Grading the 49ers at the Bye Week
Grading the San Francisco 49ers position by position during their bye week.
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00:00 It's the bye week.
00:00 It's time for them to take stock of themselves.
00:02 It is time for us to take stock of them, too.
00:04 I like to give grades after wins and losses.
00:07 Let's grade each position on the team
00:11 and the coaching staff halfway through the season.
00:13 OK, let's start with an overall grade for the team.
00:17 I'm sorry, guys.
00:18 I'm going to cough a little for an overall grade for the team right now.
00:22 Why don't we finish that overall grade for the why don't we finish
00:24 with the overall grade for the team? Sure. Sounds fair to say. OK, yep.
00:29 I'm buying. Where do we start? Where do we start?
00:31 Let's start it. Let's start at quarterback.
00:33 OK, Rockford, may I go first? Yes. OK.
00:37 This is going to frustrate and anger a lot of people.
00:40 And it's OK. It's just my opinion. C plus.
00:43 And may I'd like to say why?
00:47 If you had asked me after the first five games to give Brock
00:52 Purdy a letter grade, I would have given him an A and I would have given it
00:55 happily. I would have been proud to give him an A
00:59 because he's such a wonderful story and he's a very good player.
01:03 Not a great player, but he's a very good player.
01:05 But his last three performances, despite what the numbers show,
01:10 his passer rating have been abysmal,
01:12 especially the last two.
01:15 And I want to I want to be very clear on this.
01:17 You could say that the defense lost the game for them in the last two games,
01:25 and they're certainly complicit.
01:26 So I'm not I'm not saying they didn't.
01:28 But Purdy also lost the game in the in the last two games they've played.
01:33 He had a chance to win at the end.
01:35 Not only didn't he win, he gave it up in both.
01:39 And the ball over turned the ball over in both cases.
01:43 He it's not only that he didn't win, he failed.
01:46 He failed. He gave I believe he had four turnovers in the fourth quarter.
01:50 The last two games, three turnovers, three picks and a fumble.
01:54 Can't do it.
01:55 And so what I want to say is when you give up the ball,
01:59 it wipes out so many of the good things you've done.
02:03 It wipes out your completion percentage, your your winning percentage,
02:08 your charming good looks.
02:11 Giving the ball up makes you like Matt Ryan.
02:15 It makes you like Matthew Stafford.
02:18 You don't want those guys on your team.
02:21 So based on what he's done in eight games, not in the first five,
02:26 I give him a C plus, and I consider that a fairly good grade and generous.
02:31 I give him a C plus as well.
02:34 He is.
02:35 The main reason they lost the last two games,
02:38 and he was one of the main reasons they lost the one before that.
02:41 17 points three weeks in a row.
02:44 The way I look at it is he didn't have to do much the first five games of the year.
02:49 His supporting cast was healthy.
02:50 His defense was rolling.
02:51 He had everyone around him.
02:53 He was putting up 30 points without breaking a sweat.
02:56 But as soon as he lost a couple of players on offense
02:59 and the Niners said, all right, man, like really be the real deal.
03:04 Carry us. He couldn't.
03:07 He not only did he could he not carry him?
03:10 He fumbled.
03:12 He I mean, he fumbled in a way he dropped him, dropped him.
03:15 That's the happy completed metaphor. Thank you. Yeah.
03:19 He was an English major. Yeah, I try.
03:21 Anyway, the C plus. All right. Running back.
03:24 B. Oh, what about you?
03:31 I gave him an A, but I'm a generous greater California.
03:34 OK, I want to say in every one of these grades, I will defer to you.
03:39 Christian McCaffrey's great, but Iggy, his running
03:43 he's yours precarious falling off.
03:47 I'm blaming I blame the offensive line and Kyle for overusing him,
03:50 but he's got almost a thousand yards and 13 touchdowns through eight games.
03:54 OK, I mean, I'm a thousand yards for scrimmage.
03:57 I don't know.
03:58 He did fumble against the Vikings, and that was one of the main reasons
04:01 that I was lost.
04:01 And also, you said running backs, you didn't say Christian McCaffrey.
04:06 It's a good and the coach is not using the other running backs.
04:09 I don't think he's using them intelligently.
04:12 I think he's getting the little guy number 23,
04:15 and he is a little guy beat up too much.
04:17 So, no, I'm sticking on this one.
04:19 Again, I'm sticking with the B.
04:20 I'm deferring to you.
04:22 I think you made a good I like we'll each give our grade
04:25 and we'll debate it a little bit and see if who agrees with who I like yours.
04:29 That's a good point.
04:30 It's not just McCaffrey's all of them.
04:32 All right. You said running back.
04:34 I'm going to write it down.
04:35 Be very wide receivers.
04:36 Right. Wide receivers. OK.
04:38 Iuke is phenomenal.
04:39 Wide receivers.
04:43 Debo is sort of a relative.
04:46 Boy, that's a tough one.
04:50 Iuke is so good.
04:51 The others, I have to give him an A minus as a group.
04:55 What do you think?
04:56 I'd give him a B.
04:57 There's no way I'm putting him above the running backs.
04:59 Iuke's good, but when it's time for him to carry the team, he can't do it either.
05:02 He has some big drops the last few weeks.
05:05 OK, during this losing streak, I'd give him a B as well.
05:07 Jawan Jennings has done nothing this year. Nothing.
05:09 Yeah. And Debo's really not done much.
05:12 I'm persuaded.
05:14 I think B sounds like a like a good grade and a fair grade.
05:17 And I want you to remember, people, B is a good grade.
05:20 I don't know how you were in school.
05:22 I got B's sometimes and I didn't go crying.
05:25 B's a good grade.
05:27 B's a good grade.
05:29 B's good grade. OK, tight ends.
05:31 OK, tight ends.
05:35 It's really just one guy.
05:36 Iggy, I'm going to have to give him an A.
05:38 I'm going to have to give Kittle an A.
05:42 I get you don't like it.
05:44 I get it as well.
05:45 He's having a really good bounce back season.
05:47 Got to give him an A.
05:50 And I would say some other things about him.
05:53 I thought maybe he was getting to the point of being washed up. No.
05:57 He's really a hell of a blocker and he's good at it.
06:02 And he doesn't mind. He seems to like doing it.
06:04 He runs great routes.
06:08 He has great hands and he's a tough guy.
06:10 He is. I think maybe he's a bit of a phony.
06:13 And with those glasses and stuff, you know, in the press conferences.
06:16 But I'm not grading his press conference performances.
06:19 I also there's something lighthearted about him that I kind of find attractive.
06:24 But I think he's one of the elite tight ends in the league
06:27 and is playing that way. So an A for me.
06:30 Yeah. And last two, three years, I kept wondering,
06:33 why is he not getting the ball?
06:35 Like, why are there these games where he has three catches for 29 yards?
06:38 You're paying him all this money.
06:39 Is he not getting open?
06:40 And I think what's clear is that it's a Kyle thing.
06:43 There's just certain weeks where Kyle Shanahan isn't focused on George Kittle
06:47 and is focused on getting the ball to other guys.
06:49 Once he actually calls George Kittle's number, he produces.
06:53 He does. Yeah, it's not a George issue.
06:56 It's a Kyle issue. So I give him an A.
06:58 So, yeah, a a offensive line.
07:02 Oh, boy. D.
07:08 D. D. What do you think?
07:11 I gave me a green line.
07:12 I gave a C minus, but I was trying to live with that.
07:15 I could live with a C minus.
07:17 Let me say why I grade him low.
07:21 I don't think the right side can pass protect very well.
07:25 And I feel that they're not opening up as the season rolls along.
07:31 They're not really opening up holes for the running game.
07:33 So I guess those are the two things I have to do.
07:37 Um, I could live with a C plus, Ziggy.
07:41 I wouldn't fight with that.
07:44 You know, that's OK. What do you think?
07:46 C minus. I'm just going to see minus.
07:48 I didn't want to give him a failing grade because I feel like the Niners,
07:51 they haven't gotten pretty injured yet.
07:54 I feel like they've done a decent job.
07:56 But I mean, Trent Williams is good, but hurt.
07:58 Aaron Banks is good, but hurt.
08:00 And the rest of the offensive line.
08:01 Is decent at best.
08:04 I wouldn't say the right line, the right side of the offensive line
08:06 isn't good at anything.
08:07 It's not good at run blocking.
08:08 It's not good at pass protection.
08:09 Everything is to the left.
08:11 Iggy, I want to just come back to one thing you said.
08:14 They haven't gotten the quarterback hurt yet.
08:17 Yes, they have.
08:17 He's been hurting each of the last two games.
08:19 I mean, he hasn't hurt his arm.
08:21 He's hurt his head twice.
08:23 That's a good point.
08:24 And again, we'll talk about Kyle later.
08:26 I think he's exposing the kid to risk beyond what if I were the coach,
08:32 I would be doing.
08:33 But they have gotten him hurt two games in a row.
08:35 All right, let's go with D then D line.
08:37 Oh, what an overrated bunch.
08:42 OK, in terms of a talent there in a in terms of production, see.
08:48 I'm going to split the difference and give them a B and say that
08:52 a big reason they're not producing is because of the back end.
08:55 Fair enough.
08:56 The secondary.
08:57 I'm going to give them a B.
08:58 They haven't been good against the run.
09:00 I think they could be better as pass rushers if the if the coverage
09:03 wasn't so, so, so soft.
09:06 OK, here's what I'm willing to do.
09:08 I'm willing to come up to a B minus.
09:10 Fair enough.
09:11 B minus.
09:13 I'm willing.
09:13 I'm willing to come up to a B minus.
09:15 I like it.
09:16 And now that they have Chase Young, maybe it'll be higher.
09:18 We'll see linebackers.
09:20 Oh, Greenlow has been hurt, but oh, yeah, that's an a group.
09:28 They make so many tackles.
09:30 OK, I see that.
09:32 Puss, you make it.
09:33 I don't know.
09:34 I mean, why are the Niners 16th out of 32 teams in yards per carry allowed?
09:40 Like that's as mediocre as it gets against the run.
09:42 And part of it's the D line, but the D line gets credit for
09:45 rushing the quarterback.
09:46 The linebackers are there to stop the run.
09:48 And they're not doing it.
09:51 I mean, Greenlaw has been hurt.
09:52 I don't I think Fred Warner is having a really overrated year.
09:55 I mean.
09:55 He talks a lot.
09:57 He's the leader of the team, but.
09:59 So what would you give him?
10:02 It's the C C.
10:05 I'm persuaded.
10:07 Sounds good to me.
10:07 I mean, I don't care their reputation.
10:11 I don't think they're playing that well.
10:12 DB's.
10:12 F. F.
10:16 Absolutely.
10:17 F. You agree.
10:19 All of them, even Tylenol, who was an all pro last year, missing tackles galore.
10:24 Tashawn Gibson just out there, the corners all bad.
10:29 F. F.
10:32 F. And could we go a little further and say, even though the offensive
10:38 line is not that good, the defensive backs is the worst unit on the team.
10:43 Worse than the offensive line.
10:44 Yes.
10:45 We agree on that.
10:47 I mean, this is the glaring weakness and it's why when they pick up an edge
10:52 rusher, you scratch and you hadn't seen edge rusher.
10:55 What about these poor guys back there?
10:57 Don't they need a little help?
11:00 Yeah, because it's still one of your best positions on the team as rusher.
11:04 And you got an F position.
11:07 You got a D and an F a D at offensive line and an F at DB special teams.
11:14 Oh, that kid.
11:17 He, uh, he, he makes you nervous.
11:19 Um, now he's nervous.
11:22 Iggy, I'm going to have to give him a seat.
11:27 Me too.
11:29 How much confidence do you really have in Jake Moody?
11:31 And then finally I have to give him a seat.
11:32 Coaches.
11:33 Oh, I want to break them.
11:35 I'm going to do it a certain way.
11:37 Let's start with Kyle as an offensive coordinator.
11:42 I'm going to give him as an offensive coordinator, a B because he started out
11:50 the season, you know, scoring 30 or more points every game, but now in the last
11:54 three games he get, he can't get nothing.
11:57 So I'm going to, I'm going to give him a B as a head coach.
12:02 I'm going to give him a D yeah.
12:07 As a head coach, because he started out beautifully and then blew it.
12:13 He went from the team in the NFC to our team in the NFC,
12:18 and that's on the head coach.
12:20 Um, so as a, or coordinator B, but fail at falling head coach, D
12:28 defensive coordinator D or an F I'm trying to, it's not his fault, but
12:36 like nothing he's doing is working.
12:37 Okay.
12:38 Then you know what I was trying to be generous.
12:40 I don't know him, but he seems like a man of great pride and great dignity.
12:45 And I admire, I admire a leader.
12:48 I admire him, but Iggy.
12:50 I have to give him an F it's not, would you go into a little
12:53 on, on why you're giving him an F?
12:55 Well, schematically he can't, he can't get his pass rush to work.
13:02 He can't figure out how to get his pass rush to work.
13:04 He has all this talent, whether he rushes four or five, six or seven,
13:07 no one gets to the quarterback.
13:09 He gets pressure, but he can't figure out that his secondary is cost or
13:14 he can't work around a secondary.
13:16 And it's a D'Amico had the same guys last year had a number one defense.
13:18 And this guy is so concerned about his corners that he's playing them
13:22 10 yards off the ball and giving up and conceding his pass rush.
13:25 So he can't stop the run.
13:27 Can't stop the pass.
13:28 He's floundering.
13:31 Then I got to disagree with you about Kyle as the offensive coordinator.
13:34 When he was rolling, what he was doing was giving the ball to Christian
13:38 McCaffrey too much, which we talked about earlier, that was not creative.
13:41 That was reckless.
13:43 And it led to them peaking in September, which we talked about.
13:46 So now he loses Christian McCaffrey gets a little banged up.
13:48 He loses two players and all of a sudden they can't get more than 17 points.
13:52 Yeah.
13:53 I kind of feel like he, you know, whatever he is as a coach, he's
13:57 not as creative as Mike McDaniel.
13:58 And ever since Mike McDaniel left this team last year, they haven't
14:01 been as creative on offense.
14:02 Kyle's best idea is give the ball to Christian McCaffrey as
14:05 much as humanly possible.
14:06 That's Kyle.
14:07 Okay.
14:08 What do you give him as an offensive coordinator?
14:11 I'm persuaded.
14:13 What do you give him as a head coach?
14:14 D he's responsible for Wilkes.
14:18 And he's responsible for the three game losing streak.
14:20 Yeah.
14:22 This media teams, this team was cruising.
14:25 They made it look easy.
14:26 He didn't have to do that much.
14:27 He had a very talented team that he and John Lynch put together.
14:32 That was uncharacteristically healthy early in the season.
14:35 Soon as they lost a couple of players, everything fell apart.
14:38 They lost one game to PJ Walker and they still haven't worked it out.
14:41 And we're going to talk about why, but what coach, I mean, Robert
14:45 Sala lost Aaron Rogers in the first drive of the season, and he's still in it.
14:51 Kyle Shanahan loses the PJ Walker and they can't pull
14:54 themselves out of a tailspin.
14:55 When he pulls himself out, when he wins another game, I'll
14:59 give him higher than a D.
15:00 But right now he's looking like a guy who had an easy job and now
15:02 has a real job and he can't do it.
15:04 I love what you're saying.
15:06 I love it, Iggy.
15:07 And I would add right now, Robert Sala is doing a better
15:10 coaching jobs in Kyle Shanahan.
15:11 So is Mike McDaniel.
15:13 So as to be going to Ryan's.
15:15 Maybe not to make a rise, but he took, Oh, he's on a terrible team.
15:18 All of his underlings now surpassing him.
15:20 So what would you give for the overall grade for the team?
15:23 Okay.
15:25 At this point where they stand B.
15:28 B.
15:30 I agree.
15:32 B I agree.
15:33 The five and three they're in the, they're in the conversation.
15:36 They're no longer in first place, even in the division.
15:38 They're in the conversation.
15:40 If they win the next game, six and three is very good record.
15:43 If they lose the next game, ah, but I, for where they stand today,
15:49 a B at, at the, at the break.
15:51 I think that's very interesting.
15:53 [Music]