49ers Week 13 2016 - Thoughts after rewatching the game...

Sorry guys...work lately making it harder to get this out in a timely manner.

1) Kap: Yes, he had a rough day. Yes, It was statistically the worst passing performance by a Niner in like 50 years.

I think peeps need to chill a bit on that tho. The dude ATTEMPTED 5 passes and at least 2 were dropped. He was sacked 5 times. Meanwhile they ran for 122 years in the FIRST HALF. It was pretty clear that the gameplan was to run the hell out of the ball. I kept hearing during the game that he had never played in snow and that he would have to learn how to play in the cold...but it ain't exactly balmy in Reno in the winter. He didn't have much trouble in one of the coldest games on record vs the Packers in a playoff game a few years ago.

I dunno what was up with that game, but honestly I think that was more a fluke than anything else. Now I'm not saying to write it off completely but he had just had his best 4 game stretch in years. Perspective is in order.

Gabbert looked like Gabbert. Passes and players feet.


2) Running game/Media: I got into a short conversation with John Middlecoff via twitter during the game. His point was that he thought Chips running game was embarrassing because he stuck with the zone-read stuff when he should be running power in that weather. I really thought it an odd criticism when they were completely unable to pass the ball and at the time of the conversation they were on pace to rush for 250 yards.

His response was "watch the games"...as if I don't. Some other guy said that he was talking about all games, not just this one. Logically I said they've been able to run the game all year and rank 4th in the NFL in rushing. Johns response: "Garbage time yards". Wha? I have no idea what team he's been watching this year but the team I've been watching plays well in the first half when the game is in question and then completely falls apart in the second half. I said that BEFORE halftime of a game that was 7-6 and ended 26-6.

My point here is really about media narratives. The Niners suck this year. No two-ways about it...but why make sh*t up? They are bad enough all on their own without criticizing the ONE thing they do well.

Just annoyed me.


3) Hyde: Nice to see him running with power again. Doesn't seem to show signs of that injury. Hoping to see him finish strong.


4) Buckner: Yeah, that guy is getting like 2 seasons worth of seasoning in a single year. i see some plays where he just dominates and pushes his guy into the backfield and disrupts the entire play...and then I see him on the goal line get two high and get pushed back into the end zone easily. He's learning and he'll improve. These games are vital for his performance moving forward.


5) OLB: I really see NOTHING from this position group with Lynch out. Nothing. Brooks has some juice but he's short for this team. Eli? Tank? Yes, they've improved quite a bit vs the run, but there is almost ZERO pass rush to speak of.


6) WR: I really wanted to say something about the WRs....but Kap threw 5 passes. FIVE. WR is a need certainly but tough to say much of anything in that game.


7) DBs: DBs had a rough day, but tough to be too down on them as there were some stellar catches, but there were also some huge drops on plays where the Bears WR was wide open. Dos have plays well this year so some of this might be the conditions. We'll see how they play down the stretch.


8) Kelly: More and more I'm thinking I want to see him stay. I want to see him get another year with a few more players to see what he can do. They are moving the ball on the ground despite what Mr. Middlecoff thinks and up until this last game they were starting to move it in the air with a...shall we say suspect WR corps. They need a D Coordinator. I've read rumors that Fox may fire Vic in Chicago...hey a guy can dream, right. :)


9) Browns: Please win a damn game. Or 2.


10) 2016: This year has sucked in just about every conceivable way. From Celeb deaths to politics to my own job uncertainty to the worst statistical Niner season on record. THANK GOD its almost over.

Thanks, Marvin. You're a G for still creating this thread.

Sorry to hear about the job situation and good luck my man.

kelly needs another 2 years minimum to see what he can do. wel never know what he can do if we only give him a year or 2 especially with the state our team is in. plus as bad as the whole team an record is our offense really isnt that bad. its our horrible defense that has us where were at. our offense is actually getting yards, something we have not seen in awhile. kelly is working in our TEs to their advantages....receivers are getting catches. anyone who thinks kap had a bad game cause he sucks did not watch this game on TV. it was rain snow an sleet the whole time. no one on either side of the ball could make a catch so even though im not sayin kap is the answer i dont think you can use this game at all to judge qb play.

iv been sayin it over an over, we need to draft fournette. we are an offense based team with a run based offense and our main RB is a big ? we cant go into the future with relying on a unreliable guy to be our #1. imagine the potential with fournette and hyde in a kelly offense. an remember how great hyde is when he isnt getting cow bell like carries every game. its the smartest move for our future. i understand garett is the best prospect in the whole draft and i think everyone sees how bad we need a pass rush. but we can get a pass rusher that will be effective in FA.... there is no player like fournette coming up in the draft or FA anytime soon. plus we might be able to trade back a few picks an still get fournete.

best possible draft....trade back to picks 5-7, get fournette and another 2nd an 3rd rounder at least. worst possible draft....stay at #2 an draft one of these overrated not ready college QBs an stay in this hole even longer

Originally posted by Marvin49:
Sorry guys...work lately making it harder to get this out in a timely manner.

2) Running game/Media: I got into a short conversation with John Middlecoff via twitter during the game. His point was that he thought Chips running game was embarrassing because he stuck with the zone-read stuff when he should be running power in that weather. I really thought it an odd criticism when they were completely unable to pass the ball and at the time of the conversation they were on pace to rush for 250 yards.

His response was "watch the games"...as if I don't. Some other guy said that he was talking about all games, not just this one. Logically I said they've been able to run the game all year and rank 4th in the NFL in rushing. Johns response: "Garbage time yards". Wha? I have no idea what team he's been watching this year but the team I've been watching plays well in the first half when the game is in question and then completely falls apart in the second half. I said that BEFORE halftime of a game that was 7-6 and ended 26-6.

My point here is really about media narratives. The Niners suck this year. No two-ways about it...but why make sh*t up? They are bad enough all on their own without criticizing the ONE thing they do well.

Just annoyed me.

John Middlekauf is an absolute homer. He is no different then the Cohn's & Kawakami the way he trashes the 49ers and particularly Chip Kelly. Highly critical of anything they do. Sadly, I follow him on Twitter but not for much longer. The sh*t he comes up with is borderline asinine. He continues to say Chip Kelly's offense is broken in the NFL with no data or arguments to support it. He has no baseline for any of these arguments he brings up. Who da hell is this guy really? What's his claim to fame?

Better yet.. why am I following him?

I think it would be better if HE actually watched the games.

.. and I agree, Kelly needs to stay. I think he will anyways because of contractual situation.

Nice rundown. I've read the "Kap only threw 5 passes" argument a few times, but he dropped back to pass something like 15 times(?). He missed some reads to scramble, took some sacks (some justified), and left throws on the field. Regarding his performance in the cold, I think it was the wet snow that played a factor in him not throwing the ball well, not so much the cold. He had two missed throws that could have gone for big gains (underthrow Draughn, overthrow Vance). It was a bad game, but like you said, I think it was a fluke considering how he had looked the previous two weeks, and the bad weather. It was good to see Hyde running well. Too bad it didn't translate into plays where the 49ers could take advantage with playaction.

Disagree on their rushing offense. Take away QB runs and the OL does not seem to do a good job opening up holes and the YPC is not very good.

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:
Disagree on their rushing offense. Take away QB runs and the OL does not seem to do a good job opening up holes and the YPC is not very good.

For the year I agree, the OL run blocking has been subpar, and the "4th in the NFL" rushing stat is misleading. For this CHI game though, I thought the OL did well in the run game. Hyde was getting good yardage.

I think Chip should get at least another year and I think he is a good coach. But if he does not fire Jim O'Neil and find a respectable DC, he will have almost no change no matter who the GM is here.

BTW Marvin, if you had to guess, do you think Baalke will be fired?

Thanks again for your great posts.

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:

Disagree on their rushing offense. Take away QB runs and the OL does not seem to do a good job opening up holes and the YPC is not very good.

For the year I agree, the OL run blocking has been subpar, and the "4th in the NFL" rushing stat is misleading. For this CHI game though, I thought the OL did well in the run game. Hyde was getting good yardage.

Sorry, should have specified I was referring to the year and not this specific game

Chip should get another 2 years I think.

His offense has changed and evolved from Philly, which is a sign of a good mind, and we've scored points with an average oline, terrible WR and average if inconsistent QB play. media narrative is always on hate Chip, when I watch the games since Kap came in I see a competent offense but a defense that cannot get off the field and give up a lot of big plays at bad times. I suspect ahys a combination of play calling, scheme and talent but I think the talent is there in the line and DBs, but not at linebacker.

In short I think we could have beat the Dolphins and the Bears with an average defense on the field that got off the field on a couple of key 3rd downs.

I actually don't want to think about this game, but I always enjoy reading your take on a game. Like usual, I agree with most of your observations. I especially got a kick out of your point #2.

Originally posted by Marvin49:

1) Kap: Yes, he had a rough day. Yes, It was statistically the worst passing performance by a Niner in like 50 years.

I think peeps need to chill a bit on that tho. The dude ATTEMPTED 5 passes and at least 2 were dropped. He was sacked 5 times. Meanwhile they ran for 122 years in the FIRST HALF. It was pretty clear that the gameplan was to run the hell out of the ball. I kept hearing during the game that he had never played in snow and that he would have to learn how to play in the cold...but it ain't exactly balmy in Reno in the winter. He didn't have much trouble in one of the coldest games on record vs the Packers in a playoff game a few years ago.

I dunno what was up with that game, but honestly I think that was more a fluke than anything else. Now I'm not saying to write it off completely but he had just had his best 4 game stretch in years. Perspective is in order.

Good luck trying to get people to agree with this.

The DBs get a little slack from me in that weather like this always favors the receiver who knows where he is going versus the DB who has to either guess or react to the cut of the receiver. 49er receivers were getting open as well, just that neither QB could throw the ball as well as Barkely.

QB continues to be perplexing. I'll grant it may have been an off-day for Kaepernick and leave it at that. IMO, unless he decides he wants to leave, for better or for worse, he will be the QB next year while a rookie is being prepped. Hence, we may as well get used to his ups and downs.

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:
Disagree on their rushing offense. Take away QB runs and the OL does not seem to do a good job opening up holes and the YPC is not very good.

For the year I agree, the OL run blocking has been subpar, and the "4th in the NFL" rushing stat is misleading. For this CHI game though, I thought the OL did well in the run game. Hyde was getting good yardage.

I'm not trying to say they are fantastic...my point is that running the ball is one of the things they've actually been able to do with some success with some regularity. In a game where the QB completed one pass and was sacked 5 times it seemed odd to me to pick the running game is the thing to be critical of.