Post#683 » by CrimsonCrew » Mon Jan 22, 2024 9:47 pm
Okay, I've had some time to sit with this one. My thoughts on the game:
Overall, as I said right after the fact, the Niners were really, really lucky to come away with a win in this one. Just a perfect storm of all their issues biting them in the ass at the same time.
A weather game for Purdy. I don't know what exactly the issue is with Purdy, but he's got to figure out how to throw a ball in the rain. It was pretty wet this weekend, but it wasn't like driving rain and wind. It was relatively warm, not very windy, and he just become completely ineffective for almost three quarters with the exception of a couple throws. That can't keep happening. I had hoped they took advantage of the wet week to get in some practice in the conditions, but if so, it didn't show at all.
They lost Deebo almost immediately, and he was clearly supposed to be the zone beater in this one. That hurt, as this game seemed tailor-made for Deebo's skillset. But as a team, you simply cannot let the loss of one player - even a unique player like Deebo - completely derail your game plan. It's like Kyle had no alternative plan, which leads to the next issue...
Bizarre offensive playcalling. They barely seemed to run the ball in the first half, despite Purdy's struggles throwing the ball. Over and over again in the first quarter in particular, they did that dumb motion to split McCaffrey out deep in the backfield. I hate that. One time we used it to score a TD. Other than that, it's been a detriment. We lose the threat of a run, and we keep one of our best weapons and decoys seven yards back from the LOS. And we just did it again and again and again as the offense sputtered. I'm fine to spread the field more at times, but we need to improve the shotgun/dropback game if we're going to do it this much.
The D stepped up when they needed to, but by and large, they simply couldn't get off the field. Only forced a single punt. The DL was invisible for long stretches. It seemed like no one was putting on a counter move, and they were all just bull-rushing. It seems like they get too tentative with mobile guys and just bull rush to keep them in the pocket. I can get that to an extent, but at some point you need to put pressure on the QB. This week will be an interesting comparison point, as Goff is basically a non-threat to run. Will our guys be more active in the pass rush? I sure hope so.
I will say, re: the D, Love hit three or four wide open passes - twice our guy flat-out fell down, and once or twice they had good playcalls to effectively pick the coverage - and he hit two or three really nice, tight-window throws. Other than that, it felt like we did a good job of minimizing his impact. He checked down a ton, and obviously threw the two crucial picks. But Thomas completely reverted. The 3rd and 15 penalty was especially bad, as that was just a wing and a prayer. He had plenty of time to locate the ball and make a play, and instead he just ran right through the WR. The D also did better against the run that it felt like, other than the one 50+ yard rush. They were holding Jones to like a 3.2 YPC average at that point, though he had a big loss on the fumbled pitch.
Kyle got completely passive at the wrong time at the end of the first half. We had a golden opportunity to double them up - at least with FGs - on either side of the half. Instead, he got so damn conservative that we ran out of time. Just completely blew a TO for no apparent purpose but to try to get them to jump. He did the completely predictable line up and try to draw them offsides when there was less time on the game clock than the play clock heading into the two-minute warning. Of all times to fake like we're trying to draw them and then run a play, this was it. On third and two, we let 40 seconds tick away and then burned a TO. Because we didn't have an extra TO, we had to snap the ball on second down after we converted the first down. That ate up time and, more importantly, killed a play. We should have had two or three plays to get two yards, with rushes on the table. Instead, we settled for a 48-yard FG in conditions. That made me crazy.
And then the mistakes on STs. The blocked FG was on Moody. Kick came out too low. Just can't have that. And why are we still not kicking it deep every time? Our coverage units suck every year, and this mistake was almost fatal. We got outplayed on that side of the ball by one of the very few STs units that is statistically worse than we are.
BUT, at the end of the day, we came away with the win. Purdy got it together for that last drive, and the D made the plays they needed to. Big thanks to the GB kicker for that miss, and to Love for just throwing up a duck on second down. Now it's on to Detroit. And we'll have to play a hell of a lot better. Detroit has been playing well lately, but they don't really have that many impressive wins.
But we won't win this one if we can't get to Goff. Goff is one of the easier QBs in the league - at least among the good ones - to rattle. But he's playing behind an awesome OL this year. We need our guys to really show up, especially on the inside, where Jonah Jackson - who has been the weak link on that line - is not expected to play, and Ragnow is playing hurt. Armstead and Hargrave need to show they have a pulse this game. The DL will be huge in this game, as the Lions' offense relies on running the ball and keeping Goff clean. On offense, we have to consistently challenge their secondary. And hope Hutchinson doesn't dominate McKivitz all game.