5 reasons to be worried about the 49ers in 2019
By Peter Panacy
There’s always plenty of hype during the offseason, yet these are five reasons why fans should be worried about the San Francisco 49ers heading into 2019.
OK, it’s time for the pessimist’s guide to the San Francisco 49ers in 2019.
Not to play the “Debbie Downer” role — we’ll get to reasons why fans should be excited about the upcoming season later — but one has to acknowledge no team’s offseason is perfect, no team is perfect and there’s plenty that can go wrong over the course of the year.
The Niners, of course, know this well. A year ago, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s campaign was all but awash following torn ACLs to running back Jerick McKinnon and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. There was the off-field fiasco with former Niners linebacker Reuben Foster, and the fact San Francisco set a record low for both interceptions and turnovers generated on defense last season.
Who predicted all those outcomes?
If you’re perennially dreading upcoming seasons and have more worry than hope about the 49ers in 2019, this article is for you. Or, if you’re just wondering what could derail Shanahan and Co.’s efforts this year, read on.
These are five reasons why you should be concerned about the Niners this season.
No. 5: Jimmy Garoppolo Is Still Inexperienced
Speaking of Garoppolo, he still only has 10 career NFL starts under his belt. That’s right, 10.
Comparatively, the Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson, a 2017 NFL Draft pick, has over double that number. Yes, Garoppolo spent the better part of his pro career underneath the tutelage of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. But that doesn’t change the fact Garoppolo still has a lot of on-field learning yet to do.
Garoppolo wasn’t quite as crisp the first three games of 2018 as he was the final five games the previous year. Coming off last year’s ACL tear, he would have spent nearly an entire season in the rehab process rather than developing and honing his on-field abilities.
That could set the 27 year old back in 2019.
Simply put, a reason to worry here is the possibility Garoppolo will go through some unfortunate-but-necessary growing pains over the course of the upcoming season, deadening some of the hype and hope many have for the 49ers offense this year.