49ers RB Christian McCaffrey's Isn't Seeing the Holes Like He Used to

Since he returned from bilateral Achilles tendonitis, he's averaging just 3.7 yards per carry -- down from 5.4 yards per carry last season.

November 17, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) runs against Seattle Seahawks cornerback Coby Bryant (8) during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

SANTA CLARA -- Christian McCaffrey clearly isn't himself right now.

Since he returned from bilateral Achilles tendonitis, he's averaging just 3.7 yards per carry -- down from 5.4 yards per carry last season.

Why isn't he playing as well?

Here's what run game coordinator Chris Foerster said about McCaffrey this week courtesy of the 49ers p.r. department.

Q: How do you feel that RB Christian McCaffrey's chemistry is in his second game back? He's only been back for two. Do you feel like he’s Christian?

FOERSTER: “It's getting better every week. Christian, I'm sure he’s self-admitted, he doesn't feel like he's quite back in the groove. And I'm not saying he's not. Like I say every week, it's very hard for me to talk negatively about Christian. He's awesome. Every week, that's why he takes reps. That's why he needs to be out there. He loves seeing it. He's a grinder. He has to be out there working it every single day. As he gets that feel, he becomes better and better. That's what's encouraging too. I see glass half full, how this thing goes going forward with him.”

Q: Is that a timing thing with Christian?

FOERSTER: “It's vision. It's more vision. It's just no matter how many times you do it, it's like anything else. We talk about how guys have to practice, every sport, you have to practice, you have to go out and practice. And they practice full speed to some degree. Some of the sports that have longer seasons, they don't practice hard. But the point of it is you don't hit – how many full speed reps do you get at running certain plays? And even though you've seen it in previous years, you'll get back and groove faster, but you still have to go out and do it. You still have to go out and see it. You still have to get out in live tempo. You still have to get hit and tackled and get up and get back again and see it and the game flows differently. So it's just a matter of getting a few more looks at it, I think, for him.”

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