I hear the conversations:
Kyle Fire.
Trade Brock or play low.
It’s all ridiculous.
But conversations like these are also why the NFL is the leading entertainment product in America and soon, if the league has its way, the world.
Nothing is permanent in the NFL. This time last year, the 49ers were the star of the NFL with an 11-3 record en route to their fourth NFC title game in five years and a Super Bowl berth.
Now the quarterback and head coach who wrote the 2023 season are apparently assholes.
And maybe they are. Things change quickly in this league, and unlike the NBA or Major League Baseball, teams can change just as quickly.
Yes, in the NFL every game counts – even Sunday’s 49ers-Dolphins game between two teams with minimal playoff chances.
That’s because every player plays for his job every week.
While I’m not sure if the so-called “believers” are waiting for Shanahan and Purdy to succeed or fail in the final three games of the campaign, I do know that these are three things I want to see as we complete a cursed season :
1. Make Ricky Pearsall the X receiver
The result tells a story, and it’s not exactly flattering for the 49ers’ most recent first-round pick: two receptions in his last five games. This does not apply per game, but overall.
The film tells a different story: Pearsall opens up. Not just every now and then, but always.
Against the Rams last Thursday, Pearsall ran 23 routes. I thought it was open for 18 of them. He had more than a handful of them under control, and no defender was within five yards of him.
However, Pearsall was only targeted four times.
Meanwhile, the Niners are still forcing the ball to Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings, neither of whom can break away from the man-to-man press defense that every competent team – including the Rams last week – employs against San Francisco.
Pearsall can.
So here’s what I’d like to see: Move Pearsall to the X-receiver position so he’s the primary offensive player on most plays. Move Samuel to an assistant role (basically the team’s third receiver) and have Jennings move to the Z, where he will be asked to run more routes deep and provide a much-needed cushion as he sits behind the line of scrimmage. line is located.
Shanahan knows this is the right thing to do – we saw him move Pearsall into this role late in the game against the Rams and it opened up the offense in a positive way. (If only Purdy had thrown to Pearsall instead of Jennings for the game-winning interception.)
I will raise my flag now. Write this down for posterity: Pearsall is the 49ers’ best receiver. Jennings is a strong player who makes the most of what he has, and Samuel has the pedigree, but neither is as consistently open as Pearsall, and neither poses the same threat as the rookie with the ball in his hands.
Shanahan had no problem finding ways to get the ball to Samuel against the Rams. Do the same for Pearsall against the Dolphins on Sunday and beyond.
2. Give Issac Guerendo full CMC treatment
I admit that it might be difficult to do that this week as Guerendo was suffering from a hamstring injury that kept him from training on Wednesday.
But the rookie running back is currently the Niners’ undisputed No. 1 prospect, and he has the physical skills to be the closest thing this roster has to the team’s true No. 1 prospect, Christian McCaffrey.
So why does Shanahan treat Guerendo like one-dimensional options for Patrick Taylor or Eli Mitchell?
Guerendo was a college wide receiver. For a running back, he is an exceptional runner with exceptional break-off ability.
Still, Shanahan only “knocked him down” three times against the Rams and only used him at wide receiver four times.
When McCaffrey was in the backfield, the Niners implored teams to play man-to-man defense against them – good luck with your linebacker or safety against CMC.
Guerendo is no McCaffrey, but he should be considered a similar threat, especially against opposing linebackers. But for that to be the case, Shanahan will have to use him like a versatile weapon and constantly move him into formations.
Instead, Shanahan seems more interested in doing it with Kyle Juszczyk. The defense is not afraid.
The Niners have nothing to lose and everything to gain by using Guerendo as the versatile defender he is.
That’s what I’d like to see for the rest of the season.
3. A wrong step
My favorite Shanahan statistic is that he never faked a shot.
Wait, did I say favorite?
I meant “even more annoying.”
Sure, Shanahan claims he once called for a fake shot just so the team could be heard, but that doesn’t count now, does it?
So here’s my suggestion to Shanahan: For once in your coaching life, throw caution to the wind and do something bold and daring. Fake a kick.
Just one.
I also do it when the book says no, or grab a 2 after the first touchdown of the game, or throw an onside kick, just for fun.
I need to see Shanahan doing something unnecessary these last three weeks. It is necessary for me.
I know it’s “stupid” to fake a shot, but what’s the downside? God forbid the Niners get a higher draft pick.
Now, I’m not suggesting Shanahan bet on Dan Campbell, but a little chaos would do him and the 49ers good moving forward – the world isn’t programmed, and the NFL certainly isn’t. Success depends on reading, reacting and sometimes doing something stupid.
It’s a stupid sport, after all the ball is elongated.
Nothing says I’m trying something new like Pat O’Donnell trying it for the next three weeks. He was 1-for-1 for 38 yards and a touchdown in his career, and it all came from an incorrect punt throw in 2017. Let’s see if he still has it.
