49ers - 2017 Season in Review aka Before and After the Arrival of our Lord

October 31st, 2017. This will be truly be one of the great American holidays. It will be combine the gift giving of Christmas, the feasting of Thanksgiving, and the drunkenness of New Years all while wearing costumes. I have no idea what it will be called but each year we will celebrate the day that Our Lord and Savior Jimmy Garoppolo aka Jimmy Guwop aka Gucci Garop aka Jimmy Jesus aka Jimmy G Spot aka Jimmy Guapo came down from football heaven to save the faithful of San Francisco and lead them back to the promised land. I’m trying to think of one sports franchise who had a moment that you can point to and say “yes, this is the exaxt moment everything changed for that team.” Maybe LeBron going back to the Cavs? LeBron going to the Heat? Tom Brady taking over for a concussed Drew Bledsoe? I honestly have no idea and that’s not taking into account the fact that the Jimmy G trade came from out of nowhere.

Before the trade, 49er fans were simultaneously praying for the well being of CJ Beathard while talking themselves into one of either Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, and Baker Mayfield (THANK GOD FOR JIMMY G). This was the state of things before Our Lord and Savior arrived. I’ll let all the national writers in on a secret before Hard Knocks comes to Santa Clara…the 49ers aren’t that talented. That is how awesome Jimmy Guwop is (do I sound like a fanboy yet). The man is throwing to Trent Taylor, Kendrick Bourne, and Olympic Sprinter Marquise Goodwin. Now don’t get me wrong, I like all these guys but they aren’t going to be the #1 receiver on a Super Bowl winning team. They are getting Pierre Garcon back next year and he hasn’t been a number one option in like 3 years. Let’s see what Jimmy can do once he gets some legit weapons.

In order to use those weapons, he needs to stay upright so the Niners have to shore up that o-line. Joe Staley is still doing it, Trent Brown is a beast and have to lock him up. They have to upgrade the interior part and when you play Aaron Donald twice a year, you better get some maulers. Remember how bad CJ Beathard was getting beat up? Jimmy played behind the same o-line minus Trent Brown so it is a matter of time before something bad happens if they choose keep the status quo.

You know how else to keep Jimmy Jesus safe? Run that ball and luckily the Niners have some talent there. I rock with Carlos Hyde and hope he is able to resign. I do think it is a fluke that Carlos was able able to stay healthy the whole year but I will take him at 12 games a year if those are 12 quality games. Another reason I’m cool with it is Matt Brieda showed flashes. Shoot, the Niners wanted to trade Hyde because they liked Brieda so much. Not only that, but the coaches are really high on Joe Williams. He was injured and didn’t play all year but the news we heard all training camp and preseason was that Joe Williams was making Hyde expendable. Personally, I can’t trust a dude that quit on his team (University of Utah), but I don’t know the whole story. Plus I think it’s good to have three running backs. Odds are one of them get hurt so and if they are all healthy, then you have three good running backs. Sounds like a win win to me.

I honestly didn’t think I was going to do a positional review but fuck it, might as well see what’s going on with the defensive side of the ball.

The biggest problem this defense has is staying healthy. Arik Armstead, Jimmy Ward, Jaquiski Tartt all ended up on injured reserve. Reuben Foster missed a lot of time and seemed to always come out of the games that he played in. I forgot the Niners even signed Malcolm Smith. He tore his pectoral in August. I don’t know how you draft guys that don’t get injured all the time but my suggestion to John Lynch would be to not draft guys who are injury prone going forward (thanks Baalke).

Personally, I had high hopes for the defensive line. They drafted Soloman Thomas third overall and that made it three straight years that the team drafted a d-linemen (Armstead, Buckner, Thomas). Buckner is a beast. We cool there. He just needs to figure out how to actually sack the quarterback. Soloman Thomas didn’t pop out like a third overall pick should but he was solid. I doubt he’ll be an all pro but he has a chance to be solid. As mentioned earlier, Armstead was hurt but I do think he is talented enough to warrant exercising their 5th year option on. They do have hella money to spend anyways. As a whole, the d-line needs to learn how to get to the quarterback. Once they can do that, the investment will finally pay off.

When you go from a linebacking crew of Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Aldon Smith, and Ahmad Brooks…there is nowhere to go but down. The current crop has one guy who can approach the aforementioned level of play in Rueben Foster. I said earlier, he has a tendency to get hurt, but that dude can fly around and make plays. If he can stay healthy, Foster is going to be the one. The Niners completely lucked out when he fell to the bottom of the first round and credit to John Lynch for going and getting him. The man plays so fast that it gives the rest of the defense a shot of energy. I like his backups (the white guy with tattoos and the white guy without tattoos) but man you can tell the drop off when they are in. How Rueben goes, the linebacker corps goes (no disrespect to Eli Harold, never gets any love).

Now here is what I think the weak point of the defense is, the Secondary. Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon came on late in the year and proved that he belongs in the grown man National Football League. He looks like he needs to add some muscle to his frame but the man knows how to play the position. I wouldn’t mind the Niners using some of that cap money to upgrade the other corner position. I’ve supported Dontae Johnson for the longest time but I finally have to admit it. He ain’t good. I don’t know if it’s the system or whatever but every time the opposing team completed a big pass or drew a penalty, it was at the expense of Dontae Johnson. If I can play coach here for a second, I would have Witherspoon at one corner spot and slide Jimmie Ward down to the other corner spot. The Niners can afford to do that because of the emergence of two safeties in Jaquiski Tartt and Adrian Colbert. I thought Tartt was destined to be a great special team player and spot starter at safety but he turned a significant corner this year. I don’t know what got into him but he started making plays all over the field. However, he is one of those guys that is always going to miss games. That’s where Adrian Colbert comes in! This random 7th Round rookie got an opportunity and balled out. He has speed for days and once he can learn the mental side of his position, he will move up the list of top safeties in the game. This leads to me to my last point in hoping that the Niners resign Eric Reid. I don’t think he will cost a crazy amount plus he is respected as one of the leaders of team. I don’t know how you value that but I don’t see why the Niners would be better without him. Plus I think it’s smart having three safeties on the roster. Odds are, at least one of them will get hurt. I’m actually confused at why more teams don’t account for this. Or maybe they do but would do I know.

Is it weird that Special Teams were the best unit last year. Robbie Gould was the best free agent signing in football last year (I didn’t see Calais Campbell hit any game winning field goals). Dude was money all year. He was in such a groove that every kick I was thinking “alright he is due for a miss. No way he keeps it going.” I can’t tell you the two field goals that he missed. Those must be struck from the records. I will keep an eye on how Robbie does next year. His two predecessors, David Akers and Phil Dawson, had excellent first years followed up by worse second years. It will be interesting to see if this position is cursed. Stay tuned next year. His kicking mate, Bradley Pinion, is turning into a solid punter. I couldn’t stand him when he was drafted because that meant the Niners kicked MVP Andy Lee to the curb but he has improved every year. Punters are under rated. A good one will always put you in advantageous field position. Long Snapper looked solid too. I have no further comment on the long snapper.

For a season that started out so lousy and a future that seemed hopeless, next season can't come fast enough. The Niners are going to be everybody’s pick to make the playoffs, they most likely will appear on Hard Knocks, and better pray to whomever that their key players will stay healthy. If all goes according to plan, I don’t see why they can’t make the playoffs. They probably have to add a few veterans in the mix in order to compete for some loftier goals. I correctly predicted the Niners would win 6 games this year so in 2018 I am predicting 10 wins. They’ll win the wild card game and then lose a close one in the next round. 2019 they’ll make a run. ✌🏽