Every Monday during the NFL season is filled with fans and media pundits’ overreactions. Someone must be blamed. Especially when your defense allows only nine points in an 11-10 loss.
Instead of focusing on the overreactions, let’s look at why the 49ers lost a game they had no business losing.
Jimmy Garoppolo
Garoppolo’s performance doesn’t seem that bad if you look at the box score. He threw for 211 yards, completed 18 of 29 attempts, and had a touchdown pass and an interception.
What’s missing in those numbers is the amount of yardage lost due to poor decisions and, more importantly, inaccurate throws.
Garoppolo had Deebo Samuel open for a touchdown early in the game. Instead, he threw an incompletion to Brandon Aiyuk, who was blanketed on the play.
When Garoppolo finally pulled the trigger on a deep throw to Samuel, it was poorly thrown to the point that Samuel fell out of bounds making the catch. Samuel would have been able to score a touchdown with a well-placed ball.
On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Garoppolo had Jauan Jennings open down the right side, but his pass fluttered. The ball hanging up in the air allowed the Broncos defender time to get over and hit Jennings as the ball arrived, leading to an incompletion.
With San Francisco holding a five point lead early in the third quarter, Garoppolo had Samuel open over the middle out of the backfield. The throw was well behind Samuel, leading to a punt instead of a big play.
These mistakes are in addition to the fumbled snap at midfield, stepping on the end line for a safety, and throwing an interception as the offense was getting close to being in field goal range late in the fourth quarter.
To say Garoppolo had a bad game is putting it mildly. He was brutal.
Kyle Shanahan’s play calling.
There has been a lot of criticism of Kyle Shanahan’s play calling through these first three weeks.
I don’t get it.
In week one, he had a fumble by his best player take points off the board on the opening possession. On the next possession, his quarterback had a layup for a touchdown but overthrew the receiver.
Once again, receivers were running open throughout the game against Denver on Sunday night, but the quarterback couldn’t make the throws.
The issue with Kyle Shanahan isn’t his play calling. He cannot figure out the quarterback position or find a way to keep his team from repeatedly shooting itself in the foot.
Offensive line
The 49ers offensive line has been much better than anticipated, but they had their worst plays on Sunday night at the most inopportune times.
On the 49ers third offensive possession, facing third and four, rookie Spencer Burford was called for a false start. Now facing third and nine, Burford was beaten by Josey Jewell, leading to a sack of Garoppolo.
Two possessions later, the 49ers opened with the previously mentioned 32-yard pass from Garoppolo to Deebo Samuel down the left sideline. Burford was called for holding on the next play, making it first and twenty. The 49ers offense could not recover, having to punt the ball away.
Next possession. It looked like the 49ers were finally going to convert a third down when Jimmy Garoppolo scrambled for a gain of five, but a holding penalty on Mike McGlinchey nullified the play.
Deebo Samuel, running back
Moving Deebo Samuel into the backfield helped save the 49ers season in 2021. Through the first three weeks, it appears that opposing defenses have figured it out.
Samuel has 111 yards rushing on 17 carries. That looks impressive. However, 51 of those yards came on one run against Seattle. On the other 16 carries, Samuel has averaged only 3.8 yards per attempt.
Field position
The 49ers average starting field position in the first half on Sunday night was their own 15.
With Deebo Samuel and company unable to generate explosive plays, the 49ers offense is stuck.
Except for the final possession against Seattle, San Francisco has not shown the ability to move the ball down the field methodically. Time after time, they find a way to be their own worst enemy. Unless this changes, the 49re are in for a long season offensively.
A positive note
I am going to end this with a positive.
There is no doubt the first three weeks have been frustrating. However, if the 49ers can find a way to defeat the Rams on Monday night, they will move into first place in the NFC West.
This kind of goes back to my main criticism of Kyle Shanahan. I do believe Kyle Shanahan is a brilliant offensive coach. Play calling is his strength. He might be the best in the NFL. He needs to get over the hump of actually finishing a Super Bowl win and not giving up 10 point 4th quarter leads but I think he can get that done. Where Kyle Shanahan fails is in his talent evaluation. From Joe Williams, to Dante Pettis, to CJ Beathard and Nick Mullens, Kyle is so damn stubborn in his player evaluation he can’t let anyone else make decisions when it comes to QB or his draft crushes. Pairing Kyle Shanahan with a GM with zero experience was a mistake. Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers would have 2 Superbowl wins if Jed York would have paired Kyle with a strong GM like Bill Polian. Kyle needs to be told “No” more often.
Frankly, there wasn’t a whole lot Jed could do to get Kyle to sign on to to be head coach other than offer up a puppet GM. I don’t really blame him for that, nor do I think John Lynch is bad at his job.
However, the arrogance/stubbornness of Kyle, something you indirectly hinted at, is certainly worthy of discussion. I think Kyle could learn a few things but he seems quite self assured and set in his ways at this young age.
You conveniently left out Shanny’s decision making (as opposed to play calling).
His fear of the Broncos converting a third and very long (19!) against this outstanding defense is as unconfident and indefensible as it gets.
He consistently plays not to lose. I don’t know many elite coaches who don’t play to win. What kind of message is he sending to the team?
I’d like to add that there are a lot of assumptions being made about what naysayers think about this or that. The reality is, many of us feel Shanny has uplifted the organization from the doldrums we were in for a very long time. A lot of us also believe this 1-3 hole isn’t anything we can’t climb out of, as witnessed by last year. I fully still expect the team to be around fhe 10 win mar and making a push for the playoffs. But that doesn’t mean Shanahan is beyond reproach. As they said on the radio today, somewhere along the way 5+ years ago Shanny was given the moniker “offensive genius” and it’s stuck with him. But clearly, he hasn’t shown anything to warrant that. It’s perfectly okay to appreciate he’s a decent, even good, Coach but he also has several flaws, the least of which are his propensity to lose leads late in the 4th quarter of big games.
Correction: 1-2
Like I have posted before, the 49ers draft record is not a total failure. If you look at their draft record rounds 4 through 7 and include the UDFA’s they have signed their record is outstanding. Its their record in rounds 1 through 3 where they may be the worst drafting team in the league. They need to investigate who is pulling the trigger on those late picks and UDFA’s and give them control over the entire draft. If that person (KS) is one in the same then they need to give control to someone else. A new GM or player personel director. imho
I think it has been well established that from a contractural basis, Lynch is responsible and in control of the 92 man roster. He has also said that it is a collaborative effort with him and Kyle. Those are the facts as I know them. They also have an entire organization under Lynch with scouts and assistants like Adam Peters. Lynch and Kyle don’t know anything about draft prospects until presented to them by the scouting organization. It’s not like they run the draft like Al Davis used to do. I think it’s pretty safe to say that success or failure is an organization success or failure. You keep mentioning rounds 1 thru 3 and they have had great success there with Bosa, Debo and Aiyuk and though promising, it’s too early to declare Kinlaw and Banks a success. They’ve also had many failure as teams do. You claim they maybe the worst drafting team in the league in rounds 1 to 3 despite the great roster they have. Do you have any studies to back up your claim?
Felix,
There is a chart out there that tells you what % of 1st round picks succeed and so forth down the line. I currently can’t find it but I am willing to bet you that the 9ers are well below the avg team in round 1-3 draft success. Here is a list.
T. Lance ?
A. Banks?
T. Sermon Bust
A. Thomas Bust
J. Kinlaw ?
B. Aiyuk ?
N. Bosa Huge success
D. Samuels Huge Success
J. Hurd Huge bust
M. McGlinchey Bust
D. Pettis Huge bust
T. Moore Bust as a safety good ST player
S. Thomas Huge bust
R. Foster Huge bust
A. Witherspoon Huge bust
C.J. Beathard Huge bust
16 picks in rounds 1-3
2 outright success
4 question marks
10 Huge busts or plain old busts
Not good
Old Coach
* ” If you look at their draft record rounds 4 through 7 and include the UDFA’s they have signed their record is outstanding.”
* IMO, that has more to do with the 9ers excellent scouts than it does with either JL or KS. Without the scouts and position coaches beating the table to draft them, how many of those Rd 4 thru Rd 7 draft picks would the 9ers have made? I’ll give credit to JL and KS for listening to their scouts, not finding the players.
Geep,
I don’t know who is pulling the trigger on the rounds 4-7 picks as well as the UDFA’s but who ever it is they better start listening to them when it comes to rounds 1-3. imho
This is a really terrific article Jack, you hit the nail on the head with all of your points, including your continuous belief in Kyle’s ability as a play-designer, and play-caller. I am just about at my wits end with Kyle Shanahan as a HC, but I still make it clear that I a ton of respect for his unique offensive brilliance, and particularly his creativity in evolving his running game, as well as his creativity in regards to finding new ways in which he’s able to get the football into the hands of his YAC specialists (Kittle, Deebo & BA) in space, as a kind of natural extension of his west-coast run-game concepts. Kyle really has evolved the WC offense in unique and exciting ways.
He does occasionally fall on his face in terms of his situational awareness, both as an OC and HC. For instance, declining a penalty which would have backed the Broncos up to 3rd & 17 from the 47, and outside of FG range, is an inexcusable gaff in terms of situational awareness, especially considering that the team’s were clearly locked in a defensive battle, and just how well his pass defense was smothering every pass that Wilson was attempting. If you wouldn’t automatically make the decision to back the Broncos out of FG range there, eager to take your chances at making a defensive stop on 3 down &17 yards to gain, from your own 47 yard line, then you are clearly in over your head in terms of situation football decision making. In some respects, it was a decision that likely made winning last night’s defensive contest much more difficult than it had any reason to be.
And like you said, Jack, it really does come down to Kyle’s utter inability to sort out his QB position, really since the moment he set foot in Santa Clara! The first big QB decision he made as the HC of the 49ers, was to recruit Brian Hoyer to be his original stop-gab, starting QB, in which to bridge the position until he could find a legitimate NFL caliber QB to lay the initial foundation of his offense. I think Kyle was clearly singularly focused on acquiring Kirk Cousins, to such an extent that he completely neglected his first golden opportunity to address his QB situation, as he held the #2 overall pick in the draft. Instead, Kyle’s lack of foresight (as a HC, he can’t see the forest past the trees) set in motion a series of unfortunate events, one worse than the other, culminating in using 3 first-round picks on a QB who is incapable of running his system, which in turn forced him to hold onto a floundering QB whom he has been trying to replace since early in the 2020 season, if not sooner than that!
Jack:
Your tweet states “stop it” with the argument that JG didn’t have the playbook all offseason. I agree fully.
However, what do you say to those who state that the problem is not the playbook but the timing with the receivers?
cubus, I would point all these Jimmy G. excuse-makers to the last time the 49ers played during the regular season on prime-time ….. TNF, 12/23/2021, VS the Titans. Almost exactly 9 months ago. It was the same exact kind of game where the 49ers defense was the most dominant force in the NFL, and yet the 49ers couldn’t beat a Titans’ team because, just like last night, Jimmy couldn’t get out of his own way. Two bone-headed turnovers, and a bunch of missed, wide open WR’s, pretty much a carbon copy of last nights game, and it was almost the nail in the coffin last season, before Deebo refused to lose! And then just post Jimmy’s career prime time numbers, and Jimmy’s playoff numbers, because he’s literally the worst 4th QTR postseason QB, IN THE MODERN FOOTBALL ERA!
We heard a bunch excuses last year as well. Jimmy and his fans are the kings and queens of excuses! It’s never Jimmy’s poor mechanics, or his happy feet, or lack of downfield vision, it’s always some kind of ridiculous excuse. Of course, Trey Lance played in a monsoon in the 2nd half of the Chicago game, but Jimmy stans feel like that was a valid excuse. Bust rust is? 9 years in the league and he doesn’t know that the endzone is 10 yards deep? At least with Trey Lance, there’s hope that he’s actually going to develop, and improve, Jimmy’s the same guy now as he was in 2018, if not worse!
Jimmy Garoppolo has been carried by Kyle’s running game, and one of the most dominant defenses in the NFL, over the last 5 years, when he’s healthy enough to play, but he’s reached his ceiling, and it’s NOT HIGH ENOUGH! but that can’t take the next step with a QB who refuses to work on his happy feet, his poor footwork, and his inability to read where off-ball linebackers are dropping in coverage!
And after that, just remind the Jimmy stans that no QB needy team wanted to trade for Jimmy this off-season, NOBODY! Nobody wants Garoppolo to try to lead their team to the promise land!
I don’t think the problem has anything to do with not having a playbook. He has 5 years experience in this system. I think missing training camp is a big deal. He isn’t in football shape and hasn’t practiced plays other than this past week. He should be back to normal in a couple of weeks. Of course normal isn’t good enough for some on this blog.
Funny you should say that. In fact, normal Jimmy wasn’t good enough for Kyle and John Lynch either. Touché
Good, empirically based, a measured account of the game. I agree with him that the offense is a big concern. Purdy warming up? He can throw deep and he reads the defense better.
Yes please, allie! It’s Brock Purdy time. Let’s see if Kyle can make Brock Purdy relevant!
Why? because Brock Purdy just might be a guy who they can develop into a mobile version of Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers are simply too talented this year to allow Jimmy G to sink their Super Bowl hopes again, when the rest of the Niners roster just might be good enough this year to win a Super Bowl.
But don’t let Kyle Shanahan escape all of this blame, either! The 49ers are simply WAY too talented to be embarrassing themselves in prime time, across the entire nation!
As Eric Davis said, the 49ers have a very talented roster, but they are just not a very good team. Blame whoever you want, it doesn’t really change the fact that they have already lost two games that they should have won, and we are only 3 games into the season.
Brock Purdy moves with elite mobility, so there’s at least a chance for him to be the better option behind this OL. And when I say Brock might be the better option … I’m not talking about the throwback college triple-option, as if the 49ers are the Army Black Knights or the Navy Mid-shipman!
So now after many years of posting here I know the rules. I dared to post that I thought that Jimmy G is not he problem but instead it is KS and it got moderated into the ether. So now that this column has let the moderator’s position known on the subject and for the first time ever one of my posts was censored because of whatever, in the future I’ll just keep my thoughts to myself. Time will tell if I was right or wrong.
whine, a number of posters express criticism of Kyle and their posts get through. Perhaps it’s a technical problem on your side?
Personally I think Kyle’s flaws are holding the team back. Jimmy just makes it worse, and I thought Lance would be the remedy. Now I don’t think Lance can survive Kyle.
Kyle called several touchdown plays that Jimmy either missed or just plain didn’t see. Receiver wide open , Jimmy throwing into double coverage. Whatever the reason, no training camp nor pre season, or Jimmy being Jimmy, start Brock. He can scramble out of trouble, and already has better pocket awareness than Jimmy ever will.
And again, it wasn’t an issue of Kyle’s play-calling. Sure, you can trace a straight line connecting the 49ers offensive issues last night, right to Kyle Shanahan big-picture decisions, because Kyle’s ultimately making all of the team decisions, but in terms of the play-calling, and the play-design, it’s mostly all on Jimmy’s inability to operate at the QB position!
ROHAN CHAKRAVARTHI has posted a fantastic break-down of Jimmy’s woeful Sunday Night performance, and he’s very good at explaining all of the different ways that Jimmy consistently fails to beat a heavily stacked box, 8 even 9 defenders. But be warned, it’s excruciatingly frustrating as a 49ers fan, and especially so when you are reminded that these same plays could have been there for Trey Lance, if he thought that Trey couldn’t be trusted to make a play with his arm!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woIHzu_D_2g
Rohan points out just about every mistake that Jimmy made last night, and let me tell you, it’s an extensive list of failures to execute Kyle’s game-plan! He’s very astute at identifying all of Jimmy’s shortcomings, whether it’s staring down his receivers, or misfiring on what should be easy receptions. Kyle consistently gives Jimmy one-on-one opportunities, and he does it with a bunch of different play-concepts. The quick game, intermediate routes, 5 step drops, 7 step drops, it’s all there guys so check it out!
Why not watch the one put together by the author of this blog?
https://youtu.be/K4pbxB93AdU
Go back and rewatch the play where Jimmy G stepped out of the back of the end zone. Ball on 1 yard line. Broncos had 3 DL on their left side of the Center. 2 guys on their right side of the Center. Burford and McGlinchey try to double team the player head up on Burford but they get beat immediately. Defensive guy is on Jimmy before he can even turn around. A TE & Juice I think double team #99 and get some push but then both release into a pass pattern. Then the other TE lined up on that side doesn’t block anyone. He releases for a route off the snap. So the DE is totally unblocked. He has a feee release straight at Jimmy. 49ers are running a play action pass out of the end zone where Jimmy has to turn his back to the defense and you let the DE go totally unblocked. That’s a terrible play call in that situation. That’s either a blown blocking assignment or an absolutely awful play design.
Shanny claimed it was designed that way and regretted it after the game. They intended to leave that defender unblocked; even worse it was designed as a slow developing play resulting in a shot downfield. Well there wasn’t any time to let that play develop and Jimmy had nowhere to move to buy more time, hence you see him inching towards the back line trying to cause hesitation in the defenders rapidly approaching. Eventually he misread the amount of space he had and stepped completely out of the end zone. The downfield action hadn’t developed to the point where he could make a throw and he simply ran out of time. That one was on Kyle and for once he admitted to it. Just a horrible play call there. Not sure why he called a slow developing play from his own end zone.
You pass that close to your endzone when you have a top qb. It’s surprising he trusted Jimmy in that situation.
There’s a great head coach in the league that has a great comment to nagging reporters that want to dissect every one of his calls after a loss.
Bill Belichick simply says, (paraph) “we are preparing for the next (team’s name) game.”
That said, we have a score to settle with the Rams. I could cry over the recent loss, but I would rather have my team prepared for the next game!
Wow. Replace Shanahan. Start Purdy. All this circle-jerking commentary is going to look exceedingly foolish following another Niners deep playoff run. I can’t say for certain that is going to happen. I can say for certain it’s asinine to bury the team not even 1/5 the way into the season.
I don’t read every word of every comment but I don’t think I saw anyone say replace Shanahan. Shanahan is a really good coach but he’s not above criticism. He richly deserves some criticism for a variety of issues. And I agree. Anyone saying start Purdy is living in LaLa land. Jimmy G certainly didn’t play well but he didn’t get OTAs or training camp either. He will get better. Not sure I can say the same thing about the O-line. I have hope they will get better but it’s most definitely not a certainty.
I do recall someone wanting to replace Shanahan which is so ridiculous. Can’t remember who.
Felix, yesterdays blog was rife with it.
Felix,
Let’s just call them the “usual suspects” for the most part.
It’s the same crew that has harpooned Shanahan and Garoppolo for the last 2 years.
I wonder if Buffalo and KC fans are harping on their head coach and QB after losing on Sunday.
And now, the desperate crew want to see Purdy take over. It virtually took Lance last season and an entire TC w/preseason appearances this summer to prepare for this season. And now, Purdy is ready to supplant Jimmy?
Unbelievable!
C’mon, guys get a grip.
Sheesh. Literally just one day ago
Well, To clarify I am not advocating replacing Shanahan. Dorsey will be a head coach but not sure if he’ll be successful. If the 49ers find themselves in the market for a coach over the next few years for whatever reason, Payton would be my first phone call. The nightmare scenario is the Seahawks end up with a bunch of cap room & draft picks , they politely & quietly ask Pete Carroll to retire and hire Sean Payton. That would be a ton of trouble.for the NFC West.
Our old buddy Brian Hoyer , Niners starting Qb in 17, is the interim starter for the Pats while Mac Jones recovers from a high ankle sprain. There was speculation that we were interested in Jones but thankfully selected Lance. I think the primary source of the rumors was Florio and Simms who look increasingly foolish.
It’s easy for us, armchair QB’s to see when a guy is open.
We don’t know what the real QB can see and if his vision blocked by another player. Unless we have a full and actual view of his POV and situation , I can’t put much value on blaming any QB for missing an open player.
JG came off surgery. I don’t know how many of you have had surgery and rehab, but he wasn’t prepped to play this season. It takes quite a while to get back to normal. It was one of the reasons nobody wanted to pick him up.
I’m not calling for K.S.’s job nor do I believe that throwing B. Purdy to the lions is the answer. I believe much of the criticism of KS is not about losing 2 games but how they lost those 2 games. The O has looked as bad as iv’e ever seen it and I have been watching the 9ers for a long time. I think the only years where the O looked this bad was 74-77 after Nolan and before Walsh. My real concern is I don’t see it getting better especially without T. Williams. Even when Williams returns I don’t see things getting that much better after all he is only one man.
Per Ronnie Lott, KNBR
“Look, to me, that game was one of those games that was still a preseason game,” Lott said of Sunday night’s 11-10 loss to the Denver Broncos during an interview on KNBR’s Murph and Mac show. “And the reason I think it’s a preseason game was when I watch around the league, there are a lot of teams that are just not ready. You think of Jimmy [Garoppolo], you think of what he was trying to do, what he was trying to accomplish. Obviously, there were … just moments where you sit there and you go, ‘You don’t do what he did.'”
Lott added, “It just feels like there’s a lot of things that I’ve seen around the league where guys are not playing great football.”
Most comments regarding Trey going into this season was that we would give him and the team 5-6 games to get a better perspective of him and the team’s trajectory.
I said after the loss on Sunday that Garoppolo was still in preseason mode. And I said after the loss to the Bears that the entire team played like it was in preseason mode.
Glad to see that one of our HOF players views it the same way.
And now, after 3 games some here want to jump ship and are clamoring for another head coach and Purdy.
Sheesh, talk about a rough crowd, lol.
Did you guys see this video where Jimmy G seems to say “Your plays suck man”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nyf90w9roE
Interesting but you can’t hear anythingand that sure doesn’t sound like something Jimmy would say. Is Grant Cohen a lip reader now?
Watch it again, Felix. Somebody commented that it lip reads better as “Draw plays suck, man”. But I think it was a pass play so……
The coach’s offensive and defensive philosophy, play calling, and personnel decisions definitely makes a difference in winning games.
First, a coach has to have an eye for talent. For neighborhood or school leagues, you’re limited to the student body, neighborhood, or the section of town you live in to find your talent. For HC Shanahan, he chooses the players through the college draft, free agency, or from trades with 31 other NFL teams. HC Shanahan evaluates the 49ers after each season and determines his needs on both sides of the ball. For example, what’s my priority? Is it on offense or defense? Is my first draft pick going to be a QB, RB, OL, DL, LB, DB, TE, WR, P, K?
Second, the coach has a philosophy. Am I going to be a pass-first offense or a run-first offense? When HC Shanahan was hired, I was excited and still positive about the hire. The reason why is because Kyle’s dad, Mike Shanahan, was a very successful offensive coordinator for the pass-first 49ers offense from 1992-1994 seasons. In 2017, the 49ers were terrible because it was obvious that the QBs on the team were lousy and 1-9 before HC Shanahan traded for Jimmy G. Jimmy G sat on the bench his first game, and started the last five games. He went 5-0 in the last five games of 2017. Jimmy G ended the 2017 season going120-178 (67.4%), 1560 yds, 7 TD,5 Int, 82.7 rating. His longest pass was 61 yards. This averages out to be 24-36 (67.4%) 312 yds per game, 1.4 TD per game, and 1 Int per game. At the time, it looked like a pass-first offense. In 2019, the 49ers went 13-3, and they were a well balanced offense with 478 passing attempts and 498 rushing attempts. They made it to the Superbowl and almost won it as they had a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter. In the 2019 playoffs, they noticeably changed from a pass-first offense (Jimmy G to Kittle) to a run-first offense. The 49ers philosophy, in my opinion, changed during the playoffs because it appeared he wanted to feature the running game instead of the passing game.
Third, HC Shanahan made a huge blunder in choosing Trey Lance. He had a QB that took him to the Superbowl in 2019. This is called, “A do over.” In chess, a player moves a piece and realizes he made an awful decision and begs, “Can I take my move back?” That’s what happened. He chose Jimmy G by trading for him, and signed him to a max contract making him the highest paid QB over five years. After the 2020 season, he trashes Jimmy G, and performs a second “Do-Over,” by drafting a QB with 17 college games of college game experience in a lower D1 conference. To top that off, he traded away three first round picks and a second round pick to move up to the third pick of the college draft. HC Shanahan created this controversy where there are two camps (Jimmy G and Trey Lance) – each camp blaming the other.
Personnel decisions aren’t limited to who you draft, trade for, sign through free agency. Other personnel decisions are who are you going to feature as your offensive star. For example, Seahawks vs Patriots in the Superbowl, 2nd and goal at the one. HC Carroll chose Russell Wilson to be the hero instead of Marshawn Lynch. We know what happened there. Russell Wilson threw the interception that lost the Superbowl and HC Carroll made a huge blunder. Play calling makes a difference in winning and losing.
Jimmy G’s best year was 2019:
13-3 regular season, 2-1 playoffs
329-476 (69.1%) 3978 yds, 27 TD, 13 Int, long pass was 75 yds, 102 QB rating. George Kittle had his best year as a receiver and he earned a huge contract because of Jimmy G. For some unknown reason, HC Shanahan is not featuring Jimmy G, George Kittle, or the passing game anymore. He wants to play the power football, run-first offense. How is that being genius? Power football run-first is telling the other team, “I’m running the ball and you can’t stop me.” There’s no genius in brute force offense. There’s no thinking or creativity when the opposing defense knows what’s coming. His players are injured because of it. Trey Lance, Elijah Mitchell, Trent Williams, and a slew of RBs are out. If you’re featuring your RBs and wide back, then your passing game is going to suffer. A lot of people in the media suggest Jimmy G can’t throw the ball long. How does the media know that the HC is calling short passes or long passes? In 2019, his longest pass was 75 yds. Here’s Jimmy G’s 2017 starts where he went 5-0 in the last five games:
(1) Bears 26-37, 293 yds, 0 TD, 1 Int, longest pass was 33 yd, 82.4 QB rating
(2) Texans 20-33, 334 yds, 1 TD, 1 Int, longest pass was 61 yd, 92.2 QB rating
(3) Titans 31-43, 381 yds, 1 TD, 0 Int, longest pass was 54 yds,106.8 QB rating
(4) Jaguars 21-30, 242 yds, 2 TD, 1 Int, longest pass was 44 yds,102.4 QB rating
(5) Rams 20-33, 292 yds, 2 TD, 2 Int, longest pass was 44 yds, 84.4 QB rating
Looking at his longest pass plays and from my memory of those games, I say his arm is strong enough and accurate enough based on his stats and memory of his performance. It’s like “Is the glass half full, or is it half empty?”
With no featured RB, an all star left tackle injured, and the wide back is no longer a surprise, the running game has been stopped. Against the Broncos last, there were 19 attempted run plays for 88 yards. Two running plays gained 55 yards by Jeff Wilson (37 yd and 18 yds). The other 17 run plays gained 33 yds, less than 2 yds per carry. Whether HC Shanahan called one of the other 17 run plays on first or second down, it’s either second and 9 or third and 9 which become obvious passing downs. The Broncos DL put a lot of pressure on Jimmy G because the C, RG, RT were getting beat all day on passing downs. This divided fan base fueled by talk show hosts on siding against Jimmy G. Even the fumbled snap looked to be snapped into his own butt while blocking the nose guard was blamed on Jimmy G. Who created this decisiveness? The HC created this with a “Do-Over.” 17 run plays for 33 yds explains the 1-9 on third downs. In today’s NFL (which is a passing league), the defense want obvious situations like second long or third and long, so the D-Line can pin their ears back and sack the QB. When the media reviews game film, it’s easy to find the open receiver with bird eyes view. Hindsight is 20/20. When you’re a QB on the field during passing downs, you have about three seconds to make a decision as 300 lb D-lineman chase you. You can review game film on Brady, Rogers, Mahomes, Allen, and criticize any QB for missing an open receiver. I suspect many in the media have not played.
After Jimmy G leaves and Trey Lance struggles next year, HC Shanahan will ask for another redo, Can I take that move back? We’ll be back at square one – looking for another QB.
I’m surprised your comment survived moderation based on my experience.
Censorship is not the answer. Just because someone has an alternate opinion, whether popular or unpopular, it shouldn’t be banned unless there’s profanity or simply in bad taste. The exchange of ideas or the analysis of games that are lost or won is important to the success or failure of 49ers football.
Everyone has an opinion about the State of the 49ers Football Franchise. The reason why we’re the Divided States of the 49ers is because of their awful 1-2 start. There are several camps:
(1) Jimmy G camp – Supporters of this camp point to his stats and win/loss record. They say he could win it all for the 49ers because it almost happened when the 49ers had a ten point lead in the Superbowl;
(2) Trey Lance camp – Supporters of this camp say he has a strong arm and is mobile QB. They point to his one plus college seasons and cite his stats: His passing stats are 208-318 (65.4%) for 2947 yds, 30 TDs and 1 Int. His rushing stats are 192 rushes for 1325 yds, 18 rushing TDs;
(3) HC Shanahan camp – Supporters of this camp might also be in the Trey Lance camp because he drafted him, but there are dissenters who say Lance is inexperienced and not as accurate a passer. Advocates of this camp also say HC Shanahan is a genius, an excellent play designer and is a coach who has a coaching tree;
(4) Other minority camps – People in this camp say Brock Purdy is the answer. Others say a coaching change is needed, maybe Sean Payton. A few others say Lamar Jackson is a free agent, let’s get him.
I’m in camp #1 – Jimmy G. It’s my opinion and I support it with facts in past commentaries.
I don’t live in the metaverse…
Would of, Could of, Should of…
But if there were a metaverse….
Jimmy G would have thrown an interception if the DB didn’t tip the pass. Jimmy G would have thrown a TD had he not floated a wobbly pass.
How about this one…instead of the 18 yd run by Jeff Wilson Jr, he would have scored a TD if he broke the tackle and went all the way. The 49ers would have won 17-11.
Or this one…we could have won our sixth Superbowl if the 49ers defense intercepted Mahomes TD pass.
Or this one… we should have won the Superbowl if the refs didn’t call the penalty that kept the Chiefs scoring drive alive.
Time to take off the Metaverse goggles. I like the real world. I’ll throw those goggles away.