[ad_1]
NFC West’s first divisional round is scheduled for this weekend. On the one hand, the undefeated Arizona Cardinals will take on the other undefeated Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, while our Seattle Seahawks will look to shake off a rare two-loss slippage against the San Francisco 49ers. 2-1 in Santa Clara. This is Seattle’s first trip to Santa Clara since 2019, having played last season’s road game at Glendale.
It feels like a must-have game for the Seahawks, as 1-3 in a division will put them in a three-game hole against Arizona or Los Angeles. Worst case scenario, the Seahawks lose to the 49ers, the Rams beat the Cardinals and Seattle come in Thursday night with an unmissable victory.
San Francisco just suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Green Bay Packers in their home opener, otherwise they would also be 3-0. Before the last episode of this rivalry started, I asked Ty Austin from Niners Nation a few questions about the team, and he gave me detailed answers!
1.) It’s impossible to ignore what the 49ers did in the offseason when trading for the draft of Trey Lance, the obvious successor to Jimmy Garoppolo. So far Lance has been used sparingly and Garoppolo has been business as usual in terms of good games and bad times. Do you think Lance will start games this season or do you think Kyle Shanahan will keep Lance mostly on the bench until Garoppolo (presumably) leaves next year?
Personally, and this is just based on the generally annoyed vibes that Kyle Shanahan emanates whenever the topic comes up, is that Jimmy Garoppolo will be starting every game this season. This is my response now, today, at this precise time, and I reserve all rights to modify this opinion at a later date.
It looks like the preseason revealed what a lot of people didn’t want to be true, but was probably pretty obvious if you had considered the big picture. Trey Lance is an extremely talented, yet raw athlete who has only landed 17 college starts and hasn’t seen any game action since October 3, 2020.
The highs were high, especially the 80-yard touchdown pass to start his professional career, but the lows were low as well. He missed open receivers, panicked under the pressure, and reverted to bad habits. Everything to expect from a rookie quarterback, especially one who was only able to celebrate his draft status with a legal booze earlier this year.
Shanahan has previously stated that he believes the best thing for Lance’s development is his work on the Boy Scout team, and has continued to steadfastly support Garoppolo’s preparation and ability to execute the attack, until at, and including, this week. In a bit of Iverson’s borderline dismissal, he said, “It’s not preseason,” when asked for an increased role for the rookie.
The one thing that seems to piss off Shanahan more than the questions he doesn’t want to answer seem to be when the quarterbacks can’t execute his attack effectively. For all the shots against him, Garoppolo did a pretty good job as a starter, as evidenced by his 26-9 record. I doubt Shanahan would have the patience for Lance’s rookie growing pains when the team went out of their way to keep a seasoned vet on the roster for another run in 2021.
Having said that, let me offer two somewhat obvious caveats. First, Garoppolo gets injured, which was the case most often during his time in San Francisco. Second, things are really getting out of hand, and the 49ers are no longer in contention for the playoffs, say Week 13. At this point, for Shanahan not to start Lance would result in professional misconduct.
Until one or both of these things happen, I would be shocked to see anyone other than Garoppolo taking pictures before the year is out.
2.) What is your first assessment of the 49ers defense under new defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans? It comes with the obvious note that Jason Verrett has finished for the year and that Dr. Greenlaw will be running out of time for a bit.
I fluctuated between optimistic and downright impressed with DeMeco Ryans’ performance as defensive coordinator. It turned out to be a cool, calm hand on the wheel, providing some needed continuity from the Saleh era without simply trying to replicate the success of its predecessor. He prefers a more aggressive style that features heavier media coverage and blitzes, which seems to have provided a positive jolt to the unit.
In the opener, the 49ers dominated the Lions until, as you mentioned, Jason Verrett collapsed, shaking everyone up. The impulse to take out players and the distraction of losing a team manager, who has struggled with injuries for years, excuses the collapse at the end of the 4th quarter.
The following weeks required exceptional defensive performance to cover an anemic offensive debut. Holding the Eagles to a crucial goal line gave the game a boost and avoided a 10-point deficit before half-time. It helped the offense come to life and come down the field to score a 7-3 score instead.
Meanwhile, the fact that the defense even had a chance to take the lead with 37 seconds left against the Packers is due to the fact that they managed to take out Aaron Rodgers for most of the second half. Without taking over for the Garoppolo fumble, which gave Rogers a starting position on the pitch at the Niners’ 38-yard line, the game would have been essentially over, down two scores with around two minutes to go. Unfortunately Davante Adams is really good and his quarterback is a wizard. It happens.
So far, Ryans has shown himself capable, but his ability to adapt over the remainder of the season will tell the story.
3.) What was the biggest surprise (pleasant or not) about the 2-1 start from San Francisco?
I will give you one pleasant surprise and another. The pleasant surprise was that Deebo Samuel had become an absolute monster. He’s currently second in the league in yards, and offense almost went through him alone the first two weeks. After a sawtooth, injury-ridden second season, he used his unique blend of power and speed to run through defenses like a bloated running back.
As for a not-so-pleasant surprise, the lack of racing game was confusing. The team currently averages a tiny 3.6 yards per carry, which is pale from last year’s 4.3, and ranks a yard lower than the Super Bowl team. Trying to pick up that 2019 mojo, Alex Mack was added to the center to bolster the offensive line, and two running backs were added to the draft. So what is going on?
Injuries have already ravaged the post. Raheem Mostert ended his season after a handful of snaps, JaMycal Hasty suffered a sprained ankle, Elijah Mitchell hollowed out his shoulder and Trey Sermon carried the ball once in week 2 before a dirty shot hit. leaves him with a concussion. The lack of options led back Kyle Juszczyk to a career-high five races against the Packers.
However, health is not the only problem. Green Bay, which has long had issues with the race (see NFC Championship Game, 2019), sold out to stop it last week, dropping safeties and daring Jimmy Garoppolo to beat them over. Their bet paid off, stifling the generally plug-and-play outdoor zone system, and, despite his best efforts, Jimmy couldn’t beat them. He’ll need to be sharper for teams to stick with him and present fronts the Niners can exploit on the pitch.
4.) How much pressure is Kyle Shanahan under to return to the playoffs? He’s had a somewhat odd career in that he’s only made one playoff appearance in four seasons, but it’s also the only one he’s had a healthy starting quarterback throughout. of the course.
I’m going to go ahead and say, outside of his own seemingly extreme standards of success and failure, very little pressure. Obviously, everyone involved should want and expect a playoff appearance from a team not so far from a Super Bowl race, but this is clearly a forward-looking organization. which includes Shanahan’s involvement.
He signed a six-year extension to his original six-year contract just last offseason, still enjoying the team’s best effort since 2013. He has shown his offensive prowess and has shown he can guide a team within a few. minutes from the ultimate price. Most importantly, he avoided landmines from the Jim Harbaugh regime by maintaining good relations with his CEO and owners.
Second, the Trey Lance selection almost certainly guarantees that Shanahan will see most of this expansion, no questions asked. After spending so much goodwill and projected capital to bring in his handpicked protege, he should really botch the development of the young flagger to start feeling the heat on this side of 2024.
5.) NFC West looks to be as tough as expected with Arizona and Los Angeles at 3-0. What are your levels of optimism for the 49ers winning the division compared to just landing a wild card spot?
Let’s put the optimism levels within the cautious limit range. If I had to assign a percentage to their odds, it would be around 20% to take the division. While the 49ers offense has yet to impress, the defense has looked solid, and I believe in Shanahan enough to bet he’ll unlock a kickback to what teams have started to do to slow the attack down. rushed.
Of course, the Rams, starring reborn Matthew Stafford, seem poised to be world batsmen and are the obvious favorites, especially after what they did in Tampa Bay. That being said, I don’t think we’ll get a clear picture of their ceiling until they face the rest of the division, which starts this week against Arizona.
Everyone is less than two games away and everyone has to face each other twice, which means that with the unpredictability of the NFL season, literally anything is possible.
Thanks to Ty for answering my questions! You can check the day of the game for my answers to his questions at Niners Nation.
[ad_2]
Source link