it all on Kap.
            But obviously, that won’t keep the Vultures from circling around.

            1. These people are sick. They need an object for their hate to blame things on. Their real anger is at something they either will not acknowledge by recognition or are to frightened or intimidated by to confront. So they vent their anger at someone they will never have to face. I guess they don’t have dogs to kick or women to beat up. Reason is irrelevant to them because they need to hate someone or something.

      2. Cohn doesn’t like the Qb. Get used to these type of write ups.

        Davis retiring really hurt. Since then Baalke has sat on his hands and done nothing even though he has money to spend. We will improve when Kilgore comes back. Bite the bullet and let Brown start.

    2. Same old arguements and answers: The O-Line is responsibe, or it’s the QB’s fault, or is it the WR’s, or Coaches….?

      I’ve tried to lead everyone away from the koolaid trough and warn Niner fans that everything starts at the top. That means your Owner and GM…When you keep the same coaching staff and expect a different result isn’t that the definition of incompetence (or something else). NFL teams have a book on Chryst by now (ask Pete Carroll who has videos from his USC days). Chryst also hasn’t been an OC in the NFL for 15 years. Combined with the futility of all things passing and the end result is shutdown Sundays.

    3. No second half touchdowns last year. Zero yard passing in the first half vs. Denver…
      Apparently the 49ers are going to set more bizzare NFL records this year.

      Give Jim Hostler a call to rescue us.

  1. I say replace Pears with Brown. I see no upside to Pears. It will be painful at first with Brown but no more so than Pears. At least with Brown I think he will improve as the season progresses.

    1. Completely agree cubus. Pears was bad week 1 of preseason and has steadily gotten worse as the season approaches…

      The Silberman experiment at RG was also unsuccessful.

      1. I made a bold prediction last week, and will stick to it.
        Silberman will be cut and put on the PS, even though the coaches have given him first team reps and every opportunity.

        1. You may be making more sense than the coaches and the GM. That group doesn’t seem to know which five OL men are their best five.

          The only thing our local Steinbeck wrote that’s dumber than his comments about Kaepernick is that running every play would work.

          1. It would be novel; we’ve never seen 11-in-the-box defenses before. I think that might cause Tired Legs Syndrome in all SF’s running backs.
            >But Wait! I think I’ve got it!
            Let’s have the offense break the huddle and line up facing their own endzone. This will befuddle the defenders who will scramble to line up opposed. Then every sack for 10 yards will be a first down for the Niners! You see the beauty?
            Patton gives up 20 yards on a reverse? First Down!
            Lose 4 yards each on 3 consecutive running plays? First Down!
            Let’s roll!

            1. Now that’s funny, but it just might make more sense than what the staff has been trying. The thing that jumps out at me is that they are entering the final preseason game and they still are experimenting with the O-line. That reeks of desperation. I wouldn’t blame that on the coaching staff. They are just working with what they have to work with trying to make silk purses out of sows ears or spin straw into gold. Past a couple of players the offensive line is composed of less than mediocre back ups and worse on down. They are just trying to find the best of a bad group. It’s like when you run out of batteries and you try to find the least weakest of the old ones to just give you some light. That’s what the coaches are attempting to do. Somebody should have prioritized and bought some new batteries instead of wasting the money on what was not needed.

  2. Offense:
    Poor pass pro on right side. Almost impossible to evaluate QB/WR/TE with a line this porous.
    Skill position players looked pretty good… considering the few chances they got.
    Ellington out-shined Patton. Patton committed 3 bonehead mistakes in two games. Patton might get cut.

    Defense:
    Good, but scant pressure in non-blitzes. The D misses Aldon and Brooks. I was expecting better 4-man non-blitz pressure. Did Tank Carradine do anything?

    Bowman is the man. Defensive backfield depth is no illusion.

    1. Ellington should be the number three wide out. Hunter looks like his burst is gone….

        1. Ellington has always been more talented. He is just quicker and can get to space better. He is a good slot receiver. As was mentioned I agree that Hunter looks slower. That’s the problem with ACL’s, players often don’t totally recover. Team shouldn’t just take that for granted. They did the same with Williams in 2013 and that created problems at WR depth.

    2. I agree Brodie, how can you say Kaep is worse when most of the preseason he’s had zero time to do anything.

      1. Perhaps he is only considering his production. In that respect it is certainly true. I mean behind that line he does look worse.

        1. One doesn’t need an English degree from UCLA to recognize that no one would look good behind that line.

          One might have even ask why the GM didn’t build a line that could protect a QB with Colin’s characteristics enough for him to function.

          1. You are correct, but I suppose I was trying to give him some props for acknowledging the bad line at all. I tend to be really hard on the guy, so I need to watch myself sometimes.

  3. The feed I watched was the Denver feed. The worst part for me was several times when they showed Tomsula on the sideline as the 49ers were getting thrashed. He looked totally out of it – as though he had no idea how to fix what was happening. I saw the same thing with Logan and Kap as well. I know this isn’t fair because anyone can be made to look bad, but it just totally deflated my confidence. Things will be better in the morning.

    1. I had the Denver feed too. There’s really not much Logan/Chryst can do if the right side of the O-line is collapsing.

      I think Chryst might be saving designed roll out plays for the regular season.

    2. Well I think it’s time for mommy to sell the team, just about every coach is dead meat, Rathman is the only one that is any good, the rest of them are dead beats that’s why they were unemployed at the time of hiring.

    3. This is why I have been posting that they should read IF, by Kipling.
      There is a line in it that says-
      If you can meet with triumph and disaster,
      and treat those two impostors just the same.
      I hope they take those words to heart. They should not be too elated or too heartbroken. They should take whatever comes their way and deal with it on a level keel. They need to never let others see them sweat. They should expect that their side line demeanor is being filmed, and act appropriately.
      They should channel Bill Walsh, and study tapes that show his sideline demeanor, and emulate him.

            1. If we charged or broke or cut
              You could bet your blooming nut
              “E’d be waitin’ fifty paces right flank rear.

            2. Din Din Din
              You lazarushian lump o’ brick dust Gunga Din.
              Tho I’ve belted you and flayed you,
              By the livin’ gawd that made you,
              You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din

  4. Your grades seemed appropriate to me.

    I know that we should not grade the coaching staff in preseason. However, is it just me or does Tomsula look very uncomfortable on the sidelines. Over the past few years I’ve grown accustomed to watching the manic Harbaugh stalking the sidelines. But Harbaugh never looked uncertain or nervous. He always looked like he belonged (even when making bad decsions). Tomsula looks like he is in over his head and knows it. Hope I’m wrong.

    1. Actually Haurbagh looked lost with his arms folded several times with a blank stare. He also could not make ANY second half adjustments. We get it Haurbaugh is a good coach. Give Tomsula a chance. He is a lot better then people give him credit for. Watch September 14th.

      1. Actually, when JH was losing those 4 games at the end of the season, he would grimace so it looked like he was passing a kidney stone.

      2. The big problem is, Tomsula has know clue what a offence is or how it works, and he don’t even carry a clip board, the guy is clueless,
        what a joke Baakle has made this team so bad that he should be fired,
        except that Jed boy is to connected to Baakle, and Jed has know clue.

        1. At least show you have a clue when putting together a sentence before criticizing someone else:

          know = no (twice)
          offence = offense
          don’t = does not
          Baakle = Baalke (twice)
          uses commas instead of periods

          1. Your write abut thez posturs. Let’s make a rule: Anyone over 12 can’t post. And those of us reading this stuff should be whipped for peeing away our life.

      3. Tried to stay out of all of this but totally agree about Harbaugh looking lost or dejected on the sidelines. Can’t blame blame Tomsula for for feeling the same. They are working with many of the same players

    2. Why should he look comfortable? His O line was pathetic and the defense forgot how to tackle.
      However, the Niner D did not allow a PM TD, and they had the lead in the 4th quarter.
      The biggest blessing is no major injuries.

      1. I was not comfortable with the way they treated Harbaugh, or the Tomsula hiring, but I feel for the situation Tomsula is in. I know he is trying to just be the good soldier and carry on, but I think he realizes the situation. I have mentioned that he made a comment about Trent picking Aric, that just sort of slipped out among the inane prattle he initially used to call press conferences. He implied the pick should have gone towards an O-lineman instead. Here I go again, but it’s Trent people- Trent is the real problem as Tomsula is just beginning to figure out. He has been put into a position of fixing something unfixable for lack of personal at a key position. It’s the GM’s responsibility to supply the coach with the pieces for him to succeed as much as the available resources will allow him to. Baalke has always had the resources to do so, but has not done so.- with Harbaugh either.

        1. Whether the coaches have the ability to succeed is a separate issue. You still need to allow them to succeed or fail on their terms. You give them what they need. The same would apply in Kaeps case at QB. You surround him with the best players to allow him to succeed you can. With a QB it’s O-line protection. anyone with a brain should know that. Until that is done with either the coaches or players ( QB) you can not know if the failure was on him or not.

    3. Who else remembers the clueless, deer in headlights look Mike Martz always had?
      It always made me wanna chuck something at the tv!

      1. I agree with what a lot of others have said – he didn’t look like he had the same quickness/ acceleration he used to have. Based on what I saw today I’d say he’s a small RB with only ok speed and acceleration. Davis looks a better option as the #3 RB atm.

          1. Grant- I hope they don’t carry him on the 53 man roster in hopes of a good trade like they did with the two LB in 2013 and got nothing but two seventh rounders while losing players they thought thy could slide through waivers. They ended up dredging the bottom of waiver wires for players thoughout the early part of the season to fill those spots. With what Hunter showed he will get nothing in return coming off an injury. He is Manningham all over again.

            1. Sure is a pity they lost those bottom of the roster players by keeping guys then later trading them. I mean, look how good they’ve gone on to become. Disastrous moves.

    1. Yea, I mentioned that early in the football game, and I don’t believe in coincidences either….

      1. Here is what’s weird. When Jim Haurbaugh was the coach we got destroyed by the Broncos in the regular season and in the pre season. This defense performed way better tonight considering then last years. Get the O line fixed(might not happen this year) and this team competes for a SB..

        1. I think that has a lot to do with Mannings form. He didnt look like himself today (this pre season).
          Constant underthrows.
          I think that was a big reason it wasnt a blowout.

        2. Harbaugh was a “walking dead” from the first day of camp in 2014, and it showed throughout the season.

    2. Cubus, the tackling has not been good all pre-season but really bad tonight. It used to be the streanght of this team. Hopefully that gets better with the OL performance as the season progress.

      1. Hey, Ricardo. Good to see you’re back.

        We all, including me, have a lot of “hopefully this”, “hopefully that”. I was going to continue on with a rant, but what good will it do. I’m going to wait until tomorrow, review the game and see if I can find any positives.

        1. Thanks Cubus. It was an of-season to forget and I just did not have any energy to even make a comments here. But thanks to you and the rest of the gang for holding the fort! Now continue with the rant. :)

    3. I guess one positive to take away from this was despite the D not playing great they didn’t give up many points.

  5. I missed game but everything I’vev read is that OL was atrocious. I’ve said from get go, we are good enough to make playoffs if OL is even average. Looking like they may not even be average at this point. That’s concerning and shame on Baalke for not going after Mathis. Agree 100% with GC…inexcusable considering how much money we have trimmed by losing players. Moreover, it would have been nice and smart to give the fans a little boost after all the crap. In the end, Baalke will either look like hero at year end, or be gone.

    1. I don’t think Trent is gone despite anything that happens this year. York is tied to his hip. If Baalke fails York fails. York tied his wagon to Baalke by getting rid of Harbaugh. While I thought Harbaugh had major faults it remains to be seen if Baalke had even more. I don’t believe it was Yorks original idea to drop Harbaugh but rather it was manipulated by Trent. Put two people like Trent and Jim in a room and only one will walk out. That couldn’t have ended up any other way under the system in place. He had Yorks ear and was very PR slick. Harbaugh has about as much likability and PR skill as a bull in a china shop.

    2. Lets not assume Balke didn’t go after Mathis.
      Mathis wanted to play for a SB contender, and 9ers arent.

  6. Fair enough, but you were far more generous with your OL grade. I would have given the entire group a fail, and that includes Staley and Boone. What a shame. The 49ERS were gifted a golden opportunity to sign a pro bowl RG who is suited prefectly for our blocking schemes, and Baalke let it slip out of his grasp. I have given Trent the benefit of the doubt this offseason up until tonight. Colin was totally unsettelled in tbe pocket tonight. He was seeing ghosts, except, they were real. 300 lb grown men were coming for him, seemingly without an ounce of resistance. At this rate, Colin’s spirit will be broken by week 6, if his neck isn’t broken sooner. I was angry earlier this evening, now I’m simply depressed.

    1. I just read your BR piece Grant. Right on the money! For me, the biggest story of this season, 3 weeks into the preseason, is EVAN MATHIS. I understood the 49ers didn’t want to make a multiyear commitment to a OL of his age. He signed a 1 year, $4 million deal with Denver. It makes me so angry because now, every time I watch the 49ers OL get beat this season, I can’t keep but wondering about Even Mathis and the MYSTERY behind not signing him. There has to be something here we are missing right?

      1. The only thing that makes sense to me, unless Baalke is stubborn beyond belief, is that playing for the 49ers, at this point in his career, was a non-starter on Mathis’s part and the 49ERS were never afforded to field a formal offer.

  7. Carlos Hyde has been the MVP of the offense through three preseason games.
    ——————–
    Given the overall caliber of the offense is that really saying anything? I’m gonna play your game; take away Hyde’s 17 yard run and his average drops to just under 4 yards a carry. Good but not great. Hyde hasn’t shown anything special so far. Calling him an upgrade over Gore is myopic.

    1. Hyde is averaging almost 6 yards per carry in the preseason. He has been outstanding.

      1. Hayne is averaging 9 yards per carry in the preseason, guess that means he should be the starter.

              1. I originally predicted 240 carries, but like you said, it could be hard to conserve him….

              1. I’m not the only one that doesn’t see Hyde the way you do and by seasons end you’ll be eating those words.

          1. No need to argue with CFC on this one Grant. Gore is at that age, knowledgeable people understand this. Regardless of how they stack up head to head, Hyde is clearly an up and coming talent with huge upside, and a bright future. Gore, as much as I love him, is on his last legs. I promise you, there isn’t a GM on the planet who would have kept Gore, with Carlos Hyde waiting in the wings.

              1. Coffee= At this point in time Gore would have a difficulties running behind this O-line. He loves a power scheme. With the switch to a zone scheme it takes away from his strength. He could also no longer generate push with his legs after contact. It was better for the team and Gore that he moved on. Hyde’s style did not suite the power game and he will show far better in this new scheme. He runs a bit upright himself.

      2. I agree that Hyde is an upgrade over Gore if he can remain healthy.
        The huge part of Gore’s game was that he was super durable, which Hyde is not

      3. Hyde continues to impress me with his ability to gain yards after contact. That 17 yard run came after breaking some tackles just past the LOS. Last season he also did very well in terms of yards after contact. If the OL can give him some running lanes he could be a very productive RB for the 49ers this year. And he’d be even more dangerous if the OL can give Kaep a little time to get a passing game going…

        1. Hyde only hits the holes that are given to him. He doesn’t find the hole, he doesn’t have patience for it to open, he just runs to his assignment. If it’s open he makes yards if it’s not he gets tackled.

          He’s nothing special.

          1. CFC,

            He was near the top in YAContact & broken tackles. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?

        2. “And he’d be even more dangerous if the OL can give Kaep a little time to get a passing game going…”

          Ah, there is the dilemma and eight or nine in the box.

    2. Ya I respect that your loyal to Gore but come on man. He is 10x more explosive at this stage. Hyde is the real deal!

  8. Not signing Mathis was a huge mistake…that would’ve allowed Boone to move to RT, therefore helping to solidify the Oline..that’s too bad because that bad decision might cost the niners their season.lvery disappointing..no time for kap

    1. Sean- Baalke has made similar mistakes in the past that have cost this team dearly. Such as not getting another receiver after Crabs was injured early in training camp. Just think what this team might have done if they had more than one receiver to throw to that season. They surely wouldn’t have had to go to play in Seattle in the playoffs. His rational then seems to be the same one he has for the O-line. He was sure the players he had on the team would step up and fill the need. He was counting on wishful potential. Bargain hunting is great for the future but very bad for the present. This team has always just been short of the one position group that would have put them over the top. That’s a shame because it was not like filling those holes was not possible.

      1. I might also add that Boldin fell into his lap. What would have happened if the team was without Boldin that season? You do not go into a season with that many question marks at a position without taking some sort of action.

    2. I am going to disagree about Mathis. He was never going to sign with the Niners, and Denver is a good choice for him.

      1. He may not have been able to sign Mathis, but he needed to try other options as well. He should have gotten better picks in the draft. A sixth and 7th rounder on a weak position group just is not enough. As a serial gambler in past drafts he should have taken a shot at Collins and it would have only cost him a throw away seventh rounder. The one time he should have gambled he didn’t. At this point in time it is difficult to find available O-lineman much as it was to get good WR in 2013 when their own crop failed. Part of being a good GM is to anticipate possible situations. The line was weak and even if Davis doesn’t retire it should have been shored up rather than expecting untested rookies to develop. It now appears that WR is not the only position group Trent has problems evaluating.

        1. Sorry, but Collins was under suspicion for murder, so he was radioactive like DGB and Fclark. Jed insisted on players with no red flags. Granted, Collins was exculpated, but back then, he was not a viable option.

          1. Seb,
            Police made it clear from the outset that Collins was not a suspect and that he was only being brought in for questioning to provide assistance with the case.

            1. Whenever a pregnant GF dies, a boyfriend who previously argued with her is automatically a suspect. He also may have set up the murder and went to the game to establish an alibi. Not saying he did, but the suspicions were there, and he was not going to be drafted by the Niners.

    1. Don’t be surprised if Boone gets moved to Tackle.. Thomas to Left guard.. Pears slides inside to RG

      1. Somebody mentioned earlier that if they wanted Boone at RT they could have done that last year when J. Martin was playing RT. It seems like a good point. There must be some reason why they don’t want to put Boone at RT.

        1. Perhaps it’s because Boone wants to play RT. Remember that was his reason for the hold out. He feels he is being held back financially at guard. It could just be power struggle sort of thing. Baalke doesn’t like to be forced. I mean how do they really know that Boone can not play T if they have never tried him there. He was after all originally a T converted to G. Does it make sense to try everyone and their uncle and not Boone? Or perhaps they are confident that he can and want to do that only as a last resort.

          1. It makes sense if they think he would not be that huge of an upgrade at RT and would open another huge hole at guard.
            One thing is to be an emergency Tackle. Another is to change to tackle as a starter. Than he would need to be much better than Pears and still better enough to justify the downgrade at LG.
            They don’t have a guard good enough to play RG now, imagine if they needed to find another one to play LG.

            It actually makes more sense than trying to be worse at OL just to make a point that they won’t be “forced”.

            And, at least publicly, Boone did not said he wants to play RT.
            http://www.ninersnation.com/2015/8/5/9098923/49ers-press-conference-comedy-highlights-jim-tomsula-alex-boone-darnell-dockett-nick-moody

        2. That would be me.

          Outside of the fanbase, nobody mentioned the possibility of Boone playing RT.
          No even himself.

      2. No NO NO. Pears is an even worse guard than he is a tackle.
        If Pears starts, the Niners may not win a game. Tomsula should stop being stubborn and admit that Pears is a disaster. Just ask a Buffalo fan. He will tell you that Pears destroyed their season last year.

    2. Devey definitely looked better than Silberman at RG. I was disappointed with Thomas today – he had a couple of bad blocks. Which likely means PFF will grade him the highest of our OL! :-P

  9. I think we need to grade the coaching staff and front office this offseason. So far I give them a D. I concede the loss of personnel can’t be laid fully on them but I think they did little to nothing to make up for it. When Mathis became available and A. Davis retired they should have signed him right away. Moved Boone to RT and your line would have been much more solid. Even now not to move Boone over is a mistake. This line is awful and they don’t seem to be able to get a handle on it. Almost as though they made the decision to play Boobe at LG and they will go down with that ship

  10. Blaming Kap for the ineffectiveness of the passing game is idiotic. Nobody could complete passes behind that offensive line. That’s on Baalke. You can’t win games with an offensive line that bad. Period.

    The defense looked very good. Acker and Bowman did great. Peyton no TD’s in a half, one interception. The defense is not going to be a problem.

    1. Its not Baalke. Its the coaching staff putting players in the wrong positions. Pears is not a starter. Forcing Boone to LG is a failed experiment if the right side is that terrible.
      Being stubborn will not help win games. Coaches need to be adaptable and resilient. They need to make the proper adjustments. Denver had 8 sacks in practice. They did not adjust, or change.

    2. The defense looked tired. These guys aren’t conditioned to spend days at that kind of altitude. People need to understand this. What we saw last week was a better representation of what we should expect out of that group. The OL is where the RED FLAGS are raining from the sky!

    3. The defense will be a problem if they are an the field as much as they were in the first half last night. Preseason doesn’t show the effects of being on the field that much.

  11. Staley, Thomas, Martin, Boone and Brown.
    Should have been set ages ago to develop cohesion. Now they will be scrambling with a new lineup.
    Whatever they do, bench Pears or Kaep will be sacked 52 times this year.

    1. seb

      …You can blame the offensive line, the OC, the position of the moon, or anything else….The only way to keep Kaep from getting sacked 52 times is to keep him on the bench. Too many excuses…he was just looking for a soft place to land.

            1. I don’t think people realize that there is now another option to blame everything on with this team. In fact they can bring up the old mantra- It’s Bush’s fault.

            2. Seb

              there are approximately 10-12 ‘savvy’ football fans on this blog…there are at least 100 ‘bloviators’ on here who attempt to learn the ‘jargon’ of the game and become instant experts….You ain’t there yet….Most of them can be recognized by the length of their posts. The shorter the posts…the more savvy.

              1. If Im not there, you are long gone. Still have not been impressed with your snark. Try saying something instead of bloviating.

  12. R.Wilson tonight against SD, 7-15 for 58 yards. No tds.. Man the hawks should bench him and start Tavaris Jackson. The Niners O line got there A$$ kicked by the best duo of sack artist in the NFL tonight. There is no excuses on how bad that unit played. Broncos have a great shot coming out of the AFC.. Keep that in mind.

      1. He will be starting next season. Hawks will be strapped money wise next year. While the Niners will have plenty. OKung could playing for the red and gold next year. Playing RT while they kick A Davis at RG..

        1. I watched the first hour of that game before the Niner game started and Wilson did not look good. He made one play where he backpeddled and with only one defender on him threw the ball only five yards into the ground to avoid a sack that cost them a loss of 17 plus that down. He looks really out of sync this year. Players are not always at there best but compared to the protection Kaep had this game he had all sorts of options.

  13. Top 5 RBs in the NFC:

    1. Adrian Peterson
    2. Marshawn Lynch
    3. DeMarco Murray
    4. Eddie Lacy
    5. Carlos Hyde

    1. Sorry, grant but how is hyde better than matt forte? slow down let him play a full season 1st.

    2. Hyde’s 900 or so yards for the season will be just enough to get him inside the top 10 NFC rushers but he wont be higher then #8 based on rushing yards.

    3. Hyde is not a proven commodity yet.If we are handing out rating based on potential Gurley has to be in there

    4. I was huge on lacy that year and disappointed sf didn’t pick him up. He had some concussions his first year but still would have been a steal

  14. From Barrows:

    “There was a real contrast between Colin Kaepernick and backup Blaine Gabbert. The latter looked comfortable and in control. His passes were accurate and he always made the right decision with the ball. Garbbert finished with a 103.0 passer rating. Kaepernick, meanwhile, completed 2-5 passes for 13 yards (47.9 passer rating) and was sacked twice, once for a safety. (Right tackle Erik Pears was the culprit). That’s largely because the offensive line was so porous. But Kaepernick generally looked uncomfortable in the pocket, and the throws he was able to get off were from his back foot. The 49ers rolled Gabbert out of the pocket to give him more room to the throw and to make his reads more simple. Why they didn’t do that with Kaepernick is curious. Could it be that they want to force him out of his comfort zone? If so — job well done. He was decidedly uncomfortable.”

    Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nfl/san-francisco-49ers/article32787303.html#storylink=cpy

    1. MORE EXCUSES…BLAH. BLAH., BLAH.. Time’s a’wastin boys… you better start looking for a QB TODAY!

        1. htwaits…

          HOF Warren Moon had five Grey Cups (CFL) before he threw an NFL pass; remember,that we found Jeff Garcia in the CFL, Joe Capp had his best Pro years in Canada, we find Arena football stars stocking shelves in a grocery store….Yes, there are many quality ballplayers out there who never got invited to the ‘Combine’ and are only a matchstick difference between them and starters in the NFL. I predict that in the next month, you’re going to meet several of them….just dig a little deeper….

          1. You misunderstand. If our QBs can’t play behind our current OL then Canada may be the only possible place left to look. An invisible cloak may be needed as well. If they can’t see our QB then they might not be able to sack him.

            Advocating to “get rid” of the current guy, with no alternative in sight, is whining. It also doesn’t indicate much understanding of the complex team play that’s needed for any QB to be successful. That includes our “God in Canton” Joe Cool.

            1. I said it before, and I’ll say it again. Fans should thank God they have a quarterback that runs brilliantly behind this makeshift line, and better pray he doesn’t get hurt with only one behind him….

              1. All of these back-up QB lovers are in for a rude awakening if BG is starting games for us.

              2. I’ve lost count of the “preseason QB stars” that we’ve let get away in the York years. Their champions remain behind pleading for their current love even if they can’t tell you who that might be.

            2. htwaits…

              I think that you are missing my point; I think that you believe that because our present QB gets sacked that every QB will get sacked at the same frequency. …that is not true. But, this QB has had his chance, and failed…why wouldn’t you give someone else a chance like BG this last game ? You’re being dogmatic…

              1. BG will get his chance if the offensive coaches, Baalke, and York come to agree with you that Kaepernick has had more than enough chances, and that the OL is solid. Enjoy.

      1. ” Thats largely because the offensive line was so porous” Well duh! Having no pass protection will make anyone look uncomfortable. Nothing like stating the obvious. lets see- One QB doesn’t face Von Miller and Ware and has roll out pass plays called to give him more time- looks comfortable. The other guy is kept in a non- existing pocket and has defenders in his face before he can even get set- so he looks uncomfortable. Barrows ask’s ” Why didn’t they have Kaep roll out on pass plays to by him more time? Well because that was a half time adjustment. Duh! Gabbert didn’t come in till the second half.

        I for one don’t need some sports writer to do my thinking for me or validate my opinions. Besides he didn’t criticize Kaep for being uncomfortable he just stated a fact. And he gave a mitigating circumstance for that fact. Obviously Fan reads into articles what he wants to hear just as he see’s what he wants to hear.

  15. There are 2 major problems. The O line was atrocious. Denver ran around the blockers like they were standing still. My solution? Start Staley, Thomas, Martin, Boone and Brown.
    The other problem was the self inflicted wounds. Way too many penalties. The number was bad, but the type of penalty was disconcerting. Players were not playing smart. Too many dumb penalties. Players not turning around and playing the ball. Late hits. If Boldin wants to be a leader, he needs to wise up and play within the rules. The Niners had another DOG penalty. I blame Kaep, and if he cannot get a play off in time, he needs to sit on the bench and think about it.
    They still were lining up too close. Make it a point to have the players line up at least 1 foot onside. If a player is caught too close, he should be benched until he can prove he can be spatially correct. The offsides penalties decided the outcome of the game because they allowed the Broncos to extend drives. How can the nose guard jump offside when he is looking at the ball in front of him? Dumb penalties allowed the last Bronco drive to score a TD.
    Its simple. Reduce the number of penalties and increase the chances of winning.

  16. For what its worth… Alex Boone declined to speak to reporters after the game – Eric Branch

  17. Blah blah blah nonsense from Grant…Always more of the same…Your condescending, snarky writing is pathetic…Figure it out chump! :)

    1. Why do you trolls spew invective and insults without even bothering to read what he wrote?

  18. The o-line stinks,after the snap kap couldnt even barely get his arm up for a pass. The defense will be exhusted after all the 3 and outs.You cant rate a quarterback if hes running for his life.Also same PROBLEMS FIELD GOALS INSTEAD OF TOUCHDOWNS.Its gonna be a tough year to watch a proud franchise crumble. Thanks JED.

    1. I agree. This may not have cost them the game, but they need to go for it on 4th and short. It would help set an example of the new Niner mindset, and since it was a preseason game, why not?

  19. So very happy I cancelled NFL Sunday Ticket. Was seriously considering paying for NFL Replay but after watching this team play Preseason games on the NFL Channel – won’t bother paying a dime to watch the 49ers.
    Best column yet which duplicates what I am both seeing & predicting is:
    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2544359-murphys-law-has-turned-49ers-into-one-of-nfls-worst-teams
    The Offensive Line at Pass Protection is offensive. As a 49er Faithful since the late 1950’s – this is an historically poor assembly of players.
    Staley is showing age – on a really good team would be moved to the Right side Tackle. Boone as the poorest of the OL last year would be best suited returning to the right side.
    My OL from what I have seen would be Staley LT, Thomas LG, Kilgore Center, Devey RG, Boone RT.
    The Defense look good – not top 10 but pretty good. Hyde is a beast. WR’s don’t have a chance when the QB has ZERO time.
    My Prediction is 3-13 good chance at 2-14.
    Kaepernick traded in the Offseason as he will be blamed for the poor record & since he was Harbaugh’s QB. A QB will be drafted to be the new Savior (Alex Smith) & the 49ers will return to the Post Joe Thomas laughable 49ers struggling to get out of the cellar & be basically the Cleveland / Jacksonville of the West Coast while the Yorks spend the money from a new stadium & suckered season ticket holders.

    1. Hmm. You make sound like they lost 42-3. Actually, they were winning until late in the 4th. The problems are correctable, and Kaep just needs more support and at least a couple more seconds to throw. The O line is a serious problem, but can be corrected by putting the proper players in their best position.

      1. Maybe we should send an email a week ahead to our opponents…”Hey, you guys slow down…our QB needs more time to pass”

        1. OREGAN,
          I know that you have never been a Kap supporter, but as a true football fan who is aware of the nuances game are you serious about putting all this blame on CK?

          I haven’t seen you taking too many shots at the O-line in all your rants.
          Careful bud, you might have some of us thinking that your football acumen is slightly askew by laying on blame on Kap.

          1. That was already confirmed when he said Tebow is a much more accurate passer than Kap.

            1. Grimey

              Why don’t you compare their stats this pre-season in that we don’t have any other comparative stats ?

              1. I don’t have to compare meaningless preseason stats. Here are their career completion percentages.

                47.9, 60.1. Can you guess which percentage belongs to which QB? Do you even know which number is the greater number?

          2. AES

            …I have never wavered from the fact that I am a lifelong SF 49er fan…I have lived through some of the suckiest teams that they have ever fielded as well as the best. Now some of you might think that TV, the internet, and all of the media machinations have changed the game of football, but there are still 22 players allowed on the field at one time, 11 on the offense; 11 on defense. Since the first, it is the job of the defense to thwart the offense. It seems that a team that was in the SB only 4 years ago should not be thwarted ( I love that word) so easily and as often as the 49ers have. We have no passing game with CK at QB, therefore we will have no running game because of stacked boxes. You say that it’s the fault of the OLINE…I say horsefeathers…Kaep telegraphs his snap-count, moves away from his blockers, does’nt see the whole field, can’t (or won’t) go through his progressions. He takes long strides in the pocket, and then takes off running before a pass play can develop. Olinemen cannot defend the entire field. It’s no accident that Blaine Gabbert has more success. BG (somehow) finds time to develop a short passing game, and forces the LB’s out of the box. Perhaps you can explain that…?

            1. OREGON,
              I’ve never questioned your 49ers fandom only your propensity for critiquing CK using uneven balances.
              As a true fan of the 49ers and football (as you call yourself) it’s a little puzzling that you fail to bring up some indicator factors involved with many of Kap’ poor stats.

              I remember a game against the Patriots in New England back in 2012 when we completely dominated Tom Brady in the first half. Even Brady couldn’t do much in the first half of that game because his O-line was getting beat. After halftime adjustments and better O-line play the Patriots got back in the game.
              Point; even great QB’s can have a bad game when their O-line is not winning battles in the trenches.

              As I said in my earlier entry, some people don’t post here for weeks at a time and only come out when it’s convenient to crap on Kap. In fact I think I’ll call them “Kap, Krappers” because that is the only time they show up.

              But seriously, I will withhold any critique of CK until he is completely at fault for all the offensive woes.
              At the moment, any true football fan can see that that isn’t the case.
              Whether it’s Kap or Gabbert at QB, the real issue at the moment is along the offensive line.
              And I’m starting to take Baalke to task for this.

        2. OREGAN,
          I will say this; Personally speaking, I would put a short leash on CK this season. He is entering his 4th season and to me at this stage an NFL starting QB should be showing signs of improvement.
          I believe that the Org has given Kap every opportunity and time to be the unquestioned leader of this offense and he has yet to really define and fully answer the call.

          Hate to say it, but for me Kap is heading into Alex Smith territory with the talk surrounding him is beginning to take on the “how much longer do we wait for him to get it?” tone.
          With Kap, I starting to ask myself if he is a “one hit wonder” because of the SB run of 2012.
          This season may very well answer that question.

          I won’t belittle Kap like some here enjoy doing, but I will point out his flaws if he fails to elevate his game.
          But for now in all fairness, what we’ve seen of Kap (no flow or consistency) can’t be blamed entirely on him.

    2. Maybe they will hire another Stanford coach. That’s worked twice. The only difference is that Eddie was talked out of firing Walsh several times.

    3. I think Kaep would like it if he were traded. It might be in every ones best interests. He would have trade value because not every GM or coach would by into the hype that it was his fault. Baalke will end up with more draft picks to spend on DL and S. Gabbert will step in as Alex 2.0. And the team will start from scratch. With Baalke it’s ” Now is the future” as opposed to the standard ” the Future is now”

      1. I will say this loud and clear. As long as Kaep is the Niner QB, they have a legitimate chance to win the SB every year he plays.
        I have been one of the most ardent fans of Kaep, but I have also can see his faults so I have criticized him too.
        However, I want him to get better and improve, unlike some posters who bash him incessantly with great vigor and unctuous tone.

  20. Grant your grades are hilarious. How you lump a qb’s throws in with the o-line is awesome. How you could sit there with a straight face and give the o-line anything less than an F is pure comedy.

    This is why I said cue the BG and second string fans on. The worst part is. Nobody on here can seriously say ck has improved or gotten worse. Nobody will be able to know of T smith was worth the money. I’m all for getting rid of ck if he stinks. The unknown due to horrible teamates will destroy this franchise for years to come.
    Three things that so far haven’t gotten better since last season
    1 offensive line
    2 3rd and long defensive stands
    3 tackling is an eyesore that use to be a strength on this defense.
    And I guess the ck haters would rather see him stand there and get sacked because him running for his life obviously let’s them see he’s panicking and there is time to throw.
    Again I think JT should have left ck in the game against den second unit. After all we are looking for improvements in his pocket passing and reads right? There would be no “excuses” if he had time to throw. If he shreds backups that would be a good sign, if he looked bad that’s a good sign.
    At this point I’d keep parcel and make him a right guard. Dudes motor doesn’t stop and really could it be any worse? :-/

      1. Tomsula never considered playing Colin in the second half. At least he was positive as he left the field. It’s hard to see that JimT does any thinking during the game. Maybe they will keep trying different OL combination all season so that by the start of the 2016 season, they will know who their best five OL players are.

        1. Sometime there has to be some sort of continuity in respect to the first team offense. They only played one short series the first game against a depleted Houston DL. They played little against Dallas. The played more but totally got manhandled against Denver. The first team has a new offense to work on plus an O-line that has yet to play together once. This reminds me so much of the situation with the WR in the 2013 season except this time it’s with a more important position group- the O-line. As has been stated my a number of posters- You can not get a true evaluation of any of the offensive skill positions with out a decent showing by the O-line. Seems like they will need a lot of regular season games to do that if that is even possible with the play of this line.

          1. You make salient points here Willtalk. In support of your arguement I recall Walsh making his guys run the same plays over and over to learn them in ways that supersede diagram knowledge. The timing and spacing become subliminal; just known.
            It is however important to remember that the coaches are evaluating on the total picture, practice and games for these guys.
            Case in point: Ricky Watters’ rookie year the staff were raving about him, but in the P games rookie Amp Lee looked considerably more effective.
            Endgame: Watters>Lee. Big Time.

  21. Well now wasn’t that a game to watch.

    1. That was about as dismal of a first half that has been played in a while.
    2. The only complaint with CK I saw is he should of felt the pressure before the safety and got rid of the ball.
    3. What a stupid play call on the 2 pt safety.
    4. Penalties – what 12 of them to include a delay of game.
    5. Why is Bush returning punts? Hayne is maybe the best returner the Niners ever had.
    6. O-line, sorry no words to describe that fiasco. How can you even evaluate the offense when the o-line sucked that bad.
    7. Ellington is better then Patton.

    All and all it was a dreadful performance by the Niners and is reflection of the tumultuous off season. Anthony Davis is turning out to be the biggest loss of the past off season. The defense will be shredded if the offense cant get some first downs. Even with the bad performance I still think the Niners are going to be okay. (Broncos were not much better with a more talented team)

    1. Broncos didn’t play Emmamuel Sanders. They pretty much stuck to the run, and the Niners had trouble stopping it, just like last season when they faced Denver.

      1. They did not need to throw. They gained big chunks of yards on the ground. Still, the defense held them to 2 FGs.

  22. We need a hybrid…Kaep’s legs, Gabbert’s throws from the pocket. But we can’t have hybrids, therefore we have really no top flight QB. Kaep is regressing that is clear and that is not the O-linesm issue, Kaep is simply not that good…bottom line. We all might as well face up to it

  23. Well that display certainly got the sideline’s attention. By the end of the game I saw no idiotic smiles and no two step dance moves just hanging heads and battered men. Look in the mirror, straighten those goofy hats and spines, suck it up. You play like you look. Play as if the game means something- you are getting paid. Respect the fan, respect the game, respect yourself. This is a game designed for the best: the strongest, fastest, smartest people. You are these players find a way to compete. This is a reality check 49ers organization. At this point I want mature effort and intelligence from top to bottom. I am a dismayed and disgruntled decades long fan because my once the fabled and revered 49er organization is becoming an ever increasing carnival sideshow. Good Luck 49ers.

  24. Chris Foerster is on the hot seat. Since he is the O line coach, he deserves the criticism for the abysmal performance of the O line. The O line is the weal link, and threatens to scuttle the season if not corrected.
    Tomsula may share the blame if he promised Pears the RT job, but the move of Boone to LG is stupid if the right side is incapable of blocking.
    Foerster may have good run schemes, but his pass protection was worse than pathetic, it was dangerous, and Kaep will be sacked 52 times if they do not change. Kaep should have been sacked more, but his athleticism allowed him to elude the pass rushers and he gained good yards on the ground. Still that is no recipe for success, to have the QB running for his life. Lining up Celek against one of the best pass rushers in the league was a head scratcher. They were sacked 8 times in practice, but did zero changes in the game, and they wonder why to O line failed so miserably.
    Cut the crap, stop being so stubborn, put the players in their right positions, and let Boone out of his doghouse.
    If they have another game like this, Foerster should start working on his resume.

    1. He is on hte hot seat befere even playing one single game?
      Wow!!!

      No wonder why so many people rave about the times without social media…

      1. We saw the Niners play 3 games.
        After giving up 8 sacks in practice, and then allowing the firsts to run over and around the Niners without making a single change, he is definitely is on the hot seat.
        This is the NFL. It stands for Not For Long. He better wise up and get his act together, because he will be on a short leash if his incompetence is demonstrated game after game.

        1. I could’n disagree more.

          This is professional sports.
          Results are the only thing that matters.

          So far in the regular season the team is undefeated and suffered no sacks.
          Pratice and Preseason means nothing regarding job security.

          1. Did I call for him to be fired? I said he was on the hot seat. If he continues to fail miserably, he should expect to be fired. I am not criticizing him in a vaccum. Other posters and many pundits have criticized the O line.You seem to want to defend the indefensible.

            1. I’m not defending him or the OL.
              And I never said you asked him to be fired.

              I’m just saying it is a huge over reaction to say that a first year coach is on the hot seat before they even playing a meaningful game.

              However, let’s just leave it like that.
              I wont be replying to your posts anymore because you clearly don’t take well opinions that differ from yours.

              1. If you cant stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
                BTW You engaged me first, so maybe you should wise up and realize that most posters have learned their lesson and do not try to out talk me since I am verbose.
                They let me have my say, and leave me alone. You, on the other hand, kinda annoy me, so I reserve the right to slap you down whenever you try to sound somewhat intelligent. You fail miserably, but I see you trying so hard.
                I will give you a bit of advice.
                It is far better to keep quiet and only have them think you the fool, than opening your mouth and removing all doubt.

              2. “Ht, did you like my Gunga Din quotes?”

                They fit the period in which they were composed. Much better life guidance comes from that similar area 2,500 years ago.

  25. One thing to consider, the absolute best qb to match with this OL is Kaep. Any other QB will have huge sack totals far above Kaep. That is a perspective, not a solution. This happened last year and this year oline is more scattered. Kaep ran like a madman and still got sacked huge numbers. Now go to Hyde, and possibly nfl DC’s are absolutely loving the niners scenario right now.
    Groan…

    1. No. JH tried to force Kaep to be a pocket passer, and they were so predictable, the opposition knew what play was going to be called just by looking at the formation. The defense could tee off and rush to a spot,hence all the sacks. I want Kaep to be unpredictable and have a mobile pocket.

  26. There will be upwards of 500 good (good because they lasted this long) players released this week-theres gotta be a couple oline guys in there somewhere

  27. Morning after hangover: Yup, in careful and detailed retrospect, they sucked.
    Didn’t block. Didn’t tackle.
    Probably some of its fixable, but we don’t have any evidence for that yet.
    After that 1st half play where Silberman and Pears “matadored” the DT & DE, my wife stood up, grabbed her iPad, said “Good luck”, and went in the other room to read a book on-line.
    It’s like when the chickens fly up into the trees, you don’t have to be a seismologist to know there’s an earthquake coming.
    I’ll be working on my stress reduction techniques to get through this season.

    1. My guess? They needed a steaming cup of joe from Hard Core before the game.
      And Foerster needed a stiff kick in the rear end afterwards.

  28. Unteresting Tuna my wife did same thing but she added”Don’t expect me to watch much Niners this year.I have more productive things to do”. ;(

    1. It’s a social trend! (He said with Gallows Humor).
      By the way, your typo made a new word, a Dubya, if you will. ‘Unteresting’ sounds a bit self-canceling.
      ; >)

    2. My wife came in during the 4th quarter and said- Look, they are winning, are you happy? I just groaned.

  29. “Always feels good to be in the open field,” Kaepernick said. “I feel that’s where I have the ability to make some plays.”

    That’s why he will never be a good passing QB. He feels had can make some plays running and scrambling, as opposed to reading the defense, and shredding them with his passing.

    Told ya he was Michael Vick 2.0.

    1. Fans says ” Told you he was Michael Vick 2.0- Another agenda reveals itself. You want to say I told your so. I guess that opportunity seldom if ever presents itself so it’s understandable for you to reach that desperately.

    1. Yep. Smith was a nice guy though. Kap has tats and is surly when interviewed. I remember fan ranting about how immature Kap was for wearing the Miami hat and his dislike just escalated from there. Both fan and Oregon just have a hate on for this guy that doesn’t allow them to be objective.

      1. The funny thing about that is, as much as they hate Kap, he’s the only player they ever talk about.

        1. Well he is the QB of an organization known throughout NFL history as having good QB’s. Why would we not talk about him? You think he will be the last?

      2. Rocket

        I have attempted to say it a dozen times, I DO NOT HATE,NOR HAVE A HATE FOR KAEP….I Don’t like that he’s the QB of my favorite team…I don’t think that he’s a good QB. Now, you go off about Alex Smith, yes, I like him, but he’s been in KC for almost 3 years. In a strange way, I see Kaep as ‘Harbaugh’s revenge’ for the firing that he knew would be coming.

        1. “I don’t hate him but he’s “Harbaugh’s revenge”‘…ok.

          BTW the term you are looking for there is “prevenge”.

          Prevenge= revenge before the act

        2. Oregon,

          You fit the definition of a hater to a tee. You hate on Kap all the time. You are supporting inferior players like Gabbert and Tebow for goodness sake. Like fan, you have an inability to see the good things Kap has done and obsess over the negative.

          1. I guess I might have to lump Oregon in with Fan then. What Oregon you don’t have a dog to kick either? I guess one had to release ones frustrations in some way.

            1. Amigo. I sincerely disagree with you about both Fan and Oregon. Unless provoked, Fan usually keeps it to his arguement. He has an opinion.
              Oregon, even when provoked, keeps his focus to his opinion.
              I don’t share their opinions to the degree they do (how bad CK is), but I’m not offended by the divergence in their opinions from my own. I recognize the frailty of my own p.o.v., so I forgive all (most) for their trespasses upon my wonderfulness by disagreeing.

              1. Brother Tuna,
                It’s just an opinion, well stated. It’s the labeling or the the psycho-analysis that is bush league.
                The only way this gets settled, for me, is when Kaep plays better. Plays to his potential.

                I want him to prove me wrong.

                If he does. Great. I was too quick to judge.
                If he fails, then it’s on him. Not Harbaugh. Roman. O-line. Him. Blind Guy from Madden 16 commercial.

          2. Rocket

            You do love to categorize people to your own little file…please do me the favor of omitting my posts and myself from your little file…I’ll attempt PREVENGE to you…You are, IMHO a very opionated person who over-values his knowledge. I seriously doubt that you ever played football…taa

            1. I call them as I see them Oregon, and you are a cranky old guy who doesn’t like to be told he’s wrong, even though you give some of the strongest personal opinions of anyone here. Too bad you post on a message board where everyone gives opinions and responds to them. Try starting your own Kap sucks site so you can spew all the nonsense you like with no response.

    2. I think we all would just appreciate a functional QB. Alex Smith was a good system QB.
      We still don’t know after 4 years what Colin Kaepernick is. We know he can run and we know he can bomb it out there but then what?
      Is he that hard to develop an offense around because of the skill set or is this just all part of a learning curve. I guess the answer to that will be week one against the Vikes!

      1. Lol says the guy who gave Alex smith 6 years of leniency and is still calling him a good qb. 1 playoff win, no td’s to a wr last year and still can’t break 5 ypa. Some will never get over the fact he isn’t good enough to win it all. Especially without a dominate defense and running game and kicker who sets records for points scored. Prime is a blantent racist. Do the math as to why he doesn’t like ck.

          1. Wanna find two trolls who disappeared when smith did?
            Look under my Nut*ack!
            Follow my comments and there they are. And your side chick prime brought up blue eyes. Still defending a chief! What a niner fan!!! You’re still pathetic.
            And prime… Once again you talk about how nobody talks football or anything else with others. You obviously can’t see folks running from your posts and basically smacking you around. You’re so desperate you try to get others on your trolling bandwagon. I see it everyday on here. Nobody is taking it. Troll on alone bruh. And put that madden game on. You know where smart people get football knowledge????
            Lmao still laughing at that one.

            And I doubt you two clowns will answer this, but just for kicks if like to know your take on the o-line, d-line, secondary and qb.
            Or if it’s only ck’s fault this team looks bad thus far.

            1. Second verse same as the first. Just your basic rhetoric from you Ninermd that once again is all hot air!
              Do you ever have something new to say? Never. Follow your boys and be done with it. You are a joke on here, plain and simple.

              1. You sure are angry a lot. You can have my space cake. You need it more than I do. Is there a brothel nearby as well? Maybe it’s time to pay a visit….

              2. Its not anger. Its pointing out the dummy in the room for the last 3 years. Dont worry though Peter Eater, you are gaining ground. Keep up the bad work.

              3. One of the top five problems in America, drug abuse. Do your country proud Razor. Ill stick to be angry I guess.

              4. I served my country in the USMC Dr. Prime, but if you continue to lash out to avoid seeing yourself for who you really are, we’ll make an attempt to understand….

              5. Razor, I don’t care what you did, who your are, what you eat or what you do. Just stay off my comments and mind your own business when it comes to me and Ninermd. In fact, include yourself in ignoring me altogether soldier!

              6. I didn’t mean to strike a nerve Dr. Prime, but your reaching out to me with your concern for my health; I just couldn’t help but to return the favor with some good advice….

              7. Oh, you were being facetious. I’ve read about the Tazmanian Devil, but I didn’t know their was a Canadian Devil….

              1. Lol. Prime you’re a peach. Soooo easy. You’re afraid we might agree or you would never call it like it is with the o-line. Because that would mean it’s not all ck’s fault.
                Madden doesn’t teach that? I’ll write EA asap as a favor. For being the “dumbest” on here. You sure do set your bar low following this said “dummy” but never have an answer. Hmmmm think about that. Must bea sad life up North. Razor… Thanks for serving.
                Appreciated

              2. Ive heard all fhe football talk over the years from you and it never adds up or amounts to anything worthy of an intelligent response.
                But Im okay with that because its comical to me to see you being a consistent jester of the blog!

              3. Lol because I don’t get my knowledge from a madden game? Simple questions. I guess they’re to advanced for you. But I can’t get why you would follow a “dummy” around and comment on his posts.. What would that make you?

              4. It makes me entertained to see a clown like you fumble over trying to explain the game of football? Any more questions son?

        1. You are the dumbest guy on the blog, hands down!
          There is never a reason to talk football with you or read your childish comments. Be like your idiot friends and do us all a favour and vanish! Please!

              1. Pot, meet kettle: “peanut gallery” * a person who criticize someone, often by focusing on insignificant details….

          1. And yet you go on with trolling vs about 5 other people on here. Take a guess who should vanish!! Do us a favor and follow your own advise.

      2. Prime- The questions you ask are not unreasonable. The problem as I see them is that there are far to many variables involved to clearly have an answer. And it seems if this line does not improve we will not really get an answer in that respect this season either. More than a lack at any other position the O-line is of utmost importance to the passing game. I remember Jim Plunkett who played behind such a bad line at NE that even when he was traded to the Niners he was still hearing footsteps and played so badly that they out right released him. The Raiders picked him up where he sat for a year and got his chance after the starter broke his leg. The team was 0-3 when he took over. They didn’t lose another game the rest of the season. He went on to lead the team to two Superbowl victories. An offensive line makes all the difference. It did for Plunkett a QB who got cut and riding the bench as a long shot 3rd QB to winning two superbowls. Anyone who doesn’t recognize the importance of pass protection doesn’t know football.

        1. Oh! Plunkett was no game manager who rode the teams defense to the SB. His teams rode his arm.

        2. In New England Plunkett injured his throwing shoulder. I saw him in his first game back and they ran a QB sweep to the right and injured his shoulder again. Not long after that he came to the 49ers with shoulder problems. By the time he got to play with the Raiders he was healthy again, and they were the first good NFL team for him.

  30. I can hear Grant furiously typing away at his next BR piece about how much of an upgrade Hyde is over Gore. Don’t forget the part about Gore’s tired legs.

  31. Either the 49ers play yesterday was a smokescreen to catch their impending opponents off guard when the season starts or what we are seeing is a microcosm of things to come.
    My hope is this team is somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.

    What is a fact is the O-line issues. The 49ers missed on Mathis and even La’el Collins. Either one of these two could have been plug-n-play type players for us.
    I came into this season thinking that Brandon Thomas and Marcus Martin were slam-dunk contenders for a starting spot on the O-line. Now the O-line is in total disarray with no real solution in sight.
    Carlos Hyde will need to become our big producer if we are to keep Kap or Gabbert upright when they step back for a pass.

    With all the talk leading into TC about VD having a comeback year it only made sense to see him getting in some work in the last few preseason games but that has not been the case.
    Passes to RB’s in the flat were also on the menu but that has been lacking as well.

    So I go back to first my line of thinking, either this team is throwing out a calculated smokescreen to catch the opponents off guard or there are some real glaring issues.
    Certainly NOT giving up on my team but I’m not confident in what they’ve put on the field offensively so far.

    At the moment I’m feeling good about our defense. If we stay healthy and not rely on Bowman making every stop the D has a chance to put the offense in good field position to score.
    I also feel good about our Special Teams and look for them to make some big plays this season.
    It will be a very interesting season, and that is the one sure thing I can count on.

    1. Remember that the Baalke-York plan was to replace the 2011-2014 coaching staff with teachers. Enjoy the learning experience for what it is.

    2. AES,

      This is our team. It would be nice to believe they are saving things, putting up a smoke screen etc, but that wasn’t the case last year and it isn’t this year. You can’t play offense if the Oline can’t block consistently. First rule of football. You have to win the line of scrimmage and the rest builds from there. Last night the Niners lost the LOS battle on both sides of the ball.

      It’s easy to see who actually watched the game as opposed to those who looked at a box score on NFL.com. I realize ripping on Kap is a hobby for some, but he has no chance if the pass protection continues to be that poor. It doesn’t matter who we have back there. If the QB has somebody in his face when he takes the last step of his drop, he has no chance. Footwork, release, reading defenses, whatever else you want to harp on, it is not a factor if he doesn’t have a chance to set up and look before somebody is in his face. Gabbert did well, but that is only because he had time. Once the backups came in, the second team Oline held up well and all of a sudden the offense looked like an offense, albeit not a good one, but at least one that could get a pass off. This is not a hard game when it comes to diagnosing issues. The 49ers number one issue is pass protection. They can’t do it. Couldn’t do it last year consistently and are worse this year. If they continue to go with the status quo of Pears and whoever they stick next to him, they are going to struggle. Pears is not a starting caliber player period.

      The next problem is run defense. The Dline was getting blown off the ball all night and we aren’t talking about a great Oline here either. Nobody on the DL stood out in a positive way.

      Pass rush was also a problem. No pressure without the blitz and opposing offenses will eat that up eventually. Lynch was also a non factor against backups which is very concerning.

      It’s not all bad of course. Hyde played well, and as was pointed out, gained yards after contact, usually with a sweet spin move and was our only consistent offensive performer from the first team. Mike Davis continues to impress as well.

      Coverage was better this week, although Manning’s arm looks like it is shot. Acker should be starting in week one based on his play compared to others who have been given a shot.

      Bowman looks great. Not much else to say here. Just an amazing talent who has worked himself back to being a great player again. Maybe not all the way back, but he is already one of the best in the game right now.

      I was troubled by the playcalling while Kap was in as well. Not one moving pocket or 3 step drop to combat the pressure, and a playaction pass from the 3 when everyone could already see the right side of the Oline was overwhelmed. You have to allow the guy to get into some of sort of rhythm. A quick screen, slant, swing, whatever can be completed without dropping too far. It was just ridiculous to keep dropping him back on 5 step drops with the pressure they were under. The one time they did try a screen nobody touched the DT who got in before Hunter had even moved out to get the throw. He was covered anyway, but the execution was so poor it was embarrassing.

      Hate to say it guys, but this is going to be a loooonnnngggg season unless they do a complete 180 at some point.

      1. Just need to fix the O line, and the offense will start humming. Not too worried about the defense since they held PM to 2 FGs, but tackling needs to improve. I am impressed with the DBs, but losing Aldon and Brooks cannot but hurt the pass rush.
        Hyde is bigger and faster than Gore, and can break arm tackles, so the Niners should be able to run the ball, which will relieve the pressure on Kaep. Niners need to improve, but still have talent.
        The big question is- Can the coaches put the right players in the right positions to succeed?

        1. Hey held PM to no td’s for a half. They were on that field for most of it. You seriously don’t think if it was a full game PM drops at least 28 on them in the second half? And that’s with every play and scheme being used. Great they held him for a half, but the season hasn’t started yet. Imagine how tired they would be by game 8 and on the field that long. The D -line isn’t very good right now either.

          1. At the rate PM was getting pummeled, he would not have been able to stand up in the 4th quarter. Bet the Denver fans were squirming over all the hits. PM got knocked over backwards on one play, just before he left.

            1. The only pressure came from one player. They are good and smart enough to stop one player. Although he is very good, double teams would have happened.
              Both the lines were outplayed. This year they don’t have the depth to be on the field that long. Sorry bro I was one of the fans saying 11 wins. But to see the ongoing problems with the o-line and seeing the d-line get pushed around for the first time in years. I can’t blow that smoke. Unless a miracle happens this team is in for along and tough season

              1. I can see the reasons to be skeptical, but I firmly believe that the Niners are poised to make a come back. Guess that is the kind of fan I am. It is no fun to be a doom and gloom Debbie Downer. Glass is not half full, my cup runneth over. Yea, though I walk though the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil.

              2. Hey I’m usually optimistic also. But damn!! This is completely obvious thus far. The worst part of a bad team usually starts with the lines. I can only hope they have a different option for pears

              3. This HAS been the offseason from hell, and the Niners have taken some body blows, but there is talent on this team and Kaep has immense potential.
                Hopefully, the O line will be set and the line will gel. The defensive line looks good to me, so it is the offensive woes that concern me.

      2. “I was troubled by the playcalling while Kap was in as well. Not one moving pocket or 3 step drop to combat the pressure, and a playaction pass from the 3 when everyone could already see the right side of the Oline was overwhelmed. You have to allow the guy to get into some of sort of rhythm. A quick screen, slant, swing, whatever can be completed without dropping too far. It was just ridiculous to keep dropping him back on 5 step drops with the pressure they were under. ”

        Rocket: I’m glad you added this because as I was reading your post, I was going to ask you about this. It’s extremely puzzling why they didn’t try these things. There are things that can be done; maybe they won’t succeed, but at least they could have tried. Tomsula is saying that the picture at OL is becoming clearer and that the starting 5 will be announced next week. I’ll fully admit that I haven’t understood their process for determining the OL. I wasn’t at all convinced that putting Silberman in at RG would work and after the two practices and game it sure looked like a desperation move. I don’t even want to speculate on what he will announce next week. I’ve been concerned all along that while the coaching staff might be great teachers can they assemble the best combination of available personnel and can they gameplan. I still need to wait until the first few season games because they don’t normally gameplan for the preseason (but I’m not sure if they did for the Denver game given that it was the dress rehearsal and they had the benefit of practicing against them).

        1. Rocket is making me nervous. I know its only preseason games but last year he is one of the regulars here that predicted a not so great season even after 3 consecutive NFCC appearances. I did not believe him then but he is hardly wrong with his analysis either. Here is hoping that he will be wrong this time around.

          1. Based on what we have seen in pre-season, I don’t see any reason to think rocket will be proven wrong.

            Unless they fix the issues on the OL and find a way to generate some pass rush I think we should expect a rough season.

          2. Ricardo,

            I really don’t like being a voice of doom but I’m unable to look at this team and see a good season ahead. Like you said, I hope I’m wrong but when you are losing the battle at the LOS it doesn’t bode well for your chances.

            Even though things don’t look great right now, I’m still looking forward to watching them play it out. Welcome back and keep chiming in. We need you around here.

              1. Brent Jones was on KNBR this afternoon and he set his top expectation at 9 and 7 with a bottom of 6 wins. Of course moving toward the bottom range is easier than moving to higher expectations. He also thought the 9 and 7 might get them into the playoffs.

            1. Rocket,
              Believe me, you are far from being the voice of doom around here. In fact, you and a few others are the voice of reason when things are going crazy around here, and please do not stop sharing your thoughts whether it’s positive or negative. It is appreciated not only by me.

              Thanks, Rocket. I’ll be commenting more since the season is about to start and I’m starting to get over from this off-season from hell.

              Go Niners!

      3. rocket,
        Yes, this is our team. And like you I will follow them whether they win or lose, but just like we will point out great plays by players that help the team win, it should be our right as true fans to also point out those areas of deep concern.

        Right now, our deepest concern surrounds the O-line and my anger is directed at Baalke for not having the foresight in the off-season to make the moves to help the team.
        Players like La’el Collins and Mathis were within reach but no effort was made to go after either or them.
        Actually, I believe we had the capacity to sign them both had Baalke been willing to work it out.

        Mathis may have a couple of good years left in his body and Collins may turn out to be the steal of the 2015 draft when all is said and done.
        Baalke whiffed by not giving much attention to the potential O-line issue and I agree with you, it may be a long agonizing season because of it.
        But I still expect good things from our team nonetheless!

        1. Good points AES but why get mad at Baalke? He believes in building through the draft. Except maybe for the WR position. But when you look at the oline, a lot of those guys are high picks. It’s up to the coaches to get them playing as one.
          My problem with all the commentary on CK has always been that he has not made players around him better. Sometimes the great QB’s need to help out their poor oline play by making the right calls and the decisive reads.

          1. Prime,
            Good take on Baalke drafting high O-lineman, but it’s been awhile since that has happened. Anthony Davis (semi-retired) and Mike Iupati (gone) were really the last two.

            Here is a list of offensive lineman Baalke has drafted.
            First Round
            •Anthony Davis – Rutgers – 11th overall (2010)
            •Mike Iupati – Idaho – 17th overall (2010)

            Second Round – None

            Third Round
            •Marcus Martin – USC – 70th overall (2014)
            •Brandon Thomas – Clemson – 100th overall (2014)

            Fourth Round
            •Daniel Kilgore – Appalachian State – 163rd overall (2011)
            •Joe Looney – Wake Forest – 117th overall (2012)

            Fifth Round – None

            Sixth Round
            •Jason Slowey – Western Oregon – 199th overall (2012)

            Seventh Round
            •Mike Person – Montana State – 239th overall (2011)
            •Carter Bykowski – Iowa State – 246th overall (2013)

            Only Davis and Iupati were drafted in the 1st round by Baalke and both are no longer here.
            Marcus Martin and Brandon Thomas could be considered marginal high picks (3rd rd.), but not 1st rd material.

            But of the 9 O-lineman that Baalke has drafted only 4 still remain on the team so maybe it isn’t all that bad.

            My angst with Baalke is that E.Mathis and L.Collins were available and he made no attempt to go after either of them. Prime, you and I know that either of these players would have been an upgrade over what we have now.
            Baalke was asleep at the wheel on this one and it may come back to bite us big time this season because of it.

            1. “My angst with Baalke is that E.Mathis and L.Collins were available and he made no attempt to go after either of them.”

              How do you know he made no attempt?

              1. Scooter,
                Because we had the resources to acquire either of them and he failed to pull the trigger.

                Maybe Mathis’ price range was to high for Baalke, but given the instability of our O-line, finding a happy medium for both parties would have been worth a shot at the very least. If Aldon Smith was still on the team I could understand the financial considerations, but with Aldon’ money left on the table we could have gone after Mathis.

                La’el Collins could have been a possible starter for us when considering what we’ve seen to this point. I know that the Org was scared away (as were 31 other teams) because LC’ name came up in murder probe, but the investigators were clear from the very outset that Collins was never a suspect.

                No, to your point, I don’t know for sure that Baalke didn’t make an attempt to sign either of these players, but I do know we had the resources to do so and Baalke didn’t (for lack of a more diplomatic term) aggressively pursue them.
                It’s all water under the bridge now, but I still can’t help but to blame Baalke for his lack of aggressiveness.

              2. If Mathis wants to play for a contender (which he said he does) then the 49ers were never likely to be an option for him.

                And Baalke was in very good company in not drafting Collins. All 32 GMs passed on him. Collins’ agent said almost every team was interested in him as an UDFA, but he only wanted to play for the Cowboys.

                We have no idea how aggressively Baalke went after these players. It isn’t a one way street though, both parties have to want to work together. Sounds to me like neither Mathis or Collins were that interested in the 49ers. And while we can moan about how Baalke should have drafted Collins, when you think that every team passed on him that should be all you need to know about how concerned teams were about the incident. It wasn’t until after the draft that it became known he was innocent.

              3. Scooter-As was stated with Mathis he may never have signed, but it was reported the teams that had interest and sent out feelers and the Niner’s were not among them. With Collins- As I previously stated most teams do not like to take risks so it is not a surprise that they didn’t draft him. However this is the type of player that Trent usually goes after. It was not necessary to spend a high pick on him. All it would have required was a seventh rounder and the Niners had two one of which was spent on Brown.

                I really feel that Baalke did not make an effort to strengthen the O-line because he did not recognize how weak it was. Much like he didn’t with the WR corps in 2013. By the time they did it was too late to get anyone of much talent. He supposed that Martin and Thomas would develop. They were his choices to fill those positions so he supposed that need was covered. Much like he expected AJ to develop in 2013. His problem is he develops preconceptions about certain players and then assumes they will develop into the players he imagined them to be. To leave that much to faith in key position groups is asking for trouble. He did that with the WR in 2013 and he has repeated that mistake this season with the O-line. It is not just missing on Mathis and Collins because there were surely other options available at one time. The problem is not being able to see what others were able to see. I have said that Tomsula also made a comment in respect to drafting DE instead of OL right after the first day. It was a subtle statement which he was quick to gloss over but it never the less showed what he felt. It seems that I am always on Baalkes’ case but early on I have seen behavioral patterns that didn’t bode well for someone in his position. These patterns or blind spots are becoming more and more evident to others as well. I still didn’t think things would deteriorate quite this quickly.

              4. It was reported that the Dolphins were trying to sign him early on in the piece, and that he had a visit with the Seahawks. Then he signed with Denver. Do you think those three teams are the only ones that were interested? The only ones that put feelers out?

                According to Mathis’ agent that wasn’t the case back in June. According to a PFF article at the time:

                “Rosenhaus said that “at least half a dozen” teams have already reached out to him about Mathis’s services and that they would take their time weighing their options.”

                Who were those half a dozen teams? Do you know?

                As to the draft, it is worth keeping in mind that Anthony Davis was a 49er at that time. If he was at RT would we be having this conversation? Would we be anywhere near as concerned with the play of the OL? Doubtful. Davis did the 49ers a real disservice by waiting until after the draft to announce he was sitting out the year.

              5. “And while we can moan about how Baalke should have drafted Collins, when you think that every team passed on him that should be all you need to know about how concerned teams were about the incident. It wasn’t until after the draft that it became known he was innocent.”
                ~ Scooter

                Yes, it wasn’t until after the draft that we knew that Collins was innocent (although police were careful to point out that he was never a suspect), but it was in the 2014 season with Iupati and Davis still in the line-up that we began to see a deterioration along the O-line.
                Putting Mathis and Collins aside, Baalke had to know that he could not completely put his entire confidence in Brandon Thomas as Iupati’ heir-apparent especially coming off an injury. Martin has yet to establish himself to the point that we want Kilgore back at Center.

                Our 1st pick (Armstead) could become a very good player down the road, but it was evident from last year’s play along the O-line that a stud O-lineman was of greater importance than a defensive player.

                Yes, my angst is pointed at Baalke for not putting any urgency on our the need along our O-line.

    1. Potential cut list;

      Patrick Miller
      Mario Hull
      Jermaine Whitehead
      Mylan Hicks
      Steve Beauharnais
      Garrison Smith
      Nigel King
      Xavier Grimble
      Kendall Gaskins
      Shawn Lemon
      Issac Blakeney
      Corey Acosta

      Convert to reserve status: Smelter/Kilgore

      1. I’m taking Acosta off that list and replacing him with Desmond Bishop.

        It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Acosta. If he does survive the first round of cuts you can’t imagine they’re going to use a p/s spot for a kicker so does that open up the possibility of them releasing Dawson and keeping Acosta?

        1. C4C

          I think that you are correct in taking Acosta off your list and replacing him with Dawson who is long-in-the-tooth, and expensive. Also Acosta can also punt in case Pinion fails.

          1. C4C…

            I hope that I wasn’t the voodoo to curse Acosta….I thought it was good thinking about keeping him…What do I know ?

            1. I doubt it. :)

              Potential cut list;

              Patrick Miller
              Mario Hull
              Jermaine Whitehead
              Mylan Hicks
              Steve Beauharnais
              Garrison Smith
              Nigel King
              Xavier Grimble
              Kendall Gaskins
              Shawn Lemon
              Issac Blakeney
              Desmond Bishop giving myself partial credit on the Bishop Change, original choice was cut and second choice was put on I/R

              Convert to reserve status: Smelter/Kilgore

              8/14 isn’t great. I definitely didn’t think they would cut Millard and I wasn’t expecting the Dres Anderson IR designation. Will be interesting to see if anyone tries to sign Okoye. I had him as a second round cut.

      2. I wonder if they will move Kilgore to reserve status. I wouldn’t be surprised given how the OL is performing if they keep him on the 53 so he can play as soon as he’s fit enough.

        1. Maybe Scooter I guess well see how close to being back the team sees him at.

        2. I would be surprised given the approach Tomsula has taken with injured players. Besides, it now looks as though he probably won’t be ready to go until mid-season….

            1. I expect that’s a worse case scenario Scooter, but I would count on anything sooner than game 6….

              1. There’s a part of me deep down inside that wants to believe they have something up their sleeves, but not sure this staff is that cunning….

              2. I think the fact we have seen so many OL combinations and that Jimmy T is taking this long to name the starting OL is a clear indication things are as bad as they appear on that front.

                I really do hope they just bite the bullet with Pears and admit he’s not up to it. I’d rather have a rookie with promise out there struggling but learning than old vet out there struggling with no hope of getting better.

              3. Scooter,

                I’m with you on Pears. If we are going to have a pylon at RT, I’d rather see a young one that can develop.

              4. Well, I´ll have to disagree with the three of you.

                I don´t think we saw that many combinations on the OL.
                Staley, Boone and Pears were always the first team.
                At Center they just used Martin and Looney. Possibly because they want to have one of them ready as a backup in case of injury.

                I’d say they only seem to be “desperate” at RG. And considering they traded for Devey might mean they don´t have a answer at all for the position.

                As for Pears at RT, I´d say I´m most confortable with that.
                It would be great if Antohony Davis were still the starter as Pears would be a more than capable backup. And I’m sure that was the plan, so no way to fault Baalke for it here.

                But even so, Pears will be light years better than we had last year at RT. RG though worries me a lot.

      3. I guess we have our answer about Kilgores readiness, he was put on the reserve PUP list today.

  32. Well, unlike last year, there doesn’t seem to be any concern about BG replacing Kap if he should go down. I guess that’s a positive.

  33. I rewatched the first half and focused on DL guys with their hands in the dirt. Starting
    base combination was as expected – Dorsey, Williams, Dial. But on pass package plays it
    was TJE and Dockett. Later on the combination was a fair amount of Armstead and Carradine on package plays and TJE, Williams and Dial in base.

    Looked to me like TJE got a lot of work in the first half as did Armstead. It would appear
    that the team is looking to shop TJE. There seemed to be a fair number of combinations of players which besides just for evaluation may have been due to the DL being gassed after playing in two days of practice and a game in thin air.

    1. TJE and Dockett were the DTs on a lot of the good runs by Denver. I don’t think TJE did himself any favours of making the roster.

      I saw each of Dial, Armstead and Carradine also get themselves sealed off to allow a big running lane too. Not good.

      1. Believe it or not, Scooter, TJE had the highest overall DL rating from PFF. The rating was a +1.1 broken down as -0.8 for run defense, 1.8 for pass rush and 0.1 for penalty.

        1. Once again, PFF and I are seeing different things… :-P

          In saying that, I didn’t see anything glaringly wrong TJE did other than be on the field when some of those big runs were happening.

          1. Tell me about it Scooter.

            I rewatched all the offensive snaps from the first half.
            There’s no way Pears was that bad.

            He actually did a good job and I came away very encouraged by what I saw (not what I expected before rewatching the plays).

            Pears did an adequate-to-above-average job in the run game.
            And in pass protection he was surprisingly efficient.
            His only glaring mistake was the safety (a costly one, for sure).

            Other than that he just was bull rushed in one snap that resulted in 12-man on the field by Denver, and in that Kap’s big run he could have done a better job, but he held the pocket long enough for Kap to take off.

            All in all, it was not bad at all. Especially considering that Denver’s pass rush is one of the best in the league.

            It seems that Staley, Boone and Pears are set in stone.
            Martin back as center also seems to be the best option until Kilgore can return.

            The problem remains the RG.
            It’s surprising that they can’t find their man between Brandon Thomas or Looney.
            Silberman clearly is not ready.

            But I gotta say that after reviewing the game I’m not as worried as I was last night.

            1. Hmm. I saw Bronco defenders run around Pears like he was standing still. Maybe you were watching a different game.

              1. Did you re-watch the game?

                If so, tell me one time it happened other than the safety.
                I guarantee you will not find it.
                Like I said, he could have done a little better ont that Kap’s run. But that’s about it.

              2. Gee, if i was as blind as you are, I would not walk on a freeway. Some other poster had Pears whiff 4 out 9 times.
                Sounds like you do not think allowing a safety is no big deal.

              3. Calling me blind doesn’t make your argument right.

                I asked if you re-watched the plays and by your answer I’m guessing no.
                You definitely should. It doesn’t take that long.
                I’d like to hear a different point of view about some of the plays and be told exactly where Pears was so bad.

                I’m always open to learn something new.
                But just mentioning that another poster had him whiff 4 out 9 times means nothing to me.

                I specifically asked for you to point out ONE single play other than the safety where a “Broncos defender run around Pears like he was standing still”, like you said.

                I’m sure you will not find out.
                So I’ll keep basing my opinions on what I saw “on tape”.

              4. I did not bother recording a meaningless preseason game. I do not need to restudy Pears and his inability to be a decent blocker.
                many other posters and pundits have criticized Pears, but you of all the hundreds of posts are the only one defending him.
                Thousand others who agree with me > You

  34. Kaepernick earned a minus-2.8 grade from Pro Football Focus Saturday night. Second-worst grade on the offense.

    1. And that’s why those stats are meaningless. Watch the game again and count how many seconds he has before the pressure is in his face. My average guess was around 2 seconds. 4 of his passes were throw always from broken plays with pressure. When he had little time he went 1-2

      1. Maybe he’s dating all the girlfriends of the right side of the O-Line and they’re made at him.
        Maybe he really is blind like he is in the Madden commercial, and can’t see a receiver when they’re open.
        Maybe he’s just not that good.

      2. It’s Alex fault. He took away with him the great oline when he left

        You need to hate on him more. Dummy

        1. And it’s the we’d fault in KC they had no touchdowns huh dummy.
          Same ol pathetic one lame and his girlfriend prime. It’s killing you your blue eyed hero is gone. And that makes me happy. Thanks for the laughs, but that’s what clowns are supposed to generate.

          And fan…. You can’t be this stupid. Either you are or you just don’t watch the actual games.

              1. Md you are so dumb that you need explanation of what you are being dumb about.

                Good God man, stop while you are 100 miles behind!

  35. I’d be interested to know why Brandon Thomas isn’t playing with the first string after the positive reviews coming from the practice field at 4949…. Seems to hold his own in the games as well.

    Anyway, I wouldn’t mind seeing the line like this since it can’t get much worse:

    Staley|Thomas|Martin|Devey|Boone

  36. Joe Staley overall PFF grade was -2.6 with a -2.8 on the run block and 0.1 on pass blocking. Boone was +1.6. MM had a 0.6 overall. Silberman was -2.1 and Brandon Thomas rated out at +0.3 overall.

    Looney had a -2.8 overall broken down as -0.2 in pass blocking and -2.6 in run blocking.
    Pears and Silberman both had -1.9 scores on pass blocking.

    1. As I stated above, I do not agree with that grade for Pears.

      Unless they penalize too much for the safety.
      No way Pears and Silberman should have the same pass blocking grade.

      Other than the safety Pears did a very good job (seriously).
      Silberman, on the other hand, was awful.

      1. I’ll have to go back and watch it. On first watch I thought Pears was pretty ordinary for the most part, but I wasn’t paying particularly close attention to him. Glad to hear someone paying closer attention than I thinks differently.

        1. when they rated the O-line. How much of that rating came against the Denver starters and how much against the reserves mimus Ware and Miller?

        2. Let me know what you think of him after re-watching it, Scooter.
          Would like to know your thoughts on that.

          Just to be clear, I’m by no means saying he was great.
          But I do think he did a good enough job at RT against a very good pass rush.
          And that’s all we could ask for from him (and more than I expected).

          1. Allan and Scooter:

            I decided to go back and watch each of the 23 plays that Pears played. There were two plays where there was an offensive penalty before or just after the ball was snapped and didn’t result in an evaluation. Of the 21 plays I looked at Pears did an OK or good job in each of the run blocking plays. I counted nine pass plays and he did an OK to good job on seven. The big blotch of course is the safety (1st play of the third possession) where his man ran around him to make the play. The other bad pass protection play occurred on the 5th play of the 4th possession. He was indecisive and didn’t wind up actually putting a hat on anyone. Kap was forced to throw the ball away.

            I was one of the first people in tise thread to call for his replacement by Brown. After a more thorough review, however, I’m going to have to take that back. Yeah, the safety was bad, no doubt. But it is the preseason and he did an OK to good job on 19 out of 21 plays that were not stopped by a penalty prior to any meaningful blocking occurring.

            I’m curious what your opinion is now Scooter, since you also called for Pears to be replaced by Brown.

            1. One caveat, of course. I obviously don’t know what his assignments were, so he might have made mistakes on these. Still, I now suspect he will be the starting right tackle.

              1. Yes, you’re right. He had a false start in the second series. Joe Staley had a holding penalty called against him during that same series.

              2. Setting up a nice Reggie Bush run on 3rd and 22. I wanted them to go for it on 4th down there.

              3. Grimey:

                Do you have the means to review Pear’s plays? If so, I’d be curious to know what you thought.

              4. He was OK. Nothing special but really only had those 2 or 3 negative plays. The problem is if each of the O linemen has 2 or 3 negative plays that really puts the offense in a bind. Fortunately it’s still preseason, so in addition to over reactions, there’s time to fix things.

              5. I did re-watch the game last night, specifically to watch the difference between the 1st and 2nd team offense.

            2. Thanks cubus. I was going to rewatch it last night, but just couldn’t muster the courage. :-P As often happens, sounds like the pre-defined narrative that Pears sucks clouded people’s views on how he played (mine included).

              My belief is so long as they get one of those positions sorted (RG or RT) with a guy that is consistently sound, the other position will look a lot better.

              1. Well, if you get a chance I’d appreciate hearing your review. I’ve only just started trying to do these types of evaluations, so it’s always nice to compare one’s first attempts with those who are more experienced.

              2. Yeah, but it’s like having J.Mart at RT last year; barely competent pass pro, but SF couldn’t run right when he was in there. I do remember that Pears was hired as a swing backup, but we’ve been there. If RG is shaky too…….

              3. Brotha,

                I fell that Pears is a sizable improvement over J. Martin (which is not saying much).

                They didn’t seem to have a problem running to the right against Denver (although they clearly favored the left side).

                But I totally agree that if the RG is shaky it doesn´t matter if Pears is good enough, because he won’t be able to compensate bad play right next to him (we only can hope he hold his own, nothing more than that).

                Martin and Silberman were terrible at RG, so right now our only hope to have a decent OL comes down to Devey or Thomas.

              4. Yes, I agree that Pears did an adequate job. It’s just that it wasn’t as bad as most of us thought at first. I certainly did not mean to imply that he is a great right tackle. But, IMO, he’s the best starter we have right now. I would like to see Trent Brown get more action though, but I’m pretty sure they intend to start Pears at RT.

              5. Looks like my post immediately above went to the wrong spot. My review was a fly-by looking only at Pears and more or less the result of the play. RG is the bigger problem, but if Pears did OK against Denver, he should be able to do well enough against other less talented teams. We’ll see how it goes.

            3. Cubus,

              Thanks for your thoughts and really appreciated that you took your time to review the plays before “judging” my post.

              I know the play you are referencing to.
              He defintely could have played that snap better but what really broke the play down was that Silberman got beaten instantanealy by #97.
              Pears then got indecisive and neither tried to engage #48 (apparently his assignement) nor helped contain #97.

              Even so, it didn’t seem to matter because he certainly would not be able to engage both and one would break free toward Kap.

              I guess we could fault Pears here, but to me that play was on Silberman. If he didn’t get beat the pocket would have held long enough.

              On the other hand, although it did not count due to a Denver’s penalty, the fourth play of the next series he had another bad play when he was bull rushed into Kap.

              Even if you consider all three plays (safety plus those two) as bad plays in pass pro, he had an adequate night.

              Nowhere near the disaster it seemed at first glance.

              Still worried about the RG, though.

      2. One pundit wrote that the Niner O line was a hot mess, and that Silberman and Pears were beyond atrocious.
        Quit defending the indefensible. Your football acumen is nil if you continue.

        1. Like I said, never mind.
          Just ignore my posts because you are not adding much (any) knowledge to me.
          You can keep forming your opinion based on pundits.

    2. This OL makes me long for the Chilo Rachel era. Hmmm, what’s he doing these days? He’s be an upgrade over a couple of the current projected starters (said with tongue firmly in cheek)

  37. The game went as expected. Sputtering offense. Pretty good defense considering the opponent. Lost by close game. Bowman pleasant surprise.

    So why am I so sour?

    – Pressure came mainly from blitzing. Rushing four did very little. The loss of Brooks will hurt.

    – The right side of the line can’t pass protect. I hope Tomsula has a clearer idea of the starting O-line than I do.

    – Kaepernick’s overall performance is hard to asses because the pass pro was so bad.

    But we can asses Colin’s behavior under pressure. I didn’t see any improvement. I don’t see the ball coming out quickly. His sense of when to stay/flee the pocket was just like last year.

    On the bright side, I think Chryst is saving designed roll outs and screens for Minnesota. Hyde looks really good. The DBs have alot of versatility and speed.

  38. When not under pressure this season, Colin Kaepernick is 4-of-7 for 26 yards and a passer rating of 65.2, per PFF.

    1. In total he’s 5 for 13 with 3 sacks so that means half the time he drops back to pass he’s going to face pressure. And the issue with the pressure that he sees it too often he barely has time to set his feet before he has a defender on top of him.

      Kap can’t trust his pass protection to hold up so it’s no wonder he isn’t great when there isn’t pressure because every time he drops back to pass he has to figure there is a good chance that there will be pressure.

      There are plenty of fair criticisms of Kap but it’s hard for me to really lay into him this preseason when the pass protection has been so atrocious and while elite QBs would struggle less under the circumstances every QB is going to have a tough time in those conditions.

  39. Watching the 49ers on Hard Knocks in 2016 will be fun. Tomsula won’t have to worry about swearing on HBO.

    On a side note: my phone wants to auto correct tomsula to tonsils.

    1. Watching Baalke squirm will be enjoyable as well. He and Jed don’t want this team on TV.

  40. To quote the best in the game:

    “R-E-L-A-X … Relax”

    And for a little perspective, from the best regular season QB ever (but pathetic playoff loser):

    “Would we like to be a finely tuned machine going into Week 1? Sure,” Manning said, via ESPN.com. “With some newness, some different players and some different things that we’re doing, that’s what we’re working toward. … Not to make excuses you can still win games as you’re kind of finding your identity.”

    So, everyone, Kaep’s Niners lost by a point to Manning’s Broncos. Both are dealing with new offensive systems, coaches, and players. The sky is NOT falling.

    Biggest problems: no OLB monsters and a strange reluctance to just set the OL at Staley-Thomas-Looney-Martin-Boone.

    1. I have a suspicion Boone is not all that great at RT. However, there were no reports to have him there all camp or mini camp. So hard to back up that statement. I suspect the coaches are hiding a lot of what they will be doing this year in pass pro: TE, RB chip and slip into flat. Take advantage of aggressive DE with draw or read-options and roll outs away.

              1. Your mouth continues to be a disability. I’ll ask you again, (speaking slower this time)Are you on CPP?

              2. CPP is for people who have retired. It’s our form of pension from the government you dumb Yankee!

              3. lol the troll is on a roll. Brings nothing to this site but 5th grade insults and his top of the line madden knowledge.

            1. Lol a military order from a Canadian. Now that’s the joke of the day. Standing O prime. Well done

        1. Not this year. But he was the swing tackle for awhile. The problem is we held out last year, then was … so so at RG. Martin was worse at RT but they never moved him to see how that would be played.

          For us to make a run at the playoffs we need 3 of 4 of these groups to perform above expectations: OL, QB, DEF Pass Rush and special teams. Someone has to emerge as a diamond in the rough. CK will bring his A or B game but we need some playmakers on O, D or ST.

  41. To borrow a quip from John McKay from bygone years (and sub OL for team):
    >Coach, any comment on the OL’s execution?
    >> I’m in favor of it.

  42. With an offense that appears to have a fairly reliable running game, even if the QB only connects with a little over half his passes and can average around 10-12 yards a completion the 49ers should be capable of generating some good drives and enough points to be competitive (so long as the D plays well).

    But that only works if they cut out the negative yard plays. Penalties and sacks. Those will completely neutralise this offense. They aren’t good enough at this point to overcome those negative plays consistently to keep drives alive, and there have been way too many of them from the first team unit so far in preseason. I’m not saying anything ground-breaking here, but the issues on the OL are serious and will derail this team if they don’t get it sorted.

    1. Scooter says “With an offense that appears to have a fairly reliable running game, even if the QB only connects with a little over half his passes and can average around 10-12 yards a completion the 49ers should be capable of generating some good drives and enough points to be competitive (so long as the D plays well).
      This is what plagued the 49ers in years past. Relying on the defense to be all world and an offense thats one dimensional because the passing game lacks a trigger man with precision and accuracy. Terrible formula to rely on Scooter.

      1. Its not great, no arguments here. But at least it can be competitive so long as the OL does its job. At the moment I’m not sure they’ll even be competitive if the OL keeps playing the way it has done.

        Thing is, if the OL does start to play well and can keep pressure off Kaep (mostly), then he’ll have the time to start making bigger plays in the passing game, get some chunk plays. If they can do that this offense could be pretty decent. Big if on the OL atm though.

        1. Good point Scooter but at some point the QB needs to carry the load. Regardless of the oline play, the ball is in his hands and asking him to complete at least 50% of his passes gets you not very far.
          Teams are gonna force him to be a pocket passer. He will have to complete more than half his throws with pressure. Otherwise Chyrst is gonna have to call 16 perfect games.

          1. Lol this is still the same clown SCREAMING A Smith had no time to throw. I swear his act never gets old. But then again how can it with two faces. Keep it fresh slime! Smh

        2. Scooter…

          One of the plagues that the niners suffer from, is starting the game positively…you mentioned penalties and sacks, those are EXTREMELY important. If you start the game with 3-and-outs, opponents will know your vulnerabilities, and will exploit them. This happened against Denver, and then they picked the weakest part of our line (the right side ) and blitzed the poop out of it. With three-step and five-step drops, Hard counts, and roll-outs,the QB can combat this, and take the pressure off his Oline. As a former Defensive player, I was taught to demoralize the Oline by sending ‘Red Dog’ until you either ‘broke’ them, or got beaten by them. There’s more psychology in the line play than anywhere else on the field…NO MISTAKES!

      2. Interesting that the Hawks and Cards are suffering from bad OL play and offense as well (haven’t paid much attention to the lowly Rams)… At least there’s hope.

    2. Your analysis sounds like the Nolan, Singletary, and Harbaugh years. Harbaugh had more room for error but not in 2014.

  43. Hatfields and McCoys arguing and hurling insults about quarterbacks; it’s like old times on here!
    Well I say enough with lackluster QB play, let’s get that new guy, Tittle, in there and see what he can do!
    Whoops, I guess I back-paged a bit too far in the archive……?.

    1. Seriously, I can’t believe I let myself get drawn in to this nonsense. I was doing such a good job of staying above the fray, but absolute nonsense drives me crazy.

      The parts of the face wordplay exchange was fun though.

      1. I’m pretty sure that could have really begun to annoy some folks if we’d carried it much further. Seb and I had previously gone off road with the Steinbeck nonsense.
        Remember the two old guys in the theater balcony from The Muppets who were loving their own wise cracks? Yup, that’s pretty much what I’ve sunk to.

        1. Those guys always cracked me up. I guess that’s why I prefer Steinbeck puns to Tebow’s passing stats.

  44. Colin Kaepernick: 2 for 5 (13 yards total)
    Alex Smith: 16 for 18 (171 yards )
    Alex = two TDs. Colin = zero / goose egg
    Alex: no sacks, no picks.
    Colin Sack’Npick : two QB sacks and a fumble
    Total yardage: KC 432 (25 first downs)
    San Francisco = 237 yards (11 first downs).

    Advice to Kaep: Buy a suit & tie (ditch the headphones, fella)

  45. Colin Kaepernick: 2 for 5 (13 yards total)
    Alex Smith: 16 for 18 (171 yards )
    Alex = two TDs. Colin = zero / goose egg
    Alex: no sacks, no picks.
    Colin Sack’Npick : two QB sacks and a fumble
    Total yardage: KC 432 (25 first downs)
    San Francisco = 237 yards (11 first downs).

    Advice to Kaep: Buy a suit & tie (ditch the headphones, fella)
    Reply

    1. So why aren’t you a devout Chiefs fan? If your favorite player is in Kansas City, go follow him already.

  46. Small steps my friends small steps. The only direction to go from here is up, up, up and away. P.S. I would like to see more jump passes from under center. I hear Kaepernick can jump really high.

    1. Yeah pretty good thanks. It was my four year old racing yesterday (the one in my avatar), and she came away with third but was in a photo for second and only a neck behind the winner.

      Only her fourth race, and she’s still very green and making a lot of mistakes, but so far has a win and two thirds, so she’s doing pretty well. :-)

  47. Somethings I am mulling over: I wonder if this is why Harbaugh hid Kapernick on the bench during all of last years exhibition games? I do not buy in to the “possible injury” excuse. Does Kurt Warner and EXOS have any responsibility in this matter? Seems like a lot of unknowns. I guess I will wait for the season ending post-mortem.

    1. Curious to see how this o-line shakes out. It’s also somewhat promising to see that there is stuff that they’re holding back. I’m not optimistic though, at this point.

      1. Right now, it’s an offensive line that is thankful Colin Kaepernick is a brilliant runner….

    2. I think they might also be holding back bootleg options, moving pockets, screens, Vernon, Pinion punting long.

              1. Its better than talking about the O line.
                BTW what is your prognostication for the new O line?

              2. I think the O line we see in week 1 won’t be the O line we see in week 16, but outside of RG, not much will change between now and week 1.

              3. Devey played center for NE in the preseason last year. I wonder if he could be in the mix…

      1. Pinion’s powerfully prodigious punts will put purple people eaters players in field position purgatory in the primary game of 2015.

      1. Good observation. The wild card is that Seattle’s OL coach has gotten a lot out of quite variable talent. That will keep the NFC West competitive, but not necessarily dominant.

  48. His life is like a folklore legend
    Why you so stiff? You need to smoke more brethren
    Instead of tryin to riff with the broke war veteran
    Spliff made him swore he saw heaven he was seven
    Yup. You know it. Growin up too fast.
    Showin up to class with Moet in a flask
    He asked the teacher if he leave would he pass
    His girl is home alone and he tryin to get the ___
    If you wanna sip get a paper water fountain glass
    How I’m supposed to know where your mouth been last?
    Hands so fast he could outspin the flash
    Known to smoke a whole mountain of hash to the ash
    Boom bash. leave the room with the stash
    Assume it’s in a smash doom get the cash

    1. Unless what Tomsula says or thinks doesn’t have that much impact on the final roster. I remember things of that sort in past years as well.

    1. I almost agree with that 53. Despite the talk of the team potentially keeping 7 DL I think they will go with just 6.

      The only area I disagree is on Hunter. I don’t think he’ll be kept. I think TJE and Hunter were given early opportunities against the Broncos with an eye to shipping them off before roster cut downs. I think a 9th LB will be kept (likely Bellore, but perhaps Rush if they are really worried with the pass rush).

            1. He hasn’t had an opportunity to show anything all training camp, and he’s still not fit. He was a late signing vet pick up as an insurance policy, so its not as though they have committed to him. And come the final preseason game, they will want as many guys on the roster that are fit to play so they don’t need to play the starters.

              I think they’ll be happy enough to go with Bowman, Wilhoite and Moody, with Skov as the emergency 4th ILB. Wheeler isn’t a guy that is likely to be in high demand as a street FA, so if there is an injury they can still potentially pick him back up down the track.

          1. I thought Wheeler had a good chance of sticking but it’s hard to impress the coaches standing on the sideline hurt. I’m not sure if he goes in the first round or not but at this point I too am expecting him to be released.

            1. Another in a long line of muscle strains. Could be a case where Tomsula knows what he has there, and he should be close to returning….

        1. I do not think Wheeler will make it because Hayne will take a gunner spot.
          I thought Bishop would take the last LB spot , but he hurt his hand, so I think Skov is more valuable than Bellore because he was calling the plays, and he can contribute on ST.

    2. Grant, thanks for the roster mock. Always a thankless task.

      – Unless there’s a trade, I think the 49ers might retain one of Purcell, Okoye, TJE to make it 7 D-linemen.

      – Nine O-linemen is alot knowing Kilgore is due to return.

      – I like Bellore, but I agree he could be a roster math casualty.

      – Agree about Hunter. Many here say he’s good as gone, but management loves him. Its also important to under-react to preseason games… good play and bad.

      – With Brooks possibly gone, 4 OLBs is a bit risky. The team only had 3 in 2011. Same with MLBs because of the injury situation.

      1. Okoye didn’t receive much if any playing time this last game, so they may be trying to lower his profile to sneak him on the PS. Would be interesting if the Niner’s lose him on waivers and he turns out to be better than Armstead. Sort of reminds me of when they cut Edd McCafferdy to free up a few bucks for JJStokes.

        1. I’ve been watching preseason on internet streams. Not the best resolution, so it was sometimes difficult to tell Okoye and Armstead apart. (Arik usually plays the left spot)

    3. I think Silberman is a safe cut to be placed on the PS, so I would add Busta Anderson.
      Hunter did not impress so Davis out competed him for the last RB spot, and I would add Purcell or TJE instead of Hunter.. Otherwise, I think it is a realistic list

    4. Thanks Grant, good write-up.

      I actually agree with you on your statement about Gabbert over Kaepernick, however, though JT isn’t “wedded” to Kap, I would argue that Baalke may be. He did give him that big contract. I think it would take a lot for Kap to come off the field. I think they’ll give him a lot of chances, but we will see where we’re at half way through the season. Depending on the status of the team, that could be where we see Blaine come in.

      I think JT’s decision to keep Gabbert as our back-up is looking very good now, don’t you think? He’s really seems to be developing into that Alex Smith type game manager. Get the ball out quick to your TEs and RBs and let them make a play. Exactly what you want in your back-up.

      Do you think Patton’s gone when Simpson returns???

      OL is obviously the biggest ? Who knows what Jim’s thinking at this point. I say Thomas could still be the guy, with MM at Center.

      How has Brown at RT looked the last few weeks???

      1. I would submit allowing Gabbert to go out and take a beating behind that offensive line, while protecting Kap on the bench for next year, might not be a bad idea….

        1. Next year Kaepernick might not even be on the team. In my opinion the 49ers have not given him much of a chance to work in a game setting behind this new offensive line. I don’t know how anyone can seriously evaluate his performance with 13 pass attempts. However, if he begins the season like he did last year, the 49ers will almost certainly draft a successor to him this offseason. And that new guy will not have a hard time winning the position.
          Throw in the fact that Gabbert has looked more poised and confident, if the Niners start off 1-4, or worse, we could see a new starting QB by week 5. Regardless of the offensive line troubles, if he cant get the job done, Gabbert should be given an opportunity.

            1. That will never happen. Baalke did not want to trade Alex Smith. He was the prototypical QB for the system he wants to run. The only reason Baalke drafted Kaepernick was because of Harbaugh. That trade now as much as people wont admit it, is turning into one of Baalkes worst as the Niners GM.
              Sure the potential is there with Kaepernick, but we are in the 4th year of his time in the league and is turning 28. This is the biggest year for Kaepernick to show he is a legit #1 QB. Otherwise he will be on another team next year.

              1. Never is a long time. Too much demand for Alex Smith making it impossible to hold onto him….

              2. RGIII might not even be in the league next year. So that washes out never. As for Alex Smith, the demand might not be huge, but he has shown a great knack for being a solid QB. You don’t think the Niners right now could use his leadership and game management versus the running athletic QB?

              3. FDM, guys like Alpha bravo above are still holding out hope that CK becomes a all world QB. Like you said, this is the year to prove it.

              4. Prime I think we all our hoping that Kaepernick becomes this all world QB. I actually just want him to be a decent QB that does not turn it over and can get the ball to all these new playmakers this year. If he played like Alex did the last couple years in SF, I am sure a lot of people would be content with that.

              5. Razor “How many TD’s did Alex throw for in 2014?

                Who cares Razoreater? He made the offense functional. He got the ball to guys who made plays for his team. They won a lot of games. Was he the biggest reason for that? Not at all. But he did make the offense functional and with the way defenses can now dominate in this league, all you need is your QB to be is a really good pint guard and distribute the ball according to the scheme and system.

              6. given how things turned out so far, we would have been better off keeping Smith & trading Kaepernick for a king’s ransom.

              7. FDM,

                Kap’s first season and a half as starter were superior to Alex, which is why he took the job away. Kap wasn’t great last season, but ironically his numbers were pretty similar to Smith’s 2011 season. More picks which isn’t good, but before last year Kap was pretty good with not turning the ball over.

                I honestly don’t get why the conversation continues to be about Kap when the real issue this team has offensively is the Oline. It doesn’t matter who is playing QB if the protection continues to be that poor.

              8. At some point Rocket, you will have to look at CK’s play and truthfully admit, he has not made the supporting cast any better. The guys upfront to a man would say, he’s difficult to block for because he speeds up the play before it actually develops.
                It’s what all running QB’s have been criticized for in the past!

              9. There are few QB’s who fit that description Prime. Most of the QB’s in this league need a strong supporting cast to be successful and Kap is in that group. His first full year of starting both VD and Boldin had great years, so he obviously played well enough for them to put up some great numbers.

                I’ve never said Kap was above criticism. I just don’t think he’s this terrible QB who can’t play, like some try to pass off around here. He’s won a lot of games just on his talent with little understanding of how to play the position from the pocket. I just don’t see how you dump a talent like this unless he hits a wall and starts losing games for you, or you find somebody better. If they draft a QB and he beats Kap out, I’m fine with that. What I get sick of is the non stop hyperbole regarding how poorly he’s played. People need to accept that there are very few elite QB’s in this league and they are hard to find. If you can find one who can win games you keep running with him and developing him, because chances are the next guy won’t even be able to do that.

      2. I beg to differ. Baalke signed Kaep to big money, but it is structured to allow the Niners to cut him every year. If Baalke really liked him, he would have gotten a better deal with more guaranteed money.

  49. Jack Del Rio is building a winning mentality with the RaqyDuhs.
    I’m not sure how far Tomsula can take the Niners this season, I predict troubles early in the season, then look for gradual development.
    I’m thinking right now that their best may be as late season spoilers.

    1. Watching that game last night, the Raiders are a fast team with a little bit of nasty to them. Watching the 49ers this weekend, the defense looks fast but the offense looks like an unknown. I think this is more by design to not show much offensively. But if the offensive line is really that bad, it could be a huge concern.

  50. ok die yards, I would like your thoughts on if you need strong leadership and ownership for a sustained winning organization. I get really frustrated when Jed York tries to compare his team with the SF Giants and golden state warriors when he and his parents have never won a championship. I feel he and Blake resemble Chris Cohan robin rowel. Who owned and ran the Warriors for a long time. More dysfunction and losing seasons then good ones. I actually like Jim to sulfa. He appears to be a straight shooter. I am with rocket though. This season does not look promising. Other then the Susie from down under. I am not excited. Jed York seems very phony along with parag Marathi, I want the real thing!

    1. Reb!
      Jarryd would take offense!
      The Susie from down under ?
      Hahahahahahaha!
      Better send him a 12-pack of Dixie or Lone Star!
      Good to see you back, Bro.
      Answer: The more integrated all phases of an organization are, the higher the liklihood of sustained sucess.

      1. Hey us old farts have to hang together! You always put a smile on my face when I am feeling bitter! Hopefully we are all wrong about this year! Good points!

  51. more of the Harbaw legacy…
    the Niners are rated in 27th place
    in terms of “who will win the 2016 Super Bowl”
    (talking 85 to 1 odds here).

    eighty-five …. that’s a lotta olives in the jar, huh?

    1. The American Dialect of the English language evolved by at least one word today.
      “Unteresting”
      You see? We may have some redeeming cultural value here on this blog.
      Nah.

      1. I remember Chris Rock as,a young stand up comic riffing on reactions to Rap and HipHop. Something like: 40 yr old white dudes don’t like Rap? That’s alright, it ain’t for you!
        Being 40+ at the time I felt mildly offended, but I couldn’t argue.
        Another one I liked was Ice Tea on a talk show compared Rap to C&W. He said that in both cases the audience like what they like and don’t really care how anybody else feels about it. Again, hard to argue.

          1. I always thought that Jimmy Dean (the Sausage king) was the originator of rap when he did the song “Big Bad John.”

            Growing up and attending a few Afro American Churches, I could swear that the preacher would give his sermon in a rap type pattern with the Hammond organ and drums playing in sync in the background. By the way I’m talking about 50 years ago. Ok, so I’m old, get over it (lol).

        1. 1. I’ve just always wanted to call somebody a philistine on a football blog.
          2. Jazz. Rock and Roll. White people never like black music until it’s thoroughly pasteurized.

          1. Well I always liked BB King, Isley Brothers, Al Greene, Lou Rawls, Hendrix and many other black artists….

            1. Well there’s always exceptions Razor. Also it’s the younger generation that brings mainstream acceptance. You can trace it throughout the history of American music. In that sense Chris Rock was spot on.

              1. Believe it or not, Iron Maiden does Tears Of A Clown on their upcoming new double album, Book Of Souls….

              2. Grimey
                Even in the early and mid sixties white kids were listening to 50% Motown play lists on Pop radio. The Dick Clark Show was just down the road and me and my siblings went many times. Well, I went maybe 3 times and danced to the side because some kids were a couple of Dance Crazes ahead of me. The Miashed Potatoes? I just learned The Twist. The Hully Gully? WTH?
                We went to a concert at the Avalon Ballroom; Little Stevie Wonder opened for Ray Charles. Everybody was nice;
                “Hey Now! G’head White Kids!”
                Heck, Elvis and Chuck Barry brought some soul to white kids, and not everybody was happy about that.

            2. Razor,
              Nice line-up. Lou Rawls had one of the sweetest baritone voices that I’ve ever heard

              I grew up a Motown boy. Temptations, Four Tops, Mary Wells, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jackson Five were my music genre – and still is!
              Loved the old Righteous Brothers, and Mr. 123, Len Berry.
              Ahh, now that was real music by real singers!

    1. Is your bold prediction based on a deep inner feeling, or are you just projecting what you would like to see happen to Kap?
      Hmmmm

  52. How long will it take before York is forced to move the franchise to Australia? With Hayne on the team he will have an established fan base.

  53. Been gone for the weekend and just watched the game via DVR. Totally disappointed. Can’t agree with those of you who want to leave Kaep faultless. However, it’s becoming more and more evident that the biggest fox here is Jim Harbaugh! He got out while the getting was good and left Kaep/49er’s starters (who he left behind) holding the 〰✔️➿⚪️☑️

  54. After watching to game last night, a few things became clear.

    Our defense played pretty well, away from home, in mile-high altitude, against a very good offense that wanted get on track after several poor (preseason) performances. Denver was OK.

    Our OL was not THAT bad. Certainly, not as bad as I expected. Several key lapses, but many due to stupid penalties which allowed the Denver defense to pin ears back. Denver might be the best defense in NFL this year.

    Hyde is already an elite back.

    Kaepernick looks lost. He holds ball too long, gets flustered to easily and his accuracy remains questionable (some of his throws were absolutely horrid). He could be regressing further.

    Gabbert is beginning to look like the QB scouts expected when he came out. Game seems to be slowing down for him. Good accuracy and decision-making, quick through progressions and he is getting rid of the ball. Much better than Kaep on check downs. I don’t care which OL he has, or D he is facing, he looks calmer back there.

    We will see how this all plays out, but I am not 100% convinced the better QB is starting.

    Ellington is our #3 and looking very explosive.

    Patton is nothing. Maybe he and Kaepernick should stop hanging out :)

    Bowman is already better than Kuechly and that chump from Seattle. If he stays healthy he will be strong contender for DPOY.

    He will also go down as best MLB to play for 49ers. Sorry, Willis.

    Acker is #2 cb.

    RT will be problem throughout year. Pears is an improvement over Martin, but just barely.

    Anthony Davis screwed this team with his self-diagnosis/evaluation. He was cleared to play. You choose to walk away for a period of time then don’t come back. You are paid millions and there is risk that is the trade-off for the millions. He has created a precedent that can ruin the game and set teams back for years. Borland did it right, while Davis is running around writing poetry.

    Baalke’s first major strike was all the crap surrounding this team. His second, not aggressively going after Mathis. He owed the fans some good news. Mathis was it. He missed…badly.

    The NFC West has the worst collection of offensive lines in the NFL. Seattle and Arizona may vie for worst. With that, we may compete for title this year. Our young defense should improve throughout year, Winner of West could be 9-7.

    1. You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink. Mathis said many times he wanted to play for a contender. Many posters are predicting a 3 win season for the Niners. Mathis ended up on a contender. Faulting Baalke for an impossibility is not fair.

        1. Why does Baalke need to be “more transparent” to the public in his personnel dealings? Companies of not pursue potential employees for recruitment publicly. Clearly this nightmare off-season has left a lot of fans very disaffected, but I don’t think fan appeasement by keeping them in the know is part of Baalke’s job description.

          1. We can agree to disagree on this.

            The Niners should have made a more public effort to get Mathis (ala Miami). You have a fan base that faced an onslaught of bad news. Plus, we have a clear need to upgrade the position. Perception versus reality would have made much more sense here. Meaning, even if we weren’t going after him, it appeared we were…smart PR move.

            The 49ers do not seem astute at thinking 2 steps ahead of any giving situation. The Patriots, Seahawks and others do a much better job of this. Consider, the Seahawks had zero chance of signing Mathis, yet they still brought him in. This bought them credibility on a couple fronts: a) acknowledging they have a problem b) not sitting on their hands waiting for it to improve. The reality might be different, but perception is they are working towards a solution. That’s just good business sense and why they are beating us not only on the field, but in the PR arena.

            1. You make some good points, but in general I agree with Mood with regards how to run this aspect of the business. But in the end the real reason why the 49ers don’t do as you suggest is because it is not Baalke’s MO. I think you would be hard pressed to find instances where Baalke has followed the formula you suggest.

              1. Completely agree. He is a scout, not refined. Bill Polian, or Schneider are much more business or marketing savvy than he is.

              2. My take on Pollian is he never did anything for hollow PR purposes, and shrugged off criticism when his moves were unpopular. He was an excellent businessman, and evaluator and cap manager. He conducted his negotiations with agents out of public scrutiny. He happened to be strict on his character issues standards, and he’s in the HOF.
                He also got fired for not having a better backup QB and deeper defense the year PM went down.
                Bringing in Mathis to appease part of the fan base would seem to me to be outside of Bill Pollian’s style.

              3. Polian also never dealt with a situation similar to the Niners. In fact, no team ever has. I think both Schneider and Polian would deal with it in a far better fashion than York and Baalke. That really goes without saying at this point. Only a fool would say that we’ve dealt with any of this particularly well, starting with Harbaugh. Who by the way, I thought needed to go.

            2. You make it sound that it’s up to Niners to drag Mathis in for an evaluation. I read in the national football media that Mathis’ agent was clear that he either wanted big money or play for a strong Super Bowl winning candidate team.

              Niners and Mathis probably started at very different negotiation points for a deal. There is no point in Mathis coming to Santa Clara in that case. Niners are not going to pay a guard more than a LT, for example. For the long run, it’s good for them to stick to a policy.

              1. Yep, it takes two to tango.

                Running the personnel department like a PR campaign is how teams end up in salary cap hell and over-paying for mediocre talent.

                I also think in this instance, publicly letting it be known they were after Mathis while knowing they didn’t really stand any chance of signing him would have actually been detrimental to the team. Mathis would have rejected the 49ers publicly (can’t see how that helps make fans feel better), and the players currently on the roster would have been further unsettled.

              2. Correct, we would have been the big money.We had room for a considerable one year deal with him. Again, it is not that we didn’t sign him, it is that we didn’t really try AND when asked about it, the patent answer is “we feel fine about who we have”. We shouldn’t. We have a young, very questionable offensive line, certainly the right side. IF we struggle this season in protecting Kaepernick, there will be a lot of questions posed by GC and the like, asking why we did not pursue Mathis more vigorously. I personally think it is a reasonable question to be asked.

              3. We have not idea where the Niners and Mathis started or ended with negotiations. We only know that we were not publicly in the discussions.

            3. In regular season games.(the ones that count)..Jim Tomsula is still undefeated….what are we bitching about ?

              1. That is a completely ridiculous point. He has won one game. If he wins 10 this year, your point will have substance. If he wins 7, it won’t. Simple as that. I personally think we have a chance to win 10 games, but only because our OL is no worse than Seattle, Arizona and the Rams. Our line statistically has gotten worse since 2012, and we just lost an All-Pro Guard and Pro-Bowl caliber tackle. We replaced them with rookies or inexperienced players, and a journeyman (Pears) who was never supposed to start in the first place.

          2. Baalke would then be faulted for begging a player to come, yet getting stiff armed.
            It just was not in the cards. Deal with it.

            1. First, neither of us actually have any idea what Baalke did or didn’t do with regard to Mathis. My point is and has been that he should have made a public display of trying to get him ala Miami and Seahawks. Again, you have a deflated fanbase, you try and find some wins along the way. Even if the actual intention is not there, the perception is you are trying to fix the issue.

          3. Seriously? You are comparing the NFL to a normal business? That’s rich. The expectations of any sports team versus a private, even a public company are light year different. The NFL is dependent on public perception, my software company is not. Teams are always looking to appease the fan base in order to sells tickets. If you lose, or make horrid decisions, you can suffer severe financial consequences. In fact, the NFL purposely has media sessions to disseminate information. Players, coaches and management can be fined for not participating. That’s not to say they will tell you everything, but the good ones understand when to be guarded and when to use the media to their advantage.

      1. If Mathis was completely honest in his desire to play for “contender” why not work something out with Philly?

        I’m prone to think that the “I want to play for a contender” talk is more of a smokescreen to give the player more leverage when negotiating with teams.
        In Mathis’ case, while it does appear that he wanted to play for a contender in signing on with the Broncos at a little over 2mil. let’s take into consideration that his contract is heavily laden with all kinds of bonus monies if he accomplishes certain incentives.
        It could be the bonus incentives that had Mathis cutting a deal with Elway as much as playing with Payton.
        Who knows?

        This does not exonerate Baalke’ from sleeping at the wheel attitude in this years draft. Drafting an O-lineman in rd 1, or 2 seemed to be of great importance.
        He had plenty of draft picks to trade in an effort to claim a high draft pick for the O-line.
        This is why I say he did not aggressively pursue this area of need.
        I believe that he will work out a trade of some kind in the near future to try and shore up the O-line, but that is only a guesstimate.
        Time will tell.

        1. AES…

          Not that you nor I have any say about it, but I disagree with you about Mathis….I think that he’ll take the money and run…he’ll be on IR before half a season…his good years are behind him….

          Why not work something out with Philly ? Chip Kelly is the best personnel man in the NFL, and he didn’t want him.

          1. Yeah, we weren’t going to trade for him, but I would have done a one-year 6-8M deal.

      1. Maybe. Even the Chargers’ massive whiff on Leaf or the RayDuhs on Russell came without the Moving On Up costs. Astounding really.
        Perhaps like Plunkett RG3 will be able to resurrect his career with another team. Both Shanny and Grudin are WCO guys hired to coach someone who seems ill suited to that scheme, and who has been portrayed as not being too coach-able.
        Will Cousins hold on to his job?

    1. For RG3 the Rams traded
      – 2012 pick 2

      Rams got
      – 2012 pick 6
      – 2012 pick 39
      – 2013 pick 22
      – 2014 pick 2

      (many or those picks parlayed into more picks)

      The trade terms were stunning then. Even more so now. Reminds me of Jimmy Johnson’s Great Trade Robbery of the Vikings.

      1. Indeed. And how many voices here have called for these massive trade-ups for guys like Cooper, or Justin Gilbert or Stephen Hill or Mike Evans or Kyle Fuller or even Andrew Luck/RG3?

        1. To be fair that Redskins trade would never have been questioned if it had been for Luck instead of Griffin.

          1. In the long run I mean, I’m sure it still would have been criticized at the time.

          1. Or Julio Jones, who is a fantastic WR, but Atlanta sure could’ve used those extra picks to fortify their defense.

        2. People were ripping Baalke for not trading up for Odell Beckham. It would have cost a fortune in picks.

          And just because a trade didn’t happen, doesn’t mean there were no trade attempts. It all depends on price. It was fairly cheap to trade up for Reid.

  55. Can anyone confirm that Boone and/or Staley requested that Boone play on the left side because they like playing next to each other. Seems like Thomas would be a good candidate for LG and moving Boone back to RG would reduce the time for the O line to be more effective.

      1. Razor,
        Listening to Tomsula, it seems they have finalized the starting O line (till Kilgore returns at some point). What’s the consensus here, if any, on the lineup?

          1. Yes, I was watching Maiocco on CSN Bay Area and he seemed to imply that the O line situation is now reasonably well-defined, as also stated in the link Cubus has posted.
            Seems to me the line could be Staley, Boone, Martin, Thomas and Pears.

            1. It’s a step, but alas ‘well defined’ doesn’t address effectiveness; it only identifies the culprits.
              ; >)
              I’m not in full panic mode, but its sobering. BTW, agree with your guess on the line-up.

  56. For the pre-season, PFF has broken down Kaepernick’s QB rating by clean pocket v. dirty pocket. His split is 65-47. The NFL rule of thumb for a successful team is the QB needs a rating in the 90’s. No concern it is only the preseason…

  57. Here’s an article that puts the entire blame for Saturday’s performance on the offensive line.

    http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/10-takeaways-from-week-3-of-the-nfl-preseason/ar-AAdLS9D

    I’m not so sure I agree. I don’t think the play calling helped Kap at all. As noted earlier, he was directed not to audible so they went with the original play called. With all the duress he was under we didn’t see quick passes or other plays that could have helped. It’s true that they might not have helped as much as one would have hoped because Denver was able to mount a vicious pass rush without blitzing, but they never even tried. I’m waiting till the first game to see how these new coaches call a game.

    1. Cubus,

      I tend to agree with you in this regard. It’s common knowledge that 90% of the player evaluation in off-season and pre-season is done outside the view of us fans. In these pre-season games, I think the coaches are giving rookies with potential like Silberman a taste of pressure playing against a first team D with one of the best pass rushing units in the league.

      The right side of the O-line is going to be weaker irrespective of whether Boone moves there or not. In regular season, the coaches will adjust through schemes, chipping in with extra protection with TEs, rolling out Kap, etc. They played vanilla offense against the Broncos, unlike some some other teams that actually scheme for the third off-season game. In that sense, Tomsula appears to be continuing with the Harbaugh tradition of basically ignoring pre-season games and focusing on the first regular season game. We’ll see how it goes on MNF.

  58. I usually think a meaningful prediction for a season can’t be made before the end of Regular Season Week#4. So in an exercise akin to driving in fog, here’s a very preliminary guess:
    AFC East: NE-Mia-Buf-NYJ Fins may be a playoff team. Brady still Brady.
    AFC North: Pit-Cinci-Balt-Clev Ben>Andy
    AFC South: Indy-Hous– Jax/Ten
    AFC West: KC-Den-SD-Oak Oakland improved, but is AFC West best division now?
    NFC East: Dal-Phla-NYG-Wash Maybe Dallas has an edge on Philly; maybe
    NFC North: GB-Min-Det-Chi Lions OK, but Vikes coming on.
    NFC South: Atl/NO -Caro-TB Falcons have enough D?
    NFC West: Seat/Az – – SF/StL Az looks better now, but ‘Hags will find a rhythm. Something nagging in the back of my mind not to trust Cards; tbd. Rams’ D on paper looks very tough. Questions on offense for Rams and Niners
    * Slashes ( / ) mean toss-up

    1. My 2 cents.
      No Brady for 4 games means 4 losses. Buffalo will win because their defense is solid, and they finally have a QB. Roman looked good, too. He had them humming.
      Cincy because Pittsburg has no defense since Polamalu left.
      SD because Rivers has a running game. Denver has a new O line and PM will struggle.
      I agree with Indy because of Gore.
      Dallas will struggle with the run game,so Philly will win because they look unstoppable.
      I agree with GB.
      Carolina may take it, but any of them could. Weak division.
      I am still touting the Niners because Kaep will be allowed to utilize his prodigious skillsets. Seattle has O line problems, too. Arizona will struggle with no defense due to attrition. Lambs are counting on a gimpy RB.

      1. Correction. Arizona does have a good defense, but they lost their DC and several key players. Palmer will be Palmer.

        1. Partially(a big part) yes. Also their defense and O line are improving, and the Muscle Hamster is healthy again.

          1. Carolina still has O line questions, Atlanta has underachieved, but had a solid draft, and Breeze is getting older, so TB with all their high draft picks could be the leader.

            1. Yes. The weakness of that division definitely plays a part. The Saints inconsistent defense and losing weapons like Graham and Stills, Carolina’s offense is all a mess, and the Falcons have questions on defense and a weak O line.
              But Winston will be a force in that division for years to come.

    2. Good list. I have a few disagreements but it’s minor. I think Oakland finishes above San Diego. Oakland might surprise a few people this year. Carr might be for real but they need a better running game. I think Buffalo finishes above Miami. That defense in Buffalo is going to be amazing. My sleeper is Philly. I think they are going to win that conference and I don’t really have any specific reason other than gut feel.

      1. Howdy, good thoughts. If RayDuhs hadn’t had an OT go down I could trust their offense more, so for me it came down to the QBs. Philly’s offense looks terrific now but I wonder if game planning will slow them down a bit. AFC South may be the only division that isn’t closely competitive.
        And these are wild axe guesses!

      2. Oakland has improved, but the weak link might be their DBs. D line and LBs look solid, but the AFC west has some speed burners on all the teams.

  59. Maiocco – Kilgore to PUP. At least for the first six games its Looney or Martin. At least it opens a roster spot.

    1. I call Martin at center. Looney has snap problems worse than Martin. At least Martin played Center in college. Hope Killgore can come back mid season. They should also look to grab a center from the cut lists, hopefully from a future opponent.

      1. I called Martin at center months and months ago, but I will admit I thought he’d be farther along in his development than he is right now. Could be the new system. Have to see how he progresses….

          1. Kilgore is a great technical centre but at times over the past 2 years he did not hold up well against bigger, more physical defensive linemen.

          2. He’s a little light in the trousers, but his return will probably be dictated by Martin’s performance….

  60. YOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOooooooo, Grant!
    You’ve left your blog locked up in the car with windows rolled up.
    !! > Time for a new thread, eh? 500-600 comments get unwieldy. Perhaps when all the cuts are announced……?

        1. Speaking of twitter feeds:

          Matt Maiocco ✔ @MaioccoCSN
          A source tells me #49ers are very happy with what they’ve seen both physically and mentally from WR DeAndre Smelter as he rehabs.

    1. Reminds me of when dad would window lock the car as we’re traveling down the road, and fart. No escape for the five passengers. I can hear mom and grandma now in that irritated voice, Tom. Meanwhile, he just chuckled….

        1. Yea, mine would fart and say, “there’s a kiss for you”. The wisdom past down is priceless….

        2. I have an outstanding TexChili recipe I call ‘Bad Dog Chili’. When I’d rip one I’d turn and say ‘Bad Dog!’
          The dog knew how to get even. I’d see her get up and walk out of the room. If she looked back over her shoulder we knew we were in for a SBD.
          I’m glad we keep the convo so high brow here.

      1. I remember my sister showing up with her brood to a family reunion years ago. As they came up onto the porch she’s telling her kids
        “Don’t pull your Grandfather’s thumb! Or your two uncles’ either! In fact don’t listen to anything those two say.”

        1. And they would run over and pull his thumb, then laugh hysterically.
          I can picture it now.

    1. That’s right Robert! You Kaepernick the Future is set to draft tonight at 8:00 pm. We currently have 6 signed up which is OK but at least two more would be great and 4 more would be perfect. Not too late to sign up. Here’s the link: https://yho.com/nfl?l=235969&k=4fe3080a4043f0e7&ikey=301eb675bf453dc2

      No fee and just for bragging rights. Have some fun with your fellow bloggers or just come and embarrass them with your uber fantasy skills.

      1. I think you’d have more takers if $ was involved.

        Even $10. Then $80 goes to the winner and $20 to runner up.

        Just too much time and effort for just braggin’ rights, imo of course.

    1. Steelers looked HORRIBLE against the Bills. Gave up over 500 yards. Maybe the offensive malaise was not all Romans’ fault.

      1. Roman had his moments with the 49ers. Remember the 300/300 game?

        I’ve never been a big fan of OC bashing(except for Brian Schottenheimer). I think it’s more on the players to make the plays work, but there’s always exceptions good and bad.

  61. Wow Bills QB go 30 for 33. EJ Manuel actually did a non Kaep thing: He stayed in the pocket, waited, and waited, as the pocket collapsed. and then threw a 30 yard pass in the end zone.

    Bring back Roman!

    1. Sounds like Kap could use E.J.’ O-line!
      As you say, “waited, and waited” before throwing? That my friend is great pass protection.

    2. And yet they chose the running quarterback. Which team runs the ball more, 49ers or Bills in 2015?

    1. Not as shocking as “Down Goes Frazier”, but still a little surprising. Maybe back onto PS again.

    2. Not quite as shocking as “Down Goes Frazier”, but a little surprising. Still eligable for the PS.

  62. “The Redskins are the Kardashians of the NFL.”
    Trevor Matich
    Ryan Clark- Overreaction. There’s some talent on the Redskins.

  63. My replies aren’t even posting. A new thread… a new thread… my kingdom for a new thread. Grant? PD I.T.?

    1. What’s that I hear? Division rivals sniffing around Lawrence? Not yet, but soon no doubt.

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