Four Questions: Can The 49ers Sharpen Their Execution In Time?

The Niners have great talent but struggle with inconsistency, can they put it together?

Oct 10, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan stands on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

While the 49ers have won two straight, the upcoming matchup against Seattle is a get right game, a needed opportunity to elevate their execution before the toughest part of the schedule begins.

Following the Seahawks game, the Niners go on the road to Green Bay and Buffalo. Lose both and San Francisco’s playoff hopes start to fade. The 49ers could only lose one more game the rest of the season and maintain a solid chance of winning the division and making the playoffs.

Nine games in, the 49ers reflect their record, a team hovering around .500 that shows flashes, plays well in moments. The Niners need to grow into a team capable of a 60-minute win, or close to it, against Green Bay and Buffalo. Can they realistically do that? Yes and no.

1. First the positives, what can they build on offensively?

The passing game. 353 yards with two touchdowns for Brock Purdy and an eight-minute drive with three 3rd down conversions. The receiving targets complement one another as Ricky Pearsall is improving rapidly, Christian McCaffrey had six catches, Jauan Jennings was high impact with seven, and George Kittle made clutch plays that carried the team led by a spectacular touchdown on a money throw from Purdy. Kyle Shanahan tapped into what each player does well and set defined roles.

Kittle needs more targets, Purdy needs more bootlegs and moving pockets, and Shanahan needs more of the quick throw horizontal game against the blitz.

There’s a danger in drawing conclusions from the Tampa game. The Bucs defense is third worst in passing yards and YAC yards, and the Niners took advantage. That said, the passing targets with Pearsall ascending and Jennings healthy look difficult to stop.

2.      Can the negatives on offense be fixed?

McCaffrey was not the solve-all as the Niners went 1-3 in the red zone, and the one was a jailbreak with Purdy buying time. Once McCaffrey gets to football shape the red zone efficiency will improve, but for now the play design isn’t creating open looks.

Underutilization of the running game continues to be a concern. A drive stalls on three straight passes.

Tampa all-world defensive tackle Vita Vea was fighting a hip injury and was a no-show with one tackle, yet the Niners didn’t leverage that on the ground.

Shanahan buried in his Denny’s menu (© The Coach) and not managing the game is a legit criticism. As is 56 snaps for McCaffrey out of 62 for the backs. McCaffrey says he’s not in game shape yet and he still gets 13 of the 15 RB carries. Deebo Samuel got more carries than Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo combined. Indefensible.

Just as the passing game is elevated by using the strengths of each weapon, the same thinking needs to be applied to the run game. Shanahan has to be cured of his addiction to the McCaffrey easy button. History says not a chance.

3.      What about the special teams?

Yikes. Darrell Luter Jr. caused the muff in the Super Bowl and in the Tampa game. Seems it would be an easy fix, the returner calls him off to stop blocking. Coverage teams are pushing the blocker into the returner to create turnovers, the Niners need to drill calling Luter off.

The recent signing of former Giants defensive back Nick McCloud is a special teams move, he’s effective in kick coverage.

Jake Moody. How often do his kicks split the uprights? Seems nearly every kick over 40 yards hugs a post. Great leg, erratic accuracy. But Shanahan used a third-round pick on him so he stays. Shanahan needs to choose his team over his ego and move on from Moody next year.

Jake Bates made two field goals over 50 in the final six minutes to win the game for Detroit. The last kicker to do that was Matthew Wright for Jacksonville, the player the Niners brought in who got hurt. Wright needs a camp invite next year - and the job.

4.      Can the defense get back to last year’s form?

The Wide 9 depends on the front four being dominant. They aren’t this year. Nick Bosa was limited by his hip pointer against Tampa. The depth has taken a big hit in free agent departures and the team didn’t restock in the draft, choosing free agency with disappointing results.

The Niners defense makes key stops early and loses to offensive lines in the 2nd half to let opponents back in games. Tampa did this even after losing All-Pro Tristan Wirfs and plugging in ex-Niner Justin Skule. Nick Sorensen didn’t react to this or leverage it by blitzing more frequently.

The Niners defensive line does not have the talent and depth the Wide 9 requires. This is the team’s Achilles heel this year. To this point, they have not been able to change that and likely won’t. It’s a roster crater that can’t be filled.

Dre Greenlaw’s return will be what the run defense needs if he’s the Greenlaw of last year. If not, there is no apparent solution. Greenlaw’s practice window has yet to be opened.

This is a year where the offense will need to carry the defense. How far can they carry them? Maybe the playoffs. If the execution elevates. Soon.