Week 15 2015: Thoughts after rewatching the game...

Like Hodges but i'm pretty sure it was his blown assignment on the Tyler Kroft TD. Tartt vacated the area to blitz and I think it was Hodges man to pickup and he bit. I like what I see from the defense though and the improving play of Bowman. Williams was stout - isn't he a free agent next year though?

Like what I see from Ward.

The offense needs a complete overhaul.

It's hard to blame those INTs on Blaine the last one wasn't the best throw by Simpson never came back for it (why is he even on the team?) and how often did we see WR/TEs run routes on 3rd down that didn't go to the 1st down marker

I just can't wrap my head around these play-calls and for a team to not score a TD in the 1st QR at all this season??? Worst coaching staff in the league and I don't really think it's close.

Originally posted by NYniner85:
It's hard to blame those INTs on Blaine the last one wasn't the best throw by Simpson never came back for it (why is he even on the team?) and how often did we see WR/TEs run routes on 3rd down that didn't go to the 1st down marker

I just can't wrap my head around these play-calls and for a team to not score a TD in the 1st QR at all this season??? Worst coaching staff in the league and I don't really think it's close.

Completely agree.. it gets worse every week

Originally posted by amosmac28:
Like Hodges but i'm pretty sure it was his blown assignment on the Tyler Kroft TD. Tartt vacated the area to blitz and I think it was Hodges man to pickup and he bit. I like what I see from the defense though and the improving play of Bowman. Williams was stout - isn't he a free agent next year though?

Like what I see from Ward.

The offense needs a complete overhaul.

There was a 1st quarter deep pass to AJ Green where Brock turned around and scolded Tartt for not helping out as a Cover 2 safety (49ers were in Cover 2 Zone). The problem began when Hodges failed to re-route the slot WR. This gave the slot WR a free release and put Tartt into a tough spot, let the WR run free down the middle of the field, or help out on Brock. Tartt chose to help out on the slot WR running down the middle of the field and it gave the QB confidence to throw it to AJ without safety help.

Originally posted by Marvin49:
1) Gabbert: Meh. 3 INTs but two of them CERTAINLY not his fault (more on that later). He did have some decent throws in there, seemed to throw behind the receiver a few times...altogether for me? Meh.

I still see him as a backup moving forward. I don't think he's shown nearly enough to be considered the long term starter.



2) McDonald: ....................................

I was so badly to root for the guy. he's big, he's strong, he's fast.....its just that pesky inability to catch the ball. More than not catch it...an incany ability to boble it and bat it to the other team. I just don't know what to say. Do you give up on him? Whenever I think it's time to cut bait, I remember Wesley Walls and the struggles he had in SF before he became an all-pro TE elsewhere.

I dunno...mayne he needs to spend three months straight with a jugs machine. Mayne he'll never get it. Dunno.



3) Bowman: The man is back. I noted eatlier in the year that he just didn't look the same. Against the Browns he struggled....but yesterday he was a man possessed. Great to see that at the end of the year here and gives me hope of what he can be next year.



4) Ward: Ya know what? Quietly, he's turning into a pretty damn good player. He had solid coverage most of the day and he was all over the place defending the run and blitzing. That first rounder by Baalke may turn out to be a great pick yet.



5) Hayne: I've spent the better part of the last week arguing with Hayne fans about whether or not it's an insult that he's on the Practice Squad. Its not. In fact I think its ludicrous to expect more than that from a guy who never put on the pads before 6 months ago.

However, if Draughn is out for any length of time, I think its time. I think its time to give him a shot. Lets see what good the PS has done for him.



6) Harold: I haven't been a fan, but ya know what? He made a few good plays there. Give the rook some credit. he's still not anything close to what he needs to be...but not bad this week.



7) Ian Williams: Wow. That was a hell of a game. Talk about rolling ball of butcher knives. Its games like that that give me hope for the future.



8) Pieces: Upon rewatching the game already knowing the result, Its becoming obvious that while the team has a number of obvious problems and things that need to be addressed, there are some parts there. there are some players to build on. What stikes me is that while Baalke has been a source of scorn lately, he has brought in some young talent. Ward, Armstead, Tarrt, Dial, Williams, and several others...including....



9) Hodges: So many people give Baalke hell for shopping in the bargain basement, but they got Hodges for next to nothing and he's really flashed at times the speed and coverage we've been missing. He might end up a starter next year.



10) Draft: You know its one of those years when you lose the game and end up with a worse draft pick. (they dropped from 5 to 6). Sigh.

All good points. The only cavaet here is that he seems to have found okay/decent/maybe good players while other teams have found guys who are bigger contributors. You make accurate points about all the guys Baalke has found that could be used to build a team for the future. See a pattern there? Not one of those players is on the offensive side of the ball. It's been his achilles heel throughout his tenure in SF. Is it reasonable to expect him to be able to rebuild the offense that is so clearly in need of revitalization?

Originally posted by GreatGabbert:
Every start Gabbert has made in his career has been for the consensus worst team in the league at the time. He's jinxed.

You could have said the same things about Alex Smith after his first 5 years - and now he's going back to the playoffs.

Originally posted by OneMoreRing:

Originally posted by GreatGabbert:
Every start Gabbert has made in his career has been for the consensus worst team in the league at the time. He's jinxed.

You could have said the same things about Alex Smith after his first 5 years - and now he's going back to the playoffs.

Not really. Alex had a dominating line that punished defenses. There was quite a bit of talent around Alex. Gore vs Draughn to start. Should we compare the OL and the DL's?

Originally posted by Joecool:
Not really. Alex had a dominating line that punished defenses. There was quite a bit of talent around Alex. Gore vs Draughn to start. Should we compare the OL and the DL's?

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by OneMoreRing:

Originally posted by GreatGabbert:
Every start Gabbert has made in his career has been for the consensus worst team in the league at the time. He's jinxed.

You could have said the same things about Alex Smith after his first 5 years - and now he's going back to the playoffs.

Not really. Alex had a dominating line that punished defenses. There was quite a bit of talent around Alex. Gore vs Draughn to start. Should we compare the OL and the DL's?

You are making my point for me - Gabbert is not 'jinxed' (read above). Plenty of people thought Alex was jinxed but he had bad personnel and coaching, Calling somebody 'jinxed' is a copout. Looks to me like Gabbert still has a good toolset, but we will never know unless he has some blocking and some receivers.

Originally posted by Marvin49:

5) Hayne: I've spent the better part of the last week arguing with Hayne fans about whether or not it's an insult that he's on the Practice Squad. Its not. In fact I think its ludicrous to expect more than that from a guy who never put on the pads before 6 months ago.

However, if Draughn is out for any length of time, I think its time. I think its time to give him a shot. Lets see what good the PS has done for him.

I'm wondering what the upside to giving him a shot late in the season really is? If they're looking to evaluate him in real games, it makes sense. If they think he can do a better job than Cadet, Gaskins and/or Ellington and want to try to win the next 2 games, it makes sense. But what if they already have a good idea what he can and can't do and aren't particularly interested in winning? Despite what JT says after every game about only looking to the next game, at this stage, they absolutely only have eyes for next season - where Hayne and the team's performance over the next 2 games fits into the plan for next season, will determine if we see him again this season.

Originally posted by OneMoreRing:

Originally posted by Joecool:
Not really. Alex had a dominating line that punished defenses. There was quite a bit of talent around Alex. Gore vs Draughn to start. Should we compare the OL and the DL's?

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by OneMoreRing:

Originally posted by GreatGabbert:
Every start Gabbert has made in his career has been for the consensus worst team in the league at the time. He's jinxed.

You could have said the same things about Alex Smith after his first 5 years - and now he's going back to the playoffs.

Not really. Alex had a dominating line that punished defenses. There was quite a bit of talent around Alex. Gore vs Draughn to start. Should we compare the OL and the DL's?

You are making my point for me - Gabbert is not 'jinxed' (read above). Plenty of people thought Alex was jinxed but he had bad personnel and coaching, Calling somebody 'jinxed' is a copout. Looks to me like Gabbert still has a good toolset, but we will never know unless he has some blocking and some receivers.

And he's only 26. I still think he's going to be a good one. He is playing for a team that is very similar to his JAX disaster team but he is more mentally ready which is why he looks much better than his JAX self. When he is flowing, he plays very well. Arrow is up on him and dude still has 3 more years to be as old as Kap.

Definitely need to build an OL for this kid. He already proved that he can get the ball to the skill players along with making a crap OL appear better. Give this guy some decent blocking, Hyde back, and one more receiving weapon and he will perform very well.

Thanks Marvin, I can't understand not giving Hayne some PT. He's one of the few good stories coming out this year and the team buries him on the PS. Put him out there, if the Niners don't some team will. Why is Lemon still on the team?

Originally posted by bzborow1:

All good points. The only cavaet here is that he seems to have found okay/decent/maybe good players while other teams have found guys who are bigger contributors. You make accurate points about all the guys Baalke has found that could be used to build a team for the future. See a pattern there? Not one of those players is on the offensive side of the ball. It's been his achilles heel throughout his tenure in SF. Is it reasonable to expect him to be able to rebuild the offense that is so clearly in need of revitalization?

No GM will rebuild this offense with Geep just like no GM could do it with Roman barring getting all elite WR talents. The offensive player development has been lacking here for 15 years. Frank Gore is the only offensive player this team has really developed in a decade and a half. Crab and Davis were top prospects walking in. The next best developed non lineman is Bruce Miller. A decade and a half of futility at developing offensive players is a coaching issue. Until that gets sorted out nothing will change with a new GM.

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

Originally posted by bzborow1:
All good points. The only cavaet here is that he seems to have found okay/decent/maybe good players while other teams have found guys who are bigger contributors. You make accurate points about all the guys Baalke has found that could be used to build a team for the future. See a pattern there? Not one of those players is on the offensive side of the ball. It's been his achilles heel throughout his tenure in SF. Is it reasonable to expect him to be able to rebuild the offense that is so clearly in need of revitalization?

No GM will rebuild this offense with Geep just like no GM could do it with Roman barring getting all elite WR talents. The offensive player development has been lacking here for 15 years. Frank Gore is the only offensive player this team has really developed in a decade and a half. Crab and Davis were top prospects walking in. The next best developed non lineman is Bruce Miller. A decade and a half of futility at developing offensive players is a coaching issue. Until that gets sorted out nothing will change with a new GM.

Perhaps what you are seeing is a GM who has an eye for defensive talent and a preference for coaches with a defensive mindset? Harbaugh was a QB, but his teams have always been built around physical defense and a solid running attack. He did it while at Stanford, again with SF and now again in Michigan. When is this guy going to deliver an offensive prospect to get excited about?

Marvin, regarding Hayne I enjoyed the arguments you put us through. Truly passionate and I actually agree with you that he is still probably not ready but what else is there.

You are also right about seeing whether he has learned because then if he hasn't then time to cut this project player loose so the distraction goes away and the niners can continue to focus on other more important issues.

Originally posted by bzborow1:

Perhaps what you are seeing is a GM who has an eye for defensive talent and a preference for coaches with a defensive mindset? Harbaugh was a QB, but his teams have always been built around physical defense and a solid running attack. He did it while at Stanford, again with SF and now again in Michigan. When is this guy going to deliver an offensive prospect to get excited about?

Trent hasn't been a GM 15 years though. It's Donahue Nolan and Scot too. So all just happened to be inept at finding skill player talent? Obviously the coaching mindset is the main factor. That is what has to change.