remdinded me of 'Niners-Cardinals game. A few comments:
1. Higgins TD was beautiful play call, well-executed. Sold well by Murray; nifty catch and footwork by Higgins;
2. Did anyone else find Tom Brady off-puttingly LOUD in his color commentary? I actually think his comments/insights are good, but he needs to not yell so much. This is one of the few times that "tone it down" has literal application.
3. Early in the season, I was going to admit that my opinion that Purdy was "just another guy" undersold him as an NFL QB. I thought he played particularly well in S.F.'s first loss of the season (or was it the second L against the Rams?). But then he has games like the last one against the Cardinals where his physical limitations come into play - 2 picks off deflections - and I revert to my belief that there are 20 guys out there who would be as productive in this offense as Purdy is. (And btw, that last pick was really bad, considering Kittle was wide open on shorter route - should have passed to him for medium gain, instead of going for bigger wind up/tougher throw). He wasn't great agaisnt NE, either. But he is a vry good QB; just not a great one.
4. But fundamentally, S.F. has 2 problems. #1, they can't stop the run. #2, Shanahan still doesn't "get" bigger-picture game management, which usually manifests in undue infatuation with the passing game. The former is a "this year" problem (though D was leaking oil on this last season, too). The latter is a "forever" problem with Shanahan. And I think it will prevent the 'Niners from ever winning a SB - at least as this window closes. (Once SF signs Purdy to $60+M contract, as most predict will happen, the run to NFC Championship games is over). And that is really pretty shocking, given how well-conceived Shanahan's offenses generally are. Maybe he gets too hung up on wanting to show off/be pretty, when the correct move in Q4 is to methodically run the ball down the field, use up clock, and leave the opponent with little/no time to respond. I don't think Shanahan has ever really appreciated this. I mean, even in the first Super Bowl against Kansas City, so many commentators have said "If Jimmy just completes that long pass, then S.F. wins." I could not disagree more. There was plenty of time for KC to get into GW FG range had the long pass been completed for a TD. And I have little doubt Mahomes would have done just that. The lack of bigger-picture, end-game management is a blind spot for Shanahan, that crops up too often.
1. Higgins TD was beautiful play call, well-executed. Sold well by Murray; nifty catch and footwork by Higgins;
2. Did anyone else find Tom Brady off-puttingly LOUD in his color commentary? I actually think his comments/insights are good, but he needs to not yell so much. This is one of the few times that "tone it down" has literal application.
3. Early in the season, I was going to admit that my opinion that Purdy was "just another guy" undersold him as an NFL QB. I thought he played particularly well in S.F.'s first loss of the season (or was it the second L against the Rams?). But then he has games like the last one against the Cardinals where his physical limitations come into play - 2 picks off deflections - and I revert to my belief that there are 20 guys out there who would be as productive in this offense as Purdy is. (And btw, that last pick was really bad, considering Kittle was wide open on shorter route - should have passed to him for medium gain, instead of going for bigger wind up/tougher throw). He wasn't great agaisnt NE, either. But he is a vry good QB; just not a great one.
4. But fundamentally, S.F. has 2 problems. #1, they can't stop the run. #2, Shanahan still doesn't "get" bigger-picture game management, which usually manifests in undue infatuation with the passing game. The former is a "this year" problem (though D was leaking oil on this last season, too). The latter is a "forever" problem with Shanahan. And I think it will prevent the 'Niners from ever winning a SB - at least as this window closes. (Once SF signs Purdy to $60+M contract, as most predict will happen, the run to NFC Championship games is over). And that is really pretty shocking, given how well-conceived Shanahan's offenses generally are. Maybe he gets too hung up on wanting to show off/be pretty, when the correct move in Q4 is to methodically run the ball down the field, use up clock, and leave the opponent with little/no time to respond. I don't think Shanahan has ever really appreciated this. I mean, even in the first Super Bowl against Kansas City, so many commentators have said "If Jimmy just completes that long pass, then S.F. wins." I could not disagree more. There was plenty of time for KC to get into GW FG range had the long pass been completed for a TD. And I have little doubt Mahomes would have done just that. The lack of bigger-picture, end-game management is a blind spot for Shanahan, that crops up too often.
