Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Monday, September 30th, 2024
“For the second straight game, Purdy resorted to his legs when the passing game was sputtering. He gained 7 yards on the 49ers’ first third down of the opening possession. He picked up another 5 — and a first down — on the second on a drive that stretched 15 plays and ended with a Jake Moody 22-yard field goal. There were also a few nifty throws in which Purdy looked like Fran Tarkenton in ducking out of trouble, scrambling toward the sideline and completing improbable passes before getting hit. He finished 15 of 27 for 288 yards.”
Kawakami: If Brock Purdy has any limits, we haven’t seen them yet
“Shanahan and Purdy both noted that defenses are trying to stop the 49ers’ middle-of-the-field pass attack, disrupt Purdy’s timing and load up against the running game. That can be effective enough, including during the 49ers’ loss to Minnesota two weeks ago, and in the key minutes of the loss to the Rams last weekend. That kind of defense can make the 49ers’ patterned offense look squeezed and slow and make Purdy seem limited. But it also can open up outside lanes for the 49ers’ offense to attack, either by deep pass or a QB scamper.
It gives Purdy the chance to push his own limits, and we haven’t seen that he actually has any.
“The safeties were down tight and [deep] where the ball has gotta go,” Shanahan said of two deep crossing routes that hit for big plays. “And Brock made two good throws; both the guys came down with the play.”
It’s not a brand-new wrinkle. Last season, Purdy had an NFL-best 60 percent completion percentage on passes that traveled 20 or more yards past the line of scrimmage, according to Pro Football Focus. He doesn’t have the strongest arm in the league, but he’s very accurate with the deep ball.”
Okuayinonu’s hellacious motor creates perfect 49ers D-line marriage
“For Okuayinonu, it doesn’t matter if it’s scout-team work or chasing quarterbacks in front of 70,000 screaming fans — he approaches every play as if it’s his last.
“Man, honestly, when I come to practice — you can ask anybody about Sam O — I come to work,” Okuayinonu said. “Even giving looks on the scout team, on offense they be mad at me, like, ‘slow down,’ but that’s just how I approach the game. I approach every game, every practice, every snap with the mindset of it might be my last, so I try to go as hard as I can. And line up and do it all over again.”
Kittle admits doubting 49ers’ play call on spectacular TD grab
“Oh dear, it felt fantastic,” Kittle said regarding his touchdown reception. “Just wasn’t really confident in the play call, because that was something we had originally called from way farther out. When he called it from the [10-yard line], I had to double check with Brock that it was the right play, and I was like, ‘All right, man. Just throw it.’ And he just threw it. So it was pretty fun.”
49ers square their record, but can they get Brandon Aiyuk on an even keel? (paywall)
““You know how it is,” Lenoir said. “College teams, they get those three ‘confidence games.’ They play Western Kentucky and it all starts to come together and they get on a roll.”
Perhaps, as Lenoir declared, the Niners got their groove back, or at least started to.
Next up: Getting Aiyuk to chill out and get with the program.”
49ers’ Fred Warner — ‘best linebacker in the game’ — delivers again with pick 6 (paywall)
“The excellence of Warner to start this season is as significant to the 49ers’ spirit as it is to their scheme. Should San Francisco survive this slow start and regain its championship-level form, it will be in large part because Warner upheld the standard. While the 49ers struggled through injury, offseason drama, inconsistency, rust, and the Super Bowl hangover they’d never admit, Warner’s brilliance performed the double task of making critical plays for the 49ers and indicting their inadequacy.
Greatness is pressure for its neighbors. And Warner looks as great as he’s ever been.
“It’s his preparation,” Brown said. “Dude is always intentional. He goes through every day like it’s game day. That’s the fun part, when he gets out there and actually shows all his preparation off.”