Preseason Week 3 - 2014: Thoughts after rewatching the game...

Finally. A win.

1) Kap: I knew the 'zone was gonna melt down after yesterday because, well, lets be real....that's what the 'zone does after the QB, any QB, doesn't play perfectly. I haven't even looked yet, but my bet is I'll find plenty of "Throws too hard", "Inaccurate", and "Can't get through his progressions". While I concede those first 2 were on display a bit in those few possessions to start the game, he simply didn't have time for the third. I really don't think he's the problem...and I'll go into that later.


2) Hyde: Love this guy. Not only the size, but apparently enough speed to get the edge. Switches direction quickly, decisive, powerful, and determined. If I have any criticism its that he seems to run a bit too high sometimes when going through the line as LB get below his pads and blow him up. I saw the same thing in his highlights at Ohio State...particularly on the Goal line. I liken it to when I had issues with Reid last year and his tackling. Player looks GREAT, can't wait to see more, but I'd like to see him work on one aspect of his game. The good news for Hyde is that he has 2 GREAT teachers who can talk to him about getting his pads low in Frank and Rathman.


3) Iupati: WTF is wrong with Mike? It doesn't look like he's hurt...it looks like he's lost. I don't have any idea what to make of it. He almost got Colin killed a few times AND he wasn't very good in the run game either. I really don't know what the deal is. Colin had very little time back there. I think some of those throws were throwaways because he felt the pressure.


4) Lynch: I am pretty surprised by this guy. I knew he had potential, but I figured he was raw as hell and would take some time...and even then there were questions about his work ethic. He's looked pretty damn good tho, albeit against 2nd and 3rd teamers. Looks like there's something there to work with.


5) Ward: Nice to see him make some plays. Flying around out there. He'll make some mistakes, but there is a ton of effort out there. I like the kid.


6) Borland: Had a pretty bad first preseason game, but he's been Mighty Mouse ever since. He also makes some mistakes, but MAN that dude is all effort. I know he's supposed to be slow and not have the measurable, but he sure seems to get where he's going in a hurry for a guy who's slow. Always around the ball, always active, and hits like a hammer.


7) Sod: It held up much better than I thought. Hopefully it will be much better in the opener.


8) Tank: Still flashing really good play. Seems a bit invisible and then will make a big play. On Lynch's sack, watch Carradine. Lynch was able to get that sack because Tank pushed his man right up into the QB. The QB couldn't step up past Lynch so Lynch was able to make the play even with the guy holding him. These young D-Linemen are looking really good.


9) Winston: I know it was a really small sample, but please let Hampton go and put Winston on the PS. Thank You.


10) Almost time: I've now officially gotten to the "I'm tired of preseason, bring on the regular season games" mode of the season. Can't wait for week 1.

Agree with all of this. I will say that on the one set of downs that they seemed to move the ball with Kaepernick, he found five different receivers for receptions, some of whom were definitely not the first read. That was the only bright spot I saw with Kaepernick.

If anything these pre-season games are giving us some good tape on all these guys Baalke has drafted the last 2 years. I love Baalke I hope he never ever leaves.

LOVE Hyde--- said it before, I think he could start sooner rather than later. We may have been a running team these last few years, but Hyde makes us a MUCH BETTER running team. More dynamic and doesn't need to come off the field after every 2 runs.

Still don't agree with Haroman not running a real offense during pre-season, I think it gives the team a sluggish start when they should be working out the kinks.

to real games coming soon!

for Marvin's recaps... even when we don't agree I think you bring a calm to the Zone that others like me don't possess

Was Kaep running a no-huddle offense yesterday or did I just miss them?

I agree with a lot of your notes Marvin. Though I am a little worried about the offense. Mike IIupati played horribly.

In my opinion the preseason for the niners is not the same as other teams. We know we are a good team, so we take these games to work on the weaknesses of our team. Hopefully this will not screw up our chemistry. I could be wrong but I hope I am right. :)

Good post Marvin.

I thought Looney and Martin played well.

Gabbert also redeemed himself a bit. If he can keep progressing that trade will look pretty solid.

Originally posted by nannite:
Was Kaep running a no-huddle offense yesterday or did I just miss them?

There was definitely huddles...I saw the traditional shot of Kap standing there with everybody waiting for the damn play to come in shot we all know and love a few times.

As too Kap himself I blame him for two plays, the high hot one thrown to Big Mac, and the almost ( really was) a fumble off the scramble where he was toting the ball like a loaf of bread. The rest was bad line play....again I dont give a rats ass how hard he throws it, if it hits you square in the chest you catch the damn ball...this is the NFL.

Originally posted by Big_Daddy:
If anything these pre-season games are giving us some good tape on all these guys Baalke has drafted the last 2 years. I love Baalke I hope he never ever leaves.

LOVE Hyde--- said it before, I think he could start sooner rather than later. We may have been a running team these last few years, but Hyde makes us a MUCH BETTER running team. More dynamic and doesn't need to come off the field after every 2 runs.

Still don't agree with Haroman not running a real offense during pre-season, I think it gives the team a sluggish start when they should be working out the kinks.

to real games coming soon!

for Marvin's recaps... even when we don't agree I think you bring a calm to the Zone that others like me don't possess

I hate to say it, because I love Gore...but I suspect Hyde is better at this stage in Franks career. Frank is still viable and has something to offer, but I am praying for an even split for carries this year.

Originally posted by Marvin49:

4) Lynch: I am pretty surprised by this guy. I knew he had potential, but I figured he was raw as hell and would take some time...and even then there were questions about his work ethic. He's looked pretty damn good tho, albeit against 2nd and 3rd teamers. Looks like there's something there to work with.



9) Winston: I know it was a really small sample, but please let Hampton go and put Winston on the PS. Thank You.

4 - He did look great. But like you said, I want to see him play against 1st team guys.

9 - Totally agree. Winston looked like a player. He had great vision.


I would also add that I was very impressed with Shayne Skov. This preseason I have heard a lot about how slow he ran the 40, but he looked explosive and fast as hell on the field yesterday.

Originally posted by nannite:
Was Kaep running a no-huddle offense yesterday or did I just miss them?

There were huddles, but they've been getting in and out of them much faster. Probably part of the "new" offense. Hmmm... perhaps they should go back to the old one? I'm sure they're gonna be just fine once the starters are in, the game plan has been set and the mindset is put on "real game" mode.

The perplexing case of Stevie Johnson is what I'm thinking about right now. I am a bit concerned that he is seeing limited reps and doesn't seem to be doing much with the reps he does have, though I recognize Johnson not making the grade is a good problem to have. There are a lot of interesting roster battles going on right now but what the 49ers want to do at WR I feel is going to have a big impact on who among these other cuts stays.

The offensive line is another mystery to me as they look another but good (as a unit) right now. Maybe this is a combination of factors like not being "up" for preseason action, but I doubt it. We shouldn't have to wait for the second stringers to sub in before our o-line starts creating running lanes. Unless they improve somebody is going to get hurt against the Seahawks.

The depth on defensive line is looking really good right now despite missing Dorsey (and soon Aldon).

Overall I can't complain too much about the Chargers game as they won. Not every player is going to be "studly" in every game and it is pre-season. I can't wait until the real games begin.

A player not getting much talk is Jonathan Martin. If I remember reading correctly, he hasn't allowed so much as a pressure in 2 straight games, and he's been playing against the first team defenses. In fact the entire right side of the 1'st string line (Looney and Martin) were fantastic yesterday. The problem was primarily with Iupati.

No, Lynch isn't going up against the first team offense, but this is a guy who's a rookie and just started even practicing like 2 weeks ago. The ability and skills he's shown so far are incredible. He's basically doing what he's doing based on raw talent and very limited NFL coaching. Just imagine what sort of a beast this guy could become after a full season of coaching.

Ian Williams looked very good to me yesterday. He was plugging holes very well and overall looked solid in his first action.

Edit: Also, Justin Smith looked great. He busted though the line several times, but the runs and action always seemed to go towards McDonald's side.

Agreed about Hyde. He seems to do a better job getting to the edge and gives opposing defenses something to think about as they have to really defend outside the tackles now.

There was a lot of talk about how the 49ers may play press with their CBs more often, and that hasn't been seen much. I think a lot of it has to do with them wanting to practice the more complex coverages. There isn't anything complex about press man coverage when it comes to scheme. Just line up and cover the WR in front of you. Using pattern match concepts, it's vital to nail down pre and post snap communication. In my observation, this is what Fangio wanted to practice and I see it in all the off coverage the 49ers were using as they have been lining up in cover4 alignments all preseason.

Originally posted by bzborow1:
The perplexing case of Stevie Johnson is what I'm thinking about right now. I am a bit concerned that he is seeing limited reps and doesn't seem to be doing much with the reps he does have, though I recognize Johnson not making the grade is a good problem to have. There are a lot of interesting roster battles going on right now but what the 49ers want to do at WR I feel is going to have a big impact on who among these other cuts stays.

The offensive line is another mystery to me as they look another but good (as a unit) right now. Maybe this is a combination of factors like not being "up" for preseason action, but I doubt it. We shouldn't have to wait for the second stringers to sub in before our o-line starts creating running lanes. Unless they improve somebody is going to get hurt against the Seahawks.

The depth on defensive line is looking really good right now despite missing Dorsey (and soon Aldon).

Overall I can't complain too much about the Chargers game as they won. Not every player is going to be "studly" in every game and it is pre-season. I can't wait until the real games begin.

I have seen a lot of Stevie and Buffalo when I was up that way for college (OG upstate NYer). I think he is sort of like a mini T.O. in play style. He does drop a few and he can lose focus when he isnt involved in the game plan early. There is a lot of value there and I think there will be games where he plays like a monster for us during the season....but I also think we should expect him to disapear for stretches too. I could see him having 750 yards and 4 TDs for the season and almost all of it coming in like 3-4 games.

Agreed on all counts. Kaepernick made mistakes, but it was compounded by terrible OL play by Iupati. Iupati is not being patient and it doesn't seem like he's been throwing his powerful initial punch in because of that. He goes for the hit, misses, and then is left scrambling or trying to latch on when it's too late. A guy like Luiget will toast you all day with that.

Loved Hyde's ferocious run up the middle in the redzone where he refused to go down.

Side comment: I am really, really hoping Marcus Martin's injury is not season-ending and he can return this season.