49-in-5: Weeks 3-4
by JAMoney14 | 1 year ago | 0 Comments
Welcome back to 49-in-5! The short segment where we recap recent happenings in the world of the San Francisco 49ers led by Ricky Chapstick.
Now, I don't anticipate this to be dropped every 2 weeks consistently going forward as the holiday season comes to an end and we all have to go back to our normal lives, but we'll do our best to keep the Faithful up to speed as much as possible!
With that said, let's get started!
1. Upset? Says who?
After coming out of the gates storming through Dallas and Seattle, the Good Guys ran into a dangerous division rival in Arizona. Despite sitting at 0-4 themselves, the Cardinals boast a top 10 offense and have been in every single contest thus far, losing all of them by one score, outside of Buffalo, which they only lost by 10 and were in it the whole way.
The Cardinals shook up the methodical approach we had in weeks 1-2 and caused us to think on our feet and rely on unusual heroes like Arnold Ebiketie and Jalen Graham after injuries started rearing their heads on defense. The offense continued to surge, scoring 38 points, but the adjustments would not hold in week 4 against a strong Eagles team. The Eagles doubled down on the defensive approach from Arizona and ran out to a huge early lead behind their monstrous offensive line.
Despite a strong comeback attempt from Curran and Co., we suffered defeat for the first time to the 4-1 Eagles. Some would call it an upset, but looking at the roster strength and committment to Jalen Hurts, we would disagree and very much hope for an Eagles/49ers rematch in the postseason.
2. HOLD THE LINE!
We're no Field Yates here at Faithful HQ, but we called this one.
In the last edition of 49-in-5, we noted the strong defensive performance to start the year, but noted that the same thing happened in season 85 and the regression came swiftly. Through games 3-4, it appears we were right on the money there.
Individual performances still stand strong from guys like Ji'Ayir Brown and Derek Stingley, but the defense has given up 71 points over the last two games, after allowing just 27 in games 1 and 2.
The loss of Chris Jones early against Arizona has to be noted here, as since that moment, we have allowed a total of 362 rushing yards to RBs and QBs alike. Alarmingly, that amount is greater than 4 teams have rushed over the course of the entire season. We have one more game against Tampa Bay this week and the killer that is Rachaad White before Jones returns. 2nd year men C.J. Moses and Rodney Randall will be tested, and hopefully are prepared to fare better than they have the last two games.
3. Load the Curran Cannon
George Curran bursted onto the Red Zone scene in Season 84, being selected 1st overall by the San Francisco 49ers. The 21-year old would turn the opportunity into a stellar MVP and ROY campaign, along with happily hoisting the RZ Lombardi trophy and bringing Ricky Chapstick his 2nd ever championship.
A scary injury in the Super Bowl that year seemed to linger into Season 85, as Curran played well, but not nearly as well as he did in year 1. Some called it a sophomore slump, others called it a SB hangover. (We here at Faithful HQ called it being one of the most sacked/hit QBs in the entire league, but I digress.)
Since upgrading the offensive line during the offseason, Curran has enjoyed being the least sacked QB in the league (total of 3, tied with Carolina's Bryce Young) and his production has followed suit. The former MVP sits at a 132.3 passer rating, best in the NFC. It's early, but an MVP conversation may emerge between Curran and his fellow Season 84 draft classmate Christopher Mouton, who is dominating the AFC.
4. Trench Warfare
In games 1-2, the Good Guys managed to control the interior battles and succeeded because of it. However, due to the aforementioned injury to star DT Chris Jones, the line has taken a sharp step backwards.
The decline was anticipated inside, but optimism was still high with the stellar play from Dee Winters, Fred Warner, and Drake Jackson. However, that play proved to step back as well as Jones left the field. Although a small sample size, Warner has not dominated the game over the last two the way he did in the first two. Still leading the NFC West in tackles for a loss, he's doing his part, but expect to see more shuffling of the interior lineman and more blitzing aggression to hold off the powerful rushing attacks coming our way in the front half of the season.
Jones will make his return after the bye week against his former team in Kansas City.
5. Pen-To-Paper
A huge question mark coming into his tenure as 49ers coach and president, Ricky Chapstick was tasked with maintaining one of the strongest rosters in the league without hurting the team's future prospects.
Moving draft picks for current stars seemed to be the answer, holding off the 49ers from needing to sign major rookies to 2nd contracts, but also forcing them to pay current stars major money to maintain a Super Bowl caliber roster.
That committment has continued through 4 weeks, as the 49ers announced via social media the resignings of Fred Warner, Chris Jones, and Derek Stingley, bosltering the strongest parts of the defense for years to come. Warner and Stingley signed for 4 years, while Chris accepted a 2 year deal earlier this week.
There is still a dangerous horizon ahead, with the committment officially ruling out the resignings of staple players, including OLB Dee Winters, FS Ji'Ayir Brown, OLB Cole Holcomb, CB Isaiah Oliver, and even more depth pieces behind them. Notably, this also rules out the return of WR Deebo Samuel, who is currently playing his age 30 season on the Franchise Tag.
The 49ers are expected to use their final legal signing to tag recently acquired LT Laremy Tunsil this offseason.
With only a 2nd round pick in the upcoming draft, it will be interesting to see how coach Chapstick fills those holes going forward.
That's it for now!
We'll see you later this year for another addition!
Until then, stay faithful!