49ers 24, Broncos 15: The good and not so good

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo speaks after an NFL preseason football game against the Denver Broncos, Monday, Aug. 19, 2019, in Denver. The 49ers won 24-15. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Here’s who and what stood out Monday night during the 49ers 24-14 preseason victory over the Denver Broncos.

THE NOT SO GOOD

  1. QB Jimmy Garoppolo. Played with no confidence. Seemed afraid to take a hit. Didn’t step into his throws. Had the “yips.” Completed only one of six passes for zero yards and threw one interception, plus a second pass which the Broncos dropped. In other words, Garoppolo played pretty much how he has played most of training camp. He doesn’t seem ready to play in a real game – he’s coming off a devastating knee injury and he lacks experience. Unless he plays much better this Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs – and I expect he will – the 49ers should at least consider starting Nick Mullens Week 1 of the regular season. They can’t afford to lose games while they wait for Garoppolo to figure things out. Teams that start 0-2 miss the playoffs 89 percent of the time.
  2. LG Laken Tomlinson. Can’t pick up and inside stunt. Hasn’t been able to pick one up since last season. Failed to pick one up Monday night, and so Garoppolo took a hit and threw an interception.
  3. The secondary. Gave up a 13-yard catch to DaeSean Hamilton, a 21-yard catch to Courtland Sutton and a 41-yard catch to Emmanuel Sanders which didn’t count because of a holding penalty on an offensive lineman. The 49ers pass defense may improve this season, but the secondary hasn’t changed much since 2018. It still needs an excellent pass rush to mask its deficiencies, and the 49ers haven’t yet played their best pass rushers during the preseason.

THE GOOD

  1. The run defense. Played extremely well even without DeForest Buckner, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and Kwon Alexander. Held the Broncos running backs to just 2.24 yards per carry. Robert Saleh’s defenses consistently defend the run well.
  2. QB Nick Mullens. Before he even entered the game, Mullens’ stock had risen more than any other player on the 49ers, because he backs up a quarterback who has thrown seven interceptions since last Wednesday. Before Mullens had attempted a pass against the Broncos, he began to seem like a viable starter for the 49ers during the regular season opener. He finally entered the game in the fourth quarter, threw a beautiful touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne and posted a quarterback of 134.7. Is Mullens the best quarterback on the 49ers right now? He might be.
  3. RB Raheem Mostert. Rushed six times and gained 9.7 yards per carry. Also scored a touchdown and gained 38 yards after catching a screen pass. Mostert is one of the 49ers’ most dangerous weapons when healthy. They have to get him a bigger role in the offense.
  4. WR Deebo Samuel. Kyle Shanahan said he hoped one of his young receivers would step up during the preseason, and Samuel has. He gained 45 yards running an end around. He needs to play with the starters this Saturday against the Chiefs.

This article has 202 Comments

  1. Thanks for the recap Grant. I can’t disagree with any of your points and your overall assessment is pretty spot on. However, the notion that Mullens could or should be the starter week 1 seems a little far fetched. I agree that he looks like the best QB on the team right now, but preseason always seems to be misleading.

    I think ShanaLynch have to live or die with Garoppolo at this point. I do have faith that he’ll shake the rust and come into his own; yes it may be at the expense of the team and I agree that starting 0-2 would be detrimental. However, if Shanahan can instill confidence in him, dum down the plays and give him some easy completions to take what the defense gives, and then put this thing on our Defense that we’ve got so much money and high round picks (5 first rounders just on the line). Let them put this team on their backs for the first 3 weeks, and lead us to 2-1 , Jimmy can be the hero against the Browns at home in week 5 after the bye.

    At this point I see that as a better strategy than urning down the barn with the sacred cow inside and throwing in Mullen’s week 1. Now, if we’re 0-3 at the bye, then maybe we gotta make a change.

    Go Niners!

    1. Agree – there’s literally too much invested ($$$$) in JG to swap him out Week 1. Predict that Kyle will go run heavy and just have JG dink and dunk his way into the season, while relying on Saleh to keep scores low. Mullens will only get the call up if it’s circumstances beyond Shanahan’s control (injury) and no one wants that. I think beyond Garropolo and the issues in the WR group, the OL depth has become the greatest concern in the last couple of weeks.

      1. OL depth….yes, has been the greatest concern lately and a problem for years..It’s the foundation of the O, keeps the D fresh, makes holes for RB’s, protects the QB, plus gives him time to throw, runs the clock and moves the chain. And then scoring more points, keeping opposing O off the field and ‘winning’ games…They got McG lately but they need to draft solid OL from now on earlier in the first 3 rounds and a couple OL every draft and maybe a very good FA. Needs to be main concern not 4th or 5th.

    2. Grant and I predicted that Mullens would be the top QB several months ago. Jimmy G is not even tied with CJ if last night’s debacle is representative. The team respects Mullens and, as Tim Pryan pointed out last year, the team likes playing for a man they respect for his intellect and physical skills. Jimmy has a great smile but, alas, not much of an intellect.

    3. This year’s best online TV site I’ve seen ====>>> NFLQHDTV <<===== . At a very low price with 40% discount $ 29.97 a year so I think it will help you to watch better games.

  2. I had a dream that Nick Mullens was playing against my son’s high school team. He threw for six TDs — something even the great Al Bundy couldn’t do.

    1. But would he run for 4 tds in the 1966 city championship game versus Andrew Johnson High School, including the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds against his old nemesis, “Spare Tire” Dixon?

  3. CJ had a good game as well. But Mullens is our best QB right now.
    If he gets the nod to be the starting QB, he would have earned it.

    Jimmy was freakishly bad, but I wouldn’t throw in the towel on him just yet.
    I was concerned about the 5 (in a row) ints last week because those kinds of terrible plays can wear on a players confidence and it showed tonight.

    If JG has another bad showing next Sunday and Mullens plays well things will get very interesting the next two weeks.
    I agree with Grant, we can’t wait for Jimmy to right the ship going into the season. Especially if Mullens can move the offense.

    1. Garoppolo is going to be the starter for this team week 1. The only way he gets replaced is if he gets hurt or is a complete train wreck.

      1. He threw an interception trying to force a pass to Goodwin and nearly threw a pick six after that. All this coming on the heels of last week’s unprecedented performance.

        I’d like nothing more then to see JG have a resurgence by the time the season starts, but at the moment he doesn’t look ready. He has three weeks to recapture his game and confidence.

        On the bright side, our defense is going to show big improvement this season and give the offense some chances.

        1. Yes Garoppolo has struggled, but he’s the guy on scholarship and will be the one on the field.

          We’ll see how this turns out, but there could be a whole lot of second guessing regarding them making that trade instead of waiting for Cousins in FA.

          1. “he’s the guy on scholarship.”

            Ha! Great line right there, Jack.
            But I don’t see the FO feeling hemmed in, in the event JG struggles and has trouble overcoming the mental side of last years devastating injury.

            He looked very tentative last night and he was obviously in protect mode regarding his knee. There were a couple of times when Jimmy threw the ball off his back foot rather than stepping into the pass. We all know that this will cause velocity and accuracy issues.

            But, I understand that this was his first real game time and there’s going to be rust issues. The reason why I think Shanahan and Lynch will not show blind faith in JG is because they are going to be seriously judged on their overall performance this season. The honeymoon period is over for the new regime and they cannot afford to get trapped in a bad relationship with Jimmy if he falters.
            Hope that JG gets it going.

  4. Yeah that was since cringe worthy football when Jimmy was in there. CJ looked solid but still slow, Bourne should have made that catch after CJ took that hit, that’s unacceptable.

    I thought secondary looked okay. Like you said a lot of the starters weren’t playing. Was Sherman and AW playing during all those long completions?

  5. Is Kendrick Bourne making this team?

    He seems like the 7th receiver on this team. If he does I see him making an impact for us over the course of a 16 game season.

    1. Bourne, James, and matthews fighting for one spot imo. James prob gets nod for special teams value. Bourne has serious case of drops, so our leading wr last year will b wearing a different uniform soon. Too bad because being undrafted was a feel gd story…..

      1. Ya James definitely making this team, he took all the kick offs and did well. I feel like with the injury history of Goodwin and Matthews it would be wise to keep Bourne. Although Shanahan isn’t making decisions based on soft tissue injury history. I think Matthews is part of his plan to be better in the red zone. Besides he is Rice nephew and ran with the 1’s today.

        Maybe Bourne will make it into practice squad and then be active once Matthews/Goodwin/Pettis twist an ankle.

      2. Wasn’t Matthews primary value thought of as being a RJ target? I think Hurd steals that thunder and Matthews doesn’t make the 53.

  6. Deebo Samuels runs just like WR John Taylor back in the championship days. They run alike, similar body types and JT was a great returner as well. If we had a Jerry Rice there would be no stopping the offense. Granted that’s a big IF.

  7. From what I saw…
    The Bad.

    Jimmy G. – didn’t look good there is no way to sugar coat. He keeps falling away on his passes rather than pushing through… some of this could be due to the Oline.(see next)

    The Oline – McGlinchey was the best Olineman on the field. He stonewalled Miller… Everyone else had a rough outing. Denver was able to get a lot of pressure right up the gut and Chubb owned Staley. So far they have looked even worse than last year in pass pro… the only silver lining is that the Oline normally takes some time to gel.

    Tartt – Had a great game… but once again he left the game injured.

    Secondary – It appears better than last year… but they still are a bit rough.

    The Good.

    The Dline – looks solid and that’s without the starters.

    Beathard and Mullens – Both looked solid and Beathard would have looked much better if Bourne could have held on to a very well thrown deep ball. The only reason he’s not in the bad… was because he made two very good catches for Mullens.

    Deebo – he may not be the fastest 40 guy… but dude is explosive. Lets hope he can stay healthy.

    Rb -What else is new in a Shanahan offense.

    Tartt – He was great before the injury.

    Of note – Denver was in their 3rd preseason game and so they played their Starters a bit more than SF did.

    1. What is glaringly obvious, and hasn’t been the case for some time, is that our backups are better than they have been. I think the reason is many have had lots of 1st team game time due to injuries. They have lots of in game experience.

      Let’s hope, though, that they remain backups and are not called on for regular duty.

      Hard to know how good (or bad) our starters are because so few have played. May be a rude awakening for us.

      1. Sour Yeast,

        That’s a good observation on your part.

        The secondary also gave me reason for optimism, as while opposing receivers did get open. I haven’t seen the flat out blown coverages that were so often the case in the past 2 seasons. Additionally, the tackling has been surer than when compared to last year at this point.

        Here’s hoping Jimmy settles down next week.

        1. Yeah JG looked bad, and though people blame the receivers and OL, the majority of the blame rests on him and his HC (who did him no favors with the play calls).

          Shanahan should have scripted some very easy and confidence building passes. Instead, we got what we saw.

          How JG responds will determine his future and the future of the the two guys at the top of the franchise. This will be the most interesting story line for the next week or so.

    2. Spot on Shoup!
      There’s no way to sugarcoat JG’s performance. It was flat out ugly. However, the play calling did him no favours and the O line was collapsing every play. Missing two starters and facing the Chubb/Miller tandem wasn’t ideal for his first return to action.
      Tartt looked great and then looked injured. Classic Tartt. I said before camp the starting safeties would wind up being Moore and Harris, and that gets closer every week.
      I will say too that Solomon Thomas looked really solid last night. Did he look like a 3rd overall pick? No. And he never will. But credit where it’s due. He played really well, and if we ignore where he was drafted, he’s a nice little player for the rotation.
      Would have liked to have seen more Deebo and more Hurd. Deebo especially should get snaps with the starters.
      Street deserves mention too. That guy needs to be refined, but he’s an ox and will be an asset on this team.

  8. The Niners’ QB problems are squarely on the result of the incompetence of the guys running the show; Shanahan and Lynch. More Shanahan, because Lynch is basically his lapdog and is just a PR front man (Thanks, Jed).
    Instead of addressing the most important position when they first took over, they did what? Pick a one year (maybe one GAME, actually) standout college defensive lineman; a position that they were overstocked at with talent, when they could have had their pick of any QB. At least three were acknowledged first round talents; all now doing well and leading their teams to playoffs.

    Then when an over-hyped QB was “gifted’ to them, they even blew that, by not having a plan in place for retaining him going forward. So when he seemingly looked the part, they had to shell out the top QB payout for a second stringer based on a very limited sample size. Not a smart way to run an organization.

    Teams were ready for Garoppolo when he actually became the starter. He didn’t look good. It’s unfortunate that he got injured last year, because now they are going to waste another year finding out that Jimmy G. isn’t really all that. (No one gets one over Bellicheck; he just likes you to think that. Does it every time.)

    There’s another overhyped player that fits this mold: Jerrod McKinnon. This lot payed him top-five money when they had three years of tape on him showing mediocre play. Minnesota, which was not overflowing with standout RBs didn’t want him back at any cost. Not an offer. He’s a lucky guy for getting injured. Now he gets to collect TWO years of top money, before he proves he’s not worth that. A bust.

    SMH!

    1. It boggles the mind to think these guys are professionals.

      I agree 100% on how they blew the 2017 draft. Mahomes and Watson (Trubisky to a lesser extent) were there for the taking. Shanny was in love with Cousins and that was the plan–to sign him and have Brian Hoyer be the placeholder for the year and get the band back together for the following season. Just poor planning on so many accounts.

      I also think Kyle had some trauma around RGIII and didn’t want any QB that remotely resembled him and Mahomes and Watson did.

      They blew that draft and to make matters worse, they traded up to get a guy that is not an NFL caliber QB in Beathard. At best, he’s a back up.

      Then the JG thing happened and Shanny was not happy. He pouted about it for the rest of the season. He was not Cousins. That was not the plan. Jimmy G’s confidence was not high under Shanny’s harsh assessment. It’s my “belief” that JG made that stupid running play, because he was overcompensating to do something “right.”

      Now, they’ve had a QB that can run Shanny’s system fall right into their lap. He could be the Kirk Cousins model they were seeking all along. How they handle Mullens is critical. They’ve made so many errors that they cannot afford to make another with him.

      The wisest thing to do is to make Nick Mullens the starter on opening day and let JG get this game back, if he can with Mullens starting.

      This version of Jimmy G is not the same one they signed to the big deal.

  9. I’m sorry, I just don’t see Jimmy G being ready to start the season; he does not appear ready either mentally or physically. I had the pleasure of seeing The Niners beat the Seahawks last December and I believe that Mullens has enough in his locker to succeed. We saw him at LA too and he did the best he could against a brutal onslaught.

    The only way I see CJB starting the season is if Kyle wants to be released from his contractual obligations sooner than the organisation originally intended!

  10. KS just needs to say that JG is not fully recovered from his ACL. Those 5 straight picks and pick in this game just means JG is not at 100%, and his confidence and decision making is lacking. JG is fortunate that he did not throw a pick six.
    .
    I agree with Grant. Laken Tomlinson looks like he is playing with blinders on. He had no peripheral vision, and Chubb caused that first pick by rushing at JG untouched.
    .
    Thankfully, the Niner running game looks explosive, and the Niner run defense was stout.

    1. Not sure why Tomlinson is the one being singled out… he wasn’t great, but It’s Staley who was beaten twice by Chubb. In fact, he was giving Staley fits in practice as well.

      On the plus side according to reports McGlinchey handled Von Miller pretty well all week… and he is exactly the type of rusher that has previously given him fits.

      1. That one stunt that left Staley whiffing at Chubb untouched and in Garoppolos face within microseconds was particularly egregious. But hey, let’s bench or trade or cut Garoppolo.

        1. Rib,

          “But hey, let’s bench or trade or cut Garoppolo.”

          I think you have me mixed up with someone else… I think if the niners want to have a chance of being good, Jimmy has to be the man. I like Mullens but think he is being vastly overrated on these boards.

          Also, while the performance was bad… making large scale judgement of someone off of their first game back in more than year is a bit preemptive IMO. Jimmy needs reps.

          1. “I think you have me mixed up with someone else… I think if the niners want to have a chance of being good, Jimmy has to be the man.” Really? Why? What if another QB is just as good if not better than JG? Is it because he’s paid all that money? Looks the part with his 5 O’clock shadow? Must be, because most people are mindless order followers and this is the way “things are” so he “just hast to be.”

            It’s nearly 2020 and I still have a hard time believing that most people couldn’t think their way outside their box of rules, even if Bear Grillis was there to lead them out of the wilderness of parochial thought and total obedience.

            1. Oh, they are paying him a lot of money, so he has to be the starter. Wrong. This is a results driven league, and so far, Mullens is the best QB on the team. JG was fortunate that they did not score a pick six off of him.
              .
              Coming off an ACL injury, and assuming he is as good as new, is just foolish. We all saw what happened last night, and it was not pretty. KS should not allow JG to destroy his confidence, throwing him to the wolves. KS should work JG back gradually, and put him in the best situations to succeed. Maybe if the Niners build up a 2 score lead, let JG come in and play the second half.
              .
              JG has become a turnover machine. That is no bueno. Every position should be earned, not given to a player. Mullens has earned a shot to start, unless JG can make these last 2 preseason games into an exhibition of his skills. If JG goes out, and throws more picks, he should bench himself.

              1. JG has become a turnover machine. That is no bueno. Every position should be earned, not given to a player. Mullens has earned a shot to start, unless JG can make these last 2 preseason games into an exhibition of his skills. If JG goes out, and throws more picks, he should bench himself.

                Put down that Troy Smith pipe you are smoking, Seb. Mullens threw three passes last night. Three. And did you forget the ugly int he threw the previous week? He was serviceable last year in season mop up duty, but earning a shot to start this season? Far far from it.

              2. Mullens threw 3 passes, and one was a beauty, for a score.Sure, he threw a pick first game, but he did not throw 5 picks on a row in practice, or a pick, with a dropped pick six like last game.
                .
                QBs regress. You have bashed Kaep for doing that. However with Kaep, he willed his team to victory his last game, and ended up with a 90.7 QBR. I think JG’s confidence is shattered and throwing him to the wolves is a poor strategy. JG’s QBR was negligible, and zero yards with a pick is not impressive. If they want him to sink or swim, just expect more sinking. Coming back from an ACL gives KS a good excuse for sitting JG, especially after what we saw last game.

              3. QBs regress. You have bashed Kaep for doing that.

                Yeah, over multiple seasons. You (and others) are doing it over multiple quarters. And training camp after coming back from serious knee surgery. And a 2nd preseason game, a whole 3 drives worth. Insane.

                It’s almost like we were supposed tell what kind of poster you’d be after your your first post. Wait, that did happen.

          2. I think you have me mixed up with someone else…

            I’m sorry Shoup, though replying to your comment, I didn’t direct that particular statement at you, but rather the board in general. I was stupefied in reading some of the in-game comments from last night and even Grant’s “the 49ers should at least consider starting Nick Mullens Week 1 of the regular season.” Just no. This is preseason. Preseason. The entire Niners offense stunk up the stadium on those 3 drives, from play calling to execution. They didn’t do any favors whatsoever to a guy coming back from a year long layoff, and missing at least two receivers (Kittle, Taylor) that are going to be a huge part of JG’s game. KS conceded that, saying that last drive was was dead from the beginning with the holding call. Of course JG is going to be rusty. What were Staley’s and Tomlinson’s excuses?

            making large scale judgement of someone off of their first game back in more than year is a bit preemptive IMO. Jimmy needs reps.

            The quote of the day.

            1. Jimmy doesn’t need reps, he needs a shaman, a soul transplant, because he lost his somewhere along the way. That’s not the same dude that was freewheeling and dealing at the end of the 2017 season.

              1. And you’ve come to this conclusion by seeing what? 2 1/2 games and 3 preseason drives following a year layoff?

              2. Where is Appolo Creed when you need him. I mean when Rocky lost his soul and hunger to fight, Apollo was right there with the help of Adrian to get him back in the ring. And he clobbered Clubber.
                Where’s Apollo?????
                The sky is falling. ??

            2. Have to agree with Ribico here.
              Jimmy G looked ugly (on 3 drives) last night, but the odds weren’t exactly in his favour.
              His top two targets (Kittle/Taylor) weren’t playing.
              Two starters were missing on the interior of the O line. (Toran was atrocious)
              And they had to face a Fangio coached defence led by Miller and Chubb.
              Coupled with the fact that the play calling wasn’t great and JG is getting his first reps since an ACL tear, I think we can relax a bit on the judgement.
              Did I like the way JG played? Of course not. Am I willing to completely bail on him because of it. No, that’s also silly.
              Let’s hope he improves next game.

              1. “And you’ve come to this conclusion by seeing what? 2 1/2 games and 3 preseason drives following a year layoff?”

                Yes. He will eventually have a good career–but not in SF.

          3. LOL. Patton wasn’t a mindless order follower. Isn’t there an Omar Bradley jpeg you can replace that with?

  11. The Niners should showcase Bourne and CJB, then trade them to a team of their choice. If they waive Bourne, he will end up in Seattle, with their WR needs, now that their WR Metcalf just had surgery. The NY Giants need a WR, so they may be a good trade partner for the Niners.
    .
    Maybe the Niners keep 3 QBs with the QB position in flux, but there are several teams who might want to upgrade their QB position. If the Niners could get a 5th round pick for CJB, they should make the trade, or maybe swap CJB for an interior O lineman.

    1. Yes but who wants CJB? I am sure the jacket on him throughout the league is not so good…Bourne is marketable to some degree but he drops passes…can’t have that…and please rid the team of Pettis= another bad high draft pick..teams seams to get better players from the third round on.

      Deebo looks like John Taylor, now if they can find a #1…

  12. Last 2 seasons Niners went through 3 QBs. You have to go back to 2014 that one QB played the entire season. They keep all 3.

  13. Thanks Grant…..another head scratcher game from Frisco…good news is the weaknesses of the team are evident…JimmyG not ready, Oline a mess, Secondary mess….When will the team fix these issues.?????…..same as last year except JimmyG has declined…Hope to see Mullens get more play time

  14. For the sake of the team hopefully Jimmy has the toughness to overcome the noise and mental hurdles associated with his comeback… Not like it gets an easier in KC from a mental standpoint. Mullens is a good backup but long-term answer should Jimmy fail I doubt it. Saturday should be interesting…

  15. What made JG look good in 2017 was his quick release and aggressive demeanor. He no longer showed either as far back as last season. Thats what gave him success. Once he got his big contract he appeared to play to not get hurt. Watch him in 2017- he makes throws just as he is about to get hit and then does a half turn to protect himself. He only did that once last season and that was right before he hurt himself.

    Almost everyone now sees that he is tentative and playing scared. The question is if that is a result of his lack of playing time and last seasons injury, or is that Jimmy when he is not playing for a roster spot ora big contract. At the beginning of last season, he was not coming off of an injury but he still mirrored a player playing not to get hurt. Even back then I was concerned about if that was the real Jimmy. The Jimmy who had his money and not longer felt a need to play all out.

    Sorry but the Niners might have a good time playboy on their hands.

  16. First, Grant has been on the money with his Camp reports the whole Preseason.. Kudos for accurate reporting..

    My biggest takeaways ..

    1. Garoppolo has massively regressed. Is it rust? Only time will tell. Been playing like this all camp so might want to take a bath in Rustco..
    2. Defense, despite all the injuries is very fast.. If they get healthy they will be one of the League’s best..
    3. O Line has no depth. You cannot win in the NFL if you cannot protect your QB. Last night’s group were awful with Garoppolo in and problematic with the others.
    4. Richie James showed significant value as a return man.
    5. Nice to have a Plan B QB that cost you a ham sandwich.. At this point Mullins is the best QB on the team. If Garoppolo continues his poor footwork/arm throws/mental chaos under pressure act, Shanahan can quickly pull the plug and go with Mullins to save his coaching job..

    Speaking of Coaching, there is no doubt Shanahan can draw up plays but his ability to get guys ready to play in this League is a fail. Does anyone think at this juncture the Offense will be ready to go on the road the first two weeks and play good offensive football?? He needs to rethink his preseason season prep. Three series in Preseason week two and a half in week three is not enough game speed plays to get his guys system ready, IMO..

    1. Good write up buddy….Secondary suspect, WR suspect poor Grappo play…..seems like last year all over

    2. Very insightful comment on the HC. Sure he can draw up the play. But can he COACH the players to execute? Can he even identify the players who are capable of executing? Can he LEAD? I don’t see it at this juncture of his career.
      Perhaps he’ll get there eventually, but he’s not there yet and, even if he does, he’s learning at the expense of the Niners.
      To compound the problem, he doesn’t have an experienced, solid guy backing him up at GM. Someone whose been there and he can turn to for advice.

  17. JG obviously played poorly. He definitely needs more pre-season game time to get comfortable. My takeaway from his performance though was that he sorely misses Trent Taylor. JG’s strength so far as I can tell is his ability to make extremely quick decisions and throw the ball with a hair trigger delivery. That fits perfectly with Trent Taylor and his short area quickness. Every throw I could see JG make against the Broncos he had to wait a second or two for the routes to develop and he isn’t good at holding the ball. He got nervous and made bad decisions. JG is a good QB but Kyle Shanahan has his work cut out for him in the coaching dept. The 49ers best offensive weapon is George Kittle.
    Plays designed to go to Kittle take some time to develop which is JG’s weakness. Even when JG was with the Pats, the TE’s did not do so well when he was the QB. Martellus Bennett had much better numbers with Jacoby Brissett than with JG. In order to fully utilize Shanahan’s offense JG has to get better with his patience and pocket presence post surgery. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kittle experience a precipitous drop off in his production and the 49er offense will not be as good as it can be if thats the case.

    1. Good observation about playing style and its impact on other players. Do you think the play calls were specifically called to make JG think more? If so, do you think that was the right approach?

      1. Kyle has said a number of times that his judgements during preseason are equal between practices and games. Rightly or wrongly, he doesn’t seem to take preseason games too seriously. I’ve said a number of times that I thought he should have helped JG out with the play calling. I’ll include the link to KS’ after-game presser below. It’s interesting to listen to his view points. He only seems to fault Jimmy for one play where he feels he made a bad decision. On the interception he says that Jimmy made the right decision but was hit during the throw and that caused the interception.

        https://www.49ers.com/video/shanahan-evaluates-garoppolo-staley-following-win-broncos

        Personally, I hope he takes this 3rd preseason game more seriously and does some game planning.

        1. My understanding is that the first two pre-season games tend to be extensions of training camp practice because they happen during training camp. Coaches neither game plan nor do they deviate from the plays they planned to call because they are essentially practicing those plays. The third game is after training camp is over and involves a little game planning. The fourth game is mostly an opportunity for the 37 players to be cut to make a case for themselves to other teams. This has the case for most teams as far as I can remember. I think Kyle just takes the trouble of articulating a commonly held view among most coaches, especially the younger ones.

          1. That’s my understanding as well, Mood. But I believe KS has said that he would prefer zero preseason games. That concerns me a bit for the 3rd game, because KC will game plan for it. If KS just ignores this upcoming game, the offense might look very bad indeed.

            1. You think Andy Reid will pull one on Kyle like Sean Payton did to Jim Harbaugh in 2013 pre-season when he had his pass rusher go after Alex Smith ? I’ll be surprised.

              1. I think that preseason “gentlemen’s agreement” is no longer in effect. Seemed to me like both teams were rushing pretty hard last night.

      2. I think Shanahan is a great offensive strategist. I’m not certain how he handles the psychology part of QBing. He may have called plays to force JG to get comfortable in the pocket rather than quick throws predetermined before the snap. I may have tried to throw 1 step or 3 step screens or slants on the first couple of pass attempts but Shanny has more knowledge than anyone about how he needs to challenge JG. I’m definitely not criticizing Shanahan’s play calling. I’m just observing that the guy with the skill set most complimentary to JG’s skill set is injured. The best offensive player on the team has a skill set that doesn’t compliment JG in the least. Shanahan has his work cut out for him in developing that part of the offense while JG is rushing through every play.

    2. All Shanahan wanted to accomplish in this game was getting JG in a live setting again. It would have been great to put together some first downs and score some points, but as has been pointed out there is no game planning at this point and the two teams were familiar with each other from the joint practices. This was about JG facing a live pass rush and getting adjusted to the speed of the game again. Unfortunately, the Oline was terrible and didn’t really give him a chance to get comfortable.

  18. Here comes the fun part. Two preseason games to go, with the season opener coming up in 19 days. Across-the-league roster reductions just around the corner. Players coming and going, possible trades, etc.

    Can’t wait for the intensity of the first regular season game.

    1. Two preseason games to go, with the season opener coming up in 19 days.

      A compressed schedule for sure, monday night game didn’t help. It really puts the pressure on the board members to get in their player snap judgments based on play time measured in minutes or less. I think we are up to the task though.

    2. This place never stops supplying the laughs. I’m so glad I found it. Jimmy G sucks and should be replaced by Mullens because he threw 5 picks in practice and didn’t look good in his first action in 11 months? I seriously question whether most on here have any idea about what they are talking about because the comments are that insane. First off, JG made one bad read/play when he locked on Matthews with the CB squatting on the route. Bad play by JG no question. The other 5 attempts were unsuccessful mainly due to the Oline. The interception was not a throw off his back foot like some here are trying to insinuate. He was trying to hit Breida on a wheel route which was the right read, but was bumped by Chubb who beat Staley cleanly. He had two passes tipped by Shelby Harris who was dominating Najee Toran. JG was rusty, he said so himself, but the poor outing was not all on him.

      This love for Mullens is the classic – underdog backup can do no wrong – fan fiction when they get frustrated with the starter. Mullens played well at times last year and overachieved based on his limited physical skills but take a look at the overall picture and you can clearly see he was not as good last year as some on here make him out to be including the blog writer. He had a great game against the Raiders at home in his first start, most teams had great games against the Raiders for that matter. In the next 7 starts he had one good game against Seattle at home, with the other 6 featuring ok to terrible play from him. The backup always seems to get irrational support from some fans and that is the case here.

      This team will go nowhere if JG struggles. The defense has improved, but the Oline is a question mark and needs to be better in pass pro. That is the key to success or failure for this team going forward, not who is playing QB.

      1. I beg to differ. Mullens is good enough to lead the Niners to victory, especially if the Niner defense continues to play so well.
        .
        What they cannot overcome is a turnover machine. JG could very easily have suffered a pick six, to go along with that interception.
        .
        Mullens is accurate, and has complete mastery of the playbook. JG throws picks, and looks tentative.
        .
        Believe it or not, it is very difficult to come back 100% from an ACL injury. JG is a perfect example.
        .
        I will root for whichever Niner QB who starts. If JG regresses more during these next 2 preseason games, he may pull a Gabbert, and bench himself.

  19. It appears to me that KS is determined to break down Jimmy’s confidence to absolute rock bottom and then bring it back up gradually. He certainly did Jimmy no favors with his play calling. Yeah, Trent Taylor and Jimmy work well together, but Taylor is not the only receiver who can get open quickly on quarterback friendly routes. The PTB seem to be aware that caution is needed because of Jimmy’s previously injured knee, but oblivious to getting his head where it needs to be.

    1. That’s how they did it in Marine Corps Boot Camp. Tear you down, and rebuild you into a lean, green, fighting machine.

      1. Will that work for the equivalent of Commissioned, General and Flag Officers though? :) Even rookies have reached the pinnacle of their profession.

  20. Niners had 13 penalties–a tiny ray of light when considering last week’s bloated number. Single digits, baby!

  21. Guys I would get rid of.

    1) Marquis Goodwin. Move on. He’s a gadget player who gets hurt a lot. He’s taking up a roster space for someone that can make an impact.

    2) Malcolm Smith. This Azeez kid can play. Easy choice.

    3) Josh Garnett. Super bust. Move on.

    4) CJ Beathard. If you can’t trade him, release him outright. If they’re going to start JG, make it clear the Mullens is the next man up, not CJ.

    5) Adrian Colbert. Tantalizing size/speed but can’t put it together.

    6) Jimmie Ward. I like him as a person, but this was a dumb signing, especially now that Moore looks like he can play in that spot.

    1. 4) CJ Beathard. If you can’t trade him, release him outright. If they’re going to start JG, make it clear the Mullens is the next man up, not CJ.

      Have you watched the Niner QB carousel these last few seasons? And who would be the next man up if Mullens goes down? Speight off the PS? I don’t think so. Keeping 3 serviceable QBs is the only way to go.

      1. McKinnon to IR makes it an easier pill to swallow if they do decide to ride with 3 QB’s.

      2. You get to number three and you ain’t winning anything. It doesn’t matter at that point. Unless of course, your number three is the amazing Nick Mullens. :-) Who would make a great number two, borderline one.

        1. You get to number three and you ain’t winning anything

          Historically, most teams have shown once you get to number two you aren’t winning anything either. I’d still rather see Mullens and CJB than suffer through any extended Speight PT.

          1. Kurt Warner, Colin Kaepernick, and Steve Young are notable exceptions that come to mind when thinking about No. 2 QBs that filled in o.k.

            1. I’ll see those examples with the likes of Curtis Painter, Brett Hundley, Dan Orlovsky, Matt McGloin, E.J. Manuel, Drew Stanton, Kerry Collins (the colts version), Josh Freeman, Ken Dorsey… Or closer to home Elvis Grbac, the Drunkenmiller, Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey, Shaun Hill, Troy Smith

    2. Sorry to disagree, but Garnett may be their best option. Maybe play him at LG, his natural position, and move Tomlinson to RG. Tomlinson did not shine last game, and he played RG in college.
      .
      Goodwin is healthy right now, and if used judiciously, could make a big impact. He can stretch the field, but the main question is if the Niners have a QB that can make those deep throws.
      .
      I generally agree with your other players to move on from.

      1. Seb

        I am sick and tired of your idea that sticking Garnett in ” his natural position” is going to make him a NFL lineman…What the hell do you think Kyle and Lynch (as well as the rest of the coaching block) are really doing ? Do you really think that all of them either separately or together haven’t thought of this ? The problem IMHO is that Garnett was a college ball player who has not, cannot, and will not elevate his skills , toughness, nor desire to the NFL level. HE’S a sissy who can’t play hurt…Now with Bosa, WE HAVE A MATCHING PAIR… Two #1 picks as worthless as each other. At least Solomon Thomas gives an effort…not much of one, but effort. That he ‘looked’ like Bosa in interteam practice against a ROOKIE who was playing out of position and didn’t even have the time to prepare to play gives me no pleasure….Think before posting…PLEASE…!

        1. Ore, I just watched Chubb run past Tomlinson like he was a turnstile. I want better LG play.
          .
          Garnett won the Outland Trophy as a LG, so that is his natural position.
          .
          Tomlinson played RG in college.
          .
          Maybe both will play better if the coaches put them in their best positions to succeed.
          .
          Why not experiment during the preseason? Moving them around will aid in their versatility.

    3. You forgot Pettis….dude looks as scared as JimmyG ….. set records in College as a returner and team refuses to play him as a returner…Q: why draft him then? yet another bad FO draft pick

  22. Coaches have a habit of keeping undrafted RBs on special teams and only as a backup. If they would open their eyes they would realize that the best RB on the team the past two seasons is RAHEEM MOSTERT. Valuable special teams player so he has to be active every game. However, he’s an excellent blocker and pass protector and the fastest RB (and probably the toughest) on the squad. He is a perfect fit for Shanahan’s system and is very tough to bring down. This may well be his breakout season. https://www.49erswebzone.com/commentary/2111-49ers-raheem-mostert-deja/?fbclid=IwAR1OhcR17GajZ4GXi2gWZEB8Pmh_Bvr9QDAD1ebfjr7FR1sZeiWl2LcuIbc

  23. The Good

    Wishnowski – he can hit don’t think I ever saw Pinion tackle anyone.
    Saleh – his defense is much improved.
    McGlinchey – he had his hands full and did well.
    Depth – the team is better this year with better players.

    The Bad

    KS – bad play calling during JG’s reps and not allowing JG more reps
    JG – You sucked
    O-line – looked very similar to last year in pass protection.
    Gunners special teams slow to get there.

      1. True but I also forgot to add K Smith, to the good, nice block for Mostert and caught a key third down catch.

        1. Yes there was plenty of The Good if you forget the JimmyG play (which is huge) and Oline play (again same crappo different year) and the drops or drop. How about Deebo under the good? He looked well ,, good LOL

  24. I will not say they should cut JG, but they need to handle him with kid gloves.
    .
    It was a perfect storm against JG. He had his first action since September. He is coming back after an ACL injury. He is trying to get past that 5 pick practice. The O line was porous. The coaching was not as sharp as it should have been. The Broncos were very familiar with the Niner playbook, with Scangarello giving them all the intel they needed. Fangio is a daunting opponent, and schemed to knock down passes.
    .
    That said, JG needed to overcome those obstacles, but he was overwhelmed. KS needed to game plan better, and QB plan way better. Next game, maybe he should only insert JG into the game once they reach the red zone, and not start him against the starters for the Chiefs. Success in the red zone will help bolster his confidence. There is no rule that states the QB must play out the drive, or cannot come back, once removed from the game.
    .
    KS should start by allowing JG to complete some easy passes. Quick tosses to the fly sweeper, swing passes and bubble screens to the WRs may be good options. He should not make JG sit in the pocket, because KC will be scheming to rush to a spot. You can bet the Chiefs will be bringing a lot of pressure, so screens and draws may be good counters.
    .
    I sure hope JG can lead the team to victory. Last game, I wanted him to lead them to a TD on the first drive. However, the harsh reality of the NFL has caused JG to regress. JG needs time, and Mullens may give JG time to get back to the 2017 JG.

    1. Yes good points but what if 2017 was a mirage?…team was in last place and JimmyG was playing loose….the harsh reality is JimmyG may have been playing over his head, it was not the real JimmyG…last nite was a wake up call

  25. Lol, it looks like the Garoppolo wars have begun in earnest! Wonder if anyone is arguing for Beathard to start? Poor guy seems left out in the cold.

    JG has better pedigree and physical capacity than Mullens. Mullens, looks very scrappy though and one can’t help but root for the kid when he’s out there.

    The reality is that we still don’t know what kind of QB we have with JG or for that matter with Nick Mullens. Both have looked good and sloppy at times. The team has given JG starter money for a reason, and I am very confident that he is the horse that KS and JL will ride for the season.

    1. JG stunk last night but he is the starter and should be the starter. I don’t see either Mullins or CJ as starters. If JG doesn’t work out then the Niners need to look elsewhere for a QB.

      1. I think Mullens is a very good backup and I would absolutely hate to see him go. The love for him on this blog as a starter, however, has me a little perplexed. Here are Mullen’s stats from last year:

        3W – 5L, 13 TD, 10 interceptions, 17 sacks and a 64.2% completion percentage.

        A lot of comments that Jimmy G’s play in 2017 was good because it was “garbage” time stats (garbage time in the sense that there was nothing to play for since the season was lost). Isn’t that also true of Mullens? In fact more so because the team’s record was worse in 2018 than in 2017.

        I’m not trying to put down Mullens. In fact, I think he has exceeded his expectations. The problem with Jimmy at the moment is that he has not met the expectations demanded by most fans. Kyle doesn’t seem concerned (at least in public) about how Jimmy is progressing. The only area I disagree with KS at the moment is that he needs to give him more help. Grant said the same in his periscope after the 2nd preseason game, and I quote:

        “I think it’s not fair to be too hard on Jimmy Garoppolo because he has no George Kittle, no Trent Taylor. He doesn’t trust any of his receivers. And that’s not his fault because his receivers aren’t good. I would like to see Jimmy Garoppolo play with Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd. I think Jimmy deserves it; I think Deebo deserves it. I think the entire offense would benefit from it.”

        1. I totally agree with you. I think JG needs some time, how much, I don’t know. I am not too worried about the team as of yet. You know the Niners have the worst red zone scoring on offense and close to it on defense. They had two interceptions last year. They had 40 pre snap penalties last year 47 the year before. JG had five straight interceptions last week, and has a 0 for a QB rating after last night – the way I see it only one way to go from there and that is up!! Sometimes you have to reach bottom before you can get to the top. I like this team I believe the question now is can KS win.

        2. Good points. Mullens also had a couple of games where he was under 60% in completion percentage and threw multiple picks. The play calling in preseason is usually based around trying things out while the results don’t mean anything. Shanahan wants to see certain plays in different situations and isn’t game planning against what the defense is doing so much as focusing on how his team executes the plays. That is why he said the practices meant a lot more than the game.The Oline play blew up any chance of success while the starters were in there which is the major concern. What is getting overlooked in this hysteria over JG’s performance is that the depth of this team was far superior to the Bronco’s and that is a sign that the roster has improved a lot in the past two years since Shanahan and Lynch were hired. There are going to be some good players cut by this team and that is something we couldn’t say since Harbaugh was here.

    2. Yes but prob is JimmyG is making 20Million a year or lets look at it this way….a cool million a game…do you want to pay somebody that kind of money to stink it up? I think not.

      Another thing to ponder, would the team be better off spending 400K for Mullens (or more) and spending the rest on a decent Oline?….or a #1 WR?

      Team has issues no doubt and If JimmyG doesn’t look like a starter before the first game, then what?

    1. Its called “laying an egg”……should have had a pick six in there as well..imagine if it WAS a pick six….oh the stench

    1. I was going to point out that Denver’s undrafted punter had similar stats yesterday but I didn’t. The fact is that it was a waste of a pick but he’s ours now and hope that he is far more than people project.

      1. You gotta admit, though, that was one hell of a tackle he made considering that he is a punter. It sure made me say: “Wow”.

        1. At first, yeah, but then I thought about what the consequences of the action could be (losing starting punter and kickoff specialist).

          1. SY,
            Ray Guy never avoided making a tackle like so many modern day kickers do. I once saw him jump up about 3 feet to make a one handed catch of a bad snap from center and still make a great punt.

            Point; if a kicker has the ability to add a different dynamic to his game that can help the team, I see it as a plus.
            Wish not only made an eye-opening tackle, but his (of greater importance) tackle may have saved a very long return.

        2. Rewatching that (a few times) it looked like the returner had a lane there and heading for major yardage until #6 flashed in from nowhere and BOOM!

            1. Unfortunately gamepass does seem to have the all 22 for preseason. But he had a big head of steam and all Niner defenders in the vicinity were turned around and heading in the same direction as him. Perhaps one or two might have cut him off 10 or so yards up-field. Good thing is, we’ll never know :)

              1. True, and let’s hope he doesn’t get hurt. Not surprised he can tackle. Played rugby.

  26. Heard commentators say JG was favoring his knee—-Grant, did you see anything?

    4. Observations:

    1. Receivers did not get open
    2. Long-developing pass routes instead of quick-routes didn’t do a QB coming back after a years absence any favors vs. a 1st string D
    3. When receivers did get open, the pass rush didn’t allow JG time for completions.
    4. Grant’s been right about JG vs. Mullens: “Mullens is a pleasure to watch; he makes quarterbacking look easy.”

    49ers need to make Mullens the Game 1 starter until JG polishes off the rust.

  27. Jimmy G played like someone who has not taken a hit for almost a year. He’s tentative about getting hit coming from the injury and that seems to have affected his pocket movement last evening. As Steve Young used to say, it a took a couple of hits from the pass rushers for him to get into rhythm… It’ll probably take a handful of regular season games before he feels comfortable in the pocket — much to the chagrin of the Mullens/Beathard fans here.

    The Bourne Inconsistency made itself felt again last evening.

    The idea of putting McKinnon on IR designated to return after 8 games, and using that opening to keep James until Taylor becomes available is worth a consideration. I don’t expect Taylor to reach camp-level performance until he gets used to the screw in his foot and that make take better part of the first 8 games. Much easier to sneak someone into PS after cutting during regular season.

    Finally, who’s is this “Rob Salaah” that Booger was talking about constantly?

      1. Well, Kyle says he has pretty much made up his mind about the backup. I find it difficult to believe they are going to cut the #3 when the battle for the backup has been this close and Jimmy G is still rusty. I say he keeps all 3 going into the regular season. If Jimmy G stays healthy and a QB on another team is lost for most of the seasongets injured, it’d be an opportunity for Trader John…

        1. One big difference, though. Last season there was no problem stashing Mullens on the PS because his ability wasn’t really known outside of the team. So when JG went down, it was easy to activate him. If they use a similar model this year, then we’re talking about activating Speight. That alone would make me want to keep 3 QBs active.

  28. Seb, lets see you ‘slip’ out of your comments regarding Kaden Smith being toooo slow and not a good blocker since he was a 6th Rd pick.

    I guess your argument is with SB Nation, not me about Smith making the 53???!

    “With the NFL’s best tight end, George Kittle, sitting out Monday’s contest as a precaution, that paved the way for rookie tight end Kaden Smith to earn more playing time.

    “As a result of the extra snaps, Smith was pivotal on a 3rd-and-13 catch from quarterback C.J. Beathard for 17 yards to keep the drive alive. On a Raheem Mostert touchdown run, Smith made a really good block that sealed off the edge and opened a highway-sized lane for the running back to get through and make the house call.”

    In case you forgot, here’s Smith’s game video:

    https://www.ninersnation.com/2019/8/20/20813452/49ers-broncos-final-score-rookie-debut-recap-deebo-samuel-mitch-wishnowsky

    1. TrollD, Smith may very easily be cut, because he is PS eligible. That catch he made, will be made by Kittle in the regular season. Glad he made a catch to convert a third down, but he has a long ways to go before he supplants Kittle. Dwelley is having a great TC, so Smith may be a bubble player casualty, especially if they keep 7 WRs.

      1. Haha!! Sebby, Sebby, Sebby……………Slippery ‘ol Sebs…..

        Supplanting Kittle was NEVER the issue! Of course you knew that and purposely re-framed the issue………. You easily could have been a California politician……………..You should be up in D.C., Sebs-you speak their language.

        1. Saw, it was relevant and pertained to this sentence.- ‘Kittle, sitting out Monday’s contest as a precaution,that paved the way for rookie TE Kaden Smith to earn more playing time.’

  29. Posters who claim Mullens is not a starter does not remember last season.
    .
    Mullens started, and did well. He had third stringers playing at a high level. He defeated the Seahawks, a playoff team, to break a streak. Mullens was a starter, and won 3 games out of a 4 win season.
    .
    Mullens has a better command of the playbook, and his demeanor on the field showed his confidence and moxie. When he walked up to the line, he flawlessly checked down to a more advantageous play.
    .
    IMHO, Mullens could easily become the starter, and lead the Niners to a victory, especially against the first 2 opponents. It would allow JG to rehab fully, and let JG to regain his winning form, with less stress. Right now, he is the backup, so if JG’s knee does swell up, he would be the starter. Please do not diss the possible starter, and say he is not starter material.
    .
    Now CJB, I do not think he should be the Niner starter. They should trade him away to a QB needy team. Colts or Miami may be options. Washington may also be a good destination for CJB, with his family connection. Bobby Beathard was the GM for Washington, before.

    1. So, what happened to your stated principle of allowing (9er) players to select the team they’d be traded to?

      What happens if a player to be traded selects team A, but team B has a better offer?

      1. Nothing is set in stone. Belichick sent JG to the west coast so Miami, Jets or Buffalo did not get JG. Jags may had been a good place for JG, but the Jags played the Pats, and BB liked to coach against Bortles. He would be easier to defeat than if JG were the Jags QB. Maybe the Niners are not competent enough to make a deal like that, but they have made trades to other teams out of their division, before.
        .
        The Niners will be dictating where the player goes, but if the player likes his destination, he may facilitate the deal. Of course, the Niners should not trade a player to a team that he strenuously objects to, because that may thwart the deal.

  30. I’m not one of the fans saying Mullen’s should be the starter, but I have missed where anyone says he could have improved from last season.
    I keep reading what JG could be doing better and skies the limit and Mullen’s is a solid backup.
    Have we seen enough of game time play to know for sure if he is just a solid backup coming into his second year?
    I ask because this kid has been put on the back burner his whole life, he’s got a hunger to win and succeed like I haven’t seen in awhile.

    I’m not saying he will be the next 49er great.
    I’m questioning those who are saying he won’t.
    With little playing time we’ve seen from him.

    1. Everything I read and hear about Mullens reminds me of stuff that was said about Garcia back in the day.

      1. I can see that. Wasn’t a huge Garcia fan, felt he didn’t show up in the big moments, although he engineered one of the best games I’ve ever been to and comebacks in playoff history, maybe I was still spoiled with the greatness of the prior two legends.

        I like Mullins accuracy a little better though.
        But he can’t scramble or run like Garcia could .

        I wonder if JG is looking over his shoulder just a tad.

        1. Yeah. Not comparing the players, just the narrative around them and the similarities in their circumstances.

          Also, Garcia wasn’t a Mariucci guy, he was a Walsh guy, just like Mullens isn’t a Shanahan guy, he’s a Scangarello guy.

      2. Yup.
        .
        Although, you gotta remember, Garcia was throwing to TO.
        .
        Yes, Garcia’s pocket presence was exceptional, and you know I like mobile QBs.

  31. Pettis is not NFL caliber. Goodwin is a #2 receiver.
    *****************************************************
    11 snaps last night for Jimmy Garoppolo. WRs:
    Dante Pettis 11 snaps
    Marquise Goodwin 11
    Jordan Matthews 5
    Deebo Samuel 0
    Jalen Hurd 0
    Kendrick Bourne 0

  32. Every preseason is the same, the back up qb is all ways better than the starting qb. JG is the starter and Mullens is the backup when the regular season starts. If JG is a bust then find a starter not named Mullens or CJ. At best if Mullens starts the regular season record would be 5-11. Mullens has no real upside potential, he is playing at his peak.
    Let’s see how good or bad JG plays against KC if he is a bust then move on and trade him back to NE. Possibly what JG needs is a good sack to knock the rust off or out of the league.

    1. “Mullens has no real upside potential, he is playing at his peak.
      Let’s see how good or bad JG plays ”

      And you know this from a handful of games?
      Are you saying this team doesn’t have more talent around the QB this season over last? Better defense that will give them better field position?

      I really don’t see how anyone can say he’s playing at his peak when he’s only played a couple of games, and those games were the first preview of his game.

      1. The talent on the OL right now is no better than last year. RB is better and wR looks healthier than last year. In the span of 2 games I don’t see that Mullens has improved over last year.
        My point is either JG is the starter or its time to move on and Mullens isn’t the long term answer.

        1. I got your point. But I don’t see how you came to the conclusion that Mullen’s isn’t the answer from what little we’ve all seen.

          1. Last season against the Bears, I though that game was winnable in the 4th qtr. And I thought Mullens missed a couple of opportunities. Maybe I’m being a little hard on the kid.

  33. One thing that pleased me greatly, was watching that hard tackle, seeing the flag come out, then seeing the refs picking up the flag.
    .
    They got that one right.
    .
    Unlike the spot challenge, where a Niner was standing before the first down marker, and Lock ran out of bounds in front of the Niner. He did cross the first down line, but he was 2 yards out of bounds.

  34. Another point about JG and Mullens. I keep hearing that Jimmy is an interception machine. Yeah, he throws more than I would like and I even said in 2017 that he was a gunslinger and hoped KS would reign him in somewhat in 2018. But if your complaint is that the starting QB throws a lot of interceptions, then I don’t understand how you can support Mullens as the starting QB. In eight regular season games JG has thrown 12 TDs and 8 INTs. In eight regular season games, Mullens has thrown 13 TDs and 10 INTs.

    1. O-Line help could be on the way to cutail those interceptions:

      Ryan Sakamoto
      ‏Verified account
      @BEASTwriter_
      Based on current draft board as it currently stands I see as many as six OL being drafted in first 17 picks of 2nd round. Four WRs. Four DBs. 1 TE/RB/QB.

  35. I picked this guy to make the WR core at the start of TC. Seb disagreed.

    Ryan Sakamoto @BEASTwriter_ 2h
    #49ers rank 1st in the NFL in kick return average thanks to Richie James, blowing up coverage units for a 35.0 average! Week 1: #Cowboys: 1 KR for 25 yards Week 2: #Broncos: 2 KR for 80 yards Making a strong case for 53.

    1. Yes, James may be playing himself onto the team.
      .
      Still, he was a bubble player before TC.

        1. Agree with Coach on this one. You only have 16 chances to win games in the NFL. Scholarship? This is varsity! You play to win! You play your best players at every position on that particular day, period. If it’s Nick, then play him. They are in the “preseason” dilemma. Jimmy had more rust than the sunken Titanic, but they don’t want to expose him to injury playing vanilla offense with no game plan and no urgency for the starters to win, or even play hard. That was quite evident last night. That’s why preseason games shape up the way they do. The starters just want to get off the field without injury and play lack luster. Then the players competing for jobs come on and play their hearts out. 10 snaps for a guy that needs much more is unfortunate. He should have been lobbying for more playing time instead of standing on the sidelines smiling and laughing, in my view.

          1. This was not the varsity, this was the preseason, with 16 games in the future.
            .
            JG was laughing and smiling because he is a pro. He is not going to let a small setback negatively affect him. He did not whine and wheedle to get more playing time, because he knew they planned for him to play little. I wish he had had a better outcome, but so does he.
            .
            He embodies the adage- Never let them see you sweat.

  36. ITS PRESEASON!! In Week 1 Garropolo will be ready to go and burning the tampa bay bucs, he was being carefull today obviously , as well a little scared trying not to hurt his leg, not stepping into the throws but you know what , it really is not a big deal.

    GO 49ERS
    NFC WEST CHAMPIONS

    1. Another guy nobody counted on might be ready to go also:

      Kentavius Street: This redshirt rookie is already playing himself on to the roster. After missing all of last season with a torn ACL, Street is showing out big time. That included four tackles and 1.5 sacks Monday night. This kid continues to play at a high level. Not only is it going to be hard to ignore what Street can bring to the table, he must see substantial action as a second-year player. Dude is legit.”

      https://www.forbes.com/sites/vincentfrank/2019/08/19/what-we-learned-from-49ers-broncos-preseason-game/#1a081cdc523d

      1. Tom,
        I was touting Street before TC. Was happy when he got cleared to start practicing.

        He was one player that I was looking forward to watch in preseason and he has yet to disappoint.
        I may be off on this, but was Sol Thomas playing with 2nd and 3rd string players in the 4th quarter?

        1. Good Call

          Yeah, AES—At least Shanny didn’t have to completely gut the roster. Shanny must be pleased at help from an unexpected source to save a few draft picks!

          I was confused about Thomas as well. Maybe Grant has an answer? I thought about that point, but had a few beers and forgot

  37. This compiled via PFF…
    https://www.49erswebzone.com/articles/127360-raheem-mostert-damontre-moore-grades-among-49ers-broncos/

    Below are the five 49ers players on offense who earned PFF’s top grades against the Broncos.

    RB Raheem Mostert (86.2)
    WR Kendrick Bourne (80.1)
    C Wesley Johnson (75.9)
    TE Kaden Smith (75.8)
    WR Deebo Samuel (74.0)

    Below are the five 49ers players on defense with PFF’s top grades.

    DE Damontre Moore (89.5)
    S Jaquiski Tartt (83.9)
    CB Ahkello Witherspoon (82.3)
    LB Malcolm Smith (78.1)
    S Marcell Harris (77.8)

    1. CFB,
      What is their criteria for grading? How does K. Smith rate higher then Deebo. Did Witherspoon play more than a Qrtr?
      Was M. Smith on the field ? How could he have rated higher than Valoaga and K. Street or Shaair for that matter?
      Strange ratings to say the least.

      1. I don’t have a definitive answer…it’s the PFF analytics protocol based on PFF’s data model. Wonder which players barely fell out of the top 5…like numbers 6 and 7.

    2. That is very good to hear about Wesley Johnson–I hope he continues in that vein……….9ers have the most talented D-line in the NFL, from top to bottom…………..Secondary is playing very well-on every deep pass, I’ve seen a corner and a safety right there withe the rcvr-I put that on Woods……………pre-season or not, Defense has given up one TD-that is impressive. When the starters are all playing on D, I have a suspicion they will be formidable………..JG needs loads of work-the running game is going to have to help more than usual for a while…………..Deebo and Hurd need to play as much as possible……..Kittle, Trent and Goodwin on the field will make things easier for everyone……….

      The glass is truly half-full, and ain’t nothing Sebs can do about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  38. Grant’s hitting the nail on the head with his tweets on the play calling when Jimmy G was in the game. Strange (and dangerous) way to bring back a $137 million dollar investment.

  39. “I like my tackling ability but the other 10 blokes on the field are just freak athletes, so I’m more of just a last line of defense,” Wishnowsky said.

    1. And I’ll tell Seb-squid one thing if it isn’t two things——Wishnowsky can punt very well, run well and tackle like a LB—MUCH to Sebby’s chagrin!!!!

      1. It’s a fine kettle of fish you’ve made for yourself, Sebs…………..all of your predictions on this 9er draft are IN-correct.

        Instead of pouring bitter dregs, try some quality Whiskey with some sparkling spring water.

      2. Saw, I am enjoying Wishnowski’s play. I am rooting for him to succeed.
        .
        I can also say that they could have drafted an interior O lineman in the 4th, and expected Wishnowski to still be available in the 5th. Only one other punter was drafted this year. Other teams waited until after the draft, and signed punters as UDFAa.

  40. Retweeted by Grant. Fuel for Grant’s soul…

    Joe Shasky
    @ButcherBoy415

    No wonder the York’s never feel any pressure to win; they got BILLIONS of robot morons blindly giving the product a pass or excuse at every turn – the amount of denial/delusion from 9er fans (and those covering them) is mind boggling – heaven forbid we actually examine evidence

    I imagine Grant feels relieved that he’s not a ‘robot moron’…

    1. BILLIONS of robot morons blindly giving the product a pass

      Cool. Tell us what you really think of your readers there, Grant? Should be interesting.

      I guess the concept of “fan” totally escapes the likes of Grant and ButcherBoy.

          1. Yawn, I have been called worse, but my posts are not robotic. They are singular, unique, and filled with constructive criticisms. ;p

  41. Grant…

    Several months ago you expressed puzzlement as to why many fans seem to accept mediocrity (on the part of the 9ers/Yorks). Through your eyes, those who don’t express disgust with the state of the 9ers (as you see it) are complicit in enabling the Yorks. Your retweet of the Joe Shasky remark seems to reinforce your observation.

    Question — In the context of Shasky’s take, what is the opposite of a ‘robot moron’? One who sees the 9er matter perfectly–as you see it? Is there any ground between ‘robot moron’, BLINDLY giving the product a pass or excuse at EVERY TURN, and the opposite?

    1. Through your eyes, those who don’t express disgust with the state of the 9ers (as you see it) were complicit in enabling the Yorks.

      I don’t think that could be true, CFB. Even Grant knows that with a Levis crowd of zero on game day, with the NFL owners profit sharing the Yorks would still be shoveling money into their bank account by the semi-trailer load. At least he should know that.

  42. Does Nick Mullens remind you of Jeff Garcia?

    Sure, exactly alike.

    Garcia’s 1st season he was 3/1 TD/ints. Mullens? More like 50/50. If after 4 seasons Mullens has made the pro bowl, set the Niners season record for passing yards, instrumental in one of the all time great 49er playoff victories, then perhaps. Until then, not so much. This is not to denigrate Mullens, who may or may not end up playing significant minutes for the team but just responding to pot-stirring BS.

    1. « Garcia’s 1st season he was 3/1 TD/ints. Mullens? More like 50/50 »

      You are wrong about Garcia’s first season.

      In Garcia’s first season he started 10 games, was 2-8, and he had 11 TD and 11 int.

      1. Yup, you are absolutely correct Hammer, I stand corrected. Maybe Mullens has some Garcia like characteristics, it’s difficult comparing a relatively unknown against a known full career.

  43. On that that first drive int, were Breida and Goodwin running the right routes? They were only a couple yards apart at most when the ball arrived.

    1. From what I heard they were, but the ball came out too quick which is why they were close.

      Doesn’t matter that they were close anyway. The guy who made the pick was in man against Goodwin.

  44. David Lombardi
    ‏@LombardiHimself

    There’s a chance center Weston Richburg plays in Week 4 of the preseason as the 49ers hope to get him ready for Week 1 of the regular season, Shanahan said.

    @mattbarrows
    MoreMatt Barrows Retweeted David Lombardi
    If this comes to pass, Richburg may be the only starter on both squads who plays in this game. He’s been ramping up his workload since the start of training camp. No setbacks so far.

  45. Agree with Coach on this one. You only have 16 chances to win games in the NFL. Scholarship? This is varsity! You play to win! You play your best players at every position on that particular day, period. If it’s Nick, then play him. They are in the “preseason” dilemma. Jimmy had more rust than the sunken Titanic, but they don’t want to expose him to injury playing vanilla offense with no game plan and no urgency for the starters to win, or even play hard. That was quite evident last night. That’s why preseason games shape up the way they do. The starters just want to get off the field without injury and play lack luster. Then the players competing for jobs come on and play their hearts out. 10 snaps for a guy that needs much more is unfortunate. He should have been lobbying for more playing time instead of standing on the sidelines smiling and laughing, in my view.

    1. Agreed, Juan-I didn’t like that look either. But maybe it’s because they know the bigger picture better than we do………..thats what I’m hoping, anyway.

    2. “He should have been lobbying for more playing time instead of standing on the sidelines smiling and laughing, in my view.”

      I’m going to disagree with you on this one. It’s a preseason game and I think Jimmy knew he was only going to get so much time no matter what. With regards to the smiling and laughing, I took it to mean that he was not going to let what happened affect his mindset at this time. Now if we see this during the regular season, then I think it’s a problem, but I don’t think we will. KS’ attitude is that the preseason game with Denver was not as important as the practices. In fact, he seems to attach little importance to these preseason games. That attitude has probably filtered down to the players.

      Having said that, I do want to see a better performance in this “dress rehearsal” preseason game. Because if they don’t get it going soon, it’s just going to take longer when the season starts and that might mean losing the first couple of games. OTOH, most teams have this issue so it might balance out. Remains to be seen.

  46. Grant,

    Please add one positive to the list:

    The punter can double as a backup middle linebacker.

Comments are closed.