2024 49ers Season

[Jikkle]

How about we worry about fixing the OL and defensive problems? Everything will take care of itself if the OL is playing well

Commanders offensive line is worse than ours and they are still winning.

I've yet to see any recent list that ranks the 9ers line above the Commanders.

Regardless of who is playing QB the offensive line play has to improve or it won't matter who is playing QB the offense will always underperform.

Williams and Puni are the only ones I would be ok with starting next season.

Williams had a down year but a down year for him is still leagues better than everyone else on the line and still really good in general.

Puni has had games where he has struggled but growing pains were always going to be a given being a rookie and he's had enough high level play to give me hope for the future.

But Brendal has been absolutely horrendous.

Banks isn't too far behind Brendal but I don't know if his play is him being banged up or just playing bad.

McKivitiz at least hasn't been horrid but he's still below average and can't handle speed rushers to save his life.

To be fair there are plenty of issues with the offense outside the offensive line but having a capable offensive line step 1 in having a great offense.

[zman1]

How about we worry about fixing the OL and defensive problems? Everything will take care of itself if the OL is playing well

Commanders offensive line is worse than ours and they are still winning.

I've yet to see any recent list that ranks the 9ers line above the Commanders.

Regardless of who is playing QB the offensive line play has to improve or it won't matter who is playing QB the offense will always underperform.

Williams and Puni are the only ones I would be ok with starting next season.

Williams had a down year but a down year for him is still leagues better than everyone else on the line and still really good in general.

Puni has had games where he has struggled but growing pains were always going to be a given being a rookie and he's had enough high level play to give me hope for the future.

But Brendal has been absolutely horrendous.

Banks isn't too far behind Brendal but I don't know if his play is him being banged up or just playing bad.

McKivitiz at least hasn't been horrid but he's still below average and can't handle speed rushers to save his life.

To be fair there are plenty of issues with the offense outside the offensive line but having a capable offensive line step 1 in having a great offense.

Can Trent get through another year? Isn't he already the oldest O lineman in the league?

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[CrimsonCrew]

The OL is a problem that demands attention. PFF grades aren't everything, particularly for OL, but they're a starting point, and they indicate a problem.

Brendel is the 52nd graded center in pass-blocking. Only 32 start. I can't believe we haven't seen Zakelj or even Nugent yet, given just how bad Brendel has been. His struggles, both with blocking and calling the protections, have really hampered our offense this year. You could easily argue that OC is out biggest need this offseason - and of course it's a historically crappy center draft.

Banks is 71st among OGs, and I'm frankly surprised it's that high. We've seen Bartch and Burford outplay him this year, and arguably even Zakelj. It may be addition by subtraction to let him walk - though looked like he suffered a bad injury at the worst possible time.

McKivitz is more respectable than those two, but he's still 48th in the league in pass-blocking.

Puni as a rookie has been by far our most consistent OL, but even he is 36th in pass-blocking.

Trent is still good, but not great, when he's on the field. And hes' missed a bunch of time this year.

In terms of pass-blocking specifically, I'd be surprised if this team wasn't bottom five, and certainly bottom ten. And having the weakest link at center, blowing calls and blocks, is just devastating for the passing offense. We absolutely cannot go into next season with Brendel starting at center. Zakelj should start the last two games - unless he has to play guard.

[CrimsonCrew]

For comparison, since they came up, Commanders' OL pass-blocking grades vs. the Niners':

C: 49ers (49.2), Commanders (66.6)
LG: 49ers (61.0), Commanders (58.0)
RG: 49ers (69.4), Commanders (70.5)
LT: 49ers (84.5/73.1), Commanders (64.5/80.2)
RT: 49ers (69.4), Commanders (65.3)

I included the backups at LT since the starters for both teams have missed multiple games with injury.

Pretty comparable scores (within five points at three of five positions) with two crucial differences. The Niners are much higher at starting LT (though worse when the backups get in), and much lower at C. Although having a lockdown guy like Williams is huge, in today's NFL, where DL often move around to exploit weaknesses, I would argue that having an obvious weak link is the bigger concern. And on that front, having Brendel and Banks next to each other has been pretty devastating in obvious passing situations.

My view is that we need to come away from this offseason with a new starting center and LG at a minimum. I'd love to also upgrade McKivitz, though McKivitz is passable. Upgrading those two starting spots could and should immediately improve this offense.

[Pattersonca65]

The OL is a problem that demands attention. PFF grades aren't everything, particularly for OL, but they're a starting point, and they indicate a problem.

Brendel is the 52nd graded center in pass-blocking. Only 32 start. I can't believe we haven't seen Zakelj or even Nugent yet, given just how bad Brendel has been. His struggles, both with blocking and calling the protections, have really hampered our offense this year. You could easily argue that OC is out biggest need this offseason - and of course it's a historically crappy center draft.

Banks is 71st among OGs, and I'm frankly surprised it's that high. We've seen Bartch and Burford outplay him this year, and arguably even Zakelj. It may be addition by subtraction to let him walk - though looked like he suffered a bad injury at the worst possible time.

McKivitz is more respectable than those two, but he's still 48th in the league in pass-blocking.

Puni as a rookie has been by far our most consistent OL, but even he is 36th in pass-blocking.

Trent is still good, but not great, when he's on the field. And hes' missed a bunch of time this year.

In terms of pass-blocking specifically, I'd be surprised if this team wasn't bottom five, and certainly bottom ten. And having the weakest link at center, blowing calls and blocks, is just devastating for the passing offense. We absolutely cannot go into next season with Brendel starting at center. Zakelj should start the last two games - unless he has to play guard.

According to Next Gen stats the 49ers is 7th in alllowing pressure. Yesterday it was 50%. Moore himself killed two drives by just whiffing. Brendal just got burned on that last interception allowing Purdy to get hit while he was throwing. Yesterday they were offsetting that by throwing short but when trying to make downfield throws you just cant count on this line. And the worst place to allow pressure is up the.middle

[Pattersonca65]

For comparison, since they came up, Commanders' OL pass-blocking grades vs. the Niners':

C: 49ers (49.2), Commanders (66.6)
LG: 49ers (61.0), Commanders (58.0)
RG: 49ers (69.4), Commanders (70.5)
LT: 49ers (84.5/73.1), Commanders (64.5/80.2)
RT: 49ers (69.4), Commanders (65.3)

I included the backups at LT since the starters for both teams have missed multiple games with injury.

Pretty comparable scores (within five points at three of five positions) with two crucial differences. The Niners are much higher at starting LT (though worse when the backups get in), and much lower at C. Although having a lockdown guy like Williams is huge, in today's NFL, where DL often move around to exploit weaknesses, I would argue that having an obvious weak link is the bigger concern. And on that front, having Brendel and Banks next to each other has been pretty devastating in obvious passing situations.

My view is that we need to come away from this offseason with a new starting center and LG at a minimum. I'd love to also upgrade McKivitz, though McKivitz is passable. Upgrading those two starting spots could and should immediately improve this offense.

Read this elsewhere for comparison

The Kansas City Chiefs undertook a significant rebuild of their offensive line during the 2021 offseason, following their loss in Super Bowl LV. Here's a breakdown of the key moves they made:

Players Released or Not Retained
Eric Fisher: The former No. 1 overall pick and starting left tackle was released.
Mitchell Schwartz: The veteran right tackle was also released due to injury concerns.
Austin Reiter: The starting center was not re-signed.
Key Acquisitions
Orlando Brown Jr.: Acquired from the Baltimore Ravens in a trade that involved multiple draft picks. Brown was brought in to play left tackle.
Joe Thuney: Signed as a free agent from the New England Patriots. Thuney received a five-year, $80 million contract to solidify the left guard position.
Creed Humphrey: Drafted in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Humphrey became the starting center.
Trey Smith: Drafted in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Smith earned the starting right guard spot.
Kyle Long: Came out of retirement and signed a one-year deal, although injuries limited his impact.
Mike Remmers: Re-signed to provide depth and versatility across the line.
Costs and Investments
Draft Picks: The trade for Orlando Brown Jr. involved sending a first-round pick (31st overall), a third-round pick, and a fourth-round pick to the Ravens. The Chiefs also received a second-round pick in return.
Financial Investment: The Chiefs committed significant financial resources, particularly with Joe Thuney's $80 million contract. The overall investment in the offensive line was a mix of high draft picks and substantial free-agent contracts.
This comprehensive overhaul was aimed at protecting quarterback Patrick Mahomes and improving the team's performance in critical games. The new offensive line quickly gelled and became one of the strengths of the team in subsequent seasons.

[Pattersonca65]

somehow people are sitting here blaming Purdy for a game that doesn't matter with 4 guys on the OL that should be back ups plus two 3rd stringers coming in during the 2nd half. Plus we are down to our 5th RB so we had no run game at all. Not sure what the **** he is supposed to do, not really here to judge our QB with **** around him in a game that doesn't mean anything

Never underestimate Big Jackass to come in and hijack the thread back to Purdy

[CrimsonCrew]

Even with guys aging and Aiyuk likely to miss part of the season, we have more than enough at the skill positions to return to a solid offense at worst with a decent OL. I have some real quibbles with how we're running our protections and how we handle blitzes (especially on third and long), but at the end of the day, we simply have to give our QB more time to read the defense and deliver the ball.

[clyde21]

i don't know how to feel about a 6-6 center (Zakelj) but yea, we need see what we have at this point position the rest of the year. not sure what the point of moving forward with Brendel with how bad he's been.

i do like what I've seen from Bartch, so that gives me more confidence in the OL next year, along with Puni as a second year guy, but at some point we have to start investing heavily into this unit. Trent has probably one more year left in him tbh, Banks is likely gone (thank god) and Brendel/McKivitz are trash.

[Big J]

You can blame the OL all you want for that INT that cost us the game, but at the end of the day it was 1st down. There is no excuse for taking a risk and putting the ball up for grabs when there's a d lineman right in your face. Just tuck the ball and move on to 2nd down.

[RIPskaterdude]

For comparison, since they came up, Commanders' OL pass-blocking grades vs. the Niners':

C: 49ers (49.2), Commanders (66.6)
LG: 49ers (61.0), Commanders (58.0)
RG: 49ers (69.4), Commanders (70.5)
LT: 49ers (84.5/73.1), Commanders (64.5/80.2)
RT: 49ers (69.4), Commanders (65.3)

I included the backups at LT since the starters for both teams have missed multiple games with injury.

Pretty comparable scores (within five points at three of five positions) with two crucial differences. The Niners are much higher at starting LT (though worse when the backups get in), and much lower at C. Although having a lockdown guy like Williams is huge, in today's NFL, where DL often move around to exploit weaknesses, I would argue that having an obvious weak link is the bigger concern. And on that front, having Brendel and Banks next to each other has been pretty devastating in obvious passing situations.

My view is that we need to come away from this offseason with a new starting center and LG at a minimum. I'd love to also upgrade McKivitz, though McKivitz is passable. Upgrading those two starting spots could and should immediately improve this offense.

McKivitz is actually signed to a decent deal to be primarily OL backup, but he's just not a starting player

[CrimsonCrew]

You can blame the OL all you want for that INT that cost us the game, but at the end of the day it was 1st down. There is no excuse for taking a risk and putting the ball up for grabs when there's a d lineman right in your face. Just tuck the ball and move on to 2nd down.

Gotta say, I agree on this one. He saw the rusher coming and forced a ball over the middle when he couldn't step into the pass. I put that primarily on Purdy, even if Brendel is awful.

I don't think Purdy has been as bad as his stat line and record suggests this year. And the team has faced adversity on multiple different levels. But that is the reality of teams that pay their QBs top dollar. They have to win games with lesser supporting casts. I am less and less confident that Purdy can do that. Shoring up the OL will go a long way. Purdy's strengths are his vision, recognition, and anticipation. Give him the time to read the defense and make throws, and he can be a top-10 QB in this league. Maybe better. But we're seeing this year that when other areas of the team are struggling, he struggles to elevate them. I don't think you can pay that guy $60 million a year. I'd rather go with a rookie or mid-tier FA and try to surround that guy with talent.

[Big J]

You can blame the OL all you want for that INT that cost us the game, but at the end of the day it was 1st down. There is no excuse for taking a risk and putting the ball up for grabs when there's a d lineman right in your face. Just tuck the ball and move on to 2nd down.

Gotta say, I agree on this one. He saw the rusher coming and forced a ball over the middle when he couldn't step into the pass. I put that primarily on Purdy, even if Brendel is awful.

I don't think Purdy has been as bad as his stat line and record suggests this year. And the team has faced adversity on multiple different levels. But that is the reality of teams that pay their QBs top dollar. They have to win games with lesser supporting casts. I am less and less confident that Purdy can do that. Shoring up the OL will go a long way. Purdy's strengths are his vision, recognition, and anticipation. Give him the time to read the defense and make throws, and he can be a top-10 QB in this league. Maybe better. But we're seeing this year that when other areas of the team are struggling, he struggles to elevate them. I don't think you can pay that guy $60 million a year. I'd rather go with a rookie or mid-tier FA and try to surround that guy with talent.

Glad we see eye to eye on this. I actually think Purdys arm strength has gotten worse. Maybe that surgery they did on it has caused some lingering issues. I saw him icing it prior to the Buffalo game.

[CrimsonCrew]

For comparison, since they came up, Commanders' OL pass-blocking grades vs. the Niners':

C: 49ers (49.2), Commanders (66.6)
LG: 49ers (61.0), Commanders (58.0)
RG: 49ers (69.4), Commanders (70.5)
LT: 49ers (84.5/73.1), Commanders (64.5/80.2)
RT: 49ers (69.4), Commanders (65.3)

I included the backups at LT since the starters for both teams have missed multiple games with injury.

Pretty comparable scores (within five points at three of five positions) with two crucial differences. The Niners are much higher at starting LT (though worse when the backups get in), and much lower at C. Although having a lockdown guy like Williams is huge, in today's NFL, where DL often move around to exploit weaknesses, I would argue that having an obvious weak link is the bigger concern. And on that front, having Brendel and Banks next to each other has been pretty devastating in obvious passing situations.

My view is that we need to come away from this offseason with a new starting center and LG at a minimum. I'd love to also upgrade McKivitz, though McKivitz is passable. Upgrading those two starting spots could and should immediately improve this offense.

McKivitz is actually signed to a decent deal to be primarily OL backup, but he's just not a starting player

I'd love to replace McKivitz, but I'd also be fine with him as the RT for the foreseeable future. He's not a positive, but he's also not such a negative that he torpedoes the entire offense. Brendel is. Banks can be, too (remember when we took him over Creed Humphrey?).

Ideally, I'd like to see us draft an OT fairly high - first round is fine with me if one of the top guys falls - to put at RT for a year, then kick over to LT to replace Trent. If McKivitz is a backup for a year and then takes over again at RT, I could live with that. Still my preference to replace Trent and upgrade RT, but I'm realistic about that.

Replacing Brendel is simply not negotiable. At this point, he's actively hurting the offense every time he takes the field. Banks will almost certainly be gone (though maybe he comes back on the cheap if he tore his ACL or we sign him midseason), but Burford or Bartch is already an upgrade there as far as I'm concerned. Still looking to add at least one OT and at least two IOL this offseason.

[Jikkle]

For comparison, since they came up, Commanders' OL pass-blocking grades vs. the Niners':

C: 49ers (49.2), Commanders (66.6)
LG: 49ers (61.0), Commanders (58.0)
RG: 49ers (69.4), Commanders (70.5)
LT: 49ers (84.5/73.1), Commanders (64.5/80.2)
RT: 49ers (69.4), Commanders (65.3)

I included the backups at LT since the starters for both teams have missed multiple games with injury.

Pretty comparable scores (within five points at three of five positions) with two crucial differences. The Niners are much higher at starting LT (though worse when the backups get in), and much lower at C. Although having a lockdown guy like Williams is huge, in today's NFL, where DL often move around to exploit weaknesses, I would argue that having an obvious weak link is the bigger concern. And on that front, having Brendel and Banks next to each other has been pretty devastating in obvious passing situations.

My view is that we need to come away from this offseason with a new starting center and LG at a minimum. I'd love to also upgrade McKivitz, though McKivitz is passable. Upgrading those two starting spots could and should immediately improve this offense.

The draft spot we end up with will still likely be a prime spot for taking an OT so upgrading McKivitz might not be out of the question though I have to imagine the team will be laser-focused on using that pick for a DL guy.

I doubt they resign Banks unless he comes at a bargin so a new LG is pretty likely.

Center is an absolute must though and I do think if Felciano was good to go he'd be the C right now because they were giving him some snaps there in training camp before he got hurt so at least it seems they know it's an issue.

I suspect the likely outcome is they sign a free agent C and draft an LG. I don't see Kyle putting a rookie at C and he's shown that he likes experience at the position but he doesn't show the same reservation at the other spots in the line which is why they probably draft a Guard. Hopefully they draft another Puni and not another Banks though.

[Jikkle]

If you didn't need any more reasons to fire Schneider he was the one that pounded the table for Moody and while he hasn't been a complete diaster he's been a complete bust as a 3rd round pick. You can find other kickers that aren't any worse off the street and this offseason they better have a legit competition for the spot.

I wouldn't be angry if they did just cut him as soon as the season is over but he's also under contract so I'm willing to give him the offseason to see if he can figure things out.

[Big J]

Relying on the OL being good in order for sustained team success is a fools errand. All it would take is one injury to a starter on a good OL and then we're back to Purdy getting exposed again. We need a QB who is able to not lose games despite having below average offensive line play. That way our team success isn't dependent on having a good OL.

[Pattersonca65]

Relying on the OL being good in order for sustained team success is a fools errand. All it would take is one injury to a starter on a good OL and then we're back to Purdy getting exposed again. We need a QB who is able to not lose games despite having below average offensive line play. That way our team success isn't dependent on having a good OL.

This has to be the dumbest take of all. And you have some really stupid ones. Congrats

[Big J]

Relying on the OL being good in order for sustained team success is a fools errand. All it would take is one injury to a starter on a good OL and then we're back to Purdy getting exposed again. We need a QB who is able to not lose games despite having below average offensive line play. That way our team success isn't dependent on having a good OL.

This has to be the dumbest take of all. And you have some really stupid ones. Congrats

What is really dumb is complaining about with a take without offering a counter argument or even an explanation.

[Pattersonca65]

Relying on the OL being good in order for sustained team success is a fools errand. All it would take is one injury to a starter on a good OL and then we're back to Purdy getting exposed again. We need a QB who is able to not lose games despite having below average offensive line play. That way our team success isn't dependent on having a good OL.

This has to be the dumbest take of all. And you have some really stupid ones. Congrats

What is really dumb is complaining about with a take without offering a counter argument or even an explanation.

Your takes are so conistently idiotic you have reached a whole another level