Enough Excuses. On Sunday, the 49ers suffered their 3rd straight blowout loss, dropping them to 4-6 and continuing their free-fall to irrelevancy. It was a game they could have won, the opportunities were there, but the 49ers just couldn't muster up more than 13 points of offense. Now, more than ever, the 49ers' 2020 season seems to be completely lost. While many look for a direction to point the finger, and there are a few obvious areas, start with the head coach.
Sure, there have been a plethora of injuries, but one side of the ball has been handling those injuries much better than the other. Robert Saleh's defensive unit has been depleted by the injury bug, losing Dee Ford, Nick Bosa, Richard Sherman, Solomon Thomas, K'waun Williams, Jaquiski Tartt and other significant players throughout the course of the season. Yet, the 49ers are ranked 5th in overall defense and 10th in points allowed per game. Saleh has navigated all the challenges of this terrible 2020 and has still led the 49ers defense to being a legitimately good unit. Robert Saleh doesn't need excuses.
On the other side of the ball, the head football coach/offensive coordinator has suffered through a similar fate of having his roster ravaged by injuries. Unlike Saleh, 49ers play-caller Kyle Shanahan has wilted. The offensive genius has been nothing short of pedestrian in 2020. In the 49ers' 4 wins, the defense allowed an average of 11 points per game, setting the bar incredibly low for the Shanahan offense to limp over. In the 49ers' 6 losses, the offense averaged 19 points per game, which is equivalent to the #30 ranked offense in the entire NFL, and down 10 points from the 49ers' 2019 average. Overall, the 49ers rank 20th in points scored per game in 2020. In 2019, they were 2nd. Shanahan's drop off has been abysmal.
It's easy to pin the blame on injured players like Raheem Mostert, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and Jimmy Garoppolo. It's hard to blame a coach for having a drop off when his best players are unavailable. The question has to be asked, though: is Kyle Shanahan as good as advertised? He is often spoke of as one of the very best play-callers in the game and an offensive guru. Yet, the play-calling has not been good and the offense has been much worse because of it. Injuries are a part of football, but the 49ers have one coach who has handled them well (Saleh) and one who has completely fallen apart because of them (Shanahan).
One of the hallmarks of a Shanahan offense is the ability to find a way to make star RBs out of postal workers. Kyle's father, Mike Shanahan, did this for years in Denver, and Kyle was following his lead as the 49ers found great success in two undrafted free agents, Matt Brieda and Raheem Mostert, in 2019. That magical Shanahan run game has disappeared. In 2020, the 49ers are averaging 3.8 yards per carry when Raheem Mostert isn't carrying the rock. What happened? Between Jerrick McKinnon, JaMycal Hasty, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Tevin Coleman, no one has taken that next step to become the new great Shanahan find. Wilson Jr. had a good game against the Patriots. Outside of that the 49ers have severely struggled in developing a run game. The once creative WR runs have become stagnant, which was on full display in the 49ers 27-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. The 49ers can't run the ball, and this offense doesn't work without a run game.
It isn't solely about the run game. In the pass-heavy NFL, Kyle Shanahan refuses to push the ball down the field. A lot of frustration that fans experience with Jimmy Garoppolo is centered around his unwillingness to throw the ball deep. Luckily, the fans have been treated to the Nick Mullens experience the past 2 weeks and it has been clear that the 49ers don't like to throw the ball past 15 yards. There were several occasions in Sunday's game where Shanahan chose to run a draw rather than taking a shot on 3rd and long. This is cowardly Kyle at his worse. It doesn't take a tape junky to tell you that passing the ball down the field in situations like these can have 4 outcomes, and they're almost all weighted to benefit the passing team. You could come down with a big catch, draw a defensive penalty which would give you the automatic first down, incomplete the pass or throw an interception (which a lot of times, serves as a somewhat mini-punt). Cowardly Kyle coaches afraid, and his fear holds back this team. It did in Super Bowl 54, and it does at 4-6.
The 49ers have a lot to think about in the offseason. Many fans want to pin this all on the quarterback position, imagining a scenario where a rookie QB would cure all that ills the 49ers offense. Looking for a shiny new car, the 49ers fans should be weary of what they wish for. Kyle Shanahan has proven to be a bad coach without QB Jimmy Garoppolo. This isn't opinion, this is factual information. With Jimmy Garoppolo starting, Kyle Shanahan's record is an impressive 24-7. When any other hand-picked Shanahan QB is behind center, the 49ers are 5-23. That level of failure is enough to get most coaches fired. Thankfully, Kyle Shanahan has had Garoppolo around to keep him afloat. Before the 49ers dump Garoppolo, GM John Lynch should have a real conversation with Shanahan about what a fresh start would mean for him and this organization. There is a chopping block in football, and usually the head coach, GM and QB are the first 3 in line. If Jimmy goes, the other 2 might not be far behind.
- Gilbert Brink
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Written by:49ers outsider, residing in the Hudson Valley, representing 30+ years of the 49ers experience
