FanPost

49ers/Broncos preseason game and what to take away from it




So I have been seeing almost every article say "its preseason . . ." then either followed by nothing to it doesn't mean anything. Of course, how much of this is because the 49ers did bad-horrible probably plays a factor into it. If say the 49ers played really well then you would probably hear these people and fans say "we are in good shape". So how does it potentially go from it means nothing to we are in good shape?

I am not an analyst and I don't play one on tv. I am a fan and I enjoy being critical the 49ers because I am a devout fan (hometown is three exits from Levi's stadium now sweet). And whenever they aren't playing perfect, I like any fan who follows the team as much as they can, like to spew off my criticisms of what they aren't doing right. Take from that what you will. I will try to be unbiased but being a fan, its hard. But i'll try.

So what do the preseason games mean? I like to think they give us a good idea about our depth. The first series you can say gives us a screenshot of our first units. But the rest of the game is who is good enough to make a name for themselves to make the 53 man roster and either get litttle playing time or none unless someone gets hurt or they outplay someone during the year.

Positives:

- I liked the fact the 1st team offense mixed in some formations which we pretty much never saw last year. Whether thats because they are actually going to try using them or just experimenting, the fact they used them made me a little happier. Specifically the 5 wide set in a shotgun formation. I couldn't get a good look if RBs/TEs were mixed in but I saw an empty back field and 5 lined up out. If I remember correctly, Lloyd caught a reception off that specific one. The personnel at WR allows them to do that and I think its a great advantage to test any defensive coverage by forcing their 3rd/4th CBs and LBs to play good coverage on all of them, which is hard to do. Plus it gives Kaep more experience with these sets and going through his progressions.

- Wilhoite fills in decently, Dial and Carradine had their moments. Lynch had a few offset by his neutral zone infraction that negated an interception.

- Hyde looked decent and Gore got some in game reps.

- Some of the CBs coverage was decent at times, which is a good positive since that was a big concern going into the offseason.

Negatives (there were a bunch but ill try to point out the main ones:

- Backup QB. Everyone and their mothers saw how bad they were. Initially in preseason, I felt pretty good about them. Johnson has game experience, so does Gabbert. Both are low risks and costs us relatively little aside from Gabbert's guaranteed 2 mill. Now, I am to the point where Gabbert needs to be cut. And Johnson arguably isn't good enough to be a 3rd QB. This marks the 2nd game where Gabbert's throws are just completely off. And to make matters worse, the few times they were on his WRs didn't make their catches. I really don't know what to say beyond that. Johnson continues to have ball handling issues, which you would think he wouldn't due to his experience. McBLT, completion wise was ok minus his interception. But what it all boils down to was no points on the board, which is the most alarming part.

- FG misses. How much can this be chalked up to the new stadium and getting use to it. I don't know. But missing FGs definitely isn't great. With our offensive struggles the last 3 years, this team needs every point it is suppose to have and FGs are part of them.

- Play calling and defensive line schemes. I noticed no pressure in the first and 2nd quarter series. The one thing we know about Manning, is that there is only one way to stop him and thats put pressure on him. The 49ers typically start games off playing coverage and gradually dial up blitzes if the game dictates. That will not work against Manning, Brees, and Rodgers. Give them time and they will pick you apart no matters how good your defensive coverage is because eventually people will get open. Tank and Dial were the few moments I saw this change. At this point, our QB pressures seem to be generated by the Smith brothers and possibly Corey Lemonier.

- WRs who can't catch balls and LBs who can't stop runs. Again this is our depth but it doesn't leave me inspired. One of our defense's defining qualities is stopping the run. If our depth can't, its a huge liability.

Our starters seem to be pretty set. So the fact that a lot of these players are fighting for roster spots, didn't do that well isn't too alarming. But the biggest question is IF someone gets hurt. At this point all we know is, we really can't afford for Kaep, Willis, Smith brothers, and Gore to get hurt. Depth was suppose to be one of the strengths for the 49ers this year but these two games don't really show that. Whereas, at least in relation to backup QB, Seattle seems pretty set with Terrelle Pryor and BJ Daniels.

Nothing to panic about but to say these preseason games mean nothing is BS. Depth always matters.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.