San Francisco 49ers: Progress-report grades for each position a quarter through 2017
By Peter Panacy
Special Teams
The 49ers haven’t had too many gaffes on special teams this year, hopefully suggesting coverage units are doing their jobs.
Football Outsiders had the Niners special teams unit ranked No. 5 after Week 3, with a DVOA (defensive value over average) of 6.7 percent. The higher the percentage, the more effective special teams are on a play-by-play basis.
Veteran kicker Robbie Gould has made all 11 of his field-goal attempts — a bonus, considering the Niners have failed to score touchdowns in three of their first four games.
Meanwhile, punter Bradley Pinion is averaging 45.2 yards per punt — up from his average of 44.0 a year ago.
What the 49ers Are Doing Well
The Niners haven’t allowed a single touchdown return thus far through 2017, and the team ranks second in opponents’ punt-return yardage (1.7) through four games, per ESPN.
On the flip side, San Francisco has gotten some modest returns from punt returner Trent Taylor, who is fourth with an average of 11.0 yards per attempt.
And with the 49ers offense failing to put up touchdowns, it’s good Gould has been perfect on his field-goal tries thus far. That’s key moving forward.
What Needs Improvement
Kick returner Victor Bolden hasn’t had the explosive returns we saw in the preseason, which is understandable. Currently, Bolden ranks No. 10 out of 19 qualifiers with a 22.9 kickoff-yards-per-return average.
Not terrible, but not great either. And San Francisco could benefit from some improved field position.
Speaking of field position, the Niners defense is allowing opponents to start on their own 31.4-yard line — 31st in the NFL.
And that Gould missed extra-point attempt in Week 3? That hurt. But at least it was his only miss this season.