Originally posted by stefano89:
Originally posted by Mahoganyrush:
Shanahan needs to get over himself and have the best players on the field and obviously Aiyuk is one them to not play him much in the beginning of the year was insane, we need him, Deebo and Kittle this next few games if we are going to make the playoffs, also hope we get Mitchell back this week we need him also.
100%. It looks like if we had worked in aiyuk more earlier on this season we'd have 1-2 more wins. Big difference maker at this point in the NFC.
In retrospect, the o line, starting week 2, looked like crap in both the run blocking and pass blocking department. Aiyuk was also a weak link in the run blocking department. If you are running OZ, your WR's need to have that dog mentality.
It's no coicidence that when Aiyuk started blocking better that he began to see more targets. Not because he was in the doghouse per say but because Shanahan decided to fix the run blocking before the pass protection. Probably because when you can run the ball well, you can utilize play action and find yourself in less 3rd and long situations. Our run game was really hitting its stride up until Mitchell got hurt.
I imagine without the run game lately and being forced into more 3rd and long situations its no wonder the pass protection issues are starting to rear its ugly head again. But perhaps its a good thing. I think some of us are beginning to see the self scouting done by the coaching staff. If they can figure out how to block those stunts and blitzes, it will make us that much stronger of an offense. With the emergence of the pass game and how the ball is being spread around combined with when Mitchell comes back could be a recipe for oh s**t, the 49ers are back. Aiyuk will get those games back to showcase his skills in the playoffs.
[ Edited by YACBros85 on Dec 15, 2021 at 10:32 AM ]
