49ers 27, Seahawks 37: Grades
The 49ers never showed up.
They had no confidence, no energy, no fight during their 37-27 humiliation against their chief rival, the Seattle Seahawks. Now the 49ers are 4-4. Are they even good anymore? They seem to get blown out often these days.
Here are the 49ers’ grades:
JIMMY GAROPPOLO: F.
When the 49ers finally benched Garoppolo in the fourth quarter, he had 84 measly passing yards and an interception. Had they benched him at halftime, they might have won. Garoppolo arguably was the 49ers’ worst player. He was inaccurate, unwilling to throw downfield, indecisive, unconfident, immobile, timid, lead-footed. Threw everything off his back foot and didn’t step into any throws. He was as bad as bad can be. Whatever confidence the 49ers used to have in him and he used to have in himself seems gone. He clearly is not a franchise quarterback -- he gets hurt too much and he’s inconsistent at best. The 49ers will need to replace him next season. Should they replace him right now? Should they call up the Patriots and see what they can get for him? I think they should. Garoppolo’s value only will go down from here. He’s regressing.
NICK MULLENS: A-PLUS.
He threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns in less than one quarter. He brought life to the 49ers when they seemed dead. He was the spark they needed and couldn’t get from anyone else. Sure, Mullens played in garbage time and had all day to throw. But still, he showed no hesitation throwing downfield, he was decisive and he was accurate. If only the starter showed those traits against the Seahawks. Mullens is a fantastic backup who can start for a few teams in the NFL -- he’s a younger Ryan Fitzpatrick without the beard. Mullens should grow a beard. People might take him more seriously. The 49ers should keep him next year and draft a quarterback in Round 1. I suggest Zach Wilson from BYU.
RUNNING BACKS: C.
They worked for every yard they got because they had no holes to run through. JaMycal Hasty scored a touchdown on pure effort, but also fumbled and averaged less than three yards per carry. Kyle Juszczyk had two targets and two catches for 21 yards. He should have gotten the ball more. Tevin Coleman reinjured his knee after three carries.
WIDE RECEIVERS: A.
Kendrick Bourne had eight catches for 81 yards, and Brandon Aiyuk had eight catches for 91 yards and one touchdown. Both were tough and consistent. Both stepped up. If only they had a quarterback who could get them the ball during the first three quarters.
TIGHT ENDS: C-PLUS
George Kittle made almost no impact -- he had two catches for 39 yards before leaving with a foot injury. Again, he would have benefitted from a starting quarterback who specializes in throwing the forward pass. Ross Dwelley got one target and of course scored a touchdown. He’s a good player who deserves at least two passes every game.
OFFENSIVE LINE: F.
Got bullied. Created no push, no holes. Couldn’t pick up a blitz. Mike McGlinchey in particular couldn’t stay on his feet or block former 49ers nickelback D.J. Reed. McGlinchey isn’t good enough to be a captain. He can’t lead by example. He’s all talk.
DEFENSIVE LINE: C.
Generated zero pass rush. Arik Armstead was invisible when he wasn’t committing defensive holding penalties. The 49ers should not have re-signed him this offseason. They should have re-signed DeForest Buckner instead. More on this below. Javon Kinlaw had one tackle and zero sacks, zero quarterback hits, zero tackles for loss. Not an impact player. Not worth a first-round pick -- at least not yet. The 49ers should have drafted Tristan Wirfs, the Buccaneers right tackle. He’s so much better than McGlinchey and Kinlaw.
LINEBACKERS: C-MINUS.
Fred Warner had an uncharacteristically poor game. He took bad angles to the ball and played with no urgency -- the whole team seemed tired and jet lagged. And Dre Greenlaw took even worse angles than Warner. The 49ers actually might have benefitted from Kwon Alexander had been healthy enough to play, which he rarely is.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: D.
The 49ers just now realized they don’t have a cornerback who’s big, physical and talented enough to cover D.K. Metcalf, whom they must face twice every season. Somehow, the 49ers front office watched Metcalf last season and decided there was no need to sign or draft any cornerbacks this offseason. Oops. But at least the 49ers have an excellent free safety, right? They made Jimmie Ward one of the highest-paid safeties in the NFL this offseason. And I’m sure he played well against the Seahawks and made lots of plays -- I just didn’t see any. In fact, in seven seasons in the NFL, I can’t remember Ward making more than a handful of plays. It’s amazing how big of an impact he makes when no one is looking. Remarkable.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B.
Dante Pettis made a bad choice -- he decided to return a kickoff in the NFL and got knocked out. Looks like his NFL career is just about over. At least the punter, Mitch Wishnowsky, pinned the Seahawks at their one-yard line once. Sure, taking Wishnowsky in the fourth round was one of the worst decisions of the current 49ers regime -- as bad as not drafting a cornerback this year -- but he was good today. Kudos.
COACHES: D.
It’s hard to blame Robert Saleh for getting roasted by the best offense in the NFL with the best quarterback in the NFL while missing so many starters. Saleh had creative blitzes early on, but had no one who could cover Metcalf or make a tackle consistently. For the first time this season, the lack of talent on his defense was apparent. Kyle Shanahan also was missing players -- Raheem Mostert and Deebo Samuel. Plus Garoppolo was terrible. But the Seahawks had the 32nd-ranked defense coming into this game and they didn’t have Jamal Adams or Shaquill Griffin, their best defensive backs. And the 49ers offense still gained just 112 total yards through the first three quarters. Shanahan is supposed to be an offensive wizard. Where did the wizard go today? Maybe he went on a tour of Pike’s Place Fish Market. It’s lovely at this time of year.
QUALITY CONTROL: F-MINUS.
I take full responsibility for this 49ers loss. I knew they should have drafted a cornerback this offseason, but I didn’t push hard enough. I believed the 49ers should have kept DeForest Buckner instead of Arik Armstead, but I didn’t make a good enough case. I understood the 49ers would deeply regret passing on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sign Tom Brady, but I didn’t write Jed York a letter telling him what to do. We could have been pen pals by now. How can I complain when I was too quiet this offseason? In the future, I promise to be much more obnoxious when I know I’m right and the 49ers are wrong. Please accept my sincerest apologies. I will do better.
