Should the 49ers Start Ambry Thomas Again?
Atlanta had virtually no success against the 49ers.
One of the only things that worked for them was on offense when Matt Ryan would target Ambry Thomas and just chuck the ball toward him. Everytime Ryan did that, the Falcons had success. Wide receiver Russell Gage was taking Thomas' lunch.
The cornerback position has been a weak point for the 49ers all season. It hasn't been as detrimental in some games as it could be. But against the Falcons, it was a glimpse of what a good team could do to fight against the 49ers defense. Thomas is a rookie and, while getting his lumps in his beneficial long-term, you have to wonder if rolling him out there as he gets beat countlessly will do more harm than good.
Should the 49ers start Thomas again?
Not at all.
The 49ers only started Thomas out of necessity. Dontae Johnson was available, but clearly the 49ers felt Thomas was better suited given he had the full week of practice. I would suspect Johnson gets the nod over Thomas against the Titans on Thursday night. Or at least, that is what it sounded like when Kyle Shanahan assessed the performance of Thomas against the Falcons Monday on a conference call.
“He just got the reps all week in practice," said Shanahan. "We thought he did some good things verse Cincinnati. By no means perfect, but definitely competed out there and had some good plays. And he did the best in practice all week. We got [CB] Dontae [Johnson] here late on Friday and so we went with him. Did some good things in the game but definitely gave him some plays also with his penalties and getting beat there at the end. Thought he had some decent coverage. He's got do a better job of making a play on the ball and not giving up the catch.”
Not really a rave review for Thomas to start again. Of course, it is not like Thomas did well at all versus the Falcons. He allowed every ball thrown his way to be caught. And while the 49ers do not expect him to be lockdown, he can't allow all those catches happen on big time throws. Plus, Thomas missed an opportunity in the game to reel in an interception.
Thomas looks a ways out from being a starting caliber cornerback. As the 49ers draw closer and closer to the playoffs, they just don't have the margin for error on defense to allow Thomas to grow. And boy, does Thomas need the experience to grow because he is definitely a project.
For the 49ers sake, they'd better hope if Thomas has to start again, that he somehow improves upon his outing against the Falcons.
