Week 6: 49ers @ Falcons

[wco81]

Kyle said they had plenty of time, trailing by 14 with 10-11 minutes left in game.

They did some no huddle but he had to do his precious personnel groupings changes to run his plays right.

So they burned over 8 minutes to gain 80 yards and not score.

https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/kyle-shanahan-explains-49ers-lack-urgency-during-fourth-quarter-drive?cid=Yahoo&partner=ya4nbcs

I see much better play design and play calling by other teams, using motion to beat press coverage and such.

Instead Kyle does these shifts, gets illegal shift plays called.

Too inflexible and locked into plays that worked for him years ago in Atlanta when he had Julio Jones in his prime.

[CrimsonCrew]

Grant Cohn on the injury stuff. I tend to think he's over-the-top on some of these topics, but it's hard to argue here:

But the main reason the 49ers lost is their plethora of injuries, and those are Shanahan's fault, too. Every game this year, the 49ers have lost multiple key starters to injury. This happens every season to the 49ers in September and October, because their training camps are so light and their starters don't play in the preseason. So they're not in football shape when the regular season starts. Instead, they attempt to get into football shape during the season, which has led to lots of injuries. This is Shanahan's sixth year as a head coach. He should have fixed the injury issues and the offense by now, but he hasn't.

I am not sure about that. I think a lot of teams limited their players in preseason and training camp this year. Might be due to adding a regular game this season. I guess one could question some of the soft tissue injuries, but the knee injuries there is really no way to prepare for those. In the past, I would put part of the 49ers injury woes to some bad luck added in with the 49ers penchant for bringing in injury prone players to the team. And I think artificial turf should be banned. I do blame Lance's injury on Shanahan because of the way Shanahan used him. That was obvious

Agreed on the ACL tears, etc. Those really do seem to be mostly fluky. Bigger issue for me are all the less significant soft tissue injuries.

[Jikkle]

Had a bad feeling about this game all week and I hate being right.

The defense could've played better but I am willing to give them more of a pass. While I do think they could've played better with what they had out there it's still tough to win games when you're personnel looks more like what you'd throw out there in a preseason game than a regular season game. It's not like giving up 21 points is a terrible outcome especially since the Falcons offense hovers around 20 points a game.

I will rip the offense though because this was the game that they needed to pick up the defense and be the reason they won and they didn't. In fact they just poured gas on the fire by giving up a TD on the Wilson fumble.

While I don't blame Jimmy G because he had some big plays dropped but he didn't really do much in this game either. I just hope this brings the sudden Jimmy G hype train back to reality to the fact that this is the same Jimmy G we've seen the past couple of seasons. If we're in a position where we need Jimmy to carry the team chances are we're screwed.

It just makes the Lance injury all the more frustrating because at least he could be developing and we'd probably wouldn't be any worse position that we are now.

Not sure what kind of expectations you have for Jimmy. One of his better games. Those drops were huge and changed the outcome of the game and Jimmy's stats. The problem with Jimmy is that at some point he will probably have another bad game. But I think you are giving Lance far too much credit. He could turn into the player everyone hopes he can be but he is far away from that. Other than some nice deep throws, his short game and pocket presence and other things need alot ogf work and there is no guarantee that will ever come to fruition. And it wouldn't be stretch to thing Lance could have played worse than Jimmy did yesterday.

Lance is likely 3-3 or even 4-2 at this point so we're not gaining a whole lot if anything with Jimmy at the helm.

Yes it's all hypothetical but I don't think his play would've been dramatically different from Jimmy's and what we sacrifice in the middle of the field stuff would've been made up with his willingness to hit outside the numbers more and his influence on the running game.

Jimmy G is clearly limited but he does work well within those limitations but as we've seen the past few seasons he's just not built to win games where we need him to throw. Doesn't mean he hasn't had big-time clutch drives but more often than naught if Jimmy has to throw a lot we're probably losing the game.

[Jikkle]

Grant Cohn on the injury stuff. I tend to think he's over-the-top on some of these topics, but it's hard to argue here:

But the main reason the 49ers lost is their plethora of injuries, and those are Shanahan's fault, too. Every game this year, the 49ers have lost multiple key starters to injury. This happens every season to the 49ers in September and October, because their training camps are so light and their starters don't play in the preseason. So they're not in football shape when the regular season starts. Instead, they attempt to get into football shape during the season, which has led to lots of injuries. This is Shanahan's sixth year as a head coach. He should have fixed the injury issues and the offense by now, but he hasn't.

I'd say it's a mixture of things with that being one of them.

The problem with blaming soft practices and turf is we're not the only team that has soft practices and play on turf. Teams play on turf all of the time and if turf was such an issue we'd see teams that play their home games on it along with away games be among the most injured teams in the league year in and year out.

Aside from practices we just had drafted injury-prone players for years and years at this point even during the Baalke era. It wasn't until the past two drafts that the 9ers finally put an emphasis on health when it comes to drafting players and only taking chances when it was appropriate (Hufunga in the 5th).

Some of it is just bad luck. When legs bend in a direction they aren't intended to bend things are going to break or tear. Doesn't matter how much training you do or how injury prone you are or aren't you're going to get hurt.

Another element is you have to look at the training staff. We have a lot of soft tissue injuries and those are injuries that I do look at the training staff on and maybe hiring a bunch of hockey guys to work on football guys wasn't a great idea.

And yeah you have to look at Shanahan too and see if there is anything he's doing that is increasing the odds of injury with his practices.

Ultimately we're consistently towards the bottom of the league for injuries and you can't attribute that to being unlucky all the time and there has to be measures that can be taken to improve that. They already are drafting guys with cleaner bills of health so the next practical step they can control is looking at the training staff and see what can be done there.

[Pattersonca65]

Had a bad feeling about this game all week and I hate being right.

The defense could've played better but I am willing to give them more of a pass. While I do think they could've played better with what they had out there it's still tough to win games when you're personnel looks more like what you'd throw out there in a preseason game than a regular season game. It's not like giving up 21 points is a terrible outcome especially since the Falcons offense hovers around 20 points a game.

I will rip the offense though because this was the game that they needed to pick up the defense and be the reason they won and they didn't. In fact they just poured gas on the fire by giving up a TD on the Wilson fumble.

While I don't blame Jimmy G because he had some big plays dropped but he didn't really do much in this game either. I just hope this brings the sudden Jimmy G hype train back to reality to the fact that this is the same Jimmy G we've seen the past couple of seasons. If we're in a position where we need Jimmy to carry the team chances are we're screwed.

It just makes the Lance injury all the more frustrating because at least he could be developing and we'd probably wouldn't be any worse position that we are now.

Not sure what kind of expectations you have for Jimmy. One of his better games. Those drops were huge and changed the outcome of the game and Jimmy's stats. The problem with Jimmy is that at some point he will probably have another bad game. But I think you are giving Lance far too much credit. He could turn into the player everyone hopes he can be but he is far away from that. Other than some nice deep throws, his short game and pocket presence and other things need alot ogf work and there is no guarantee that will ever come to fruition. And it wouldn't be stretch to thing Lance could have played worse than Jimmy did yesterday.

Lance is likely 3-3 or even 4-2 at this point so we're not gaining a whole lot if anything with Jimmy at the helm.

Yes it's all hypothetical but I don't think his play would've been dramatically different from Jimmy's and what we sacrifice in the middle of the field stuff would've been made up with his willingness to hit outside the numbers more and his influence on the running game.

Jimmy G is clearly limited but he does work well within those limitations but as we've seen the past few seasons he's just not built to win games where we need him to throw. Doesn't mean he hasn't had big-time clutch drives but more often than naught if Jimmy has to throw a lot we're probably losing the game.

I don't agree Lance is necessarily 3-3 or 4-2 at this point. I am not saying he wouldn't be but based on what I've seen so far I am far from certain that he would be. I think Lance is completely different from Jimmy G at this point. That isn't a good or bad thing but they couldn't be any more different in terms of what they do well and what they struggle with. Lance opens up the game down the field but his quick game and short to midfield needs work and then Shanahan has to start trusting him throwing the ball instead of running the ball up the middle on third and five.

[wco81]

The way Shanahan was calling plays for Lance, their offensive output might have been reduced.

They should have been working on Lance throwing short patterns to work on moving the flags. Instead he had Lance run up the middle repeatedly.

That kind of play calling isn't going to develop Lance, not to mention get the team wins.

[thesack12]

Contrary to what Grant Cohn, and some fans, are trying to say the defense was actually terribad in this game. Saying well they only gave up 21 points, uses no context and fails to evaluate how the game actually played out.

Now to start with, the defense was down a few key players. And of course that absolutely played a factor in the struggles on that side of the ball. There is no denying that. That withstanding, the defense was completely listless on all 3 levels, most especially up front.

For one, Mariota had 1 incompletion the entire game. 1 FREAKING INCOMPLETION. And that one pass to hit the ground didn't even happen until like 10 minutes left in the game. Let that sink in for a second, Marcus Mariota played an entire game and only had 1 incomplete pass.

Secondly, Atlanta went 8-10 on 3rd down conversions in the first 3 quarters of the game. An 80% 3rd down rate is absolutely insane, and completely unacceptable regardless of the injuries.

Thirdly, Atlanta dominated at the point of attack all game. The D Line couldn't muster any push, and got worked. Atlanta also routinely and consistently shed contact and broke tackles the entire damn game. Dudes were constantly moving piles and falling forward for yardage. The amount of yardage after contact was alarming. You can't even blame that part on injuries, guys just didn't execute tackling.

Lastly, Atlanta dominated game flow and ball control. The defense just flat out could not get off the field. Allowing 8-10 on 3rd downs to start the game reflects this.

Atlanta is a run heavy team, and managed to dominate on offense despite being down their RB1. And its not like they are exactly flush with talent on the offensive side of the ball either. Plus, they do have a journeyman QB who has never shown to be all that good.

So yes, the health of the defense was a big factor, but you can't say the defense was out there battling. I can't recall a single time, where the defense actually made a solid play. Even with the injuries, you could make a case that the defensive talent out there was superior to Atlanta's collection of offensive talent.

[thesack12]

As for the offense, and specifically Jimmy Garoppolo, again people are choosing to not use any context with how they are viewing the game. Its actually comical that some people are trying to say Garoppolo had a bad game and should be blamed for the loss.

For starters, people are playing the injury card to prop up the defense. Yet, they are completely disregarding the fact that the 9ers were playing with their 3rd string left tackle, and had to play their backup right tackle for most of the game. Also worth mentioning, not only was the backup RB not getting anything going in the run game but he was coughing up the football and gifting the other team 7 points.

Considering the O-line was a mash unit, it shouldn't be understated that Garoppolo didn't take a single sack, on 41 pass attempts no less. That is a notable feat even with a elite O-line, with a shoddy O-line that's incredibly impressive. Jimmy gets no credit for his ability to get the ball out with his quick release and be accurate with it more often than not.

With that out of the way, lets dive into the "same old Jimmy, didn't make any plays" narrative...

Just before halftime, Jimmy did throw into triple coverage and while on the surface that isn't a good decision, but using context the 9ers had no timeouts, were out of FG range, and the clock was running out. So the idea there was to throw it up and hope to draw a PI and earn an untimed down before the half. It didn't work out, and the Falcons intercepted it, but no harm no foul considering the situation. That pass was essentially an arm punt.

2nd play out of halftime, 9ers down 14-21: Jimmy delivers a beautiful 50 yard bomb that led McCloud perfectly. However Ray Ray stumbles a bit and then lets the ball go through his hands. If Ray Ray catches that, with his speed its likely an easy TD. Which would have tied the game 21-21, which would have completely flipped the game flow. However, the drop influences a 3 and out, and Atlanta subsequently marches down the field for a TD to make is 14-28. Huge game shifting mistake there.

Next offensive possession, 9ers at their 44 yard line. Jimmy fires a perfect dart deep downfield to Charlie Woerner. Yet Charlie lets the perfect pass clang off his hands. If that catch is made, Charlie has a chance to score and even if he doesn't, the 9ers would have been set up 1st and 10 in the redzone. That drop again leads to another punt, whereas if the catch is made 9ers most likely get points on that possession and it would have been a 21-28 game or at worst a 17-28 game with like 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Next possession, 9ers at their 47 yard line Jimmy delivers another accurately placed deep bomb to Aiyuk inside the 5 yard line. Aiyuk can't make the catch. While it wouldn't have been an easy catch as it was a 50/50 type ball, it was still an accurate deep pass that the receiver had a solid chance to come down with. Unfortunately the defender did a better job of high pointing the ball, than Aiyuk did and broke it up. If Aiyuk hauls that in, 9ers are sitting inside the 5 yard line with a chance to make it a 1 possession game with 14 minutes left. However, the very next play Jimmy throws a slightly high pass to Deebo, that deflects off his hands and Atlanta gets the lucky bounce which goes right to a DB for the interception. Was it a great pass, of course not. But it was a catchable ball, that if the defender doesn't hit Deebo a little early there, its probably a catch. And again Atlanta just gets lucky with the where the ball went on the deflection.

Next possession, 9ers till down 14-28 with 7.5 minutes to go. Jimmy escapes a collapsing pocket rolling to his left and fires a perfectly placed deep ball all the way across the field to the right sideline to hit Aiyuk for 39 yards. Great right? 9ers are setting deep into Falcons territory with a chance to cut it to a 1 possession game with plenty of time left and all 3 TO's remaining. Psyche, the play gets called back due to a hold on Brendel. Speaking of Brendel, he actually had 3 penalties on this possession that forced the offense to try to overcome. Despite the penalties, 9ers still manage to get into the redzone, only to see Kyle stupefyingly call a pitch to Coleman on 3rd and 1 that loss yardage, then on 4th down results in an incomplete pass and game over.

Long story short, Jimmy gave guys opportunities to make HUGE plays on 4 consecutive possessions in the 2nd half, yet they didn't manage to execute on a single one of them. If any of those 4 plays hit, it would have seriously shifted game flow and perhaps changed the outcome of the game.

There have been, and will be more games where you can legitimately say that Jimmy didn't make enough plays and some where you can pin the loss on him. However, this game was most definitely not one of them.

[thesack12]

Not sure what kind of expectations you have for Jimmy. One of his better games. Those drops were huge and changed the outcome of the game and Jimmy's stats. The problem with Jimmy is that at some point he will probably have another bad game. But I think you are giving Lance far too much credit. He could turn into the player everyone hopes he can be but he is far away from that. Other than some nice deep throws, his short game and pocket presence and other things need alot ogf work and there is no guarantee that will ever come to fruition. And it wouldn't be stretch to thing Lance could have played worse than Jimmy did yesterday.

Lance is likely 3-3 or even 4-2 at this point so we're not gaining a whole lot if anything with Jimmy at the helm.

Yes it's all hypothetical but I don't think his play would've been dramatically different from Jimmy's and what we sacrifice in the middle of the field stuff would've been made up with his willingness to hit outside the numbers more and his influence on the running game.

Jimmy G is clearly limited but he does work well within those limitations but as we've seen the past few seasons he's just not built to win games where we need him to throw. Doesn't mean he hasn't had big-time clutch drives but more often than naught if Jimmy has to throw a lot we're probably losing the game.

I don't agree Lance is necessarily 3-3 or 4-2 at this point. I am not saying he wouldn't be but based on what I've seen so far I am far from certain that he would be. I think Lance is completely different from Jimmy G at this point. That isn't a good or bad thing but they couldn't be any more different in terms of what they do well and what they struggle with. Lance opens up the game down the field but his quick game and short to midfield needs work and then Shanahan has to start trusting him throwing the ball instead of running the ball up the middle on third and five.

I agree with you.

I love Lance's upside, and like everybody else I'm bummed we aren't seeing him out there and it sucks he's losing even more development time.

However, there is probably a reason behind the way Kyle's playcalling with Lance out there. And no, I'm not even remotely buying the ridiculous he didn't want Trey so he's sabotaging him mantra.

I think some people just don't realize just how green Trey Lance is. I mean, people know that he is incredibly inexperienced, but I think some people just don't truly appreciate the depth and ramifications of his inexperience and how big of a factor that is. I mean the dude has played what like 4 games in 3 years, and the competition level he went up against in college was quite inferior.

[CrimsonCrew]

Contrary to what Grant Cohn, and some fans, are trying to say the defense was actually terribad in this game. Saying well they only gave up 21 points, uses no context and fails to evaluate how the game actually played out.

Now to start with, the defense was down a few key players. And of course that absolutely played a factor in the struggles on that side of the ball. There is no denying that. That withstanding, the defense was completely listless on all 3 levels, most especially up front.

For one, Mariota had 1 incompletion the entire game. 1 FREAKING INCOMPLETION. And that one pass to hit the ground didn't even happen until like 10 minutes left in the game. Let that sink in for a second, Marcus Mariota played an entire game and only had 1 incomplete pass.

Secondly, Atlanta went 8-10 on 3rd down conversions in the first 3 quarters of the game. An 80% 3rd down rate is absolutely insane, and completely unacceptable regardless of the injuries.

Thirdly, Atlanta dominated at the point of attack all game. The D Line couldn't muster any push, and got worked. Atlanta also routinely and consistently shed contact and broke tackles the entire damn game. Dudes were constantly moving piles and falling forward for yardage. The amount of yardage after contact was alarming. You can't even blame that part on injuries, guys just didn't execute tackling.

Lastly, Atlanta dominated game flow and ball control. The defense just flat out could not get off the field. Allowing 8-10 on 3rd downs to start the game reflects this.

Atlanta is a run heavy team, and managed to dominate on offense despite being down their RB1. And its not like they are exactly flush with talent on the offensive side of the ball either. Plus, they do have a journeyman QB who has never shown to be all that good.

So yes, the health of the defense was a big factor, but you can't say the defense was out there battling. I can't recall a single time, where the defense actually made a solid play. Even with the injuries, you could make a case that the defensive talent out there was superior to Atlanta's collection of offensive talent.

I haven't seen many people defending the defense, but speaking for myself, I think it's somewhat understandable that the defense struggled, and we were looking for the offense to pick up the slack and keep us in the game. Instead, they scored 14 and directly allowed 7.

But you're right. The D wasn't getting it done. I actually thought individual DL were doing a pretty good job of defeating blocks, but they weren't maintaining their gaps, especially on outside runs and when rushing Mariota. Over and over again, they would lose contain, or open up a huge hole that Mariota would just scamper through. It's pretty awful that they only allowed one incompletion, but Mariota dropped back fewer than 20 times. He was sacked twice, and was flushed out of the pocket several other times. Of course, when flushed, he proceeded to run for first downs and TDs, so....

My frustration actually stems from the fact that they weren't outplaying our guys, our guys just weren't assignment sound. That's what makes this one so hard to stomach. It was discipline, not ability, that cost us. Especially on third downs.

That said, late in the game, the D did step up. On the final three Atlanta drives, they allowed 53 yards on 17 plays, forcing relatively quick punts each time. They did ultimately give the offense a chance to win it.

[CrimsonCrew]

As for the offense, and specifically Jimmy Garoppolo, again people are choosing to not use any context with how they are viewing the game. Its actually comical that some people are trying to say Garoppolo had a bad game and should be blamed for the loss.

For starters, people are playing the injury card to prop up the defense. Yet, they are completely disregarding the fact that the 9ers were playing with their 3rd string left tackle, and had to play their backup right tackle for most of the game. Also worth mentioning, not only was the backup RB not getting anything going in the run game but he was coughing up the football and gifting the other team 7 points.

Considering the O-line was a mash unit, it shouldn't be understated that Garoppolo didn't take a single sack, on 41 pass attempts no less. That is a notable feat even with a elite O-line, with a shoddy O-line that's incredibly impressive. Jimmy gets no credit for his ability to get the ball out with his quick release and be accurate with it more often than not.

With that out of the way, lets dive into the "same old Jimmy, didn't make any plays" narrative...

Just before halftime, Jimmy did throw into triple coverage and while on the surface that isn't a good decision, but using context the 9ers had no timeouts, were out of FG range, and the clock was running out. So the idea there was to throw it up and hope to draw a PI and earn an untimed down before the half. It didn't work out, and the Falcons intercepted it, but no harm no foul considering the situation. That pass was essentially an arm punt.

2nd play out of halftime, 9ers down 14-21: Jimmy delivers a beautiful 50 yard bomb that led McCloud perfectly. However Ray Ray stumbles a bit and then lets the ball go through his hands. If Ray Ray catches that, with his speed its likely an easy TD. Which would have tied the game 21-21, which would have completely flipped the game flow. However, the drop influences a 3 and out, and Atlanta subsequently marches down the field for a TD to make is 14-28. Huge game shifting mistake there.

Next offensive possession, 9ers at their 44 yard line. Jimmy fires a perfect dart deep downfield to Charlie Woerner. Yet Charlie lets the perfect pass clang off his hands. If that catch is made, Charlie has a chance to score and even if he doesn't, the 9ers would have been set up 1st and 10 in the redzone. That drop again leads to another punt, whereas if the catch is made 9ers most likely get points on that possession and it would have been a 21-28 game or at worst a 17-28 game with like 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Next possession, 9ers at their 47 yard line Jimmy delivers another accurately placed deep bomb to Aiyuk inside the 5 yard line. Aiyuk can't make the catch. While it wouldn't have been an easy catch as it was a 50/50 type ball, it was still an accurate deep pass that the receiver had a solid chance to come down with. Unfortunately the defender did a better job of high pointing the ball, than Aiyuk did and broke it up. If Aiyuk hauls that in, 9ers are sitting inside the 5 yard line with a chance to make it a 1 possession game with 14 minutes left. However, the very next play Jimmy throws a slightly high pass to Deebo, that deflects off his hands and Atlanta gets the lucky bounce which goes right to a DB for the interception. Was it a great pass, of course not. But it was a catchable ball, that if the defender doesn't hit Deebo a little early there, its probably a catch. And again Atlanta just gets lucky with the where the ball went on the deflection.

Next possession, 9ers till down 14-28 with 7.5 minutes to go. Jimmy escapes a collapsing pocket rolling to his left and fires a perfectly placed deep ball all the way across the field to the right sideline to hit Aiyuk for 39 yards. Great right? 9ers are setting deep into Falcons territory with a chance to cut it to a 1 possession game with plenty of time left and all 3 TO's remaining. Psyche, the play gets called back due to a hold on Brendel. Speaking of Brendel, he actually had 3 penalties on this possession that forced the offense to try to overcome. Despite the penalties, 9ers still manage to get into the redzone, only to see Kyle stupefyingly call a pitch to Coleman on 3rd and 1 that loss yardage, then on 4th down results in an incomplete pass and game over.

Long story short, Jimmy gave guys opportunities to make HUGE plays on 4 consecutive possessions in the 2nd half, yet they didn't manage to execute on a single one of them. If any of those 4 plays hit, it would have seriously shifted game flow and perhaps changed the outcome of the game.

There have been, and will be more games where you can legitimately say that Jimmy didn't make enough plays and some where you can pin the loss on him. However, this game was most definitely not one of them.

Mostly a fair reckoning, but I think it misses a few points. First, the OL actually played really well. Jimmy wasn't making quick reads and throws much in this game. But he had a lot of time to sit in the pocket and read the field. He even stepped up into the pocket and made improvisational plays a few times, which is something we don't see from him very often.

And you're right, he had some of the best deep throws I've seen in his career in this one, and they were largely squandered. And that's just a tough pill to swallow for this offense. But he generally still had a chance to keep drives moving after those mistakes, and he didn't come through. He had some really bad plays on third and fourth down that killed drives. I have absolutely no problem with the INT to end the half. It was a wing and a prayer, so what the hell? However, I have a HUGE problem with him taking a sack with nine seconds left and no TOs. That was a rookie mistake, and he was only bailed out by a penalty.

Ultimately, Jimmy probably played well enough for us to win this one. The fumble was brutal - and could have been worse if Aiyuk's fumble on the next drive hadn't gone right to Deebo. And Jimmy wasn't getting much help from the skill positions. But the entire unit - including Jimmy - has to be better if we want to stay competitive until the defense gets their guys back.

[thesack12]

As for the offense, and specifically Jimmy Garoppolo, again people are choosing to not use any context with how they are viewing the game. Its actually comical that some people are trying to say Garoppolo had a bad game and should be blamed for the loss.

For starters, people are playing the injury card to prop up the defense. Yet, they are completely disregarding the fact that the 9ers were playing with their 3rd string left tackle, and had to play their backup right tackle for most of the game. Also worth mentioning, not only was the backup RB not getting anything going in the run game but he was coughing up the football and gifting the other team 7 points.

Considering the O-line was a mash unit, it shouldn't be understated that Garoppolo didn't take a single sack, on 41 pass attempts no less. That is a notable feat even with a elite O-line, with a shoddy O-line that's incredibly impressive. Jimmy gets no credit for his ability to get the ball out with his quick release and be accurate with it more often than not.

With that out of the way, lets dive into the "same old Jimmy, didn't make any plays" narrative...

Just before halftime, Jimmy did throw into triple coverage and while on the surface that isn't a good decision, but using context the 9ers had no timeouts, were out of FG range, and the clock was running out. So the idea there was to throw it up and hope to draw a PI and earn an untimed down before the half. It didn't work out, and the Falcons intercepted it, but no harm no foul considering the situation. That pass was essentially an arm punt.

2nd play out of halftime, 9ers down 14-21: Jimmy delivers a beautiful 50 yard bomb that led McCloud perfectly. However Ray Ray stumbles a bit and then lets the ball go through his hands. If Ray Ray catches that, with his speed its likely an easy TD. Which would have tied the game 21-21, which would have completely flipped the game flow. However, the drop influences a 3 and out, and Atlanta subsequently marches down the field for a TD to make is 14-28. Huge game shifting mistake there.

Next offensive possession, 9ers at their 44 yard line. Jimmy fires a perfect dart deep downfield to Charlie Woerner. Yet Charlie lets the perfect pass clang off his hands. If that catch is made, Charlie has a chance to score and even if he doesn't, the 9ers would have been set up 1st and 10 in the redzone. That drop again leads to another punt, whereas if the catch is made 9ers most likely get points on that possession and it would have been a 21-28 game or at worst a 17-28 game with like 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Next possession, 9ers at their 47 yard line Jimmy delivers another accurately placed deep bomb to Aiyuk inside the 5 yard line. Aiyuk can't make the catch. While it wouldn't have been an easy catch as it was a 50/50 type ball, it was still an accurate deep pass that the receiver had a solid chance to come down with. Unfortunately the defender did a better job of high pointing the ball, than Aiyuk did and broke it up. If Aiyuk hauls that in, 9ers are sitting inside the 5 yard line with a chance to make it a 1 possession game with 14 minutes left. However, the very next play Jimmy throws a slightly high pass to Deebo, that deflects off his hands and Atlanta gets the lucky bounce which goes right to a DB for the interception. Was it a great pass, of course not. But it was a catchable ball, that if the defender doesn't hit Deebo a little early there, its probably a catch. And again Atlanta just gets lucky with the where the ball went on the deflection.

Next possession, 9ers till down 14-28 with 7.5 minutes to go. Jimmy escapes a collapsing pocket rolling to his left and fires a perfectly placed deep ball all the way across the field to the right sideline to hit Aiyuk for 39 yards. Great right? 9ers are setting deep into Falcons territory with a chance to cut it to a 1 possession game with plenty of time left and all 3 TO's remaining. Psyche, the play gets called back due to a hold on Brendel. Speaking of Brendel, he actually had 3 penalties on this possession that forced the offense to try to overcome. Despite the penalties, 9ers still manage to get into the redzone, only to see Kyle stupefyingly call a pitch to Coleman on 3rd and 1 that loss yardage, then on 4th down results in an incomplete pass and game over.

Long story short, Jimmy gave guys opportunities to make HUGE plays on 4 consecutive possessions in the 2nd half, yet they didn't manage to execute on a single one of them. If any of those 4 plays hit, it would have seriously shifted game flow and perhaps changed the outcome of the game.

There have been, and will be more games where you can legitimately say that Jimmy didn't make enough plays and some where you can pin the loss on him. However, this game was most definitely not one of them.

Mostly a fair reckoning, but I think it misses a few points. First, the OL actually played really well. Jimmy wasn't making quick reads and throws much in this game. But he had a lot of time to sit in the pocket and read the field. He even stepped up into the pocket and made improvisational plays a few times, which is something we don't see from him very often.

And you're right, he had some of the best deep throws I've seen in his career in this one, and they were largely squandered. And that's just a tough pill to swallow for this offense. But he generally still had a chance to keep drives moving after those mistakes, and he didn't come through. He had some really bad plays on third and fourth down that killed drives. I have absolutely no problem with the INT to end the half. It was a wing and a prayer, so what the hell? However, I have a HUGE problem with him taking a sack with nine seconds left and no TOs. That was a rookie mistake, and he was only bailed out by a penalty.

Ultimately, Jimmy probably played well enough for us to win this one. The fumble was brutal - and could have been worse if Aiyuk's fumble on the next drive hadn't gone right to Deebo. And Jimmy wasn't getting much help from the skill positions. But the entire unit - including Jimmy - has to be better if we want to stay competitive until the defense gets their guys back.

Yes you are right, despite missing some guys the O-line played solid (unlike the defense while missing guys.) My point about Jimmy not getting credit for being able to get the ball out quickly was more of a macro type statement. His quick release, with accuracy, is one of his better attributes. The Rams game and Carolina game with several unblocked rushers better reflects this. But yes, Jimmy made a few good off script plays. The shovel pass to Kittle after climbing the pocket, and the bomb to Aiyuk on the right sideline after rolling to the left (called back due to a hold) both immediately come to mind.

Please enlighten me on what those "really bad" plays on 3rd and 4th down were...

9ers were 3-8 on 3rd down for the game. 1 of those failed conversions was Wilson's fumble. Another was the stupid playcall of a pitch to Coleman on 3rd on 1 on the final meaningful possession. Take those out, and the 9ers were 3-6 on 3rd down.

In fact the only 2 1st downs the 9ers earned on the ground, were both 3rd down conversions Jimmy made with his legs.

Now let's specifically look at each 3rd down.

1st possession, 3rd and 4: Incomplete pass to Jennings. Could it have been a better pass, of course. However after Jimmy initially evaded a muddy pocket he had a defender barrelling down on him from behind and couldn't get completely set to make the throw, and he got buried after getting the ball out.

2nd possession: 3rd and 1: Wilson fumbles the ball away

3rd possession: 8 plays 79 yard TD drive: that never got to 3rd down

4th possession: 4 plays 32 yard TD drive: that never got to 3rd down

5th possession: 3rd and 1: Jimmy scrambles for 3 yards for a new set of downs. Drive ends with halftime

6th possession: 3rd and 10: Pass to Juice that only goes for 5 yards. Don't know what the playcall was here, but for whatever reason the 9ers have a habit of passing short of the sticks and hoping to pick it up with YAC. This was also the very next play after McCloud's brutal deep ball drop

7th possession: 3rd and 6: Incomplete pass to Jeff Wilson. I don't remember this specific play, so can't directly comment on it. However of note, this was the very next play after Woerner's disgusting deep ball drop.

8th possession: 3rd and 2: Jimmy draws the offsides penalty via the hard count. Drive ends with the tipped ball INT intended for Deebo

9th possession: 3rd and 1: Jimmy picks up 2 yards on a scramble to move the chains.
3rd and 12: Aiyuk hauls in a pass for 14 yards
3rd and 1: A pitch to Coleman goes backwards
4th and 2: Jimmy throws low to Deebo, and they turn it over on downs

Ill give you the one 4th down play, needed a better throw there. And again, I can't speak to the incomplete pass to Wilson play because I don't remember it. Other than that, I'm really not seeing these "really bad" 3rd down plays by Jimmy.

League average 3rd down conversion rate is 37.8%. Only 2 teams are at the 50% mark, Buffalo at 52.8% and KC right at 50%.

Overall Jimmy finished 29-41 for 296 yards. If even one of the McCloud or Woerner drops don't occur, he would have been 30-41 for at least 340 yards. If both those catches are made we-re looking at 31-41 and flirting with 400 yards. Of course, if those catches are made there would be butterfly effects in play and who the hell knows what happens with the game flow/play calling/outcome/etc.

I've come to learn that a lot of the disdain people have with Jimmy stems from their standards being just too high. Every QB is going to miss some reads, every QB will have some misfired throws, every QB will get forced into bad situations when facing pressure, every QB will get sacked, pretty much every QB is going to fail on 3rd down more often than not, every QB is gonna throw interceptions, etc.

Its not realistic to expect Jimmy, or any other QB, to make every play out there. That doesn't mean we can't be upset and disappointed when the plays aren't made, but lets try to have a little perspective about it.

I'm completely aware that Jimmy's margin for error is smaller than some of the other QB's. As I've always maintained, I see him as a top 12 QB in the league, which just slides into above average territory. He also has physical limitations, which further shrinks his margin for error. So he has to take full advantage of his opportunities when they arise. Which is exactly what he did last Sunday. The QB delivered plenty of opportunities to change that game's outcome, unfortunately his teammates didn't pull their weight.

[CrimsonCrew]

Jack Hammer actually does a good breakdown of a few of these disastrous third down plays. And you're right, they're not all Jimmy. But twice, after missing on really nice deep balls that were flat out dropped, Jimmy came back and made bad throws/reads.

https://49ers.pressdemocrat.com/49ers-film-review-jimmy-garoppolo-cant-pick-up-his-teammates/

On the pass to Juice, Kittle was open deep. Deebo also breaks open, though well shy of the sticks and I'm not at all confident he would have gotten it. But he would have had more of a chance than Juice did. This was, admittedly, a weird third-down play call. Deebo and Aiyuk ran routes five yards short of the line to gain. Jennings is at the sticks, but tightly covered. Only Kittle was open past the line to gain, but that should have been the read.

On the pass to Wilson, the RT (I don't even know his name, but I think it's the guy we picked up after the Browns cut him) totally blows his block on a stunt, so Jimmy had to rush. But Wilson was open, and an accurate ball there probably results in a first down.

The 4th down pass was a bad one. He locked into Deebo, who was double-covered, and threw a ball with no chance. Aiyuk was wide open for the first down.

I don't want to sound like I'm piling on Jimmy. Even the best QBs have several bad plays in any given game, and Jimmy played well enough for us to win this one if his supporting cast made pretty straightforward plays. But we had a chance to bounce back after each of those disappointing plays, and several times, Jimmy made a bad decision or had a bad throw that killed drives. Impact players find a way to make those plays more often than not.

[thesack12]

Jack Hammer actually does a good breakdown of a few of these disastrous third down plays. And you're right, they're not all Jimmy. But twice, after missing on really nice deep balls that were flat out dropped, Jimmy came back and made bad throws/reads.

https://49ers.pressdemocrat.com/49ers-film-review-jimmy-garoppolo-cant-pick-up-his-teammates/

On the pass to Juice, Kittle was open deep. Deebo also breaks open, though well shy of the sticks and I'm not at all confident he would have gotten it. But he would have had more of a chance than Juice did. This was, admittedly, a weird third-down play call. Deebo and Aiyuk ran routes five yards short of the line to gain. Jennings is at the sticks, but tightly covered. Only Kittle was open past the line to gain, but that should have been the read.

On the pass to Wilson, the RT (I don't even know his name, but I think it's the guy we picked up after the Browns cut him) totally blows his block on a stunt, so Jimmy had to rush. But Wilson was open, and an accurate ball there probably results in a first down.

The 4th down pass was a bad one. He locked into Deebo, who was double-covered, and threw a ball with no chance. Aiyuk was wide open for the first down.

I don't want to sound like I'm piling on Jimmy. Even the best QBs have several bad plays in any given game, and Jimmy played well enough for us to win this one if his supporting cast made pretty straightforward plays. But we had a chance to bounce back after each of those disappointing plays, and several times, Jimmy made a bad decision or had a bad throw that killed drives. Impact players find a way to make those plays more often than not.

All this plays into my over-arching point that the expectations and standards for Jimmy are un-realistic. People expect him to make all the plays and harp on minor mistakes, then all but gloss over the other MUCH more damaging mistakes by other players.

We're sitting here talking about a handful of failed 3rd downs and 1 4th down conversion being "disastrous and drive killers." To provide some perspective, I'll again mention that only 2 teams have 3rd down rates north of 50%. And those teams have Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

A disastrous play is coughing up a fumble that the defense returns for a touchdown.

A drive killer is dropping perfectly thrown deep balls, especially when you have room to gallop after the catch.

The definition of a drive killer is committing a momentum stopping penalty, most especially if it negates a big play. Jake Brendel says Hi. His hold called back a 39 yard gain.

Watching that all 22 clip, yup Jimmy missed Kittle breaking there on that one play. He had time, and Kittle was open. It was straight up a missed read.

On the pass to Wilson play, it wasn't just Jimmy had to rush the throw. He was back pedalling while throwing because he had to try to get away from an unblocked rushed barrelling down on him. Could the pass have been better, you betcha it could have. That said when you pass while you are moving backwards, mechanics are out the window and you don't have platform to throw out of. No matter who the QB is, you probably aren't going to see a super accurate pass in that situation..... And again to my overall point, we're faulting Garoppolo here but as you mentioned Hance completely blows his block, and allows an unimpeded rusher a free pass to the QB.

The 4th down play, again yep a poor throw by Jimmy and he missed the read on Aiyuk. However, that play is far from the story of that possession. The real drive killer there was Jake Brendel. Dude committed 3 penalties on that 1 drive. As mentioned, one of those negated a 39 yard gain. I don't think we are truly giving the proper appreciation for just how damaging Brendel was on that drive. The offense gained over 100 yards on that possession, despite him constantly setting them back. If that pass to Aiyuk stands, its an entirely different game flow. 9ers would be set up deep into Falcons territory, with a good chance to make it a 1 possession game with like 6 minutes to play and still having all 3 timeouts. And again, the mystifying playcall for a pitch to Coleman on 3rd and 1 didn't do the offense any favors either.

I'm not trying to bust your balls, because I really do appreciate your insight and am always interested in your thoughts. You bring a lot to our board here. Your last paragraph is pretty ironic. You say you don't want to pile on Jimmy, then mention that Jimmy made enough plays to win the game. And even go on to say that even the best of QB's have several bad plays per game. Then you ultimately throw shade on Jimmy, for making the same types of negative plays that are realistically expected from the best QB's in the league. Jimmy's negative plays were not numerous, what are we talking 4 or 5? And as we have reflected on, some of those had circumstances influencing the result.

As for your impact player comment, we all know Jimmy is not a true impact player. Those guys are rare, especially at the QB position. I'd label Jimmy an elite game manager type of QB. Which by my own personal criteria, slots him in the top 12 of QB's just a tier above average. With Jimmy you can expect a high floor, limited ceiling, but with potential to push the team's needle. He'll never be a strap the team on is back type of QB, but he can and does contribute to winning football. As always he just needs to limit the bouts of "Bad Jimmy." If he can minimize those (again every QB will have bad games from time to time so Bad Jimmy won't be completely eliminated) I think he can move into the back end of the top 10. There just isn't a plethora of quality QB play out there, and sometimes I think people don't realize what legitimately bad QB play looks like.

Anyways, I just hope the expectations and the standards will be realistic for Trey Lance when he gets back in the driver's seat. Especially because he's so green. He's going to struggle, and its going to look downright ugly at times. This fanbase can be unforgiving and has the tendency to turn on a guy permanently. There is going to need to be a grading curve in play for Trey. I do worry that because the roster talent he'll have around him, people are going to expect too much from him. Now hopefully, Trey hits the ground running and it won't matter. However, that is unlikely. Again, I just hope people use some perspective with him.

[CrimsonCrew]

Jack Hammer actually does a good breakdown of a few of these disastrous third down plays. And you're right, they're not all Jimmy. But twice, after missing on really nice deep balls that were flat out dropped, Jimmy came back and made bad throws/reads.

https://49ers.pressdemocrat.com/49ers-film-review-jimmy-garoppolo-cant-pick-up-his-teammates/

On the pass to Juice, Kittle was open deep. Deebo also breaks open, though well shy of the sticks and I'm not at all confident he would have gotten it. But he would have had more of a chance than Juice did. This was, admittedly, a weird third-down play call. Deebo and Aiyuk ran routes five yards short of the line to gain. Jennings is at the sticks, but tightly covered. Only Kittle was open past the line to gain, but that should have been the read.

On the pass to Wilson, the RT (I don't even know his name, but I think it's the guy we picked up after the Browns cut him) totally blows his block on a stunt, so Jimmy had to rush. But Wilson was open, and an accurate ball there probably results in a first down.

The 4th down pass was a bad one. He locked into Deebo, who was double-covered, and threw a ball with no chance. Aiyuk was wide open for the first down.

I don't want to sound like I'm piling on Jimmy. Even the best QBs have several bad plays in any given game, and Jimmy played well enough for us to win this one if his supporting cast made pretty straightforward plays. But we had a chance to bounce back after each of those disappointing plays, and several times, Jimmy made a bad decision or had a bad throw that killed drives. Impact players find a way to make those plays more often than not.

All this plays into my over-arching point that the expectations and standards for Jimmy are un-realistic. People expect him to make all the plays and harp on minor mistakes, then all but gloss over the other MUCH more damaging mistakes by other players.

We're sitting here talking about a handful of failed 3rd downs and 1 4th down conversion being "disastrous and drive killers." To provide some perspective, I'll again mention that only 2 teams have 3rd down rates north of 50%. And those teams have Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

A disastrous play is coughing up a fumble that the defense returns for a touchdown.

A drive killer is dropping perfectly thrown deep balls, especially when you have room to gallop after the catch.

The definition of a drive killer is committing a momentum stopping penalty, most especially if it negates a big play. Jake Brendel says Hi. His hold called back a 39 yard gain.

Watching that all 22 clip, yup Jimmy missed Kittle breaking there on that one play. He had time, and Kittle was open. It was straight up a missed read.

On the pass to Wilson play, it wasn't just Jimmy had to rush the throw. He was back pedalling while throwing because he had to try to get away from an unblocked rushed barrelling down on him. Could the pass have been better, you betcha it could have. That said when you pass while you are moving backwards, mechanics are out the window and you don't have platform to throw out of. No matter who the QB is, you probably aren't going to see a super accurate pass in that situation..... And again to my overall point, we're faulting Garoppolo here but as you mentioned Hance completely blows his block, and allows an unimpeded rusher a free pass to the QB.

The 4th down play, again yep a poor throw by Jimmy and he missed the read on Aiyuk. However, that play is far from the story of that possession. The real drive killer there was Jake Brendel. Dude committed 3 penalties on that 1 drive. As mentioned, one of those negated a 39 yard gain. I don't think we are truly giving the proper appreciation for just how damaging Brendel was on that drive. The offense gained over 100 yards on that possession, despite him constantly setting them back. If that pass to Aiyuk stands, its an entirely different game flow. 9ers would be set up deep into Falcons territory, with a good chance to make it a 1 possession game with like 6 minutes to play and still having all 3 timeouts. And again, the mystifying playcall for a pitch to Coleman on 3rd and 1 didn't do the offense any favors either.

I'm not trying to bust your balls, because I really do appreciate your insight and am always interested in your thoughts. You bring a lot to our board here. Your last paragraph is pretty ironic. You say you don't want to pile on Jimmy, then mention that Jimmy made enough plays to win the game. And even go on to say that even the best of QB's have several bad plays per game. Then you ultimately throw shade on Jimmy, for making the same types of negative plays that are realistically expected from the best QB's in the league. Jimmy's negative plays were not numerous, what are we talking 4 or 5? And as we have reflected on, some of those had circumstances influencing the result.

As for your impact player comment, we all know Jimmy is not a true impact player. Those guys are rare, especially at the QB position. I'd label Jimmy an elite game manager type of QB. Which by my own personal criteria, slots him in the top 12 of QB's just a tier above average. With Jimmy you can expect a high floor, limited ceiling, but with potential to push the team's needle. He'll never be a strap the team on is back type of QB, but he can and does contribute to winning football. As always he just needs to limit the bouts of "Bad Jimmy." If he can minimize those (again every QB will have bad games from time to time so Bad Jimmy won't be completely eliminated) I think he can move into the back end of the top 10. There just isn't a plethora of quality QB play out there, and sometimes I think people don't realize what legitimately bad QB play looks like.

Anyways, I just hope the expectations and the standards will be realistic for Trey Lance when he gets back in the driver's seat. Especially because he's so green. He's going to struggle, and its going to look downright ugly at times. This fanbase can be unforgiving and has the tendency to turn on a guy permanently. There is going to need to be a grading curve in play for Trey. I do worry that because the roster talent he'll have around him, people are going to expect too much from him. Now hopefully, Trey hits the ground running and it won't matter. However, that is unlikely. Again, I just hope people use some perspective with him.

I'm just trying to objectively evaluate all of the guys. Applaud their strong points, point out their mistakes. Admittedly I probably do end up focusing more on Jimmy's negatives, but that goes with the territory of playing QB in the NFL.

Overall, I thought this was one of Jimmy's better games. Some really good deep balls that should have resulted in more points. He was lights out over the middle for most of the game, and basically avoided the super dumb passes he's prone to throwing once or twice a game. As said, I don't ding him at all for the INT to end the half. That was a desperation play, and he gave his receiver a shot. The other INT wasn't as blameless, but I still don't knock him that much. He put the ball downfield, gave his player a shot, and the defender made a nice play and the ball took a bad bounce.

The plays I mentioned were drive killers in a purely literal sense. We didn't convert on that play, and we ended up punting or turning it over on downs. As such, those plays are inherently more significant than a first or second down.

If we're going to weigh Jimmy's overall responsibility, the Kittle missed read stings, but QBs miss reads, and he's just seen a deep ball dropped. Missing Deebo on that play was a bit worse, but there's a good chance he doesn't get to the sticks anyway. I have a bigger problem with a play call that has our two best WRs break well shy of the sticks.

The Wilson play was a tough one, because the rusher came literally unblocked. But he had time to deliver a better ball that likely would have resulted in a first down.

The fourth down was bad. He locked in on a covered guy and threw a bad pass.

You're right, there was so much bad play to go around, and Jimmy can only control the things he can control. It's not fair to expect him to be perfect, and I don't think I do. But even with the bad play around him, I think Jimmy could have delivered the win for us with better play in some of the key moments. And I would imagine Kyle and/or Griese said something like that to him during film review.

[thesack12]

Jack Hammer actually does a good breakdown of a few of these disastrous third down plays. And you're right, they're not all Jimmy. But twice, after missing on really nice deep balls that were flat out dropped, Jimmy came back and made bad throws/reads.

https://49ers.pressdemocrat.com/49ers-film-review-jimmy-garoppolo-cant-pick-up-his-teammates/

On the pass to Juice, Kittle was open deep. Deebo also breaks open, though well shy of the sticks and I'm not at all confident he would have gotten it. But he would have had more of a chance than Juice did. This was, admittedly, a weird third-down play call. Deebo and Aiyuk ran routes five yards short of the line to gain. Jennings is at the sticks, but tightly covered. Only Kittle was open past the line to gain, but that should have been the read.

On the pass to Wilson, the RT (I don't even know his name, but I think it's the guy we picked up after the Browns cut him) totally blows his block on a stunt, so Jimmy had to rush. But Wilson was open, and an accurate ball there probably results in a first down.

The 4th down pass was a bad one. He locked into Deebo, who was double-covered, and threw a ball with no chance. Aiyuk was wide open for the first down.

I don't want to sound like I'm piling on Jimmy. Even the best QBs have several bad plays in any given game, and Jimmy played well enough for us to win this one if his supporting cast made pretty straightforward plays. But we had a chance to bounce back after each of those disappointing plays, and several times, Jimmy made a bad decision or had a bad throw that killed drives. Impact players find a way to make those plays more often than not.

All this plays into my over-arching point that the expectations and standards for Jimmy are un-realistic. People expect him to make all the plays and harp on minor mistakes, then all but gloss over the other MUCH more damaging mistakes by other players.

We're sitting here talking about a handful of failed 3rd downs and 1 4th down conversion being "disastrous and drive killers." To provide some perspective, I'll again mention that only 2 teams have 3rd down rates north of 50%. And those teams have Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

A disastrous play is coughing up a fumble that the defense returns for a touchdown.

A drive killer is dropping perfectly thrown deep balls, especially when you have room to gallop after the catch.

The definition of a drive killer is committing a momentum stopping penalty, most especially if it negates a big play. Jake Brendel says Hi. His hold called back a 39 yard gain.

Watching that all 22 clip, yup Jimmy missed Kittle breaking there on that one play. He had time, and Kittle was open. It was straight up a missed read.

On the pass to Wilson play, it wasn't just Jimmy had to rush the throw. He was back pedalling while throwing because he had to try to get away from an unblocked rushed barrelling down on him. Could the pass have been better, you betcha it could have. That said when you pass while you are moving backwards, mechanics are out the window and you don't have platform to throw out of. No matter who the QB is, you probably aren't going to see a super accurate pass in that situation..... And again to my overall point, we're faulting Garoppolo here but as you mentioned Hance completely blows his block, and allows an unimpeded rusher a free pass to the QB.

The 4th down play, again yep a poor throw by Jimmy and he missed the read on Aiyuk. However, that play is far from the story of that possession. The real drive killer there was Jake Brendel. Dude committed 3 penalties on that 1 drive. As mentioned, one of those negated a 39 yard gain. I don't think we are truly giving the proper appreciation for just how damaging Brendel was on that drive. The offense gained over 100 yards on that possession, despite him constantly setting them back. If that pass to Aiyuk stands, its an entirely different game flow. 9ers would be set up deep into Falcons territory, with a good chance to make it a 1 possession game with like 6 minutes to play and still having all 3 timeouts. And again, the mystifying playcall for a pitch to Coleman on 3rd and 1 didn't do the offense any favors either.

I'm not trying to bust your balls, because I really do appreciate your insight and am always interested in your thoughts. You bring a lot to our board here. Your last paragraph is pretty ironic. You say you don't want to pile on Jimmy, then mention that Jimmy made enough plays to win the game. And even go on to say that even the best of QB's have several bad plays per game. Then you ultimately throw shade on Jimmy, for making the same types of negative plays that are realistically expected from the best QB's in the league. Jimmy's negative plays were not numerous, what are we talking 4 or 5? And as we have reflected on, some of those had circumstances influencing the result.

As for your impact player comment, we all know Jimmy is not a true impact player. Those guys are rare, especially at the QB position. I'd label Jimmy an elite game manager type of QB. Which by my own personal criteria, slots him in the top 12 of QB's just a tier above average. With Jimmy you can expect a high floor, limited ceiling, but with potential to push the team's needle. He'll never be a strap the team on is back type of QB, but he can and does contribute to winning football. As always he just needs to limit the bouts of "Bad Jimmy." If he can minimize those (again every QB will have bad games from time to time so Bad Jimmy won't be completely eliminated) I think he can move into the back end of the top 10. There just isn't a plethora of quality QB play out there, and sometimes I think people don't realize what legitimately bad QB play looks like.

Anyways, I just hope the expectations and the standards will be realistic for Trey Lance when he gets back in the driver's seat. Especially because he's so green. He's going to struggle, and its going to look downright ugly at times. This fanbase can be unforgiving and has the tendency to turn on a guy permanently. There is going to need to be a grading curve in play for Trey. I do worry that because the roster talent he'll have around him, people are going to expect too much from him. Now hopefully, Trey hits the ground running and it won't matter. However, that is unlikely. Again, I just hope people use some perspective with him.

I'm just trying to objectively evaluate all of the guys. Applaud their strong points, point out their mistakes. Admittedly I probably do end up focusing more on Jimmy's negatives, but that goes with the territory of playing QB in the NFL.

Overall, I thought this was one of Jimmy's better games. Some really good deep balls that should have resulted in more points. He was lights out over the middle for most of the game, and basically avoided the super dumb passes he's prone to throwing once or twice a game. As said, I don't ding him at all for the INT to end the half. That was a desperation play, and he gave his receiver a shot. The other INT wasn't as blameless, but I still don't knock him that much. He put the ball downfield, gave his player a shot, and the defender made a nice play and the ball took a bad bounce.

The plays I mentioned were drive killers in a purely literal sense. We didn't convert on that play, and we ended up punting or turning it over on downs. As such, those plays are inherently more significant than a first or second down.

If we're going to weigh Jimmy's overall responsibility, the Kittle missed read stings, but QBs miss reads, and he's just seen a deep ball dropped. Missing Deebo on that play was a bit worse, but there's a good chance he doesn't get to the sticks anyway. I have a bigger problem with a play call that has our two best WRs break well shy of the sticks.

The Wilson play was a tough one, because the rusher came literally unblocked. But he had time to deliver a better ball that likely would have resulted in a first down.

The fourth down was bad. He locked in on a covered guy and threw a bad pass.

You're right, there was so much bad play to go around, and Jimmy can only control the things he can control. It's not fair to expect him to be perfect, and I don't think I do. But even with the bad play around him, I think Jimmy could have delivered the win for us with better play in some of the key moments. And I would imagine Kyle and/or Griese said something like that to him during film review.

Now this is a post I can get behind. Criticism isn't unwarranted, but it should be fair/realistic/and rational.

I completely agree with your opening and closing points 100%.

An NFL QB shoulders the load for a team, and they get extra blowback for the losses. However, that should go both ways. A lot of the time, Jimmy gets next to no credit when the team wins. If the QB is as crucial to a teams success (which they absolutely are) they should get both the benefit of getting credit for the wins and bearing responsibility for the losses. Of course there will be individual games, where the QB is directly responsible for a W or an L due to individual play, but on a macro level it should be a even keeled dispersal of credit/blame ratio.

As for your film room comment, again 100% agree. A lot of the reason of watching film is to discuss what went wrong and why plays got left on the field. Then try to get better in those situations moving forward. This goes for all players. I'm sure the failed 3rd downs and 4th down, were discussed by Jimmy/Kyle/et all.

Overall, if Jimmy can maintain the level of play he's been at the last several weeks this team has a high ceiling. Especially with an elite RB having just walked in the door.

[Pattersonca65]

Lance is likely 3-3 or even 4-2 at this point so we're not gaining a whole lot if anything with Jimmy at the helm.

Yes it's all hypothetical but I don't think his play would've been dramatically different from Jimmy's and what we sacrifice in the middle of the field stuff would've been made up with his willingness to hit outside the numbers more and his influence on the running game.

Jimmy G is clearly limited but he does work well within those limitations but as we've seen the past few seasons he's just not built to win games where we need him to throw. Doesn't mean he hasn't had big-time clutch drives but more often than naught if Jimmy has to throw a lot we're probably losing the game.

I don't agree Lance is necessarily 3-3 or 4-2 at this point. I am not saying he wouldn't be but based on what I've seen so far I am far from certain that he would be. I think Lance is completely different from Jimmy G at this point. That isn't a good or bad thing but they couldn't be any more different in terms of what they do well and what they struggle with. Lance opens up the game down the field but his quick game and short to midfield needs work and then Shanahan has to start trusting him throwing the ball instead of running the ball up the middle on third and five.

I agree with you.

I love Lance's upside, and like everybody else I'm bummed we aren't seeing him out there and it sucks he's losing even more development time.

However, there is probably a reason behind the way Kyle's playcalling with Lance out there. And no, I'm not even remotely buying the ridiculous he didn't want Trey so he's sabotaging him mantra.

I think some people just don't realize just how green Trey Lance is. I mean, people know that he is incredibly inexperienced, but I think some people just don't truly appreciate the depth and ramifications of his inexperience and how big of a factor that is. I mean the dude has played what like 4 games in 3 years, and the competition level he went up against in college was quite inferior.

Shanahan is in a situation that seldom happens in the NFL. Trying to bring along a rookie QB and competing for a super bowl at the same time. Most teams in the position to take a QB that high usually suck and can afford to experience the growing pains because wins and losses don't matter. If one compared Lance to MLB, it would be the equivalent of moving from high single A or Double AA to the major leagues. We just have to hope that Shanahan got it right. When you look at the QBs drafted in the first round over the past ten years, the odds are not good. Some turned out to be average to good QBs, some were total busts, but few turned out to the the franchise/Elite QBs we look for in the first round. I don't care for how Shanahan has played Lance thus far. He just doesn't seem to trust him. If Shanahan can't trust him enough to make routine throws on 3rd down why even start him? I understand last year as Lance was forced into the starting lineup, but this year Lance was named the starter from day one.

https://247sports.com/LongFormArticle/NFL-Draft-2021-quarterbacks-selected-first-round-last-10-years-Trevor-Lawrence-Zach-Wilson-Justin-Fields-Mac-Jones-161684511/#161684511_9

[Pattersonca65]

As for the offense, and specifically Jimmy Garoppolo, again people are choosing to not use any context with how they are viewing the game. Its actually comical that some people are trying to say Garoppolo had a bad game and should be blamed for the loss.

For starters, people are playing the injury card to prop up the defense. Yet, they are completely disregarding the fact that the 9ers were playing with their 3rd string left tackle, and had to play their backup right tackle for most of the game. Also worth mentioning, not only was the backup RB not getting anything going in the run game but he was coughing up the football and gifting the other team 7 points.

Considering the O-line was a mash unit, it shouldn't be understated that Garoppolo didn't take a single sack, on 41 pass attempts no less. That is a notable feat even with a elite O-line, with a shoddy O-line that's incredibly impressive. Jimmy gets no credit for his ability to get the ball out with his quick release and be accurate with it more often than not.

With that out of the way, lets dive into the "same old Jimmy, didn't make any plays" narrative...

Just before halftime, Jimmy did throw into triple coverage and while on the surface that isn't a good decision, but using context the 9ers had no timeouts, were out of FG range, and the clock was running out. So the idea there was to throw it up and hope to draw a PI and earn an untimed down before the half. It didn't work out, and the Falcons intercepted it, but no harm no foul considering the situation. That pass was essentially an arm punt.

2nd play out of halftime, 9ers down 14-21: Jimmy delivers a beautiful 50 yard bomb that led McCloud perfectly. However Ray Ray stumbles a bit and then lets the ball go through his hands. If Ray Ray catches that, with his speed its likely an easy TD. Which would have tied the game 21-21, which would have completely flipped the game flow. However, the drop influences a 3 and out, and Atlanta subsequently marches down the field for a TD to make is 14-28. Huge game shifting mistake there.

Next offensive possession, 9ers at their 44 yard line. Jimmy fires a perfect dart deep downfield to Charlie Woerner. Yet Charlie lets the perfect pass clang off his hands. If that catch is made, Charlie has a chance to score and even if he doesn't, the 9ers would have been set up 1st and 10 in the redzone. That drop again leads to another punt, whereas if the catch is made 9ers most likely get points on that possession and it would have been a 21-28 game or at worst a 17-28 game with like 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Next possession, 9ers at their 47 yard line Jimmy delivers another accurately placed deep bomb to Aiyuk inside the 5 yard line. Aiyuk can't make the catch. While it wouldn't have been an easy catch as it was a 50/50 type ball, it was still an accurate deep pass that the receiver had a solid chance to come down with. Unfortunately the defender did a better job of high pointing the ball, than Aiyuk did and broke it up. If Aiyuk hauls that in, 9ers are sitting inside the 5 yard line with a chance to make it a 1 possession game with 14 minutes left. However, the very next play Jimmy throws a slightly high pass to Deebo, that deflects off his hands and Atlanta gets the lucky bounce which goes right to a DB for the interception. Was it a great pass, of course not. But it was a catchable ball, that if the defender doesn't hit Deebo a little early there, its probably a catch. And again Atlanta just gets lucky with the where the ball went on the deflection.

Next possession, 9ers till down 14-28 with 7.5 minutes to go. Jimmy escapes a collapsing pocket rolling to his left and fires a perfectly placed deep ball all the way across the field to the right sideline to hit Aiyuk for 39 yards. Great right? 9ers are setting deep into Falcons territory with a chance to cut it to a 1 possession game with plenty of time left and all 3 TO's remaining. Psyche, the play gets called back due to a hold on Brendel. Speaking of Brendel, he actually had 3 penalties on this possession that forced the offense to try to overcome. Despite the penalties, 9ers still manage to get into the redzone, only to see Kyle stupefyingly call a pitch to Coleman on 3rd and 1 that loss yardage, then on 4th down results in an incomplete pass and game over.

Long story short, Jimmy gave guys opportunities to make HUGE plays on 4 consecutive possessions in the 2nd half, yet they didn't manage to execute on a single one of them. If any of those 4 plays hit, it would have seriously shifted game flow and perhaps changed the outcome of the game.

There have been, and will be more games where you can legitimately say that Jimmy didn't make enough plays and some where you can pin the loss on him. However, this game was most definitely not one of them.

This times ten. This game was definitely not on Jimmy and he actually played a good game overall. Jimmy still makes me nervous at the start of games because you are never quite sure what Jimmy will show up. When he is having a bad game, it can get quite bad,

[CrimsonCrew]

Now this is a post I can get behind. Criticism isn't unwarranted, but it should be fair/realistic/and rational.

I completely agree with your opening and closing points 100%.

An NFL QB shoulders the load for a team, and they get extra blowback for the losses. However, that should go both ways. A lot of the time, Jimmy gets next to no credit when the team wins. If the QB is as crucial to a teams success (which they absolutely are) they should get both the benefit of getting credit for the wins and bearing responsibility for the losses. Of course there will be individual games, where the QB is directly responsible for a W or an L due to individual play, but on a macro level it should be a even keeled dispersal of credit/blame ratio.

As for your film room comment, again 100% agree. A lot of the reason of watching film is to discuss what went wrong and why plays got left on the field. Then try to get better in those situations moving forward. This goes for all players. I'm sure the failed 3rd downs and 4th down, were discussed by Jimmy/Kyle/et all.

Overall, if Jimmy can maintain the level of play he's been at the last several weeks this team has a high ceiling. Especially with an elite RB having just walked in the door.

I wrestle with this one a bit. I think on an individual-game basis, you're right. But when people discuss Jimmy's strengths, the first thing to come up is his win-loss record. So he is getting quite a bit of credit in the big picture.

A huge part of why Jimmy perhaps doesn't get as much credit as he should is because of the team's fairly remarkable success in the playoffs despite Jimmy's limited contributions or outright bad play. In 2019, he basically did nothing in the first two rounds as we blew out the opposition with our ground game. When we needed him to step up in the second half of the super bowl, he really struggled. This past year, we should have beaten the Cowboys handily, but Jimmy's really questionable play down the stretch let them back in it. He did very little against the Packers, other than throw a pick deep in Packer territory in a very low-scoring game (yes, I know Kittle dropped a very well-thrown ball on the first drive that would have been a very big play). And he had a lot of shaky moments in an NFC championship game that was there for the taking.

I think it's true that he simultaneously gets too little credit for individual wins, but perhaps too much credit for his objectively stellar record.

[Pattersonca65]

Now this is a post I can get behind. Criticism isn't unwarranted, but it should be fair/realistic/and rational.

I completely agree with your opening and closing points 100%.

An NFL QB shoulders the load for a team, and they get extra blowback for the losses. However, that should go both ways. A lot of the time, Jimmy gets next to no credit when the team wins. If the QB is as crucial to a teams success (which they absolutely are) they should get both the benefit of getting credit for the wins and bearing responsibility for the losses. Of course there will be individual games, where the QB is directly responsible for a W or an L due to individual play, but on a macro level it should be a even keeled dispersal of credit/blame ratio.

As for your film room comment, again 100% agree. A lot of the reason of watching film is to discuss what went wrong and why plays got left on the field. Then try to get better in those situations moving forward. This goes for all players. I'm sure the failed 3rd downs and 4th down, were discussed by Jimmy/Kyle/et all.

Overall, if Jimmy can maintain the level of play he's been at the last several weeks this team has a high ceiling. Especially with an elite RB having just walked in the door.

I wrestle with this one a bit. I think on an individual-game basis, you're right. But when people discuss Jimmy's strengths, the first thing to come up is his win-loss record. So he is getting quite a bit of credit in the big picture.

A huge part of why Jimmy perhaps doesn't get as much credit as he should is because of the team's fairly remarkable success in the playoffs despite Jimmy's limited contributions or outright bad play. In 2019, he basically did nothing in the first two rounds as we blew out the opposition with our ground game. When we needed him to step up in the second half of the super bowl, he really struggled. This past year, we should have beaten the Cowboys handily, but Jimmy's really questionable play down the stretch let them back in it. He did very little against the Packers, other than throw a pick deep in Packer territory in a very low-scoring game (yes, I know Kittle dropped a very well-thrown ball on the first drive that would have been a very big play). And he had a lot of shaky moments in an NFC championship game that was there for the taking.

I think it's true that he simultaneously gets too little credit for individual wins, but perhaps too much credit for his objectively stellar record.

I think what ultimately happens in situations like this is that many fans join one of two camps. There is one camp that really supports Jimmy G and another side that doesn't like him at all. And both sides will use whatever stats they need to make their argument about why Jimmy is a good or bad QB. Ultimately the debate should be over. Lance was named the starter and Jimmy was shopped around the NFL. Jimmy is the backup QB starting because of injury. If we are still having this debate at the start of next season and the reports don't show the staff fully committed to starting Lance then there is a bigger reason to be concerned.