Having rewatched the Superbowl ,My opinion has not changed! Shanahan lost this game for the Niners by abandoning the run game for almost two quarters! WHY??? He is called one of the new O geniuses but cost his team in the Super Bowl!!! So Yes, watch out for McVay and not the niners- They have severe cap issues(niners)and can't keep everyone. The Rams are a bit more freed up after last year, and Mcvay seems to get it!
I fully agree that it will be the Rams who we must defeat next year. Before this latest Super Bowl, I felt Frisco had to win or there'd be hell to pay next year. I consider these last 2 years as their zenith. It only gets harder from here on out, as Dan Campbell said. Firing Wilks has a blame-game feel to it, as do Bosa's remarks. Campbell no doubt expected to begin losing major talent, but now it looks like The Guys are going to stick around. (Gotta love this guy...)
This is why I love this space - for the non obvious opinions that really make you thunkaboutit. Any idiot with a keyboard can type out the lowest form of knowledge (opinion - and also I’m guilty of such) but real search for knowledge comes from well researched topics with original ideas. Thanks for keeping my brain working Mr. Joe!!!
Can’t argue with this thinking too much. I hate em both, so doesn’t much matter which one is better than the other. McVay strikes me as a more humble genius than Shanahan, so maybe I despise the Rams slightly less, but it’s a close run thing.
Cycles. As you point out both the Rams and 49ers have had ups and downs lately. Yes we can laud our X Playoffs in Y years over them, but both franchises have had better highs. I'd take the lows to be a contender.
Rams on the up cycle, 49ers in the down. They'll flip in a few years.
What about the Hawks? Stability we had but that's worth fuck all in the NFL where there is no punishment for failing. Hopefully the deep changes get us onto the cycles too, because that's how you win even contend for Superbowls.
IMHO all success from Shanahan comes from his huge offensive genius. Okay, I might have been unfair, up to 20% may come from his surname.
Not McVay. McVay is a lesser genius (but still one, nonetheless) but a much better head coach. People seem to love to work for him, you don’t see players throwing other players under the bus when frustrated (like recent 49ers players twitter faux pas-ses). And he got his ring (unfortunately…).
Well said, and after last years' draft, one has to bow down to LA for getting the most out of the least draft capital. Respect. Hitting on the fifth pick in the draft and 20th pick in the draft helps take some of the sting out of LA's rookie class. Still, we gotta do that more often than them, dang it.
I was absolutely blown away by Stafford last year (and mcvay). Stafford had in my opinion the best year of his career and if I had an mvp vote - he was my guy.
McVay for all his strengths, still doesn’t understand clock management which may have cost them the Lions game. Let’s hope Mac is better than McVay.
I couldn't believe the 49ers didn't defer. When you get the ball last you know whether you need a field goal or touchdown to tie or win the game. That's on Shanahan. Absolutely stupid!!
The 49ers did say they were not in full understanding of exactly what the SB overtime rules were. Not sure how many people were. Had KC only scored a FG they were going on to another 15 minute quarter. Either someone wasn’t listening or the officials did an imbalanced job of explaining the rules to the teams.
Seems like coaching malpractice not to know the rules. As a little league coach (minor league), my father kept the rulebook in his pocket, and with one particular opposing coach, my dad caught the other coach in violation of the rules. The rules are the very foundation of coaching.
I agree with you the Rams seem to have a brighter future than the 49ers, but I see the Hawks future is potentially brighter than either one.
With our new HC and OC aggressive tendencies, the Hawks may be the best of the 3. The attacking defensive schemes should put the bend don't break concepts in the rear view mirror, fighting for every yard every down. The attacking offensive schemes where you may go for it anytime from anywhere on the field will be a more exciting and I hope more successful approach than the dinky dink, 3 and out, keep it close and win the 4th quarter.
Seeing how things are shaking out in SF just makes me smile. Couldn’t happen to a “nicer” franchise. FTN.
SSJ, you hit the nail on the head in saying Bosa is no Aaron Donald. To me, Donald is the ultimate disruptive defensive lineman. Seems like Bosa’s career may have already peaked.
As a Seahawks fan living in Niner country, I'm enjoying the Schadenfreude as the sniping and second-guessing slowly spreads among the "faithful."
It was strange to see Bosa underperform expectations this year, even after the Chase Young addition. Curious to see whether he rights the ship next year, but either way this year's falloff makes it easier to agree he's not at Donald's level.
Most of all, it will be interesting to see what happens with their defense next year with (yet another) new coordinator. And if it goes badly, how much blame falls on Shanahan. Right now, he seems to be getting almost no serious criticism around here even though I'd argue that among the coaching staff, he bears the greatest responsibility for this SB loss.
This is a very interesting observation. The SF team is very good at masking the QBs limitations ( not a super strong arm and not very athletic ) Bosa is good , but he can be handled as he is very scheme dependent. I think that’s why they did the Chase trade with Washington.
Los Angeles they have an issue with some of the best players are aging as well. They like the Seahawks have some nice players and the amazing LT.
I truly believe that in a year the Seahawks will be the top dog if they cut ties with aging or overrated players and embrace the young core.
It does not sound like the new HC will be as tolerate of non performing players. How many years did we have to suffer with players that never playing a position getting shifted to another position they may have never played ? We have one corner that was a pretty good corner, then moved to slot corner than to safety. TEs playing OT ( or DTs ). It gets old.
So, if you put Purdy behind Seattle’s O-line, I agree: Geno is better at doing more with less. Purdy would be lost.
But there are aspects about Pete’s myopia that you hope the new boss doesn’t suffer from. Pete had a disdain for how other teams would slowly eat Seattle’s defense by “dinking and dunking.” Guess what, Pete? That is literally how the NFL is defined today. Short passing is super hard to stop. So the Rams and SanFran happily do all that pre-snap motion to get the 1:1 they want. The fact that you can’t figure that out is on you — not on the opponent. So, sure, explosives are great — but not if they don’t work. Because they’re high risk, high reward. And if a 25-yard out doesn’t work but an easy pitch and catch for five yards would, why not take the easy vs. the hard? Also: when you cannot defend for three seconds (as Seattle always seems to have struggled with) you NEED the easy conversion. Again, we hope the new kids don’t suffer from this illness.
So you can imagine a Seattle offense being very much like present personnel, even if not the same because as SSJ has pointed out, they cannot afford it, but more efficient because they’re happier to take what’s given and also able to scheme open their skill players in a way that they seem to have not even have wanted to try these past few years (nearly a decade).
But the real turn has to happen on the other side of the ball. McVay gave MacDonald way more than he wanted when the Rams pushed the Ravens to OT this past year. And that’s a defense that made life hell for KC, so it tells you that figuring out the Rams is HARD.
Last point: I’m guessing no matter what anyone says, this will be an eight-win Seattle team on the over. They have a ton of rebuilding and excising to do. They have some players that they just have to dump for lousy ROI alone, and that’s going to mean they’ll definitely be missing talent in some key spots because those folks, even if they’re reasonably talented, cost way too much at the position they play or period. But the upside is facing the music. No signing Wagner; no signing Uncle Will. Etc. Wherever you can find productivity and value and wherever the math makes sense, move that direction. Say goodbye to sentiment. You literally cannot afford it.
Having rewatched the Superbowl ,My opinion has not changed! Shanahan lost this game for the Niners by abandoning the run game for almost two quarters! WHY??? He is called one of the new O geniuses but cost his team in the Super Bowl!!! So Yes, watch out for McVay and not the niners- They have severe cap issues(niners)and can't keep everyone. The Rams are a bit more freed up after last year, and Mcvay seems to get it!
I fully agree that it will be the Rams who we must defeat next year. Before this latest Super Bowl, I felt Frisco had to win or there'd be hell to pay next year. I consider these last 2 years as their zenith. It only gets harder from here on out, as Dan Campbell said. Firing Wilks has a blame-game feel to it, as do Bosa's remarks. Campbell no doubt expected to begin losing major talent, but now it looks like The Guys are going to stick around. (Gotta love this guy...)
Damn my guy. You might be right. Well researched. Good form!
This is why I love this space - for the non obvious opinions that really make you thunkaboutit. Any idiot with a keyboard can type out the lowest form of knowledge (opinion - and also I’m guilty of such) but real search for knowledge comes from well researched topics with original ideas. Thanks for keeping my brain working Mr. Joe!!!
Can’t argue with this thinking too much. I hate em both, so doesn’t much matter which one is better than the other. McVay strikes me as a more humble genius than Shanahan, so maybe I despise the Rams slightly less, but it’s a close run thing.
Cycles. As you point out both the Rams and 49ers have had ups and downs lately. Yes we can laud our X Playoffs in Y years over them, but both franchises have had better highs. I'd take the lows to be a contender.
Rams on the up cycle, 49ers in the down. They'll flip in a few years.
What about the Hawks? Stability we had but that's worth fuck all in the NFL where there is no punishment for failing. Hopefully the deep changes get us onto the cycles too, because that's how you win even contend for Superbowls.
Thinking about this more.
This a bold take and a good one. Not sure how many more times we will see or read about this.
That was some good perspective… well done Joe!
Excellent analysis once again. Great job! Go ‘Hawks
IMHO all success from Shanahan comes from his huge offensive genius. Okay, I might have been unfair, up to 20% may come from his surname.
Not McVay. McVay is a lesser genius (but still one, nonetheless) but a much better head coach. People seem to love to work for him, you don’t see players throwing other players under the bus when frustrated (like recent 49ers players twitter faux pas-ses). And he got his ring (unfortunately…).
Well said, and after last years' draft, one has to bow down to LA for getting the most out of the least draft capital. Respect. Hitting on the fifth pick in the draft and 20th pick in the draft helps take some of the sting out of LA's rookie class. Still, we gotta do that more often than them, dang it.
Excellent article!
That is the nature of the NFL.
I was absolutely blown away by Stafford last year (and mcvay). Stafford had in my opinion the best year of his career and if I had an mvp vote - he was my guy.
McVay for all his strengths, still doesn’t understand clock management which may have cost them the Lions game. Let’s hope Mac is better than McVay.
One of the most insightful posts encountered which brings up so many totally unconsidered points.
Well done, KenJoe.
I couldn't believe the 49ers didn't defer. When you get the ball last you know whether you need a field goal or touchdown to tie or win the game. That's on Shanahan. Absolutely stupid!!
The 49ers did say they were not in full understanding of exactly what the SB overtime rules were. Not sure how many people were. Had KC only scored a FG they were going on to another 15 minute quarter. Either someone wasn’t listening or the officials did an imbalanced job of explaining the rules to the teams.
Seems like coaching malpractice not to know the rules. As a little league coach (minor league), my father kept the rulebook in his pocket, and with one particular opposing coach, my dad caught the other coach in violation of the rules. The rules are the very foundation of coaching.
It would under normal circumstances, but this was only the second time in SB history for the game to go into overtime. The rules have to be different.
I agree with you the Rams seem to have a brighter future than the 49ers, but I see the Hawks future is potentially brighter than either one.
With our new HC and OC aggressive tendencies, the Hawks may be the best of the 3. The attacking defensive schemes should put the bend don't break concepts in the rear view mirror, fighting for every yard every down. The attacking offensive schemes where you may go for it anytime from anywhere on the field will be a more exciting and I hope more successful approach than the dinky dink, 3 and out, keep it close and win the 4th quarter.
Seeing how things are shaking out in SF just makes me smile. Couldn’t happen to a “nicer” franchise. FTN.
SSJ, you hit the nail on the head in saying Bosa is no Aaron Donald. To me, Donald is the ultimate disruptive defensive lineman. Seems like Bosa’s career may have already peaked.
As a Seahawks fan living in Niner country, I'm enjoying the Schadenfreude as the sniping and second-guessing slowly spreads among the "faithful."
It was strange to see Bosa underperform expectations this year, even after the Chase Young addition. Curious to see whether he rights the ship next year, but either way this year's falloff makes it easier to agree he's not at Donald's level.
Most of all, it will be interesting to see what happens with their defense next year with (yet another) new coordinator. And if it goes badly, how much blame falls on Shanahan. Right now, he seems to be getting almost no serious criticism around here even though I'd argue that among the coaching staff, he bears the greatest responsibility for this SB loss.
This is a very interesting observation. The SF team is very good at masking the QBs limitations ( not a super strong arm and not very athletic ) Bosa is good , but he can be handled as he is very scheme dependent. I think that’s why they did the Chase trade with Washington.
Los Angeles they have an issue with some of the best players are aging as well. They like the Seahawks have some nice players and the amazing LT.
I truly believe that in a year the Seahawks will be the top dog if they cut ties with aging or overrated players and embrace the young core.
It does not sound like the new HC will be as tolerate of non performing players. How many years did we have to suffer with players that never playing a position getting shifted to another position they may have never played ? We have one corner that was a pretty good corner, then moved to slot corner than to safety. TEs playing OT ( or DTs ). It gets old.
So, if you put Purdy behind Seattle’s O-line, I agree: Geno is better at doing more with less. Purdy would be lost.
But there are aspects about Pete’s myopia that you hope the new boss doesn’t suffer from. Pete had a disdain for how other teams would slowly eat Seattle’s defense by “dinking and dunking.” Guess what, Pete? That is literally how the NFL is defined today. Short passing is super hard to stop. So the Rams and SanFran happily do all that pre-snap motion to get the 1:1 they want. The fact that you can’t figure that out is on you — not on the opponent. So, sure, explosives are great — but not if they don’t work. Because they’re high risk, high reward. And if a 25-yard out doesn’t work but an easy pitch and catch for five yards would, why not take the easy vs. the hard? Also: when you cannot defend for three seconds (as Seattle always seems to have struggled with) you NEED the easy conversion. Again, we hope the new kids don’t suffer from this illness.
So you can imagine a Seattle offense being very much like present personnel, even if not the same because as SSJ has pointed out, they cannot afford it, but more efficient because they’re happier to take what’s given and also able to scheme open their skill players in a way that they seem to have not even have wanted to try these past few years (nearly a decade).
But the real turn has to happen on the other side of the ball. McVay gave MacDonald way more than he wanted when the Rams pushed the Ravens to OT this past year. And that’s a defense that made life hell for KC, so it tells you that figuring out the Rams is HARD.
Last point: I’m guessing no matter what anyone says, this will be an eight-win Seattle team on the over. They have a ton of rebuilding and excising to do. They have some players that they just have to dump for lousy ROI alone, and that’s going to mean they’ll definitely be missing talent in some key spots because those folks, even if they’re reasonably talented, cost way too much at the position they play or period. But the upside is facing the music. No signing Wagner; no signing Uncle Will. Etc. Wherever you can find productivity and value and wherever the math makes sense, move that direction. Say goodbye to sentiment. You literally cannot afford it.