It’s only October and the Seahawks might be THREE games behind the 49ers??? We have a lot of season left but man… really pulling for DJ Jones to replicate the success that Gracen Halton and Osa Odighizuwa had against Seattle’s interior. They’ll need it without Pat Surtain and Hufanga playing.
Five reasons why 49ers are 5-0 and atop the NFL despite epic rash of injuries (paywall) “Steve Young has talked about elite QBs reaching a career sweet spot when their Xs-and-Os knowledge allows them to toy with
defenses. He has said that a problem for many is that once they reach that level of mental mastery, their physical skills have diminished. At 26, Purdy may not have achieved genius QB status yet. But something is clearly clicking in his fifth season in Kyle Shanahan’s system…Purdy has made it clear that his ongoing ascent is tied to Shanahan’s system and his increased understanding of its complexities. Shanahan told a Fox broadcast crew this season that Purdy is now starting to understand the “why” of his play calls…..Morris, a safety at Hofstra, was a longtime NFL defensive backs coach, and he might have made his biggest impact in the secondary. The 49ers are still playing primarily zone, but Morris has introduced more match coverage, which allows zone defenders to closely attach to a receiver if a specific route is run.”
49ers practice and media schedule ahead of Week 6 matchup vs. Commanders|
“Thursday, October 15
12:35 p.m. – Kyle Shanahan press conference
1:30 p.m. – Practice
Friday, October 16
12:30 p.m. – Practice
After practice (approx. 2:20 p.m.) – Raheem Morris press conference
Following Morris – Klay Kubiak press conference
Following Kubiak – Brock Purdy press conference
Saturday, October 17
12:35 p.m. – Practice
After practice (approx. 1:35 p.m.) – Kyle Shanahan press conference.”
49ers rookie report: The long-term upside is there for this class
“Black’s averaging 2.6 yards per carry in the red zone. That jumps to 3.9 yards per carry on non-red-zone carries. The good news is he’s bouncing off tackles, falling forward, and gaining yards after the contact. But he’s also getting stuffed behind the line of scrimmage and failing to force missed tackles.
Black struggles to resist the urge to bounce runs that don’t need to or to stop his feet in the backfield. In 1-on-1 situations, he’s indecisive instead of being the aggressor….Halton’s awareness is off the charts. He’s a much better run defender than anticipated. He’s the type of player who causes chaos, and his plays don’t always show up in the box score….It’s been impressive to watch Dugger hold his own against 300-pounders. Four of his seven targets have resulted in first downs, but he’s only surrendering 6.4 yards per reception on those. Week 5 showed that some of those were by design, essentially conceding underneath throws to take away the bigger threat.”
49ers legend Steve Young says Brock Purdy has reached a new level
“When I saw him in the Rams game in Australia, I’m like, ‘Whoa, he’s quicker. Whoa, his decision-making is even faster,'” Young said. “He optimized in the offseason. Whoever trained him, whoever—like if he did it himself, I don’t know—but whoever did needs a shout-out as well, because he had optimized his game.
“And his game is unique, and unique to him, and he just, instead of kind of resting on all the things that he’s already good at, I felt like he got better. I felt like he’s even more aware. He’s quicker with his reads.
And his body, it feels like he’s niftier, and actually has some speed. Like he did speed work, you could tell…
….I always said, it’s 3rd-and-10, my mom’s open, she’s getting the ball,” Young said. “I think what we’re saying is Mike Evans understands spatial relationships in a unique Hall of Fame way, and so all of a sudden, where there doesn’t seem to be anybody open, Mike’s finding that place.
“And so that confidence builds with Brock that I’m going to keep my eye [out for] wherever Mike is, and that allows Kyle Shanahan to lean into play-calling. You can call a play knowing that, yeah, if it breaks down, Mike’s in a space that’s going to be really cool, and we’ll figure that out.”
