With a new general manager and head coach on board to help right the ship in San Francisco, the 49ers made quite the splash in the free agent market and wasted little time to do so. In just the first 49 hours (instead of the first 48, get it?) of NFL free agency, the 49ers brain trust of John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan signed a plethora of new talent as the franchise looks to turn the page under its newest regime. Day 1 of free agency opened with the Niners signing seven players to come aboard -- QB Brian Hoyer, WR Pierre Garcon, WR Marquis Goodwin, TE Logan Paulsen, FB Kyle Juszczyk, K Robbie Gould and LB Malcolm Smith. More signatures would hit the dotted-line on Day 2 as QB Matt Barkley, WR Aldrick Robinson, DB Don Jones and LB Brock Coyle all agreed to contracts to round out San Francisco's busy free-agent frenzy. But GM John Lynch began his new line of work even earlier than that.
With defense being the glaring weakness for San Francisco after allowing the most yards (both total and rushing) and points in franchise history this past season, the 49ers were quick to land a run-stuffer in DT Earl Mitchell who was recently released by the Miami Dolphins. Other early signings included WR DeAndre Carter and CB K'Waun Williams as well as Jeremy Kerley who was inked to a new three-year contract extension after leading the team in receptions (64) and receiving yards (667) in 2016. It's safe to say Shanahan is trying to duplicate what he had on offense in Atlanta by contacting players he's already familiar with and why wouldn't he? Carcon for example ran amok in Shanahan's system, totaling a career-best in receptions (113), targets (184), and yards (1,346) with the Redskins in 2013. Tight-end Logan Paulsen also served under Shanahan for all four of his years with Washington from 2010-13 and is known for being an exceptional blocker at the tight-end position. Receiver Aldrick Robinson is another player that is well familiar with Shanahan, having followed him around the league from Washington for three years to Atlanta this past season where he hauled in a season-high 111 receiving yards on four receptions vs the 49ers in Week 15.
There's also receiver and Olympian Marquise Goodwin who provides Shanahan with a burst of speed on offense, allowing him to stretch the field and help fill the void of the recently released Torrey Smith. And then there's the unknown of DeAndre Carter who grew up in San Jose just a stones throw away from Levi's Stadium and was a notable receiver at Sacramento State receiving FCS First-Team All-American honors in 2014 but went undrafted and has yet to hit the field in an NFL regular season game. All Shanahan is missing in terms of targets is a go up and get it receiver like he had in Julio Jones. However, that one will be much harder to come by as Jones is hands down the best receiver in the league and a once in a decade type talent. But we could all expect a receiver or two to be selected by San Francisco in April's Draft. After making the Pro Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2016, the 49ers made Kyle Juszczyk the highest-paid fullback in league history with a four-year, $21 Million contract. The signing comes a year after the team did away with the fullback position under head coach Chip Kelly and some reports say Juszczyk could've signed for more elsewhere but took less to play in Shanahan's system. Expected to be another target for the quarterback to throw to, the versatile fullback out of Harvard who caught 78 passes over the last two seasons will be used by Shanahan much like he used Patrick DiMarco in Atlanta.
As for the most important position in all of football -- quarterback, the 49ers finally added two QB's to the roster after Colin Kaepernick's recent decision to opt out left a gaping hole at the position. Veteran QB Brian Hoyer was the first to land via a 2-year deal after serving last season as Jay Cutler's backup before being forced into the starting role after Cutler sustained an injury in Week 2. Hoyer played well for the Bears and became the first QB in franchise history to throw for over 300 yards in four consecutive games before a broken arm ended his season in Week 7. Hoyer finished the season with six touchdowns and zero interceptions before being replaced by Matt Barkley who coincidentally signed a 2-year pact with the Niners a day after Hoyer did. Since falling from grace and once upon a time being projected as not only the first quarterback taken in the 2012 Draft but the first pick overall, the former USC Trojan has yet to prove that he's capable of being anything but a backup QB at the NFL level. Nonetheless, he and Hoyer will more than likely be competing alongside whoever the third and possibly fourth quarterback is come training camp.
Another pair of shoes to fill will be those of kicker Phil Dawson who signed with the rival Arizona Cardinals and will now be replaced in San Francisco by long-time Bears kicker Robbie Gould who agreed to a two-year deal after signing late last season with the New York Giants where he converted on all six of his field goal attempts. At the time of his departure from Chicago, Gould had set franchise records for the most field goals made (276), field goal percentage (85.9), field goals made from 50-yards or more (23) and total points scored (1,207). Here's to hoping he can duplicate those numbers in a 49er uniform as the 42-year old Uncle Phil was a favorite among the fans and players alike.
Back to the defensive side and with the 49ers switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 scheme on defense, linebacker Malcolm Smith who had a disappointing two-year stint across the Bay with the Raiders, will try and rebound under new 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Like Shanahan who targeted multiple players he was familiar with, Saleh spent three seasons with Smith in Seattle where he served as the Seahawks' defensive quality control coach and watched from the sidelines as Smith took home Super Bowl MVP honors in Super Bowl 48. Hopefully the two reuniting together again in the NFC West can do Smith some good. Two defensive players signed to help make an impact on special-teams is linebacker Brock Coyle and defensive back Don Jones. Though lots of work has been done in the short time Shanahan and Lynch have been with the team, there's still plenty of work to be done in preparation of the 2017-18 season and the Draft is the next area of focus.
It's worth noting that newly hired general manager John Lynch has already matched former Niners GM Trent Baalke's free-agnet signings from 2012 to 2016 in a matter of days. 49er fans haven't been the only ones giddy about the team's recent acquisitions as media members from both NFL Network (Ian Rapoport) and ESPN (John Clayton) have taken a liking to San Francisco's moves and praised them for adding depth and spending wisely opposed to shelling out cash to the top-tier names on the market. These deals have already made them one of the most improved teams in the league according to Clayton who ranked them fourth just behind Jacksonville, Detroit and Tennessee. Sure a few of the deals might have been slight overpays, but with more than enough in spending money and John Lynch in the drivers seat for the first time, it was to be expected. Not to mention the fact that incoming players know the rebuild in San Francisco is a process and thus a few more dollars will be needed to attract free-agents. That could all change in the coming years, though, if and when we begin to see positive results on the field.
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Week 13 - In a match-up between the NFC's two worst teams -- the (2-9) Chicago Bears and the (1-11) San Francisco 49ers, the struggle would continue at damp and snowy Soldier Field. The poor conditions with slush-like snow falling from the sky helped make for an even uglier brand of football than we've grown accustomed to seeing from both teams this year. With the 49ers still seeking their first road win since a meeting with the Bears last December, neither team would complete a pass in the opening quarter as it was the ground game that both teams relied heavily on in the early going. That would be especially true for San Francisco as nearly every passing play was either incomplete or ended in a quarterback sack as QB Colin Kaepernick spent much of his time either on the turf or struggling to find the open man on Sunday. As if the elements weren't enough for the 49ers signal-caller to deal with, he had his former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio on the opposing side, dialing up plays that proved to be a headache for Kaepernick and coach Chip Kelly's 49er offense.
With 23 run plays to 10 passing plays for San Francisco in the first half, we would get a steady diet of Carlos Hyde who tallied 92 rushing yards on the afternoon and helped the 49ers dominate in the time of possession department in the first half as they held the ball for 20 of the games first 30 minutes. Somewhat of a surprise considering San Francisco entered the game ranked last in the league in time of possession. Sadly, they would manage to score only six points in all that time as a pair of Phil Dawson field goals was all San Francisco had to show for despite the time advantage. With Chicago pinned back in their own end zone on fourth down, 49ers backup running back Shaun Draughn would get a hand on a Pat O'Donnell punt attempt which helped put the Niners in position to kick their first field goal. Draughn would come up big yet again on special-teams as he stripped Bears return man Deonte Thompson of the ball on the ensuing kick, thus setting up another 49er field goal to make it a 6-0 San Francisco lead.
With just under two minutes to go before halftime and Bears quarterback Matt Barkley still without a completion, the former USC Trojan would begin completing pass after pass as he stringed together four completions on the ensuing drive. Following a controversial pass interference call in the end zone which put the Bears in business at the 1-yard line, Barkley handed the ball off to his rookie running back Jordan Howard who did the rest by punching it in for the go-ahead touchdown. The go-ahead score would be the start of 26 unanswered-points scored by Chicago and the first of three rushing touchdowns on the afternoon by Howard. Adding to his busy afternoon, Howard finished with 117 yards rushing, becoming the ninth back to eclipse the 100-yard mark against the 49ers defense this year. Putting that dismal number into perspective, no other team has allowed more than four 100-yard rushers this season. Sadly, that wouldn't be the most woeful stat of the day for San Francisco as that dubious honor would belong to Colin Kaepernick who was replaced by Blaine Gabbert with 12:55 remaining in the fourth quarter after throwing for only 4 yards on 1-of-5 pass attempts.
Making matters worse for Kaepernick who has had somewhat of a roller coaster campaign in 2016, he would watch Gabbert log more passing yards on his first play of action (an 18-yard completion to Jeremy Kerley) than Kaepernick had in the entire three quarters he spent on the field. Gabbert would finish with 35 yards passing on 4 of 10 attempts before being taken down in his own end zone for a safety in the final minutes of San Francisco's 26-6 loss. After factoring in the six total sacks that the 49ers quarterbacks would suffer, San Francisco combined for a total of 6 net passing yards, the second lowest mark in franchise history. It would also be the fewest yards allowed by a Bears team since the 1985 Monsters of Midway Chicago Bears team that won the franchise's one and only Super Bowl. As for their offense, the 26-points scored by Chicago would be a season-high in what would end up being the first career win for Matt Barkley who finished the game with 192 yards passing on 11-of-18 attempts. The 49ers will now at least have a top-4 pick in next year's NFL Draft as their franchise-worst losing-skid has now reached 11 games. Meanwhile, Chicago improves to 3-9 on the year.
Week 14 Preview - With the 49ers returning home to face the 3-9 New York Jets who are coming off a 41-10 blowout loss at home to the Colts on Monday Night Football, San Francisco will find themselves in rare territory as odds makers have them favored by 3 points, something we've seen very little of this season. Currently suffering a four-game losing streak of their own, the Jets have been one of the most disappointing teams of the season and are likely to press the reset button at seasons end with speculation regarding the potential firing of head coach Todd Bowles. Like Chip Kelly, Bowles has had a quarterback carousel of his own to deal with with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith and now Bryce Petty who will make his second career start on Sunday. Petty, drafted last year out of Baylor, started in a Week 10 loss to the Rams in which he threw for 163 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. With Jets fans hoping they've got their quarterback for the future, a game against the lowly 49ers defense might not be a very good gauge to figure out if Petty is in fact the solution to their problem. As for their defense, New York's strong D-line might cause problems for San Francisco's run game, forcing them to rely through the air which isn't very promising considering their most recent performance. Thankfully, there won't be any snow or subzero temperatures to worry about in this one.
Noteworthy: 49ers Pro Bowl offensive tackle Joe Staley will miss his first game of the season on Sunday with a hamstring injury, snapping a streak of 92 consecutive games started.
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