Defensive Concerns: Is 49ers’ Wrong RB Getting Majority of Snaps? Baldy Thinks So
NFL analyst Brian Baldinger did not hold back in his assessment of the San Francisco 49ers’ performance in Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Appearing on Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game, Baldinger pointed out that the entire 49ers team looked slow, with the Seahawks taking full advantage of their lack of speed.
“That’s everybody,” Baldinger said. “That’s [RB Christian] McCaffrey. They had one explosive play on offense. They can’t get the ball down the field. And it’s always been a hallmark of any coached team by Kyle [Shanahan], is they’re going to get explosive plays. And you can literally see—there’s a million stats out there—but you’ve got to track explosive plays in this game. They change the game, and they change field position, and they give you the jolt of electricity you need. They couldn’t get the ball down the field.”
Deep passes are just one way a team can generate explosive plays. On Monday, Shanahan addressed the lack of deep throws against the Seahawks, explaining that Seattle’s defense, known for its “bend-but-don’t-break” strategy, made it difficult to generate big plays.
“You don’t want to force them,” Shanahan said. “You hope to get them into some situations where you can get them, but most of the stuff that they were giving us was underneath. They’re going to make you go on those longer drives, which we knew, going into the game, that was going to be the challenge and what we were ready for. And I think we were up for the challenge, but we couldn’t overcome all those penalties and setbacks that we got.”
The inability to generate explosive plays ultimately cost the 49ers the win, dropping them to a disappointing 5-5 record. They now face upcoming road games against the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills.
“But they can’t get any explosive plays in the run game or the pass game,” Baldinger continued. “They still look slow. And then, when it really showed up was with [Seahawks QB] Geno’s [Smith] touchdown run at the end. Like, where is everybody? Where’s the speed?
“I know they were in zone coverage, and ideally, zone coverage, Geno’s breaking a pocket, ‘All right, let’s get on the horse and go.’ And you just didn’t see the speed to get to him. If you get him down to the ground, they might run out of time. You don’t know at that point.”
This raises questions about the apparent lack of effort from the 49ers defense, which failed to stop Smith’s game-winning scramble into the end zone. Under first-year coordinator Nick Sorensen, the defense has looked like a shell of its former self this season.
Is the wrong RB playing?
Baldinger also suggested that the 49ers might have the wrong running back taking the majority of the snaps. McCaffrey, playing in his second game after being sidelined with Achilles tendinitis, hasn’t looked like the dominant player from last season.
“He doesn’t look special,” Baldinger said. “He just doesn’t. [RB Jordan] Mason, he hit that first run, got his eight yards up the middle. He hit that hole like we’ve been watching him hit it all year, where he was second in the league in rushing a couple of weeks ago.”
Mason finished the game with just two carries for 13 yards. Baldinger added, “Two carries, eight and five yards. So, he hit the hole the way he’s supposed to hit the hole. … The way Jordan hit that first run, I’m like, ‘That’s what they need.’ They just need somebody to just be a bullet right between the lines, and then he’s always taking the pile with him.
“So, I don’t know. I think Kyle probably thinks that, when we get to the postseason, if we get to the postseason, we’re going to need McCaffrey at his best. Let’s play him into shape. And I think that might be part of it, but that was not an impressive run game by the 49ers on Sunday.”
