Interesting OpEd on JG & 49'ers...
49ers' $137.5M Leading Man on Road to Ruin Thanks to Bargain-Bin Supporting Cast
Maybe Jimmy Garoppolo really was afraid of the Vikings defense by the end of Sunday's 24-16 49ers loss.
After a late run of success last season, followed by a summer filled with glowing profiles and predictions of greatness, Garoppolo looked, well, human in Week 1. He rushed many of his passes. He threw behind some receivers and overthrew others. And it got worse as the game wore on. Slow down the tape just before some of his ugliest misfires in the second half and you can see him flinch just as he releases the ball.
The Vikings blitzed on one third-down play in the fourth quarter, and all Garoppolo could do was bend over and absorb the blow. It was not a good look: the $137.5 million wunderkind, face of the 49ers franchise and early-adopter's choice for NFL Next Big Thing reacting to a safety blitz as if he were bracing for an emergency water landing.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2795093-niners-1375m-leading-man-on-road-to-ruin-thanks-to-bargain-bin-supporting-cast?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=referral
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
Everson said it best... the Vikings defense can be great with this rotation of players. Griffen, Joseph, Richardson, and Hunter in the first wave... Weatherly, Jaleel Johnson, Parry, and Bowers in the second wave... and add in the rushing abilities of Barr and Kendricks in the Double A gap look... and Harry off the edge...
BOOM
It was obvious he was jumpy and rushing passes. He missed some guys. He threw 3 pretty bad INTs, the last one especially. You can see he's a good passer, but they all succumb to pressure and being hit. The game shouldn't have been as close as it was.
@"StickyBun" said: It was obvious he was jumpy and rushing passes. He missed some guys. He threw 3 pretty bad INTs, the last one especially. You can see he's a good passer, but they all succumb to pressure and being hit. The game shouldn't have been as close as it was.That's what I keep coming back to. We were dominant on defense against several 2nd and 3rd string linemen. So why was it that close? Good teams pull away late as the talent advantage starts wearing down the opponent. That didn't happen for our offense. I think Cousins was 0% in the 4Q? We're going to have to clean that up to beat teams like the Eagles, Rams, etc.
@"MaroonBells" said:The 49ers said afterward that the Viking's offense was very vanilla for the most part and nothing special to play against. I think that was a combo of a subpar offensive line playing with a new center and Cousins getting acclimated. They need to get Elflein back, move Jones to LG, let that line play that same 5 group for 2-3 games and all the while Cousins gets more comfortable and then Flip releases the hounds. If Minnesota can go against a Rodgers-less Packer team this Sunday, all the better to get a win while still going thru some offensive growing pains.@"StickyBun" said: It was obvious he was jumpy and rushing passes. He missed some guys. He threw 3 pretty bad INTs, the last one especially. You can see he's a good passer, but they all succumb to pressure and being hit. The game shouldn't have been as close as it was. That's what I keep coming back to. We were dominant on defense against several 2nd and 3rd string linemen. So why was it that close? Good teams pull away late as the talent advantage starts wearing down the opponent. That didn't happen for our offense. I think Cousins was 0% in the 4Q? We're going to have to clean that up to beat teams like the Eagles, Rams, etc.
@"StickyBun" said:Yep, keeping it simple as the offense gels and we were controlling the game.@"MaroonBells" said:The 49ers said afterward that the Viking's offense was very vanilla for the most part and nothing special to play against. I think that was a combo of a subpar offensive line playing with a new center and Cousins getting acclimated. They need to get Elflein back, move Jones to LG, let that line play that same 5 group for 2-3 games and all the while Cousins gets more comfortable and then Flip releases the hounds. If Minnesota can go against a Rodgers-less Packer team this Sunday, all the better to get a win while still going thru some offensive growing pains.@"StickyBun" said: It was obvious he was jumpy and rushing passes. He missed some guys. He threw 3 pretty bad INTs, the last one especially. You can see he's a good passer, but they all succumb to pressure and being hit. The game shouldn't have been as close as it was. That's what I keep coming back to. We were dominant on defense against several 2nd and 3rd string linemen. So why was it that close? Good teams pull away late as the talent advantage starts wearing down the opponent. That didn't happen for our offense. I think Cousins was 0% in the 4Q? We're going to have to clean that up to beat teams like the Eagles, Rams, etc.As to the article, seems like excuses to me. Yes they faced some injuries, but several of his throws were weak or off target. The pick 6 was a busted route, but Hughes read it perfectly and probably would have jumped the route on that weak throw even if the WR breaks the right way. The Rhodes INT was high and slightly behind, allowing him to bat the ball up and pull it in.
We must keep in mind a couple things for us on offense. We had a make shift line and a new QB to the team, like mentioned above, so it will take time to mesh.
Also, everyone is so high on Flip, but why? He may be the best thing since sliced bread, but he comes in here with QB coach experience, no OC experience, so it will take some games to get up to speed for him as well. I have confidence he will do well, but I think some here have put him on a pedestal too soon.
@"JoDakota" said: We must keep in mind a couple things for us on offense. We had a make shift line and a new QB to the team, like mentioned above, so it will take time to mesh.Also, everyone is so high on Flip, but why? He may be the best thing since sliced bread, but he comes in here with QB coach experience, no OC experience, so it will take some games to get up to speed for him as well. I have confidence he will do well, but I think some here have put him on a pedestal too soon.
not to pick the nit, but he was an OC in Cleveland.
Maybe I'm wrong, but that offense seems like something Zimmer would approve of. Slow, steady, don't take many chances, don't turn it over (Cook gets 1 demerit), let the defense do the heavy lifting. That will get this team in the playoffs, but not much more. Maybe the Bears' or Ravens' historically great defenses can with that, but our D is not at that level.
Please don't resort to Norv 2.0 and we should be fine in time!
@"MaroonBells" said:I thought there were a couple factors:@"StickyBun" said: It was obvious he was jumpy and rushing passes. He missed some guys. He threw 3 pretty bad INTs, the last one especially. You can see he's a good passer, but they all succumb to pressure and being hit. The game shouldn't have been as close as it was. That's what I keep coming back to. We were dominant on defense against several 2nd and 3rd string linemen. So why was it that close? Good teams pull away late as the talent advantage starts wearing down the opponent. That didn't happen for our offense. I think Cousins was 0% in the 4Q? We're going to have to clean that up to beat teams like the Eagles, Rams, etc.
- Poor OL play. In particular, DeForest Buckner dominated our OL. Pass protection was spotty, but it seemed like the run blocking was even worse.
- Lack of a consistent running game. One thing I was curious about is why they kept running Cook up the middle? He most dangerous running laterally and the line didn't seem to be creating seams for him in the middle.
- Too many 3rd & longs caused by the first two issues. You could also argue that failed attempts to go down field lead to 3rd & longs too, but those shouldn't hurt too much if they are running well.
- The defense bit hard on misdirections, allowing SF's TE and FB to exploit massive gaps in coverage.
- SF ran heavy sets, which kept the Vikings out of their preferred nickel look.
- Even if the Vikings wanted to run nickel, they were down 2 CBs (Waynes & Alexander). Things got better once they started running more big nickel looks with Kearse. The LBers, especially Gedeon, and Harrison Smith had bad days in coverage.
@"Tyr" said:@"MaroonBells" said:I thought there were a couple factors:@"StickyBun" said: It was obvious he was jumpy and rushing passes. He missed some guys. He threw 3 pretty bad INTs, the last one especially. You can see he's a good passer, but they all succumb to pressure and being hit. The game shouldn't have been as close as it was. That's what I keep coming back to. We were dominant on defense against several 2nd and 3rd string linemen. So why was it that close? Good teams pull away late as the talent advantage starts wearing down the opponent. That didn't happen for our offense. I think Cousins was 0% in the 4Q? We're going to have to clean that up to beat teams like the Eagles, Rams, etc.
- Poor OL play. In particular, DeForest Buckner dominated our OL. Pass protection was spotty, but it seemed like the run blocking was even worse.
- Lack of a consistent running game. One thing I was curious about is why they kept running Cook up the middle? He most dangerous running laterally and the line didn't seem to be creating seams for him in the middle.
- Too many 3rd & longs caused by the first two issues. You could also argue that failed attempts to go down field lead to 3rd & longs too, but those shouldn't hurt too much if they are running well.
- The defense bit hard on misdirections, allowing SF's TE and FB to exploit massive gaps in coverage.
- SF ran heavy sets, which kept the Vikings out of their preferred nickel look.
- Even if the Vikings wanted to run nickel, they were down 2 CBs (Waynes & Alexander). Things got better once they started running more big nickel looks with Kearse. The LBers, especially Gedeon, and Harrison Smith had bad days in coverage.
All good points, but don't underestimate Dalvin's ability to run in-between the tackles. That said, SF's interior DL really dominated and I would have like to have seen more outside runs this particular game.
@"JoDakota" said: We must keep in mind a couple things for us on offense. We had a make shift line and a new QB to the team, like mentioned above, so it will take time to mesh.Also, everyone is so high on Flip, but why? He may be the best thing since sliced bread, but he comes in here with QB coach experience, no OC experience, so it will take some games to get up to speed for him as well. I have confidence he will do well, but I think some here have put him on a pedestal too soon.
Agree with this. We have to remember it’s the first game for a new OC too. He is working with a line pieced together just this past week. They just need some time to tie it all together.
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