By Kyle Madson / @madsports8
Well, it’s back to the drawing board for the San Francisco 49ers following their 20-3 drubbing at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
The only problem is that the drawing board is full and the pen is out of ink.
After back-to-back competitive performances against the Giants and the Ravens – the latter producing a victory – the 49ers were back at square one on Thursday. The only real answer to their problems is that there aren’t any answers.
It’s a harsh reality to face, because as a fan, you never want to throw up your hands and think there’s no reason to watch on Sundays. Unfortunately, that’s where the Niners are at. The anger at bad play has morphed into that feeling of inevitability where you just sigh heavily and tweet through it.
The anger sets in when you realize that there’s no end in sight. They’ve not addressed their actual needs in a draft in quite some time. Trent Baalke’s injured “value” guys are all coming up empty and it’s screwing the 49ers. They have no future. They have no direction. That was really driven home Thursday night as Seattle stunted all over Levi’s Stadium for the second time in as many games there.
This team, as a whole, stinks. That was apparent prior to the season when looking at the roster after the losses of Patrick Willis, Frank Gore, Chris Borland, Justin Smith and Anthony Davis. The talent is scarce, and the coaching staff assembled to maximize the production of said talent is, to put it nicely, unequipped to handle the task.
On a short week, San Francisco was totally overmatched by a Seahawks team that was looking to find their way after a series of 4th quarter collapses, leading to a 2-4 record and a share of the NFC West’s basement with the 49ers. Following Thursday night, it appears the Niners are settled in to that basement for a long, long time.
The team that represented the NFC just three Super Bowls ago is gone. The coaching staff is gone, almost the entirety of that 53 man roster is gone, and there seems to be no direction other than down for this franchise. The severity of this descent into the NFL’s abyss of mediocrity was captured on Thursday night.
Not a single aspect of the game went well for them and it had everything to do with the fact that they’re not good enough to compete against even the most mediocre NFL teams. On offense, they amassed 3 points, 142 total yards, and allowed 6 sacks.
The 49ers’ offensive woes are no secret. The cupboard of offensive talent on this team is not just bare, it doesn’t exist. It’s more of a small piece of Tupperware big enough to fit Carlos Hyde and sometimes Colin Kaepernick.
The entire offensive line is abysmal and the receiving corps is not good. It’s easy to point fingers at the quarterback when the offense derails, but Kaepernick was not the issue against the Seahawks. Every drop back included 4 Seattle defenders in the backfield having a dance off to decide which one got to sack Kaepernick.
And even when Kaepernick did have time to throw, nobody was open. At times it was Bobby Wagner, a linebacker, covering a gimpy Anquan Boldin with ease. Richard Sherman did whatever it is he does on Torrey Smith. Vernon Davis managed to shake the oxygen that typically keeps him from catching the ball and hauled in 4 balls for 61 yards.
The 49ers’ lone offensive threat, Carlos Hyde, powered through a stress fracture in his foot and managed 40 yards on 11 carries. Reggie Bush also suited up.
There’s just not a lot to say at this point, and that’s the problem. There isn’t some glaring tweak the coaching staff can make to get this team over the hump. There’s not one hole in the roster that could be filled and instantly make this team a contender. Outside of Aaron Lynch, NaVorro Bowman and Hyde, there’s just not anyone that’s really that good. And in the NFL, that’s a problem.
When he fired mutually parted ways with Jim Harbaugh, the final domino to fall in the destruction of a Super Bowl contender, Jed York said he expects to not only win, but win with class. Right now the 49ers are doing neither. Instead, they’re standing, staring at a drawing board full of gibberish without any way to fix it.
