It keeps popping up. You’re watching the 49ers’ game on TV, and at some point the playoff possibilities are flashed on the screen. It lists the sure-fire contenders and a short list of teams “on the bubble” to make the playoffs. And listed, week after week, are the hard-luck, much injured, losers-of-three-in-a-row 49ers. Do they really have a chance to make the playoffs? Yes. And probably no. It is true…
On the 49ers bye week to-do list: rest, heal up and for God’s sake fix the offensive line
While it is always fun (and easy) to pile on the quarterback after a loss, I’m sure they are plenty of people doing that. So I’d like to go in a different direction. Following the sound thumping the Saints put on the 49ers Sunday, the team gets some R & R. With the bye week, they will have time to heal up, take a break, and re-commit to the season….
Jed York buys a victory for the 49ers
It turns out the 49ers did get a win last week after all. Only it wasn’t on the field. In a way, you could say it was about the field — the one at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Earlier we told you about the efforts by 49ers owner Jed York to vote in team-friendly candidates to the Santa Clara city council. And when we say “efforts,” what we really…
The 49ers never had a chance vs. Green Bay — for lots of reasons
One of the charming qualities of sports is magical thinking. It is the idea that a team with pluck, grit and gumption can overcome a more talented team on sheer will and want-to. You take your best shot and the next thing you know the USA hockey team is beating Russia in the Miracle on Ice in the 1980 Olympic Games. Unfortunately, there’s a reason we call those miracles. They…
Reality bites the 49ers. It looks like this is who they are
In a way maybe the loss to Seattle was for the best. You know what would have happened if the 49ers had pulled off the upset and beaten the Seahawks. Irrational exuberance. We saw it after the back to back wins over the Rams and the Patriots. Don’t sleep on the Niners, people said. They’re pulling it together. The playoffs are not out of reach. Instead, they went to Seattle,…
49ers stick together – and win
You can drop passes. You can fumble. You can blow a coverage or miss a tackle. Those can be fixed. But if a team loses its chemistry – its cohesion – it is cooked. And let’s don’t pretend the 49ers weren’t headed that direction coming into Sunday night’s game with the Rams. They had a losing record, a series of why-us? injuries and were coming off a defeat that…
Yanking Garoppolo sets up a whole list of possible consequences for Shanahan
We don’t do it often here, because we’re usually big fans, but we’re going to have to call out Kyle Shanahan. His performance in Sunday’s embarrassing loss to Miami was not impressive. Others have run down the list of whiffs, misses and sacks the team allowed and committed. I recommend that you read them. I’d just say I hope Shanahan went through all the possible scenarios when he yanked quarterback…
Yes, Nick Mullens imploded. But others aren’t off the hook.
Nick Mullens had a tough day against the Eagles. But so did the 49ers defense. (AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron Let’s take a break from bashing Nick Mullens for a moment, although I am sure we will get back to it. Sunday’s 25-20 loss to Philadelphia was the first time this year the 49ers looked shell-shocked. This was supposed to be the glide path of the schedule. And although they lost…
There’s more to this than a win over the Giants. Shanahan makes a statement
It wasn’t news that the 49ers beat the Giants Sunday. It would have been news if they lost. But this played out exactly to script. Only three games into the season, it is pretty clear who the Giants are – a poor team with problems. They committed bonehead penalties, blew pass coverages, and when things went south in the second half, showed quite a bit of quit. Good teams,…
Everything is up in the air for the 49ers – QB, injuries and turf. They did win Sunday, right?
I was honestly interested to tune into Kyle Shanahan’s Zoom presser today. Last week, after a disappointing loss to Arizona, he seemed surprisingly nonchalant. The vibe from him, as well as the players, seemed to be, “Yeah, it happens. We didn’t think we were going to win every game.” So this week, after watching key players limp and stagger off the field with injuries, or in the case of Nick…
There’s plenty of blame for the 49ers’ loss. So let’s get started
It was a long day for Jimmy Garoppolo against the Cardinals. But he wasn’t the only one. (Kent Porter/Press Democrat) Unprepared, sloppy and flat, the 49ers hit the trifecta in Sunday’s 24-20 loss to the Cardinals. It isn’t often that you can blame all three football components for a loss, offense, defense and special teams, but they all contributed. “All three units got to play well,” George Kittle said…
Prediction: Another Championship Season for the 49ers
New acquisition Trent Williams has been terrific so far for the 49ers. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP) (Editor’s note — Now that the season has begun (barring any last-second problems) we’re going to make a change in the blog. Starting next week it will appear the day after every game. It will give us a chance to highlight some overlooked moments, strategize and yes, creatively second-guess everyone. And that’s every game,…
The 49ers hold down COVID-19 – Whoops, except for Fred Warner
Just when you think you have figured something out . . . At 10:30 Monday morning, I was writing about how surprising it was that the NFL has been able to keep COVID-19 cases under control. Although there was a spike of nearly 100 players when training camps started, once those players were quarantined and cleared, the virus seemed to be staying down in professional football. The NFL even put…
Out on the edge, life with the 49ers is intense
Nick Bosa’s battles with new acquisition Trent Williams have been a featured attraction at training camp. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill) The 49ers are all about life on the edge. According to tradition, every NFL training camp must have a theme. Unfortunately, the 49ers do not have a quarterback controversy, so we can’t use that old chestnut. Instead, attention has been fixed on the “edge.” The edge is the mythical point…
Trent Taylor and Jet McKinnon are back. Hopefully.
As training camp gets underway, those who observe football professionally end up preforming two services. The first is to dutifully note that player X or Y, has gone through an innovative off-season conditioning program and is now “in the best shape of my life.” For the sake of brevity, let’s stipulate that everyone is in great shape. And the second is to identify and analyze potential prospects. This is a…
A winning culture. The 49ers have it. Washington doesn’t. Take it from Trent Williams
Although this is a 49ers’ blog, we are going to begin with the Warriors’ Draymond Green. Hopefully, the reason will become clear as we go. You may have heard that Green — in a total surprise to us all — said something controversial. Talking about Suns’ guard Devin Booker, Green praised the player on a TNT broadcast, but then added, “They got to get Book out of Phoenix. It’s not…
Lynch and Shanahan are upbeat about the NFL season. But a lot could go wrong.
GM John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan are ready to start the season. Let’s see how it goes. (AP photo Marcio Jose Sanchez.) Monday afternoon John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan met the media for the first time since signing new contract extensions. It was a typical presser in the new normal. Which is to say everyone appeared on computer screens and reporters could ask questions if they remembered to…
Jamal Adams. Did the 49ers miss an opportunity? Or avoid an expensive mistake?
We would be remiss if we didn’t put the final nail in the coffin that is the story of the Jamal Adams trade. In the telling, the 49ers would have acquired Adams, the disgruntled, but gifted, Jets safety. The story seemed to come up weekly, with assorted denials and confirmations. And now that Seattle has traded for Adams, surely it is finally dead, right? Not so fast. ESPN reporter Jeremy…
The NFL is totally ready to restart the season: All they need is players, a plan and a clue
Don’t worry, the higher-ups in the NFL say. They are working out a schedule that will have the season starting on time with complete safety for the players. Great. Did anyone tell them rookies report tomorrow? The fact is the NFL is barreling into this cockeyed season with the grace and elegance of a train wreck. Alarmed by the lack of information and progress, some of the biggest names…
Jerick (Jet) McKinnon makes his case on Twitter. Raheem Mostert says “hummmm.”
Athlete: @JetMckinnon1 Position: Dual-Threat Running Back Team: @49ers All Sticks. pic.twitter.com/nCPJHOxvDt — Footwork_King 🤴🏾 (@footwork_king1) May 19, 2020 Here is some bad news for the Raheem Mostert contract re-negotiating team. Check out the workout Jerick (Jet) McKinnon posted on Twitter. McKinnon, of course, has been battling knee problems since he tore his ACL before the 2018 season. He’s tried several procedures and the team was hopeful he’d be back for…
