San Francisco 49ers Badly Out-Coached Against the Chiefs: Jimmy Raye is Fired

The San Francisco 49ers traveled to Kansas City to play the Chiefs, and hoped to win their first game of the season.  Instead, they were beaten in every phase of the game.

The 49ers came out of their loss against the world champion New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football, feeling as though they had things on the right track.  They were completely wrong.

How can a team that had such high hopes as the 49ers lay such a huge egg against the Chiefs?  Not only did the Niners lose the game, but the way they lost was pitiful.  The 49ers were totally outplayed and out coached

Who is to blame for this failure? 

I say this one falls squarely on the 49er coaching staff.  The 49ers were simply not prepared to play this game.  The Niners had a short week, after playing on Monday night and they also had to travel.  I'm sure this has an effect, but nevertheless, the offensive and defensive game plans were poor and the coaching staff did not make successful adjustments.

One area I did not expect the 49ers to struggle was defending the run.  Amazingly, the Chiefs had their way on the ground, as Jamaal Charles rushed 12 times for 97 yards and Thomas Jones had 19 carries for 95 yards.  The Niner front seven looked tired and were pushed around by a mediocre Kansas City offensive line.

The Chiefs had the 30th-ranked offense in the NFL, coming into this game.  There are only 32 teams in the league, so that's pretty bad.  However, the 49er defense helped make them look like a juggernaut.

On one play, Cassel hit Dexter McClustey on a short pass.  McCluster eluded Travis Laboy and took it 31 yards for a touchdown.  Laboy is arguably the 49ers' best pass rushing linebacker, what is he doing out in coverage trying to guard one of the fastest men in the league?

Matt Cassel, who struggled in the first two games, had a break out effort.  He threw for 257 yards on 16-of-27 passes, including three touchdowns. 

Cassel was not sacked in the game and rarely even hurried.  Where was the 49er pass rush?

Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky did not have the 49ers prepared.  The Niners did not blitz effectively and allowed Cassel to pick them apart.  The way Kansas City moved the ball against the 49ers is now a major cause for concern for the defense.

The 49er offense was equally bad.  Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye's game plan was bland and unimaginative.  What made matters worse is that when things didn't work, the 49ers did not change things up.

A good offense starts with the offensive line, and the 49er line was dominated by the Chiefs front seven.  Frank Gore was held to only 43 yards rushing on 15 carries.  The line was unable to give Gore any running room, yet the Niners continued to run the same off tackle plays and runs up the middle, with no success.

Yo, Jimmy Raye, if something is not working, try something else.  This is why you are now out of a job.  The 49ers have one of the best third down backs in all of football sitting on the sideline.  Frank Gore was held down, why not try Brian Westbrook?  

Alex Smith had decent stats, but was not able to get things done, when it counted.  Smith was 23-of-42 for 232 yards.  Not bad, but most of those stats came on dump-off passes to Frank Gore.  Gore caught nine passes for 102 yards, but no other receiver had more than three receptions.

I can't believe the Niners couldn't find a way to somehow get Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan into the flow of the offense.  Poor playcalling and poor execution are the root causes for this.

This loss does not fall completely on the shoulders of Alex Smith.  He was repeatedly harassed and made to throw early.  The offensive line allowed five sacks and the Chiefs were constantly pressuring Smith. 

This game was a big step backwards for the 49er offensive line.  Anthony Davis, in particular, was victimized repeatedly.  Chief pass rusher Tamba Hali got three of the sacks on his own, as he ran around Davis like he was a fire hydrant.  The Niners needed to have a tight end chip the edge rusher on Davis' side, every time. 

To add to Davis' miseries, he was flagged for a false start penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct.  He looked totally over matched out there.

Heading to halftime, the Niners only trailed 10-3, and were still in the game. I was very optimistic at this point.  My belief was that the Niners would make a few halftime adjustments and come out strong in the second half.  I was wrong.

The Chiefs built upon their lead and eventually scored 24 unanswered points, to take a commanding 31-3 lead.  San Francisco did nothing on offense and the defense also could not stop the Chiefs.

In addition to the woeful performance by the offensive line, the receiving corps was also unable to get open.  Repeatedly, Alex Smith looked downfield and found nobody open.  The 49er receivers must do a better job of working to get free. 

The offensive game plan was poor and the 49ers made no positive adjustments to improve things.  Again, this comes down to coaching.

The final issue I have with the coaching was on the 49ers' last two possessions in the 4th quarter.  The Niners kept Frank Gore in the game and continued to use him on swing passes.  This should have been a time for Brian Westbrook to get into the game.

Gore is the best offensive player the Niners have.  At this point, the score was 31-3 and there was no way the Niners were going to come back.  Why risk Frank Gore to injury in that situation?

On the final drive, not only was Gore still in the game, but the 49ers were desperate for a touchdown.  After completing a pass down the middle to the Kansas City 12-yard line, the Niners called a timeout with three seconds left, to run one final play. 

Alex Smith connected with Josh Morgan for a meaningless touchdown.  Morgan injured his knee on the play and it remains to be seen how long he will be out.  Was that meaningless score worth it?

I was very displeased with Greg Manusky and Jimmy Raye, during this game, as neither coordinator did much to change the momentum of the game.

The bottom line is that this reflects on Mike Singletary.  As head coach, Singletary has the final say and he is also the one who hired the coaching staff.

In a move that makes total sense it was just announced that Jimmy Raye was fired by the 49ers. Quarterback coach Mike Johnson will take over the offensive coordinator role.  If Singletary had kept Jimmy Raye, I believe it would have been his ultimate demise. 

I'm glad the 49ers made this move now.  The offense needed a change, as Jimmy Raye was simply not getting the job done. 

I wonder if Singletary made the call on this move, as yesterday he stated that Raye would stay on through the remainder of this season.  If 49er president Jed York made the move, then that also does not bode well for Singletary in the long-term. 

The 49ers have another tough road game coming up against the very tough Atlanta Falcons.  Following that, a home tilt against the Michael Vick-led Philadelphia Eagles.  It is quite possible that the Niners start the season 0-5, unless they turn it around immediately.