Niner Noise’s Peter Panacy joins KNBR to talk Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers preseason

Niner Noise site expert Peter Panacy joined KNBR 680’s Kevin Frandsen and Drew Hoffar to talk all things Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers’ preseason.

The San Francisco 49ers just wrapped up their second of four preseason games last weekend, this time losing to the Houston Texans 16-13 at NRG Stadium Saturday night.

Despite the loss, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the first-team offense looked pretty solid over two extended drives. The first culminated in a touchdown to wide receiver Trent Taylor. And while the second drive was thwarted by two penalties on center Weston Richburg, which led to an interception off the fingertips of rookie wide receiver Dante Pettis, one has to think the Niners offense is starting to jell heading towards the regular season.

Monday night, I joined the 49ers’ flagship radio station, KNBR 680 in San Francisco, to talk with hosts Kevin Frandsen and Drew Hoffar about the game, Garoppolo’s efforts and other ongoings with the Niners this preseason.

“One of the things that stood out, unlike his first drive against Dallas a little bit ago, was the offense had a little more continuity and a little more rhythm,” I noted on Garoppolo’s efforts in Houston. “They moved the ball more effectively. And of course, in the red zone, finding Trent Taylor on a nice pass. A little bit of innovation. …

“Overall, I think the first-team offense looked pretty solid.”

On a frustrating note, however, the Niners have now given up two touchdowns on opening defensive stands too. In preseason Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys, quarterback Dak Prescott found wide receiver Michael Gallup for a 30-yard touchdown with 49ers cornerback Jimmie Ward in coverage.

Last Saturday, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson hit former Niners wideout Bruce Ellington for a one-yard score.

It’s important to note game planning in preseason games is almost nonexistent. So one shouldn’t read too much into drives, scoring and scheme. It is important to gain some consistency and rhythm, however. San Francisco has shown that in some areas. Not so much in others.

One of the topics we discussed Monday night was the NFL’s new helmet/shoulder-leading rule, which has been the source of much frustration.

The Niners were flagged twice for this Saturday night — once on special teams ace Raheem Mostert, and another time against EDGE Jeremiah Attaochu. Both calls were questionable at best.

My conclusion, however, was the league was going to encourage officials to make calls necessary in the preseason in order to garner a library, of sorts, in order to examine consistencies and trends from each call. From there, adjustments can be made ahead of the regular season.

Former NFL Vice President of Officiating and current Fox Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira confirmed this Tuesday morning while appearing on Sacramento’s KHTK 1140 The Drive.

It’s not a perfect system, but neither is the rule. And this certainly isn’t going to be the last time we hear of it.

At any rate, you can check out my entire interview on behalf of Niner Noise with KNBR by clicking the link below:

Meanwhile, the Niners get ready for their third preseason game of 2018 — a showdown with the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 4:30 p.m. ET.

As always, stay tuned to Niner Noise for all your 49ers coverage and analysis.