Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Wednesday, January 24th, 2024
“When asked by McAfee if that was the first time that Purdy had expressed himself in that manner, Kittle pointed out that it was not, but his outburst came at just the right time as the young quarterback locked in and finished out the game on a high note.
“Not first time but whenever he gets like that where something happens and he gets to express himself, there’s a switch that flips and the second after that, he was cooking,” Kittle said. “So, I was like, ‘Ah I’m not worried at all, Brock’s on it, I’m good.’”
Nguyen: How Chiefs, 49ers, Lions and Ravens exorcised demons to reach conference title games (paywall)
“After crossing the midfield line, the 49ers had a mirrored concept with two deep out-breaking routes. Brandon Aiyuk was lined up to the left and backup receiver Chris Conley was lined up to the right. The Packers seemed to be daring the 49ers to throw outside all game. Their corners were cheating inside for most of the game. Why would they think Purdy could throw an out-breaking route with how much he was struggling throughout the game?
As he got to the top of his drop, Purdy kept his front shoulder pointed to the middle of the field and didn’t telegraph the pass. Packers defensive back Jonathan Owens was the flat defender. He was responsible for getting underneath Conley but he seemed to be influenced by Purdy’s body position, as he angled his hips inside and never dropped with any width.
Still, this was a difficult throw. Purdy had to layer the ball over Owens to Conley and he did it perfectly for a 17-yard gain. The clock wasn’t a problem at this point, so they didn’t necessarily have to throw the ball to the sideline but the opportunity was there because of how the Packers were playing the 49ers receivers. Shanahan trusted his young quarterback to make a hard throw and he executed.”
49ers overreactions: Can Shanahan’s play-calling be a liability?
“Those plays that linebacker Dre Greenlaw made Saturday night completely changed the complexion of the game.
He had a fourth-down stop and two interceptions. But he did get some help along the way.
Greenlaw could not have stopped Jordan Love on the fourth-and-1 play if the interior of the defensive line did not do its part to clog things up.
And he got assistance on his first interception from an off-target throw from Love that tight end Tucker Kraft deflected toward Greenlaw.
On the game-clinching interception, Nick Bosa was closing in on Love and forced him into a poor decision and bad throw across the field.”
“Shanahan’s commitment to trying to get the last score of the first half and the first score of the second half has led to many, many easy 49ers victories. When the 49ers play it right, focusing so much attention on the middle of the game wipes out a ton of the unpredictability at the edges. The better team should win that segment and win the game.
But if you eliminate randomness, you’re not as dynamic as you might need to be for that 10-out-of-100 game, when the opponent has just as much or more talent than you or a few unlucky things tilt the game away from you. And in the playoffs, of course, it just takes one. Sometimes you need more randomness, not less.”
Silver: Jared Goff’s football journey comes full circle as Lions face 49ers (paywall)
““So when I was 8 years old (and) playing football for the first time — that would have been 2002 — and I was picking out my jersey number, my dad (Jerry) was helping out coaching,” Goff said. “I’m like, ‘What number should I pick, Dad? ’ And he’s like, ‘Do 16 — that’s Joe Montana.’ And I didn’t really know any better, but I was like, ‘OK, cool, Joe Montana, 16.’ ”
Branch: 49ers mailbag: How to help Ambry Thomas, and did the Niners not run enough? (paywall)
“In contrast, the Lions are top-heavy: All-Pro wideout Amon St. Brown ranked fifth in the NFL with 164 targets. And their next two wideouts, Josh Reynolds (64 targets) and Kalif Raymond (44) — who has missed their first two playoff games with a knee injury — fall well behind Pro Bowl rookie tight end Sam LaPorta (120) in the pecking order.
That is, it appears to be a more favorable matchup for the 49ers when considering Thomas. St. Brown often lines up in the slot, which the 49ers have capably manned by Deommodore Lenoir. And it’s conceivable No. 1 corner Charvarius Ward could travel with St. Brown when he aligns outside. Meanwhile, the 49ers have two of the NFL’s best coverage linebackers, Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, to account for LaPorta.”
“As usual, 49ers assistant coaches are getting attention for promotions elsewhere. Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks received a head coaching interview from the Los Angeles Chargers last week, and now, there are at least two more coaches being interviewed.”
49ers projected to have 11 NFL draft picks to bolster 2024 roster
“The 49ers are in line to pick up the maximum of four compensatory selections based on their net losses during last year’s free-agent signing period, per Over The Cap.”
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