49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams

[Pattersonca65]

There were two plays that changed the course of the game. The first was Shanahan's decision to run Juice up the middle on 3rd and 2 yards for no gain. That was Shanahan being too cute instead of doing something that would work. The Rams were shutting down inside runs all night. When the 49ers were getting a few yards up the middle most of it was hard fought second effort yards. If the 49ers have been successful during the game running that I way I might see it. But that play call just stunk. That drive was going well up to that point and moving the ball. The other was the Tartt drop. Tartt catches the pass and turns the other way the 49ers could have had decent field position. Big momentum swings in the game.

[wco81]

There were two plays that changed the course of the game. The first was Shanahan's decision to run Juice up the middle on 3rd and 2 yards for no gain. That was Shanahan being too cute instead of doing something that would work. The Rams were shutting down inside runs all night. When the 49ers were getting a few yards up the middle most of it was hard fought second effort yards. If the 49ers have been successful during the game running that I way I might see it. But that play call just stunk. That drive was going well up to that point and moving the ball. The other was the Tartt drop. Tartt catches the pass and turns the other way the 49ers could have had decent field position. Big momentum swings in the game.

Also a lame run on 2nd and 1 and then punting on 4th and 2.

The punt changed maybe 25-30 yards of field position and the way the Rams were moving the ball, it didn't make a difference.

What is the greater missed opportunity, those sequence of play calls or the dropped interception?

[Pattersonca65]

There were two plays that changed the course of the game. The first was Shanahan's decision to run Juice up the middle on 3rd and 2 yards for no gain. That was Shanahan being too cute instead of doing something that would work. The Rams were shutting down inside runs all night. When the 49ers were getting a few yards up the middle most of it was hard fought second effort yards. If the 49ers have been successful during the game running that I way I might see it. But that play call just stunk. That drive was going well up to that point and moving the ball. The other was the Tartt drop. Tartt catches the pass and turns the other way the 49ers could have had decent field position. Big momentum swings in the game.

Also a lame run on 2nd and 1 and then punting on 4th and 2.

The punt changed maybe 25-30 yards of field position and the way the Rams were moving the ball, it didn't make a difference.

What is the greater missed opportunity, those sequence of play calls or the dropped interception?

IDK which one. But just game changers.

[Pattersonca65]

2nd or 3rd and shorts were few and far between tonight.

When the O-line is struggling with pass protection and getting dominated in the run game, you need to be getting out to the edges frequently.

Not attempting to stretch the defense out by bouncing something to the outside on either of those plays is poor situational awareness and even poorer attention to how the game has been going.

Too bad we didn't draft a QB that could have either a) bounced it to the outside himself or b) been viewed as a threat to bounce it outside and thus create cutback lanes for a RB. At least we didn't give up a bunch of draft picks for that kind of QB and keep him on the bench when Jimmy was either suffering from a) his thumb, b) his shoulder, or c) being Jimmy.

Yeah, for all the hype there was in the preseason about the rotating QB's, it sure didn't materialize.

Lance coming in for goal to go situations was fairly successful in the first couple games, but that died out quickly. When both guys were healthy, I don't think we saw both guys play in the same game since like week 3.

Shanahan said about bring Lance in on those situations is tough on Lance. They were asking him to come in cold during games and make plays. I think the running part becomes less effective over time as teams catch onto it. I think for the potential that comes from it, there are also quite a bit downside to it. There are a couple of teams that seemed to use it effectively. NO and Hill. The 49ers don't have a great history with it. Walsh toyed with the idea of swapping out Montana for Steve Young on some plays but quickly quashed that. Harbaugh did it with Kap coming in for Alex Smith which paid some dividends early but seemed to be less effective over time and Harbaugh abandoned it. I know Alex didn't like getting pulled from games because it broke up the rhythm QBs like getting into

[zman1]

First pass by Jimmy could have been a game changer. Kittle was open for a td maybe and Jimmy overthrew him. Would have made the rams respect the pass more and let us run.

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[Samurai]

Too bad we didn't draft a QB that could have either a) bounced it to the outside himself or b) been viewed as a threat to bounce it outside and thus create cutback lanes for a RB. At least we didn't give up a bunch of draft picks for that kind of QB and keep him on the bench when Jimmy was either suffering from a) his thumb, b) his shoulder, or c) being Jimmy.

Yeah, for all the hype there was in the preseason about the rotating QB's, it sure didn't materialize.

Lance coming in for goal to go situations was fairly successful in the first couple games, but that died out quickly. When both guys were healthy, I don't think we saw both guys play in the same game since like week 3.

Shanahan said about bring Lance in on those situations is tough on Lance. They were asking him to come in cold during games and make plays. I think the running part becomes less effective over time as teams catch onto it. I think for the potential that comes from it, there are also quite a bit downside to it. There are a couple of teams that seemed to use it effectively. NO and Hill. The 49ers don't have a great history with it. Walsh toyed with the idea of swapping out Montana for Steve Young on some plays but quickly quashed that. Harbaugh did it with Kap coming in for Alex Smith which paid some dividends early but seemed to be less effective over time and Harbaugh abandoned it. I know Alex didn't like getting pulled from games because it broke up the rhythm QBs like getting into

This is the key point. We didn't use Lance AT ALL in the game; if he could have picked up a first down or two late when Jimmy and our pass protection was completely struggling, that would have been all we needed. We just need those early dividends and then we'll worry about who will play when in the Super Bowl. We weren't asking for 3 or 4 games of this to let other teams catch on; we only needed it for a drive or two in the 4th quarter. Thanks for helping me make my point more clearly.

[Pattersonca65]

Yeah, for all the hype there was in the preseason about the rotating QB's, it sure didn't materialize.

Lance coming in for goal to go situations was fairly successful in the first couple games, but that died out quickly. When both guys were healthy, I don't think we saw both guys play in the same game since like week 3.

Shanahan said about bring Lance in on those situations is tough on Lance. They were asking him to come in cold during games and make plays. I think the running part becomes less effective over time as teams catch onto it. I think for the potential that comes from it, there are also quite a bit downside to it. There are a couple of teams that seemed to use it effectively. NO and Hill. The 49ers don't have a great history with it. Walsh toyed with the idea of swapping out Montana for Steve Young on some plays but quickly quashed that. Harbaugh did it with Kap coming in for Alex Smith which paid some dividends early but seemed to be less effective over time and Harbaugh abandoned it. I know Alex didn't like getting pulled from games because it broke up the rhythm QBs like getting into

This is the key point. We didn't use Lance AT ALL in the game; if he could have picked up a first down or two late when Jimmy and our pass protection was completely struggling, that would have been all we needed. We just need those early dividends and then we'll worry about who will play when in the Super Bowl. We weren't asking for 3 or 4 games of this to let other teams catch on; we only needed it for a drive or two in the 4th quarter. Thanks for helping me make my point more clearly.

I think asking Lance to come into the game when pass protection is struggling may not be the best thing to do

[Samurai]

Shanahan said about bring Lance in on those situations is tough on Lance. They were asking him to come in cold during games and make plays. I think the running part becomes less effective over time as teams catch onto it. I think for the potential that comes from it, there are also quite a bit downside to it. There are a couple of teams that seemed to use it effectively. NO and Hill. The 49ers don't have a great history with it. Walsh toyed with the idea of swapping out Montana for Steve Young on some plays but quickly quashed that. Harbaugh did it with Kap coming in for Alex Smith which paid some dividends early but seemed to be less effective over time and Harbaugh abandoned it. I know Alex didn't like getting pulled from games because it broke up the rhythm QBs like getting into

This is the key point. We didn't use Lance AT ALL in the game; if he could have picked up a first down or two late when Jimmy and our pass protection was completely struggling, that would have been all we needed. We just need those early dividends and then we'll worry about who will play when in the Super Bowl. We weren't asking for 3 or 4 games of this to let other teams catch on; we only needed it for a drive or two in the 4th quarter. Thanks for helping me make my point more clearly.

I think asking Lance to come into the game when pass protection is struggling may not be the best thing to do

Not better to try and win than to lose? The logic escapes me on that.

[superunknown]

man, that tartt's mistake is inexcusable. stafford basically threw the game away and you come out with that?!
that INT would've changed all the momentum (leave alone the rams wouldn't have scored 3 points on that drive).

[CrimsonCrew]

My thoughts on the game after some time to pull myself together.

Brutal loss, especially because it was so reminiscent of the super bowl loss. I could have taken a blowout, but losing a close game that we probably should have won really hurts. Neither side of the ball really came to play, and the Rams dominated more than the score suggests. I remarked on this during the game, but even though we were winning, it just felt like we were losing throughout the second half. It was basically the exact opposite of how this team has played for the last several weeks, and it did us in.

The D played alright in only allowing 20 points to one of the better offenses in the league, but Stafford and/or his receiver bungled a bunch of passes that could have made a huge difference in this one. We easily could have been down ten or more at the half, and instead we were up by three.

And, of course, Tartt flat out dropped that gift of an INT that could possibly have sealed the game. I know folks are saying that they would have just forced a three-and-out, but that's a huge momentum shift. At that point, our last three drives had been 40 yards to the Rams' 42, 58 yards for the Kittle TD, and 36 yards to the Rams' 44. We had been moving the ball well against them, and I think we would have continued to do so with that sort of huge momentum shift. Instead, the air went out of us on both sides with that, and we never really recovered.

The offense was appalling again, and I think most of the blame rightly rests on a combination of Shanahan and Garoppolo. The playcalling by Shanahan was pretty suspect, as we continually ran straight ahead into a mess of defenders on first down, basically never with any success. I don't know if the Williams injury played a part, but I would have liked to have seen us test the edges a little bit more, maybe try a bit more misdirection - beyond motioning Trent and then running Juice into the middle. That said, the passing game was actually working really well - other than Jimmy trying his damnedest to throw the ball to the other team several times - prior to the late fourth quarter. Our guys were getting open at will, we just weren't always connecting due to some OL struggles and Jimmy missing passes.

As I noted earlier in this thread, we did not run a single play that gained yards after 11 minutes remaining in the half. That just can't happen. The discombobulation on the drive after the game was tied was inexcusable, and we had no answers in the final drive. Which sucks, because our guys were getting open all day. They absolutely could not cover all of our skill players, but we couldn't make the plays we needed to. It's hard not to view this as yet another choke job by Shanahan and Jimmy.

This loss hurts all the more because, even though we've actually been surprisingly spoiled lately (five NFC Championship games since 2011), you don't get this far every year.

That said, the future is bright. Despite overperforming somewhat down the stretch this past year, we still have one of the more talented rosters in the league. We have a very strong core of young players, the majority of whom are under contract for several more years. Our skill position players can match up with anyone in the league, and we have a promising young QB. We have an impact pass rusher, an elite, rangy LB, and a lot of depth along the DL. We have quite a few FAs this year, but really no one who we can't afford to lose (Laken Tomlinson and DJ Jones the two biggest names, and neither should be prohibitively expensive). Meanwhile, a number of teams in our conference are up against the cap, including all three teams that we faced in the playoffs being well over the cap as projected right now (Rams in the best shape at -$8 million). If Trey can even be just decent, we should be in the mix even next year. This one is gonna sting for a while, but hopefully we'll have a Chiefs sort of rebound from it.

[Pattersonca65]

This is the key point. We didn't use Lance AT ALL in the game; if he could have picked up a first down or two late when Jimmy and our pass protection was completely struggling, that would have been all we needed. We just need those early dividends and then we'll worry about who will play when in the Super Bowl. We weren't asking for 3 or 4 games of this to let other teams catch on; we only needed it for a drive or two in the 4th quarter. Thanks for helping me make my point more clearly.

I think asking Lance to come into the game when pass protection is struggling may not be the best thing to do

Not better to try and win than to lose? The logic escapes me on that.

Someone who is coming in cold off the bench to try and win a game who is a 20 year old rookie is making the wrong bet

[Samurai]

I think asking Lance to come into the game when pass protection is struggling may not be the best thing to do

Not better to try and win than to lose? The logic escapes me on that.

Someone who is coming in cold off the bench to try and win a game who is a 20 year old rookie is making the wrong bet

I disagree. We lost the game and we weren't moving the ball at all in crunch time. How much worse would Lance do? I don't see how he could do anything worse than lose the game and if we got lucky and he picks up a first down with his legs, we might actually win the game. The right bet would be to try and win the game.

[CrimsonCrew]

Forgot to say that we really felt the two serious injuries from week one in this one. Felt like either one of Verrett or Mostert would have been enough to turn this game for us. We really missed Mostert's speed to the edge, and obviously trading a healthy Verrett for any other corner on our roster is a huge downgrade.

[zman1]

Forgot to say that we really felt the two serious injuries from week one in this one. Felt like either one of Verrett or Mostert would have been enough to turn this game for us. We really missed Mostert's speed to the edge, and obviously trading a healthy Verrett for any other corner on our roster is a huge downgrade.

Yup. Got lucky that Mitchell turned out so well. Not so lucky with the dbs, to say the least.

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[Samurai]

Forgot to say that we really felt the two serious injuries from week one in this one. Felt like either one of Verrett or Mostert would have been enough to turn this game for us. We really missed Mostert's speed to the edge, and obviously trading a healthy Verrett for any other corner on our roster is a huge downgrade.

Very good point. Mitchell was a godsend, especially in the 6th round. Unfortunately he couldn't find any holes against the Rams and not sure if Mostert would have fared any better. But just the threat of hitting a homerun at any moment with Mostert's speed may have opened up something for others. Losing Verrett hurt more throughout the season and OBJ/Kupp made life pretty miserable for our secondary, but they can do that to anyone.

[Samurai]

Another key point was a failure to recognize that Deebo is our biggest offensive weapon. He caught a screen pass for 11 yards at the start of the 4th quarter. At that point, there was still 12:42 to play in the game. Deebo would not touch the ball the rest of the way. That is a big part of the offense to just decide you don't want the ball in his hands anymore.

[thesack12]

Read on Twitter

Allowing 15 pressures on only 30 pass attempts, which is literally 50% of the time. That's a crazy high amount of pressure. Its hard to believe Jimmy didn't take a single sack despite being relentlessly under siege all night.

49ers only gained 50 yards on 25 carries, which is 2.5 yards per carry.

The O-line was.... ummm, not good last night.

But as I mentioned last night, thank you to Trent Williams for gutting it out for the team. Appreciate you bro.

[thesack12]

Another key point was a failure to recognize that Deebo is our biggest offensive weapon. He caught a screen pass for 11 yards at the start of the 4th quarter. At that point, there was still 12:42 to play in the game. Deebo would not touch the ball the rest of the way. That is a big part of the offense to just decide you don't want the ball in his hands anymore.

He was probably worn the hell out taking all those runs up the middle early in the game and the hits that come with them. Him returning kicks played a role in his stamina as well.

Which still boomerangs back to Kyle not using Deebo properly.

[CrimsonCrew]

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Allowing 15 pressures on only 30 pass attempts, which is literally 50% of the time. That's a crazy high amount of pressure. Its hard to believe Jimmy didn't take a single sack despite being relentlessly under siege all night.

49ers only gained 50 yards on 25 carries, which is 2.5 yards per carry.

The O-line was.... ummm, not good last night.

But as I mentioned last night, thank you to Trent Williams for gutting it out for the team. Appreciate you bro.

Not saying the OL was good, but some of those pressures were likely on the same snap, so it wouldn't be 15/30, most likely.