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

One thing that jumps out at me is that so far, you've got to like that last draft. Hyde, Ellington, Ward, Lynch, Borland and Johnson all looked real good.

It was disappointing to see Iupati and Staley struggled, like they did. And Kaep has to have more ball security on his scrambles.

Overall though, I saw outstanding play from just about all the rookies and second year players. Particularly: Lynch, Ward, Ellington, Looney, and Reid.

Good game from J. Martin as well. Huge bummer about M. Martin though. That's means we're stuck with Kilgore .

Iupati and Kaep better get this malaise out of their system. The Cowboys look bad, but Tony and Dez will put up points, so we need our offense, and particularly offensive line to come through for us!

GO NINERS!! Season is almost here

#6 here we come!!

Did Lloyd play at all?

Originally posted by jcashen87:
Did Lloyd play at all?

Nope. Was out w/injury.

Originally posted by crake49:
One thing that jumps out at me is that so far, you've got to like that last draft. Hyde, Ellington, Ward, Lynch, Borland and Johnson all looked real good.

Completely agree. How long has it been since we've been able to crow about 1 or 2 rookies making meaningful contributions let alone an entire draft class. And don't forget Acker who is playing himself onto the 53-man squad over Cox at this point. No way Acker makes it to the p-squad with his performances this preseason. He'll get snapped up like our late round CB last year.

Originally posted by loxdoggie:

Originally posted by crake49:
One thing that jumps out at me is that so far, you've got to like that last draft. Hyde, Ellington, Ward, Lynch, Borland and Johnson all looked real good.

Completely agree. How long has it been since we've been able to crow about 1 or 2 rookies making meaningful contributions let alone an entire draft class. And don't forget Acker who is playing himself onto the 53-man squad over Cox at this point. No way Acker makes it to the p-squad with his performances this preseason. He'll get snapped up like our late round CB last year.

2010 (Davis, Iupati, Bowman)
2011 (Aldon, Hunter, Miller)
2013 (Eric Reid)

Originally posted by loxdoggie:
Completely agree. How long has it been since we've been able to crow about 1 or 2 rookies making meaningful contributions let alone an entire draft class. And don't forget Acker who is playing himself onto the 53-man squad over Cox at this point. No way Acker makes it to the p-squad with his performances this preseason. He'll get snapped up like our late round CB last year.

I agree with you about Acker. Putting him on the PS scares me. But Marvin beat me to it above. I think three out of the last four drafts have been extremely good.

Originally posted by loxdoggie:

Originally posted by crake49:
One thing that jumps out at me is that so far, you've got to like that last draft. Hyde, Ellington, Ward, Lynch, Borland and Johnson all looked real good.

Completely agree. How long has it been since we've been able to crow about 1 or 2 rookies making meaningful contributions let alone an entire draft class. And don't forget Acker who is playing himself onto the 53-man squad over Cox at this point. No way Acker makes it to the p-squad with his performances this preseason. He'll get snapped up like our late round CB last year.

If Acker stays I think it would be for Morris and not Cox.

has Ellington passed up LMJ for top return man ?

You guys see that quick slant to Crabs that almost got batted down? Every bit of zip was needed on that throw for it to get to Crabs.

I agree with everything you said. I'm wondering if Iupati is worried about being too physical in the PS and injuring himself in a contract year, he looked awful & he's never been that bad. Hyde has the looks of a guy who could be the next great 49er, I really really hope that we don't revert to old habit and run Gore 90% of the time this year, we finally have a guy that perfectly fits our system and we need to use him.

Another thing I noticed & MM wrote about it today, Patton, not Stevie Johnson got the first crack as #3 WR, both QP and Ellington played more than Johnson and Lloyd didn't play at all. I'm starting to think the 49ers will release Lloyd & resign him early in the year since his contract states that if he makes the 53, his contract is guaranteed. As for Johnson, I love the potential of having 3 WRs w/1,000 yard seasons on their resume, I like SJ but we maybe seeing the team leaning toward the younger guys and saving his contract $$ for others.

Originally posted by lamontb:
If Acker stays I think it would be for Morris and not Cox.

Honestly, and I know this is not a popular opinion, but I'd rather they kept one fewer receiver, let Lloyd go, and keep Acker along with both Morris and Cox. I'd rather they have a bunch of corners than an extra receiver considering they'll only suit up four receivers at the most on game day.

Originally posted by susweel:
has Ellington passed up LMJ for top return man ?

Seems like a crime to keep the kid on the bench -- given what kind of speed and talent he's flashed during preseason. He seems to have a stronger, squatter, build that LMJ too -- just from what I've noticed.

As for yesterday's results -- hey man -- it's preseason. Iupati had a lousy game. Glad he chose to have his one lousy game in preseason.

When this team turns it on for Game One against the Cowboys -- you'll see the real 49ers.

Iupati - yikes. Does he know this is his season to look really good to get a big contract next year? Right now, my biggest concern for the team is the offensive line. Between Iupati's subpar play and Kilgore and Looney being new to starting it's definitely worrisome.

Another thing I noticed about Kap's play that I think he needs to work on is how his long throwing motion on short passes just beyond the line seems to telegraph to the defensive lineman where he is going to throw because they knock them down too often. I think maybe on those short throws just past the line he needs to get rid of the ball with more of a quick flick of the wrist.

Man-o-man, I hope Bethea is okay and stays healthy. Ward still has a ways to go before he can play safety well and none of the other guys seem up to the task - especially in pass situations (Dahl doesn't seem too bad in run support - he definitely doesn't mind plowing into a scrum and doing some damage - but in pass coverage he seems lost and not nearly athletic enough).

Too many plays got outside the outside linebacker containment yesterday. Hopefully, that was just a fluke of this particular game.

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.

It might be as simple as them wanting to give QP some plays with the ones.