49ers 3, Packers 17: Grades

SANTA CLARA – Here are the San Francisco 49ers’ grades after their 17-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

KAEPERNICK: F. Someone needs to tell this guy he has to throw the ball between the white lines to complete a pass.

RUNNING BACKS: F. Carlos Hyde rushed eight times for 20 yards, and his longest run was seven yards. He has been subpar since he got knocked out of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Week 2.

WIDE RECEIVERS: D. Anquan Boldin caught three passes for 12 yards. He seems done – he’s slower than ever. Torrey Smith caught two passes for 47 yards and, through the first quarter of the season, has made just nine catches. Which means he’s on pace to make just 36 catches this season. If the Niners aren’t going to use him, why’d they give him all that money?

TIGHT ENDS: D. Garrett Celek, the 49ers’ best tight end, caught three passes for 26 yards. Vance McDonald, a former second-round pick, caught one pass for seven yards. He also dropped a pass when he was wide open. He’s horrendous.

OFFENSIVE LINE: F. Gave up six sacks and seven hits on the quarterback. This group is one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. Even Joe Staley is playing poorly.

DEFENSIVE LINE: D. Pushed around by the Packers’ offensive line on running plays. Gave up 162 rushing yards on 33 carries – 4.9 yards per attempt. The Packers were supposed to have the worst run defense in the NFL, but the Niners’ run defense played much worse today.

LINEBACKERS: B. Aaron Lynch was outstanding – two sacks, three hits on the quarterback, four tackles for loss. Ahmad Brooks also played well and registered a sack. But the inside linebackers – NaVorro Bowman in particular – played poorly. Bowman missed a couple tackles and struggled stopping the run.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: B. The 49ers mostly double-covered slot receiver Randall Cobb, who finished the game with only 44 receiving yards. On the outside, Kenneth Acker and Tramaine Brock both played well, and Rodgers frequently had nowhere to throw.

SPECIAL TEAMS: F. Bruce Ellington fielded a kickoff nine yards deep in the end zone and returned it to the Niners’ 11-yard line. If he let the ball bounce through the end zone, the Niners would have had the ball at their 20. Special teams coach Thomas McGaughey Jr. is a big downgrade from previous special teams coach Brad Seely.

COACHES: D. Last week, Geep Chryst called a running play from the pistol formation when the 49ers were on their 1-yard line. Safety. This week, Chryst called a run up the middle for a 205-pound running back on third-and-11. No gain. Chryst makes Greg Roman seem like Bill Walsh.

This article has 287 Comments

  1. Yeah, nothing good to say about this team at all. 3-13 would be reasonable expectation at this point.

  2. Kap sucks, but he’s not getting benched. Jordan Devey REALLY needs to get benched next week to give the young guys a shot. I’ve literally never seen worse guard play, not from Rachal, not from Snyder, not from anybody. But it doesn’t matter, draft Jared Goff next year, hire Baby Shanny as HC and we’ll be good.

    1. Fans in Boston rejoiced when the pacifist mormon tuba player (as Devey is known in around here) was traded away. last year, even with a quick release qb like Brady, he couldnt hold up to the pressure and routinely got blown back. Sad to say 4 games in to a season but this year seems lost and we need to think about the future. Get Thomas or martin in at guard because at least they could have an upside. Devey clearly does not

  3. No offense but that has been the same old story for last couple of yrs. Tomfoola is way over his head, but so is Kaep, Baalke and York.

    1. Neal: Only an idiot would have thought that Tomsula was HC material. But then again, these same idiots are the ones that have kept Baalke around, and fired a winning HC.

      1. I am not so ready to crucify the Offensive coaches. They are bad but they have to cook with what’s in the kitchen. Baalke has loaded the team with poor players who only fit a run scheme. There was an after thought to stretching the field. So T Smith and J Simpson were brought in. The problem is Baalke didn’t give the OC’s any material to work with. The O line is built to run the ball. The QB can’t keep Defenses out of the box. He also can’t anticipate throws. No OC would be successful with these pieces.
        The team has to rebuild with a eye to the passing game. QB, OL, TE.

      2. I blame York on all of this Chess, he gave the keys to Baalke who is a average GM at best? York is lazy and this GM search was a scam.

  4. Can not argue with any of your grades! They are professionals that are paid well but no bang for buck ith this crew! Arron Lynch, Hyde, hayne and armstead are the only building blocks I am happy about, I just do not see this turning around with balke, York and Marathe. They want control and no young talente gm or coach will put up with that.nuclear winter is what we have.

  5. “Special teams coach Thomas McGaughey Jr. is a big downgrade from previous special teams coach Brad Seely.” He’s not the only one.

    ALL the current coaches are a signficant downgrade from the ones they replaced.

    1. None of these guys could not get same position with other team. Starting with the Head Coach.

      1. Baalke would get Bill Walsh fired. He would have destroyed the career of Jimmy Johnson. He thinks he knows football, but the NFL has passed him by. Run first teams do not win Super Bowls. Run stopping Defenses do not win Super Bowls. It takes a great pass defense and a strong passing game. 2007 saw the beginning of this shift.
        It is going to take clearing out a lot of players. Many careers have been wasted in SF. V Davis could have rivaled Gronk. T Smith should be having a R Moss type season. A Boldin sure misses Fitzgerald. Crabtree could have been much better. D Walker never found his potential.
        Worth saying again, V Mac was drafted ahead of Lacey. Baalke missed an easy pick there.

  6. Jed Dork …this is all your fault….Balke you suck…you fired Harbaugh…harbaugh wasnt the problem , its you dipshi, pick Mcdonald because his hands were 1 inch longer than others? What does it matter if the guy cant catch ? Period

    1. Wow Jay, little ticked off there at old SACKORPICK and the two other monkeys running the team? Man, you must be angry as Boldin, he was livid on the sideline, thought he was going to go over and either yell or punch Sackorpick while he listened to his Beats. What a tick poor performance!

  7. Any idiot who ever said Navorro Bowman was better than Patrick Willis at any point of either of their respective careers was clearly mistaken.

    Patrick Willis in his prime was the best 3-4 ILB to ever play in the NFL. Bowman was the guy who benefitted by playing next to Willis.

    That’s how they’ll be remembered.

    1. That’s just highly incorrect. Any credible football person who watched Navarro Bowman in 2013 knows he was not just one of the best linebackers in football, but was in the running for DPOY. Was Willis an all-time great? Yes, but they benefited from playing with each other.

  8. This offense will accomplish nothing until the OL improves. Put 2 other players on the right side..just to try something different.. I don’t think the 9ers have anything to lose at this point. As much as I love Bowman, that injury has taken away a lot of his explosiveness. A lot slower getting to the ballcarrier than usual and can no longer go sideline to sideline like he used to. Not to say he’s washed up, but no longer elite.

    Overall defensively… much better, but once again will suffer from being on the field too long.. they seemed to tire out at the end..

    1. Let’s stop blaming the OL. In all actuality, Kaepernick is the cause of the bad line play. If he was getting ride of the ball at 2.3-2.5 seconds, the rush would be less effective. Hitting the deep passes opens the rushing game.
      I hate Romo, but he is a good example. He plays behind a terrible line who he makes look good because of his quick release. Pittsburgh also does the same. No one does this better than Tom Brady and NE though. Scheme and quick releases as well as accurate passes all help the O-line.
      I am not excusing the play of the Online. I am just saying its poor play is being magnified by even worse play by the man under center.

        1. (here is the comment without the links as it awaits moderation)

          BOS9er
          October 5, 2015 at 4:35 am
          ”Dallas has one of the best lines in the league FYI”
          By best you mean 14th, before giving up 3 more sacks last night. That should drop them down to 19th. Run blocking they are 11th before last night. In comparison, SF is 26th in pass blocking and 20th in run blocking.

          Now delving into the time a QB holds the ball, Brandon Weeden has been sacked 5 times in two games. Tony Romo was sacked 3 times in the same amount of time. So, the same football outsiders did a two year study. The average NFL QB holds the ball 2.8 seconds. A sack in the NFL took 2.9 seconds on average. Uncontested, it takes 1.7 seconds.
          Last year, P Manning held the ball an average of 2.33 seconds with T Brady right behind him holding the ball 2.54 seconds. Colin Kaepernick holds the ball 3.07 seconds last year and 3.2 seconds this year. Russell Wilson is the only player to hold the ball longer, 3.4 seconds.
          In week 1 against Minnesota, Kaepernick was releasing the ball at 2.46 seconds on drop backs. That is down from his average last year of 2.68. Did you notice the O-line play was much better?

          So, back to the conclusion that Kaepernick is holding the ball too long and while the O-line play is bad, it is made much worse by an indecisive QB.

        2. The Dallas OL is having an “off-year”. Watch their games. They made Murray look better, but he made them look better, too. I don’t know, but perhaps injuries are responsible.

      1. You didn’t just say Romo plays behind a poor offensive line. Please throw your computer out if the window and never borrow anyone else’s to comment on this blog again.

        1. Comment was awaiting moderation as it cited sources and gave links.
          Dallas in 2012 has been ranked with the 7th in run blocking (sf ranked 5th) and 22nd in Pass blocking. Sorry Jordan those are facts. You can say what you like, but facts are black and white. Then in 2013, dallas ranked 9th in run blocking and 16th in pass blocking. In 2014, the team ranked 5th in run blocking and 11th in pass blocking.
          In 2015, Dallas before Sunday’s 3 sacks was ranked 11th in run blocking and 14th in pass blocking. After Sunday, they drop to 19th in pass blocking. SF is ranked 20th in run blocking and 26th in pass blocking.
          Do a little research before you start pecking away at the keys please.

          1. Since when is 16 and 14 a bad o line? 22nd is bad but that’s before all this 1st round picks joined the squad. They were 11th through 3 games and are playing with a back up QB right now. Not bad, average or better at pass blocking and great at run blocking which takes pressure off the pass game. Not sure your argument works.

    1. Actually, there is a song called the 49er shuffle
      Hey Kap, hey, kap
      Well nyuk, nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

  9. Fire Baalke now. Start looking for the next GM and let him focus on the head coach search right now. This crew of coaches and front office are horrendous.

    1. Houston:

      You give ownership too much credit. Fire Baalke? I am thinking he stays through 3 years overseeing the ‘re-building” of this team.

      1. I think Baalke needs to go. I was very dismayed by his comment during Tomsula’s first presser, something to the effect “what he meant to say is that we are going to run the ball”.

        However, if Baalke is fired, who conducts the search for the new GM? In the FO, only Gamble is remotely qualified. Would you trust little Jeddy to find the new GM??

        1. Damned if it doesn’t look like the Jets have hired themselves a damn fine coach in Todd Bowles. Got him out of Phoenix, just down the road. Why is it that some GM’s can see the obvious and others can’t?

  10. Let’s get some unemotional assessments. 1st defense didn’t do as much as Green bay did dropping passes on third down. The Packers played down to the Niners level. The defense does not deserve a B. When Rodgers was in third and long, he had all day. That is not a passing grade.
    Next, coaches did not bench their ineffective QB. The team was not given a chance to win this game even though it waswinnable for four quarters . That warrants an F. They failed the team.
    This team needs to make drastic changes. Playing Kaepernick is doing nothing but diminishing his value. The Bills would be interested in him. So would Philly. Miami. Cleveland. You aren’t getting much in return. 5th rounder if you’re lucky.
    Finally, I believe Holmgren would gladly walk in and take over for Baalke. It would be better to make the move now and allow him to make real assessments about this team while they are in house rather than waiting until January.

    1. That would be so smart! So it obviously won’t happen…..put him in a presidents role and let him hire a Gm and coach. It’s the only way the get a legit HC any time soon. Jed gas to just fade into the background and sign checks like any good owner or in this case owners egotistical kid

    2. You are right but I have no hope that Yorks will listen to the fans on this. This is instigated by them. They are pulling money out of this probably to use elsewhere. This is a deliberate sucking of cash from the niners to feed some other venture. If you look at Baalke’s moves they are all toward going cheap – cheaper coaches, cheaper players, he replaced the punter with a younger and less effective punter. he brought in cheap OLinemen instead of signing Evan Mathis. My guess is that this is all being done at the behest of the owners who are for some reason unknown to me pulling money of this franchise

      I don’t think they care about winning and hope that they sell the team to someone who does as did Chris COhan with the Warriors.

    3. Bad news! Baalke is signed through 2016. Do you think the Yorks will let him just grab a paycheck?

  11. I think the defense played well. Ithe D line grade is a little low, they were on the field a long time.
    It’s hard to grade the wide receivers when they were barely targeted.
    A QB change is needed. The Offense will not get better without improvement at the QB position.

    1. you are wright with a bad quarter back and play calling this team will not get any better than what you seen tonight.

  12. When it comes to the defense, I think the defense played better than expected based on the last two games. That shows arrow pointing up and leave one some hope. When Rodgers was interviewed after the game he said that the Packer’s offense did not play well. When asked why that was, his first response was the defensive scheme that the 49ers ran and the fact that he thought they (49ers) were well coached. Then he mentioned drops, et.al. I see no reason not to take his comments at face value.

    1. Aaron Rodgers is a professional. He understands what these men put into the game. All you have to do is read any pregame interviews of opposing coaches . It’s sportsmanship to compliment the team. Take it at face value. No one with any level of maturity says a team is terrible when they beat them. This is a fraternity.

  13. Today brought back some memories.
    The memories of a dark time unfortunately!
    The ghosts of Jimmy Raye and Nolan and singletary were out in full force today.
    The ghosts of a broken down Alex smith showed up, the ghost of an owner named York popped in, and the ghosts of half of the stadium screaming GO PACK GO!
    Welcome back basement! We are here again!

    1. Boom! Hahahaha!

      It’s refreshing to see the scales have fallen for many in this site.

      2 years ago: “It’s Baalke’s world, everyone else is just living there. Just wait, Jenkins and James are about to explode, Kaep is going to set all-time records. We’re the 49ers: we can do whatever we want!”

      Today: “Fire Baalke, cut Kaepernick. I always said he was garbage.”

      Today:

        1. I’m not calling out fans who were excited about the team’s actual accomplishments, Doc.

          I’m calling out the crazy extrapolation that went on in the wake of a hilariously pathetic failure on the biggest stage. The crazy narrative about the gnostic secret brilliance of Baalke, He-Who-Can-Do-No-Wrong following that season.

          If memory serves, you were counted among the many loud chest-beaters in that regard.

          1. I know where you were going. My point is still this. He helped build a Super Bowl contender. It’s not out of the norm for frustration to set in when rebuilding. So have fun with it.

  14. Receivers and Running Backs I for “Incomplete.” The run blocking and pass pro was awful.

  15. In all seriousness, annoyance at “faithful” chest-beating for the last 3 years aside, I feel for those of you who aren’t unthinking “count-da-ring, team of the 80’s” Lombardi-humpers.

    The York family has thrown a choke hold over this franchise and wrestled it straight into the ground. ‘Lil Jed (he goes about 5’7″ in heels) took his MBA and the car his parents have him for graduation and drove its value sky-high after a couple of swamp-gas mirage years.

    Good for him, and his parents.

    Bad, unfortunately, for all the people who spent exorbitant amounts of money on PSL’s and season tickets.

    Paraag and Jed don’t feel any pain – those guys drive home in their 6-figure Mercedes with John Mayer blaring, and everything is right with the world.

    I’m glad people finally see that the emperor has no clothes, but I’m sad for those who truly care about football and are unlucky enough to have their allegiance thrown in with the San Francisco 49ers of Santa Clara.

    It’s going to get much worse before it gets better.

    1. 21 personalities and counting,

      I beat my chest because my team is a 5 time Superbowl Champion. Just so you know let me make this as clear as possible; Even when my team sucks it will never remove the 5 championship trophies that I witnessed them winning during their great run.

      I’d love nothing better than to see you or anyone try to keep me from beating my chest. What, am I supposed to forget our teams history?
      I’m a 49er faithful and proud of it and unlike you will continue to support my team even through the lean times. It’s what real fans do!

      1. It is only 4 games into the season, so it could easily be turned around with the proper adjustments. Even in these difficult times, I will root for my team, and make suggestions on how to improve instead of just insulting and berating them.
        I have endured the 2-14 seasons, and back then, there was no hope at all. At least with this team, with a few fixes of the weak spots, they could seriously compete again.
        The defense held Rogers to only 3 scores. Tomsula did not waste all his time outs. Kaep actually did not throw any pick sixes. Niners were not blown out. With the proper coaching, I believe this team has potential. Patton made a good catch and run. Torrey made a good catch along the side line. Those are a few positives, amidst all the negatives, that I choose to emphasize.

        1. Kap didn’t throw any interceptions because everything he threw was uncatchable by our guys and their’s. He accomplished his game plan—–NO INT.’s

      2. I know how you feel! Through thick and thin, changes need to be made. But if they do or don’t I’ll be here watching blow outs to the end.

  16. Crowd F

    I couldn’t hear the TV very well where I watched the game, but big swaths of the seats were empty. Is Santa Clara populated by vampires that can’t be in the sun? From now on, only night games.

    1. I was on Facebook and Twitter all week organizing a fan boycott of the 49ers and I’ll be doing it again at the conclusion of 49ers and Giants. Hope Gmen win big.

      1. Fans can boycott all they want but the seats are sold — and Jed wins anyway because he saves on security costs and cleaning supplies.

    2. Hard to be heard cheering with pinkies raised trying not to spill Chardonnay.

      *That* is the cohort that dominates Levi’s. Good for the bottom line, but beyond pathetic for those who appreciate and enjoy real football.

      Time for the Niners P.R. department to issue another memo to season ticket holders explaining the rules of football and how to cheer.

      1. Its one thing not to be at the game. Its a hole-nuther thing to actually be in the stadium and still not be at the game.

    3. I’ve heard that, particularly at the games beginning there are certain areas that are insufferable to sit in being directly in the blazing sun. So the fans linger in the concourse out of the shade.That may seem strange that they would build a stadium with that glaring flaw but that’s the story.

    1. Agree with your writeup Grant. They need totally new fresh blood – no internal promotions. That’s why I wanted Gase so badly, because I knew the offense will never change if we just promote from within. It needs to be somebody from the outside – and somebody that knows how a successful, modern-day offense is run.

    2. Good article, Grant. It’s obvious both the right side of the line and the QB are awful. Replacing Chryst? If the line and QB are disfunctional, it’s hard to criticize the OC. If JT doesn’t bench Kaep and part or all of the right side now, it’s the definition of insanity (you know, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result).

      1. George:

        Even the left side of the OL isn’t so hot. I’ve been speculating that something is up with Staley and that’s why they want Boone to stay at LG. Staley is playing poorly and this might be his last year. Boone to replace him next year?

    3. Here goes another season of grant…..calling for a new QB…..fire the coaches! Fire the gm! Keep up the great writing grant. I’m sure someday it’ll get you off these blogs. Maybe when daddy retires….

  17. Watching Weeden throw nice passes under pressure. If only our QB could do that. And not piss poor passes at knees or ankles.

    1. “Kaepernick is seeing dead people”

      Yep. If it were up to me, I would sit him against the Giants. Not as punishment, but in an attempt to help him. I thought they should have sat him after the first half in AZ, as that kind of game can haunt a QB, and clearly is in this case. Same today, although it was not as bad. I do not believe you do a struggling QB any favors by letting him continue to hopelessly struggle. Also, if he cannot get his head straight, might as well see what Gabbert can do. Even if Gabbert is worse, it may not matter at this point.

    2. It’s nice to see him behind a very good o-line doing that, oh and losing at the same time

  18. My fear is that we will continue to regress and Baalke will have a top ten pick in next years draft and then will draft somebody that could probably be picked up in the third round.

    1. He can’t be given another opportunity to run a draft. If we pick as high as it looks like we will. It will be a disaster

    1. I just read that transcript and it is painful to witness this slow-motion train wreck. I can just imagine week 15 or 16, Tomsula saying the same things. Shame on Baalke/York for putting a decent man like Tomsula is such a horrible position. We have all seen good people who are put in positions that they are unfit to hold. Unfortunately for Tomsula and his staff this is going to be a very public humiliation.

      I understand that York is saving money by having such a cheap coaching staff, but what was Baalke thinking in hiring Tomsula and his staff? He couldn’t really believe that they would win? Could he? Was this worth it? Just to get rid of a head coach and staff that wasn’t nice to him?

      I do not understand the motivation for Baalke’s decisions.

      1. You have to remember the basic Baalke/York principle. Get rid of Harbaugh and every thing will be fine. All we need is normal off season tweaking.

  19. I can’t wait for the kaep lovers to start breaking out the stats to tell me how Kaep is actually dual threat QB.

  20. 1. Sadness has turned to anger.
    2. I think every coach on the team is a downgrade from last year.
    3. Boldin is slowing down , but did mange to get open several times . He was simply not thrown to. Boldin can’t throw himself the ball.
    4. Sure glad we drafted pinion in the 5th .
    5. O line stinks. We saw it coming. It was a slow moving avalanche and the front office choose to ignore it.
    6. our team has more holes than the iraqi navy – borrowing line from the Departed.
    7. Kap is done. Yet another mobile qb who cant adapt to the nfl.
    8. vance mac is not NFL caliber. Not only did we burn a 2nd round pick on him, but actually traded up for him.
    9. which brings us to baalke. We will be in the wilderness for a few years with multiple top 10 draft picks. Do we really want baalke making those selections. He inherited a ton of talent. Did he expand on that talent – not really. He has had a few successes , but they are far outweighed by his F ups. We need to make major significant changes and those changes should start w front office.

  21. Since I’m a die hard Niners fan I want them to win each game they play.

    But the logical part of me wants them to not win another game for the rest of season. A 1-15 season would at least force Niners brass to come up with some excuses. It would give us option to get goff but knowing baalke he would get a qb with longer arms. Or bigger toes.

    Or trade pick for 5 4th round picks so he can stock up on back type players.

  22. Ok…….it’s obvious kap needs a strong team around him to succeed. He’s not the type to lean on when things are bad but how many qb’s are there whom can do that?
    Ok…..trade kap to a team that’s complete and needs a qb to get over the top like the Houston texans. Get their first and call it a day. Draft Goff from Cal next year and rebuild.
    This team lost too much in the off season and kap is a game manager that runs well. This team will be rebuilding for at least 2-3 _years to come. Why pay a 5-6 million dollar QB 16 million? Fire Baalke and Tomsula in the off season. Bring in a good YOUNG gm that doesn’t draft projects or just try to.accumulate future picks. Hire the RIGHT coach to re-ignite the fan base. Get rid of the older players. Boldin, VD,McDonald, pears,wilhoite bye bye.

    Will Our million under the cap roll over to.next year?

  23. I think this loss revolves heavily on the offensive line to pass protect and open running lanes. without those two avenues there can be no sustained drives resting the defense. Thought the Defense played well, just needed more suport from the Offense.

    My logic is Trent uses a few of the 12 draft picks to trade up in the off season draft for an aditional 1st round selection using 2 picks in first round on offensive lineman and hope Anthony Davis comes back next year.

    on another note, as I am not a Kapernick suporter, do you know of any other quarterback who could do better with this offensive line?

      1. Its amazing how irrational we become when things are this bad. Our line of thought has moved to anyone is better than who we have now. Yes throwing the ball quicker helps and the coaches have to dial up plays that are designed for quick throws. Most importantly the QB has to not skip the ball of the turf or throw behind the receiver. And it would really help if guys weren’t in the backfield in less than 2 seconds. His completion percentage wasn’t awful but it should have been much better. He left some basic throws on the field. The red zone throw to Smith was good, hit him right in the hands.

        There are some elite QB’s that would make things work. There are 5-7 of those in the NFL. Then there’s everyone else who would have varying results in this offensive system and OL. Some would make those short 5yd throws a lot and we’d score more points. Others would start to crumble just like what we are seeing. I keep asking the question, who’s this new QB? What trade or draft pick is going to be better that’s actually realistic? We’re screwed unless we make major changes. I also say throw Gabbert in there. It will take 3 games before he’s in the same place and Kap.

      2. Drew Brees, Aaron Rogers and even Phillip Rivers can do this. Kap seems shell shocked. Keeping out there is hurting team cohesion. At this point the coaches may not have a choice but to turn to Gabbert.

  24. Niners laid an egg. I blame the coaches most of all. Cant believe they did not tell Kaep to throw the ball on 4th down instead of taking a sack. I said they should line up in a 4 receiver set to spread them wide. Instead, they bunched up everyone so the Packers could stack the box to stuff the run. Instead of warning Brooks he was too close to the line, I saw his foot in the neutral zone all game.
    I said that they should roll out Kaep. Instead, they had him drop straight back and he succeeded to be sacked 6 times. At this rate, they should exceed the 52 sack total of last year.The one play when they put a man in motion, it was successful, so they did not do it for the rest of the game. Kaep was so rattled, he threw the ball into the turf several times.It seems he cannot even grip the ball properly, because the ball seemed to slip out of his hand.
    I said they need to make adjustments. They played the same players with the same results. There was a reason the Pats got rid of Devey. He sucks. Pears got another drive killing penalty, and the right side was horrible again. I predict the Niners will not win another game until they change the O line lineup.
    There were good things that happened. The defense played well enough to keep them in the game. Too bad the inept offense gave the game away. I advocated quick passes, and there were several. Too bad Kaep did not deliver a catchable ball. I advocated crossing patterns, and the pass to Patton was great, but too bad they did it only once per game.
    I advocated the third down bomb, and lo and behold, they did it twice. Too bad Torrey only caught the one for a nice gain. The other was intercepted, but it was like a long punt, and considering how bad Pinion was punting, I did not mind.
    Niners still had unforced errors. The coaching is deficient and they need to become a lot smarter a lot quicker. They must make lineup changes, or I will accuse them of being too stubborn and not trying to win. This is going to be a long season.

    1. Seb, you are waisted in this blog because no one who matters at 4949 Marie P Bartolo Way, Santa Clara is paying attention.

      1. When Kaep mentioned he wanted to throw quick passes to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers, I thought he was reading my posts. ;p

  25. This is the point of the York cycle where things will get much worse before they get better. It’s truly FUBAR.

    – Kaep has no trade value.
    – If he was traded he would likely look competent on his new team, if for no other reason than the Football gods showing their contempt for the Yorks.
    – Any high pick QB would be installed as the franchise savior for an incompetent franchise.
    – There is no staff to develop a young QB.
    – There is no line to protect a young QB.
    – Drafting and starting a QB would likely give Baalke and York a grace period, which is probably why they will do it.
    – When that experiment fails through multiple coaching staffs, Baalke will finally be fired and rumors of Jed Jr. being groomed to run the franchise will start circulating.
    – In the 2030 NFL Draft, the Niners select Alex Smith Jr., QB from the University of UCLA with the #1 overall pick.
    – In the 2032 NFL Draft the Niners will select Slade Tuffnutz, a dual-threat QB out of North Rhode Island Tech known for his proficiency running the Tea-Bagger offense. The unique scheme is expected to revolutionize the game. He is also an insurance policy if Smith Jr. doesn’t recover from the separated shoulder he suffered behind the porous offensive line.
    – Before the 2035 season, it is announced that Jed Jr. will be taking over as team President. His first assignment as team President will be to conduct milk and cookie visits with the residents of Alcatraz in an attempt to gain public favor for a new stadium on the island.

      1. Rebel,
        It really is Rebel, lmao. I tried to start off serious and I almost began to cry at the state of the franchise. I saw this coming, yet it still hurts. I’m 38 now and I’m not the naive football fan I was even a couple of years ago. The York’s have ruined this franchise….twice! Daddy fired Mariucci and Jr. fired Harbaugh. I really feel that this franchise is in for a dark period similar to the Erickson-Nolan-Singletary years. Baalke sucks, Jed is a tool and our HC is passing gas at the podium. It’s depressing, especially when you consider the success that the Harbaugh (era?) brought. The York’s found a way to screw it up, and that’s all you need to know about this franchise going forward. I wish I could be more positive but I have absolutely no faith in the York’s. They shouldn’t own a franchise. This sucks.

        1. BigP,

          Excellent analysis.

          And the York’s better get someone in here that knows quarterbacking, and modern offensive game planning. However, with Baalke in place, no modern arsenal could succeed because Baalke wants to run, therefore, these type of coaches won’t come the the 49ers…

        2. Yes it does! I am 46 so I am a little older, I remember how dismal the late70’s were, seagulls at candlestick out numbered the fans, then super fun in the 80’s. My oldest son is 21, he was born in May 94 year the last year of a Super Bowl victory. You know what makes me the most angry, stupid Jed York who spent the 80’s on Jennifer Montana ‘s lap and tells every one he and is family is only about winning Super Bowls, win one first and shut your mouth, he is so fake and makes me want to vomit how fake,oily and plastic he is, he is about money and nothing else, here my wife and I kill ourselves to make a living for our kids! I need to get healthy! Sorry a Big P! I should find better ways to be positive, hope we can start to build a new young o line, that is why I want to see brown!

  26. This is going to be Ericsson 2.0 or worse.
    I originally had them at 4-12 but now I don’t think they can beat any team for sure. My guess they have a shot at beating Chicago, but Chicago will improve, is improving. While 49ers are regressing. Tomsula is a nice guy but he and his staff are in over their heads. This is going to be a long season

  27. The O-Line has been so bad, the 49ers absolutely need all three tight ends (Vernon, VMac, and Celek) to have an effective running game. Bell is still developing as a blocker.

  28. The 49ers once won seventeen (17) AWAY games in a row. When everyone, and their brother, was waiting to be the one to beat them.

      1. I might buy season ticket license in about 10 weeks from desperate fans no longer wanting to bake in the sun and support this ineptitude.

        Buy low!!! Sell high.

        I’m betting on Jed York dying at 91 years of age. This purchase will be my sons’ retirement package to sell in 60 years.

        1. If you buy, you better enjoy your license like you should enjoy a home and not expect to make a killing on it.

      2. She is cranking up her anti Wilson campaign, and will be there for opening night in her Patrick Marleau jersey. She thinks Wilson is a bigger twit than Baalke or Jed.

  29. Well, after watching the game, here are my thoughts:

    – The offense was obviously horrid once again. Same culprits as usual – Kaep, OL and OC.
    – Kaep has now lost not only confidence in what he’s seeing, but also his OL. He’s rushing things. He’s not seeing the field well. He’s throwing off balance and out of sync with his receivers. There were plays to be made out there in the passing game today, but he just missed a lot of them. Its going to be tough for him to pull himself out of this
    – The OL didn’t help Kaep by letting too much pressure, once again. There is a good reason he’s lost confidence in them. They also weren’t good in the running game, however, I think that is mainly an issue of not having a functional passing game which let the Packers stack the box all game.
    – The play-calling has also been poor on offense the past few weeks. To get the running game going they need to establish a vertical passing game. To establish a vertical passing game they need protection from the OL and a QB that can get it downfield with some accuracy. There are really big problems with this offense, and the coaches don’t know how to fix it (and maybe with this roster there is no fix?).
    – However, taking the ball from Kaep’s arm to his feet, like they tried today, is not the answer. They need to find a way to establish the passing game to take some pressure off Hyde, give him some running room, and if Kaep can’t do so they need to think about trying someone else.
    – And running on 3rd and 11 won’t help anyone, except the opposition.
    – Vance McDonald showed once again he’s just not a good receiver. In fact, he’s a bad receiver. Celek is twice the receiver he is, and Celek is just an ok receiving outlet. The TEs are not the strength the coaches seem to believe they are.
    – While the offense continued to suck, and provided little reason to think they are about to turn things around in a hurry, the D was much improved.
    – Mangini at least appears to have been willing to change his approach. After the debacle of the past two weeks, it was great to see Mangini significantly reduced the pressure on the safeties by keeping them mostly back, and let the pass rushers rush the passer rather than dropping into coverage.
    – He also importantly used nickel and dime a lot against a team using multiple receiver sets. That was a must, and using the base D extensively was a huge mistake he made against the Cards.
    – Another excellent change was sticking his outside CBs exclusively to their side, and not moving Brock into the slot in nickel/ dime. Brock was playing rubbish in the slot. He was much improved back on the perimeter the whole game. And Ward was also very good in the slot.
    – Speaking of Ward, I was overall happy with how he played, but there is one thing in particular he needs to clean up. He seems to get on his heels after making initial contact and can give up a bit of space on crossing routes as a result. If he can stay on the balls of his feet through contact he’ll be very good in that slot role. I was really impressed with his make up speed and feistiness.
    – Wilhoite is no good. He gets knocked back a lot, and stuck on blocks. I still think they could look to use Tartt in place of Wilhoite more often.
    – Acker will likely get some grief over his performance, as he gave up a few catches, but I actually thought his coverage was pretty good for the most part. A couple of things to clean up, but he’s young and there definitely appears to be something to work with there.
    – But looks like Dontae Johnson has fallen down the pecking order. I didn’t see him much today, and we saw Reaser getting in ahead of both he and Tartt quite a bit. Perhaps this was more a case of matchups with the Packers quicker receivers?
    – The 4-man pass rush was very successful today. Lynch looked excellent, but everyone was doing a pretty good job up front generating pressure. Best they’ve looked in that regard all season.
    – But the DL got a bit soft in the second half against the run, getting pushed off the ball a bit too much and failing to keep blockers off the LBs. Need to clean that up.
    – All in all though, this was a very promising performance from the D. They just need an O to help them.

    1. “– And running on 3rd and 11 won’t help anyone, except the opposition.”
      Time to bring back the quick-kick, ya think?

      1. No, the third down bomb. Even if they intercept it, it would be like a long punt, which would be better than a 29 yard shank.

    2. Grant can’t bring himself to praise Ward. He did a really nice job on Cobb. I am not sure he got enough credit last year for the foot injury holding him back. He seems like a different guy. Good point on him getting on his heels. I think we could have drafted him in a lower round and he would have still been there so there’s some validity to him going to high.

      Scooter do you really think all the blame for the run game goes to the QB and passing game? In the past seasons we had the same issues with our passing game and we were still able to impose our will running the ball. The passing game is worse this year but the running game has taken a huge step back especially for a team designed “to run the ball.” I think we’re really bad a both. This team is designed around running to set up the pass. If we had a different QB who’s a threat passing to set up the run it might be different but that’s not how JT or TB describe this squad. Play action is useless because the run game is ineffective and the QB isn’t consistent. These guys can’t get any push or open wholes. I would say don’t throw too much blame at the QB since the system is supposed to be run first.

      Also one thing people keep missing about GB’s defense is that RB’s weren’t the ones getting yardage on them. It’s been QB’s. They held Lynch, Forte and others to really bad games.

      I think we read too much into who’s starting and assume people are falling down the depth chart. I think your other suggestion about match ups is more likely. D Johnson as played well as has Tartt. I think it was about match ups. Your point about Mangini’s adjustments is right on for CB’s. And he let our OLB’s rush the QB. What a difference that makes.

      1. I don’t think all the blame with the running game goes to not having a legitimate passing game, but I think the past two weeks a large part of the reason they have struggled running the ball is that defenses have felt comfortable coming up for the run quickly, and not been too worried about getting beat deep. There are missed blocks, but they are also being out-numbered up front.

    3. Holly crap scooter! I hope you get paid by the page! Great but depressing points! Get some sleep!

    4. Rewatching the game now, and I don’t think the crossing routes were Ward’s responsibility. He was clearly playing outside leverage on those early Cobb catches in the first quarter, don’t think the linebackers got back far enough on their drops.

      1. He was definitely playing with outside leverage, but on a lot of those routes he was being asked to play the trail position on the slot WR even on crossing routes. He was giving up a little too much space after initial contact, though he generally did a good job of making up ground quickly. Just something for him to clean up.

  30. “Some of them were protecting throws,” Kaepernick said. “(I’m) just not going to throw the ball into coverage. I’m going to protect the throws as much as I can to make sure we’re protecting the football as an offense.”

    If that doesn’t say that Kaepernick’s confidence is shot, then I don’t know what will.

  31. From Matt Maiocco:

    Despite the appearance that the team is pulling in different directions during their three-game losing streak, Tomsula maintained the 49ers continue to be on the same page.

    “No, it’s not fractured,” Tomsula said. “I think there’s a little frustration there, but not fractured at all. No. Offensively, we have some problems there that we’ve got to get fixed. That starts with me. It’s the coaching staff, and we’ve got to get that straightened out right away.”

    Tomsula said it has not cross his mind to replace Kaepernick with backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Tomsula said he still believes Kaepernick gives the 49ers their best chance to win.

    1. In a world of participation trophies and zero accountability, I am not surprised Tomsula refuses to put the accountability on the individuals it belongs on. The game plan from a defensive standpoint was great. The offensive game plan had open receivers. The QB did not get them the ball. Then, he took sacks on the goal line in back to back plays.
      The problem here is that the problem is not identified so it can be addressed. Your QB and your O-line need to be reprimanded. I don’t remember Carroll, Belichick, Walsh, Seifert, or any other Super Bowl winning coach ever saying a loss was the fault of the coaching staff. They squarely put the accountability where it belonged.

      1. Matt I think the QB deserves his fair share of the blame, but you seem to be placing 100% of it on him. The coaches are JV compared to other teams on offense. We all knew this coming into the season. Why should we have expected something different with an inconsistent QB and unproven coaches? This offense can’t do anything. We can’t run, we can’t throw or block. A different QB is only part of the picture.

    2. Kaep should realize that he is hurting the team. If he was a true leader, he would look at his play and conclude that he cannot perform at this time, and voluntarily allow Gabbert to start so the team has a better chance of winning. He should gracefully allow Gabbert to start, and be content to be the backup, so he can learn and get back his confidence.

      1. Maybe Gabbert has shown his leadership and decided he’s already hurting the team and abdicated to Pryor who’s trying out today.

        1. The only QB that I know for sure told his coach to not put him in because he wasn’t ready to play was Warner on the second day of camp. They let him go the third day. Athletes don’t take themselves out of games unless they are injured or throwing a tantrum.

          1. Warner was getting a tryout with the Packers. It’s a Brett Favre story. Once Warner won the Superbowl it became a Packers QB punch line. “Coach, I’m not ready to go in.”

  32. Gotta love Jimmy T. He’s just keep gonna keep hitting that guy’s fist with his head and he’ll go down soon.

  33. I feel so bad for Jim Tomsula. Its clear management handed him a hand grenade and said, do something. Listening to Jason LaCanforna this morning talking about the 49ers and the one thing he said which speak volumes is that Baalke has had so many draft picks the last 4 years, why did he never draft a developmental QB?
    Its pretty clear after yesterday that the 49ers are a train wreck from coaching to personnel. The most frustrating part for all us fans is that Baalke might get a free pass because this indeed is rebuild year with all that happened in the offseason. The problem with that is he has really not drafted all that well. So he will have higher round picks this year on top of all the other picks he has but again, is he the guy to rebuild this team based on his prior management, drafting, and free agency acquisitions?
    As much as we talk about shades of Nolan, Sing, Jimmy Raye, this is another nightmare scenario that has Terry Donahue written all over it.
    Fire Baalke now, let Tom Gamble handle things the rest of the year. Let Tomsula sweat out the rest of the year and hire someone as soon as week 16 is done. And Jed, don’t be cheap you dumb a$$.

    1. We can feel a little bad, but he said yes to a job he probably knew he wasn’t qualified for and knew what he was getting into with the GM and personnel situation. He’s getting paid nicely to fail as well more than most will make in a lifetime. He like many fans talked themselves into the idea he’d perform and be better than JH. That was stupid on on his part and of any fan who thought he’d be better than a proven winning coach. People thought it couldn’t get worse than JH, and that he cost us a SB. That was also stupid. We’re clamoring for changes because it couldn’t be worse than now. We just don’t know how much worse it could get yet.

      Even if we drafted a developmental QB who would have developed them? Wasn’t Kap a developmental QB? Gabbert? How’s that working out? We’re all reaching and grasping at solutions but none of these things will fix the situation. This is years of bad decisions and there are no quick fixes right now.

      1. I would even put in Dylan Thompson over Kaep. At least he will not throw the ball way out of bounds or into the ground.

        1. Again this is bad logic that anyone would be better than who we have. Thompson played badly agains other team’s 3’s and 4’s. He’s not the answer. My question is who is the answer?

          1. Who is the answer? The answer is a compete rebuild. You draft 2 QB’s and sign a veteran. You take your lumps and be terrible until a guy develops. Then you continue to build through the draft. The Rams did it, AZ did it, the Raiders are doing it. The only problem is Baalke can’t be the guy drafting the rebuild. He has missed on so many picks that it’s not even funny!

            1. We have to be careful here. Teams get desperate and want instant fixes and reach for a QB like Gabbert high in the draft and don’t have any pieces for him to succeed. I say we take a slightly different approach. Trade for a functional QB or a slightly past prime QB and then draft our future QB and develop him. Get a new GM that’s committed to development process and a coaching staff that knows how to build an NFL caliber scheme.

              If we reach to far or over react we risk being the Jaguars or Browns for years.

      2. Yes I agree with that Wilson. He took the job and a hefty pay raise that came with it. He was also rumored to be Jed’s inside the locker room source for info. You reap what you sow. It didn’t look good on paper and so far it’s turning out to be a bad hire. We’ll see what Tomsula’s made of over the next 13 weeks.

        1. Rocket,

          While the whole story hasn’t been written yet, it looks like you were right. In my last look at what the 49ers record might be before the season started, these first four games looked like 1-3 or 2-2 (I underestimated the Cards), but the way they’ve lost has been a very rude awakening.

          The 49ers are getting two easier opponents, after a three game stretch against some of the NFL’s best. If the 49ers can somehow win both of these games, 8-8 is still possible, but I won’t be holding my breath.

  34. The only thing that surprises me is the number of people who are surprised by all of this. Like Roy Hobbs said in The Natural: “I shoulda seen it coming”.

    1. With all the turnover and third hardest schedule, the Niners were faced with daunting odds. Some wished to project a positive optimistic outlook.
      The Niners will struggle this year, but the talent is there. How the coaches scheme the game plan and how the players perform together has much to be desired.
      Being optimistic is much better than being a Negative Nancy married to Downer Dan. Why even root for a team if you expect they will be bad? The Niners can turn it around, but they need better schemes that put their players in position to succeed, instead of being out coached and thoroughly predictable.

      1. “Why even root for a team if you expect they will be bad?” When Hollywood Henderson was playing for the 49ers he made a comment about Michael Irvin who was also having some difficulties with making poor decisions (kinda like a few 49ers lately). He said what Irvin needed was a true friend. Someone who would not just hang around and suck up to him while he did bad things. A true fan to me is a true friend. No offense but I am one of the old timers who has seen a little more over the years and I’m not going to just standby and shut up when our team is walking around with their flies open. Kaep is not the answer and neither is Baalke (Jed is another story but he will never fire himself) Seb, what would you have said when Joe Thomas was the GM hired by Eddie D? Joe Thomas had a great track record and was highly recommended by Al Davis who was a pretty good football guy before he just got too old. Thomas hired the equivalent of Jimmie T and we all adopted hope as our strategy. It took Bill Walsh, an HOF talent who brought in HOF players, to bring us to reality, but only when people who really cared made an honest evaluation of the situation. Baalke says we’re going to be a run first team and we were successful. Gee, does anyone remember Frank Gore being our runner? Frank Gore, shoe in for the HOF. Baalke has hope as a strategy. We hope we get another HOF back and everything will work out. Hey Trent, HOF running backs do not grow on trees. You build what works and what he has built won’t work. Argue all you want and be as optimistic as you can. But remember there is a huge difference between a plan and a pipe-dream, and no amount of optimism will change that. Just like with Joe Thomas, only change will bring success. If I have to root for ugly losses in order to get there, then I think that I am the true fan and friend of the 49ers.

        1. You have every reason to be mad and frustrated, but rooting for your team to suck so they can draft high is just sad. I want them to fix their mistakes, and make the proper adjustments so they can be relevant again. With all the high pick QB busts in the league, there is no guarantee that he will be the savior.
          Winning will cure everything, so I am rooting for them to get their act together and start a different kind of streak. A winning streak.

        2. whine country,

          Hollywood Henderson was talking about what Irvin needed in life. You’re talking about being a fan, which is pretend. For me, being a fan is supposed to be an enjoyable thing. Your process doesn’t sound very enjoyable. To each their own, I guess.

    2. How would you rather go through life? Expecting the worst? Or expecting the best? I’ll take the latter.

    1. I’ve been saying it since day one. He is not a franchise QB.
      I also think Baalke needs to be fired now. Look at the missed draft picks, the failure in free agency and trades. He has built a high school football program that is one dimensional.
      This debacle is not only because he fired a winning coach, but that his vision is archaic.

  35. I was one of the people who was okay with the young York and the Tomsula hiring/promotion. Now as things unfold I am no longer okay with the young York. This is York’s dance and he failed to bring a partner to the dance. We are back about 6 to10 years ago with Jimmy Raye and Singletary again. Different names but same problems. Its going to be once again tough to hire coaches and attract FA’s to a dysfunctional team. As everything unfolds its looking like Harbaugh is going to have the last laugh. The dysfunction starts and ends at the top and York is at the top.

    1. Sticking with that prediction of 11 wins. It may take a few years, but they’ll get there.

        1. C’mon GC! The reality is no one knew what this team was going to look like. After the first game all the pundits were walking back. Now it looks grim and they’re feasting. If they miraculously turn it around, everyone backtracks again. Too early to crow (likely you can at end of season, but still too early).

          That said, what does winning 7 or 8 games gain us? Nothing.

          It a) gets us another year of Baalke and Tomsula. Now, if we win 1 or 2 games, it will be hard to keep either of them. That’s a net positive.

          b) another year with Kaepernick. He is not a franchise QB. Period. You don’t win consistently without one.

          In the end, we are better off grabbing Goff #1, than winning 7 or 8 games this year (then going through this circus next). If won’t end until all three cancers are gone.

          That is a painful reality, but an obvious truth.

          1. DaNiners

            Goff is the “name of the day”…If you remember, even Kaepernick was a good college QB. By the time the season ends, Goff will be an afterthought, with a dozen QB’s ahead of him on draft lists. Messiahs don’t come in bunches, and aren’t proven in three college games….start doing something NOW other than screaming “the sky is falling!” Without devine intervention, we ain’t getting our 6th this season. My solution ? Ditch what hasn’t and isn’t working, and begin developing the other aspects of our game. Eliminate our ‘dead wood’ thru trades, waivers, etc.,…and search the other teams’ PS’s for upgrades, and go thru the FA lists for some help there. Standing ‘pat’ isn’t good when you’re in a hurricane….

    2. Backwards looking is a dangerous game, Grant. Would you prefer we not bring up your past predictions?

        1. Here’s my favorite part: “It sounds like this fourth-round pick will walk away without ever throwing an NFL pass.”

      1. I predicted win against Minn, losses to Pit and GB, and split in the division. So far I’m batting 100%.

        That could change. ;)

    3. Funny, Grant, how so many thought you were too pessimistic. Right now it looks fairly certain that they cannot win another game before the bye. I think our only hope is that they bench Kaep and use the bye week to get Gabbert ready. I’m already way past what have we got to lose? Even our brain dead CS will be on board by the bye week.

    4. “April 21, 2015 at 5:31 pm
      The pessimist in me wants to say that’s a 6-10 looking schedule.”
      ——————————-
      At this point 6 wins was probably being too generous.

    5. I predicted 11-5. Pure platinum! Those April 25 predictions can come back to bite you.

      In my defense, Aldon Smith and Anthony Davis were still on the team… and Kilgore’s was expected to be ready for opening day.

      The only O-Line spot that needed replacing was LG.

      With Aldon, AD and Kilgore I think we’d be at least 2-2. Everything hinges on the run game with this team.

      1. My prediction was: Best case 12-4 (yikes) and worst case 8-8 (still an outside chance, will take a minor miracle).

        Having said that, it’s so Grant to not point out that these predictions were when, as B2W pointed out, A Smith, A Davis and Kilgore were expected to play.

  36. This from Shane Matthews to Kap after sacking him (from the Packer’s website):

    “You’re no Russell Wilson

  37. http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/eight-notable-nfl-week-4-winners-and-losers/ar-AAf7f4B?li=AAa0dzB#page=6

    “Kaepernick was utterly dreadful while the San Francisco 49ers lost to the Green Bay Packers, 17-3. The embattled quarterback failed to throw a touchdown pass for third time in four games. Last week, he was a disaster, and in Week 4, things went from bad to worse.

    Kaepernick scrambled around and missed his receivers left and right. When he did have time to think before making a pass, he would overthrow by miles, throw the ball well out of bounds or ignore his open receivers altogether.

    The entire 49ers offense only recorded 77 rushing yards with Carlos Hyde struggling to gain any type of momentum on his eight carries. At this point, it’s clear this team’s offense is the worst in the NFL.”

    I have no problem with them switching to BG. If things don’t improve or get worse, then so be it. We’ll at least have top draft picks in each round and a lot of money to spend in free agency (gone will be Boldin, Bethea, VD, CK, Brooks and possibly more).

    Right now I honestly can’t say there is a game on the remaining schedule that should be a sure win.

    1. I think the most damning thing in regards to Kapernick is that Alex Smith is playing behind a worse OL yet threw for almost 400 yards yesterday.

      1. Careful, you’re gonna get Rocket to come give us all a dissertation about how we just aren’t seeing the big picture and are being shortsighted pitchfork carrying yokels for not seeing that this is all the offensive lines fault. :)

        1. No Rocket will just post some stats on how #7 is just like every other QB in the league. Clearly stats say different on how much CK has regressed.

        2. CFC,

          You like being passive aggressive. Take a shot followed by a smiley face, but I’ve never said Kap didn’t have a part to play in his struggles. That is something you and a few others have decided to read between the lines on because I don’t agree with absolutes like this guy sucks or can’t play when the history shows that is not the case.

          I’m not blind to the fact Kap is playing terribly right now and don’t defend poor play by anybody. The only thing I care about is winning and if they can’t win with Kap they will have to find somebody else. I just don’t focus all the blame on one position is all. It’s a waste of time in a team game and doesn’t usually result in improvement unless the QB change is also met with changes elsewhere. Alex struggled here for years due to poor Coaching, injuries and less than stellar talent around him. As soon as he got a Coach he believed in and who helped him, he improved. Same thing with Kap. He is likely never going to be a drop back QB, but we had Coaches who found a way to take what he had and make it work. Now we have a Coaching staff who doesn’t seem to understand how to make anything work.

          1. I put the smiley face so you don’t take it as me taking a shot. I figure we’re past the point of trying to be passive aggressive. If i’m taking a shot there’s no mistaking it and there’s certainly no smiley.

            :)

          2. You can’t make apple pie out of oranges Rocket. Sure the moving parts around #7 are less than stellar but many of us called out the regression in performance many years ago. You just reassured us that the “stats” said otherwise.
            The stats right now are as good as the throws into the first row at Levi Stadium!

            1. CFC,

              Ok. I just smh at how things tend to take a certain direction simply because I don’t agree that the guy has been sh*t even when he wasn’t. You and I both know a lot of these guys ripping Kap were doing it because of Alex Smith originally. They’ve been hoping for this since the day he took over and I can’t respect that.

            2. Prime it doesn’t hurt your position to note that Kap has flashes of play that are enticing to fans and coaches and then also has streaks of poor inconsistent play the reveal he’s not a franchise QB. I don’t think Rocket is saying anything different than you. He’s had some good games, the scheme he was in along with GR’s and JH’s coaching propped him up with a great run game and simple scheme. Without those props he’s been exposed. You saw if first and took flack for it. Some of us saw it later. We’ll take flack for that. Our situation reveals our deficit at coaching and QB.

            3. Prime,

              What I did was combat the negative view that had no basis in reality. There was no regression many years ago. The guy just entered his 3rd year as a starter. What you did was diminish anything he did and that is what I argued against. We went to a SB with this guy and then an NFCCG the next year. You may not respect that, but I do and every piece of info I put up dispelled the narrative you were trying to pass off about him. It looks like you are finally going to get your wish though so congrats on that.

          3. Rocket, its not worth your time. They are so frustrated that they just want to tar and feather one person. Even long after Kap’s gone they’ll still blame him for 100% of everything even when Gabbert fails to produce when he shows up. They are falling prey to the straw man fallacy producing arguments that are extreme just to prop up their point of view. It doesn’t even matter if you actually said it or not.

            Its about the same logic that JH cost us super bowls and that this coaching staff would right the wrongs inflicted on the team by JH. He had his issues but he was the reason for our success. Things are bad but nothing but the truth will fix this team and that means seeing every issue, not just the QB issue. Kap is a problem and a big one, but as we are seeing GR and JH’s coaching with him actually made him better. This staff is showing us without good coaching he’s a hot mess that can’t be remedied.

            1. Wilson not sure if you were around back then but the debate was always could #7 be a bonafide QB. That meant using his running and escapabilty while also becoming a legit passing QB. Well the answer to that debate I believe is very apparent!

              1. Yes I was around and I always said we’d see over time. I “hoped” he would improved and was wrong.

              2. Prime,

                The underlying story was that this team was winning with a QB who was still learning how to play the position. Alex Smith had hit his ceiling they knew what he was capable of which is why they took a shot with the guy who had more upside. That ticked off a lot of people and hasn’t diminished over time. It’s pretty safe to assume that Kap is never going to be a traditional drop back QB, but we’ve seen that with the right scheme, support and Coaching he can win in this league.

              3. Rocket what scheme is that? I think on the telecast yesterday Troy Aikman made a very valuable point. That was for a QB like Colin Kaepernick to be successful in the NFL, he would need an all world defense and offensive line. In todays salary cap world, that is next to impossible to have each and every year.
                At the end of the day, you need a QB who can play from the pocket regardless if you have a stellar offensive line or not.Colin Kaepernick as evidence of the last 2 years, is just not capable.
                Now a lot fans on here are saying that the team around him is not very good. Specifically the offensive line. But Grant just posted a clip from Jimmy Johnson that indicated the players around him have no clue as to how to play in front of him because he is not letting the play develop and playing “sandlot football”.
                I think the defense of Colin Kapernick is a mute point at this stage. Its clear the project has not worked out and maybe for the sake of his career, a change of venue is best for both parties.

              4. Rocket,
                That’s the part that I don’t think you want to admit: You can’t win with that scheme. Defenses are too smart and by playing Kaep, the team is completely one dimensional. It doesn’t matter how much of a threat Kaep is as a runner if he can’t pass.
                I didn’t catch the game but it sounded like his issues, bad decisions, bad accuracy, were all on display.

                The team has problems but you CANNOT have a problem like we have at that position. It’s limiting the entire offense. I read that there was a play in the red zone where he bounced a pass to Reggie Bush on a 3rd down.

                I don’t care what you think of Alex he was never that pathetic. The Niners definitely could have won the SB with Alex and be just as competitive now. He’s not a great QB by any means but he has just a bad an O-Line as the Niners and he was able to pass for 300+ yards and the game wa relatively competitive.

                It’s over with Kaep. Plan and simple. He will get the hook soon. They can’t fire Tomsula because they have no one better, but at least Gabbert looked decent in the pre-season.

              5. FDM,
                Jimmy Johnson is saying what I have been saying for years — ask Bay Area Fanatic. It’s sandlot ball. He doesn’t know what to do back there, so the other 10 don’t know.
                But he hides it by making a rare scramble for big yards meanwhile we blame everyone around him: Gore, Vernon, the O-Line. It’s him!

              6. FDM,Fan,

                They were successful with Smith the same way they were successful with Kap: Strong defense, running game, play action and protecting the football. The only thing that changed with the switch to Kap was ability to add explosive running plays and take more shots downfield.

                Last year, the focus shifted to more spread, multiple WR formations, less play action and it didn’t work because Kap is not a pocket QB. Now the current staff has changed and made a 180 to the extreme with few throws beyond 10 yards, a conservative game plan and complete dependence on the running game for any offensive success.

                The problem isn’t simple to fix because it features a QB who has lost confidence and is playing horribly, an Oline that can’t pass protect and an OC that calls a lousy game and has incorporated a simplistic scheme that defenses deciphered after one game.

                This isn’t going to change by switching to Gabbert. All it will do is provide further evidence that this Coaching staff is likely in over it’s head and there will be changes that need to be made across the board on offense.

              7. Rocket,
                Like I said a million times, you don’t get it. Kaep’s not just regressing, he’s remedial in QB abilities. It limits everything an offense can do. He can’t make reads, make audibles. He’s lost out there so anyone would be better at this point.

                Yes the coaching staff is in over their head back they have no counter movies with Kaep. With Gabbert they can at least run some plays for crying out loud.

              8. Rocket I think you are missing the point. The 49ers have glaring needs across the board. But fixing those and staying with Colin Kaepernick is not going to get us back to what was winning games 2-3 years ago.

                “They were successful with Smith the same way they were successful with Kap: Strong defense, running game, play action and protecting the football”

                Kaepernick lacks confidence. He does not believe in what his vision is telling him. That’s problem number 1. The second problem is his mechanics and fundamentals. Right now, they are at the equivalency of a rookie QB. Third, his teammates don’t believe in him. The Jimmy Johnson reference says it all. Fourth, they have tried many different schemes to accentuates his strengths and hide his weaknesses. Its been a disaster every which way.
                Now I am not saying Gabbert is the answer. But I sure as hell know Kaepernick is not the guy you build a franchise around. I mean, if his play yesterday is not an indication of that, then maybe you should coach the team.

              9. The Niners do have glaring holes but not like when Alex was here. There are some pieces to build around. My question is how much longer can this organization invest in a QB, the most prolific position in sports, with a guy who has demonstrated regression in his performance each and every year?
                They did it with Smith for 6 years and maybe they should not have. Then again there was nothing to build around. Today, they have something to build around but #7 needs and lacks so much it’s better off to bring in a rookie and start from zero. If anything they save $12 million in cap space!
                I mean come on guys, this ship has sailed. Play Gabbert and start the rebuild in full force now!

              10. Fan,

                Like I said a million times, you don’t get it. Kaep’s not just regressing, he’s remedial in QB abilities. It limits everything an offense can do. He can’t make reads, make audibles. He’s lost out there so anyone would be better at this point.

                This is why it’s hard to have this discussion with you. You go completely off the rails and say things like this. Look, he is not a pocket passer, we get that and he’s not going to win you games by throwing the ball 40 times a game, but you go over board with hyperbole. He has done exactly what you say he can’t do Fan. It’s happened, it’s even happened this season, so get off the exaggeration train and look at it objectively. The last two games have been a horror show no question about it, but it’s not as simple as Kap sucks and can’t play. That is what I continue to take issue with when it comes to your opinion on this.

                Yes the coaching staff is in over their head back they have no counter movies with Kaep. With Gabbert they can at least run some plays for crying out loud.

                What is it you think Gabbert is going to do that Kap can’t? All of his success in preseason was based on rolling him outside the pocket and throwing short passes, not to mention it all came against backups and lesser players. Did you watch Gabbert at all before this preseason? I’ve seen the guy play since he was at Missouri and he isn’t a pocket QB either, not only that but he plays scared. Just watch some lowlights of his time in Jax and you’ll see the same stuff you abuse Kap about right now. Who are you going to call for when Gabbert falls on his face? Josh Johnson?

                If we had somebody better on the roster, there would be no issue and Tomsula would likely be making a switch right now, but he knows he has little choice but to continue with Kap if he wants to win another game. I imagine he’ll have no choice but to bench Kap soon if he continues to play this poorly but it’s not going to get any better when that happens.

              11. Prime,

                I’ve written a freaking novel already so I’ll keep the reply to you short:

                The mistake they made was not investing in the position in the draft. To answer your question, they should not keep the status quo while hoping things change. They have to draft a QB or even two, and possibly sign a FA if they let Kap go after the season.

              12. Rocket,

                Dude you have to look in the mirror. You’ve call me out last year and I told you the problems with Kaep. You repeatedly denied then and say that arguing with me was hopeless.

                You must be in serious denial and cannot accept that you were wrong about Kaep.

                You say it’s impossible to have a discussion with me when you fail to see I’m holding all the cards now based on how Kaep is panning out. You’re the one that has nothing left to say, but I write back because you amuse me!

                You try to deflect or detour the conversation away from your flawed logic on what Kaep is not so bad.You are clinging at straws my friend. You are hold a deuce high and I have all the other cards in the deck. Kaep sucks. Everyone sees it now. I wasn’t a Niner hater, I just didn’t think the QB was any good. I said in the beginning of the year I hope Kaep proved me wrong. He failed to do so.

                His days are clearly numbered. It’s not if, but when…

              13. Rocket,

                Dude you have to look in the mirror. You’ve call me out last year and I told you the problems with Kaep. You repeatedly denied then and say that arguing with me was hopeless.

                The only thing I’ve ever called you out about is your refusal to do any research and backup your criticisms. You’ve never done that, just rant about things you don’t like about Kap and make stupid statements that are easily disproved by the facts.. I remember back when it was directed at his maturity level because you couldn’t criticize the fact he was winning. Then you moved on to picking out certain plays to criticize and refused to give him any credit for the games he was helping us win. No you were one of the many that liked good old Alex but not the tattooed surly guy who replaced him, and that has been the crux of your attack on him since the beginning.

                You must be in serious denial and cannot accept that you were wrong about Kaep.

                You keep wanting to see me say I was wrong Fan. What exactly was I wrong about in your eyes? What exactly am I in denial about, I really like to know?

                You say it’s impossible to have a discussion with me when you fail to see I’m holding all the cards now based on how Kaep is panning out. You’re the one that has nothing left to say, but I write back because you amuse me!

                Just another example of how this is personal for you. You are so vested in Kap failing that you really don’t have any idea about where I stand on it, and have instead chosen to make up a straw man to rail against. You still can’t understand that what I have always proved you wrong about can’t be vindicated by Kap struggling now.

                You try to deflect or detour the conversation away from your flawed logic on what Kaep is not so bad.You are clinging at straws my friend. You are hold a deuce high and I have all the other cards in the deck.

                Deflect what? I’ve been critical of Kap in the past, and have been pretty clear about my frustrations with him the past two weeks same as everybody else. He’s been awful and I’ve said so. The difference between you and I is you don’t want to hear or talk about the other things that conspire to negatively affect Kaps performance. You just want the narrative to be a simple Kap sucks and nothing else. It shows either a twisted dislike of somebody you don’t know personally, or a lack of knowledge about how this game works. Seeing how this has played out, I would say it’s the former.

                Kaep sucks. Everyone sees it now. I wasn’t a Niner hater, I just didn’t think the QB was any good. I said in the beginning of the year I hope Kaep proved me wrong. He failed to do so.

                I never said you were a niner hater, just a Kap hater and that has been proved many times over by the fact you talk about nothing else on here. Even when he was a top ten ranked QB and winning a bunch of games all you could do was rip on him for anything you could find. I feel sorry for you in a way because you clearly didn’t enjoy a couple of exciting and fun seasons, and now have to watch the team go through another period of lousy football and rebuilding again.

                His days are clearly numbered. It’s not if, but when

                And the best part about that if it happens is the fact we won’t have to read your rants anymore.

            2. FDM,

              Rocket I think you are missing the point. The 49ers have glaring needs across the board. But fixing those and staying with Colin Kaepernick is not going to get us back to what was winning games 2-3 years ago.

              I disagree only in that the formula of having strong defense, running game and low TO ratio has worked through out NFL history in every era. Could we recapture what we had a couple of years ago? No you are right about that, but it’s as much because of the players and Coaches we lost as Kaepernick not being able to adjust to playing from the pocket.

              “They were successful with Smith the same way they were successful with Kap: Strong defense, running game, play action and protecting the football”

              Kaepernick lacks confidence. He does not believe in what his vision is telling him. That’s problem number 1. The second problem is his mechanics and fundamentals. Right now, they are at the equivalency of a rookie QB. Third, his teammates don’t believe in him. The Jimmy Johnson reference says it all. Fourth,

              You are making some assumptions here that may not be accurate. His confidence is low right now, but why is that? He has had poor pass protection going back to last season and has already been sacked at a higher rate than last year. Pro football focus attributed 7 sacks to Kap last season, that means 45 were due to other factors. This year it’s even worse with a swinging gate from the Center to the RT. These guys are human FDM. If you see guys coming at you unblocked enough times you are going to be affected by it. Kap clearly doesn’t trust his protection, and then on top of that he threw 4 picks in AZ, so he came into the game yesterday and didn’t trust himself either. It all builds on top of itself to the point we have a QB who doesn’t want to take any chances and fears for his safety every time he drops back. It’s a terrible situation and there is very little that can be done to rectify it at this point.

              they have tried many different schemes to accentuates his strengths and hide his weaknesses. Its been a disaster every which way.

              I don’t agree with this at all. They were very successful his first two years. As I pointed out in an earlier post, the problems began with the change to a more pass oriented, multiple WR attack last season. They didn’t have the ability to pass protect that efficiently and they went away from the strength of the passing game which was play action. Kap is not a sit in the pocket and throw it QB, that we can all agree on, so he needs to have a strong running game to make play action effective. This season, we’ve seen a simplistic system that is ultra conservative and still isn’t moving Kap around very much other than when he runs the read option. With how poor the Oline is, they should be moving the pocket regularly but they don’t. This is poor Coaching as much as it is Kap not being able to do what we all want him to do.

              Now I am not saying Gabbert is the answer. But I sure as hell know Kaepernick is not the guy you build a franchise around. I mean, if his play yesterday is not an indication of that, then maybe you should coach the team.

              You won’t find an entry from me that has ever described Kap as a franchise QB. When I don’t agree with extreme negative comments that are unobjective and categorically false, it doesn’t mean I think he’s the answer and we are set at the position. From the beginning I’ve focused on how to win with what we have. I have said many times they should bring in competition for Kaepernick, and needed to have a strong OC who can run multiple schemes to get the most out of the personnel on this roster. Kap is what we have FDM. If we had another option that could win more games than Kap, I’d be all for it, but we don’t. We have a guy who has already failed miserably, and is as bad a pocket QB as Kap without the same level of athleticism.

  38. Clay Matthews covered the ground:’
    You are no Russell Wilson, bro.
    Translation: you have no Super Bowl ring.

    Somebody buy Colin a laser so he can
    go home…………………GO HOME
    and…and….and…. remove the bogus tattoos.
    And then burn the shoe collection.
    BURN, BABY, BURN.

    1. There’s one more problem 49er fans have not considered.

      No offensive passing guru, either college or beginner will want to come here, because Baalke will run the ball, essentially killing these coaches careers.

    2. ” remove the bogus tattoos.”

      You mean the Bible scriptures? That’s probably the only thing not bogus about him

  39. Saw this on 49erswebzone, apologies if this is a repeat.

    According to FOX’s Curt Menefee, the 49ers’ 3 points, 8 first downs, and 6 sacks allowed was their worst offensive performance since 1964.

    Colin Kaepernick completed three passes that went 5+ yards today. (H/t @ESPNStatsInfo)

  40. Coach Tomsula took one for the team, and he is being a leader by doing it. I like him for his forthright acceptance of blame, and his refusal to throw his players under the bus.
    He should also be held accountable. His stubborn insistence to keep Devey and Pears in the lineup is admirable to demonstrate his loyalty to his players, but if he wants to win games, he needs to make changes. If he thinks they give the Niners their best chance to win, his assessment skills are deficient. They have demonstrated time after time that they are hurting the team and have succeeded in destroying Kaep’s confidence.
    The Niners should grab players off the practice squad from teams who have good O lines, and competent back ups. Baalke is not doing his job if he does nothing. Why sit on 9 mil in cap space if the team is floundering? He did not draft an O lineman, and the results are alarming. Pats fans were wondering if Devey would get Brady killed, and Kaep is running for his life. B Mathews ran through a gap left by Devey and blasted Kaep for a sack. Pears is just as bad, and the Bills fans blamed him for the offensive woes last year, with this year continuing his putrid play.
    I would sit both Devey and Pears, and put in Thomas and Brown. If the Niners want to win, they need to change, or they might not win another game.

    1. I think he should also bench Kaepernick for the next game. Keeping him in has only destroyed his confidenc, pissed off our play makers, and handcuffed our offense overall.

      1. I think forcing Kaep to be only a pocket passer when the pocket collapses like a house of cards, is like putting an Abrams tank in a pit and burying it. Last game they did not roll Kaep out. He was sacked 6 times. I wonder why.
        They need to let Kaep move so he can throw on the run. Like the Sundance Kid, if allowed to move, he can be deadly accurate. Make him stand still, and he will miss.
        I think Kaep needs to get better, but he played in the SB after only 10 games and was inches from returning the next year. He does have skills. I just think the coaches have over coached him, and do not let him use all his skills.

  41. This has been THE worst I’ve seen for any franchise. The owner dismissing a Hall of Fame caliber coach, concussion exoduses, FA’s leaving. Through it all having Anthony Davis retire like he did is REALLY hurting the OL. Pears is horrible. The left side is starting to look that way. Kap is regressing, Chryst is doing what he can and it’s not enough. I think Baalke can get the OL, ILBs but this team isn’t going anywhere with busted Kap. His confidence is shot. If Harbaugh was here, he could get his mind right. Tomsula doesn’t know how 2 get QB’s out of funks. Boldin and Smith are ready to quit on these guys and I can’t blame them. Bowman is back but he’s not the same without Willis and a healthy knee.Here’s to being able to draft ourselves out of this mess.

  42. 17h17 hours ago
    Any coincidence the same ownership that built a $1.3 billion stadium in California w/o shade also built this team? #49ers

    1. The problem is that the whole world watched how this team handled harbough.

      First of all big mistake to even want to get rid of him. He is the type of coach you want around for about 10 years. But even if he needed to go- they played the while thing out like they were 13 year old mean girls. Gossip, fake media leaks, sabotaging a whole season to get their way. They should’ve just let him play this year out and if his record would’ve been 1-15 like it’s looking right now then no one would’ve faulted then for firing him.

      You don’t strike gold twice that easily. I felt like it was a miracle for our goofball team to score harbough in first place. Now to do it again when it’s even more clear how dysfunctional they are will be even harder.

      (I understand harbough faults as well but id pick his faults over Jed’s and baalke). I think getting stadium done went to Jed’s head. Baalke clearly has ocpd and narcissistic traits in the way he drafts. Between the two of them they thought they were Ozzie newsom, Ron wolf, etc.

  43. Mike Rosenberg ‏@RosenbergMerc 10h10 hours ago
    1 out of every 15 Levi’s club seat licenses are on sale right now on 49ers official site. Some for up to half off the $20k-$80k face value.

    1. Like Kap stated, “7 storms a comin (meaning plagues-kap’s biblical tats), the York’s are 49er fans Pharoah, since they never listen to the fans, who are loyal, never hire from Walsh’s coaching tree, only from Parcell’s coaching tree, the plagues are coming from fans selling their seat licences

    1. I’d forgotten just what a fool Jed really is. Jed quote from the article:

      “But with Kap you got a guy in Geep Chryst who knows him better than anybody else. You have a great guy in Steve Logan that’s coming in that’s going to work with him on fundamentals and to put a system that’s going to put Kap in the best position to make plays.

      “How many quarterbacks in this league can run 90 yards for a touchdown? I can’t think of many, but you have to put Kap in position where he can make those plays and put Kap in position where we can run the ball.

      “We can throw the ball in ways that allows him to be successful and let him be the absolute stud that he can be on the field, and that’s what you’re going to see from us next year. Defenses are not going to want to play against us because you’re not going to know where we’re going to hit you.”

      It’s the exact opposite. Our offense is the easiest in the league for any NFL defense (and probably college, too) to play against.

  44. I just saw that the 49ers are bringing in Pryor for a workout. Please say that it is April Fool’s the Day. Somebody? ANYBODY?!

    1. By Marcus Thompson

      The 49ers offense was such a mess that getting two scores was out of the question.

      So much of a mess that Anquan Boldin — mustering all the professionalism he has left — opted not to talk to reporters after the game. That’s probably because Brenda Banks, his mom, taught him if you don’t have anything good to say, then don’t say anything.

      1. Grant Cohn ‏@grantcohn 18h18 hours ago
        The #49ers have the worst offense in the NFL. PTS: SF: 48 Tampa: 72, with Rookie
        QB in only 4th game, their offense outscores the 49ers offense.

        National Football League
        Standings

        Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1 3 0 .250 72 117 -45 8 0-2 1-1 1-1 .500 1-1 .500 0-2 2L 1-3
        San Francisco 49ers 1 3 0 .250 48 110 -62 5 1-1 0-2 0-1 .000 1-2 .333 0-1 3L 1-3
        x – Clinched playoff
        y – Clinched Wild Card
        z – Clinched Division
        * – Clinched Division and Homefield Advantage

        1. Clarifying, Grant’s comment was the one about the worst offense, I included the NFL website standings

      1. Seems like a cover to keep the press off their backs as they try and figure out options at QB.

        1. I tend to agree as well. But the players will know what is going on. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And I thought the offseason was bad.

      2. Because York is hiring Philbin and he wants Pryor:

        Monday Morning Hangover: The Dolphins Must Do More Than Fire Philbin

  45. Overall this was horrible. Kap deserves an F, Devey and the OL deserve an F, but I disagree with the defensive grades and critique of the running game.
    – Hyde is a beast, and made yards out of nothing, with the exception of one sweep right where he could have gained about a yard but instead tried to sift through and got tackled for a loss. The first run of the game he was hit 3 yards deep, face masked by Raji, and still made 5+ yards.
    – on that first play, Boone was lined up right over Raji, and barely made contact as he went to get to the second level. This is on the coaches. You can’t run zone schemes and allow penetration. Geep Chryst is a flipping idiot who hasn’t corrected this same issue for 3 games straight.
    – Devey has no power or balance. He’s worse than Iupati ever was in pass protection, with none of the run-blocking upside. Just a waste. Watch Andy Dalton next week and see what an average QB can do when he has time.
    – Kap is only good when he’s running. His accuracy and mechanics are shot. He hasn’t set his feet and thrown with confidence in some time. He bounced his first throw and made horrible decision after horrible decision in the passing game. He needs to sit. He’s playing scared and without poise. Worse than that, he’s lost the team. Even our #3 TE was livid after the Nth crappy throw
    – D-line was on the field far too much. Yes, they gave up rushing yards, but they also were going against the best O we’ll face this year, and they held up alright.
    – Don’t get too excited about the outside pressure from Lynch, their RT was as bad as ours. Still, nice to see him and Brooks making plays and rushing the passer rather than trying to man-cover a slot receiver.
    – Patton earned some more time. Where was Ellington in the offense? What about Miller, he has hands?
    – Hayne needs to be returning kickoffs

  46. It’s sad when your team is so bad that you can’t watch NFL network all week because you know all the guys on the show are slamming your team.
    We have to admit. We knew it was going to be bad when Harbaugh got fired, when players started retiring. When the same guys started getting arrested again. When we saw what new coaches they hired. However, I absolutely did not expect our QB to lose his confidence as well as his ability to throw a 5 yard pass to a running back in the middle of the field wide open!
    I’ve been a major supporter of Kap but I have to admit that he is just like Smith before Harbaugh got here. He has the happy feet that getting sacked a ton of times does to a young QB. KAP is DONE! Trade him now for the best offer you can get! Trade Vernon Davis as well. I called it right on hom last year anf everyine hammered me. Hes a fraud. Hes faking an injury now like he did last year. The season is over. Trade any vet of any real value ND let’s stockpile picks.
    Let’s get a new GM At the end of the season. And terminate the entire coaching staff except Rathman and give Tomsula the d line job back. Lastly, put a roof on that Damn stadium!

    1. True that. I think VD is faking injury, and has given up…preserving his “brand” for the 2016 season and beyond.

    2. 23 I agree with everything you just said except for waiting to hire a GM. Fire Baalke now, and start the search immediately so that the individual can can come in and start the evaluation process ASAP!

  47. Well I haven’t watched the game again yet, but on first looks it’s pretty clear this is a team going nowhere fast.

    Kap looks like his confidence is completely shot. He went from being reckless with the football in AZ to not taking even the slightest chance of anything bad happening. He’s not throwing the ball anymore; he’s aiming it and that’s when he gets rid of it at all. His comments after the game reflect a guy who isn’t confident in himself or anyone else around him. Really sad to see and hard to watch somebody who came in so aggressive and explosive be reduced to this.

    The Oline continues to be complete garbage and that plays a part in Kaps demise along with the offense as a whole. Why they keep putting Devey and Pears out there is a mystery and even the left side is struggling now.

    Geep Chryst was a horrible OC in SD 15 years ago. Some reasons were given that he didn’t have much to work with and that is true to an extent, but the overriding problem is the guy doesn’t know how to design or call an offense. He’s a new level of conservative to the point I don’t know if he truly cares what the score is when he’s calling plays. A run up the gut on 3rd and 11? Really? About 90% of the game plan seems to occur within 10 yards of the LOS. Every play has traffic whether it’s a run or pass because defenses can load up the box and handle whatever is thrown at them. 8 called runs to Hyde in a close game score wise? This offense is 100% dependent on the running game being successful. If they can’t run the ball they can’t do anything, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen the past two weeks. Opposing players are saying the scheme is easy to decipher and it shows. No matter what happens player wise they will not be successful with this scheme and play caller imo.

    The defense was better especially the pass rush, but is anyone confident that continues week to week? I’m not, and yesterday I think we had a perfect storm of the Packers probably taking us lightly and the fact they had a ton of injuries to their receiving core. I don’t want to diminish what the defense did yesterday because they played well overall considering the opposition, but I’m not confident they will play consistently well based on what I’ve seen so far.

    I like to let things play out and will continue to do so before forming conclusions on what should happen in every facet of the organization, but some harsh realities are staring us in the face right now:

    The Coaching staff is over matched and don’t instill a lot of confidence in the players or fans at the present time.

    The QB has lost his confidence and is not going to get better this year imo.

    The Oline is a disaster.

    The TE position is ineffective.

    The young players they have been relying on to fill holes vacated by trusted vets are not playing nearly well enough to justify Baalke’s drafting of them.

    The pass rush is inconsistent at best and non existent at worst.

    Bowman looks like a shadow of what he once was and he is still their best ILB by a wide margin.

    The secondary is young and inconsistent, but flash signs of progress every now and then.

    Other than that, everything is great. At this point I’m hoping for a disaster in the win loss column so Jed will have no choice but to blow it up and hire somebody to fix it for him. I don’t necessarily have confidence he can pick the right guy to do this, but I think the season will show us the Coaching staff isn’t up to the job it was given and our GM may not be either. If that is the case Jed will have to swallow his pride, admit he screwed up royally and hire somebody to pull his butt out of the fire.

    Some have joked about this being Erickson era all over again, but that might be an understatement when this year is over.

    1. The QB has lost his confidence and is not going to get better this year imo.
      ————

      SMH. Ever Rocket, ever.

    2. That’s funny that you make that comparison to it being the Erickson era all over. It apparently is starting the same way. I remember the first game at home of the Erickson era where the Niners played the Bears. They obliterated the Bears 49-7 and everything looked great-we thought the team might be legit……

    3. The Pack knew they could contain the 49ers offense at three, so chose to end the game early by continually running the football (eg., run some clock), and get out of town w/ injury.
      They could have put up more points had they chosen to, but better to err on the side of team safety first. There’s still 12 games left.

  48. Sigh…what happened to the San Francisco 49ers? The reboot version sure looks like a lot like a very disorganized not ready for the shelves software that simply will not compile. Perhaps its designers erred badly in design and execution from the beginning.

    1. The root of the 49ers problem is a dysfunctional and incompetent management. Everything else is window dressing.

  49. Clearly the OL lineup must change -I’m not a pro football coach(and I’m sure many would argue neither are several members of the 49er staff!) but there are several young OL players who could use this season to gain real play time.Move Boone to RT insert Brandon Thomas at RG ,move Martin to LG and give a Easton a shot at C.What’s the worse that could happen six sacks? Put Gabbert in and let Kap back him,what is the worse that could happen another loss? Chryst needs to put a pro level O on the field or be demoted or let go,is Logan up for the task?What’s the worse thing that could happen….more of the same.

    1. “What’s the worst thing that could happen”

      2010 49ers @ Panthers, Anthony Davis rookie RT and Boobie Dixon rookie RB miscommunicate on a block, allowing a Panthers DE to blow by them. Result: Alex Smith with a busted left shoulder.

      None of us know what the back-ups are capable of….I am not suggesting that the 49ers not try other line combinations but yes, worse things can happen.

      1. Of course worse things can happen skeptic in the most literal sense, really just being rhetorical ! However at the level the OL line is playing presently the scenario you presented could happen without a personel change!

    2. I don’t think it really matters who plays QB at this point hightop. The Oline is awful and the play calling is too.

      1. Rocket,
        Kaep has regressed but I agree with you. I think Kaep’s struggles are an indicator of the overall health of the franchise.

        – He may very well succeed with a different franchise and staff, but he probably has very little trade value.

        – I laugh at how many people think a high pick rookie QB is going to solve our problems. It would be Alex Smith all over again.

        – The most realistic solution that I could envision is to get rid of Baalke and Tomsula at the end of the season. York should try to hire Kyle Shanahan as the HC. Shanahan could pick a QB in the draft to develop while working with Kaep (on a revised contract) in the short term. If Kaep excels with Shanahan, great. If not, there is an exciting replacement waiting for his shot.

        – Anybody who thinks this franchise is an Alex Smith away from competent play is smoking crack. *For the pasties that still swing from Smith’s junk…..the K.C. honeymoon is long over. He is already seen as the weak link on the Chiefs. #Checkdownmaster*

        1. BigP,

          Kap is playing the worst football of his career it’s undeniable. He’s also one symptom of a much larger problem. Like you I see a bleak future on the horizon. Actually forget the horizon, it’s happening now.

          They will have to draft a high round QB, but also have to rebuild the Oline and get a decent OC to give him any chance of success. I also could see them signing a FA or trading for a young Vet to compete with the draft pick.

          I was hoping for a Shanahan as HC this year, and they interviewed both, but whether Kyle would be interested now I don’t know because this is a franchise that is not viewed favorably in any way at the moment. We are currently the red and gold Raiders.

          1. “We are currently the red and gold Raiders.”

            Might as well design some black uniforms then…

      2. Agree Rocket and I don’t mean to disparage CK in his darkest hour I think he needs to hit the reset button and perhaps sitting him for a spell might help him! Without change in play calling and OL it may indeed be futile!

  50. WOW!

    After watching the game, and reading the posts today, who will we have on the field next week ? Everybody on the team should be fired, even the benches should be burned. My solution is to keep the benches, and make sure that Kaep is on one of them. There’s nothing that the FO could do about Willis, or Cowboy or even Davis retiring, those are personal decisions. Iupatti couldn’t pass-block so he had to go. We replaced Davis with Pears, and Devey at RG (which to this point hasn’t borne fruit), Brown is rounding into playing shape,Eaton (sp) is working to get to the field, and “Big Joe” Staley and Boone are holding down the left side of the OL. If Marcus Martin, Devey, and Kilgore (upon return), Brown , and Pears continue to work together, I believe they will develop chemistry with each other, and cure the problem “Oline. Blaine Gabbert deserves a chance to start at QB, and the Defense is OK as long as they don’t spend 2/3s of the time on the field….So what’s the problem ? SHEESH…

    1. That’s a bit unrealistic for Devey and Pears who were ranked nearly last in the NFL last season at their positions to suddenly improve to something different this season no matter how long they play together. Stanley’s getting beat and his age is showing. Sure play Gabbert.

        1. Not sure they’ll consistently improve either. They both got let go by their teams last year and TB found them on the bargain bin of returns.

            1. You’re so grumpy Oregon. You’re logic here is faulty. They’ve shown they can’t perform on their old teams or their new team. This is the same logic you’re applying to Kaepernick, didn’t perform before won’t perform now.

              I think someone was quoting Cosell saying “hope isn’t a strategy.” It applies to these linemen. Hoping they will get better isn’t going to work. They’ve already hit their ceiling.

  51. Don’t know if it’s been mentioned
    But Terrell Pryor getting a workout as wr?
    Why?
    Has Boldin had enough? Has he asked for a trade? Or did Smith wear out his welcome already with his words to his qb?
    One thing is for sure. They aren’t happy with who’s under center now. Tomsula can say it’s not fractured but the body language and rants on the sidelines says otherwise. They are getting real close to quitting on this team. Vernon Davis has already lost his reborn “found love for the game” he’s not injured!
    Hello singletary and Raye and Alex smith. Welcome back

    1. Nah, its a shell game to cover up him trying out as a QB. We have WR’s and Simpson’s slated to return in 2 weeks so I just don’t see it being feasible for him. Why would they take a guy who’s not better than any of our WR’s on the team? Even if Boldin quits.

      1. Then that’s worse. That dude is a joke as qb. I’d take ck a thousands times over. And I’m off that bandwagon btw!

    1. Nothing. Fire Baalke and Mr. Podium Putts and hire Kyle Shanahan. Let him draft a QB to develop and let him tailor a crazy offense to Kaepernick (on a revised contract) for a season or so while the rookie learns his offense. Kaep will either have trade value after the season or he will have been broken in half. It’s a win-win with the way Kaep’s contract is structured.

        1. Do you have a point? I gave a reasonable projection for the next couple of seasons. You didn’t say anything. I’d rather combine talent with talent. You sound like you would be happy with Brian Hoyer and Tomsula as long as Kaep is gone. That doesn’t make sense to me because it’s ignoring the dysfunction in the organization. They have taken a huge step back on all fronts.

    2. More than we think. There is always a coach of a QB hungry team who will think they can make Kaep a different animal. They won’t, but their own egos will blind them to that fact. When you are desperate, you can convince yourself of almost anything.

      1. Yep you’re right. See Jake Plummer, Tebow, Vick, Cunningham, Steve Young pre 49ers and many others. All bounced around the NFL.

  52. The losses aren’t as frustrating when you don’t expect them to win.
    .
    Just saying…
    .
    .
    .
    ~ALOHA~

  53. There is nothing more useless in all of sports media than the Head Coach press conference.

    They’re entertaining on the off chance you get a good rant, but otherwise…

    I watched Tomsula’s just now and feel like a complete idiot for having done so. I also feel sorry for you guys who are going to read it later, thinking that you’re going to get some answers.

    1. Bay Area Sports Guy:

      BOOM WOOOSH AND
      Fart Back Friday: Jim Tomsula (probably) broke wind during a press conference

      Coming to Gotham City to take on Eli Manning

      BOOM, BOOMER WHOOOSHER!!! …..Watch us kick some Giant As-!!!!

    2. The answers my friend, are blowing in the wind, and smell like something died or is dead….

  54. Jed York on Dec 30, 2014:

    …Trent and I are philosophically aligned on what we want to do with this team…

    Baalke will not get fired much to the displeasure of a lot of us. Baalke is the one who instigated the Harbaugh firing. He got into Jed’s ear and shaped his impressions of JH. Baalke is the cancer. Jed is the stooge. Be prepared for years of mediocrity with mediocre people running the show.

  55. Tomsula needs to sit Kaepernick down. Give him a chance to clear his head and watch for a week or two.

    1. Totally agree. At the same time you can see how Gabbert might have grown under GC and Harbaugh. Can’t hurt

  56. It’s a shame Jed York picked a puppet for a HC JT. And the GM baalke is sure a joke. Next season the 49ers should attained new ownership and clean house from top to bottom starting with QB kaepernick. The franchise cannot survived this kind of performance by the team for a couple more years.

    1. I think ck should be second as far as players. Because with this o-line NOBODY is going to succeed. Good teams always have stout lines

    2. “Next season the 49ers should attained new ownership …”

      How do the 49ers attain new ownership? Maybe have Trump offer $3B for the team?

      1. The Yorks are pulling in a reported $100M a year in new money so maybe you could get them arrested for laundering drug money and the Feds could confiscate their facility.

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