2024 49ers Season

[Big J]

Why is Shanahan burying Cowing? Probably cost us the game. Cohn has been harping on this.

[CrimsonCrew]

Why is Shanahan burying Cowing? Probably cost us the game. Cohn has been harping on this.

He hates playing rookies, especially at his old position. He has an incredibly high bar for rookie WRs to see the field unless we're in a desperate situation.

My view is that we are at a desperate situation. Bell cannot get back on the field at WR. You just can't depend on him at this point.

[thesack12]

Not gonna lie, I'm shocked that that apparently nobody lost their jobs after Sunday's game epic choke job.

Ronnie Bell categorically deserved to be waived. As much as I don't like Trent Taylor, I would rather promote him from the practice squad than to see Bell get another meaningful snap.

Even more surprising, nothing was done in the special teams department. Not even letting go of a low level assistant, in a placating type of move to make it appear like they think the atrocious special teams performances are unacceptable.

I mean seriously, what more do they need to see (in other words how many games do they need to lose due to special teams) before they are compelled to make any changes? Are they going to wait until they are mathematically eliminated playoff contention?

[Pattersonca65]

Why is Shanahan burying Cowing? Probably cost us the game. Cohn has been harping on this.

He hates playing rookies, especially at his old position. He has an incredibly high bar for rookie WRs to see the field unless we're in a desperate situation.

My view is that we are at a desperate situation. Bell cannot get back on the field at WR. You just can't depend on him at this point.

This is what Shanahan said specifically about it if you haven't read this already.

Q: Where is WR Jacob Cowing on his, I guess, progression in getting involved in the offense and were there thoughts about getting him any more snaps on offense?

SHANAHAN: “He's still working to get out there. He is trying to get more comfortable with the offense and just earn a role with it, gets closer and closer each week. Still got a bit to go though.”

Q: How has he been looking? He is obviously back, not off the injury list, but does he look like he is normal health-wise other than that?

SHANAHAN: “Oh yeah, he is totally healthy.”
Q: Is it more mental understanding of the offense and where he needs to be?

SHANAHAN: “There's lots of reasons that go into it, but he hasn't been able to make his way into that group yet, and the more he gets comfortable with the offense and the more consistent he gets then he'll earn those opportunities.”

[Big J]

Why is Shanahan burying Cowing? Probably cost us the game. Cohn has been harping on this.

He hates playing rookies, especially at his old position. He has an incredibly high bar for rookie WRs to see the field unless we're in a desperate situation.

My view is that we are at a desperate situation. Bell cannot get back on the field at WR. You just can't depend on him at this point.

This is what Shanahan said specifically about it if you haven't read this already.

Q: Where is WR Jacob Cowing on his, I guess, progression in getting involved in the offense and were there thoughts about getting him any more snaps on offense?

SHANAHAN: “He's still working to get out there. He is trying to get more comfortable with the offense and just earn a role with it, gets closer and closer each week. Still got a bit to go though.”

Q: How has he been looking? He is obviously back, not off the injury list, but does he look like he is normal health-wise other than that?

SHANAHAN: “Oh yeah, he is totally healthy.”
Q: Is it more mental understanding of the offense and where he needs to be?

SHANAHAN: “There's lots of reasons that go into it, but he hasn't been able to make his way into that group yet, and the more he gets comfortable with the offense and the more consistent he gets then he'll earn those opportunities.”

Sounds like a bunch of gobldegook that he’s using as an excuse for playing trash ahead of him.

[thesack12]

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2024/opp.htm

A lot has been made about the defensive line getting pressure and going through the numbers they aren't as bad as a lot of people think they are.

I'd say given the fact that we blitz a league-low 6.5% of the time being 11th in pressure percentage at 21.7% is pretty solid. Teams that are barely ahead of us are blitzing 20+% of the time

That's why I still contend the backend is a way bigger problem than the defensive line getting pressure. The defensive line isn't going to instantly melt guys in front of them all the time so you do have to force the QB to hold onto the ball a little bit for guys to win and get home. Coverage has gotta make the QB work a little bit to find an open man instead of dropping back and letting it rip as soon as the dropback is complete.

How many resources have been invested into the DL's of those other teams? I gotta believe that SF is near the top of that list.

Also, some of those teams utilize "Edge" position players as their primary pass rushers, but are basically outside linebackers. That being the case, I'm not sure we can use raw pressure % team stats as a gauge to blanketly evaluate DL's.

To me, if we can take anything substantial from those stats its that the 49ers need to blitz more. They are too predictable, and are getting routinely beaten with these basic schemes. What they are doing is not working, so they need to make adjustments to schemes and play calling. Of course more blitzes probably isn't the answer, at least not by itself. However dropping 7,8 into coverage is not working. If there is a chance that sending an extra defender or 2 after the QB will allow somebody to get home more often then they should dial up a few more blitzes.

My point wasn't to compare our DL to other teams' DL but to say that our pressure rate is pretty solid just rushing 4 guys 93% of the time when other teams have to blitz over double what we do to be able to pressure what we can with just our 4 guys.

I'm also not saying our DL is doing amazing either and can't do better but you'll see fans (not here but other big 9ers discussion areas) constantly complain about the DL whenever there is a big completion. The table I've been pounding is the backend is a far far bigger issue when it comes to the team's defensive woes than the defensive line. If we can actually force the QB to pat the ball at least once we'd have far more success rushing the passer instead of the QB dropping back and knowing exactly where to go with the ball because once again bunch formation got a guy wide open.

While the investment on the DL hasn't been cheap I also feel that's been overblown side as well. Bosa and Hargrave are making top dollar but everyone else on the defensive line is on the cheap to getting ok money and not signed long term.

We haven't drafted it that much either as we've taken 4 guys since 2020 with only two of those being premium picks with Kinlaw being a 1st and Drake being a 2. Beal and Davis were both 5th-round picks.

Maybe not in terms of money since Bosa and Hargrave make so much but you could argue we might have more invested in the secondary in that span than the DL. We've drafted 9 DBs in that same span and signed multiple free agents as well with Ward being the premier signing.

For me, it goes well beyond just this young season.

The DL/Pass rush was MIA for most of the latter half of last season, and for the majority of the playoffs. Whereas the secondary was mostly solid. Granted the soft zone schemes made them look worse than they actually were. But that was more scheme related than performance related. Under Wilks, pretty much all of the DB's elevated their individual play.

As far as resources go, during the Lynchahan era. I don't know there is another team that has invested more in the DL than SF has.

Three 1st round picks (#3, #2, #14) Drafted Kinlaw at 14, in a draft where they had no 2nd, 3rd, or 4th round picks
A 2nd rounder (Jackson) (in a draft where they didn't have a 1st)
4th rounder (Street)
Traded a 2nd rounder for Dee Ford, then gave him a massive extension
Gave Armstead a monster extension
Gave Bosa a historical extension
Gave Hargrave a huge free agent contract
Gave Floyd a sizable free agent contract
Traded for Jordan Willis (however for late round pick)
Traded for Maliek Collins (however for late round pick)
Traded a 3rd round pick for Chase Young

As far as the secondary goes:

3rd round pick (Witherspoon)
3rd round pick (Moore)
3rd round pick (Thomas)
3rd round pick (Brown)
2nd round pick (Green)
4th round pick (Mustapha)
No trades
Ward is the only notable free agent signing

I didn't include 5-7 round picks, as those are basically crap shoots and low level assets.

While 3rd round picks certainly have value, Outside of signing Ward as a free agent, they have not invested in substantial resources into the secondary. Whereas they have invested several premium draft picks into the DL, as well as giving out 4 separate monster contracts into the DL.

Granted some of those moves don't have much bearing on what we are seeing today, still a lot of them are currently still holding implications.

Last year specifically, between Bosa/Armstead/Hargrave there was almost $70 mil/season invested into them yet the DL was invisible for sizable portions of last season. And again, the secondary largely played well (when the scheme wasn't flawed.)

The DL (as a whole) is/was paid to be able to consistently win matchups. They simply haven't been doing nearly enough for quite awhile now. A decent O-line neutralizes them and a good O-line dominates them.

I agree the scheme, especially this season, is bad. That said, we know the DB's can play well. We saw it last season. The DL on the other hand, has been underwhelming for a good long while.

I do agree that changes to the scheme can help the DL, but same goes for the secondary. If Sorenson dialed up more man instead of zone, both Lenoir and Ward have shown that they can cover well. Plus with Huf working his way back into shape, I'm personally not rel worried about the secondary. At least not currently, and assuming there will be changes to the scheme.

I can't say the same for the DL, they just have not been performing up to snuff. And now with Hargrave out for the season, its probably going to get worse before it gets better. There isn't any cavalry on the way.

[CrimsonCrew]

Not gonna lie, I'm shocked that that apparently nobody lost their jobs after Sunday's game epic choke job.

Ronnie Bell categorically deserved to be waived. As much as I don't like Trent Taylor, I would rather promote him from the practice squad than to see Bell get another meaningful snap.

Even more surprising, nothing was done in the special teams department. Not even letting go of a low level assistant, in a placating type of move to make it appear like they think the atrocious special teams performances are unacceptable.

I mean seriously, what more do they need to see (in other words how many games do they need to lose due to special teams) before they are compelled to make any changes? Are they going to wait until they are mathematically eliminated playoff contention?

Maiocco addressed STs in his overreactions column:

As for special teams coordinator Brian Schneider, his unit must perform better. But firing people after three games is generally not a reasonable option.

Schneider has coached a long time in the NFL, so he’s proven. His special teams units with Seattle were top-notch, including in the season of their Super Bowl title.

The 49ers do not need to win games on special teams, but it is unacceptable for them to give the game away.

A few thoughts. It's not three games. It is two years and three games. And our STs have been awful throughout. It's hard to find STs rankings, but Rick Gosselin has a semi-scientific method. Based on that, the Niners were 17th in 2022, fell to 25th in 2023, and have got to be at or near the bottom this year.

Over the past four games, the Niners lost a punt return when it hit a player's leg, had a punt blocked, allowed a successful fake punt, and allowed a long game-losing punt return. Our kickoff and punt coverage units have been abysmal since Schneider joined the squad. Every time we kicked off in the field of play last year, I held my breath.

In the last two games, the STs units were responsible for momentum-shifting plays that allowed the opponent back in a game we could have put away. The blocked punt in Minnesota handed them three points and a lead they never relinquished. And the fake punt was the only think that kept the Rams in it when we were in position to go up by 17 or 21.

Schneider is an awful coach and he needs to be replaced immediately.

[CrimsonCrew]

How many resources have been invested into the DL's of those other teams? I gotta believe that SF is near the top of that list.

Also, some of those teams utilize "Edge" position players as their primary pass rushers, but are basically outside linebackers. That being the case, I'm not sure we can use raw pressure % team stats as a gauge to blanketly evaluate DL's.

To me, if we can take anything substantial from those stats its that the 49ers need to blitz more. They are too predictable, and are getting routinely beaten with these basic schemes. What they are doing is not working, so they need to make adjustments to schemes and play calling. Of course more blitzes probably isn't the answer, at least not by itself. However dropping 7,8 into coverage is not working. If there is a chance that sending an extra defender or 2 after the QB will allow somebody to get home more often then they should dial up a few more blitzes.

My point wasn't to compare our DL to other teams' DL but to say that our pressure rate is pretty solid just rushing 4 guys 93% of the time when other teams have to blitz over double what we do to be able to pressure what we can with just our 4 guys.

I'm also not saying our DL is doing amazing either and can't do better but you'll see fans (not here but other big 9ers discussion areas) constantly complain about the DL whenever there is a big completion. The table I've been pounding is the backend is a far far bigger issue when it comes to the team's defensive woes than the defensive line. If we can actually force the QB to pat the ball at least once we'd have far more success rushing the passer instead of the QB dropping back and knowing exactly where to go with the ball because once again bunch formation got a guy wide open.

While the investment on the DL hasn't been cheap I also feel that's been overblown side as well. Bosa and Hargrave are making top dollar but everyone else on the defensive line is on the cheap to getting ok money and not signed long term.

We haven't drafted it that much either as we've taken 4 guys since 2020 with only two of those being premium picks with Kinlaw being a 1st and Drake being a 2. Beal and Davis were both 5th-round picks.

Maybe not in terms of money since Bosa and Hargrave make so much but you could argue we might have more invested in the secondary in that span than the DL. We've drafted 9 DBs in that same span and signed multiple free agents as well with Ward being the premier signing.

For me, it goes well beyond just this young season.

The DL/Pass rush was MIA for most of the latter half of last season, and for the majority of the playoffs. Whereas the secondary was mostly solid. Granted the soft zone schemes made them look worse than they actually were. But that was more scheme related than performance related. Under Wilks, pretty much all of the DB's elevated their individual play.

As far as resources go, during the Lynchahan era. I don't know there is another team that has invested more in the DL than SF has.

Three 1st round picks (#3, #2, #14) Drafted Kinlaw at 14, in a draft where they had no 2nd, 3rd, or 4th round picks
A 2nd rounder (Jackson) (in a draft where they didn't have a 1st)
4th rounder (Street)
Traded a 2nd rounder for Dee Ford, then gave him a massive extension
Gave Armstead a monster extension
Gave Bosa a historical extension
Gave Hargrave a huge free agent contract
Gave Floyd a sizable free agent contract
Traded for Jordan Willis (however for late round pick)
Traded for Maliek Collins (however for late round pick)

As far as the secondary goes:

3rd round pick (Witherspoon)
3rd round pick (Moore)
3rd round pick (Thomas)
3rd round pick (Brown)
2nd round pick (Green)
4th round pick (Mustapha)
No trades
Ward is the only notable free agent signing

I didn't include 5-7 round picks, as those are basically crap shoots and low level assets.

While 3rd round picks certainly have value, Outside of signing Ward as a free agent, they have not invested in substantial resources into the secondary. Whereas they have invested several premium draft picks into the DL, as well as giving out 4 separate monster contracts into the DL.

Granted some of those moves don't have much bearing on what we are seeing today, still a lot of them are currently still holding implications.

Last year specifically, between Bosa/Armstead/Kinlaw there was almost $70 mil/season invested into them yet the DL was invisible for sizable portions of last season. And again, the secondary largely played well (when the scheme wasn't flawed.)

The DL (as a whole) is/was paid to be able to consistently win matchups. They simply haven't been doing nearly enough for quite awhile now. A decent O-line neutralizes them and a good O-line dominates them.

I agree the scheme, especially this season, is bad. That said, we know the DB's can play well. We saw it last season. The DL on the other hand, has been underwhelming for a good long while.

I do agree that changes to the scheme can help the DL, but same goes for the secondary. If Sorenson dialed up more man instead of zone, both Lenoir and Ward have shown that they can cover well. Plus with Huf working his way back into shape, I'm personally not rel worried about the secondary. At least not currently, and assuming there will be changes to the scheme.

I can't say the same for the DL, they just have not been performing up to snuff. And now with Hargrave out for the season, its probably going to get worse before it gets better. There isn't any cavalry on the way.

Traded for Charles Omenihu (5th round).
Traded for Randy Gregory (6th round).
Traded for Chase Young (3rd round).

Though with the Kinlaw pick, they did have a second and fourth. They traded those away later (and a 5th) for the Aiyuk pick.

5th round pick for DJ Reed (it still kills me he's the one injured player we weren't willing to wait on....).
5th round pick for Hufanga.
5th round pick for Lenoir.
5th round pick for Womack.
5th round pick for Luter.

Obviously those were later picks. Damn, though, what a run of 5th-round DBs in Reed, Hufanga, and Lenoir.

[CrimsonCrew]

Seeing now that you said you weren't considering picks after the 4th.

[thesack12]

My point wasn't to compare our DL to other teams' DL but to say that our pressure rate is pretty solid just rushing 4 guys 93% of the time when other teams have to blitz over double what we do to be able to pressure what we can with just our 4 guys.

I'm also not saying our DL is doing amazing either and can't do better but you'll see fans (not here but other big 9ers discussion areas) constantly complain about the DL whenever there is a big completion. The table I've been pounding is the backend is a far far bigger issue when it comes to the team's defensive woes than the defensive line. If we can actually force the QB to pat the ball at least once we'd have far more success rushing the passer instead of the QB dropping back and knowing exactly where to go with the ball because once again bunch formation got a guy wide open.

While the investment on the DL hasn't been cheap I also feel that's been overblown side as well. Bosa and Hargrave are making top dollar but everyone else on the defensive line is on the cheap to getting ok money and not signed long term.

We haven't drafted it that much either as we've taken 4 guys since 2020 with only two of those being premium picks with Kinlaw being a 1st and Drake being a 2. Beal and Davis were both 5th-round picks.

Maybe not in terms of money since Bosa and Hargrave make so much but you could argue we might have more invested in the secondary in that span than the DL. We've drafted 9 DBs in that same span and signed multiple free agents as well with Ward being the premier signing.

For me, it goes well beyond just this young season.

The DL/Pass rush was MIA for most of the latter half of last season, and for the majority of the playoffs. Whereas the secondary was mostly solid. Granted the soft zone schemes made them look worse than they actually were. But that was more scheme related than performance related. Under Wilks, pretty much all of the DB's elevated their individual play.

As far as resources go, during the Lynchahan era. I don't know there is another team that has invested more in the DL than SF has.

Three 1st round picks (#3, #2, #14) Drafted Kinlaw at 14, in a draft where they had no 2nd, 3rd, or 4th round picks
A 2nd rounder (Jackson) (in a draft where they didn't have a 1st)
4th rounder (Street)
Traded a 2nd rounder for Dee Ford, then gave him a massive extension
Gave Armstead a monster extension
Gave Bosa a historical extension
Gave Hargrave a huge free agent contract
Gave Floyd a sizable free agent contract
Traded for Jordan Willis (however for late round pick)
Traded for Maliek Collins (however for late round pick)

As far as the secondary goes:

3rd round pick (Witherspoon)
3rd round pick (Moore)
3rd round pick (Thomas)
3rd round pick (Brown)
2nd round pick (Green)
4th round pick (Mustapha)
No trades
Ward is the only notable free agent signing

I didn't include 5-7 round picks, as those are basically crap shoots and low level assets.

While 3rd round picks certainly have value, Outside of signing Ward as a free agent, they have not invested in substantial resources into the secondary. Whereas they have invested several premium draft picks into the DL, as well as giving out 4 separate monster contracts into the DL.

Granted some of those moves don't have much bearing on what we are seeing today, still a lot of them are currently still holding implications.

Last year specifically, between Bosa/Armstead/Kinlaw there was almost $70 mil/season invested into them yet the DL was invisible for sizable portions of last season. And again, the secondary largely played well (when the scheme wasn't flawed.)

The DL (as a whole) is/was paid to be able to consistently win matchups. They simply haven't been doing nearly enough for quite awhile now. A decent O-line neutralizes them and a good O-line dominates them.

I agree the scheme, especially this season, is bad. That said, we know the DB's can play well. We saw it last season. The DL on the other hand, has been underwhelming for a good long while.

I do agree that changes to the scheme can help the DL, but same goes for the secondary. If Sorenson dialed up more man instead of zone, both Lenoir and Ward have shown that they can cover well. Plus with Huf working his way back into shape, I'm personally not rel worried about the secondary. At least not currently, and assuming there will be changes to the scheme.

I can't say the same for the DL, they just have not been performing up to snuff. And now with Hargrave out for the season, its probably going to get worse before it gets better. There isn't any cavalry on the way.

Traded for Charles Omenihu (5th round).
Traded for Randy Gregory (6th round).
Traded for Chase Young (3rd round).

Though with the Kinlaw pick, they did have a second and fourth. They traded those away later (and a 5th) for the Aiyuk pick.

5th round pick for DJ Reed (it still kills me he's the one injured player we weren't willing to wait on....).
5th round pick for Hufanga.
5th round pick for Lenoir.
5th round pick for Womack.
5th round pick for Luter.

Obviously those were later picks. Damn, though, what a run of 5th-round DBs in Reed, Hufanga, and Lenoir.

Before seeing your post, I edited mine to include the Young trade.

I did entirely forget about the Omenihu and Gregory trades, thanks for the info.

Its pretty clear that this regime places much more emphasis on the DL than the secondary. Unfortunately, the returns on those investments have been far less than desirable.

Really last year's DL with Bosa/Hargrave/Armstead/Young/Gregory should have been absolutely wrecking games consistently. Instead they were largely invisible and got dominated by good OL's like Detroit for example. There just wasn't any steak to that sizzle.

[thesack12]

Not gonna lie, I'm shocked that that apparently nobody lost their jobs after Sunday's game epic choke job.

Ronnie Bell categorically deserved to be waived. As much as I don't like Trent Taylor, I would rather promote him from the practice squad than to see Bell get another meaningful snap.

Even more surprising, nothing was done in the special teams department. Not even letting go of a low level assistant, in a placating type of move to make it appear like they think the atrocious special teams performances are unacceptable.

I mean seriously, what more do they need to see (in other words how many games do they need to lose due to special teams) before they are compelled to make any changes? Are they going to wait until they are mathematically eliminated playoff contention?

Maiocco addressed STs in his overreactions column:

As for special teams coordinator Brian Schneider, his unit must perform better. But firing people after three games is generally not a reasonable option.

Schneider has coached a long time in the NFL, so he’s proven. His special teams units with Seattle were top-notch, including in the season of their Super Bowl title.

The 49ers do not need to win games on special teams, but it is unacceptable for them to give the game away.

A few thoughts. It's not three games. It is two years and three games. And our STs have been awful throughout. It's hard to find STs rankings, but Rick Gosselin has a semi-scientific method. Based on that, the Niners were 17th in 2022, fell to 25th in 2023, and have got to be at or near the bottom this year.

Over the past four games, the Niners lost a punt return when it hit a player's leg, had a punt blocked, allowed a successful fake punt, and allowed a long game-losing punt return. Our kickoff and punt coverage units have been abysmal since Schneider joined the squad. Every time we kicked off in the field of play last year, I held my breath.

In the last two games, the STs units were responsible for momentum-shifting plays that allowed the opponent back in a game we could have put away. The blocked punt in Minnesota handed them three points and a lead they never relinquished. And the fake punt was the only think that kept the Rams in it when we were in position to go up by 17 or 21.

Schneider is an awful coach and he needs to be replaced immediately.

100 % agreed.

We are so, so far removed from calling for Schneider's head being an "over-reaction."

Special teams has sabotaged a ton of games in the last few seasons. As I mentioned earlier, I don't know how much more they need to see before deciding a change is needed.

Kyle wasn't shy about pink slipping Wilks. And while Steve left some to be desired, he did have a few redeeming qualities like elevating the play of the DB's, and ability to make solid in game adjustments.

What are the redeeming qualities of Scheider's units? Are there any? They are either below average or rock bottom in pretty much all facets of special teams. Mitch is a good pure punter, but that is like the only thing I can think of that is good. Even with that the punt coverage is somewhere between bad to awful, and as we saw 2 weeks ago the blocking is suspect.

If they continue to keep the status quo, the 49ers will continue to forfeit 1 of 3 phases of the game. Seriously the best you can hope for on special teams is to not be a disaster. They damn sure aren't going to give the team a boost, or shift momentum towards SF. Let alone actually win a game.

You posted a video the other day, with that guy breaking down the special teams and its systematic failures. He said several times "you're either coaching it, or you are letting it happen." That is spot on analysis, and sadly in SF's case its both.

[CrimsonCrew]

Yeah, frankly I have no idea how Schneider kept his job after the SB. Given the three devastating mistakes so far this year that are DIRECTLY attributable to coaching - and I'm not even including the muffed punt and missed game-winning FG as I hold the players primarily responsible for those - he should have been fired Sunday night.

[Pattersonca65]

Yeah, frankly I have no idea how Schneider kept his job after the SB. Given the three devastating mistakes so far this year that are DIRECTLY attributable to coaching - and I'm not even including the muffed punt and missed game-winning FG as I hold the players primarily responsible for those - he should have been fired Sunday night.

I really don't understand the difficultly in finding a coach that can fix the issues and at least make the ST an average group at the NFL level. Someone here mentioned Bill Walsh and that is what separated Bill Walsh from lesser coaches. He would never tolerate sub par play from any of his units for so long. He would do what was needed to be done to get it fixed.

[zman1]

Yeah, frankly I have no idea how Schneider kept his job after the SB. Given the three devastating mistakes so far this year that are DIRECTLY attributable to coaching - and I'm not even including the muffed punt and missed game-winning FG as I hold the players primarily responsible for those - he should have been fired Sunday night.

I really don't understand the difficultly in finding a coach that can fix the issues and at least make the ST an average group at the NFL level. Someone here mentioned Bill Walsh and that is what separated Bill Walsh from lesser coaches. He would never tolerate sub par play from any of his units for so long. He would do what was needed to be done to get it fixed.

Harbaugh had tremendous STs in all facets, at least in first year or two. We were always coming out ahead on field position.

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[Pattersonca65]

Yeah, frankly I have no idea how Schneider kept his job after the SB. Given the three devastating mistakes so far this year that are DIRECTLY attributable to coaching - and I'm not even including the muffed punt and missed game-winning FG as I hold the players primarily responsible for those - he should have been fired Sunday night.

I really don't understand the difficultly in finding a coach that can fix the issues and at least make the ST an average group at the NFL level. Someone here mentioned Bill Walsh and that is what separated Bill Walsh from lesser coaches. He would never tolerate sub par play from any of his units for so long. He would do what was needed to be done to get it fixed.

Harbaugh had tremendous STs in all facets, at least in first year or two. We were always coming out ahead on field position.

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Special teams and defenses were great. But his offenses did have issues.

[clyde21]

https://l.smartnews.com/p-9rA3V/Ix4ArJ

Good article that I largely agree with: Kyle emphasizing vets and not playing young guys enough. And I do remember Walsh being ruthless about it. I was shocked when he just dumped Deberg to go full time with Joe, but it was obviously a brilliant move.

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Kerr annoyingly does the same thing with the Warriors

[CrimsonCrew]

I really don't understand the difficultly in finding a coach that can fix the issues and at least make the ST an average group at the NFL level. Someone here mentioned Bill Walsh and that is what separated Bill Walsh from lesser coaches. He would never tolerate sub par play from any of his units for so long. He would do what was needed to be done to get it fixed.

Harbaugh had tremendous STs in all facets, at least in first year or two. We were always coming out ahead on field position.

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Special teams and defenses were great. But his offenses did have issues.

I've said this before, but Shanahan is a great big picture coach. He's creative, he can identify guys who fit his system, and his system - especially on offense - is one of the best. But I'd like to see more Harbaugh in him. Harbaugh certainly wasn't a playcaller, but he was a detail guy. Again, not perfect; remember all the delay of games and blown TOs? But his teams executed at the margins really well. He wanted a close, physical game and he trusted his guys to pull it out at the end.

Kyle is the opposite. He wants to win by 20 points. And with a full complement of offensive players and a functional D, he's one of the coaches that can do that. But when it gets muddy down the stretch in a close game, his teams just don't finish the way Harbaugh's did.

And honestly, that's maybe the best argument not to give Purdy a big deal. We saw in this game that Purdy can absolutely still be an excellent QB without all his weapons. But without those weapons, we aren't going to score 35 a game. We'll have too many individual lapses (Bell - and Aiyuk - drops, McKivitz blowing blocks, Brendel getting mauled in the run game) to sustain drives like we can with a full complement of players. And I don't know that the other aspects of Kyle's team can rise to the occasion and cover for that without a truly elite defense.

So no knock - at all - on Purdy, but it just may be that Shanahan is at his best compensating for a middle-of-the-road QB (to be explicit, I do NOT believe Purdy is middle-of-the-road) with elite units around that guy instead of cleaning up other areas to support an expensive QB.

[Pattersonca65]

Harbaugh had tremendous STs in all facets, at least in first year or two. We were always coming out ahead on field position.

Sent from my SM-X610 using Tapatalk

Special teams and defenses were great. But his offenses did have issues.

I've said this before, but Shanahan is a great big picture coach. He's creative, he can identify guys who fit his system, and his system - especially on offense - is one of the best. But I'd like to see more Harbaugh in him. Harbaugh certainly wasn't a playcaller, but he was a detail guy. Again, not perfect; remember all the delay of games and blown TOs? But his teams executed at the margins really well. He wanted a close, physical game and he trusted his guys to pull it out at the end.

Kyle is the opposite. He wants to win by 20 points. And with a full complement of offensive players and a functional D, he's one of the coaches that can do that. But when it gets muddy down the stretch in a close game, his teams just don't finish the way Harbaugh's did.

And honestly, that's maybe the best argument not to give Purdy a big deal. We saw in this game that Purdy can absolutely still be an excellent QB without all his weapons. But without those weapons, we aren't going to score 35 a game. We'll have too many individual lapses (Bell - and Aiyuk - drops, McKivitz blowing blocks, Brendel getting mauled in the run game) to sustain drives like we can with a full complement of players. And I don't know that the other aspects of Kyle's team can rise to the occasion and cover for that without a truly elite defense.

So no knock - at all - on Purdy, but it just may be that Shanahan is at his best compensating for a middle-of-the-road QB (to be explicit, I do NOT believe Purdy is middle-of-the-road) with elite units around that guy instead of cleaning up other areas to support an expensive QB.

I don't see Harbaugh detail guy in part for the reasons you explained above and in part because he isn't a playcaller. To me Bill Walsh was a detail guy and in alot of ways Harbaugh was the anti-Walsh. They were different in many ways. As far as paying Purdy goes, setting aside whether he is worth paying and whether he is the franchise QB, I think it is better trying to win and build around a franchise QB than trying to build an elite roster around a middle of the road QB. Sustained success in the NFL is difficult regardless of which way the organization chooses to go but so far it seems the first option is better than the second. Purdy hasn't even been paid yet and already we are seeing our elite defense slipping which to date is no longer elite.

[CrimsonCrew]

Special teams and defenses were great. But his offenses did have issues.

I've said this before, but Shanahan is a great big picture coach. He's creative, he can identify guys who fit his system, and his system - especially on offense - is one of the best. But I'd like to see more Harbaugh in him. Harbaugh certainly wasn't a playcaller, but he was a detail guy. Again, not perfect; remember all the delay of games and blown TOs? But his teams executed at the margins really well. He wanted a close, physical game and he trusted his guys to pull it out at the end.

Kyle is the opposite. He wants to win by 20 points. And with a full complement of offensive players and a functional D, he's one of the coaches that can do that. But when it gets muddy down the stretch in a close game, his teams just don't finish the way Harbaugh's did.

And honestly, that's maybe the best argument not to give Purdy a big deal. We saw in this game that Purdy can absolutely still be an excellent QB without all his weapons. But without those weapons, we aren't going to score 35 a game. We'll have too many individual lapses (Bell - and Aiyuk - drops, McKivitz blowing blocks, Brendel getting mauled in the run game) to sustain drives like we can with a full complement of players. And I don't know that the other aspects of Kyle's team can rise to the occasion and cover for that without a truly elite defense.

So no knock - at all - on Purdy, but it just may be that Shanahan is at his best compensating for a middle-of-the-road QB (to be explicit, I do NOT believe Purdy is middle-of-the-road) with elite units around that guy instead of cleaning up other areas to support an expensive QB.

I don't see Harbaugh detail guy in part for the reasons you explained above and in part because he isn't a playcaller. To me Bill Walsh was a detail guy and in alot of ways Harbaugh was the anti-Walsh. They were different in many ways. As far as paying Purdy goes, setting aside whether he is worth paying and whether he is the franchise QB, I think it is better trying to win and build around a franchise QB than trying to build an elite roster around a middle of the road QB. Sustained success in the NFL is difficult regardless of which way the organization chooses to go but so far it seems the first option is better than the second. Purdy hasn't even been paid yet and already we are seeing our elite defense slipping which to date is no longer elite.

Yeah, Harbaugh still isn't a great example. Walsh and Belichick were fanatics about that sort of thing. Harbaugh still did plenty of things that were frustrating. It's more the ability to close out close games that Harbaugh seemed to have to an extent that Shanahan does not. And maybe that's as simple as the effectiveness of the power run game in the 4th quarter when the defense is tired.

Regardless, it's something Shanahan needs to improve upon.

[Pattersonca65]

Harbaugh had tremendous STs in all facets, at least in first year or two. We were always coming out ahead on field position.

Sent from my SM-X610 using Tapatalk

Special teams and defenses were great. But his offenses did have issues.

I've said this before, but Shanahan is a great big picture coach. He's creative, he can identify guys who fit his system, and his system - especially on offense - is one of the best. But I'd like to see more Harbaugh in him. Harbaugh certainly wasn't a playcaller, but he was a detail guy. Again, not perfect; remember all the delay of games and blown TOs? But his teams executed at the margins really well. He wanted a close, physical game and he trusted his guys to pull it out at the end.

Kyle is the opposite. He wants to win by 20 points. And with a full complement of offensive players and a functional D, he's one of the coaches that can do that. But when it gets muddy down the stretch in a close game, his teams just don't finish the way Harbaugh's did.

And honestly, that's maybe the best argument not to give Purdy a big deal. We saw in this game that Purdy can absolutely still be an excellent QB without all his weapons. But without those weapons, we aren't going to score 35 a game. We'll have too many individual lapses (Bell - and Aiyuk - drops, McKivitz blowing blocks, Brendel getting mauled in the run game) to sustain drives like we can with a full complement of players. And I don't know that the other aspects of Kyle's team can rise to the occasion and cover for that without a truly elite defense.

So no knock - at all - on Purdy, but it just may be that Shanahan is at his best compensating for a middle-of-the-road QB (to be explicit, I do NOT believe Purdy is middle-of-the-road) with elite units around that guy instead of cleaning up other areas to support an expensive QB.

I came across this article earlier which was interesting. Despite Mahomes slow start and early struggles, the Chiefs are 3-0. The Chiefs and Patriots have done which very few teams have been able to do in the modern era. Sure part of it has to do with coaching but using limited resources both teams made roster decisions that have kept their teams in contention. I give credit to Kyle and Lynch for bringing the 49ers to the level they are at and the success this team has had so far despite not winning a super bowl. But do you think they can maintain the roster at such a high level that they can continue to win with a Jimmy G at QB? I am not so sure.

https://fox4kc.com/sports/chiefs/patrick-mahomes-critical-of-play-to-start-season-explains-travis-kelces-slow-start/