Biggest Takeaways from San Francisco 49ers' Week 11 Loss
The biggest takeaway from the San Francisco 49ers’ Week 11 loss? Jim Tomsula is a bad head coach.
He is supposedly a players’ coach, but his players don’t play for him. They were lethargic against the Seattle Seahawks, falling behind 20-0 midway through the second quarter and allowing 255 rushing yards on the afternoon.
Tomsula spoke about his team’s pathetic effort at his Monday press conference: “Don’t play not to make a mistake and don’t tackle being afraid to miss the tackle,” he said (h/t the Santa Rosa Press Democrat). “Be more attacking. I felt like that’s what our problems were.”
Be more attacking? How can Tomsula expect his players to attack when he doesn’t? He chose to punt twice when the Niners were down by 16 points in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks. He’s the most conservative coach in the league. He inspires no one.
Here are the next five biggest takeaways from Week 11.
Eric Reid Has Pride
1 of 5
Third-year free safety Eric Reid didn’t play not to make a mistake against the Seahawks—he attacked. He was the only player on the Niners defense who played hard.
Every other defender seemed uninterested. In the locker room after the game, linebacker Ahmad Brooks admitted to being lethargic. “Took me a while for me to get up and get going in this game,” he said. And fellow linebacker NaVorro Bowman complained that the defense didn’t prepare to face backup running back Thomas Rawls, as if that’s an excuse for not playing hard.
Reid didn’t make excuses. He pummeled receivers who ran in his area and led the team with 10 tackles. He demonstrated his character to the world.
Jimmie Ward Cannot Cover Man-to-Man
2 of 5
At the University of Northern Illinois, Jimmie Ward played safety—mostly deep zone coverage—and relied on elite athleticism and instincts to make plays.
Ward still may have the athleticism and instincts to become a quality safety in the NFL. But the Niners don’t play him at safety. They play him at slot cornerback and ask him to play underneath man-to-man coverage.
Ten games into Ward’s second season in the NFL, we know this is the wrong way to use him.
Against the Seahawks, Ward gave up seven catches on seven targets for 91 yards and one touchdown, according to Pro Football Focus. He looked lost. He has allowed a passer rating of 116.3 this season.
The Niners should stop asking Ward to play man coverage. Play him at safety or trade him to a team that will.
Arik Armstead Is Not a Good Run Defender
3 of 5
The 49ers’ best run-defending defensive end, Glenn Dorsey, tore his ACL on the 49ers’ first defensive play against the Seahawks, per Rand Getlin of NFL Network. Rookie defensive end Arik Armstead replaced Dorsey in the base defense.
Armstead had been a sub-package player before Week 11, meaning he mostly played on passing downs and rushed the quarterback. He’s a good pass-rusher, although he has just one sack this season. He collapses the pocket well.
But he doesn’t stop the run well. Armstead struggles to find the ball-carrier and, when he does find him, struggles to bring him down. That’s one reason the Niners gave up 255 rushing yards to the Seahawks in Week 11.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Blaine Gabbert Is a Smart Quarterback
4 of 5
Blaine Gabbert wasn’t great against Seattle—San Francisco scored only 13 points. But he didn’t make any mistakes.
He didn’t commit any delay-of-game penalties, and he didn’t turn the ball over. He played a lot like former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith.
Both Smith and Gabbert are smart quarterbacks who won’t lose the game for their respective teams but probably won’t win it for them, either. However, Gabbert seems more creative, more willing to throw downfield and more successful at avoiding sacks than Smith.
Gabbert is making a case that he should be the 49ers’ starting quarterback next season while they develop a rookie.
Trent Baalke Whiffed at Running Back This Offseason
5 of 5
General manager Trent Baalke let the 49ers' all-time leading rusher, Frank Gore, walk during free agency this offseason. Gore is 32, which is old for a running back. But he’s dependable—he hasn’t missed a game since 2010.
Baalke replaced Gore with one player who finished last season on injured reserve—Carlos Hyde—and one player who missed 36 games from 2007 to 2014—Reggie Bush. Guess what? Bush is on IR with a torn ACL, and Hyde hasn't played since Week 7 due to a broken foot. Now, the Niners have no running game.
Meanwhile, Gore is still chugging along, now for the Indianapolis Colts.
Baalke should have signed someone better and more dependable than Bush to back up Hyde, someone like DeAngelo Williams or Chris Johnson. Both were available.
Baalke whiffed.
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
