GDT: 49ERS VS SEAHAWKS

[CrimsonCrew]

I agree that his playcalling was very suspect. That terrible wildcat play was both poorly designed and poorly timed. Defense had just held Seattle to a 3 and out to start the game and the offense was moving the ball up until that dreadful play and like you said losing the yardage took at least 3 points off the board.

Even after the ensuing punt, Seattle never advanced the ball past the 10 yard line. So they had to quickly punt it back. The offense started moving the ball well again, only to see Hasty fumble which halted the current momentum. Then on the very next play Jimmy threw the pick.

After that Seattle's offense woke up, and the 9ers defense wasn't ever really competitive again. The offense did have a nice long TD drive to take the lead 7-6 after Seattle scored their 1st TD. But that was the last time the offense was competitive.

However, I do disagree that the team came out flat. The defense held Seattle to a total of only 5 yards on their first 2 possessions combined, they even sacked Wilson (although it came via a corner blitz from K-Waun Williams). The offense moved the ball very well for their first 3 possessions, even took a short lived lead about halfway through the 2nd quarter.

I think the team came out pretty strong, they just couldn't find a way to maintain or counter punch Seattle when they started rolling.

Not to excuse the fumble, but it only would have killed momentum if we lost it. It was the awful INT that killed our momentum.

I disagree. If it was just a simple 9ers recovery or fumble rolling out of bounds I would tend to agree.

However it was ruled a turnover, and the ensuing replay created a 5 minute stoppage in play. The ruling not only created energy for Seattle, but it also allowed their defense to regroup and make adjustments after they had been on their heels up until that point.

Now, none of that is to excuse Jimmy's INT because it was obviously a killer. But the fumble definitely had an effect on the flow of momentum.

Any affect should have been negligible on a competent offensive team.

[CrimsonCrew]

Mullens came in with 14 minutes left. That's effectively 1/4 of the game. Teams don't kill the clock with 14 minutes left by letting the opponent drive slowly down the field. They kill the clock by getting stops and then running the ball themselves. The only time the Hawks were playing legit prevent was after their final TD when they were leading by 17 with just over three minutes remaining.

By comparison, Beathard didn't even enter the Philly game until there was about 5:40 left. That said, in an 11-point game, Philly wasn't exactly playing pure prevent, either. And I would definitely challenge the idea that the offense floundered late in that game. Beathard drove down the field pretty efficiently to pull within five (should have been three if Kittle could have pulled in a ball in his hands). And quite efficiently to drive us down for a Hail Mary attempt. He went 5 of 5 for 60 yards one minute and nine seconds to get in position for the last few desperation passes, and put a ball on his receivers' hands in the endzone.

Again, I'm not arguing these guys are good QBs. Just that your portrayal of the performances is slanted. The defenses did not change dramatically.

If Garoppolo isn't the guy, we need to move on sooner than later. Let's draft someone - even if he's not a blue chip player - and find a placeholder. In this league, you either have a QB or you don't, and we don't.

In this case, Seattle was still blitzing, they were still playing their normal defense. It's just not a very good defense, and Mullens was able to see where the open players would be. Garoppolo couldn't.

https://ninernoise.com/2020/11/02/sf-49ers-quarterbacks-pull-garoppolo/2/

Even though it was garbage time, Mullens managed 238 yards passing with two touchdowns in Seattle, albeit against the league’s worst pass defense entering the game.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/2819104/nick-mullens

The 49ers were losing 30-7 at the time Mullens entered the game, so he likely didn't see the Seahawks' most sophisticated defensive looks

Seattle was clearly playing nothing but soft looks in the 4th quarter, there is a reason why the likes of Trent Taylor and Ross Dwelley were getting open by a country mile. I see no point in advancing that part of the debate further...

Re: Replacing Garoppolo, I'm sorry but "let's draft someone" isn't good enough for me. I need a legitimate option to move on from a guy who is obviously good enough to get a team to a Super Bowl.

Now if you want to argue drafting someone to develop as a possible replacement in a year or 2, that's fine. But this team's window will remain open for the next 2 years or so (unless those next 2 years are inury plaqued like this year.) They aren't going to hand the keys to a super bowl caliber roster over to some random 4th round rookie. Its just not going to happen. Especially in a system as complex as Shanny's.

They weren't playing soft until the very end. I deleted my recording of the game because I was so upset about it, so I'm limited to the highlights here, but...

3rd and 5 on Mullens' first drive, Seattle sent six pass rushers. Mullens hit his back foot, stepped once and put a ball perfectly in the basket for Kittle, who made a great catch to wrestle it away from two defenders. Mullens was hit immediately after releasing.

3rd and 9 on Mullens' second drive, Seattle sent five pass rushers, including the nickel corner. Mullens immediately hit Bourne, who was now uncovered, for the first down and more.

1st and 10 immediately after that, Seattle against sent five. Mullens hung in and hit an open Dwelley for the TD.

They sent six on the conversion, causing Mullens to rush his throw and make it just too low for McKinnon to handle and get in the endzone.

Only one of the highlights in those drives - a long ball to Aiyuk - was on a four-man rush, and Mullens exploited it for a big gain. To the extent that guys were open on the back end, it's because Seattle was routinely sending additional pass rushers.

Again, I'm not saying that Mullens is the guy. But he was much more effective in this one than Garoppolo.

As for who to replace him with, ask me in a few months. We should have added someone this offseason.

[CrimsonCrew]

Looks like Garoppolo is out indefinitely, so Mullens will have a chance to show what he can do with a more extended view. Regardless, I think there's a fair chance Garoppolo has played his last game. We will see. Kind of frustrated we won the Rams and Pats games. We might have had a shot at one of the top QBs....

[Samurai]

Looks like Kittle will be out about 8 weeks with a fracture in his foot. When it rains, it pours and the Niners have been in a massive hurricane all season.

[CrimsonCrew]

Not to pile on, particularly with the injury, but something that has really bothered me about Garoppolo over the past couple years: his attitude after mistakes. Now, it's a mixed bag. I love his short memory in the sense that he often rebounds and improves after a turnover. But I've never seen a great QB who would laugh after throwing just a downright terrible INT. Maybe Favre in some circumstances, but Jimmy ain't Favre. If Tom Brady threw some of those picks, he would be furious with himself. Jimmy doesn't seem phased at all - and more importantly, doesn't seem to learn from the mistake that caused the INT.

Jimmy was at his best throwing lasers to the middle of the filed in the 10-20 yard area. He never got his strength/confidence back after the ACL tear. And without that zip, he's a liability. Too many mistakes and turnover-worthy throws (which, to be fair, there were plenty of in 2017, but he threw with enough zip that very few of them were intercepted), especially when he can't throw the deep ball and relies on his receivers' YAC potential for big plays.