25 Oct 49ers week 7 loss recap

Offense:

The combination of the heavy rain along bad play-calling led the offense to sputter after an amazing first drive which led to a touchdown. At first, it seemed like the team could weather the storm and walk away with a victory; but that wasn’t the case. It seemed like the offense regressed almost immediately on the next possession bad throws and misreads by Garoppolo led to missed opportunities to push the offense down the field and score. Elijah Mitchell was the lone bright spot for the team’s RB room rushing 18 times for 107 yards while adding one touchdown. Deebo Samuel had seven catches for 100 yards and a touchdown he seemed to be Jimmy’s only target with 11 out of 27 for Deebo. Brandon Aiyuk was buried among the other receivers while seemingly getting open all of the second half. Jaylon Moore was amazing filling in Trent Williams giving up no sacks. 

Defense:

Our secondary was without our standout rookie Lenoir which was a headscratcher because after Mosely went down our secondary was in shambles. Our DB’s just couldn’t keep up with the Colt’s wide receivers which led to so many pass interference calls. A factor that didn’t help the defense was the inability of the offense to convert on third down. Fred Warner was everywhere accumulating nine tackles (two for loss), one pass deflection, and a fumble recovery. Another bright spot was Azeez Al-Shair who also recorded nine tackles and a fumble recovery. The defensive line couldn’t generate enough force to stop the run game or even pressure Wentz into hurried throws. The 49ers chose to carry 15 defensive linemen into the season and somehow have the hardest time generating pressure on passing downs and stopping the run.

Evaluation:

Something I’m seeing a lot of is the lack of leadership in the locker room Joe Staley mentioned on NBCS that he was hoping to “kind of pass the torch to Buckner” after the 2019 season but was surprised to find that Buckner wouldn’t be on the team in 2020 and traded to the colts. Javon Kinlaw, Buckner’s replacement has been active for only three games this season leading to Kentavius street filling in his role. Kinlaw’s inability to stay healthy is a reoccurring problem that leaves a huge gap in the defensive line. Ambry Thomas and Aaron Banks have yet to see the field after being selected in the second and third rounds. Not to mention Trey Sermon buried on the depth chart after they traded up to get him. It just feels like the whole organization is in disarray and no one is stepping up to the plate.

The 49ers front office and Kyle Shanahan have been heavily scrutinized for whiffing on so many picks and the inability to develop their young star in Brandon Aiyuk who hopefully doesn’t end up like Dante Pettis and Kendrick Bourne both flourishing on different teams. “Is it time to start thinking about rebuilding the team?” is a common phrase that’s been thrown around lately, but it feels like the 49ers have been constantly rebuilding since the Lynch-Shanahan era started, and now with no draft capital for the next two years the team would likely be in turmoil until they can start to hit on free agents and later round picks to build depth on the current roster. Hopefully, this four-game losing streak lights a fire under Shanahan to start scheming better and get the ball into the hands of his playmakers.