Let's get these beatdowns over with
Darn.
I was hoping since the 49ers and the Seahawks hadn’t met yet this season (usually, they play once early and once late in the season), perhaps the NFL had forgotten to schedule them to play each other.
That would have been fine by me.
But alas, someone remembered, and here they are, in Week 13, playing for the first time this season today in Seattle, in the much-awaited return to Seattle of Robert Saleh, the 49ers’ defensive coordinator.
The Seahawks will win easily today, then do the same thing two weeks from now in Santa Clara — unless the bus driver insists on taking them to Candlestick Park in San Francisco instead.
At the beginning of the season, I was optimistic that, in Year 2 of the six-year ShanaLynch rebuild, the 49ers might be able to compete with the Seahawks, possibly for a playoff spot.
Then, in Week 3 in Kansas City, Jimmy Garappolo turned right when he should have turned left, and S.F. (2-9) has essentially been playing preseason games since.
MEANWHILE, THE Seahawks are 6-5 with three gimmies — two with the ‘Niners, one with Arizona — remaining on their schedule. They host the Vikings next week in a Monday Night game, and host the Chiefs two weeks later on a Sunday night.
The Seahawks-Vikings game could be for a wild-card playoff spot in the NFC, in which mediocrity has replaced parity this season, at least among the good teams.
Seattle’s defense isn’t up to Legion of Boom standards, but it’s not bad. The Seahawks will finish somewhere between 9-7 and 11-5 — not bad for a team that is “rebuilding.”
The Seahawks’ quarterback — I don’t have a relationship with him, either — is having a season worthy of MVP consideration, if the team’s record was a little better.
Still, if Seattle slips in to the playoffs, watch out.
THEN THERE’S the 49ers, largely non-competitive in last week’s 27-9 spanking at Tampa Bay, which came into the game with all of three wins.
At times, the 49ers show glimpses of hope on offense — unless there’s a penalty or a negative-yardage play. At that point, third and 8 might as well be third and 48.
“Punt team ready!”
And heaven help us if the other team chooses to blitz. Good teams make the other team pay for blitzing — we just concede the sack, or the quick throwaway, and move on.
Our Backup Quarterback was a punching bag back there in what was supposed to be the pocket. He took such a beating that he was recently replaced by Undrafted Free Agent.
Then there’s the defense. The 49ers continue to not be able to put any pressure on the quarterback — if there’s a sack, it’s because the quarterback found them, not the other way around. Blitzing doesn’t seem to help either — that’s just more people not getting to the QB, or covering someone.
(Of course, this ineptitude could play into the 49ers’ hands. Seattle’s quarterback is more dangerous when he’s flushed from the pocket. We shouldn’t bother him too much today, so if he wants to run around, he’ll have to do it on his own.)
Which brings me to our Cover 0 defense. That’s where the defensive backs space themselves out across the field, and the opposing receivers dutifully run into the open spots between two or three defenders, and catch passes, often for gains of 15-20 yards. Then our DBs converge on the receiver and tackle him, then look at each other.
If we’re going to pick off the Seattle quarterback, he’s going to have to throw one right to us. S.F. has all of two picks this year.
When ShanaLynch took over last season, there was little in terms of talent on the roster, so patience was preached. But we need to add more than just 2-3 good players each year. At that rate, we’ll be contending for the division title in, oh, about 20 years.
At that rate, we will be pinning our hopes on Garoppolo, at age 47, throwing to 45-year-old tight end George Kittle.
Of course, by then Kittle will be working to get open against the coverage of 50-year-old converted safety Richard Sherman, back to finish up his career in Seattle on the Ken Griffey Jr. Plan.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.