1) Patience: I always start with the QB but I had to start with something else this time. The last two seasons we've seen fools gold in week 1. This time, as strange as it sounds with regards to the final score, I think I saw some real gold. The thing to realize though is that we are looking for small incremental steps this year. This isn't a playoff team. When I watch and rewatch these games I'm not looking at the scoreboard, I'm watching individual players and seeing if they can be building blocks for who this team might be a few years from now. With all that in mind...
2) Hoyer: Look, the dude was available and is making what he's making for a reason. I like the guy but anyone who thought he was going to be the savior in the franchise was kidding themselves. The next great QB in 49er lore isn't on the roster yet. That said, Brian played better yesterday than people give him credit for. The INT was bad but also a great play by Kuechly. There is a reason he's regarded as the best MLB in football. There were some plays where he missed a guy (Garcon in particular on one play stands out), but he also got ZERO help from the interior of the line (more on that later). He got no help from Goodwin on that drop that might have changed the landscape of the entire game and got no help from the refs (Goodwin was arm barred for about 10 years and Garcon was held nonstop for another 10).
I'm not trying to make excuses for him, but I am trying to say that he didn't play as poorly as some would contend.
3) OG: Ouch. Not every defense is going to sport the front 7 that the Panthers do, but there are a few within the division that can...namely Seattle and LA. The 49ers offensively will do NOTHING this year if we see the same production week in and week out from the 49ers starting guards...Beadles in particular. I don't know that he's an upgrade, but Tomlinson will likely be in the starting lineup very, very soon.
4) Foster: I've been saying it since week 1 of preseason, dude just has "it". All over the field. If he can stay healthy, superstar in the making. He was erasing McCaffrey all over the field and nearly picked off another pass. When he got hurt the building just went SILENT. I for one was more distraught than I've ever been seeing a rookie get hurt. So glad it looks like he avoided a break in the bone and we'll get to see him again this season.
5) Solomon: ...I'm still not seeing it. The guy can move, he can hit, and he made a few plays on the ball carrier, but he was invisible for long stretches of the game. I'm still hopeful and I love the guy...but right now he's not in the same league as Reuben. Not close.
It is VERY early though and he's raw.
6) Offense: So...this is going to sound odd. Niners were bad on O yesterday, but to me, it looked like they were sporting a real NFL offense. It sputtered, they couldn't get out of their own way, they were penalized like crazy and they couldn't block on the interior, but CONCEPTUALLY, they were running a real NFL offense for the first time in a decade or so. Its going to take time with so many new players and so many changes even with existing players, but the foundation is there. Shanahan has been called the QB killer at times in his career and IMO it has quite a bit to do with the learning curve on picking up his offense. Once its mastered tho it can turn Matt Ryan into an MVP. As I said with #1...
Patience.
7) Defense: Lets be real...Cam was scattershot yesterday passing and missed at least one guy WIDE OPEN in the end zone, but the 49ers defense looks MUCH, MUCH better. Front 7 wasn't getting a ton of pressure, but they were swarming against the run. They still don't have that elite pass rusher yet, but all those other guys are players. I'm even including Solomon on that because he was good vs the run. There were a few breakdowns and that can happen in a brand new D, but those guys were moving the LOS and really bottled up McCaffrey even after Reuben went out.
8) Tartt: I was so annoyed when he missed that tackle but I was really impressed when he showed the range to get over for the INT. Should also be pointed out....if he didn't get there Dontae Johnson was actually in really good position and may have broken up that pass himself.
9) Hyde: He popped a few runs and looked pretty good, but I wish he wouldn't run so high sometimes. Got clotheslined once and popped pretty good by the safety on another play. Gotta stay low and protect himself.
10) Long Season: It was week one of a rebuild. We've been conditioned to see them look great in week one and then the inevitable starts in week 2. Well, it started a week early this year....but this is different. No gimmicks. No "lets see if we can get by". This is a real rebuild. Ground up. There are going to be weeks like this and there are going to be weeks they surprise some people. There is talent here but there is ALOT of learning that needs to take place and there are a lot of players that will be a part of the next playoff team that simply haven't been signed or drafted yet.
If you were expecting huge improvement, you weren't paying attention. They will get a little bit better week to week but this season is about seeing which guys are building blocks and they've got a few of those.
[ Edited by Marvin49 on Sep 11, 2017 at 11:59 AM ]
