Originally posted by json7:
On Mac: you're taking a draft narrative & regurgitating it w/o knowing anything about it. Watch his 3 preseason & first 6 games. He was not pro ready & got better throughout the year (we saw late that he needs to build his body up to improve his strength b/c the cold weather really affected his throwing).
On Top 5: A 49er fan/media statement w/ no evidence to back it up. Do you even know half the starters on ARZ, SEA, LAR? How much better are the 9ers than the Saints, who went 9-3 when they had bottom-level starting QB play in Jameis 5-2 & Taysom 4-1, but went 0-5 when they had backup QB level play in Siemian 0-4 & Book 0-1.
If Jameis/Taysom played all 17 (9ers miss playoffs), I wonder what the perception would've been from our fanbase of this roster. Or if they were bounced by the Bucs or Rams in round 1. Or if that miraculous punt block TD vs a clearly superior GB team didn't take place.
B/c every borderline teams' fanbase thinks they underperformed: Saints, 49ers, Colts, Browns, Ravens, Dolphins (2-3 w/ Jacoby, Tua was 7-5, so they think they go 10-7 w/ Tua), Cards (losing Hopkins sank them), Eagles (lost B. Graham in wk 2). But reality is they were a 3rd place team in their division that barely made the playoffs & NFL history does not look kindly on those teams. Kyle & Lynch should be doing everything they can to make sure Lance succeeds b/c, based off history, they will be fired otherwise. I'm not looking forward to another Jed York hire.
Anyway, in '22 we're going w/ 1st yr starters like Banks/McKivitz? at LG, Skule/Moore? at RT, Lenoir? at Nickel, Odum/Moore? at S + Jimmy's shown that he's not made of the right stuff in the playoffs: 60.6%, 160.3 pyds, 0.8 ryds, 4 td's to 6 int's (int rate 4.5%!), & a 74.1 rating (not a great stat, but there's no way to excuse a 74.1 PR in the modern NFL or 28.0 in the 4th q). Not that the losses are solely on him, but if they'd just gotten "regular season Jimmy G" play, they'd have 2 rings.
I watched every one Mac's college snaps, all of the Pats preseason games, and around 12 of their regular season games. Do you know why the narrative going into the draft was that Mac Jones was pro ready? It's because that's what his college tape screamed out. You saw a QB who's fundamentals were polished, who exhibited great accuracy and decision making. His downside was physical limitations. Lack of a great arm, lack of an ability to threaten a defense with his legs. That's where the draft narrative of low ceiling, limited player, was born.
What did Cam Newton do in the preseason or even in his first season in NE to demonstrate he was playing the position at a higher level than Mac Jones last season? Instead of pretending I don't know what I'm talking about, support your statement that Bill Belicheck chose Mac's development over the better player with an argument based around their abilities at the time.
I'm also not relying on media or other fans analysis of the 49ers roster. Going into the season I had them behind the Rams and the Bucs and thought a comparison with AZ could go either way. In your quickness to imply I don't know what other teams have on their roster, you mentioned Seattle and said Green Bay was clearly superior. Let's talk about Green Bay's clearly superior roster.
Lining up the 49ers roster against Green Bay, from last season, I see Green Bay having a talent advantage at QB, RB, and in the secondary. The 49ers have superior weapons in the pass game, the superior offensive line, defensive line, linebackers and better depth pretty much across the board. Every year the Packers beat up on a weak NFC north, and get beat in the playoffs by superior teams that are battle tested. 2019 49ers, 2020 Bucs, 2021 49ers.
I find it funny that you make the argument that the 49ers were what they were at 10-7 yet go on to speculate on a bunch of what if scenarios to elevate other teams beyond what they in fact were. What if the 49ers don't block that punt against GB? What if Jameis doesn't get injured? It stands to reason you shouldn't what if only when it's convenient for your argument. What if George Kittle catches a potential touchdown pass that hits him in the chest early in that Packers game. What if Jimmy G starts the AZ game in AZ instead of Trey Lance? What if Mostert doesn't go down in the 1st half of the 1st game of the season? We can do this all day.
The 49ers went to the NFC championship with a broken, less than average, QB winning 3 straight elimination games on the road *against 3 division winners. Lost a coin-flip game in a 4th straight road game against a division winner in the title game*. It stands to reason they have pretty good players everywhere, and it's not a secret.
[ Edited by SmokeyJoe on Apr 5, 2022 at 1:59 PM ]
