49ers’ Week 1 loss to Panthers an eye opener for long-term rebuild.
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers’ uninspiring loss in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers paints a clear picture how far away the Niners are from being a true playoff contender.
The San Francisco 49ers are going to be a bad team in 2017.
Yes, this offseason saw more than just a few rays of hope for a franchise coming off a 2-14 season. All the moves made by general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan seemed right, and it’s hard to ignore the feel-good notions emanating from Santa Clara since last February.
Yet all that came to a crashing halt in Week 1 to the Carolina Panthers.
San Francisco 49ers
It wasn’t just the Niners lost the game. It’s how they lost it. And a 23-3 drubbing to kick off the Shanahan/Lynch era is anything but a promising start.
The three points scored tells you what you need to know about the offense — a group that mustered a mere two successful conversions on 11 third-down attempts. Quarterback Brian Hoyer isn’t a franchise-savior, but the lackluster offense wasn’t his fault entirely.
Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who was arguably the offensive MVP during training camp, saw a ball sail right through his arms on what would have been a near-touchdown pass. That hurt. And so did the lack of effectiveness along the offensive line.
More on that in a bit, but a total of 217 yards is a far cry from the expectation level fans likely had under Shanahan.
Kyle Shanahan Is Still Learning How to Be a Head Coach
It’s not fair to throw Shanahan under the bus after just one game. But Shanahan’s efforts in his first real contest were less than adequate.
The most glaring question marks were going for it on two fourth downs in the first half. Yes, field position inside the Carolina side of the 50-yard line mandated this aggression, and it’s moderately refreshing to see Shanahan take the initiative.
But these fourth-down tries are do-or-die situations. Shanahan is a genius if they work, but foolish if they don’t. Unfortunately, the latter applied here.
Yet another major question mark was the frequency of play action in the second half at a time the Niners were losing big. Play action only works if the defense expects a running play, and teams don’t run the ball when they’re trailing by a large margin.
And then there are the penalties — 10 of them for 74 yards.
Shanahan is still an offensive genius. There’s no doubting that. But this game showed he’s only at the beginning stages of learning how to effectively run an entire team.
49ers’ Predicted Problem Areas Are Just That, Problems
Earlier this offseason, I broke down how the offensive line and secondary were going to be issues for San Francisco this season.
Related Story: Offensive line and cornerback will be problems for 49ers in 2017
Well, case in point.
On Carolina’s first touchdown play — a 40-yard pass to Panthers wide receiver Russell Shepard — safety Jaquiski Tartt took much of the blame for allowing Shepard to find a crease in the zone.
Tartt should have made the tackle, but covering that area of the field was actually cornerback Dontae Johnson’s responsibility. He was playing in man coverage, not zone, as the play had been called.
You can see Johnson (No. 36) running with a receiver near the first-down line, completely away from his area of coverage:
Bad. Johnson isn’t a starting-caliber cornerback, and the Niners need an upgrade there.
But San Francisco could use more upgrades along its offensive line, especially within the interior.
Starting left guard Zane Beadles, in particular, was a problem. He finished the game with a 23.1 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus’ Jeff Deeney — lowest of any guard in Week 1.
Plays like this illustrate why:
The Niners better hope recently acquired guard Laken Tomlinson is rushed up to par and ready to take over in Week 2.
The Long, Long Road Ahead
Yes, there are some positive notes from Sunday’s loss. San Francisco’s defense held its own for the first half, only giving way after being on the field far too long after halftime. And this unit did a good job defending against the run too — the Niners’ biggest problem area in 2016.
But Sunday’s loss serves as a serious reminder — the 49ers still have a long way to go before the playoffs become a realistic point of discussion.
It’s important to note the Niners couldn’t have completely turned their fortunes around in one offseason. The defense is better, not great. And the offense, while promising before Week 1, is nowhere near the level of respectability we all had hoped for.
If anything, Week 1 was an eye opener for fans, coaches and players alike. It’s going to take time.
Next: Panthers vs. 49ers: Full Week 1 grades, analysis for San Francisco
A lot of it.