Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
The San Francisco 49ers starting offense has gone three-and-out in each of their opening drives through two preseason games. Against the Houston Texans, the drive to open the game featured two incomplete passes by
Blaine Gabbert and a
Carlos Hyde run for one yard.
Against the Denver Broncos, the 49ers won the coin toss and opted to start on defense. The Broncos offense took the field and marched 86 yards in 10 plays to score a touchdown on the opening drive. How did the 49ers respond? The result was a run for a loss and one completion in two pass attempts for four yards as the team went three-and-out again.
The 49ers would end up with 400 or more total yards of offense in each of the two games, so things obviously ended up fine in the end. Are these slow starts something that the 49ers are concerned with?
"Well, that's something we've addressed," said offensive coordinator Curtis Modkins on Tuesday. "I would say it was probably more an execution deal. We had a couple breakdowns to start off the game. The good thing is that we were able to address that and we were able to fix it and the guys came out and responded. We'll continue to work on that and we'll continue to stress it, but I thought they responded to that pretty good."
Modkins was asked to assess Gabbert through two games. "Blaine's done a good job," said Modkins. "I was pleased with what he did. I like to see how he started and he responded. He got the team moving. So, I think Blaine's done a good job. He's been accurate with the ball. All our quarterbacks have, and I think Blaine's been good."
Gabbert has gone 10 of 19 for 132 yards and a touchdown during his two preseason starts. That's a passer rating of 92.4. The important statistic is that he has been careful with the ball and not been responsible for a turnover. However, during opening drives, Gabbert has been just 1 of 4 passing for four yards.
The 49ers hope to get their first look at
Colin Kaepernick on Friday against the Green Bay Packers, a team that he has had a lot of success against in the past. If he starts, it will be interesting to see if he can get the 49ers offense off to a faster start than Gabbert has.
The 49ers' second drive against the Texans ended with a Hyde fumble, turnover, and return for a touchdown. Fumbling has been an issue for the offense through two preseason games. 49ers running backs have been responsible for four fumbles during preseason, which all resulted in turnovers.
"Obviously, that's got to improve," said Modkins. "You can't win many games in this league turning the ball over three times. But, coach Rathman, I think he's been coaching 19 years or so, his backs are number one as far as turning the ball over, fewest amount. So, he knows what he's doing. We've just got to continue to emphasize it, not only with that position, but all our players."
There is a lot of speculation surrounding when San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Trey Lance will earn his first start. Jimmy Garoppolo is slated to start Week 1. However, the veteran has made it out of September injury-free just once as a starting NFL quarterback.
It may only be a matter of time before Lance gets onto the football field. Bettors are hoping to cash in on Lance's ability to do just that. More money has been placed on the 21-year-old quarterback being named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year than any other player.
According to BetMGM, Lance has received 15.8 percent of the bets and 22.6 percent of
"San Francisco should be healthier on the whole in 2021, although it's impossible to project anybody on its roster to play all 17 games with any sort of confidence," wrote ESPN's Bill Barnwell in a recent feature for ESPN.
The writer was tasked with ranking the NFL offensive weapons for all 32 NFL teams. Perched at the top of the list are the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At the bottom, as is the case with most rankings, are the Houston Texans.
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While NFL Media analyst Lance Zierlein is high on the No. 3 overall pick, he isn't buying into the hype when it comes to the quarterback's chances to be named the NFL's best rookie. Any 49ers fans who have been listening to what the team has said this offseason will certainly
Richard Sherman is going through a difficult situation right now. He was arrested on Wednesday morning after allegedly crashing his vehicle, then causing a disturbance at the residence of his in-laws, and eventually resisting law enforcement.
Sherman was charged with "burglary domestic violence," with the "domestic violence" designation being assigned due to the cornerback being related to individuals inside the residence where the incident took place. While Sherman and officers suffered some minor injuries before the cornerback was apprehended, no one else was injured.
More troubling was the
