AZ54

On a couple plays I saw some of the same trait from Lucas Patrick. He keeps his head up and was quick to react to help elsewhere if/when needed. He moves much better than Mustipher. I'm pretty optimistic for what we'll have when Patrick is at C with Jenkins at RG.

Awesome!

I watched MNF and already it's clear we got the right offensive coach out of GB. We also have the guy that has been the voice in Rodgers ear for the last 3 years. He knows as well as anyone what he likes to do and how he "sees" the game. Conversely Getsy also knows what Rodgers doesn't like to see in a defense. In the grand scheme of things those are small tidbits that might help here or there because in the end it always comes down to execution. Unlike Lance, Rodgers isn't going airmail easy passes over the head of his WRs but he might miss them if they are in the wrong spot at the wrong time. If we're in cover 2 Vildor will provide Rodgers the best target for his favorite pass into the gap. Just like last year where they ran Adams all over the field to get him away from J. Johnson they will be trying to get that matchup with whoever they like best. I don't know which WR that might be. Their DBs should match up well against our WRs but the front 7 isn't anywhere near what we just saw but they are good. Nothing has changed since training camp for me, if we can run we can win. You could say we couldn't run against SF but that was early and once we could run the game changed. One thing that I'm hearing now is how the coaches changed up some of the run blocking fits to match what the 49ers were doing. Can Getsy's knowledge help us get off to a quicker start? How does Fields' mobility affect what they want to do? After the 49ers game I'm going to guess we will see more of a controlled rush focused on keeping him in the pocket likely augmented with blitzes off the edge to test our OTs and Fields on the road. Defense against Rodgers is really just about getting pressure from the front 4. When it's too easy they need to be watching for the screens to the RBs. I'd expect their runs to look a lot like our runs, and what we just saw from the 49ers. In that sense there shouldn't be too many surprises there, just gotta execute. Their Oline is a bit banged up, maybe we'll see some backups on the edge. Are there any tells Getsy can provide to the defense? Given Eberflus' attention to detail I'm sure there isn't much he doesn't already know from his time as a DC. Given the progress of the Oline in game 1 I'm optimistic we can put up at least 24pts but I think we'll need 28 to win on road. Can the D provide it?

Thayer's take on a couple plays.

Watching the youngsters improve as the game went along was enjoyable. There is still room to grow but there are quite a few positives coming out of this game and I think the Oline's confidence will be much higher this weekend.

Poles could have easily protected him as he can protect 4 PS players. He chose not to. Despite my optimism this guy would turn into a good player for us, given what this staff has done with so many young players I have to trust their judgment. They saw quite a bit of him over the offseason so most likely he didn't fit within the culture of the HITS system. There is reason to believe that too because last year Graham said it was his fault he didn't make the 53 as he wasn't working hard enough. https://www.news5cleveland.com/sports/browns/cb-thomas-graham-jr-signed-to-the-cleveland-browns-from-the-chicago-bears Forgot to add that in his place the Bears signed former Vikings DB Harrison Hand. He has more game experience than Graham had. https://nfltraderumors.co/bears-sign-db-harrison-hand-to-practice-squad/ https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HandHa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-

I'm just going to speak myself here as a Bears fan but Justin Fields is also dealing with a completely new offensive system, much less new coaches. He put up 19 pts against one of the top 5 defenses from last year. If the NFL MVP can't muster something similar against the Vikings defense which is also dealing with a similar all-new transition to a 3-4 front then yes he shares the blame.

Seems about right.

Good point. It seems all of the rookies or young players had those moments and the coaches were able to reel them back into their fundamentals. It's rare to see such a young team not panic where players try to do too much, or to make the big play, which would lead to mistakes.

I have never seen Justin Fields that energized and outspoken. That end-of-game slide into the end zone was a different version of the guy who is usually so quiet and reserved. This is his team now.

This is a crazy good stat line for a 5th Rd rookie DE, Dom Robinson, who played as a backup, often going against All Pro Trent Williams: 7 tackles total, 5 solo, 1.5 sacks, 1 TFL. Nick Bosa, often going against 5th Rd rookie LT or last years 5th rd rookie RT: 5 tackles total, 4 solo, 1 sack, 1 TFL. https://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore/_/gameId/401437647

Game thoughts after re-watching things (sorry for long post): Topic at the top of most fan's list is the Oline: I'm going to say things are actually looking far better than they appeared at first glance. Obviously we had some struggles in the first quarter with their Dline but as the game moved into the 2nd quarter that improved. Most of the issues we had in the 2nd quarter and 3rd quarter were with the 2nd level and secondary blocks (i.e. TEs and WRs). Once we hit a few passes and got them out of the steady 8-man box we were more productive in the running game. David Montgomery was also part of the problem in the first half. He had a lot of runs with nowhere to go but in the 2nd quarter the line was opening some gaps but he ran away from it into a no-gain situation. If he made the right decision he could have picked up 3-4 yards. Herbert came in and you saw a bit more patience and then cutbacks for daylight. To his credit Montgomery adjusted, or the coaches adjusted him, and he found the gaps better in the 2nd half. Our OTs actually had a good game overall. On one play Jones got put on his heels for a sack but after that he was pretty good against Bosa and Ebukam. Jones is a better run blocker than I expected. Borom too played well in pass pro. Of course both have things to improve but for their first game against this front I'm pleased with what they did. It should only get better from here. Patrick rotated series with Jenkins. Like everyone else he struggled early on but in the 2nd half was much better. We'll look better with him at Center and Jenkins at RG. In fact we might look a lot better because I think he'll be better at the combo blocks and getting someone to the 2nd level which is where we must improve. QBs: We drafted the better QB and Shanahan knows it. I don't think much more needs to be said but I'll say more anyway. I have no clue what Fields was trying to do on the INT as that type of throw into coverage is uncharacteristic of him but we didn't see more decisions like that. While running Fields is now keeping the ball high and tight whereas last year he ran with the ball in his hand swinging leading to some fumbles. Somebody coached him into that and it's nice to see. In fact, for all the tight pockets he had to work with that might be the most noticeable "missing" stat versus last year. WRs: We need help here and a big part of that is also run blocking. N'Keal Harry will be a welcome return for the running game because he can cutoff some of those safety or LB plays that turned into losses. It might not have been obvious on the replay but Pringle hesitated on his deep route and that's all it took for that pass into the endzone to be out of his reach. He needs to learn not to give up on Fields just because he's covered. I'd say Fields threw a perfect pass. Other than perhaps Mooney we don't have anyone that can win early on a route. Once the run game improves it will give these WRs and Fields more time to find to gaps in the defense. TEs: Much like the Oline blocking improved as the game went along but it was bad early on. Like everyone else they didn't get much action in the passing game. RBs: I already covered Montgomery. Herbert showed good patience and was very productive. I'm ready for Ebner to get some looks as a 3rd down back. DT: Armon Watts is our best DT and I don't think it's even close. He can improve some of his technique but I think we have the coaches to make that happen but his length and strength show up on a high percentage of his plays (thank you Minn). Jones is a good hustle player but he doesn't have enough length to disengage from blocks, otherwise he'd be really good. He's the kind of guy you'd like as your 3rd DT. He's good enough that he'll have some good plays for us especially once he's paired more often with Watts. Blackson was pretty boring to watch. Pennell is the classic hold-the-line type of player. Adding one stud DT in the next offseason paired with Watts and Jones and we'd be good. For now the rally-to-the-ball ethos masks some of their deficiencies. DE: Dominique Robinson is going to become a household name among NFL fans. I'm not saying that just because of the sacks. He won early on one snap from the DT position and caused an errant pass from Lance. He hustled all over the field. On Jackson's INT he blocked Deebo because he was already running back to ball after the pass was thrown and that allowed Jackson to gain 20 yds. His athleticism and rush ability already stands out among our DEs and he's still learning. He gave Trent Williams all he could handle (even got held on a couple plays IMO). There was one play where the 49ers had him triple teamed and he was still active on the play. Everyone else from Quinn, Gipson, and AQM looked ok and we have a good rotation but this rookie is going to ascend this year not next year. LBs: I didn't focus on them at all. I think they too got better in coverage as the game went along. Other than that it seemed like rally-to-the-ball. CBs: Vildor is still Vildor but he's much better with his eyes facing the QB. We'll survive with him. Gordon had a few mistakes but also a few good plays. S: Hello Eddie Jackson where have you been? I've seen some people blame him for Deebo's TD but in reality Deebo is a WR in a LBs body. IMO the only way theoretically possible to stop that TD was to hit him high but there is almost no chance of winning that battle. Normally you'd always tackle Deebo low but that would let him get over the top for the TD. Nonetheless Eddie went all in to stop him and hit him high so I'll at least respect that effort. When I rewatched the game there were quite a few other running plays where Eddie flew in from deep to either make a tackle or force the play back inside. The INT was classic Eddie from years ago. Not only that, I saw him often communicating pre-snap with LBs and DBs. He's different this year I hope it continues. Brisker had his rookie moments missing some tackles but also making some big plays. With experience it just better from here. Overall the Niners left points or first downs on the board and much of that was Lance's inaccuracy. Kittle playing probably would have changed the outcome but I don't care. We held them to 10pts and that's a great defensive effort in any NFL game especially considering the offensive futility we had for 2 1/2 quarters. Coaching: Wow! Even under the pressure of a first game and 3 rookies starting at key positions we still look like a well coached, disciplined, and organized team. During the replay I noticed Fields was usually at the LOS around 12-15s and we snapped the ball with 5-7 sec on the clock. He can relax and read the D. Kudos to Eberflus for walking the sideline and thanking the players at the end of the game. You always see some of that on a first win (i.e. Vikings game) where players come to the head coach and congratulate him. This was a HC going down the sideline to the players which in effect is saying I didn't win this game you did. It's just different but I like it. I'm excited for next week's game.

There was nothing about that game that said we should win it yet we did. That was coaching where the team is greater than the sum of its parts. They rotated Patrick and Jenkins at RG which is good to help get Patrick in game shape. I saw a few rookie mistakes by Gordon and Brisker just getting themselves out of position that gave up some big plays. Brisker had Lance for a 3rd down stop when he ran up the middle and whiffed on the tackle letting him gain 10 more yards. I'm sure both will correct it over the next few games. Despite all that we never really saw panic and the players stayed disciplined.

Definitely a salary cap move to put Pennel on the practice squad. One thing Eberflus mentioned during the Fri press conference is that our DEs can be moved inside on 3rd and long. I don't think all of them will but he specifically mentioned Gipson and Robinson. I agree with Eiselen being the backup center tomorrow. He played well in the preseason at C and might be a year away from earning a roster spot. Given the weather forecast I will not be surprised to see us running some plays with an extra lineman. What combination that might be I don't know but if they start Patrick at RG then they could bring Jenkins in off tackle to go heavy. Or start Jenkins at RG but move him outside on some plays but that seems less likely. I'm very concerned with Patrick's conditioning for a full game. Unless my math is bad, how do we cut one off the 53, then add 2? I guess we still have this rule below in place but that also means we're one short on the 53. We can't bring back anyone from IR for another 2 weeks although Harry seems like the logical choice if we do. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31869693/nfl-carry-flexible-roster-rules-2021 "Elevation of up to two practice squad players to the active roster, without removing any current players, before 4 p.m. ET the day before a game." I saw where we cut ties with Tajae Sharpe who was on IR, now set free with an injury settlement. IMO that means we feel confident going forward with the former Viking Smith-Marsette at WR. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2022/9/9/23345592/chicago-bears-tweak-roster-mike-pennell-sam-kamara-practice-squad-tajae-sharpe-53-man-roster

Yet another Ryan Pace acquisition. Tonga isn't a bad player but he's a bad scheme fit.

Looks like Armon Watts has moved into #3 spot. I expect he'll be a starter soon. I assume we're bringing up someone from the practice squad. We're going after a very athletic QB, do we bring up Trevon Coley who has more pass rush ability, or is there some injury at another position we need to cover?

1) It's the preseason games that have me excited to start the season. After the first game I simply said we looked organized. That held up across all 3 games. In the past the team performance was usually chaotic so I focused on the good individual performances and how that would carry us during the season. The expectation was that the team performance would come together as the season progressed. This is just different from anything I've seen in a couple decades which is about when I started to follow the team more closely in the offseason. 2). Fields' progression through the preseason demonstrating better ability to read defenses and he stayed with his new mechanics. He still has a way to go but the trend is steep enough that even a couple more weeks of practice should help him improve further. 3). Ryan Poles first offseason has brought in more good young talent than expected. I was hoping for 2 starters and at least one future starter. We ended up with 3 starters in Braxton Jones, Gordon, Brisker, plus a punter. Future starters or at least contributors include Ebner, Velus Jones, Carter, and now I think we can toss in Leatherwood. He stayed the course avoiding the over-priced FA acquisitions that would affect our future cap flexibility. Add to that a coaching staff that is both confident in their ability to teach the rookies and is willing let them play if they earn it. Playing the rookies will give us a good indication where the roster stands heading into next offseason. Now I am anxious to see the results on the field to validate we have some foundational pieces in place: coaching, young talent, QB.

Our secondary talent and discipline was horrible last year. The talent gap has closed quite a bit and so has the discipline and hustle aspect. I'm not saying we'll shutdown Deebo because Shanahan is going to find ways to get the ball into his hands. I expect a lot more pursuit from the defense than last year and if Kittle is out then by missing that deep threat only helps the cause. Bend but don't get broken on the big plays like last year.

The Rams were still hungover from the Superbowl parties. Their performance was really bad and this was in LA. I focused on ARob on a few plays and I don't miss him one bit. Guys like Nsimba Webster play with more heart. Both teams had plenty of execution mistakes, a sign of things to come across the league in week 1.

If Kittle can't play it definitely impacts their ability to threaten downfield, plus his blocking in the run game/RPO stuff. Kittle is a big part of the reason Deebo can get so many wide open looks. This is old but might be an indication of what we can expect especially if Kittle is out. https://www.4for4.com/news/brandon-aiyuk-quickly-becoming-trey-lances-favorite-target

49ers didn't even name Lance as a team captain a day after signing JimmyG to a new deal. Now we already get articles talking about if he'll get replaced mid-season (and 3 Oline players are listed too). If for any reason Lance and their offense play poorly in the first half the pressure will ratchet upward. OTOH Fields is coming in with low expectations for the offense and what many are saying is a poor supporting cast. https://ninerswire.usatoday.com/lists/49ers-depth-chart-starters-replaced-trey-lance-jauan-jennings/ https://ninerswire.usatoday.com/2022/09/07/49ers-name-team-captains-qb-trey-lance/

That won't keep him out for the game and in any case they've used an injured Kittle before at least as a decoy.

Experience in their systems is definitely in their favor. We don't yet know what we have but the discipline and organization we saw on the field throughout preseason gives me reason to be optimistic. In the NFL stars are often the difference and they have us there. Beyond that I feel these two teams are closer in roster talent than it appears on the surface. Barring big mistakes/turnovers on offense I expect our defense to perform close to what the Colts did last year against SF when they held them to 18pts. Figure low 20's for us. Can we manufacture 25pts or more? It all comes down to if we can run the ball. If we can, then we can win this game. On top of that we will likely need at least one big play on defense or special teams to add points. It's Week 1 there are always surprises and breakdowns.