49ers Mike McGlinchey doesn’t appreciate ‘armchair quarterbacks’

One of the reasons the San Francisco 49ers have struggled so far this season is the disjointed play of their offensive line. The Niners’ pass protection has been particularly bad, especially during the last two losses against the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles.

Right tackle Mike McGlinchey was asked about the criticism from the media and fans about the play of the unit, as well as his individual performances. The Notre Dame product was asked how he feels about the negative reviews and didn’t hold back.

“I don’t really appreciate people who are the armchair quarterbacks that take a 30-second clip off of Twitter and think they understand offensive line play,” McGlinchey said. “ I don’t understand. I don’t like that.”

McGlinchey touched on his play against the Eagles and especially when he was beaten on two crucial plays on the game’s final drive. The right tackle acknowledged that he made mistakes on that possession but wants critics to look at the bigger picture.

“In terms of the overall picture, I’d ask those people to watch the the entire game,” McGlinchey said. “Because I’m pretty confident [that] other than the one or two that have happened that have been glaring, I’ve been putting together a pretty good season and I keep continue to get better each week.”

Pro Football Focus gives McGlinchey a pass-blocking grade of 55.6, sixth-worst among all NFL tackles who have played over 200 snaps.

“I think that the things that you have been saying had been a little bit over the top,” he said. “I think that I think nobody’s watching a complete football game and choosing a lazy narrative of one play or two, and they see something on Twitter, and they think they have it figured out. But no, I think it’s been a solid solid year obviously, have a lot of things to continue to improve on.”

McGlinchey can’t be singled out for his poor play as the entire offensive line hasn’t been good. San Francisco ranks 29th in adjusted sack rate, sacks allowed per game and total pressures allowed.

It won’t get any easier for the unit this week against Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams. L.A. is tied for the league-lead in total sacks, and the defense is giving up just 4.9 net yards per passing play, tops in the NFL. Still, McGlinchey is confident the offensive line will slow down Donald and the Rams’ pass rush.

“We have a lot of good guys up front, I know everybody doesn’t like to think so. But, like I said, let’s let’s pull back some of the criticisms over one or two plays and let’s put the whole picture together,” McGlinchey said. “We have guys that can really, really play up front.”