49ers 7, Cardinals 47: Grades

Here are the grades for the 49ers’ 47-7 meltdown against the Cardinals.

KAEPERNICK: F. Killed his team’s spirit by throwing two pick-sixes to start the game. You could see it in the 49ers’ faces on the sideline during the first quarter – they had no energy, no emotion, no belief in their ability to win. And no belief in their quarterback. After the second pick-six, the coaching staff didn’t let Kaepernick throw a pass for two series. The Niners may have to spend a first-round pick on a quarterback next year. Maybe they can get the kid from Cal, Jared Goff. He looks better than Kaepernick right now.

RUNNING BACKS: C. Carlos Hyde gained just 51 yards on 15 carries, but he had virtually nowhere to run. The Niners’ stretch-zone running game doesn’t work against 3-4 defenses, and the Niners’ offensive line kept getting pushed backward. Backup running back Mike Davis couldn’t even get out of his tracks before getting pummeled in the backfield.

WIDE RECEIVERS: C. Anquan Boldin caught two passes for 16 yards, and Torrey Smithy caught zero passes for zero yards. Still, hard to fault them considering how poorly Kaepernick played.

TIGHT ENDS: C. Vance McDonald didn’t suit up – the Niners missed his blocking in the running game. Third-string tight end Garrett Celek led all 49ers with three catches for 29 yards. When Celek is your leading receiver, you’ve got problems.

OFFENSIVE LINE: F. Just horrendous.

DEFENSIVE LINE: D. Gave up 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns to Chris Johnson, who’s 186 years old. Rookie Arik Armstead generated some push and recorded a sack during the fourth quarter when the game was over. Armstead also celebrated after the sack. Maybe he lost track of the score.

LINEBACKERS: D. Aaron Lynch got shut out by Cardinals’ right tackle Earl Watford, and NaVorro Bowman struggled in coverage for the third game in a row.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: D. It’s hard to say which defensive back played the worst, because the Cardinals’ receivers seemed wide open all game. Whatever defensive coordinator Eric Mangini was calling, it wasn’t working.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B. Jarryd Hayne returned a punt 37 yards, and set up the 49ers’ only touchdown of the game.

COACHES: F. Tell me why offensive coordinator Geep Chryst would align his quarterback in the pistol four yards deep in the end zone, and his running back seven yards deep in the end zone, and then run a read option play from the 1-and-a-half yard line. Please, someone tell me why Chryst would do that.

This article has 516 Comments

  1. The delusion on this board over the past year thinking Kap would take this team
    to the promised land. I thought Gabbert would be the QB by Game 6. We may
    seem as soon as Game 4. Thanks Trent. Thanks Jed.

    1. I almost thought Gabbert would start!
      Lol.
      In my view, Kap was little more than a flash in the pan and started to show his true colors halfway through his second season.

    2. I figure Kap will lose his position no later than the Falcon game in November. The problem with this season is that the only weak team the 49ers play at home is going to be the Rams. This looks like a 3-13 season given the coaching staff and the player talent. This season reminds me of the 2005 season when they started 1-2 and gave up over 100 points in their first 3 games. They were 4-12 that year and stunk every year until Harbaugh came on the scene. Jed Yorkin charge of the 49ers is the Seahawks fans wet dream.

        1. I gave up on Kap ever since the 49ers drafted him and he kissed his bicep. 4, 4 300 yard games out of his career with the 49ers. Mannings, Brady, Brees, more 300 yard games then this loser. That was pathetic out there by CK, Our Crapperdink.

      1. What makes you think Gabbert, with no mobility and certain without the mobility Kap gas, will fare any better behind this offensive line? The offensive line gets better and it makes the entire offense better. No line, no offense.

          1. If he had 4.21 at the combine he is still Blaine Gabbert! He’s a bust and always has been a bust.

        1. The O-line may suck but he didn’t help them at all. He threw two of the picks when he rolled right and had all day. He’s just not getting it.

    3. Can anybody tell me please what did Kurt Warner show CK what to do in camp? CK looks more lost out there and his yards are getting worse off then before, and tell me why we are paying him 18 million dollars to throw 69 flipping yards vs. Arizona? 69 flipping yards, do we have a high school or a pop warner kid on the 49ers? Jared Goff has more skills then this loser.

      1. They are paying him 18 million bucks then after he threw those two pick 6s, they called 13 straight run plays with a pass option on and guess what? he ran. He looked so scared to throw the ball, because the DBS called him out and they made him look bad.
        That’s probably the mosts embarrassing part. They dared him to throw outside the numbers, he fell for it and BAM! This is the end of the Kaep era. It will take a few more games, and he will have a few surprisingly good games but he looked like he gave up.

      2. Been wondering about the same thing myself since the second game. What in blue blazes did Warner teach this guy? Whatever it was, it’s either not working, he didn’t learnt it all that well or whenever he panics he just plain forgets it…

    1. Sorry I took that number before the draft. Then listened to all the naivety week 1 and ridicule from the band waggoneers. No room left for you all to get onboard now.

    2. You have the incompetent two headed monster in York and Baslke. You have a head coach and two coordinators that are over their head. Kaep is predictable and can’t read defenses. They will win between 4 to 6 games tops. I can hear Mora Senior saying (,Playoffs))

  2. “Who is coaching our great athletes?”

    “Nooooo body!”

    “Who was ready to play a big game?”

    “Nooooo body!”

    “Who’s playing OL?”

    “Nooooo body!”

    “Who’s getting to Palmer when it counts?”

    “Nooooo body!”

    Nice punt return.

    1. Funny in a pathetic kind of way. Its going to be a long season, we’re going to have to figure out how to make this fun.

      1. Pathetic is the right word for today. The two pick six plays were started by very bad OL play but Kaepernick still isn’t ready to eat the ball is all the situations where it’s appropriate.

        1. I am sure he was coached to throw the ball away, but he threw a lollipop not once, but twice in a row. i think something is wrong with him to be so stubborn, and keep making the same mistake.

      2. wilsonm,
        A month ago, I couldn’t wait for the season to start. At this continues, I’ll be saying that I can’t wait for the season to end!

        I have to give the Cardinals their due, right now they are looking like the cream of the crop in the NFL. If Palmer stays healthy they could be a strong SB candidate.
        Or, maybe we’re really that bad!

        If Kap doesn’t have a bounce back game against GB, I believe that he will begin to lose his confidence and begin the backslide to his career.
        Next Sunday’s game will be a big game for the 49ers, but a bigger game for CK.

        1. Begin to lose his confidence?
          AYFKM???
          The dude hasn’t had his head in the game for two seasons and the backslide started two years ago.

        2. AES, we were all excited for football hoping the team would build off its short comings. Its what fans do. We believe in our team until its painfully obvious that its not going to work out. I honestly have no idea how York will turn this around. Mangini’s defense will improve I believe over the season. The offense I am not sure how they’ll function if people already have them figured out. I know in Baltimore the year they won the SB John H dumped the OC and got a new one mid season. I just don’t know how they’ll fix it.

    2. Lol Harbaugh got to be laughing at this game. Did Jed put out a apology to the fans about the collapse. Jimmy T way over his head. Kaep can’t read defendes and Baalke can’t draft period . Long season

  3. The 49ers cannot continue to start Jordan Devey at guard, they just can’t. There isn’t a worse guard in the league and there’s no way that Brandon Thomas isn’t better than him.

    1. yup. thank Baalke for that. where is Brandon Thomas, supposed stud Guard who fell because of injury? Devey is the worst. Martin is a close second. The whole organization of the line is putrid. They run zone runs but continually let DL slip between them. This isn’t rocket science.

      And Kap looked every bit as bad as Devey. He had a wide open WR to the right for a first down, looks him off, holds the ball to invite pressure, and flings a back-foot lollypop to the left for a pick. The announcers said ‘nobody was open’ but that was blatant BS. Kap can’t win with his brain. He’s a physical freak, but if you can’t win before the snap, you’re just guessing. Behind a porous OL, you’re toast.

  4. The only thing I’d disagree with is the play of the DL and LBs. I thought the DL were a shade better than a D, and the LBs worse than a D. The LBs got abused in coverage and failed to fill gaps on most of the big run gains. They also generated very little pass rush. Awful.

    1. That is because of the hide-n-seeek Mangini keeps calling,Lynch 20yds downfieldin Coverage? Brooks 20 yds downfield in coverage? 3 dbs playing ring around the rosey with wideouts running Wide freaking open….yep please fire this azz-clown Mangini

    2. There was one long run where Bowman was trying to fill the hole but the only part of him that got there was his hands.

      1. Yes, NaVarro still is not all the way back from that traumatic surgery. He also was a step away from two tackles and shy a step or two on pass coverage. His closing speed is not what it was prior to the surgery, but that is to be expected. Hopefully, it just is a matter of time for him to rebound all the way.

  5. KAEPERNICK: Again with the not seeing underneath coverage. Again and again and again. His vision issues may not be coach-able. He has the “slowest eyes” in football. It might sink his career.

    RUNNING BACKS: – The 49es stretch play doesn’t work very well without Vance McDonald.

    TIGHT ENDS: “When Celek is your leading receiver, you’ve got problems.” Grant is reading my mind.

    COACHES: “Tell me why offensive coordinator Geep Chryst would align his quarterback in the pistol four yards deep in the end zone…” Yup, Grant reading my mind alright. A Karnac the 49er blog moment if there ever was one.

    Grant… best grading comments I’ve seen so far.

      1. Nah, you know how this works. All this alpha male coaches think they can whisper a QB into a great player. He’ll get traded and play 3-4 more years.

          1. Maybe we could send Devey and Pears with him?

            Honestly that’s not really something I am very knowledgable on with trades and such. Think of teams like the Panthers, Bills, Jets, Seahawks and a few others that have mobile QB’s that could use a back up. Seems like nobody is going to give up a good player for him but some kind of mid round pick/s.

            1. Probably a comparable trade would be what we gave up to get Gabbert. So the best we could hope for is a 6th round pick.

            1. It’s really unfortunate because he is a great athlete. The sad part is playing NFL QB is the hardest job in all of sports. It requires a uniques skill set combined with superior intelligence. He has 1 of 2 but the 1 part only gets you so far.

    1. also…

      – Hyde’s the whole offense. Take him out when the game gets out of hand. Save his body for next week.

      – Try Hayne as a KO returner. He isn’t getting any enough exercise as a punt returner.

      – Anyone know why Ian Williams was out of the latter part of the game?

      – Steve Logan was speechless. Perhaps for the first time in his life.

      – Play calling degraded from infective to mindless as the game progressed. Chryst called a weird combination of plays that seem ed to suggest he was trying to come from behind and score… and run out the clock… in the same drive.

      There is a right way and a wrong way to bail out of a game that’s essentially lost in the 4th qtr. Chryst tried them all. (and I like Chryst)

        1. Mangina doesn’t have a clue either…whoever in the team who called him Mangenius has no clue at all, this guy can’t coach his way into the backseat of a car

  6. Colin: two sacks and four picks…??
    COLIN..!!!!!!!!
    is that possible..?
    a QB rating of 16.7….???

    Go home to your shoe collection, willya…?

  7. Kap man you are gonna have a seat,sorry but something is not right with you upstairs,you may be book smart but the passes I seen you throw today were not like you at all touch passes on long throws? throwing off your back-foot? throwing easy picks? yep have a seat,,,, Yep Baalke you are going to draft a QB and some O=Linemen,these should be your priority 1 and 2 .2o=linemen rds 2 and 3 and then Some defense players these are must to get back to the level we are used to. Ohh and a REAL DC please I have seen enough of Mangini Hide-n-seek defense…..I would like to see Baalke get His walking papers yesterday.

      1. Man! You are right, i would throw in coach and cap, coach did not deserve his job he was chosen cause baalke can manipulate him.

  8. I was this is not singletary 2.0. His teams at least competed this could be worse than the Ericsoon era. Fire York

    1. Sounds good. But first prove to us you practice what you preach. Tomorrow morning go to work and fire the owner of your company. Let us know how is goes.

      1. I own my company and I would sell it If I ever put out a product as bad as what we are seeing from this team.

        As customers of the Niners we do have a strong say. If the owners don’t make money. They will sell the team

        1. With the broadcast deals made by the league it is basically impossible for any owner to lose money. We’ll never get rid of York.

          1. While NFL teams do not have to disclose their earnings, Detroit has been found to be an NFL team that lost money last year.
            This is the fourth straight year the team has lost money. Last year they lost 3.5 million.
            NFL teams can and do lose money just like every professional team.

              1. Matt,

                Before you’re so sure the Lions and Dolphins lost money in the years you mentioned, you should look at the accounting methods they used. I doubt either team came anywhere close to losing money.

  9. A truly bad season might just be what this franchise needs. Kaepernick is what he is, same guy that he was when he took over the position. The only real hope for this team is to fire Baalke, get rid of the JV coaching staff, cut Kaep and draft a new young QB. Otherwise we are headed for years of misery.

        1. If I had that kind of money I would make the offer. But as a fan I refuse to support ownership that has so deliberately sabotaged this team

      1. Ownership is what it is. There’s absolutely nothing you can do about it but hope they put the money up, hire someone competent, and get the hell out of the way. It’s yet to be determined if Jed will ever figure that out though

    1. I think cutting Kaep would be a bit of an overreaction. He just had the worst game of his career but it is still just one game. He will never be an elite level player but he’s a solid starter and can win if he has a good team around him history has proven that. They definitely need to draft a QB in the top half of next years draft though to put Kaep on notice and who knows maybe they get lucky and draft the next Tom Brady.

      1. The last great quarterback drafted by the 49ers was Montana. Wrong! The only great quarterback drafted by the 49ers was Montana.

        Don’t count on drafting one. If you get very lucky, then you still have to build the right great team around him.

        1. I thought Brodie was pretty good. I still believe they would have won a championship if the Morabitos didn’t let Dave Parks go because they were notoriously cheap. Kinda like the Yorks.

      2. I agree, Kaepernick can still win against lower level teams. Don’t expect he’ll beat GB next week. Packers are a much better bunch this season than there previous games kaepernick played them. A. Rodgers will pick apart the 49ers D. And GB defense are much better team now.

      3. Nukeasfine

        An overreaction ? “He just had the worst game of his career…” but it was following “the worst game of his career…” The only games that Kaep is going to win are by accident….and you know it….

    2. No Baalke stays but He does need a guy who helps pick in the draft to counter balance His weak points when picking aka WRs……Mangini needs to Go VD looks like He`s have trying,especially on that pick where he just stopp chasing the Guy and juststood there taking a picture geesh! Tomsula needs to get it together with SOME TOUGH LOVE first to His Coaches and to His players who are not giving 110 percent…I seen on that int that Kap touched pass to Torrey Smith,Torrey was like man here we go again and threw his hands up in the air……this has got to change in a fast ,quick and hurry Tomsula.

    3. I feel like Gabbert could win 8 games while they train a backup QB. I don’t think QB will matter as long as the play calling and coaching is intact.

        1. Geez we’re desperate if we think Gabbert could win 8 games. Do people realize both Steelers and Cardinals watched the Vikings game and completely figures out both our offensive and defensive schemes. They were ready for everything we did. The Cardinals D had players in all the right places for every play and Both Steelers and Cardinals beat our pass coverage completely. Gabbert may throw quicker and have a higher completion % but he won’t survive long in a system that’s already been picked apart by better coaching.

          1. I wasn’t clear when I said I think Gabbert could win 8 games. I meant next season. 8 out 16 games. This season, quick releases would help the o-line. It would make defenses respect the passing game. They wouldn’t be able to load the box. It would help the running game. It wouldn’t help them overcome being outcoached. They’d still lose, just not by 35+.
            As for Gabbert’s career, he was sacked 74 times in 30 games. There isn’t a QB who could win 8 games in their career at Jacksonville. See Steve Young in Tampa Bay.

    4. We already had a 2-14 season, remember? Things didn’t turn around until Coach Harbaugh came along and because of Jerk Yorks wounded pride we are left with a coaching staff made up of morons…Tomsula–I refuse to call him coach–doesn’t have a clue to what he’s supposed to be doing with this team, his press conferences are puzzling at best, and we get nothing new from him

  10. Knowing Baalke and York, just like Smith over Rodgers, we will take underachieving Hackenberg over Goff.

  11. On why Blaine Gabbert didn’t play:

    Jim Tomsula: Colin Kaepernick still our QB, wanted to see how he worked through struggles

    1. My daughter was playing a Softball game over the weekend. Their pitcher started out strong in the first inning, then struggled and walked or hit 7 straight batters. As a parent, I thought leave her in there and let her work through her struggles. There were no outs. The team was losing 6 to 1.
      To my shock, the coach called timeout, replaced his pitcher, not a single girl scored after the replacement and our team won the game 14 to 6. These are 14-16 year old girls.
      The coaching decision to remove the errant pitcher was correct. Now the healing process begins for that pitcher. That is what a coach is suppose to do and exactly why I am not the coach. It is what Tomsula should have done to Kaepernick in a world of entitlement and participation trophies.
      I asked our coach if he could coach SF and unfortunately, it conflicts with his schedule.

  12. I said it the other day, this is the Erickson era all over again. Kaep was horrible, the defense was horrible and the coaching was horrible. The organization has bad energy right now and it shows on the field. It feels like the post Mariucci era.

    1. Agree. I’ve been saying that Tomsula is not good as a head coach. As a “player’s coach” he is better off as a lower level coach that plays the “good coach” to the head coach’s “bad coach”. There’s a reason why people say that it is lonely at the top. That’s pretty much how it has to be to get the most out of an organization.

  13. Kaep’s had bad games before, why does this one stand out more so then the rest?
    Is it because he looked overmatched, overwhelmed and had no answers?

    Roman’s gone now. And he has a talented RB, good WR options, and it looked like they were getting open. What’s the problem? Why the sudden doubt that Kaep just had a bad game? Or is time to finally conclude this is who he is, teams have figured him out. He’s being pushed to get to the next level, but just can’t.

    The team has a lot of problems, which a really good coaching staff can fix. Look at what Harbaugh with pretty much the same roster as Singletary.

    But I just don’t see how Kaep is every going to be a reliable QB. The WRs quit on him. Vernon definitely did.

    1. Well Fan, you get to gloat, and I will just have to take it in the teeth. Kaep was flat out horrible.

      1. Seb,
        Thanks but I’m not here to say I told you so. But I told you so! Just kidding man. We’re all fans I respect that you’re not going to make excuses for him.
        Kaep is has to own up and man up to it. Just not sure where we go from here.
        I would start Gabbert. It would take superior coaching, but if Harbaugh was able to make something out of Alex Smith, maybe Geep Chyrst can do something with Gabbert.

        Kawakami’s article says it out. He said that Kaep’s talented but he’s always going to up and down. I hope he invested his money wisely. He’s not going to be in the league much longer.

        1. They said they would let him use his skillsets, then force him to stand in a collapsing pocket, so he throws 2 pick sixes. Go figure.

          1. I know you’re a fan and I do respect that you stand up for him, but those were two very bad throws for pick 6s. The team is already too one dimensional. If all they do is roll Kaep out, then then the defense will already knows what routes the receivers will run. They caught Minnesota off guard. There’s just more tape on Kaep now. He really hasn’t had any really great all around games since he’s been the starter. He’s had moments, but he also has a lot more bone headed plays to go with it.

            1. I concede they were terrible throws and horrible decisions. He was coached to throw it out of bounds if nothing is open and pressure is coming, but he failed to follow that simple directive. I think he was hurt from that smackdown near the side line, and it slowed down his decision making.

          2. All QB’s need to be able to throw as part of their skillset, even running qbs…you can’t throw you’re just a running back.

    2. It’s to bad, because if Harbaugh and Fangio were still here, this would not be happening, and the niners would still be a respected team. I can see the
      niners getting the # 1 or #2 pick in the draft.

  14. Plenty of blame to go around, from the front office to the team bus driver. However, this was bound to happen. We are slowly coming to the realization that the decision to fire Harbaugh and his staff will haunt the Niner’s management for a long time.

    1. Please get over Fraudbuagh already,He was not going to get the offense where it needed to be He`s gone stop crying over spilt-milk.

      1. That ‘Fraudbaugh’ as you so stupidly put it just beat a ranked opponent and has a better record than the 49ers. I suggest you pipe down before you say or pist something more idiotic.

        1. Mid
          Harbaugh coached this same team to 8 wins last year and with the retirements/departures of 10+ key players wasn’t going to help him win this year. MICH beat BYU for christ sake and yes BYU was ranked but when a major BIG 10 school plays the WAC it should win every time. its more of an indictment on how far Mich has fallen than of how good JH is

    2. Slowly coming around to getting rid of Harbaugh being a bad thing? Those of us not drinking the Jed York kool aid knew that his firing immediately set this franchise back a decade. Not only losing a great coach but asserting himself as the Daniel Snyder of the west. Bad teams start with bad ownership. THANKS JED!! SB OR BUST RIGHT.?

      1. Rogers still remembers that Kap and the niners ran up the score of all most 600 yards on them, there will be revenge.

  15. Maiocco – Tyrann Mathieu: “Their passing game has just simplified so much, it was easy for us to anticipate routes, get some good breaks on the ball.””

    1. Well that adds insult to injury. I wish they would have gone with my plan which was to hire Gase as the HC and keep Fangio as the DC.

      1. You hit the nail on the head, Gase was my #1 choice for the HC job. and Gase wanted Fangio to stay there and that is why he didn’t get the job.

      2. I love the team but cannot support this ownership.Gase and Fangio would have been at least an attempt in the right direction.
        But these bozos chose to go with Tomsula. A nice guy but he clearly does not have the experience or the personality to be a HC

    2. well that is what Chryst and Tomsula has been saying all the time simplify the playbook for Kap,now it`s too simple/

    3. They tried complex and Kaep had problems last year. So the logical next step was to simplify things, so simple that the other team can figure it out. But you know what? There were still some throws and reads that Kaep could have made, but he’s a shot QB with no confidence and you can’t have a that. He has no clue what to do after the first read and he’s not going to get elite coaching to help him figure it out.

      You know what the worst thing about the two pick 6s? They were almost the exact same situation. Kaep explained his decision in the press conference and that’s even the worse excuse. He said he made a bad pass. No he made a poor decision. He hesitated on his reads and throws and this game is way too fast.
      And then he does it again. And again. Like he doesn’t learn.
      I think I just answered why some this game may be the most frustrating in the Kaep era.

      1. I must say, the thing that really concerned me in his post-match interview was when he was trying to explain on those two pick-6s that he should have made better throws. That wasn’t the problem. The throws should never have been made (at least not at the time he threw them – the 2nd one would have been ok if he threw it a second or two earlier).

  16. Well all this negative talk is well deserved. Boy was I wrong about this team. Especially the QB! Hats off to those who saw this coming before I did. I’m changing my screen named to Rebuild A Winner from here on out.

    1. I was wondering what you might do. Thanks for the post, it gave me a laugh. I’m sick today so I wasn’t allowed to drink during the game and boy do I need a drink.

  17. It’s a sad day when the team across the bay looks ALOT more promising then our squad. If we go 4-12 does Tomsula get canned?

    1. The whole coaching staff and Baalke might get canned plus the team blown up if that happens.

  18. Jed wanted Kaep, recall the ,you can’t coach the 99 yard td run BS. The coaching staff is following the GM’s wishes, ( Oh, some where in there is, we are going to run the ball) letting Kaep be Kaep. Pretty sure they will let him play at least 6 games before they pull him.

  19. Jed you went cheap on a new coaching staff. When Ty Mathieu said the passing routes were so simple they knew they could jump them, the result was what we witnessed today.
    It’s okay though Jed. You can fire Baalke at years end and break the bank for Urban Meyer and look like a hero again.

    1. Well prime I was thinking the same thing but then I realized that Jed prolly will never Fire Tomsula anytime soon. I don’t even know what to say anymore.

  20. I became very critical of the Roman/Harbaugh offense last year, but it looks like they knew what they were doing. All those between the tackle runs we to protect CK from himself. They knew he couldn’t handle a full game plan and he would hurt the team if it all rested on him. Somewhere, they are both chuckling.

      1. HT,

        You’re kidding yourself if you think the last two weeks didn’t give them some sense of satisfaction.

        1. I didn’t say that. Of course they keep track, but they both have there hands full doing a good job where they are.

  21. Lost super bowl, nfc champion ship love out patterns worst pattern in football
    Have not seen consistent crossing , quick or long since Montana left
    Brady , Manning Bradshaw who said that’s how you beat the pass
    Rush he also said best pattern against man or zone coverage I have
    This to every single person I know for years you know what they all
    Believe me now

  22. I need 14 more losses to match my April prediction. Kaepernick’s work in the offseason is paying off.

    1. One of the great mysteries of bay area radio… finding a post game show you know is being broadcast, but not on KGO, KNBR, The Bone or any other 49er flag station that has internet live radio.

  23. What about all those Kool Aide swilling corporate shills that put their money on Kaepernick to be the next big thing. It is just a matter of time until Beats demands Kaepernick return those loaned headphones. Kaepernick has had a good run while making millions perhaps a face and mind saving exit, a la Borland, is a better life route for him. He can go back to school and get his degree from Yale. Based on the schedule, his game day performances are not going to improve.

  24. I was getting skewred on this site a year ago by the Kaep jock sniffers. Its not the coaching, its not the receivers its not the O line…he looked good against Minnesota. ..now hes back to not seeing open receivers. Hes RGIII wirh better knees…equals…hes not good…dumping Smith was the biggest 49er mistake since the turn of the century. . I’m not the kinda guy to say I told ya so….so I wont

    1. I was never a Kap crotch sniffer (LOL, BTW) and I totally agree about the Smith statement.
      Not a very popular stance, but I’ve been pissed since they benched him after the concussion.
      No. Ask anyone that I’ve ever watched a Niner game with, I’ve been bitching about Kap since day 1.
      And while we’re at it, eff Trent and Jed.
      Killing the team.

    2. Mike
      Biggest mistake of the century?? are you on drugs?
      Since 2000 (not in order of magnitude)
      Fire Mooch
      Draft R Woods, kentwon Balmer, M Rumph AJ Jenkins in firs round
      Hire Erickson
      Draft Alex Smith over Aaron Rogers
      Hire Sigletary

      FYI The chiefs had 6 pro bowlers each of the past 3 seasons and have yet to win a playoff game with Alex Smith at QB

  25. Yes let’s draft a qb from a gimmick pass offense that has given the NFL Couch, Manziel, RG3, Geno Smith, and Nick Foles. No thank you.

    1. Some of you are probably too drunk to try and click on the link, so here’s the highlight of the article:

      After his second pick-6, with the 49ers obviously down by a bundle, the 49ers coaches were so afraid of what he might do next that they ran the ball 13 consecutive times (two of those were Kaepernick scrambles that may have had a pass option in them).

      An $18M-a-year QB, not trusted to throw a downfield pass, with the team trailing by 21 points.

      1. Although I’m not a big fan of Baalke and the FO and have blasted him for the $8 million thrown away this year on FAs (Bush, Wright and Dockett; T. Smith was a good pickup), I will give them credit for setting up Kap’s contract such that they can move on from him after this year with little if any cap hit.

  26. What about Trent baalke’s role in all of this. 2012 – 2014 we have had 16 draft picks in the first 4 rounds. Of that group we have had one clear starter with a single pro bowl appearance – Eric Reid.

    A few other players have shown promise in limited playing time – Hyde, Ellington, Martin

    We have had several complete busts, under performers and disappointments: AJJ, LMJ, Looney, Tank, Vance Mac, Patton, Lattimore, Ward, Borland, Thomas, Dontae johnson.

    How are we supposed to be a competitive NFL team with a drafting track record like that. Picks 1 and 2 need to be slam dunks. They have not been. The ACL experiment is a failure. We need to make a lot of changes and Baalke is one of them.

    1. You forgot Aldon’s one great season and pro bowl in 2012. I wouldn’t call Borland a bust, but not going to argue with anything else you’ve written.

      1. Well I would argue with a few on that list, but we’re all pissed off and need to rant – misery loves company.

      1. Which of our DB’s isn’t getting burnt? D Johnson had a decent game, but Reid, Bethea, Acker, Brock all look bad.

    2. Don’t worry, Balke will draft more punters, crippled Offensive linemen and db’s to save more money and prove ge can make jed york maximum profit, while making the niners the laughing stock of the league.

      1. Nukeasfine

        An overreaction ? “He just had the worst game of his career…” but it was following “the worst game of his career…” The only games that Kaep is going to win are by accident….and you know it….

  27. For all the Harbaugh and Roman haters, you just picked the wrong two guys. It was York and Ballke. Harbaugh and Roman are off to great starts in their new jobs and probably very thankful they don’t have to put up with the two real idiots anymore.

    1. Roman can be seen on the sideline looking at plays with Tyrod Taylor. The Bills offense looks like the Niner Offense when it was at its best, when Alex Smith his stride during the SB year. Tyrod Taylor doesn’t even run that much. They’re putting up 30 like it’s nothing. Everything with the Niners offense since Kaep has taken the realm is a struggle. A bad belch that you just can’t get out.

      1. Like people said “be careful what you wish for.” People can hate on JH and GR but we never ever looked like this.

        1. Wilson,
          If one goes back to the comments section of this blog of Dec-Jan, many of us pointed out how poorly Jed & Trent handled the 2014 season, and Harbaugh’s departure.
          However, none of us as fans, get to decide who owns the team or who coaches or plays on it……all I know is that it is going to be a long season. Hopefully, there will be some bright spots and perhaps some players may emerge. Right now, it is just grin and bear it.

          1. I was one of those who wasn’t happy with how JY and TB handled things. I also understood that you can’t always get over personality conflicts no matter how successful the person is. Its supposedly happening in Indy right now with Pagano. There won’t be much grinning but we’ll bear it and root for our team.

            Is it possible for Jed York to learn from his mistakes or be a more hands off owner like here in Denver? John Elway has done a stellar job with this roster and leading the club. The owners stay out of it.

  28. Some people on here will immediately say today’s performance by CK was one game, an annomaly. I see different and the reason is because other teams players are saying what we all have been worried about over the summer. He cannot make the necessary decisions and accurate throws on critical 3rd downs. The Cards safety Johnson said it, Ty Mathieu said it after the game. So if they think it and say it, the rest of the league sees it and this will eventually be his demise.
    Play all the young guys this year, draft a QB, remake the oline and build towards 2018. This year and next year are project years.

    1. Prime, not going to argue Kap’s performance and what we have all come to a conclusion on with him. This is way deeper than just him. Both the Steelers and Cardinals had both the offensive and defensive schemes completely figured out. We got out coached and out played. Kap made two terrible throws in the beginning but we lost in all three phases of the game. Our coaches are JV compared to these other NFL teams.

      Neither scheme is working and Jed’s gamble on nobody bargain basement coaching has backfired. Nice guys are just that, doesn’t make them good coaches. They couldn’t come up with adjustments. How is it that Fitzgerald was always open but 3yds? We can’t run block, we can’t pass protect. Its a mess.

      1. I agree with everything you said. Top to bottom we are an organization in disarray with no quality leadership. However, the QB position had signs of doubt and regression for the last 2 years. Tim K said it best “An $18M-a-year QB, not trusted to throw a downfield pass, with the team trailing by 21 points”
        This is on Baalke and his inability to draft or plan for the key skilled positions.
        Kaepernick is not a legit starting QB. Its a fact. Not sure why we cant figure it out while the rest of the league is publicly telling us and shoving it down our throats on game day. #7 failed a big test today to show how much or if he improved.

        1. They really should start Gabbert. This who Kaep is. Up and down. Stares down WRs. We all assume Gabbert sucks but he was on a really bad Jags team and he’s young. We all assume Kaep is going to magically become 2012 but that’s just not going to happen. Kawakami said that his first game is still his best game. WTF? He hasn’t grown, he’s not seeing the field, the game is not slowing down for him.
          Gabbert was a 1st round project. Give that dude a chance and see if he can be the stop gap guy until they draft someone better or get a better coach.

          1. Fan I think you have to go back to #7 against GB but after that, if you get the same performance, you have to go to Gabbert, without a doubt!

              1. I agree. If his constitution is so fragile that such notice would shatter his confidence, then he’ll never be an NFL QB. Better that the CS and FO come to that realization now. In my experience, fear is a pretty powerful motivator. But Tomsula is a “coddler” so don’t hold your breath (yet, anyway).

              2. Fan77

                Do you think a one-way ticket to Canada would do the trick ? I really think that he could become good up there….bigger field

              3. Oregon, he would be great up here! Big field, can play in the cold and only 3 downs.
                Might be a perfect fit!

        2. There’s no answers for Kap left. Prime I’m not going to defend him. I still like him and his work ethic but man this was awful. Its going to be a long week for him. I feel a little bad for him except when I think what he gets paid.

    2. Yeah, it really is a worry when opponents are saying how simple the offense is.

      Definitely agree with getting some of the young guys in there. I don’t want to completely throw this year out as over just yet, but there are some positions (OL in particular) where the play is already so bad that from a quality of play point of view it simply can’t hurt getting the young players some experience.

      I guess the only concern I have with it is whether throwing a lot of the young guys in the deep end when the vets aren’t performing will end up demoralising them and actually hurt their development?

  29. For those of you who want to get rid of Baalke … IT’S TOO LATE! The time to have got rid of him was a year ago when he stabbed Harbaugh in the back with York. JH came to a team that hadn’t won in a decade and IMMEDIATELY made it a Super Bowl contender winning 13 games in his first season. I really don’t care if he was a pain in the ass for his bosses. He was a freakin’ GREAT coach. The idiot York sided with the GM when he should have fired him and given JH a new contract.

    Now?? Get freakin’ real. This is WORSE than right after Mooch. Why? Because when Yorkie finally decides to get rid of Tomsula, what POSSIBLE top coach will come here to work for him? Holmgren wanted the job and Jed wouldn’t even interview him. No one of any note would even come to interview for the coordinator jobs, so look at who we had to settle for. And the roster stinks. Thanks, Trent.

    Settle in folks for the kind of decade that the Bengals and Bucs once had. And the Raiders in MISTER Davis’ last years. And please, folks, STOP calling for new ownders, ok? You KNOW that ain’t gonna happen.

    1. Re: ” Because when Yorkie finally decides to get rid of Tomsula, what POSSIBLE top coach will come here to work for him?”

      Best quote on the board. York “theDork” has ruined this teams brand until he leaves his post. You have years of misery if you expect him to hire the right people.

      Might want to follow the Raiders this year.

  30. “Maybe if they’d hired a head coach who hadn’t spent his entire NFL career working with the defensive line.” Kawakami:-)

    Maybe if the front office had realized that you just don’t find winning headcoaches under any rock. These men come along every once in a while…not every team has one, but they all wish they had one. Keep your third-rate coach Jed York…I am not paying for anything you have to sell.

  31. Scooter said it earlier, but the veterans are a real concern. If the season goes as we fear, look for more retirements or demands to be traded at the end of the year. I suspect we will have the youngest starting roster next year.

    1. I don’t see any way Vernon, Boone or Boldin are back next season at this point. I could definitely see the team think long and hard about letting guys like Brooks and Miller leave too, perhaps Bethea as well. And if the front office agree Kaep is not the answer, he has to go.

      Question is, what do you do with Bowman? He’s not the player he used to be, but he’s paid like he is. And they have nobody to replace him.

      Could definitely be a very young roster next season.

      1. I hope Brooks is gone, but why do you say Boone? I was thinking that the CS is thinking about moving Boone to left tackle next year to possibly replace Staley. Not that I think Joe should be let go (although his performance is down this year as well), but the CS may know something about him that we don’t.

        1. At this point, why would Boone want to stick around? He’ll be a FA, and its unlikely the 49ers will franchise him.

        1. I’m sure Bowman does miss having other quality players around him too, but I think it is evident he isn’t moving as well as he used to.

          1. I agree, and there is no one around him that the other teams have to account for. Aldon looked solid for Oakland today, but, for the time I watched, he wasn’t disrupting anything.

        2. I think Bowman misses having a good coaching staff more than anything because those guys could plug almost anyone in and make them good.

        1. With his injury, there is no way to expect a full recovery until it has happened over a reasonable period of time. Solid and exceptional can be very far apart.

  32. By the way, GABBERT????? Surely you jest.

    My advice, do what I’m doing … just let go of this team. Don’t worry. It ain’t gonna get better for a long, long time. I’ve been a crazed 49er fan since 1967. After the 1993 NFC Championship game, I even called a friend FROM MOSOW, RUSSIA, where I was working to get the bad news (I knew from the tone of her voice when she answered what it would be). See what we had to do before the internet got really going? Now? I feel no real interest for the 49ers for the first time since their Kezar days. So what? Still living off the Giants’ great years and the freakin’ WARRIORS! You know the Suns have NEVER won an NBA championship! Have some fun with this team. See what happens when you get great ownership? I admire Bruce Arians, coach of the Cards. Old guy, great coach finally gets his shot. More power to him. You could hopw Sean Payton gets fired some day by the Saints … but folks, he ain’t coming HERE to work for Jed and Trent.

    1. Gabbert will be starting mid season. Kap needs to watch from the bench because he’s not getting it playing as a starter. You’ll see.

    2. I agree a thousand percent Lear mike, how strong the owners of the Giants and warriors make these clowns or imitators look pathetic!

  33. Baalke publicly stated that he had confidence in Harbaugh but privately said sitting Smith was a mistake. Kaep was Harbaughs pic and it was Harbaughs decision to sit Smith, not Baalkes….. and just like any boss…he publicly liked it until it appeared Harbaugh had really made a big mistake. Harbaugh then paid the price. We all did. Though it is difficult to prove the counter-factual I believe we would have gotten to the Super Bowl with Smith and better yet probably would have won it. Time in the trenches beats time on the benches any day, all day.

    1. Yeah because Smith has 3 super bowl rings already….. Who’s your source, Alex Smith? Smith was soft when he was here and he’s still soft. The moral of the story is that you don’t fire your successful head coach.

      1. You most certainly had to fire Harbaugh because he was impossible to work with. Sucess or not, you cannot work with a holes.The problem was Jed didnt upgrade. Jed went cheap and the result is pretty clear on the field. Mangini, Forester, Tomsula, Geep have no clue.

        1. Prime Time: Don’t be ridiculous, please! If being “difficult to work with” was a reason to fire anyone in the NFL, there would be lots of coaching vacancies. These guys are for the most part egomaniacs, and Harbaugh was not unique. What set him apar is that he won games and he turned this team into a winning team.

          Your new coach can’t coach, and he is certainly not a winner..but he gets along with everybody. Great! Enjoy the season…

        2. Success or not, you cannot work with a holes??? Um, if there is 3 nfc championship appearances in 4 years with not one losing season…….ahhh…..yes you can work with them. There is another one just like Harbaugh who is getting along fine, he’s running the show in New England. Upgrade? Wow

      2. I said it’s impossible to prove the counter factual. The Counter factual means “if Smith had stayed”. In not going to try to explain it if you don’t know what that means. Smith’s record this year will be better than the mistake that replaced him in 2013. I can’t prove anything to someone who just doesn’t get it.

    2. Alex smith can’t beat a playoff team with a better roster now, with a better running game, with better coaches. He hasn’t hit a receiver in the end zone in over a year. For all of you saying smith would be better right now, you must have missed the years before Harbaugh and definitely jumped on that bandwagon. Alex smith would look like ck did every game. They both SUUUUCK!!!!

      1. Chiefs beat both SB teams last year. In fact, they beat the crap out of the Pats on Monday Night.

        1. Are we ever going to move beyond Alex? People were calling for his head because all he did was dink and dunk. He can’t win the big one, he’s not a threat downfield etc, etc. The box was stacked because they didn’t fear the passing game, its exactly what we have now. Alex was very functional and I liked his attitude and work ethic. I think if we had either Alex or Kap the result would have been the same. 1 throw that neither of them could make for a SB. That’s not the thing that got us to this place though.

          That would be what ever happened between York, Baalke and Harbaugh behind the scenes. What ever that struggle was over personnel, behavior, organizational decisions etc. Neither of those QB’s are what we needed to carry a team.

          1. It’s amazing how short the memories are around here sometimes. I remember the board going nuts over how bad Smith was and saying the same things about him they are saying about Kap today. Anybody remember how toxic this place was after the Giants regular season game in 2012? Smith threw 3 bad picks and so many people in here lost their minds like they did yesterday. Lot of revisionist history around here.

        2. Oh… That’s right he’s beaten 2 playoff teams. Oh wait wasn’t that because of their running game and defense? It says a lot when you can specifically remember the TWO times his team has won vs a playoff contender. Shall we count how many ck has led to a win since he’s started? Again. Alex smith would regress back to 2005-6 form with this team. He can’t even win a playoff game with a talented roster. Just stop! You’re looking like two fools.

          1. “Oh wait wasn’t that because of their running game and defense?”

            Uhh…sure CK has had some good and great games, but isn’t the above the same reason the team won most games for the last few years?

            Also – why do people keep pointing at the fact that AS hasn’t hit a WR for a TD for a while? Are WR’s TD’s worth more? The QB’s job is to hit the player that is open for a good gain: it doesn’t matter if they’re a RB, WR or TE. AS had one less passing TD than CK and helped his team make the playoffs last year because of good decisions. He’s never been flashy, but can when needed (SF vs. NO anyone – Vernon Post?) and he’s usually smarter with the ball and his calls at the line.

    3. Let’s stop with smith nonsense. He is a average qb in a league of average qb’s. Kaep is just below average. He is what he has always been, wildly inconsistent. Great to horrible.

  34. The Cards use their 6 or 7 DB packages a fair bit, on both run and passing downs. Is that something the 49ers should look to use more of? Could Reid and Tartt be used a bit more like LBs with Ward going to FS?

    1. You know I watched some stuff before the season on Mangini’s defense and they suggested that our defense would look a lot like the Cardinals usage of their safeties. It seemed that Ward, Tartt, Reid and McCray all fit that style of offense. Something’s obviously missing thought.

      1. I think one thing that is missing is a commitment to it. Its a sub-package, whereas for the Cards it is pretty much their base D now.

          1. They did a better job of getting after the QB. But there were just too many easy completions in the middle of the field. Hard to really say they were better than last week, just didn’t give up as many 30+ yard pass plays!

            1. The only difference I saw that meant anything to me was that Palmer didn’t hit 5 of 6 on monster shots. We weren’t disrupting him enough early on. If they hadn’t gotten two six picks to start the game, that failure would have stood out more. Palmer had no trouble going to 28 zip.

      1. I know they’ve used Tartt a bit like a hybrid safety/LB, but the Cards use Bucannon as if he were an ILB almost every time he is on the field (which is a lot). Might be worth thinking of doing something similar for the 49ers. And I just think Ward at FS, Reid closer to the LOS may not be a bad idea too. The Cards use 4 safeties a lot of the time. 49ers could potentially look at doing something similar.

        1. It seems to make sense. It seems like safety is a position of “strength” for the team. Linebackers, both ILB and OLB, certainly are no longer a strength of the defense.

          1. Exactly. They might lose something in the running game, but honestly, is Wilhoite thay much of a step up from Tartt as a run defender?

            And I think Ward could play the Mathieu role. Play some FS, play some slot. He’s not the same kind of playmaker as Mathieu, but he’s got talent. More than our LB options anyway.

            A base D of 3 DL, Lynch, Bowman and 6 DBs may be the way to go.

            1. But the problem is our secondary is terrible right now. My main man T.Brock has been awful! And hes our best corner. Add the fact Reid has been awful as well, now we are asking the rookies to shoulder the load? Im thinking we should move to a 4-3.

              1. I actually don’t think the secondary is terrible. I’m not a fan of Brock, never have been, and I agree Reid is struggling at the moment. But Bethea (who didn’t have a great game today) is usually still pretty good, and while Acker struggled last week he was much better today. Johnson has been alright this year, Tartt has shown some promise, and while he’s played sparingly, Ward has actually looked pretty decent when out there too (I actually thought he was the best slot DB today).

                The main problem for the D the past two week has been the lack of effective pass rush. This has meant Mangini has needed to manufacture a rush, and to do so he has been putting a lot of strain on the coverage, in part due to having guys start out of position trying to disguise who is doing what.

                Last week against the Steelers the safeties were often arriving too late over the top (largely due to Mangini trying too hard to disguise looks), while Acker learned what pretty much every CB that goes up against Antonio Brown learns – he’s a great player.

                Today the biggest issue in coverage was Palmer picking on the LBs in coverage, though Brock also had some bad lapses while playing the slot. This is something the use of safeties should help with. They are better in coverage than our LBs, and there is an inherent versatility in having a bunch of hybrid players on the field which should help Mangini in coverage disguises.

              2. That sounded like I think Brock stinks. I don’t. I’ve just never thought he’s as good as others do. He’s ok, he’s just not a #1 CB. 49ers should stop trying to use him like he is capable of taking a WR out of the game 1-on-1.

              3. Brock gave up on few plays today. He lacked effort.Reid for being a leader on the defense is always out of position. Bethea is being misused on too many blitzes, and the kids are playing as rookies. Terrible might be the wrong word, but the secondary which was suppose to have depth and play making ability, has been anything but.

              4. Armstead has been better than I expected him to be this early in the season. The guy I’m most disappointed in on the DL though is Tank. He’s been a non-factor. I just don’t think he’s suited to playing inside or over the OT. He’s a 4-3 DE. I wouldn’t mind seeing how he goes rushing from a bit wider.

        2. I’m not gonna circle Frankenstein’s castle with a torch,as distressing as this poor showing has been however I will say the next few weeks will expose how the coaching staff responds to the need for change. It seems clear that some shakeup is due in the OL-perhaps Boone to RT as has been suggested etc.;the DS needs to play much tighter in coverage-I like Scooter’s suggestion above;and OMG can we throw a few slants and press Kap to get the ball off with more rapidity….

          1. I agree Hightop, slants and how about attacking the center of the field with one of your TE’s, like maybe a seam route?

  35. This newly incompetent franchise has some real issues. It was not an accident that all this players escaped this train wreck. They knew what they ere doing. This team is horrible. Just got beat by 40. This is the result of all the mistakes in the offseason. We were hoping for better but we knew this could happen. It starts upstairs and trickles down to this horrible coaching staff.

    1. This pains me to say, but unfortunately it’s looking like all of this chaos stems from one critical decision: benching Alex Smith for Kaep. In the short-term, it seemed great, but now we are living with the long-term results, and it’s brutal. Everyone knew it felt weird when it happened; something wasn’t quite right with it. Leadership and intelligence are needed at the QB position, and we have none. Harbaugh made the wrong choice, and so did the fans, and it will haunt us for a while :(.

      1. Let it go. Alex may be a better QB than Kap but he was never the guy that wins Superbowls. At the time Kap looked like the better call. Harbaughs & Baalke’s mistake was not having a serious backup QB.

      2. how many sb’s has smith won since he was jettisoned. Zero. Same as kaepernick. They are both average or below at best. You blame a point in time, blame taking smith over Rodgers. That was a franchise changing decision. That has lead us to where we are…no frachise QB.

          1. True but without a franchise QB. We cannot win an ab without one. Thank god Jared will be joking us next year.

      3. I agree that the benching of Smith was a bad idea, but it’s for an entirely different reason than yours. I believe and still contend that Kaepernick needed to finish the season out behind Smith so that he could continue his development.

  36. Here’s what little Jeddy tweeted last week after the loss to the Steelers:

    Jed York ‏@JedYork Sep 20
    Tough loss. Appreciate the #49ersFaithful around the world for the support. Hats of to the @steelers….

    I wonder what he’ll tweet now.

  37. Dollar tree coaching staff results. Good decision making by Jed (Dan Snyder west)
    Colin is a hard worker by all accounts but the game seems way too fast for him, Tim Ryan pointed out on KNBR that at least twice on back to back plays that there were guys open and Colin missed them, one was Bruce Miller standing alone. Colin has off the chart athletic ability but cannot process the situation at game speed, he is a single wing tailback playing out of position IMO.

    1. True, but the ones tied with us haven’t been trounced as bad as we have been in the last two games.

  38. My bottom line, defensively:

    From what I’ve seen, 3 weeks in, our defense is an absolute mess. I know it’s an obvious statement, but the fact of the matter is there are serious problems at the linebackers positions. A 3-4 defense is only as good as it’s linebackers………..period. If you don’t have quality talent at the linebacker positions, you’re as good as dead in this league. It pains me to say this but, Navarro Bowman has clearly lost a step. And I mean a BIG step. As good as his instincts are, I don’t think he has the lateral agility he did prior to his injury. He has certainly lost a step in terms of quickness and speed as well. I think Trent Baalke put too much hope in Navarro’s recovery, and my eyes tell me that was a huge mistake. I don’t care what he he had to do to make it happen, he absolutely had to address that position early in the draft and he didn’t.

    1. It’s not near as much Bowman as it is the lack of talent around him. Especially on the line. Ballke’s drafts and management of this team have been poor in recent years and now it’s time to pay the piper.

  39. There’s always been a good Kaep and a bad Kaep. Today we got the worst Kaep, a terrible disappointment given apparent improvement over the first two games. It’s time to give Gabbert his chance.

    1. Therein lies the problem…there always will be a good and bad kaep…franchise qb are consistently good

      1. I agree. His physical ability has been a big tease. How long do you have to give him before you say he is or he isn’t “the guy.” He’s not the guy. Time to move on.

  40. Few can’t expect very much from this offense with an O line like the one we have. We picked a couple of guys up for basically nothing and inserted them into our starting lineup. Our right side and center are absolutely atrocious. More importantly, our left side isn’t playing a hell of a lot better.
    These breakdowns leads to a QB having happy feet. Today, out QB had really happy feet. His mechanics were horrible, pocket presence is non existent. I said it last year. Kaepernick is scared to take a shot by hanging in the pocket. He’s a better QB than the way he played today. He has to start throwing the ball like he throws the ball instead of trying to incorporate what Warner taught him about touch. That simply isn’t his game. He’s gotta start throwing fastballs again. At least the corner shave a hard time holding on to the picks! No offensive line,no offense! End of story.

    1. If that line of reasoning didn’t work for some in regards to our previous QB, then why should it with our current one?

  41. Well, the Niners laid an egg. Still, I will be hopeful that the season can be saved by benching Devey, Martin and Pears. The Niners should be scouring the practice squads to find someone who is not a turnstile.
    The Niners should realize that Kaep is shell shocked. Maybe that side line hit was more damaging than we thought. Kaep would hide symptoms if he thought he would not be allowed to play, but allowing him to play showed a player slow and tentative. Maybe it would be in his best interest to sit and rest to recover his quickness.
    Kaep should just stop worrying about the score and just concentrate on scoring TDs. Niners should stop forcing him to be a pocket passer and allow him to move. Maybe they are forcing him to make too many reads and it becomes sensory overload. I think the coaching was just as deficient as the players performances.
    I tip my cap to coach Arians and the Cards. They deserve to be division leaders, and they played a complete game. They are supremely talented and are hitting on all cylinders.

    1. Sebnynah: They did scour the practice squads of other teams: where do you think Devey came from, eh?

      You must have missed the blog here about him joining the Niners; half the pundits here annointed him as the best G ever.

      Terrible personnel moves got the team in this mess.

      1. No. He came by trade, and many were less than thrilled with his record. Sounded like many Pats fans were thrilled he was gone.

        1. Seb:

          Well, someone in the front office certainly thought the world of him, to trade for him.

          The team can’t fix this issue overnight. They can’t just go and find another starting G and RT. They are stuck with these two. I wonder how on earth they imagined that this arrangement–back up players as starting players in a tough division, would work? The rest of the division must have smiled when they saw what Baalke was doing.

          1. They gave up Xavier Grimble who was slated to be cut, so they did not give up a single draft pick, and Devey could have filled a need, but he has played so horribly, he is a liability.
            Bill Walsh had tryouts on Saturday before games to try and find players. On general principle, since the Steeler O line is so good, I hope the Niners would poach a player from their practice squad.

    2. I am turning into Fan77 because I keep posting the same thing over and over. This is way beyond players getting benched. Our coaches aren’t up for the task and then there’s our players who were already questionable miserably executing a weak scheme. Other teams have solved our defense and offense already 3 games in. Mangini, Tomsula, Chryst are in over their heads. How long till Sparano is the interim coach. I said to you while back lets give these new coaches 4 games to see how they play out before naming them upgrades over the previous regime. Well it only took 3 games to see they are way out of their league.

      1. I have to keep posting the same stuff over and over because all of you are too pigheaded to listen the first time! I’m the little boy that cried wolf how many times?

  42. Worst performance I’ve ever seen from Kaepernick, but those calling for Gabbert must be into flagellation. The offensive line can’t block an average blitz, and when they do, Kaepernick is hearing footsteps. Compounding the problem, the receivers were not getting separation when the line did hold. The last time Gabbert stood tall in the pocket, the man named Suh almost snapped his feet from his ankles. His psyche has never recovered. Kaepernick still gives the team the best chance to win. I think he was the teams second leading rusher, and Gabbert can’t scramble or run, and if he does, he’ll get wrecked….

    It’s a top to bottom loss, just as it is when you win. Changing the quarterback will not fix it, unfortunately. Expect it to get worse as the losing mentality starts to permeate the facility and injuries mount. Sure, draft the top quarterback, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he pulled an Elway or Eli and refused to play for this dysfunctional organization….

    1. Razor, giving Gabbert a shot cant be any worse. Did you see #7’s eyes/body language? It was like Halloween, only this was a horror show!

    2. Razor:

      . Nolan drafted the “best QB” and see how that ended up. This is hardly an issue about the QB. Their problems are much deeper than a single player.

      The bunch of problems you mentioned in your comment points to the awful coaching of this team. Pointing the finger at the QB, OL, or CB won’t cut it. They don’t look mentally or physically sharp. They are as Barrows said: “The 49ers look as bad as they ever did during their most feeble outings under Dennis Erickson, Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary.”

    3. Kaep should start next week, but a game like this one can really dent a QBs confidence. Will he bounce back next week?

      Gabbert doesn’t inspire any confidence. The 49ers best chance of winning games would be with Kaep when he’s playing well. But if Kaep’s confidence is shot then Gabbert might be a better option at some point.

      1. How much of the OL problems are on Foerster? For example, I gotta believe he had a big say in having Boone move to the left side. I don’t know much about him, so I’m interested in hearing some opinions.

        1. Well, some of the blame of the OL play has to lie at his feet. Too many breakdowns to not criticise the position coach. But I guess at some level have to respect the talent on the right side is poor, and they are all learning a new system with a lot of new players on the OL. Some issues should be expected early in the season. If the play of the OL doesn’t improve during the course of the season then Foerster isn’t doing his job.

          With Boone, not sure if he would have been making the decision on where to play him, but I would assume he had some input to it.

        2. OL are built on three things:

          Drafting good enough, not great players. Generally draft rounds 3 – 7. Don’t want to spend 1st or 2nd round picks as they become too costly to retain. Witness the Walsh years, never wasting high picks on the OL. Witness Ballke/Singaltary wasting two high 1st rounders on OL who are no longer with the team.

          Continuity. Players playing together and sticking with the same coaches over many years. Transitions and line changes are made from rookies learning behind the vets and then taking over.

          Scheme. Whatever it is stick with it. Draft and coach to the same system. Walsh understood this as a foundation to his winning teams.

          Unfortunately, the Niners have none of the above.

          1. Multiple historical analysis of drafts suggest that among all positions chosen in the first round, linemen are most likely to succeed.

      2. Scooter,
        I’m looking for this Sunday to either be a bounce back game for Kap based on his ownage over the Packers or a deeper fall from grace if Kap has another bad outing.

        Even if CK can look good in a win or a loss on Sunday it’s still a forgone conclusion (imo at least), that the team will need to draft high at QB in the off-season. After watching CK revert back to some of his bad habits yesterday, I’m starting to believe that he will never come to grasp the intricacies needed to take his game to a consistently successful level.

        I caught a little bit of the raiders game which was on earlier and saw QB instincts like anticipating, reading the entire field, looking off his first receiver, and a quick and decisive release on his throws that make for a successful QB.
        These are QB instincts that I don’t see in Kap. And no HOF (former QB) like Kurt Warner can teach instincts.

        1. Sad to say, but I agree with you 100% AES. This upcoming game against the Packers will go a long way in telling us if Kaep can still perform at a high level or if he will be nothing more than Michael Vick 2.0.

          1. Mid we have been saying that every single time the Niners face an elite team. At what point can we say #7 is who he is?

            1. The difference here is that Kaep is coming off the worst start of his career. If he continues that downward spiral, then we’ll have our answer.

    4. Obviously I disagree that Kaep gives the Niners the best chance to win. In theory, maybe. But haven’t you seen enough? He’s not a passing QB. They have to work around his limitations and how teams have figured him out.
      The best chance for the Niners is a balanced attack to keep the safeties honest and not crowd the line. The read option is not a big threat anymore. It doesn’t get big yards for either the RB and Kaep rarely gets the big chunk yards like he did when he came into the league. Both pick 6s were just bad throw and late reads. The other two were just pathetic passes when he had all day. His days as a starter are coming to an end. You just don’t recover from a loss like this.
      He didn’t really look that good in the first half against Pitt.
      Just look at the passing stats from today’s game. Even a couple of back-ups did way better then Kaep.

      He’ll get a few more starts but it’s inevitable that the Niners are going to look for a new QB. You don’t think the coaches don’t know how many plays Kaep leaves on the field because he’s late on his reads?

      1. Its going to be tough sledding to find a QB next year. Houston, Jets, Bronco’s, Saints, Bears, Cowboys?, Browns, Redskins may all be looking for QB’s next year.

          1. Oregon so 1-15 is our record? Bears and Saints are bad too. We’ll be in the running for sure. No guarantees. You’re so smug.

      2. There is no possible way to have a balanced offence if the defense penetrates on running plays, and also pushes up the middle while threatening from the edges. For an OL to prevent either or both of those bad results it takes talent and coaching. It also takes a GM who knows who to acquire, who to keep and who to let go.

        It’s possible were are missing all of those components of a balanced offense. Not bad for a team that’s retooling and in no way rebuilding.

      3. Fan77,
        You’re just repeating yourself now. Redundant much? I think you’ve made your point, over and over, and over again!

  43. Have to agree. Read option from the end zone? That was pathetic. You should start the countdown now. A major house cleaning is coming soon and it will include Baalke, all coaches, and kaepernick.

    1. Houston: Baalke? I don’t think so. They’ll fire the OC, as usual, and move along. The team is maknig lots of money, so why change things and spend money on a quality staff? Baalke is like a roach…he will survive through anything.

  44. My only two hopes is this… Make that three.
    1 they just destroy everything from the top and down and rebuild now.
    2… Some of you stop saying Alex smith being shipped was a mistake. The dude can’t win with a better team now, and better coaching. He’s beaten ONE playoff team since leaving and zero TD’s to a wr. ZERO!!!
    He would set the bed like ck did today, like he did when the team was this bad before Harbaugh, but you bandwagon fans wouldn’t know about that, and Harbaugh got this team to 8-8 last year. It was time to go!!
    3… Mary the wanna be Mamba Wamba gets hit by a train! And yes I mean that literally! **ck that fat toothless waste of flesh!
    That’s all!

    1. Oh and PS… After next weeks debacle it’s time to start Gabbert! So he can get destroyed and ck might have a little value left!

      1. The 9ers will want to preserve the first pick in the draft so they will start CK the rest of the season.

    2. naw, since they didn’t win a Super Bowl & seeing what they got for Alex, they would have been better off trading Colin for a King’s ransom. Not that Alex is any good, just that Colin is that bad, but at the time we probably could have at least picked up 1 entire team’s draft & a another 1st for Colin. Rex Ryan & Shanahan loved him while Jaworski was hyping him up as an all-time-great, so a bidding war would likely have ensued.

      1. I think that what you’re saying is that everyone that he doesn’t play for just Love Colin….right?

  45. When these types of starts to a season have happened to good teams, the players usually call a team meeting without the coaching staff to right the ship. It’ll be interesting to see if there is this type of leadership in the 49ers’ locker room to do this.

  46. We’ll see what the Smith and the Chiefs stats are and Kaep and the Niners stats are at the end of the season…I bet Smith doesn’t get benched…Kaep fans? Keep sniffing.

    1. Stats? The point is how would he do with this team. The Chiefs have tons of talent on that roster. Get real! Talk about sniffing. Get a chefs jersey

      1. Who cares? He is still mediocre qb. He’s not winning any sb’s either. I mean, you want to talk about mistakes, taking Alice over Rodgers. That’s a franchise altering mistake.

          1. He wouldn’t have given the team 14 either. If they had lost by 14 and not 1000 you’d have a point. I’ve seen alex smith with coaches and players like this before. I know the results that would follow. Let it go man!

    2. They also have Andy Reid and actual NFL coach. This isn’t all on the QB. Plenty of it is on the QB, but we got out coached too.

  47. Kaepernick’s main flaw is “I’ll show you.” He’s thin-skinned; all an opponent has to do is talk a but of smack (e.g., throwing outside the hash isn’t his strong suit, Crabtree vs. Sherman, etc), and he immediately takes umbrage and goes out and proves them right.

    I had hopes the first couple games that he was playing a bit cooler. But today he showed everyone that they can game plan by merely pointing out his weaknesses in public.

  48. Bowman post-game interview. A reporter asked him if he felt he was all the way back. Bowman answered “No, I’m not”.

    1. If I can notice examples on the field based on the broadcast TV video, there is no doubt that Bowman knows exactly how far short he is of his form before the injury. The fact that he says so is a clear indication that his character is as strong as ever. He may do better by next year which is closer to the typical full recovery time. There is no guaranty, no matter how hard and smart he works. I hope he makes it.

  49. Look at Peyton manning on ESPN right now, showered, clean, wearing a suit, talking clearly> Kap, messy hair, probably stunk, monotone, bad skills all around.

  50. If you had to rank the QBs (The starters, not the back-ups because guys are hurt:

    Rodgers
    Brady
    Roth
    P Manning
    Matty Ryan
    …………
    Let’s just go to the bottom

    Josh McGown
    Jameis Winston
    Brian Hoyer
    Kaep
    Ryan Fitzpatrick
    Ryan Mallet
    Tannenhill

    Kaep is down here somewhere…

  51. Jed said “Hold me Accountable”. I don’t go to games, so how can the Owner be held accountable? Empty words for sure

  52. So, what now?

    Do we keep lying to ourselves while hoping this team and staff will somehow become winners? Do we hope that in a few years York will suddenly become a competent owner and get the right people in place once it’s finally clear to him we need a change? What do we do?

    I’m not even sure how to feel. I have loved the 49ers my whole life, but I don’t love anything about this team. From top to bottom, nothing. It all starts with Jed York. It’s pretty obvious we’re stuck with him for a really long time, and I’m not okay with it. I feel more demoralized and hopeless about this team than ever. More than the Erickson, Nolan, and Singletary years combined. I have zero confidence in York ever getting it right, and I feel this franchise is doomed to decades of mediocrity. I feel like losing the SB was Jed’s peak and it’s all downhill from here.

    So again I ask, what now?

    1. LSX,
      The scary thing is that Jed is becoming more like how his dad used to be, before he realized that he knew nothing about football. Two generations of Yorks have now stripped this team of its winning ways on two different occasions. Mariucci’s firing was followed by almost a decade of futility. Harbaugh changed that, with many of the same players that the previous staff had. They ran him off and replaced him with a defensive line coach simply because he was willing to kiss the ring that they haven’t earned.

      It’s not just the actual Tomsula hiring, the whole process alienated half of the NFL. They fired a highly successful coach and hired an assistant so far out of his league that it’s embarrassing. They talked about winning with class and right now they’re losing without class. These last two games were just the tip of the iceberg. Karma is paying the Yorks a visit, again. I’ve seen this train wreck before. Life is too short for idiot owners, self inflicted losing football and the price of anything at Levi’s stadium. This is going to be a long and bumpy ride. Tomsula will be fired midway through next season and Mangini will become the interim HC. After winning one meaningless game to close out the season, be will be hired as the HC. After two more losing seasons, Mangini and Baalke will both be fired. My crystal ball is blank after that, probably because nobody with talent will want to work for the York’s.

      1. BigP,

        Your point about how the Harbaugh situation affected their ability to hire other Coaches and their reputation in general, is one I focused on at the time of the firing of Harbaugh and subsequent hiring of Tomsula. When the owner starts planting rumors to undermine his HC, it doesn’t take long for others around the league to get wind of it. The fact some Coaches wouldn’t even interview for a job here was proof of that. The problems plaguing this team start at the top with Jed. Like his Father a decade ago, he is overseeing the destruction of what was a very good team by thinking he knows more than he does and letting personal feelings dictate decisions.

        Of course we don’t know everything that has transpired behind closed doors, but it’s not hard to figure out when you piece everything together.

        1. Rocket,
          Exactly. It’s just very frustrating and demoralizing. The York’s will find a way to screw up a good thing. Father and son have been wildly successful in this area of the franchise.

        2. rocket,
          While CK will absorb most of the angst, and after Sunday’s showing he should receive a good part of it, this is a total free-fall from top to bottom as you’ve stated.

          Yes, Kap is at the epicenter of the decline, but even if Kap doesn’t throw two pick six’s, the Cards would have beat us (likely just as soundly) by attacking our porous defense which lacks any pass-rush and a secondary which suddenly seems to lack talent.

          There is no excuse for CK reverting to bad habits in yesterday’s game, but he certainly doesn’t deserve 100% of the blame either.

          Young Jedi is finding out that keeping a ‘good ol’ boy’ comfortable working relationship with his chosen boy’s of Baalke and now Tomsula does not translate to wins. But this revelation is coming a little to late because at this rate the team will implode in his face and he will have no other choice then to rebuild the team by completely blowing up the team from the foundation, which includes Baalke, Tomsula and likely CK, just for starters.
          Right now it feels like we are quickly falling back to the agonizing time we called the ‘dark ages’ in the not to distant past.

      2. LSX

        I don’t know why so many of us are even interested in Jed…He’s the owner, and that’s the way it’s gonna’ be until HE decides to NOT be the owner….simple as that. What we can hope for is that with a few smart moves, we can fix what needs being fixed. Kaepernick has taken the heart out of the team…not just the Offense, but also the D….Bench him or trade him for a race horse. Install Gabbert as the starting QB through the remaining season or until he gets hurt, and elevate Dylan Johnson as his back-up.and give him some ‘garbage time’ We already have the bodies, (big ones) to become Olinemen with some seasoning and chemistry….they’ll get better each game…or else….
        Cast off any hopes of new Lombardi’s for a year or two,(realistically) retrieve those 49er caps and jerseys from the trash…open a cold fresh one, and sit back, put your feet up and realize the futility of instant dreams this year. Start building a good draft board, and let’s get back to being fans again. Go Niners!

  53. Lax that is my pain also! You just said it better than I have. I want to say keep the faith, but when it is rotten on top, it makes every thing harder to believe in, I just remember all the 49er games with my grandfather and cousin. Keep it simple I guess!

  54. Tell me why offensive coordinator Geep Chryst would align his quarterback in the pistol four yards deep in the end zone, and his running back seven yards deep in the end zone, and then run a read option play from the 1-and-a-half yard line. Please, someone tell me why Chryst would do that.

    My best guess is that Chryst saw the Chiefs foolish move of running the ball deep in their own territory late in the fourth quarter and thought, “Oh snap, I HAVE GOT TO TOP THAT!”

  55. And he ran the play on the right side of the O-Line.
    This is going to be a long season.
    Hyde is a good back though. They just have to figure out variations to the zone read blocking.

  56. I think those headphonesvare so loud, kap’s brain is scrambled.
    Seriously, dude will never be a pocket passer. He has no touch, and he does not know how to throw a proper deep ball down the field, much less the sideline. He can’t throw a fade pass(ask sherman), and he does not have the smarts to improvise passes. He just scrambles, thats it. Teams know this. They stack the box, and dare him to throw, his one deep ball to smith was a low high velocity pass without any lift. Db’s can easily disrupt most those. I suggest the niners just let him run wild and throw bullit passes like his first year and hope for the best, otherwise bench him for a passer.

    Trent Balke is a freakin joke. His draft strategy of best player available based on his board as opposed to need is killing the niners. After 3-4 unsuccessful drafts its startibg to expose them on the o line and with cornerbacks. And olease stop drafting crippled players!

  57. Here’s a suggestion for Baalke and the coaching staff:
    When the other tight ends get healthy, put Vernon on the inactive list for a few weeks, maybe he’ll take the hint and retire. He clearly no longer has his heart in the game, and it is disgusting to watch him play at half-speed again these first three games after he did it all of last season, please go away Vernon…

  58. BTW, have we ever seen Vernon even come close to making a tackle after an interception? He just throws his hands up and stops playing.

  59. Good news for everybody on here. You have my one bold prediction of the year to hold on to.
    The blowout that’s going to happen on Sunday. :-/.

  60. it seems that the lofty attitude,
    symbolized by the kissing of the bicep
    has turned into “the kiss of death” hmm?
    However, someone is still giving him a green light
    on wearing the earphones around his neck.
    A 4-minute presser with his cool, his style, his mumble
    is way, way, way more than we need.
    Send him home to his shoe collection, okay?

  61. Ouch, what a loss. The team cant do the basic stuff. They cant block they cant tackle. They cant hike the ball, they cant pass protect, they can’t run they cant catch and they cant defend. Is Hayne the best player on the team? I am beginning to think so.

    1. Alex Smith is gone so get over it.
    2. CK is not as good as Alex so get over it.
    3. We needed to draft a center and we didn’t.
    4. Acker at this point is terrible.
    5. Gabbert isn’t the solution, I would suggest to get Dylan some reps.
    6. Harbaugh is gone get over it.
    7. Losing Anthony Davis was the biggest loss this past year.
    8. I was in favor of the Tomsula hiring as I thought it would help with the transition. There was no transition this team is bad.

    They need to get the ball into Hayne’s hands more, he can do things that the other backs cant do. He is elusive and since we have no blocking, elusiveness is essential.

    One thing I will agree with Prime about is CK’s body language and eyes. He looked disinterested, lacking compassion for the game, no fire in the eyes.

    Armstead is getting better weekly and was the lone bright spot (if you can call it that) on defense. There was so much wrong in this past game one could write for hours on how bad it was.

    Coaching is the biggest problem right now. The team looks lost, has no direction, and the fundamentals are seriously lacking.

    And for you people who think Aaron Rodgers would of been the solution, your wrong. He would of been ruined like Smith was. Bad teams are bad teams no one person can make a bad team better.

    1. What the hell would Alex Smith do for this team? Give me a break. He threw two INT’s and zero TD’s against the Broncos last week. There is nothing to get over, he was replaced by a similar QB with better athletic ability. Neither is close to being a franchise QB, they were simply good enough for a season or two to secure a mid-level QB contract. The common denominator between their success was great coaching.

    2. What was so terrible about the way Acker played against the Cards? Or the Vikings?

      He’s had one bad game, the 2nd game of his career, against a WR that makes every CB he faces look bad. And he wasn’t helped by some bad safety play.

      Acker is now getting the Jimmie Ward treatment by some fans. He sucks every game because people remember what happened in one game.

  62. OK here we go. This is the worst 9er team since Alex Smiths rookie year [which I thought at the time might have been one of the worst teams in NFL history].
    This is the worst coached 49er team since 77-78. Next a few questions that need to be asked.
    #1 is Tomsula one and done? answer yes he has to be. To allow him another year could set the franchise back 5 to 10 years something like the last decade for the Raiders.
    #2 Do we bring back A. Davis? Answer hell yeah this team has so little talent you can’t leave a relativley cheap pro bowl level player out there.
    #3 If the season keeps going like it has started and the 49ers end up with the first pick do they draft J. Goff or another highly rated QB? Answer Hell no, this team has more serious needs than an expansion team, they need at least 1 CB, at least 2 O linemen, 1 TE, 1 WR, 2 pass rushers, 1 ILB. If there is any possible way they can make a blockbuster trade for multiple 1st, 2nd and 3rd rd picks go for it. Put Goff with talent they have this yr and he will have a short and ugly career. Other than that things are looking up.

    1. Coach I think you have to draft a QB with one of your top 3 picks.
      This team has talent, it just lacks a QB and a coaching staff. It’s the same thing as pre Harbaugh. Good talent, poor scheme and system.
      The Niners are loaded with picks yet again. Only this time the guy picking has to get it right. I have never been a Baalke fan. How do you miss on an entire draft class?
      The rebuild can be done this next year if you can get a QB like Connor Cook/Goff and develop some of your Oline men.
      Break the bank for a Urban Meyer or when Sean Payton gets fired this year.

      1. Prime I believe that you are overestimating the talent that is there. Reid is good, Bethea is old. All the D lineman are workman like, the LB’s are weak except for Bowman, the CB’s are questionable. On O i would’nt keep anyone other than Staley on the O line and he seems to be slipping, the TE’s are poor, at WR i believe Smith is an excellent #2, Boldin is old and the rest aren’t worth a damn, Hyde has the potential to be excellent if they don’t kill him first and the rest of the RB’s are avg at best. If they can pull a blockbuster and draft a QB in the 2nd or 3rd i would be all for it.

        1. I disagree. There is some talent on this roster. The main issues are QB, OL and pass rush. Provide a sound OL, one top-notch pass-rushing OLB and a DL that can also generate some good pass rush (hopefully Armstead can take on this role in time) and this team would look a lot better than it does, even with Kaep at QB.

          I think people are over-reacting to the play of the young DBs. They are struggling, but they are young and being asked to do a lot without much help from the pass rush. Give them some time.

      2. Prime,
        You act like this team is simply missing a piece or two. This is a bad team. There isn’t a QB in next years draft coming to save the franchise. I don’t trust them to pick the right QB or develop him. Your rebuilding prognosis is amusing considering the state of the franchise.

        1. There is some pieces to build around and considering the abundance of picks, which will be high, the rebuild is possible in a couple years.
          This statement becomes true only if Baalke gets fired.
          As for a QB, Connor Cook is the guy.
          A quality coach and staff makes this team, currently 8-8. Tomsula and company will be lucky now to win 4 more games.
          I’m not in agreement that Harbaugh should not have been fired, but Jeds approach to bringing in someone else who wasn’t as qualified as JH is regrettable. Tomsula is not an X and O guy. It showed yesterday and will show all week.

          1. I am in agreement that there are pieces to build around:
            RB: Carlos Hyde
            WR: Torrey Smith
            Oline: No one: Big problem
            QB: Big problem
            TE: Bell and Celek are capable
            DL: pretty good, good depth
            ILB: Big Problem
            OLB: Big problem
            Secondary: good depth, good speed, a pass rush makes them elite
            Coaching/GM: HUGE PROBLEM

            Overall, I think its not a great forecast but with 2 good drafts and some money to spend in free agency, 2 years sounds reasonable.

          2. Prime,
            I agree with everything you just said, I just don’t feel confident in the York’s ability to carry out that type of rebuilding process. The first Tomsula press conference forecasted this mess.

            1. This and maybe next year is the year Jed wants to make his money after pouring money into the new stadium. He wants a return and that’s maybe why he went cheap on the football/personnel side of things.
              Eventually the fan base will begin to revolt and like pre Harbaugh, will be forced to bring in a bonafide coach, dump Baalke and get back to winning.

        2. Yep, there’s no quarterback named Jesus out there. Better draft OL, pass rusher and a three down ilb….

          1. I think it first needs to be ascertained as to what kind of offense we want and whether the defense ahould be 3-4 or 4-3 unit.

  63. After a few choice words, some chair throwing and flat out crying, here are my thoughts on the game:

    Defense: Mangini has not put the current personnel in the best situation and scheme based on their talents. The linebackers, in particular are being asked to cover the shallow and underneath routes. These guys just do not have the hips and speed to turn and run with WR’s.
    The secondary looks lost flat out. Reid always seems to be chasing while the ball fly’s over his head. Brock and Acker seem fine but there was a noticeable head scratcher in Traimaine Brock giving up on a few plays. Very uncharacteristic from a guy whose been known as tough guy.
    Kenneath Acker is going to be an exceptional corner. Growing pains are part of the job description with any rookies, especially in the secondary.

    Pass rush: was a lot better yesterday, we need more but I don’t like how Mangini is using the safeties to blitz because it has left the mid to deep part of the field exposed.

    3 games in and this part of the team has really been a disappointment. Considering the depth and new found speed, its been an Achilles heal.

    Offense: QB: Nothing really to say that everyone has not said. The kid looks rattled, unsure, and tentative. Would not be such a bad idea to have him sit and watch a game from the sidelines.

    RB: Carlos Hyde is the real deal but if he does not get any help soon, he will be broken by the bye week.

    TE: Vernon Davis where are you? I think he has officially retired. Not the same guy.

    WR: hard to evaluate when they have not been given enough opportunities oin the passing game.

    Offensive line: brutal, flat out. They cannot pass protect. This is due in part to the play calling as well. Maiacco made a great point. They are so bent on running the ball, they have become so predictable on 1st and 2nd down. They need to throw more on 1st or 2nd down.

    Coaching: WOW! Never thought they would look so incompetent. Is Tomsula in over his head. I think so. When you get blown out 2 weeks in a row, and now you get Green Bay, which could make it 3. This could get ugly soon real soon for a rookie head coach.

    Outlook: Going into the season no one thought the 49ers would be any good. I don’t think the fan base believed that but now, we are seeing shades of the past. Poor coaching, lack of talent and continuity. This could possibly be a transition year for the organization. The real issue now is can the most important position on the team rebound or is he really just a running QB? If so, the rebuild is going to take 2-3 more years.

      1. Well said MJ. Is that the ceiling everyone was talking with him or is there more to his game? I mean some of this INT’s were throws a rookie makes.

  64. anybody seen VIVA LA JED?!? bbwahahahahahahahahaha

    back to the Erickson/Nolan/Singletary Era….we ALL saw this coming, i feel bad for SBL season ticket holders….YA’LL TAKING IT UP THE A$$

    The Curse of Santa Clara Grows Stronger In Young Jed

    1. In logic, two opposing statement can give an answer.

      Stmt # 1. Baalke, when asked if the coaching staff (Harbaugh’s or Tomsula’s) chooses the draft picks….Baalke’s statement: “We’re all in this together.

      Stmt # 2. Re: Adam Gase on choosing his own coaching staff: : Gase wanted Vic Fangio and Ed Donatell, Baalke wanted Gase to hire Tomsula as DC

      In logic from two statements one is supposed to draw a conclusion, Logic 101.

      My conclusion: Gase walked, so apparently they’re not all in this together.

      1. To extrapolate, one step further, whoever is making the drafting decisions on offense, Baalke can continue to say, “We’re all in this together, ” and never be blamed for his drafts

  65. The only defense to have given up more points than the Niners? The clamored for Vic Fangio’s Chicago Bears. Grant’s excuse was that Fangio has nothing to work with. Grant, does that work with the Niners also?

    1. One thing you’re forgetting is that Fangio has a completely different coaching staff and that the Bears defense was bad to begin with.

  66. Since coach Tomsula is taking all the blame, I wish to direct a few comments in his direction. JT needs to make adjustments. If he keeps the same O lineup, he should admit he is in over his head and resign. Everyone saw how that line collapsed like a house of cards, and contributed to Kaep having no time and unwisely throwing off his back foot. He does not need to keep things on an even keel. The ship is sinking fast. If he decides that those players are the best players that he thinks will win games, he is more delusional than me. He must make a change, or I will think he is not trying to win anymore. Pears is a liability. Devey is a turnstile. Martin looks like he never snapped a ball before. Niners should start Easton to sit Martin, Boone to RG with Thomas at LG and start Brown at RT.
    The O line is not the only problem. Both VD and AB look slow, and need to sit. Bow is not 100%, and was targeted unmercifully. He is a liability, and needs to sit. Shareese Wright could provide veteran leadership, so he should be activated and let a young player sit. The only pass rush came from Armstead, so he should start. Hayne makes the best play for the Niners, but gets 2 touches. Geep is incompetent if he does not use all his weapons.
    The players played bad, but the coaching was worse. JT better have a decent game plan for GB, or they will beat the Niners worse than the last 2 teams. I said that Kaep should do controlled roll outs, so what do they do? 2 straight back drops in a collapsing pocket and 2 pick sixes. SMH.
    Coach Tomsula may worry about shaking the confidence of his players, but they are shell shocked, so he must be frank and brutal, and not care if he hurts some feelings, because if they use the same lineup, people will howl. We expect changes. We demand changes. Stop being so stubborn and change, because if JT does not change, he may not win another game. If he does change the lineup, at least I can say he is trying. If not, he will be labelled as in over his head, and will seem to have given up.

    1. Wow Seb, I guess you’ve seen enough. I figured your optimism would carry you through a couple more games. This is frustrating for all of us. I feel bad for JT, he was put in a situation over his head with unrealistic expectations and not enough resources to do the job. He did say yes though.

      So lets help York out, who’s our next coach? How many games before JT is fired. Will Sparano be interim or Mangini? Is there any way to salvage the season?

      1. Ribico,
        Exactly. The only way an Alex vs Colin debate would make sense is if they were on the same team.
        The Alex ship has long sailed. And if Kap doesn’t show any improvement from Sunday’s debacle his ship may sail sooner than later.

  67. I think the Offensive (very) Coaching Staff should read your column. You were quite clear before the Steeler game in saying they needed to implement the short passing game. You would think they would have understood that yesterday after going down 14-0. I wonder if Coach Logan would be better. Ouch.

  68. If I recall correctly, the criteria for the coaches as set forth by Jed and Trent is that they are teachers. I don’t recall anything being said about being able to put together good offensive or defensive systems or a good game plan or being able to make in-game adjustments.

    Those who can do; those who can’t teach.

    1. Cubus,

      I’m hoping that the quality of opponent had something to do with the carnage of the last two weeks. I just can’t believe the 49ers are in the same category as the Bears. Of course, I’ve already had to adjust my thinking about this team, and future adjustments may be required.

      1. Ex, I don’t think the Steelers are a playoff team? It could have been a young team on the road as a better excuse, not sure?
        I know the Cards and Packers are so it might get be worse this week.

      2. Ex:

        The way I see it, we are stuck with Kap as the QB for now. If the carnage continues and it is largely his fault, then maybe BG comes in. If things continue south, I have no problem with them trying BG. At least they’ll get an idea of what they truly have in BG and if he fails big time as well, that should increase the urgency to get a good QB.

        They can still do some things immediately, however. I think they should shake up the OL during practice this week and see if they can field a better set of starters. Maybe Staley, Thomas, Easton, Martin/Boone and Boone/Brown.

        1. Prime,

          I wasn’t saying the quality of opponent was the sole reason, or even the main reason, just that it had something to do with the result. Yes, Pittsburgh WAS a playoff team. They may not be any more without BR, but they still might squeeze in as a wild card.

          Cubus,

          I’m for anything that results in improvement, but they need to have some real belief that shuffling the O Line will at least have a reasonable possibility to yield results. Change for the sake of change would further erode the confidence the players have in this coaching staff.

          As for BG getting a chance, I’m not completely against that idea, if CK completely melts down. Although, I don’t think that will happen. Of course, I expected the 49ers to be more competitive than they are, as well. So…

    1. POINTS PER GAME

      24.0 – Greg Knapp (2003)

      21.2 – Mike Martz (2008)

      20.1 – Jimmy Raye (2009)

      18.6 – Norv Turner (2006)

      16.2 – Ted Tollner (2004)
      Currently, the Niners are the lowest scoring team in the league at 15 points per game and have only managed five touchdowns. That’s especially bad when you consider five of the last eight quarters have basically been garbage time and they still can’t put the ball in the endzone.

      1. As annoying as you been TomD I will give you credit for seeing what many of us didn’t see coming. I was wrong I can admit that. This team needs to be blown up. If we can trade Kaep now for picks or a pick I’m for it. It’s crazy how things change so fast.

        1. Ck,

          Thank you.

          I’m sorry I had to be the one to post all of 49er upper managements mistakes throughout the months. I knew this would make me the bad guy, because I know 49er fans are loyal. I also knew, once the games started you would see the light.
          I’m proud of your fanship, CK, and the 49ers are lucky to have you still.
          The question is, where do we go from here…This is the answer I’ve been working on since before the current coaching staff was hired. I’ve sent Jed York info. on coaches.
          But, I’ll wait until emotions calm down, so we can all sit down together and
          discuss this very important question as rational 49er fans.
          Thanks again, CK
          Keep the 49er faith, I have some solutions, and will share them soon!

          1. Thanks for posting information that has been useful TomD. I didn’t keep an open mind about this possible disaster. My loyalty and pride got in the way. A solution that I see that will not be a popular solution is to get the number one overall pick next year and pick Goff. Fire the coaching staff and GM and start fresh. Let Gabbert start for a year until you can build a capable O line for Goff. It sucks to think this way but this is what this could come down to. TomD I’m all ears man cause this is a depressing time to say the least. Been a niner fan since the age of 3 and this is a low time. One note though, what about Armstead? He looks promising for a 21 year old kid. Should of had 2 sacks yesterday if not for a penalty.

      2. Last year they average the league low 14 points a game. The defense kept them in most games, with the Denver game the only exception

    2. Cubus,

      Wow, they really need Kilgore back. It probably should give Easton a try. -12 is horrendous.

  69. All you naysayers…

    I still say that the 49ers will beat both Chicago and Cleveland.

    I still say they have a chance against the Ravens and Giants.

    That’s at least 3 wins! Probably 4 wins! Maybe 5!

    Thank you Jed York for firing that horrible Harbaugh guy and bringing the 49ers back to respectability!!!!!!

  70. Well I had hoped I was wrong about my thoughts on this team going into the season, but it appears it’s even worse than I feared. What a mess.

    It’s predictable that Kap gets all the blame and the calls for Gabbert appear, but the issues go far deeper than that. Kap was awful yesterday, but the worst part was that he looked like he was completely confused, demoralized and incapable of figuring out why things were going so wrong. The worst thing about him from day one has been inconsistency, but this game went further than just inconsistency. It showed me the Coaching staff really had no answers and their only recourse was to stop throwing the ball for two possessions.

    I questioned the top 3 Coaches chosen to the lead this team – Tomsula, Chryst and Mangini – because they were either lacking in experience or had not been impressive in previous stints in their current job titles. Well so far the results show that the top 3 are getting their butts kicked in the Coaching dept. We can talk about how much talent this team has or doesn’t have all we like, but when the schemes are so easily figured out by opponents the first thing you have to look at is the Coaching staff. I’m not going to be like 99% of the bloggers on this board and call for everybody to be fired and players cut or replaced, but there is no doubt Tomsula, Chryst and Mangini are now Coaching for their futures here. If this continues, there will have to be a complete Coaching overhaul at the end of the year, because it’s one thing to lose because the other team is just better, that happens and I expected it too happen at times this season with all the losses they incurred, but losing in the fashion they have the past two weeks shows a glaring lack of ability to match opposing Coaches in the chess game of schemes and play calling on game day.

    As far as the players go, Kap is still inconsistent and resorts to bad habits when he isn’t confident. Yesterday he was just so overwhelmed it was tough to watch. You can’t make rash decision based on one game, especially when he was pretty good in the previous two, but to have such a poor performance is very concerning.

    The Oline is so bad that it really limits what can be done to fix this mess. They can’t hold up in pass protection and running to the left side is pretty much all they do well at this point.

    Defensively, they can’t generate pressure without blitzing which then exposes the poor coverage we are seeing from pretty much every body in secondary and LB core. When they don’t blitz, the QB has all day and picks the defense apart. If you can’t get pressure without blitzing you are in big trouble and that is where they are. Mangini’s calls don’t help either. Going to a 3 man rush as many times as he did and getting burned every single time should tell you that is not a wise course of action but he seems to be as confused as everybody else on what to do to rectify the problems.

    At this point it should be clear to everyone that any thoughts of this team competing for anything other than trying to get to 500 are folly. What this season should now be about is seeing whether this Coaching staff can figure out how to adapt to what opposing teams are doing against them and improve by the end of the year, while also focusing on who they can build around long term as the core of this team.

    1. You still just can’t come out and admit that Kaepernick is just not a starting caliber NFL QB. But go right ahead and keep giving Kaepernick excuses and keep telling us how you knew this was going to happen. Classic.

      1. CK,

        Many wiser people than me, have mentioned that the York’s seem to be shutting out ex-49er greats, and trying to build their own empire, so that’s why they haven’t brought in Shannahan and Holmgren, both with the title: Consultant’s/GM to the Owner (A strategy and title Eddie D would use to find a position for new and talented staff).
        Both coaches no what a championship team looks like (between them they’ve participated in 8-9 Superbowls)..Ck-Elite–I like the Cal QB to. I like their coach who is beating historically great programs….I thought as consultants, they could hire Sonny Dykes, show him how to coach in the pros. Then Holmgren and Shannahan could use their connections in the NFL world to hire an up and coming GM from a solid team…Also, if Jed hired them now, like Eddy used to, they would have an entire season to analyze the 49ers before next years draft.

        1. Very soild post TomD I agree. The owner is the problem no question about it. Would an embarrassing year lead to him implementing those types of changes? One could only hope.

        2. TomD have you followed the lack of success college coaches have had in the pros from Saban to Spurrier to Petrino. They are seldom successful. They are used to being treated like gods by their players and have no idea how to coach full grown men. I don’t care if its Urban Meyer NO college coaches. The game has passed Shanahan and Holmgren by No past their prime retreads. I also like Goff but if we have the 1st pick of the draft it would just be plain stupid to draft a QB with that pick if we could turn it into multiple 1st, 2nd and 3rd rd picks. This team needs a hell of alot more than a QB.

          1. Old Coach,
            I disagree, Bruce Bochy played in the 70’s and coached the 2014 Giants to the World Series Title, 45 years ago. He also coached them to 2 other series victories.
            Every sport in the US has people who played and coached years later.

      2. So for giggles if we had a franchise QB, what would you say then CFC about the rest of the 49ers situation?

      3. CFC,

        If I came out and said he wasn’t a starting caliber QB it would be irrational hyperbole like most of what is being said around here today. He has been a starter in this league for 2 and a half years and has never been ranked lower than middle of the pack. If that means he’s not a legitimate NFL starter, then about 2 thirds of the QB’s in this league aren’t legitimate NFL starters.

        I deal in facts CFC. If you show me that Kaepernick can’t win in this league, does not show any signs of being able to play in this league and is a pile of garbage, then I will be happy to listen to your point. The problem for you is, that isn’t how things have played out. He was awful yesterday and I said so. Not sure what else you want me to say, but I won’t go down the Monday morning QB trail where arm chair critics think they know something they don’t and are obviously ranting after a bad game. There are no excuses to make for how poorly Kap played yesterday. He was awful, but what what is even more concerning, at least for me, is the seeming inability of the Coaching staff to figure out solutions to the problems in regards to not only Kap, but the entire team. When you get blown out like this two weeks in a row, it’s more than a QB problem.

        As for knowing this was going to happen, I didn’t know it would be this bad so quickly, but I have been pretty consistent in my views on what I thought would happen this season, and in the offseason I was pretty much on my own with those thoughts while others were overly optimistic. If you think I’m trying to pat myself on the back for feeling like this was going to be a tough year, I’m not. I’m just pointing out that if we truly were looking at this season realistically, the expectations shouldn’t have been that high to begin with.

        1. Rocket, I agree Kaep can win in this league and have good games. He’s shown it. But the issues he displayed yesterday are issues he’s shown throughout his career, only magnified.

          At some point the questions need to be asked:
          – Are the issues Kaep displays acceptable in your starting QB long term, if you want to have a consistently good team?
          – Are the issues Kaep displays correctable?

          I think the answer to the first is no, which is why all of us (including yourself) are wanting to see improvement from him in certain areas.

          I am now of the belief the answer to the second question is also no.

          So while he can win and play well in games, I no longer think he is a long term answer at QB for a team with aspirations of competing for SBs every year.

          1. A broken clock tells the correct time twice a day. He’s had a few good games, but a lot more bad games. And I think Scooter said it best. It’s the same problems over and over.

          2. Scooter,

            I don’t disagree with you. I’ve supported Kap when I felt he was being unfairly criticized, but there is no doubt we are getting to the point where he has to take the next step or they go in another direction. I just don’t see how benching him, cutting him or trading him for a couple of bananas helps this team get better at the QB position. As often happens some just focus on wanting the player gone without thinking through the consequences of those actions.

            They don’t really have much choice on how to proceed here. They have to play it out with Kap, see if he can string together some better performances and make a call at the end of the year. The only reason not to continue starting Kap would be if he completely falls apart and puts together a run like yesterday. They obviously can’t let that continue indefinitely, but that to me is the only reason you even contemplate starting Gabbert. Regardless of how he plays, they need to bring in some quality competition or replacements if they let him go.

            1. I wouldn’t replace Kaep with Gabbert unless he continues to stink the next couple of games.

              I am talking more about next year and beyond. I am now at that point where I think unless he completely turns things around the rest of the season and plays excellent football, the 49ers need to start looking elsewhere at the QB position next season.

              And I’m not fooling myself. I appreciate the next QB could be worse than Kaep, who while inconsistent does have the ability to be a winning QB in the NFL. I just think at some point you need more than a guy that is a decent but inconsistent starting QB if you want to be consistently good.

      4. He has been a starting caliber QB. He led this team to the SB. Not a great QB, but your statement wreaks of your agenda. Kaepernick was horrible yesterday, but so was the whole team. This is an organization that is headed in the wrong direction, from the owners to the groundskeepers. Rocket provided a detailed breakdown and you acted like a douche because he won’t fall in line with your anti hip-hop propoganda. Classic.

    2. Good post Rocket and hats off to spotting this train wreck in the off season. I recall your concerns.

      1. Thanks formerly known as CK=Elite, but I wasn’t trying for props with that post. Just pointing out as a said to CFC that the record should’t really be a surprise and the expectations shouldn’t have been very high to begin with.

    3. Rocket,
      Haven’t you seen enough? It’s not one game but all of last season. He’s only looked good this season in garbage time. The team has a lot of issues BUT YOU REALLY CAN’T HAVE ISSUES at the QB position.
      Look at all things you said about him, does that sound like a competent leader to you? The only thing that Tomsula didn’t do was get in Kaep’s face like Singletary did to Smith.
      He looked liked he wanted to cry. You can get hugs maybe in any other profession except professional sports and especially not in Football or hockey.

      It’s over. It’s going to get worse. He’ll had a few lucky good games but in a couple of years he’ll be hanging out with Tebow, and he’ll be roasted for not being able to make the pass to Crabtree in the SB and NFCCG, and he cost Harbaugh his job because he couldn’t live up to expectations. You know for a fact that Harbaugh did not call that fade route and is still wondering why he didn’t throw to Patton on the NFCCG.

      We shouldn’t say anything back about Vick because at least he’s still playing as a back-up.

          1. Well, Smith got two other coaches fired so maybe Harbaugh was ahead of the curve. Smith never even looked competent until Harbaugh came along. Smith threw 2 picks and 0 TD’s last week against the Broncos and their 200 year old QB. The same QB that Harbaugh wanted to replace Smith with a few years back while Smith was moonlighting as Harbaugh’s caddie.

      1. The irony is that the #7 supporters blame the oline for part of his struggles, which in fairness is correct. However, the throws he made yesterday for interceptions were fundamental errors. He spent an entire offseason trying to correct them. He hasn’t. People need to realize this is who he is. A running QB with very limited passing ability. He is no better than every other one dimensional QB in 49er history: Drunkenmiller, Rattay, JT O’Sullivan, just add better legs and it’s the same type of QB!

        1. Prime,

          Your point started out fine and then you went over the top again. Kap is not on a level with the QB’s you mentioned. You look at every possible comparable stat and he’s far beyond that group. He’s not elite and he’s inconsistent. That’s the reality and as frustrating as it is, that is what we have and many other teams around the league have as well. I get being upset with how poorly he played yesterday, I am too, but saying he isn’t a legitimate starter is hyperbole.

          1. I’m sorry to burst your bubble but the reality is, he is not a legit starting QB. He would need an oline comparable to the Cowboys in the early 90’s and a receiving corps of Rice and Taylor to be legit.
            He just has not improved fundamentally. No scheme or coach can fix that.
            Look at Andy Dalton and the progress he’s made since joining the league. Same draft year yet CK’s has had better coaching and talent and he’s still not even comparable to the Red Rocket.

            1. Prime,

              You aren’t bursting my bubble because I don’t see things the way you do. Kap was playing well going into this game and he crapped the bed. That doesn’t change the fact he played pretty well in the first two games. That is where we differ. You want to form a conclusion based on a bad game and throw out everything else. As I said to fan, if he continues to self destruct, then they have no choice but to move on, but until I actually see that happen, I’m not going to ignore the fact he’s already proven to be a legitimate starter. A flawed and frustratingly inconsistent at times one, but a legitimate starter just the same.

              It’s obvious you want an elite franchise QB, so do I, but they are hard to find and I don’t share the irrational views that people throw out when the team has a bad loss. It is short sighted and ignores everything that has transpired previously. I have my concerns like you and everybody else, but I also know that it’s too late to make drastic changes and we have to play it out with what we have and see if they can improve over the course of the season.

              1. I think what Prime Time is saying is that how many more games can we just say Colin Kaepernick is inconsistent? The QB position in the NFL requires stability, leadership, solid fundamentals that when facing a good defense, you give your team a chance to stay in it, be competitive and not make the major blunder. The stats on him are fine. Its when facing the good defense in a critical game that he fails.

                Now you’ve said that everyone wants a franchise QB. You also say there are not many out there. So true. But sticking with Kaepernick at 12 million a year is a bad decision. At some point you have to cut your loss and move on.

              2. FDM,
                He’s been consistently inconsistent. He makes the one amazing plays that makes some people forget his flaws.
                You think he’s going to overnight learn how to read defenses and throw with touch because he spent time with Kurt Warner? That’s crazy. He doesn’t have muscle memory.
                A lot of people, not just me, said he looked about the same in the Vikings and Steeler game.
                We called him out for throwing nice passes in garbage time. You cannot have anyone playing the QB position when you have to call 13 straight runs after he throws 2 pick 6s to start the game. That sent the wrong signal and the whole team saw it. They had no hope to every come back.
                Without that really great return by Hayne the team would not have scored at all. The QB did not look like he belonged out there. That’s the worst part of it all. I’ve never seen a QB that afraid, not to get hit or anything, but to do his job. It’s like asking a fire-figther to enter a burning building to save a kitten, but the fire-fighter has a flame phobia or something.

              3. FDM,

                Prime and others just want him gone with no reasonable plan to replace him. That is where I disagree the most. His inconsistency is not just a Kap trait. We as fans of the 49ers focus on him the most, but if you look around the league, this is not out of the ordinary. That is the main point I’m trying to get across here. We have a situation where our QB can’t sustain a high level of play over 16 games. You can say the same thing about 2 thirds of the QB’s in this league and maybe more. Kap seems to have a game or two every season where he completely melts down and that is a problem obviously, but overall he’s pretty much in line with most of the others in his consistency.

                It’s not about wanting more from the position, we all want that, it’s about your chances of finding that player and all the things that have to go right for that too happen. Look at how many franchises who draft QB’s with high first round picks, and are doing it again in 2-3 years because they’ve failed? It’s hard to find QB’s in this league you can win with consistently. Say what you will about Kap, but he’s won a lot of games and until I see a reasonable suggestion on how we improve on him, I don’t see the sense in benching him or dumping him for a bucket of signed footballs.

              4. Sorry to interject but what I’m saying is throwing off your back foot twice in a row for 2 touchdowns, after you spent an entire offseason trying to fix that says you are not a starting QB.He’s been in the league 5 years and 29 years old!
                His bad is catastrophic! His good is just okay. It’s not game changing or being able to carry the team to victory.
                Now this overreacting is not just because of yesterday. I’ve always said he is not a starting QB and not for $12 million per year.
                How many more debacles is it going to take for everyone to realize this?

              5. Rocket well put but it almost sounds like you are content with the blow ups and then the games where he is decent. As for the rest of the leagues QB and saying he is on par with them, stat wise, well that again sounds like you are content with average.
                I look at it like yesterday was a summary of his inability to elevate his game in big games. He seems to faulter consistently against elite defense. You would say, most of the leagues QB’s would to. I disagree. Fundamentally flawed QB’s give their team limited chances to win.
                As for a plan for the future, the draft and building around him. The alternative is continuing to pay him what he is not worth.

              6. Prime,

                Sorry to interject but what I’m saying is throwing off your back foot twice in a row for 2 touchdowns, after you spent an entire offseason trying to fix that says you are not a starting QB.He’s been in the league 5 years and 29 years old!

                No what it says is he resorted to some bad habits under duress. One offseason working on it doesn’t mean there won’t be setbacks Prime. You are also aging him. He turns 28 in November and is in his 4th season as a starter.

                His bad is catastrophic! His good is just okay. It’s not game changing or being able to carry the team to victory.

                I disagree that is his good is just ok Prime. He’s played well enough to get to a SB and NFCCG, and he’s performed well on the big stage in the playoffs. As for being able to carry his team to victory, the defense and offensive line are just as responsible, and completely responsible for the result in Pittsburgh. This is a team in transition and it’s not very good at the moment.

                Now this overreacting is not just because of yesterday. I’ve always said he is not a starting QB and not for $12 million per year.
                How many more debacles is it going to take for everyone to realize this?

                Yes you have always said that and like Fan, your view hasn’t been supported by the facts. If you want to say he’s inconsistent and plays very poorly at times during the season, you will get no argument from me. Saying he’s not a starting QB in the NFL however is a gross over statement not supported in any way.

                If we see him play this poorly the next few weeks, you will get your wish and he’ll be replaced as he should be if that happens. Until then, let it play out and get over the absolutes you are throwing out. Things change week to week in this game. That’s the nature of it.

              7. FDM,

                Rocket well put but it almost sounds like you are content with the blow ups and then the games where he is decent. As for the rest of the leagues QB and saying he is on par with them, stat wise, well that again sounds like you are content with average.

                I’m not content with it at all. I want to see improvement and consistency, but I’m a realist. I watch a lot of football, and I see other teams dealing with the exact same issues because finding a great starting QB is not easy. Wanting Kap to be better than he is, is fine; wanting him gone and expecting better results from the unknown is not. You can’t make decisions because of frustration. You have to formulate a plan for how to improve the position and no one on here who cries for Kaps removal has ever done that. The reason is, there really isn’t a good plan at the moment. Whether any of us likes it or not, we don’t have another QB to go to that will be an improvement on what we have. They haven’t drafted or signed true competition for Kap and because of that, they are forced to sink or swim with him.

                I look at it like yesterday was a summary of his inability to elevate his game in big games. He seems to faulter consistently against elite defense. You would say, most of the leagues QB’s would to. I disagree. Fundamentally flawed QB’s give their team limited chances to win.

                That is the case at times, but he’s also played well in those situations. Hell he played very well in the game in AZ last year I’m not sure yesterday can really be classified as a Big game anyway. It’s game 3 of the regular season and AZ came in on a roll. Kap played very poorly obviously, but so did the team as a whole. That’s the game sometimes. What the team has to do and we as fans as well, is understand each week is it’s own entity. How you play one week is not indicative of how you play every week.

                As for a plan for the future, the draft and building around him. The alternative is continuing to pay him what he is not worth.

                The market says differently FDM. He’s being paid in line with what QB’s in this league get paid. He was given the contract based on what he had accomplished and the market said he was worth. If they decide he is not worth it any longer, and want to start over they can, but that is only half of the equation. Once you do that, you then have to find a replacement who is better than what you had, and all you have to do is look at the league’s history to see how hard that is.

              8. That’s all well and good, but the Niners have to draft a QB in the first few rounds, if not the first round next year.

              9. Rocket you are still talking about performances 2 years ago and in those games he didn’t do much.
                This is my point! His play has not improved since that time. It’s regressed to the point he had to spend an offseason working on fundamental QB play. This is not a work in progress anymore. Yesterday is who he is. A crumbler in big meaningful games.
                You know what I’ll do. I’ll shut up about #7. Then when he implodes a couple more times this year, we can discuss. Deal?

              10. Rocket at some point the 49ers have to have contingency plan in place for their QB. That’s why Colin Kaepernick is on basically one year deals. Keeping him because supposedly there is not much better out there is ludicrous. Draft and bite the development bullet. Draft 2 maybe 3 QB’s if you have to but keeping him based on your opinion is a poor business decision.

              11. Grant what tools? His legs? His power arm? None of those tools matter if you don’t have down field vision, accuracy and touch. I’m tired of hearing what a physical athletic guy he is. That means nothing when you don’t have the most important skill: INTELLIGENCE!

              12. Prime,

                He had a number of good games last year and finished ranked ahead of Andy Dalton. This is what I’m talking about when I say you are basing your views on small amounts of information that while bad, are not indicative of the overall picture.

                And if you mean less talent around him, I couldn’t disagree more. Dalton has one of the great luxuries of any QB in the game in that he can just throw it up for Green and have him make plays.

                We can stop discussing Kap if you like, but I don’t think it’s possible to sustain. Arguing about QB’s is a staple of football talk.

              13. FDM,

                Keeping him because supposedly there is not much better out there is ludicrous. Draft and bite the development bullet. Draft 2 maybe 3 QB’s if you have to but keeping him based on your opinion is a poor business decision.

                So you think it’s a better idea to cut a QB who has won 30+ games in three seasons as a starter in the hope you hit on somebody in the draft? This is what I don’t understand about the get rid of Kap sentiment. Imo you bring in competition, and if somebody beats him out, then you cut the cord. Not before.

              14. Grant,

                That’s all well and good, but the Niners have to draft a QB in the first few rounds, if not the first round next year.

                I agree and see no way they don’t.

      2. Fan,

        He’s inconsistent. That is not a good thing, and when he’s been bad, he’s been really bad, but he’s been good more than he’s been bad and I’ve been willing to be patient and let him develop. If he continues to play like he did in AZ, then sure it’s time to go another direction and move on, but he’s bounced back in the past and I expect him to do so again. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be planning on bringing other QB’s in and providing open competition, I’ve been all for that all along. What I won’t do is call for him to be dumped for whatever we can get and go on without any kind of sensible plan. It’s not easy to find a QB you can consistently win with in this league. No matter how down people are on the current QB, you can’t make rash decisions without a plan in place to deal with it.

        1. We have to throw out the SB season because he came out of nowhere and no one know what to do with the read option. He caught everyone with their pants but and it almost worked.

          Since he’e been a starter full time there have been more bad games than good. The defense was what kept him in games and bought him time to figure things out.
          Last year is the best indicator of the QB that he is. He’s indecisive, slow to see reads. Said it all last year and we argued repeatedly. I applaud that you stick up for him and need to see more. At some point you just have to come to the conclusion that he’s consistently not an accurate QB and can’t read defenses. Is it worth having such a poor decision maker on the off occasion he runs for big yards?

          I joked last week about putting in Gabbert but I’m serious now. This season is lost. Cut your losses with Kaep and see if Gabbert can keep the seat warm. There’s no way you bring back Kaep next year on his salary so give Gabbert as many games.

          Or better yet, don’t start Gabbert because I bet he’s a way better game manager then Kaep. We might win a few more games and get that false hope when what we really need is to have this season go in the toilet and get everyone fired.

          Coaching matters. The team has good players at most positions except the mos important one — QB.

          1. Fan,

            You’re exaggerating again. He’s had more good games than bad even if you want to throw out his first half season. He’s had some pretty poor games, because when he’s bad he’s really bad, but he’s been good more than he’s been bad by a pretty wide margin.

            You keep talking about how bad he was last season and yet he was middle of the pack. That’s why I mention the irrational suggestions that come out around here for a QB that is at worst middle of the pack in the league. If you can guarantee me we will draft somebody better then I’m all for it, but that simply doesn’t happen very often.

            Your suggestion of Gabbert makes no sense. Cut our losses with Kap how? He’s guaranteed a full year already so benching him makes no sense unless he gets to the point where he’s playing the way he did in AZ every week. If you put Gabbert in and he sucks then what do you do? Go back to Kap? You’ve already given up on him at that point so there is no going back. All that does is guarantee you are looking at starting from scratch and hoping for the best. They have to let Kap play it out unless he shows he’s incapable of bouncing back.

            1. Dude,
              You can’t say anything anymore. You’re the one that’s irrational because you keep sticking with your arguments despite all the evidence. You choose to believe he’s had good games, where many saw the flaws from the beginning. What good game did he have last year? The team averaged 14 points. The defense kept them in every game. He made that one pass to Crabs across his body, does that make up of the four turnovers in the Bears game? Don’t you see the that other teams have figured him out.

              You can’t see that he’s the same QB as last year, he padded his stats. You claimed he could read defenses last year too. Guess what? He can’t.

              He’s going to get lucky again and have a good game but over time he’s never going to be even a decent QB. The faster you come to that conclusion, the more stress free your life will be!

              1. I respect Wilson, Seb and CK=ELITE because they admit that Kaep sucks, and were courteous with me after the game.
                But you can’t admit that you’re belief in Kaep is misguided. I’m trying to help you see the light brother!

              2. Fan I admit he played terrible, just awful and he sucked last night. All the worst parts of him were true last night. I think Rocket’s point is that he plays pretty good sometimes. There’s truth in the good Kap vs. Bad Kap. You don’t have to be so extreme with your points to be right that he’s not consistently good Kap enough to build a team around. He is good sometimes but not enough. This team, this coaching staff and this QB together are not working out. And don’t forget our GM and owners.

              3. I keep sticking with my arguments because they are backed up by results on the field fan. The numbers don’t support you, the win totals don’t support you. If we put Kaps career numbers up as I have a number of times, my view is supported by the evidence.

                Another thing you continue to do is misrepresent what I’ve said on this topic. I see the flaws, I’ve talked about them many times, I’ve pointed out the things he needs to work on and said he needs to get better. You keep trying to make this out to be a case where I just support him blindly and don’t see any problems. That is emphatically wrong and not supported by anything I’ve ever posted on here.

                It continues to be all hyperbole with you. He can read defenses, I’ve seen him do it, just like I’ve seen him go through progressions. It’s been documented by articles on Niner Nation if you don’t choose to believe me. He isn’t a master of it by any means, but to say he can’t do it all is just flat out wrong and unsupported by the facts. He’s not Brady or Rodgers but he isn’t bottom 5 either has you tried to pass off previously.

                You keep referring to last year as if he had the worst season in the history of football. He had a number of good games: Dallas, both games against AZ, both games against the Rams, KC, Washington, SD. You just can’t accept the numbers and instead focus on a preconceived notion.

                Your last paragraph doesn’t make any sense Fan. He’s already a decent QB by every statistical measure so saying he’s never going to be one has already been proven incorrect. As for stress in my life, very little comes from the outcome of Football games, and it’s pretty easy to see most on here are far more stressed out than I am.

              4. I respect Wilson, Seb and CK=ELITE because they admit that Kaep sucks, and were courteous with me after the game.
                But you can’t admit that you’re belief in Kaep is misguided. I’m trying to help you see the light brother!

                So you respect those that agree with you, that says it all Fan. I’m not going to attack you personally, it’s always just football and not life. Courteous is another story…I will need to work on that.

              5. I guess a stat line is better evidence of performance than when an opposing teams secondary says what I’ve been saying since day one!
                I guess the only way people will realize what #7 is, is through some more blow outs, versus Seattle and maybe a top 5 pick in next years draft. I’m done talking about CK and his one dimensional play. If yesterday’s game wasn’t a true test of his improvement this offseason then what game will? I guess Seattle in a couple weeks.

              6. I said Kaep played horribly, but I am not yet going to bail on him. Kaep has tremendous skills, but there seemed to be something wrong with him that game. Maybe the coaches are still trying to make him into something he is not comfortable with. The O line gave him no time to throw and the Iupati FA acquisition may have given the Cards valuable information on the overall offensive tendencies.
                Fan may be right, but I am still hopeful. The Niners need to make drastic adjustments, or the season will be lost.

            2. This particular game has absolutely solidified his opinion and provided more bravado in his mind that he’s absolutely right. He can’t or won’t ever acknowledge a more realistic view of inconsistency. All bad or all good is the only way he can communicate because he has so much at stake in him being bad or the worst even if facts and stats don’t show it. People are mad this morning but you (Rocket) generally bring a level headed approach. Thanks for at least trying. It happens on the other end of the spectrum too with the Kap apologists when he plays a good game.

              Realism, where are thou?

              1. Wilson,

                You are 100% correct that it is about wanting desperately to be proven correct about a statement. He’s been so adamant about Kap not being able to play at this level for so long, he can’t even enjoy the times he does play well and the team wins. It’s all about waiting for an “I told you so” moment, much like it was with a number of people who criticized Alex Smith incessantly. Fan tries to be objective and he actually makes salient points when he isn’t in Kap sucks mode, but the underlying need to be right about this taints his views.

              2. Wilson and Rocket,
                You like to paint me as the extreme person, but I would argue that you are the ones who just can’t see the other perspective. This is the game that shined a light on all his issues and you just can’t come back from a performance like that. The writing is on the wall. The DBs called them out.

                I’ve been saying that same thing and it is getting too repetitive, but some people don’t learn. Kinda like keep! How many fade passes has he thrown that cost us games? How many back-foot pick 6s does he need to throw before you realize the issues is he’s slow to read the defenses?

                The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over. That sounds petty extreme to me.

                You sticking up for him is like loser talk. You should admit you backed the wrong pony, take it on the chin, man up, and move on.

              3. Geez fan, you misrepresent so much. Man you so need to be right that you’re blinded to rational ideas on the subject.

                Neither of us is saying he’s anything other that was he is. A QB that you probably can’t build a franchise around. Rocket can share his own thoughts. We see it, just not the jaded way you see it. He’s not the worst or even bottom 5. They way you tell it he only throws pick 6’s.

                You block out anything he does that’s positive. We both see and acknowledge the bad. That’s big difference.

              4. Fan,

                Wilson pretty much said what I feel as well, but I will add that I understand the view from the other side. He’s frustrating to watch at times and we want him to be better than he is. I just don’t agree with the suggestion he isn’t a legitimate starter or has never shown he can be one. I’m also not against replacing him if we find somebody better and never have been. I just don’t see any credible ideas for how we do this. I already know what I will see if Blaine Gabbert plays. He can’t play in the pocket under pressure either, and unlike Kap, can’t make big plays if it breaks down completely. I’ve seen this guy go down in the pocket without being touched. He is one of the lowest paid backups in the league for a reason. If we had a better option than Kap on the roster then your suggestion would have some merit, but we don’t. They should have drafted the position higher and brought in better competition but they didn’t and now they have no choice but to ride with Kap and see if he can improve or not.

            3. Honestly none of our opinions matter. Everyone in leadership on this team is done including Kap. They’ll scrap everything. History will take a view of things that’s less emotionally charged after some time passes.You don’t have to like Kap or think anything other than what you do Fan and Prime. I won’t disrespect your right to an opinion. He as you say may have more good games, most likely he’s going to have a lot of bad ones.

              So besides benching Kap, what’s next for this team?

    4. Good post Rocket. You pretty well nailed my sentiments on the cosching. I don’t know if you or the others recall, but I have been saying that the current staff would return us to the era of 2007-2010 Niners football, and so far that belief hasn’t been altered.
      You’re also right about Kaep, but like some others on here, I believe it is time to bring in some competition for him. The only question is who. A once robust QB FA market for 2016 has all but diminished and there currently isn’t anyone I see in the college ranks that would be an immediate contributor.
      I have nothing to add on your thoughts of the OL; it is pre-Harbaugh putrid.
      In your honest opinion, what position should the 49ers target if they receive a top 10 pick or one in the the 11-20 range?

      1. Mid,

        I’m all for bringing in competition at QB, and have been all along. I was open to bringing in Manning when he was a FA, I was open to drafting Bridgewater if he fell in the draft, and I’m open to bringing in a FA and/or a draft pick in the offseason. This isn’t about saying Kap is the franchise and should continue unopposed and never has been for me. I just recoil against the extreme negativity directed at the guy, and the lack of cognizant statements on how to replace him if we do move on from him.

        It’s tough to say where they should go in the draft at this point, but all things being equal I’d like to see them focus on one of the franchise positions: QB, OT or a pass rusher. We need an impact player and these are the spots that will provide the most bang for the buck. The reality is they have needs in many places and the BPA strategy has to be taken into account, but the future corner stones is a must.

        1. Rocket,
          Let’s be honest, there are a group of knuckleheads on here that are the equivalent of 23Jordan or Bayarea hating on Smith. It’s a waste of time trying to be rational with them. They would draft the kid from Cal and spend the next few years defending their pick after he got destroyed during the first few games. Everybody pulls some name out of a hat around draft time and acts like he’s the next big thing. It doesn’t work that way. You understand that and so do the others, but their prejudices cloud their thoughts. It is what it is.

          1. You are correct BigP, but it seems irrational arguments are unavoidable when it comes to discussing this game. Personal views, preferences, understanding of the game etc., are not spread equally among the people who comment here which leads to the head butting that permeates the board. I’m ok with that for the most part. What I really can’t stand is the crap that went on with Mary and TomD last week. I can’t even pretend to be interested in that garbage.

            1. FDM,
              I think he’s the best option through next season, most likely. I have always said I thought they should invest in the position to a greater degree. I think they should look at drafting some talented prospects. There is no guarantee those prospects fall to you in the draft, there is no guarantee they will be good and there isn’t even a fare chance they currently have the coaching staff to develop such a QB. I’m not some Kaep apologist, I just don’t see the point in ignoring the good things he has done and hyping the negative. People are calling for his head and it’s like, who the hell do you think is going to replace him? The whole franchise is in a downward spiral just like it was before Harbaugh was hired. What system is in place for a veteran to thrive in and what staff is in place to develop a rookie? Then you relate those same concerns to Kaepernick’s situation if you are unbiased. That being said, I have enough concerns about his game that I agree with acquiring more QB talent, but I think I’m expressing more of a big picture view as to the reality of the situation.

        2. I agree with everything you’re saying in regards to Kaepernick Rocket. As I have said in the past, I believe that it all stems from his contract extension. It placed unrealistic expectations on him given the situation the brain fart known as Jed York and the front office have put him and the organization in.

    1. I guess it depends where we are picking. Also if this coaching staff gets let go. Usually a new coaching staff means a new QB early.

        1. Nope, but I’d take a flyer on Wilson from Utah, probably get him in the 6th round due to shoulder durability….

    2. Also CK,

      I hope you read my post about Holmgen/Shannahan as consultants. The 49ers should keep them around to hire younger people, and just be consultants to ownership moving forward…
      However, the York’s are stubborn and want nothing to do with Eddy D and want to do it their way. (It was Eddy gave the ok to hire both coaches.

      1. Ya I read it and agree with it. Big changes need to happen. This is not an easy fix.

  71. To everyone who identified and aligned with Kaepernick, enjoy looking in that mirror, because everyone else views you the exact same way as they view Kaepernick, loud mouthed egotistical scrubs who have no class, consistency and who ultimately squander whatever possible talent and ability you may have with your idiotic approach to life. Does Kaepernick have the skills and abilities? Many say yes, but do you know what keeps him back from that? His entire worldview and approach. His arrogant, tatted street punk gangsta approach that pales in comparison to the stupidest part of the 49er fan base, but is enough to destroy whatever potential he might have had. Success isn’t built on “swag” it’s built on humility and nobility. That was the core of the “class” the 49ers who didn’t suck and who actually did win Super Bowls had. All of you aging gangsta drunk losers who constantly hospitalize opposing team’s fans, and even each other, you are getting what you deserve, and your approach to life is reflected in this team. You wanted to see Kaepernick play, so you bought tickets to watch him, and bought the product from someone who cared more about the profit opportunities, so you all got what you deserve. But don’t ever call it good football, and don’t be confused and say that it is the same 49er football of old.

  72. IMO, here’s what needs to happen this week:

    1) The leaders in the locker room need to call a player’s only meeting – no coaches.
    2) In his first meeting this week with the CS, Tomsula needs to throw a few chairs and slam his fist on the table.
    3) Then they all need to get down to work and “game plan” for GB.

    Don’t know if any of this will happen. For me it’s a step in the right direction; but honestly, all it will probably do is keep the games closer. Compared with the best teams in the NFL, talent is lacking throughout – players and coaches.

      1. Well, I was pretty clear that I didn’t expect it to help much other than keeping the scores closer. IMO, it’s only a step in the right direction given the current circumstances (by that I mean players and coaches available to the team). I think it’s needed, under the current circumstances, if there is to be any chance of saving the season.

        Are you suggesting we start changing coaches now? If what I suggested doesn’t pan out by midseason, then I could see that happening. However, I don’t think that will happen this soon.

        1. I honestly don’t have a fix. Yelling might work it might not. As one who manages millennials yelling is usually not the best motivation for them. They are always looking for wise Jedi master or sage advice. Yelling tends to push them away.

          I really don’t have enough details or knowledge to say when or what kind of coaching changes to make. I might say Sparano would be better than JT. He’s not great either. Changing coaches right now would give the new guy more of a chance to succeed. Waiting give JT more of a chance to succeed. Neither are even close to salvaging the season.

          1. I think you misunderstood me. The fist slamming, yelling is for the coaches – don’t think there are many millennials of importance on the CS. The players hold their own meeting WITHOUT coaches to see if they can straighten out some problems using peer pressure.

            1. Ah true I did misunderstand. I thought you were slamming then yelling at the players not the coaches.

              Meetings are great but can be useless without someone who can diagnose the issues and lead the team to address them. Do we have leaders in both the coaching staff and players who can lead the team to solutions?

              A pep talk isn’t going to fix this. They are going to have to make some major changes to both offensive and defensive schemes. Maybe its missed assignments, maybe its the wrong scheme for the personnel, maybe its bad preparation. Somebody has to have tangible actions points that are beyond trying harder.

    1. This team has some talent but few difference makers on offense and defense.

      When a supposed difference maker on offense, the starting QB spouts off before the game that the previous coaches asked him to do things out of character, and then promptly sinks his team with 4 INTs, it does not reflect well on him or this current cast of coaches. Hyde was fairly blunt in his post game comments re Kap.

      But, I agree that it will take leadership from both players and coaches to salvage this season.

  73. Tank the rest of the season, work on developing a O-line and D-line and DBs as the season develops, trade Kap, and draft Goff. OK for now, RB, WR, TE, LB except for speed rusher.

  74. The way I see it. The owner and GM wanted to see what they have in Kaep. They put together a coaching staff who would carry out their vision and that vision is ;lets build a offense that is built around the QB’s skill set. If the QB flourishes in the “new” offense then they would keep the QB, if not the they will move on from Kaep. To blame the coaches is short sighted, they are only following the wishes of top managent. Of course there are all of the other factors, loss of so many vets. etc. But in my veiw this season is all about Kaep. If he does well in “his” offense, then there is hope ,if not next up the draft!

  75. I’m embarrassed to call myself a fan.
    .
    The entire organization is a joke.
    .
    What a shame.
    .
    .
    .
    ~ALOHA~

      1. Aloha hacksaw.
        .
        Simply put…if this was a blog about life in Hawaii, the tone my post would be a tad more upbeat.
        .
        Malama pono.
        .
        .
        .
        ~ALOHA~

  76. Grant you say the 49ers must draft a QB this year. Let me ask you a question, if the 9ers get the 1st pick of the draft, should they use that pick on a QB or trade back for multiple picks and pick a QB later in the 2nd or 3rd rd’s?

      1. Taking a QB is vital for sure…but who or what can they draft next year to fix this horrendous defense???
        .
        In my humble opinion, Mangini is neither a man, nor a genie.
        .
        .
        .
        ~ALOHA~

      2. Yep, this is a team that right now could really do with an infusion of top end talent, not just one guy.

        However, if they do have a top 10 pick and a quality pass rusher was available, I’d probably take him.

    1. Amazing how much the value of the top pick changes year to year.

      What would the Chiefs have gotten for the first pick of 2013?
      What would the 49ers have gotten for the first pick of 2005?

      Both those picks would have fetched far less than what the Rams got for the 2nd pick of 2012.

      Will this draft be top heavy like 2012, or will the #1 pick be ho-hum, fetching almost no lucrative trade offers.

  77. Quinton Patton has got to go. If he’s not fumbling in OT against San Diego, he’s getting a stupid penalty but no catches against AZ. And he should take that worthless Vance McDonald with him when he goes. What terrible picks!!!!!

    1. I know this sounds crazy, but the 49ers really NEED a healthy Vance McDonald for this offense to work.

      VMac’s a big disappointment as a pass catcher, but he’ s a key player in the new multiple TE system.

      His blocking vs the Vikings was artwork. He’s one of the best blocking TEs in football. The 49ers offense suffers without him.

      As I heard Vance McDonald was inactive vs AZ, I thought the 49ers had a far smaller chance to win.

      1. Agree. I think the team needs VMac. But I’m growing weary of Patton’s childishness. Once Ellington is back, sit Patton.

    2. Ck,

      Perhaps during the season posters can suggest what should be done with upper-management and we can all brain storm, everyone typing in their candidates for GM and head coach. Then, we can analyze all candidates during the season and come up with a candidate, and Email it to the 49ers…
      The reason I pick Shannahan and Holmgren is because Shannahan rode Elway the WCO and implemented the stretch running offfense the 49ers have now to 2 Superbowl wins.
      Shannahan is an innovator….Holmgren knows QB’s having traded for Farve, drafted drafted Seattl’es superbowl QB.

  78. I keep hearing a version of a Denny Green quote swirling around in my head — they are who we thought they would be.
    These last two games these are the real 49ers of 2015. That first game – that was just an anomaly spawned from the novelty of the new. The NFL is a quick learn proven previously by the momentary shooting star of the pistol offense.

  79. When I looked over the schedule after training camp, I thought it quite possible the 49ers would go 1-3 over the first four games, then work up to 3-3, then go 8-8 on the season. So, on the one hand, I am not surprised by the record to date (although I kept picking the 49ers in the Pick’em, out of hope I suppose). I was not even overly surprised by the Steelers game. This one, though, was far worse than I thought it would be. And while I am not sure that either Tomsula or Kap are done (a few more games will tell us more about their 49ers’ futures), the situation has certainly turned ugly.

  80. I believe this defense would not be as bad as they currently are if Vic Fangio was still here. VF worked with the players he was given. He built the scheme around the given strengths and weakness’s. He never wavered from this year after year and thus had a decent record if not outstanding at times.
    Managini is scheme first then force fit the personnel. Being blitz crazy with a weak back field or linebackers that cannot cover WRs is just that – crazy. Too many times did I see Whilhote in man coverage with a top ranked WR. Mangini’s method of surprise and gamble brings occasional flash and the even the more rare big pay offs. Fangio’s method brings consistancy and bend but don’t break. The latter gets you into the play offs.

    1. Wilhoite, Brooks, Lynch, Bowman… Mangini is asking way too much of his LBs in coverage. They couldn’t cope. He also asked too much of his outside CBs against the Steelers, by having the safeties up so close to the LOS when they were meant to be providing help over the top. Both games were easy pickings for quality QBs like Big Ben and Palmer. It will be more of the same this week if Mangini tries similar tactics against Rodgers.

      1. It turns out that there may have been a good reason for Mangini spending so long without a meaningful coaching job.

      2. Could not have said it better Scooter. I would only add that Fangio absolutely what not have done what you have described. He would have understood his players way better than that. Would not have happened under his watch.

      3. Putting a LB on Fitzgerald then leaving him so he can find the soft spot in the zone defense is so illogical.
        Niners better do man on man, or AR will eat them up.

    2. There have been numerous instances of defensive players being out of position and the receiver wide open (nobody within 5 yards). That rarely happened under Fangio’s watch.

Comments are closed.