The Good…
After looking
at the team through the first 3 preseason games (fourth game really isn’t important
most of the starters wont play) there is a lot to be excited about. The depth
that the 49ers have on this team has really shined in helping them get to 3-0
so far. The first game impressed me the most and it only took one drive to do
it, the very first drive of the game. Not a single starter played during that
drive for the 49ers, yet Dallas played their starters on offense (minus RB Elliot)
and the 2nd string defense was able to hold them to only 3 pts on
the drive. Now the reason this was impressive to me was because the 49ers have
lacked depth on the defensive side of the ball and this year that game showed
that this will be different. Later this week Kyle Shanahan and his staff will
have a lot of tough decisions to make and sending some talented players out
there into the free agency pool.
The
offense has had a lot of bright spots but one of the brightest has been the
play of back up QB Nick Mullens (68% comp, 216yrds, 2TD, 1INT 95.6rate). He
seems to have a grasp of the offense and has developed a chemistry with the
wideouts on the second team. Leading rushers Austin Walter (24 car 79yrds) and Jeff
Wilson Jr (21 car 78yrds) may not even be on the final 53-man roster but they
have played well enough to probably get signed elsewhere this off season. The receiving
core has show the serious promise as the 2 rookies that the team drafted (Hurd
& Samuel) have put up pretty good numbers (7 rec 119yrds 2TD and will see
significant play time in Chargers game) while Pettis seems to have hit a wall
one that I think he will be able to climb overcome the regular season. The offensive
line should be getting better with Richburg being taken off the PUP list the
49ers have a solid group going into the season that should be able to keep Garoppolo
upright all season long.
The Bad…
Speaking
of Jimmy G, he had a rough start to his preseason going 0-6 and finishing his
only drive in the second preseason game against the Broncos with a 0.0 QB
rating. This led to an avalanche of criticism and a lot of fan backlash as they
claimed, “he’s not worth the contract” which to me was a massive over reaction.
He proved that this game was an anomaly, but it was still reason for concern because
the QB seems to have these stinker games from time to time. We would all hate
for him to lay an egg of a game in the playoffs or a critical game down the
stretch of a potential playoff season. Ultimately as bad as he was, he bounces
back and proved that there is better in there than bad and that the 49ers
fanbase will have something to look forward to this season. There really wasn’t
much worse that happened for the team other than the injuries that have kept
people like Nick Bosa and Jimmy Ward from getting the first team reps that they
deserved. Not much else bad can be said about a 3-0 preseason…
The Prediction…
The final
stage would be to make a prediction for this season, that is going to be a hard
one. This team has so much potential that its hard to lock in on where they
will finally fall. Watching Colin Cowherd recently he has them projected to go
9-7, while other outlets have them falling anywhere from 6 wins to 8 wins. That’s
where I stand dead in the middle so I will do it like this…the 49ers ceiling is
somewhere around 9-11 wins and their floor is somewhere between 6-8. The
ceiling comes from the fact of the talent and potential depth that this team
has on paper, this can all go well, or it can crash and burn. Then there is
always the factor of injuries to consider and that is something that cannot be predicted.
So, I will settle in with a 10-6 season as most likely as the team has a strong
offense and a young hungry defense and that combination should lead to 10 wins
and a potential playoff birth by the end of the season.
If you want to listen to the Double K’s Classroom Podcast
tune in at
every other Friday Night on the 4ACES Presents Radio
Network…
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