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Pridružen/-a: 05.07. 2018, 10:24
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 Objavljeno: 18 Jan 2019 06:54 Naslov sporočila: Return of the Elegant Tank? Last year |
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Youth Dante Pettis Jersey , when the San Francisco 49ers set a record for consecutive close losses, we had a lot of fun talking about the “elegant tank” strategy. Now, after two close losses to not-great teams, guess who’s back?(Spoiler: it’s not Shady.)No one’s suggesting that Kyle Shanahan ordered up five turnovers to improve draft position (I hope). But with the team’s franchise quarterback and top running back out with ACL tears, it’s also clear that the playoffs are not a realistic goal, not with the Rams in the division and teams like the Eagles and Panthers competing for that wild card slot.Is it time for the Niners to write off this year and play for the future? Yeah, pretty much.I don’t think a team should ever try to lose a game. Ever. Not only is it an awful thing to do to fans, but losing is a habit you don’t want to develop. Last year’s team had it right — work out a lot of new plays and players early, then close strong with five straight wins. Picking up Jimmy Garoppolo in a trade had a lot to do with that — just as losing him to injury was a key to these last two losses.Something roughly like that would be perfect for the rest of this year. Not throwing games, but working out a bunch of young players, and new plays, stunts and coverages without fear that it will lead to a loss. By December, hopefully, you’ve found enough things that work to start winning some games, without losing a high draft pick.The Niners need a great edge rusher, like Nick Bosa or Clellin Ferrell, and that will require a top ten pick. Filling that need will help this team push for a future Super Bowl a lot more than edging out Arizona for 3rd place in the NFC West would.Let’s face it — a lot of us got too hyped about the Niners this year, after closing on that five game run. We were sort of joking about Jimmy G being undefeated forever, but not 100% joking. We took for granted that young talent like Ahkello Witherspoon and Adrian Colbert were locked in as guaranteed 10 year starters http://www.authenticssanfrancisco49ers.com/cheap-laken-tomlinson-jersey , when the reality was (and is) that they are overachieving 2nd or 3rd level prospects, who were always going to have rough days on the path to holding down their positions. They may be great, they may not, but I know I’m not the only one who took their success for granted.Every team has to balance building the future against winning today. Unless you’re the 2016 Denver Broncos, with a Hall of Fame quarterback in his last year and a solid core, you don’t burn all your bridges to win today. You don’t trade draft picks for veterans, burn up future salary cap with backloaded deals, and rely on free agents.Good franchises know how to time the cycle of rebuilding vs. winning now. You carefully build the team until you’ve created a Super Bowl window, then burn through everything you’ve saved up to win NOW. When the window closes, burn it down, trade your stars for draft picks and develop young talent — knowing you’ll lose and get good picks.A lot of us thought this team was further along in the cycle than it was, but this is a horribly depleted roster with a new management team and a very complicated scheme that takes time to learn and master. San Francisco was never going to be a deep playoff threat this year, and even next year is probably unrealistic too. Hopefully, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan were clear-eyed about that all along. For everyone who wasn’t, the injuries have been awfully clarifying. Bring on the tank!A look at D.J. Reed’s free safety work in place of Adrian Colbert in Week 4 As I mentioned earlier, one of the biggest surprises four weeks into the season is that the 49ers are having issues in their secondary. At the tail end of last year, it seemed like two rookies had locked up starting jobs for 2018 — CB Ahkello Witherspoon and FS Adrian Colbert.Colbert, a seventh-round pick in 2017, flashed in the last few games last year and suddenly became a fan favorite. The 6-foot-2 safety finished the season with 37 tackles http://www.authenticssanfrancisco49ers.com/cheap-george-kittle-jersey , a couple of forced fumbles and five passes defensed in 14 appearances. Heading into training camp, it seemed like the position was Colbert’s for the foreseeable future.Yet, in the 2018 NFL Draft, the 49ers’ brain trust chose to use a 5th-round pick on an electric defensive back, D.J. Reed, out of Kansas State. After immediately earning the nod as a kick returner due to his blistering straight-line speed, Reed also has his eyes set on the free safety job. Colbert left with a hip injury in Week 3 against the Chiefs, allowing Reed to step in and impress the defensive coaching staff. With Colbert sidelined for a majority of the week during Week 4 practices, Reed earned the start this past Sunday at Los Angeles.“I think I was happy with Reed’s play...I thought Reed did a good job in the game. Improvement from last week before. I think he’ll continue to get better with more reps,” Kyle Shanahan pointed out this week when asked about the rookie’s performance. When asked about who the starting free safety would be this weekend against the Cardinals, Shanahan added, “I think Colbert will be healthier this week, which will give Colbert a much better chance to get his spot back. We’re one day into this. We’ll see by Wednesday how much better he is. But, I expect Colbert to get out there eventually, but D.J. got his opportunity because of health reasons. Sometimes all a guy needs is an opportunity. We’ll see how this week goes.”It sure sounds like once Colbert is healthy, he’ll get his starting job back, but how did Reed look on the field Sunday against quarterback Philip Rivers and the Chargers?While Reed only accounted for two tackles this past Sunday, I think one of the biggest pointers for his success was Rivers’ hesitancy to throw the ball deep. One of the NFL’s gun slingers, Rivers always wants to push the ball down field White Adrian Colbert Jersey , yet on Sunday, Rivers seemed hesitant to do so.On this first play here, Reed is shading over the left side of the field, allowing Chargers’ running back Austin Ekeler to be lined up one-on-one against 49ers’ linebacker Fred Warner. Rivers stares down Ekeler the entire way and finds him open for a touchdown down the right sideline. It seemed like Reed shifted over late and couldn’t get to Ekeler in time.On this next play, 49ers’ corner Jimmie Ward is lined up against Chargers’ wideout Tyrell Williams, where Williams makes a sensational grab. Once again, Reed is on the opposite side of the field, but is able to race over to tackle Williams immediately after the catch. Reed’s speed is on display here, not allowing any yards after the catch.The 49ers’ poor tackling this season has been well documented and here’s an example of exactly what they can’t be doing. Reed races over to Chargers’ running back Melvin Gordon and should be able to wrap him up on the sideline and prevent the Chargers’ running back from gaining extra yards. Instead, Reed puts his head down and tries to blindly hit Gordon, who bounces off and gains a handful of yards after. Reed has to clean up his tackling and can’t afford to miss tackles this poorly, especially if he aims to keep his starting job.Just as poor of a play the last one was, this next one was the absolute opposite. After Ekeler makes the catch, Reed seems like he’s running at a different speed than everyone else on the field, finishing off the tackle on the Chargers’ running back immediately.The 49ers have two solid athletes competing to be their starting free safety, but I’d lean on the side of starting Colbert for the time being. Reed’s explosive and his speed in the back would be phenomenal, but I’ll take Colbert’s experience in the short term.
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