The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: 5 Takeaways from Week 3
The 49ers were adamant that the team was going in the right direction after the first two weeks. Is that actually the case?
Here are the top five takeaways from their 30-28 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Kyle Shanahan needs an intervention.
The 49ers fans expected a cakewalk against Green Bay. Instead of bullying the opposition, the 49ers got bullied. It was a close game, but we can not deny the fact it was an embarrassing loss. After continuously complaining about Jimmy Garoppolo, the tune changed to complainging about Shanahan. He refuses to develop Trey Lance by giving the young quarterback more playing time and remaining loyal to Garoppolo, which reminded me of the movie Titanic. What do the 49ers achieve with Garoppolo this season? Win around ten games and call it successful? Do they hope that some team might call for Garoppolo and offer a first round pick in return? The 49ers can use this season to develop Lance. The 2022 schedule will be more brutal as the 49ers will have to play AFC West. With an already stacked NFC west, those games will not be easy for a young QB.
The offense is going nowhere.
Twitter is already blaming DeMeco Ryans and his men for losing the game. You need to realize that the defense held up against a goalline drive for the second consecutive week, this time against the Packers, who are 80-percent successful in the red zone last year. And the defense bailed out Garoppolo's turnovers. After the game, George Kittle addressed the media about the offensive woes. He mentioned how the Packers stuffed the box with double teams to stop the running gaps. With the predictable playing style of Garoppolo, the opposing teams will continue to do the same in weeks to come. Aaron Rodgers demonstrated how to make the best out of offensive weapons using Davante Adams, which was the difference between the two teams. If any Hollywood movie director is looking for a title for a new horror movie, "The 49ers Offense" would be a fitting one.
The cornerbacks will lose more games.
In my last week's takeaway article from the Eagles game, I mentioned this. To add salt to the injury this week, Dontae Johnson was on the field for the 49ers. Davante Adams beat him without breaking a sweat. Deommodore Lenoir got defeated on multiple occasions, as well as K'Waun Williams. When Nick Bosa got injured last year, it felt that the season was over for the 49ers. In comparison, Jason Verret's injury is shaping up to be why the 49ers lose this season. The 49ers must face multiple top-grade receivers in the next two weeks, which would be an ugly sighting for the fans.
Garoppolo has no trade value.
Many believe that keeping Garoppolo the starter will help his trade value. As stated earlier in the article, Kittle summed up how the 49ers offense operates with Jimmy behind the center. Even if the 49ers make playoffs, it does not prop up the trade value. The trade value of a QB does not relate to the wins of his team. That is why Matthew Stafford had a considerable trade value. Deshaun Watson's trade would have been a blockbuster despite his 4-12 record last year if not for off-the-field allegations. Garoppolo is a veteran in the game. We have all seen what he is capable and what he doesn't do well. "A 1st Round Pick for Garoppolo" should be a fairy tale you tell to an 8-year-old kid. But it is not guaranteed even a kid would believe that by now.
Kittle has some Juice.
I was about to start a search party to find the Kittle that 49ers fans used to know. Even though they did not have monster numbers, Kittle had a good outing. He was there when the team needed crucial yardage and set up the final touchdown when he ran a route that took the defender to open up the lane for Kyle Juszczyk. Kittle can contribute heavily to this team, like any other game-changing tight end in the league. To do that, Kittle needs a quarterback capable of extending this offense to its full potential. Kittle looked clueless on how the team could do that with his favorite Garoppolo as QB. It should be a good time for Kittle to look beyond his personal favorites and support to bring Lance on to the field as soon as possible.
