The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Chargers had a joint practice on Tuesday, and the early reports are the Bolts looked like the better team on both sides of the ball.
That’s actually great news for the Niners because it will serve as a wake-up call ahead of the regular season.
The reverse happened last week against the Tennessee Titans. We heard about how great quarterback Brock Purdy looked carving up Tennessee’s defense and how San Francisco's defense looked good going against Cam Ward of the Titans.
That’s all well and good, but it was against the Titans, a team that'll likely be one of the worst squads in the NFL this season.
The Chargers are a much more challenging test. Justin Herbert is a very talented quarterback and Mike McDaniel is a great offensive mind. San Francisco’s defense got exposed going up against that group as the Chargers were able to move the ball with ease, and the secondary got torched on multiple occasions.
This does not mean the 49ers need to pull any alarm bells or start cutting guys, but it does mean the secondary has to look itself in the mirror and figure out how to fix things going forward.
49ers can use brutal Chargers practice as motivation to improve
Getting a wake-up call in August is a lot better than getting one in December. Guys like cornerback Renardo Green and safety Ji’Ayir Brown know they have something to prove this season, so if they look back at the tape from this performance and get motivated by it, that means they’ll put more work in these next few weeks to get ready for the regular season.
The offense can take it as motivation as well. Purdy himself said it was not a great day for the offense, but obviously, the unit was going up against some solid players. Even though the Niners have a lot of weapons on offense, they’re an old group and will go through stretches where they struggle to put up points like any other team.
Dealing with that adversity will be of great importance throughout the season.
The Chargers should be a pretty solid team this season. It seems like analysts say that every year, and then the Bolts go 11-6 and get bounced from the playoffs in the first round, but it seems like it’s only a matter of time before they put all the pieces together.
If nothing else, at least San Francisco will probably take its Week 15 matchup against L.A. a bit more seriously. If the Niners are in playoff contention, that game could have some pretty huge ramifications, so they’ll have to bring their best stuff.
There’s no reason for alarm after Tuesday’s practice. In fact, it’s a positive because the one constant in an NFL season is adversity.
Dealing with it in the preseason is the best way to prepare for it when it inevitably comes from September to January.
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