49ers’ chances vs. Redskins slim, but there are ways to win

Posted By on October 14, 2017

SANTA CLARA

I have picked the 49ers to win three games so far this season. I’m not making that mistake again this week.

Click here to read my Sunday column.

This article has 23 Comments

  1. 1. Good advice for, Saleh. Hope he takes it to heart.
    2. Turnovers are better than leftovers.
    3. In my Pro Set on first and 2nd downs, I’d have Hyde/Breida split in the backfield, and on 3rd downs, I’d replace Hyde with Bolden.
    4. I agree with giving Breida more playing time, and I think he’ll continue to earn it.
    5. Speed is a killer, and we need as many assassins on the field as possible.

    Hope springs eternal, Grant, and your article flows nicely.

    1. Replace Hyde with Bolden? Who’s picking up the blitz? Bolden? Hyde may not be great at it but Bolden is smaller and has no experience at it. Now, if you mean get Boldin into the lineup, then okay. The problem is, who do you take out? Not Garcon, because he’s our best receiver. Not Goodwin, because he is fast. Not Trent Taylor, because he’s a good possession receiver in the slot. Probably not Kittle, because he looks like he is coming into his own and he’s a taller receiver than the rest. That’s 10 players now. If we go with an empty backfield we can have Bolden be the 4th WR. I like that, except that I doubt that Hoyer gets the chance to throw a pass. I think the best thing to do would be to have Breida replace Hyde because he’s pretty decent at picking up the blitz. If no one comes, he can slide out and catch a short pass and hopefully take it all the way. I think the time to use Boldin is on earlier downs. Like Grant said, come up with a package for him like the Rams do for Tavon Austin. Once Boldin is used for reverses and fake reverses, the defense will have to account for him. Then he can come in on any down.

  2. The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly considering trade possibilities for running back Carlos Hyde.

    On Saturday, Benjamin Allbright of Mile High Sports Radio noted the Niners have “received and made calls” about their leading rusher.

    If this is true, it’ll be turning into a real roster-burner this year… Kerley (who got a lot of praise this AM on ESPN). Bowman. Brooks. Dial. Ellington. Kaepernick. Actually, nearly every RB & WR on the 2016 roster and half the corners…

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2738697-carlos-hyde-trade-rumors-49ers-reportedly-shopping-star-rb

    1. So the rumors appear to be true. I bet Grant is typing his next column as we speak.
      :-)

      If we do trade him, we should bring back Hightower. Don’t want to put it all on Breida.

  3. “On third-and-more-than-7, don’t rush only four defenders like you usually do.”

    Agreed. What happened to Saleh? He was blitz happy in camp.

    “And last week against the Colts, he gave up a sack on the first third down of the second half. After that play, the Niners benched Hyde for three series.”

    Dude, you’ve been saying KS should discipline his players for the mental errors. Looks like he did that with Hyde. How Hyde will respond (on and off the field) could determine if he gets an extension.

    I wouldn’t mind seeing Bolden as a gadget player occasionally.

      1. I knew it was only a matter of time before that happened. Dirty Martini, smooth and full of rookie juice….

        1. Cheers! Paulsen or Celek will fill in for Juice this week. After Juice comes back, do we send Hikutini back to the PS? Or do we move on from Paulsen or Celek? Do we keep all four for the season?

  5. Grant,

    Do you think this was in the works from the beginning? I me of they had wanted to get rid of Bowman and Hyde way back when, the fans would’ve revolted and the honeymoon would have been a nanosecond. This way they have cover. To me, it still makes some of the off-season moves very questionable.

    1. I’m not Grant, but I think the Bow and Hyde stuff are recent developments. KS and JL denied the off season trade rumors about Bow. But they never denied trying to trade Vance. KS/JL seem to be straight shooters.

      If they wanted to move Bow all along, why not trade him after the Seattle game when he had max value? I think the Rams game changed everything. Not only did he play poorly, but he also admitted that his body wasn’t ready. Those two things led to his reduction of snaps and release.

      Similar thing with Hyde. Why not trade him after his two game stretch against Seattle and LA? The Colts game changed everything. He ran poorly, missed blocks, and botched the pitch.

      Other factors. In Bow’s case, Foster is coming back. With Ray Ray playing better and smarter, Foster isn’t needed at WILL. In Hyde’s case, Breida has been playing better. And then there’s the win/loss record. Our staff has realized that we aren’t going anywhere this year, so they are going to play the younger guys more.

      1. I get that 80, but they have moved into dumping mode very rapidly that it makes me wonder if this wasn’t their plan along? I don’t think that they are entirely straight forward and work hard at appear that way. I think they must have been trial ballooning trades early in the season and Lynch was somewhat careful in his dismissal. I would use the draft as an example of less than forward behavior.

        1. I think they probably considered all options and that’s a good thing. But we heard Kyle say that the team could be 4-1. He’s having trouble accepting the losses.

            1. I had trouble accepting this season until we lost to the Colts. It will be interesting to see if the team continues to play as hard as they have been.

              1. I didn’t think we would have such trouble but we are not very good. More competitive but still not good enough. I think the loss of Bowman will have an effect. Whether positive or negative it remains to be seen!

  6. The only thing intriguing about this game is Cousins performance against our ‘stout’ secondary. Cousins should easily amass 300 + yards. If he doesn’t that would actually be shameful.

    1. Yeah, I think that our string of 4 competitive games is coming to an end. The only way that might change is if we can put constant pressure on Cousins.

  7. The Niners may win if they cut down on their unforced errors. The Niner coaches should be preaching that the players must play clean. They can be aggressive, but clean play will give them the best chance to win. No flags. No jumping offsides.
    .
    I agree, the third downs are problematic, and getting turnovers will greatly help. However, they not only need turnovers, the defense needs to score.
    .
    The Niners may be shopping Hyde, but they should showcase him first. That means playing to his strengths, by lining him up deep in the I. They will get little for him, especially after he ran for only 11 yards last game. They should stop the pitches, but let him run to open space and throw him a swing pass.
    .
    Now that Bowman is gone, Washington cannot target him, and maybe the RBs will get tighter coverage. This game may not be won by Hoyer, but if the rest of the team plays clean, focused, with discipline and in control, they may win despite Hoyer’s shortcomings. Delayed blitzes up the middle, and pass rushers with their hand in the air, and the defense could make all the difference between winning and losing. Maybe move Ward to CB and Johnson to safety, or even Witherspoon. He has the size and speed to be able to cover the whole field as the single high safety.
    .
    Hope springs eternal. This is a winnable game

  8. Cousins vs Hoyer

    This should be interesting. What we have against what we could potentially have.

    I’m of course going to remain objective and open-minded throughout the entire game.

    Actually, no s*d that…. it’s going to be fun seeing Cousins show the just-about-above-average journeyman wobble-merchant how its done!

    Go KITTLE!

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