Week 9: San Francisco 49ers Studs and Duds
Unpleasant.
That’s the word that comes to mind when reflecting on the 49ers 17 to 34 loss to the Green Bay Packers. However, the eye-gouging and hair-pulling performance does not solely rest on the shoulders of the coaches and players.
Considering Kendrick Bourne’s false positive COVID-19 test, which also kept Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams from playing, the NFL put the 49ers in a completely unfair situation by opting to keep the game Thursday night.
It made total sense to have a Monday Night Football double header, or to have a Tuesday night game like the league opted to do in Week 5, when the Titans were dealing with their COVID outbreak.
Because of the inconsistency in the way the NFL has handled the season, it almost feels like the Titans were rewarded for their problematic behavior, which included players gathering to workout away from the team facility. Meanwhile, the 49ers had to suffer through a false positive test.
With the circumstances being what they were, the 49ers were completely overmatched. The offense was without 9 of 11 starters, and other key role players. As a result, they were only able to produce 3 points in the first 55 minutes of the game.
Defensively, despite a relatively healthy unit, they gave up more than 30 points for the third time this season. The pass rush struggled yet again, as Arik Armstead continues to show that he is nothing more than a complementary defensive lineman who needs superior talent around him to be a true difference maker. That sort of player should not garnish an $85 million contract, yet that’s what Armstead received after just one good season.
As the season progresses, the notion that the 49ers possess a top 10 defense is looking more and more like a facade. If you take away the three games against the Giants, Jets, and Patriots, three teams who have horrific offenses, the team is allowing over 29 points per game. That phony defense was on full display against the Packers.
With the 49ers at a complete disadvantage, some players took advantage of their opportunities, while others would like to flush their performances right down the toilet.
Here are your Week 9 Studs and Duds.
Studs:
1) Richie James Jr.
Going into this game, Richie James averaged an electric 19.7 yards per reception for his career. That number may have initially seemed inflated because of a small sample size but, after seeing James against the Packers, all the doubt that he could continue to be that explosive with the ball in his hands was put to rest.
James caught 9 of his 13 targets for 184 yards and a touchdown. It was the best performance by a 49ers’ wide receiver since Anquan Boldin’s 208 yard performance against the Packers to kick off the 2013 season.
Moving forward, James should continue to see more opportunities. Just like I wrote about last month.
Related: 3 49ers Who Get More Playing Time
2) Fred Warner
Fred Warner is a tremendous football player, no matter the circumstances. When the team was down 34-3, he was still out there hustling his tail off every single snap. There is something so refreshing about that, especially considering all the concerns that were raised this season regarding the leadership within the 49ers’ locker room.
Watching Warner play football with such passion and effort every single snap puts some of those concerns to rest. I tweeted out during the game that out of all of the players who are healthy, Warner should be the only one wearing a captain’s badge. He clearly deserves it, while specifically Mike McGlinchey does not.
Warner finished with a game-high 13 tackles, two of which came behind the line of scrimmage. After the game, Warner received a ton of praise from future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers said to Warner after the game, that he’s the best and everyone knows it, and that he should be an All Pro.
At the age of 23, Warner is receiving high praise from some of the biggest names in the game. He is certainly following in the footsteps of Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman.
3) Jordan Willis
A silver-lining of the pathetic pass rush that was on display against the Packers, is that newly acquired Jordan Willis racked up a sack. The sack closed out the first half, and Willis did a nice job of going around the Packers’ left tackle and chasing down Rodgers.
I will acknowledge that Willis was the beneficiary of Armstead’s best pass rush rep of the night, where he beat the right guard and was eventually being grabbed by both the guard and right tackle. However, Willis did his part to be in position to chase down Rodgers, and with a game where seemingly everything went wrong, that is worthy enough of being on this list. The bottom line is one good pass rush rep by Armstead is not enough.
Willis looks like he has the potential to develop into a nice complementary pass rusher. It is just a matter of Kris Kocurek guiding him to reach his ceiling.
Duds
1) Roger Godell:
It’s a complete joke that the NFL commissioner decided to not postpone the game. For many years now, the league has looked really bad from their inconsistencies in decision making. The handling of the games affected by COVID-19 has been no different. It’s a shame.
2) Justin Skule
Last season, Justin Skule filled in admirably for Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey when they both went down with injuries. That Skule was nowhere to be found against the Packers, as he was taken to school by Za’Darius and Preston Smith.
Skule does not look like a starting caliber NFL tackle, which looked like it may have been a possibility based on his play last season. The biggest winner from Skule’s lackluster performance is Trent Williams, who is unquestionably the most important player for the 49ers to re-sign this offseason.
3) The $113 million men
Regardless as to whether or not Arik Armstead and Jimmie Ward play out their entire contracts, the team issued out a combined dollar value of $113 million between their new deals. Of course, they could save money by restructuring or releasing either player down the road, but that’s not the point.
The point is they paid the wrong guys.
Armstead and Ward are the reasons why DeForest Buckner is no longer a 49er. Regardless of your take on that, there is no denying that Armstead and Ward are having extremely underwhelming seasons. DeForest Buckner isn’t statistically jumping off the page either, but at least he’s proven to be durable and he’s consistently put together high-quality seasons. Take 2018 for example, when Buckner had 12 sacks while Cassius Marsh and Ronald Blair were tied for second on the team with five and a half.
Against the Packers, both Armstead and Ward did nothing to help the 49ers’ defense. It is extremely frustrating to watch. Even more so knowing that Tarvarius Moore’s talent is going to waste because Ward must be kept on the field because he’s making more money, not because he’s better.
They both need to step it up, or they’ll remain on this list for the rest of the season.
