The San Francisco 49ers defense appears to be in mid-season form. The same cannot be said about the 49ers offense, though. The unit has struggled, and the team owns a record of 1-2.
One Hall of Fame player believes the 49ers offense is suffering from something which seems to plague several teams around the league. The unit appears to still be in preseason mode.
"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."
Jimmy Garoppolo commented on the lack of significant preparation leading to his Week 3 start. Sunday was the quarterback's his first start since last season's NFC Championship Game. He did not practice or participate in team meetings this offseason because he was recovering from shoulder surgery, and the 49ers hoped to trade him.
"My arm's feeling it right now," Garoppolo said after Sunday's loss. "It's different. You try to do all the practicing and preparation you can on the sideline being the number two, then when you get tossed into it -- I didn't go through OTAs and training camp. I'm not trying to make excuses or anything, but I've just got to get in game shape and get rolling now."
Garoppolo added, "It's a different routine than I've been used to in the past. I've got to get back to where I was."
Lott has no doubt the 49ers will find a way to rebound from their rough start to the 2022 season. He believes in the team's head coach.
"The reason the Niners are where they're at, [Kyle Shanahan] understands a lot of moments that people don't ever understand," Lott said. "And yet, he has been able to find ways to keep these guys motivated, in games, in situations, and he's done a lot to really create an environment and a culture that [believes] there's a big play around the corner. There's a big play coming around the corner.
"And that, to me, is very, very exciting, and more importantly, it keeps teams like the 49ers in situations where you always think you got a shot. You've got a shot to win."
Lott believes there were moments like that against the Broncos. The 49ers just failed to capitalize on them.
"They will," Lott added before expressing confidence in the talented roster.
You can listen to the entire interview with Lott below.
