San Francisco 49ers’ id in 2021 is evident as mud – San Francisco 49ers Weblog

SANTA CLARA, California – It didn’t take long to discover the identity of the San Francisco 49ers for the past two seasons.

Early in 2019, the Niners had what it takes to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender built around a dominant defense and dynamic running game. She wore this identity to a Lombardi trophy within minutes.

In 2020, the season was quickly marked by injuries, leading to a disappointing 6-10 result.

When we entered this year, it was fair to ask which of these seasons was the deviation. Were the 2019 Niners still in there somewhere? Or were the often injured 49ers of 2020 the rule?

As the Niners say goodbye this week, the answer is clear as mud. You gave insights into a team that is competitive again, but also fought over long stretches.

If possession had been a little different in every game, the Niners could be undefeated. You could also be without a win.

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Instead, San Francisco is 2-3 and is in the middle of a three-game loss in a season where every game was decided by eight points or less.

“We could easily sit at 5-0 at the moment,” said Trent Williams. “Of course we’re not. We’re 2-3, but we go back and look back at every loss, you can think of that. There were some things where we could have won some games, but we don’t have any Took advantage of it. ” the situations. “

The Niners’ chances of getting the ship back up depend on finding a way to make the games that decide games in the waning moments.

The good news is that the 49ers haven’t been outdone in any of their games and the schedule could get a little easier as the season progresses. Additionally, receiver Deebo Samuel looks like a breakout star and loyal players like Williams and defensive end Nick Bosa are at the forefront of their games.

If coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff do their self-scouting during the parting, they’ll see a team not far away, and it’s worth noting that there aren’t seven obvious playoff-caliber teams in front of them in the NFC. All of this is encouraging, despite three frustrating defeats in a row.

“That is the most important thing I try to emphasize to our team that when you lose games in this league it always gets difficult,” said Shanahan. “But you can’t let a narrative become your reality. You have to look at the tape, you have to work harder, you have to get better at all of those little details that boil down to winning and losing.” decisive moments. “

In fact, there are a number of small and not-so-small details that the Niners have withheld in the first five games. Major issues include battling for third place, revenue margin, lack of big plays, and costly penalties.

The 49ers rank 24th in the league in third-party down conversions, shifting the chains at only 35.6% of their chances. On the sales front, they continue to struggle to create takeaways while keeping a knack for giving away.

San Francisco ranks 29th in the league in terms of revenue margin (minus -5) with two takeaways, the second lowest in the NFL. While it is too much to ask to believe that this defense can reach the heights of this group in 2019, more insight would undoubtedly help fill the void.

“We need more,” said linebacker Fred Warner. “If we are to be the defense that we know we are capable of, we have to keep hunting and when they come they will come in groups.”

After losing starting cornerback Jason Verrett (cruciate ligament rupture) for the season and losing nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams (Wade) during their recent losing streak, the Niners have played musical cornerbacks and tried a combination of journeymen from the street and untested rookies.

It’s a predictable problem for a team that had blatant off-season needs but again declined to invest premium resources in the position. This group wasn’t as bad as one might think in terms of raw numbers, but they also contributed to the Niners’ eight defensive pass interference penalties for most of the league’s 153 yards.

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Defense wasn’t really the Niners’ biggest problem, though. An uneven offensive that had to be fought in almost every position was even more annoying. Apart from the start against Detroit, San Francisco got off to an extremely slow start. The 49ers lost 31 points in the first half to the Lions, but have recorded 21 points in the first half in the four games since then.

The blame for this can be shared. The Niners quarterbacks were contacted 68 times, most in the league, but they also struggled to make big plays, with only 15 gaining more than 20 yards (26th).

The 49ers don’t get much of their draft class early on. Quarterback Trey Lance has shown his potential but has been used sparingly when Jimmy Garoppolo is healthy. More worryingly, Aaron Banks’ second-round pick was a healthy scratch every week, even when right-wing security guard Daniel Brunskill was struggling. Round three cornerback Ambry Thomas appears to be in the middle of a red shirt year, and round third running back Trey Sermon only helped as multiple injuries at the position piled up.

It’s a long list of problems, but if there is a silver lining then many of those problems are self-inflicted, meaning that solutions are possible and must come from within.

“We have to find a way to do better and I have to find a way to improve,” Shanahan said. “If we go into this goodbye week at 2-3, there is still a lot of football to play. We have to come back and play better than we did.”

The fate of this year’s 49ers depends on it.