The 49ers secondary has come under fire throughout the course of the season from fans and coaches alike. The lapses in coverage, big plays given up, late game breakdowns, and teams only targeting one side of the field have landed the secondary in a bit of hot water with the coaching staff as the season has progressed. None of that was on display against the Broncos though, a team very much in the playoff hunt in the AFC. Leading the way for the secondary's overall solid performance were cornerback Akhello Witherspoon and nickel corner D.J. Reed. Ahkello Witherspoon's upward trend At the center of the struggles of the 49ers secondary is former third-round pick Ahkello Witherspoon, who made a strong showing late last season as he filled in the...

Among topics I never thought I'd wake up to read this year was a hollow argument about the play of San Francisco 49ers' defensive lineman Arik Armstead. When it comes to politics and sports, flash opinion, belief without evidence and 'my feelings' rule the day. Facts are scoffed at and ignored like Grannie Annie's mincemeat Christmas tarts. In May, I asked how Armstead fits on this year's defensive line. Armstead wasn't a big success as an edge defender last season, and I wanted defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to move Armstead inside. However, the 49ers lacked any real talent at the edge coming into the 2018 season. It was clear Armstead would remain as an...

The San Francisco 49ers showed some pride and rode a historic game from George Kittle en route to an upset win over the Denver Broncos in Week 14. The Niners will need every bit of that pride as they host the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday and try to avenge getting their rears handed to them two weeks ago. Here we discuss the odds and analysis from a betting perspective. When: Sunday December 16th, 2018 at 1:05pm PST (FOX) Where: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California Line: Seahawks -4, total at 44 Seattle Seahawks Though the game was closer than the final score, the Seattle Seahawks suffocated the Minnesota Vikings with stifling defense on Monday night and have now won four in a...

The San Francisco 49ers managed to upset the surging Denver Broncos in Week 14, walking away with a 20-14 victory thanks to tight end George Kittle's record-breaking performance. It's not likely the now-6-7 Denver Broncos are heading to the playoffs this season. Not after the San Francisco 49ers pulled off a 20-14 upset over a team that had won three games in a row, albeit without some offensive playmaking help after losing wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to a season-ending Achilles injury earlier this week. Instead, Niners tight end George Kittle ended up being the star, breaking former 49ers tight end Vernon Davis' single-season franchise record for receiving yards among tight ends. Davis recorded 965 back in 2009, and Kittle needed 73 to break that...

The San Francisco 49ers have a chance to play spoiler against the playoff-hopeful Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium in Week 14, and here are some key storylines to watch for the Niners during this contest. At 6-6, the Denver Broncos are desperately clinging to the hopes of squeaking into the playoff picture at season's end. The 2-10 San Francisco 49ers, however, can throw a proverbial "monkey wrench" into those plans. Coming off an embarrassing 43-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks last week, head coach Kyle Shanahan is still rolling with quarterback Nick Mullens under center. Mullens' life should be somewhat easier, as wide receiver Marquise Goodwin is poised...

It was just like old times as the San Francisco 49ers got annihilated in Seattle to the tune of a 43-16 trouncing in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Seahawks. Even Kyle Shanahan lost his composure and it now seems that all the F-bombs and innovating coaching in the world can't stop the momentum building toward locking up the number one pick in 2019, as they have nothing but potential playoff teams for the rest of their schedule, starting with the rising Denver Broncos this Sunday. Here we discuss the odds and analysis from a betting perspective. When: Sunday December 9th at 1:05pm PST (CBS) Where: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California Line: Broncos -4, total at...

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens is four starts into his career. It's not the biggest sample size but it is one-quarter of a NFL season. That's long enough to gain some perspective on the quality of a quarterback's play. Last week, Mullens put up some big numbers even if they are inflated a bit due to a lopsided score. In the 43-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Mullens passed for 414 yards. That is 11th most all-time in team history. Not since Tim Rattay compiled 417 yards in 2004 has a 49ers quarterback passed for more. As I mentioned, some may knock it because of the lopsided score. I get that. Others may bring up the fact the team scored just 16 points despite all the yards. I'd like to bring up a few things to the detractors. Of the...

The 49ers dropped another game and fell to 2-10 this season after losing to the Seattle Seahawks 43-16 on Sunday. Collectively, it was a total team effort in the loss. Individually, there were some standouts, but for the most part, the 49ers were seemingly overmatched in every phase of the game. Quarterback Nick Mullens was 30 of 48 for 414 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Receiver Dante Pettis led the way with five receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Jeff Wilson Jr was the leading rusher with 15 carries for 61 yards while Matt Breida, who tweaked his ankle in warm-ups, only carried the ball five times for six yards. He added three receptions for 51 yards as well. On defense, the 49ers just ran up against a superior offense and...

The San Francisco 49ers lost in ugly fashion to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13, losing 43-16 in a game marked by more mistakes and poor play on both sides of the ball. The San Francisco 49ers have now lost 10 games in a season for the fourth year in a row after falling 43-16 to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13. And that score makes the game sound closer than it actually was, particularly after head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad fell behind 20-3 in the first half. Despite some comeback attempts in the second half, the Niners still committed a lot of mistakes on both sides of the ball. And with a roster full of holes and dealing with a slew of injuries, those gaffes would end up being problematic for a team not equipped to absorb them. Let's try to...

The San Francisco 49ers will look to end a long losing streak in Seattle when they visit the Seahawks in Week 13. Let's look at some key storylines to watch during this NFC West bout. The last time the San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field was back on Dec. 24, 2011. Judging by the odds makers, that elongated losing streak isn't about to change when the Niners visit Seattle in Week 13. According to Odds Shark, head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad enters this contest as 10-point underdogs. And while the Seahawks are no longer the dominant force they once were not long ago, at 6-5, they're still clinging to a shot at making they...

During previous San Francisco 49ers football seasons, the thought of hope would shrivel up and die before the brain's neurons could even conjure the electricity necessary to think. The 2018 season had experts and fans sure the 49ers would be at least a .500 team, but those utopian fantasies were built upon an unstable foundation of overhype. In spite of injuries and thin roster depth, the 49ers have had moments that reignited hope in the fan base even with continued struggles to put points on the board, hold the lead or cover even a simple dig route. Film examination shows there's more to the 49ers than the sum of its failures. Last Sunday's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was ugly, but once the dumpster fire cooled, there were handfuls of diamonds...

The San Francisco 49ers are free falling toward the number one pick in the 2019 NFL draft, coming back across the country after being crushed 27-9 by Tampa Bay, the day after releasing former first round draft pick Reuben Foster for another domestic violence arrest. The Niners' draft position is likely to be strengthened as they now travel to Seattle to take on the surging Seahawks. Here we discuss the odds and analysis from a betting perspective. When: Sunday December 2nd at 1:25pm PST (FOX) Where: CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington Line: Seahawks -10, total at 46 Seattle Seahawks Seattle returns home after an impressive win at Carolina and is now 6-4 on the season and in...

The 49ers dropped yet another game in Tampa Bay 27-9 in a Week 12 match-up where I can only assume the Thanksgiving festivities and tryptophan caught up to them. They certainly played like it in all phases of the game, from offensive turnovers, to big plays given up on defense, to special teams penalties. Oh, and the team's star linebacker and former first round pick Reuben Foster was cut from the team within 12 hours of being arrested at the team's hotel on allegations of domestic violence, his 2nd such incident in less than a year. It was as the title of this article suggests, a cornucopia of problems. There...

The San Francisco 49ers dropped an ugly and uninspired game in Week 12, losing 27-9 to the scuffling Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Needless to say, positional grades won't look good from this contest. When fans and pundits look back at Week 12 for the San Francisco 49ers, they'll likely remember that being the week in which linebacker Reuben Foster saw his tenure with the Niners come to an end. That followed yet another arrest after another incident with his ex-girlfriend -- one too many for general manager John Lynch and Co. Who knows whether or not that Sunday morning's news affected San Francisco's on-field efforts against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What is factual, however, is the 49ers looked completely disjointed and out of sync against a Bucs squad...

The San Francisco 49ers come off their bye and will look to upend the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road in Week 12. Here are some storylines to watch for this unheralded contest. Impacting the 2019 NFL Draft order could be the only long-term storyline emanating from the San Francisco 49ers' Week 12 road contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday, Nov. 25. After all, the 2-8 Niners and 3-7 Bucs are competing for top positioning in April's draft. The short argument would be the team losing is in better position to secure a highly coveted No. 1 overall draft pick. Yet there are a lot more X-factors riding on this game than one might expect. During the bye week, head coach Kyle Shanahan...

Originally I started this series with the idea that I'd cover tight end George Kittle in two separate pieces, the running game and the passing game. But it's evolved into a three-part series examining his breakout season thus far and why he's one the league's premier run-blocking and pass-catching tight ends. Today we look at his role in the play action passing game. The final installment will look at his ability to create yards after the catch and his route running ability. According to Pro Football Focus, the 49ers are running play action on 27.8% of passing plays this season through 10 games. Combined with the running game, it's an efficient offensive attack that has kept the 49ers in numerous close games this...

The 49ers dropped another game by one score late in the fourth quarter after leading before their opponent's final drive. It was the third such game since week six at Green Bay that the 49ers defense has given up the go-ahead score to lose the game after leading. Yet again the defense was the victim of its own mistakes, giving up two big conversions due to coverage miscues as the Giants were driving with fewer than three minutes to play. While the 49ers offense threw two interceptions of its own, the defense failed to cause any turnovers. It was unable to get any pressure on Giants quarterback Eli Manning, racking up just one sack, highlighting the need this off-season to build a solid pass rush. It held rookie sensation Saquon Barkley to under 100 yards rushing (67) but gave...

The San Francisco 49ers hosted the New York Giants in a battle of last-place teams on Monday Night Football in Week 10, losing 27-23 in the prime-time bout amid yet another fourth-quarter collapse. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens went through his expected regression on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants, not quite having the same kind of easy success he enjoyed during his NFL debut against the Oakland Raiders in Week 9. Yet Mullens isn't entirely to blame for the Niners' fourth-quarter collapse to the previously one-win Giants, who used a confused and penalty-riddled San Francisco defensive stand late in the fourth quarter to take a 27-23 lead over the 49ers. And despite a desperate comeback attempt by Mullens, head coach...

The San Francisco 49ers host the one-win New York Giants on Monday Night Football in Week 10, and the first possible Niners winning streak this season could happen based off these three X-factors in the contest. It's hard to think the San Francisco 49ers are actually in a position to pull off back-to-back wins for the first time in 2018. And given their opponent for Week 10 on Monday Night Football, the one-win New York Giants, there's a real possibility that happens for head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. Coming off an impressive, one-sided 34-3 win over the Oakland Raiders well over a week ago, the Niners should be pretty rested and prepared for the contest. Granted, New York is coming off its own bye. But the Giants traveled out west, while San...

Eighteenth and nineteenth-century sailors setting forth on a global voyage faced plenty of peril: scurvy, pirates and mythical sea monsters. But getting stuck in the doldrums, where the trade winds die, left boats floating aimlessly under a scorching sun and cloudless sky. After days or weeks of a slow meander, the breeze would finally return and filled the sail with enough air to push the men back on course. Last week, the Bay Area wind blew into Santa Clara, and riding its back was an undrafted quarterback from Southern Mississippi. Some may discount quarterback Nick Mullens' huge victory because the Oakland Raiders currently reign atop a mountain of industrial waste, but that's a hollow argument. Mullens' leadership reenergized a...