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

My thoughts while watching the game.

http://youtu.be/FsqJFIJ5lLs

Originally posted by thl408:

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.

would have done the same if I were Tarrt. Let run around a WR without any coverage down the middle is a no-no.

Tiller has looked good. Brown has looked good. Kilgore is good. Miller is good. Hyde looks like a stud when he's healthy. Just has to stay healthy. Stud of epic proportions really. Of all the problems the team has, I don't think Baalke is really a big one or even a problem. He has a better record than most GM's. Even in 2012 he got more players out of that draft than most teams did (especially when you look at his UDFA's). That draft was historically bad (strike remember?). He also tried to move up for ODB last year.. I think his eye for talent on offense is fine. Maybe not as attuned as his eye for defense yet, but give him time.

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?

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

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.

Agreed!

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.

Where do you think we go with our 1st round pick? Is FA deep enough on OL to draft a QB? I don't think there's a QB worth a top 10 pick this year.

Marvin, I agree w/ the young pieces on defense.

Although, the list you provided includes no guys on the other side of the ball. That's what bothers me. We don't know if Boone is coming back. AD, who knows also. If he does, how good will he be? Kilgore has missed a year and a half. Is Tiller our RG going forward? Is Brown good enough to be considered a piece going forward? Can we actually draft a playmaker on the edge? For once. Hyde is always going to get hurt, is Mike Davis a "piece." Blake Bell looks like he may be a prospect... and most importantly, who the hell is our QB going forward. If we get a young guy, can Tomsula get the right offensive coaches to groom him?

A lot of questions on offense. Although, I do like some of the young pieces on defense.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

I think there are some solid players to build off of (especially on defense). It starts with the coaching staff, not scoring a TD in the 1st QR once this year should give you a good idea as to how unprepared this team is and how bad of a game plan is in place.

This, we have some of the worst coaching in the league, Carroll, Bruce and fisher are not going anywhere, those coaches are above us
Colin cowherd use to gush about how well coached the 49ers were, now he said we are the worst coached team in the league
Marvin I don't know how you watch the games twice, much kudos to you
11. Empty seats empty seats empty seats

Originally posted by corona55569:

Originally posted by NYniner85:

I think there are some solid players to build off of (especially on defense). It starts with the coaching staff, not scoring a TD in the 1st QR once this year should give you a good idea as to how unprepared this team is and how bad of a game plan is in place.

This, we have some of the worst coaching in the league, Carroll, Bruce and fisher are not going anywhere, those coaches are above us
Colin cowherd use to gush about how well coached the 49ers were, now he said we are the worst coached team in the league
Marvin I don't know how you watch the games twice, much kudos to you
11. Empty seats empty seats empty seats

Yup starts with coaching and I don't know how much it's gonna improve by next year

It was a damn shame to see all those empty seats at half time when rice and Montana where being celebrated. A sea of empty red seats lol hope your happy Jed!

OK. I admit it. I am a masochist. I watched it. I had some thoughts. Many of them are not printable. Here are some that are:

Thank you again Marvin. I agree with much of what you said.

First of all, CBS needs to send Solomon Wilcots back to high school games. On numerous occasions I wondered what game he was watching. It certainly wasn't the one I was watching. He was not just bad, he was wrong repeatedly. UGH!

My main take from this game confirmed what I already knew. This team has some pieces for the future on defense but the offense is sorely lacking in talent and depth. The OL and the receivers are all below starter grade with the exception of Staley and Boldin and Boldin is little more than a shadow of himself right now.

GABBERT - In prior games his timing and lead on most throws were pretty good. Yesterday, for some reason, that seemed to be lacking. Three of those were obviously receiver problems. On the first throw of the game, Draughn ran a rather lazy circle route instead of the hard slant that was called. BG put the ball where Draughn would have been had he run the route correctly. The "overthrow" to McDonald (can we just get rid of him?) in the end zone was where it needed to be. It would have been a tough catch but McD slowed on his route and appeared to never have seen the ball. The last throw of the game to Simpson was a culmination of all the problems all game long. Simpson ran a decent route and was open but when Gabbert should have been able to throw the ball to him open, the pocket collapsed and Gabbert had to take 4 extra steps to avoid pressure and throw the ball. So the ball was a bit late in arriving but Simpson just stood on the goal line instead of coming back for the ball. Simpson is a big guy and should have had enough situational awareness to step and shield the ball from the safety. He did neither.

There were some other throws in between where Gabbert's timing was off a bit, but with the exception of Boldin, everyone he was throwing to grade out as below starter grade, according to PFF. It is hard to put a passing game together with so many sub-standard pieces. I remain undecided over Gabbert as the answer but he is clearly getting little help from those around him.

#89 - Was wearing the wrong uniform. I can't waste any more time on him.

KILGORE - Still far below his pre-injury level. He gets a pass for now but I hope he shows better in the final two games. His run blocking yesterday was poor and his PP was not much better.

MARTIN - Seems a bit better at guard than center but still not getting it done. He just looks slow at 320 pounds. He needs to lose 12-15 pounds. I think he would be much more effective at 305-8.

TILLER - Steadily becoming a very solid player. PFF now grades him overall at 81. 86+ is Pro Bowl level. At his current rate of improvement we are set at one of the guard positions for next year.

PEARS - I mention him only to compare his grade of 42 which puts him #51 OT in the league, with the few snaps Trent Brown had earlier with a grade of 75. Why Pears continues to start escapes me. Multiple holding calls yesterday. It often looked like he just gave up and grabbed the defender.

STALEY - Seems to have recovered from his knee problem. Had a reasonably solid game yesterday. Not back to the level he has been at but I put it on the injury rather than a decline in talent.

RBs - It is just sad the amount of injuries we have had. It is impossible to give an opinion on anything that happened after Draughn went out. He has been serviceable and worthy of a TC spot next year but the rest of those guys... Suffice to say Cadet was cut today.

WR - Until the right side of the OL is fixed, it is almost a waste of time to discuss this area. The INT to Simpson is as good example: Gabbert saw Simpson coming open but just when he should have been able to throw him open, the pocket collapsed and... Smith is nice toy but his route running is suspect. He is a deep threat only and that is wasted with this OL. None of the other WRs on this squad will still be here when this team is winning. There is just no talent here.

OC - It may be fashionable to criticize Chryst and the play-calling but with all of the problems listed above, the options are pretty limited.

Coaching/FO coming below.

The one thing I learned from this broadcast that I didn't know, although I suspected it, was that Tomsula will be the HC again in 2016.

In a way, that may be a good thing. After the debacle in which the Harbaugh firing was handled, if Tomsula were shown the door after just one year with this rag-tag bunch, the coaching fraternity, which was already very upset with the way JH was treated by the FO, will be very reluctant to come here. Sean Peyton's $8.5M figure would likely be the starting point anyway in order to get someone good to come here to rebuild.

Yesterday showed once again how talent-starved this team is on the offensive side of the ball and until that is fixed, it is hard to evaluate the coaching staff. I have nothing new to add that has not already been said a million times.