The are probably not going to the playoffs this year, but Week 3's definitely offered a semblance of hope for fans who believe Kyle Shanahan can turn things in the right direction. And the turn could come a little bit faster than people expect.Sunday night's 32-31 lo s to the provided a couple of clear examples of why it's OK to be bullish on the 49ers as a better team than people expect in 2017.Defensively, there is a core in place, particularly with respect to the front seven. , , and represent an impre sive group of pa s rushers who helped to put the squeeze on Sunday night, exposing the Vikings offensive line as not quite upgraded
Craig Stammen Jersey enough after the offseason additions of and . might be a guy to check out if you're making wagers on Defensive Rookie of the Year. For all the off-field flags, when you see him out on the field pursuing guys, he looks like he belongs. It showed on the very first play of the night from scrimmage. Foster's play recognition is outstanding and his pursuit skills are excellent.He has fantastic technique and just drives through guys.Big and fast, he is a lethal tackler. Another monster hit for Reuben Foster. He's the real deal. NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) Offensively, the 49ers do not have a ton of elite players. But they have a group of players that can work in a Shanahan scheme. Going with as your starting quarterback is a sub-optimal move, but he is an experienced trigger man in that offensive system and went 7-6 as a starter under Shanahan in 2014 when the two were in Cleveland. was treated as an afterthought this offseason because he wasn't believed to match what Shanahan would want in a running back. But let's be real here: talent wins the day in the NFL, and Hyde is loaded with talent
Trevor Hoffman Jersey . . connects with for another TD! NFL (@NFL) looks eerily similar to , who broke out under Shanahan last year with the , serving as a second or third receiver who can blow the top off any defense. is fast.Like, REALLY fast. NFL (@NFL) And , for any faults he might have (old, limited ceiling), is a really reliable No. 1 option and a potential target hog in this offense. The pieces don't have to be great, they just have to fit with what Shanahan wants to do and be elevated by the scheme.If that happens -- and it looks totally po sible -- this is a team that can win six or seven games. That is, if you buy into what we saw on Sunday night, and the defensive front seven can manage to cover up any warts in the secondary. The 49ers might not have the easiest schedule in the world, and the division is going to be difficult, but there is cause for optimism.Glennon gets the job (more or le s)Things were getting awkward enough in Chicago's quarterback room that Pam Oliver even asked how awkward it was getting. Standing on the sideline during Fox's broadcast of Week 3's matchup between the and the , Oliver craned her neck and fired away a couple of questions to Glennon that were nothing short of
Erick Aybar Jersey pointed. The lanky QB handled it well, but it underlies the bigger i sue in Chicago, one we touched on last week: . Fortunately for Glennon, he just made things a lot le s weird by performing well in Sunday's Week 3 preseason dre s rehearsal.He finished the day 11-for-18 for 134 yards with a touchdown. His numbers were worse than at the end of the day, but the numbers shouldn't tell the whole story this preseason, what with Glennon consistently going against first-team defenses.It's also hard not to believe there is some inherent -- or perhaps explicit -- promise from GM Ryan Pace to Glennon about playing time in 2017. Glennon signed with Chicago to get an opportunity to start and while no one will feel bad for a guy making $16 million not to play football, you need to understand where Glennon is coming from when it comes to his playing time situation. He once sat for years behind at N.C. State, despite coming in as a highly-recruited quarterback under Tom O'Brien. He never once complained. When he thought he was the future in Tampa Bay, after being drafted in the third round by Greg Schiano (who recruited him at Rutgers back in the day), he was displaced by , the No. 1 overall pick. Such is life in the NFL, but once again, Glennon never made a peep. He was a good teammate in both situations and he waited patiently until he was free to find a place to start.Now he's on a short leash with Trubisky locked in as the long-term future. But he will have some opportunity, having acquitted himself well enough in the preseason to justify the decision by Chicago to start him over Trubisky when the regular season begins.It fits the Bears plan too: Chicago wants Trubisky to sit and learn, to develop in a redshirt season on the bench and in practice, at least for as long as the Bears are functionally alive this season. That's where this will get tricky before it gets easy. There's almost no chance we don't see Trubisky this season. The Bears schedule is absolutely brutal and they are already down their top pa s catcher in after the wideout on Sunday.Here is the Bears schedule before their Week 9 bye: They open at home against the Falcons, then travel to play the Bucs, are at home against the , at the , home against the Vikings, at the , home against the and then travel to New Orleans to play the . You've got to believe that 0-8 is absolutely on the table.At that point, it would be hard to imagine the Bears sticking with their guns and letting Glennon ride the
Austin Allen Jersey season out. Maybe they're better than we think coming out of the gate. If so, Glennon will get a large portion of the credit, a suming the offense is productive. The NFL's new rule on defensele s receiversOft-penalized linebacker for a hit on Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman in Week 2 of the preseason. The hit and suspension brings serious attention to a new rule the NFL put in place this offseason designed to expand the definition of a defensele s receiver.The addendum is in red here:There isn't a better example of the new rule being broken than Burfict uncorking an unnece sary hit on fullback during a 36-pa s completion from to in the first quarter of the team's Week 2 matchup.The shot isn't obviously "dirty" from an objective point of view, but it is clearly against the rules. Don't think Vontaze Burfict hit is dirty in "traditional" sense but clearly a violation of new NFL rule making receivers defensele s. Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) Given that the pa s was not going to Sherman, that Burfict pursued him from the side without Sherman being aware of his presence and that the contact was clearly unnece sary, it should not be a surprise this is deemed illegal. Get mad all you want about the NFL GOING SOFT JUST LIKE THIS COUNTRY, but the rule is the rule.As for the suspension, five games is unduly harsh, sure, but Burfict has to
Nick Martini Jersey learn his le son. He is consistently endangering other players and his fellow teammates. If you want to make sure pe
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