Preseason Week 1 - 2014: Thoughts after rewatching the game...

1) Kap/Gabbert: I always start with Kap, but this is really more about Gabbert. Kap looks good in VERY limited action. Gabbert looked really bad. He's interesting. He looks the part. He's got the arm. He ran the offense and seemed to have command of the huddle. When he gets just a bit of pressure though, he just starts sailing the ball. He's got some time to get better, but as of right now I'm praying to god that Kap never gets hurt...but then again I always pray that so probably not much different.

2) 2013 and 2014 Draft classes: Amid the destruction, there were some very positive signs from the players taken in the last two drafts. On the whole, the front 7 was pushed around all day and the offense after Kap left stunk it up, but there were individual performances from young players to take note of...starting with......

3) Carlos Hyde: NICE. Only a few carries, but looked faster than I'd anticipated. Nice vision and patience. Most importantly, also looked good in pass protection so he can get on the field. After him though...they just went in the tank. Hampton? Thoroughly unimpressed. On Hamptons first carry, Hyde would likely easily have gotten the first down. Bottom line, I think we're set with Gore and Hyde, but we need Lattimore and James to get healthy.

4) Quinton Dial: WOW. I think he's earned himself a shot to start at NT. Huge, powerful, and active. Kinda weird at the line tho...he doesn't really burst off the line. He kinda sits back in his stance but is so powerful that it doesn't seem to matter.

5) Tank Carradine: Gave a bit of a flash of why he was so highly regarded pre injury last year. Powerful and slippery. He's got some work to do vs the run, but he's got the tools and he flashed a few times last night.

6) Jimmie Ward: Got beat a few times, but that's to be expected. He was always close to his man though and made a nice tackle in run support.

7) Bruce Ellington: Looked good in limited time and might be the answer as a returner. Bobbled a bit, but quick and fast...might be better than LaMichael there.

8) Vance McDonald: Is it just me or does he look faster?

9) The bad: Purcell looked horrible, I wasn't impressed with any QB not named Kap, I wasn't impressed with any RB not named Hyde, I wasn't impressed with any of the ILBs, and we have probs on the right side of the offensive line till Boone and Davis are back.

10) Football is back: The Niners were getting thrashed last night and all I could think were DAMN its good to have football back!

its the 2013 and 2014 drafts. we all know 2012 will go down in history as pathetic.

Originally posted by crabman82:
its the 2013 and 2014 drafts. we all know 2012 will go down in history as pathetic.

lol this

agreed mostly

gabbert, looked like hot garbage

hyde, did really well i'm excited to see him play extensively this season

dial and carradine played really well. they just need some more seasoning.

didn't see ward do anything outstanding. but was nice to see cook make a couple plays minus being lost in the endzone that one time.

Ellington is the real deal and Vinny Mac looked like he added another gear.

backup oline...smh

Football is back and so are Marvin's write-ups!

Marvin,

Whats your opinion of Iupati's play last night. I thought he was the worse performer of the starting linemen. Him and Hampton were the main issues of online play but then again we only allowed 1 sack and it was the last play of the half.

Originally posted by Shorteous:
Marvin,

Whats your opinion of Iupati's play last night. I thought he was the worse performer of the starting linemen. Him and Hampton were the main issues of online play but then again we only allowed 1 sack and it was the last play of the half.

did you catch his face plant when he was pulling? i could be wrong but i'm pretty sure it was iupati.

Originally posted by crabman82:
did you catch his face plant when he was pulling? i could be wrong but i'm pretty sure it was iupati.

He whiffed a few times in the run game. He was atrocious in pass protection. He had some nice push on a couple run plays but overall it was not very good.

Originally posted by crabman82:
its the 2013 and 2014 drafts. we all know 2012 will go down in history as pathetic.

oops. fixed. :)

Originally posted by Shorteous:

Originally posted by crabman82:
did you catch his face plant when he was pulling? i could be wrong but i'm pretty sure it was iupati.

He whiffed a few times in the run game. He was atrocious in pass protection. He had some nice push on a couple run plays but overall it was not very good.

I wasn't watching him specifically because I was making a point to watch the newcomers. I'll have to look again tonight.

what ive been waiting for

Tank really impressed me. That was his first game action since November of 2012 and he played a lot. The thought of him in a rotation providing rested push through out a game is a great thought.

Now I know football is back and I can look forward to your post after every game Marvin.

Did you notice anything different with Kap's throwing motion? Seems to me that he's shortened it up quite a bit. His motion is much more abbreviated, and he's eliminated the risk of someone behind him tipping the ball away.

No one seems to have noticed this or talked about it, but I think its a big step forward for Kap. His new throwing motion quickens his release without losing any steam off his passes.

A small detail perhaps, but one positive I took from the game last night.

Originally posted by Shorteous:

Originally posted by crabman82:
did you catch his face plant when he was pulling? i could be wrong but i'm pretty sure it was iupati.

He whiffed a few times in the run game. He was atrocious in pass protection. He had some nice push on a couple run plays but overall it was not very good.

I think the multiple injuries he has sustained are catching up.

Agree on everything. Gabbert is just a bad player. Plain and simple. He was over drafted never asked to push the ball down field in college. he stunk in Jacksonville and will stink as a 49ers. Martin is just a bad player also

Iupati did struggle but he's a vet coming off injury that has played at a high level. Not gonna kill him over a bad pre season game