Chip Kelly met with the media on Monday, and as one would expect, he got questions about the San Francisco 49ers continued struggles. Someone asked him about his struggles dating back to Philadelphia as his teams have lost 21 of their last 28 games. Kelly had this to say:
“Certainly, I don’t look at last year compared to this year because it’s two entirely different operations and what you’re dealing with and how things are being done. So, I don’t look back to last year and then compare anything from last year to this year because I think it’s entirely different, what’s gone on here compared to what we did there. So, I think we always look at everything on a weekly basis trying to see how we can improve. You look at the game yesterday; it’s about making one more play than the other team. It’s not like we’re getting taken to the woodshed and don’t have an opportunity to compete and play. I think our guys are playing with great effort. I think our guys are competing. We’ve just got to find a way to get over the top.”
Here are the 49ers results this season:
Week 1: vs. Rams - 28-0 WIN
Week 2: @ Panthers - 46-27 LOSS
Week 3: @ Seahawks - 37-18 LOSS
Week 4: vs. Cowboys - 24-17 LOSS
Week 5: vs. Cardinals - 33-21 LOSS
Week 6: @ Bills - 45-16 LOSS
Week 7: vs. Buccaneers - 34-17 LOSS
Week 9: vs. Saints - 41-23 LOSS
Week 10: @ Cardinals - 23-20 LOSS
Week 11: vs. Patriots - 30-17 LOSS
Week 12: @ Dolphins - 31-24 LOSS
Week 13: @ Bears - 26-6 LOSS
Week 14: vs. Jets - 23-17 LOSS
Kelly specifically said, “It’s not like we’re getting taken to the woodshed and don’t have an opportunity to compete and play.”
You can make a lot of that depending on how you want to look at games. Let’s just look at the games the 49ers lost by double digits.
Week 2: @ Panthers - 46-27 LOSS
- Led 3-0 in the first quarter, then 10-7 early in the second quarter. Gave up 24 straight points, but then fought back to trail 34-27. Gave up 12 points the rest of the way. Almost the woodshed, but I’ll go with not quite.
Week 3: @ Seahawks - 37-18 LOSS
- Hello, woodshed. Two Christine Michael touchdowns put Seattle up 14-0 in the first quarter. They led 37-3 in the fourth quarter before a pair of garbage time scores gave us the final score.
Week 5: vs. Cardinals - 33-21 LOSS
- Took a 7-0 lead before giving up 21 straight points. Cut lead to 21-14, and later cut lead to 31-21, but never could get it closer. Not the woodshed, but not good.
Week 6: @ Bills - 45-16 LOSS
- Led 3-0 in the first quarter, then 10-7 in the second quarter. Outscored 38-6 over the rest of the game - that’s the woodshed.
Week 7: vs. Buccaneers - 34-17 LOSS
- Led 14-0 in the first quarter. Outscored 34-3 the final three quarters. That’s the woodshed.
Week 9: vs. Saints - 41-23 LOSS
- Led 3-0 in the first quarter. Gave up 21 straight points, but eventually cut the lead to 28-20. Outscored 13-3 to close out the game. Not the woodshed, but still a bad performance.
Week 11: vs. Patriots - 30-17 LOSS
- Trailer 13-10 at the half. Outscored 17-7 in the second half. Not really “the woodshed,” I suppose.
Week 13: @ Bears - 26-6 LOSS
- Led 6-0 late in the second quarter. Gave up 26 unanswered points. It was an ugly woodshed in the second half, but still a woodshed.
This is not exactly a scientific analysis of what entails “getting taken behind the woodshed.” Kelly followed up that statement by saying he thinks the team is competing and playing with great effort. A lot of these games show that, even the ones that end in double digit defeats. But the team is simply not good enough from top to bottom to hang around with most teams. Add in the numerous injuries and this team has been toast for much of the year. And when they are getting run out of the building by teams like the Bears, yep, that’s kind of the woodshed.