The San Francisco 49ers had their first preseason game, where we witnessed Adrian Martinez throw the ball 30 times and the running backs show us what three yards and a cloud of dust looks like. The scoreboard doesn’t matter in the preseason. You want to see players making plays. The box score can be deceiving, as not all tackles are created equally. Let’s get into the winners and losers from Week 1 of the preseason.
Winners
Tatum Bethune
Bethune had the biggest highlight of the evening when he ran through rookie running
back Nicholas Singleton’s face for a sack. Bethune was the aggressor all night and likely cemented himself onto the roster.
Most of his tackles came near the line of scrimmage. Bethune wasn’t hesitant and was flying around. He should be a core special-teamer for the 49ers this season. He was impressive.
Bryson Eason
Eason can play. He was on the field for 24 snaps and left an impression. Eason made an impact without showing up in the box score with plays like this:
Eason had a play where he sniffed out a screen and forced an incompletion. Kris Kocurek will appreciate that, as defensive line coaches are always saying something along the lines of, “If you’re getting after the quarterback for the first time all game, it’s probably because they want you to.”
Eason stood his ground against double teams, pushed the pocket against rookie Jackson Slater, and looked like he belonged in his debut.
De’Zhaun Stribling
Stribling didn’t start too hot: he missed a block against edge rusher Jermaine Johnson, resulting in a tackle for loss; then, technically, dropped a pass; and followed that up by stumbling on a route on fourth down.
The jitters wore off after that as Stribling caught his final six targets and continued to get open cleanly even when the ball wasn’t thrown in his direction. It’s refreshing to see a wide receiver have zero issues catching the ball. Stribling still needs to evolve as a route runner, but he’s winning down the field already against starters.
If Brandon Lloyd shaved off two tenths from his 40 and played in a Kyle Shanahan offense. That’s Stribling. That’s a compliment.
Kurtis Rourke
Rourke ran out of multiple sacks and avoided the negative plays behind a second-string offensive line. Talk about impressive. He was a tick late on a couple of throws early on, but the more Rourke dropped back, the more he threw with anticipation.
We’ll see if the 49ers feel like he made Mac Jones expendable a couple of months from now, but Rourke looked comfortable in muddy pockets and never panicked. I was most impressed with his scrambling ability and encouraged by Rourke’s willingness to push the ball down the field.
Losers
Adrian Martinez
Martinez stepping out of bounds then throwing it underhand before the half for what would have been an easy interception had he stayed in bounds is enough to land him here. Thirty attempts with an average of 5.3 yards is comical. He took a pair of sacks he shouldn’t have. Martinez overthrew wide receivers left and right. He missed Jordan Watkins and Malik Turner on sure-fire touchdowns down the field. It was a rough watch for a quarterback who probably shouldn’t take another snap in the preseason for this team.
Nick Martin
Oy. Martin looks like a player who has no idea what’s happening in front of him. Watching him side by side with Tatum Bethune further proves this. Bethune would be at the line of scrimmage throwing his body into an offensive lineman, while Martin is still bouncing up and down in the same spot.
Martin led the team with eight tackles, but even the ones at the line of scrimmage deserve an asterisk. For example, he had a clean shot on Will Levis, but he fell off the tackle as the whistle blew.
Early on in the game, Martin came off the field on passing downs for Garret Wallow.
A personal foul won’t help his cause, nor will running into the middle of a blocker after you’re late triggering, leading to a big play.
Martin gave the team no reason to move forward with this charade.
Romello Height
Height wasn’t gunshy, which is what you want to see, but he also looked like a one-trick pony against the Titans starting left tackle. He actually got put on his backside and was handled rather easily. When Height was on the move, he was at his best. Still, in 1-on-1 situations, he left a lot to be desired. It’s early, but it wasn’t a great first impression for the first defender the 49ers drafted this year. Having a penalty doesn’t help, either.
Marques Sigle
It was the same Sigle from Kansas State and the same Sigle from his rookie year on Thursday. Leaving his feet to tackle, a step late as he’s determining whether he should trust what he sees, bracing for blocks instead of running through the block.
It’s funny to hear the defensive backs all say, “We like this scheme because there isn’t much thinking and we can just play,” when in reality, they’re doing the same things as last year and playing similar coverages.
Ashtyn Davis did all of the things we needed to see from Sigle at safety.
Winners
Malik Turner
Turner was great. He only caught two of his six targets for 23 yards, but he could’ve easily had close to 80 yards had he received accurate throws. Turner was wide open on a couple of passes that went to Stribling on the other side. He also won down the field. It was an impressive showing for the big-bodied receiver fighting for a roster spot.
Gracen Halton
Halton’s effort stood out. He chased down a screen that went for 12 yards, and that alone would’ve been enough to land him here. Having a sack where he worked to the half of man — something Martin should take note of — had to bring a smile to Kocurek’s face, even if the play was nullified because of a penalty. Halton had a tackle for loss, another stop after a clean win, and was feisty against double teams, not giving up after initially losing. That’s the fight you want to see from an undersized defensive tackle.
Honorable mentions
- James Thompson Jr.
- Jordan Watkins
- Sebastian Valdez
- Ashtyn Davis
