2025 49ers Season

[Pattersonca65]

Moody is on Shanahan. The fact that they blew a third round pick is old news and it was a missed pick but they knew coming into this season Moody was unreliable and yet they accepted his struggles through the offseason and training camp and now they are dealing with replacing a kicker week 2, no excuse for that

[CrimsonCrew]

Rejoice, Moody is finally gone

there needs to be a full investigation into why Lynch/Kyle thought it was a good idea to draft *the* worst kicker in the NFL in the 3rd round.

Pretty amazingly bad choice. Finally cutting bait is a great, although that means we are still going to be weak in the kicking game picking up someone now. [url]Can't be worse though.[/url]

I think that Trent is a massive concern. Was supposed to be a major strong point but could be a weakness now. A big gamble to think he can beat father time.

Sent from my SM-X610 using Tapatalk

Careful with that kind of statement.

We all thought that Special Teams couldn't get any worse after last season, but....

Read on Twitter

Regardless, Moody absolutely had to go. It was long past due, fortunately he finally got pink slipped before he cost the 49ers a game this season.

And yeah, riding the carousel of kickers doesn't exactly paint the brightest outlook. Still the bar has been set so damn low, that even being below average would be an improvement. So there is some reason for optimism.

Not sure what they are up to these days, but from what I remember Slye and McClaughlin were pretty solid when there were brought in to fill in for Gould in recent seasons. If they are currently free agents, and still stay in regular kicking shape/mentality, bring em in for a workout.

Two missed FGs and multiple KOs into the endzone probably account for 7+ or those points. I think a lot of that should improve just with the replacement of Moody. Arguably the block wasn't on him, but at that distance, he should be able to get it over the guys trying to block it.

[Jikkle]

The problem with Special Teams is Shanahan has the same attitude with it as he does with the offensive line and he just wants it to be good enough to not be an issue.

But like the offensive line that attitude just leads to substandard play and we're seeing it again.

Now we'll see how week 2 looks because Moody has been a big reason why the STs have been awful but I'm not expecting a massive turnaround and like Shanahan I'd just be happy if it's functional.

[clyde21]

Sounds like Shanahan is starting to be the problem then.

[Samurai]

They should have drafted a TE the last couple of drafts.

Kittle still very good but at his age and cap number they should have groomed a replacement.

They did.

In 2023 they took Latu in the 3rd, and and Willis in the 7th. Unfortunately Latu was total trash. Willis' ceiling appears to be a special teamer, with next to no value on offense. Although being a 7th rounder, you can't really expect anything more than that from Willis.

So its not that they haven't drafted a TE, its just they haven't drafted a decent one.

Can we coach Juice on how to run a few TE routes? His run blocking as a FB isn't what he used to be but he still seems to have decent hands. Probably as good or better of a receiver than Willis. If we can't get the same level of performance in the run game from him, maybe he can be our make-shift receiving TE until Kittle is back.

[wco81]

Sounds like Shanahan is starting to be the problem then.

viewtopic.php?f=176&t=1970904

[CrimsonCrew]

Now this is pretty funny. Chad Ochocinco asking the Niners to hire him as a nutritionist:

Read on Twitter

Particularly hilarious as in his playing days he was known for eating McDonald's like every day.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LUh4CnYhCdI

[thesack12]

Pretty amazingly bad choice. Finally cutting bait is a great, although that means we are still going to be weak in the kicking game picking up someone now. [url]Can't be worse though.[/url]

I think that Trent is a massive concern. Was supposed to be a major strong point but could be a weakness now. A big gamble to think he can beat father time.

Sent from my SM-X610 using Tapatalk

Careful with that kind of statement.

We all thought that Special Teams couldn't get any worse after last season, but....

Read on Twitter

Regardless, Moody absolutely had to go. It was long past due, fortunately he finally got pink slipped before he cost the 49ers a game this season.

And yeah, riding the carousel of kickers doesn't exactly paint the brightest outlook. Still the bar has been set so damn low, that even being below average would be an improvement. So there is some reason for optimism.

Not sure what they are up to these days, but from what I remember Slye and McClaughlin were pretty solid when there were brought in to fill in for Gould in recent seasons. If they are currently free agents, and still stay in regular kicking shape/mentality, bring em in for a workout.

Two missed FGs and multiple KOs into the endzone probably account for 7+ or those points. I think a lot of that should improve just with the replacement of Moody. Arguably the block wasn't on him, but at that distance, he should be able to get it over the guys trying to block it.

Read on Twitter

While the placekicker played a huge role, ST's as a whole were firmly bad across the board.

Moore also fumbled a punt return, that fortunately went out of bounds.

Replacing Moody is a good start, but SF is still miles away from getting neutral impact from their special teams. Getting + ST impact is a pipe dream wished on a star in the Andromeda galaxy.

[thesack12]

They should have drafted a TE the last couple of drafts.

Kittle still very good but at his age and cap number they should have groomed a replacement.

They did.

In 2023 they took Latu in the 3rd, and and Willis in the 7th. Unfortunately Latu was total trash. Willis' ceiling appears to be a special teamer, with next to no value on offense. Although being a 7th rounder, you can't really expect anything more than that from Willis.

So its not that they haven't drafted a TE, its just they haven't drafted a decent one.

Can we coach Juice on how to run a few TE routes? His run blocking as a FB isn't what he used to be but he still seems to have decent hands. Probably as good or better of a receiver than Willis. If we can't get the same level of performance in the run game from him, maybe he can be our make-shift receiving TE until Kittle is back.

I like where your head is at here.

I was not thrilled when they brought Juice back after cutting him earlier in the offseason. Not that I don't like Juice, but I was looking forward to Kyle getting more imaginative with his personnel groupings. Kyle relied on 2 back personnel wayyyy too much, and a lot of times it was more of a hindrance than a positive as the sets became too predictable and having another guy hover around the LOS does not stress a defense enough. Especially with Juice's blocking abilility eroding, and just aging and slowing down in general.

So to your point, I do like the idea of running Juice in some TE sets. Now obviously, you aren't going to line him up at TE in any of the "heavy" sets. But in pass situations, while he's probably not going to beat too many guys in man coverage, as you mentioned he still has good hands and is a solid receiver. So he could be utilized in passing situations against zone schemes, where he can find the holes in the zone. While not what he used to be, hes still a capable blocker, so you could use him in some of the 11, 12 personnel groupings and empty backfield sets. While that would be a different nuance to the type of blocking assignments he's used, I think he can largely handle it. We also know, that he can still be effective with releasing out into the formation as a receiver after making his blocking assignment on the play.

With Kittle out, and WR still lacking much substance. Kyle is going to have to get creative. If week 1 was any indication, Gage and MVS aren't going to be of much use, and Moore is a WR on paper only. Also with Bourne coming in so late, I don't think we can expect much from him for the first few weeks.

All that said, Kyle watch lean even more into the 22 personnel (CMC, Juice, Tonges, Farrell). Becoming super vanilla, predictable, and allow defenses to stack the box and not even be concerned with covering the field beyond the sticks.

[thesack12]

Looks like Eddy Pineiro is the new kicker.

I'm not going to pretend like I know the ins and outs on how to properly evaluate place kickers, and I have not watched nearly enough of him to have a feel for how his kickoffs are.

His numbers look nice. In a 5 year career he's 88.1% of FG's (including 11/14 from 50+), and 92.1% on PAT's. You'd like to see the PAT% a tad higher, but on paper those are some really solid numbers.

Welcome to SF, Eddy. We need you bro.

[arich35]

The problem with Special Teams is Shanahan has the same attitude with it as he does with the offensive line and he just wants it to be good enough to not be an issue.

But like the offensive line that attitude just leads to substandard play and we're seeing it again.

Now we'll see how week 2 looks because Moody has been a big reason why the STs have been awful but I'm not expecting a massive turnaround and like Shanahan I'd just be happy if it's functional.

I mean they did fire their ST coach and hired a guy with a lot of experience with the Jets. Also brought in guys that were good ST guys so I am not sure what was going on the first game besides Moody being awful

[RIPskaterdude]

Looks like Eddy Pineiro is the new kicker.

I'm not going to pretend like I know the ins and outs on how to properly evaluate place kickers, and I have not watched nearly enough of him to have a feel for how his kickoffs are.

His numbers look nice. In a 5 year career he's 88.1% of FG's (including 11/14 from 50+), and 92.1% on PAT's. You'd like to see the PAT% a tad higher, but on paper those are some really solid numbers.

Welcome to SF, Eddy. We need you bro.

His numbers look good, so why was he a FA still?

[Pattersonca65]

Looks like Eddy Pineiro is the new kicker.

I'm not going to pretend like I know the ins and outs on how to properly evaluate place kickers, and I have not watched nearly enough of him to have a feel for how his kickoffs are.

His numbers look nice. In a 5 year career he's 88.1% of FG's (including 11/14 from 50+), and 92.1% on PAT's. You'd like to see the PAT% a tad higher, but on paper those are some really solid numbers.

Welcome to SF, Eddy. We need you bro.

His numbers look good, so why was he a FA still?

He was inconsistent last year but also hurt his non-kicking knee. His extension request may have also been a factor. Some of this is summarized below. I'll say it again, at this point I would be ok with a guy not having a strong leg if he is consistent or money from a shorter range. At least the offense can count on getting to a certain part of the field will net them a field goal and they can rely on the kicker. I grew up with Ray Wershing. He had a weak leg but never missed inside the 40.

Concerns over leg strength: While Piñeiro is one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history, the Panthers' new coaching staff reportedly lacked confidence in his leg strength for longer kicks. During the 2024 season, he attempted only two field goals of 50-plus yards.
Contract dispute and absence from OTAs: In May 2024, Piñeiro did not attend the Panthers' voluntary offseason workouts, as he was seeking a contract extension and a raise. This created some uncertainty around his future with the team.
Exploring other options: At the 2025 NFL scouting combine, Panthers General Manager Dan Morgan indicated the team would let Piñeiro test the market while actively looking for other replacements.

[clyde21]

This **** is exactly why you *never* draft kickers anywhjere higher than the 7th round (let alone the **** 3rd)...you can find functional kickers on the street literally. the GOAT (Justin Tucker) was an UDFA, current best kicker in the league Boswell was an UDFA, Brandon Aubrey was a soccer player the Cowboys picked up on the street...maybe Lynch/Shanny were just too **** lazy to look for one and decided to drop a 3rd on one, and to add injury to insult dude turned out to be *the* worst kicker in the league

like, wtf are we even doing? i've been a defender of both Lynch and Kyle but i'm very close tom pull a Dodub and want them both gone

[Samurai]

Now this is pretty funny. Chad Ochocinco asking the Niners to hire him as a nutritionist:

Read on Twitter

Particularly hilarious as in his playing days he was known for eating McDonald's like every day.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LUh4CnYhCdI

Well, in his defense I don't think Ronald McDonald has spent a day on the IL.

[Pattersonca65]

This **** is exactly why you *never* draft kickers anywhjere higher than the 7th round (let alone the **** 3rd)...you can find functional kickers on the street literally. the GOAT (Justin Tucker) was an UDFA, current best kicker in the league Boswell was an UDFA, Brandon Aubrey was a soccer player the Cowboys picked up on the street...maybe Lynch/Shanny were just too **** lazy to look for one and decided to drop a 3rd on one, and to add injury to insult dude turned out to be *the* worst kicker in the league

like, wtf are we even doing? i've been a defender of both Lynch and Kyle but i'm very close tom pull a Dodub and want them both gone

In some ways it fits a pattern with them. They have a list of players they want and will take them regardless of where they draft them.

[CrimsonCrew]

This **** is exactly why you *never* draft kickers anywhjere higher than the 7th round (let alone the **** 3rd)...you can find functional kickers on the street literally. the GOAT (Justin Tucker) was an UDFA, current best kicker in the league Boswell was an UDFA, Brandon Aubrey was a soccer player the Cowboys picked up on the street...maybe Lynch/Shanny were just too **** lazy to look for one and decided to drop a 3rd on one, and to add injury to insult dude turned out to be *the* worst kicker in the league

like, wtf are we even doing? i've been a defender of both Lynch and Kyle but i'm very close tom pull a Dodub and want them both gone

It's frustrating, because the strengths are very strong, but there are so many areas where we don't really see progress.

Kyle is still among if not the best offensive play-designer in the league. He's a good play-caller, though he gets dinged for his performance late in crucial games. The two of them worked together to assemble an amazing team for a two or three-year stretch, and in the midst of a rebuild they seem to have done a nice job.

There is no better team out there at finding talent late in drafts and in UDFA. Kittle (5th), DJ Jones (6th), Warner (3rd), DJ Reed (5th; granted not for us), Greenlaw (5th), McKivitz (5th), Jennings (7th), Lenoir (5th), Hufanga (5th), and Purdy (7th) have all returned incredible value. You're talking about landing multiple HOFers, quality starting CBs, a very good QB in later rounds. That's incredible. On top of that, there are UDFAs Kendrick Bourne, Matt Breida, Jeff Wilson, Azeez Al-Shaair, Kevin Givens, Jordan Mason.

The past two drafts look very strong, with the first four picks in last year's draft starting already (counting Mustapha here). This draft has already seen three defensive starters, and that's with three of our top-5 picks not yet delivering (but showing flashes for at least two of three).

Having said that, our hit rate on early draft picks appears no better than in later rounds. We have had huge misses on high picks in Solomon Thomas, Reuben Foster, Dante Pettis, Javon Kinlaw (not prepared to call him a total bust, but certainly not a particularly good player with us), Trey Lance (one of the biggest misses ever given the trade), Aaron Banks (have to consider the position here; he was the second OG taken, and he's been below average at best), and Drake Jackson. And this year, Collins is already raising some major question marks (way too early for this, but he's really struggled to date).

It's very hard for a team to survive losing coordinators, which is part of the advantage that Shanahan brings as you don't need an independent OC. But Kyle's nepotism and favoritism gets him into trouble. Our STs were at or near the bottom for three years before we made a change. Sorensen had no business being a DC. Injuries aside, we basically just threw away last season because of him. There was no way even a fully healthy squad was going to make a deep playoff run because we couldn't figure out how to defense a trips formation or get off the field on third down.

Then there's just the bizarre entrenchment on certain things. Persistently sticking with Moody when his struggles were crystal clear is a real black mark. It shouldn't have taken so long to pivot, and we're lucky it didn't cost us a game. The injuries every single year with no apparent course-correction. The failure to seriously address OL struggles. Offensive struggles late in games. Just a general lack of execution and discipline at times.

I still think ultimately we're lucky to have the two of them, but there are numerous areas where it seems like we could improve.

[arich35]

Kyle said it is a long shot Brock plays Sunday and it is probably a multiple week injury. Not great..

[CrimsonCrew]

Careful with that kind of statement.

We all thought that Special Teams couldn't get any worse after last season, but....

Read on Twitter

Regardless, Moody absolutely had to go. It was long past due, fortunately he finally got pink slipped before he cost the 49ers a game this season.

And yeah, riding the carousel of kickers doesn't exactly paint the brightest outlook. Still the bar has been set so damn low, that even being below average would be an improvement. So there is some reason for optimism.

Not sure what they are up to these days, but from what I remember Slye and McClaughlin were pretty solid when there were brought in to fill in for Gould in recent seasons. If they are currently free agents, and still stay in regular kicking shape/mentality, bring em in for a workout.

Two missed FGs and multiple KOs into the endzone probably account for 7+ or those points. I think a lot of that should improve just with the replacement of Moody. Arguably the block wasn't on him, but at that distance, he should be able to get it over the guys trying to block it.

Read on Twitter

While the placekicker played a huge role, ST's as a whole were firmly bad across the board.

Moore also fumbled a punt return, that fortunately went out of bounds.

Replacing Moody is a good start, but SF is still miles away from getting neutral impact from their special teams. Getting + ST impact is a pipe dream wished on a star in the Andromeda galaxy.

I forgot about the muffed return. Moore is not a stellar returner, even when he catches it cleanly. On punt returns, he seems to catch the ball, look up, think for a second, then start to run. I don't feel good about him back there at all. The Cowing injury is one of the most frustrating we've had. I really thought he had a shot to be a solid returner and fourth WR this year.

[wco81]

Looks like many teams have kickers who can hit 60 yard FGs in practice and pre-game warmups.

So that's the threshold for top kickers these days.