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https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/12/25/j...an-john-lynch-san-francisco-49ers-nfl-week-16
Jimmy Garoppolo at the Helm of a Late-Season Revivial in San Francisco
By ALBERT BREER
THEARON W. HENDERSON/GETTY IMAGES SPORT
In September, 49ers GM John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan, knowing they had a massive rebuild ahead of them, did what they could to keep their young team positive, so they made an effort to applaud the little victories along the way. Less than four months later, after San Francisco’s 25–23 win over Tennessee in Week 15, it was the quarterback who wasn’t there for that, Jimmy Garoppolo, illustrating just how far the team had come—not to mention where he might be capable of taking them.
This was the Niners’ third straight victory after a 1–10 start, and yet Garoppolo was resigned to leave Lynch with this after beating the Titans: “We can be so much better.”
“He’s got that New England in him, and that’s what I noticed when I was in New England for a short time,” says Lynch, polishing off a Bud Light after the Niners took out another contender in the Jaguars on Sunday. “It’s not that they don’t celebrate and appreciate the wins, but they always look at what they could’ve done better. He really has that down. And that’s contagious in my mind, particularly when you play that position.
“It’s made a really young football team, with a bunch of rookies playing, take that perspective. Kyle [Shanahan] does a great job with that anyway, but you get special in this league, when not only your coaches are doing it, but it’s coming from the players Jimmy really has a great grasp of that. I’m sure tomorrow—Christmas—he’ll be looking at things we could’ve done better against Jacksonville. That’s something you might’ve expected but to see its influence on a team has been special and cool.”
It’s important to remember and emphasize here—the Niners are still 5–10, after a 44–33 win against the Jaguars on Christmas Eve, and with their season ending next week, Lynch and Shanahan still have plenty of work to do when it comes to building the roster up to the level of a potential contender.
But as we wrap up the second-to-last Sunday of the regular season … Man, it’s tough not to get swept away in what the future might hold in San Francisco. The 2017 season has seen quite a bit of change, which we’ll see on display in the playoffs in a couple of weeks. The Rams won their division and have the inside track for the NFC’s No. 3 seed.
Yet, there are few things out there more intriguing than Tom Brady’s understudy, his 38-year-old head coach and their non-traditional GM somehow, and very suddenly, turning the NFL on its ear in Week 16. Remember, Garoppolo sat for four weeks before becoming the starter. Since then? The Niners are 4–0, and Garoppolo’s passer rating is hovering near 100.
“The verbiage, all of that, it took some time,” Lynch says. “But the poise, the way the guys respond to him, it became obvious. I think the best compliment you can make to a player and to a leader—do you make people around you better? And it was very obvious from Day 1, he makes everybody better. I mean, he makes our crowd better. This place has been juiced ever since he got here. It’s sure fun right now.”
Maybe even less likely is what’s happened in Los Angeles behind the youngest coach in NFL history—31-year-old Sean McVay—and his suddenly swaggering Rams.
Fresh off a beatdown of the Seahawks, McVay’s group went nose-to-nose with a truckload of letdown potential. They were traveling cross-country. They were facing an unfamiliar opponent. It was Christmas Eve. But none of it mattered.
On the bus ride to the Nashville airport after a division-clinching 27–23 win, team COO Kevin Demoff texted, “Sean and Todd Gurley—two special human beings.”
Overshadowed for much of the season by the rise of second-year quarterback Jared Goff, Gurley exploded, again, for 118 yards on 22 carries and 158 yards on 10 catches, including a spectacular 80-yard touchdown that amounted to his vision turning a screen pass into a track meet. Gurley’s now leading the league with 2,093 yards from scrimmage. And he might be the league MVP, if not for Tom Brady.
And the crazy thing is, Gurley and the Rams might be upstaged next week in facing a team that’s six games behind them in the NFC West.
Both the Niners and Rams (a combined 6–26 last year) boast a 4–1 record since Thanksgiving, and the idea that Garoppolo’s crew could mess with Los Angeles’ seeding and send their rivals into the playoffs on a sour note isn’t exactly far-fetched. That’s mainly because there are these things that keep happening with the Niners that make you forget what a mess they’ve been the last few years.
One of those was Garoppolo’s last touchdown pass Sunday—a five-yarder he flicked sidearm around oncoming Jaguar corner Aaron Colvin, and against his body while rolling left, into the belly of waiting receiver Trent Taylor—to put the game away.
“He’s made a lot of those,” Lynch says. “Even that first game against Seattle, he went to his left and, at first, you’re going, ‘My gosh, is that a smart throw?’ But he’s extremely confident, and he gets it in small windows because he can. It gets it out so quick, and he’s highly accurate even when he’s rolling both to the right and the left. And he’s a really good foot athlete, so he can escape.”
In a larger sense, he’s quite literally breathing life into a Niner franchise that was progressing under Lynch and Shanahan but could use the jolt.
“This place is coming to life again, man,” Lynch continued. “It’s really fun. A couple weeks ago, I’m not a big Twitter guy, but I was tweeting like I never have, because I just want this young team to feel like this is what happens when you play well.”
They’ll all get one more week of it before the reality of the offseason hits next Monday. All this fun will be on hold for another eight months, and the team will need to figure out how it’ll use all its draft picks and the $100 million in cap space burning a hole in its 2018 pockets.
But comparatively? This is pretty good. The last three offseasons kicked off with coaching searches in Santa Clara. This one will kick off with a contract negotiation with the quarterback that’s taken a month to win over a region.
“Great problem to have,” Lynch says. “Everyone’s looking for that guy, and we feel like we’ve got him in the building. We’re gonna do everything we can, and we have great respect for his representation in Don [Yee], and we’re gonna get to work. He has great perspective, he’s been through this before. We’ll get together and try to make it happen.
“We’ll probably have to have some patience, because these things don’t happen right away, but we’re gonna make every effort to get this done and secure him and make him a Niner for a long time to come.”
And remember how Lynch expects Garoppolo to spend his Christmas? It’s a pretty good indicator that all that money will be well-spent.
------------
https://www.ninersnation.com/2017/12/26/16818996/nfl-playoff-picture-week-17-rams-49ers
Maybe the Rams choose to take it easy in Week 17?
The 49ers travel to face the Rams to close out the season
By David Fucillo
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58109101/898126562.jpg.0.jpg)
Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
The NFL is heading into Week 17 with a lot less drama than we’ve had in recent years. Seven of the eight division winners are determined, and the biggest matchups will be for the final wild card berth in the AFC.
The San Francisco 49ers travel to face the Los Angeles Rams in Week 17, and it remains to be seen just how much the Rams will want to win this game. They have won the NFC West, but due to tiebreakers, cannot earn a first round bye. They are locked in to either the third or fourth seed depending on who wins the NFC South.
The question for 49ers fans is how much the Rams will want to win on Sunday vs. rest their players for wild card weekend. As the three seed, the Rams would host the Atlanta Falcons or Seattle Seahawks, and with a win advance to face the second-seeded Minnesota Vikings.
As the four seed, the Rams would host either New Orleans or Carolina, depending on who does not win the NFC South. With a win their divisional round opponent would depend on who wins the 3/6 game. If the three seed wins, the Rams would face the top seeded Philadelphia Eagles. If the six seed win, they would face the Vikings.
All of this is to say, do they see this as the best chance to position themselves to face the Eagles in the second round? Or do they just play to win and let the chips fall where they may?
I would much prefer the 49ers get everything the Rams have to offer. It would give them a bigger challenge to close out the season than if the Rams rest some of their starters. My guess is McVay plays for the win, but we’ll see what he has to say later this week.
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I hope they bring their A game
we just beat one of the best teams in the AFC, now I want to see how we play against the NFC’s best.
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3rd seed much more favorable than 4th
I don’t think they pull many starters
---------
If the Rams win during wild-card weekend, of the other teams that would be playing on divisional-weekend of the playoffs with the third seed they would have home field advantage against one of the three. They would need a lower-seeded team playing on the road win an upset.
Also, maybe the Eagles are a nicer playoff draw right now without Wentz, though I don’t think many NFL players/coaches have that mentality. My biggest fear is that Seattle somehow makes it in and beats up on a weakened Eagles team to get in the NFC Championship game.
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Maybe they do make it easier...
that doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t beat them otherwise.
-----------
It’s a new rivalry that is starting this year, I don’t really want the Rams to go easy on us
----------
I would rest some of the their players, but goff and the offense need to play( minus gurley). They are a young team that needs the reps in my opinion.
---------
I’ve seen coaches rest the starters and lose the first playoff game. Maybe you start your starters and play them for a half, then trott in the backups. I dunno.. I think it depends on the temperature of the team. For this game tho… I don’t care.
I’ll take a W against the rams any day of the week and twice on Sundays, and I hope we dominate and win by more than just a little! That would give the rams something to look forward to going into the playoffs!
--------
trying to manipulate seeding is a fool’s errand. if you’re worrying about who you might be playing, or not playing, you’ve pretty much lost already. the mindset has to be, they don’t care. beat whoever’s in front of you. in order to be the best, you have to beat the best.
----------
The Rams
could do the sensible thing and rest some of their starters for the playoffs.
Or they could still be butt hurt about being the only team the Niners beat last year and play to win.
I’m thinkin’ they’ll go with their starters until they get a lead and then pull them.
In other words, their starters are playing the whole game because the Rams are goin’ down.
---------
The Rams and 49ers rivalry is coming back to prominence. These two teams could be battling it out for control of the division for the next several seasons….but we aren’t there just yet.
It would go a long way to beat the Rams this Sunday. I’d love to send them into the playoffs with their tails between their legs, licking their wounds.
This rivalry could be epic. Two of the best offensive minds in th NFL, with good defenses, going toe-to-toe. It’s been too long.
----------
I would love nothing more than to dominate the rams so thoroughly that they pull Goff! I say, send them into the playoffs trying ever so hard to convince themselves that they were dominated in a game that didn’t matter!
..And my 2017 football season would be complete!!
Jimmy G Baby!!
-----------
Maybe the 49ers take it easy on the Rams
and rest a few starters. a few more than the Rams do. To keep the game competitive and allow the Rams to feel the full psychological impact of getting Jimmy G’d.
Jimmy Garoppolo at the Helm of a Late-Season Revivial in San Francisco
By ALBERT BREER
THEARON W. HENDERSON/GETTY IMAGES SPORT
In September, 49ers GM John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan, knowing they had a massive rebuild ahead of them, did what they could to keep their young team positive, so they made an effort to applaud the little victories along the way. Less than four months later, after San Francisco’s 25–23 win over Tennessee in Week 15, it was the quarterback who wasn’t there for that, Jimmy Garoppolo, illustrating just how far the team had come—not to mention where he might be capable of taking them.
This was the Niners’ third straight victory after a 1–10 start, and yet Garoppolo was resigned to leave Lynch with this after beating the Titans: “We can be so much better.”
“He’s got that New England in him, and that’s what I noticed when I was in New England for a short time,” says Lynch, polishing off a Bud Light after the Niners took out another contender in the Jaguars on Sunday. “It’s not that they don’t celebrate and appreciate the wins, but they always look at what they could’ve done better. He really has that down. And that’s contagious in my mind, particularly when you play that position.
“It’s made a really young football team, with a bunch of rookies playing, take that perspective. Kyle [Shanahan] does a great job with that anyway, but you get special in this league, when not only your coaches are doing it, but it’s coming from the players Jimmy really has a great grasp of that. I’m sure tomorrow—Christmas—he’ll be looking at things we could’ve done better against Jacksonville. That’s something you might’ve expected but to see its influence on a team has been special and cool.”
It’s important to remember and emphasize here—the Niners are still 5–10, after a 44–33 win against the Jaguars on Christmas Eve, and with their season ending next week, Lynch and Shanahan still have plenty of work to do when it comes to building the roster up to the level of a potential contender.
But as we wrap up the second-to-last Sunday of the regular season … Man, it’s tough not to get swept away in what the future might hold in San Francisco. The 2017 season has seen quite a bit of change, which we’ll see on display in the playoffs in a couple of weeks. The Rams won their division and have the inside track for the NFC’s No. 3 seed.
Yet, there are few things out there more intriguing than Tom Brady’s understudy, his 38-year-old head coach and their non-traditional GM somehow, and very suddenly, turning the NFL on its ear in Week 16. Remember, Garoppolo sat for four weeks before becoming the starter. Since then? The Niners are 4–0, and Garoppolo’s passer rating is hovering near 100.
“The verbiage, all of that, it took some time,” Lynch says. “But the poise, the way the guys respond to him, it became obvious. I think the best compliment you can make to a player and to a leader—do you make people around you better? And it was very obvious from Day 1, he makes everybody better. I mean, he makes our crowd better. This place has been juiced ever since he got here. It’s sure fun right now.”
Maybe even less likely is what’s happened in Los Angeles behind the youngest coach in NFL history—31-year-old Sean McVay—and his suddenly swaggering Rams.
Fresh off a beatdown of the Seahawks, McVay’s group went nose-to-nose with a truckload of letdown potential. They were traveling cross-country. They were facing an unfamiliar opponent. It was Christmas Eve. But none of it mattered.
On the bus ride to the Nashville airport after a division-clinching 27–23 win, team COO Kevin Demoff texted, “Sean and Todd Gurley—two special human beings.”
Overshadowed for much of the season by the rise of second-year quarterback Jared Goff, Gurley exploded, again, for 118 yards on 22 carries and 158 yards on 10 catches, including a spectacular 80-yard touchdown that amounted to his vision turning a screen pass into a track meet. Gurley’s now leading the league with 2,093 yards from scrimmage. And he might be the league MVP, if not for Tom Brady.
And the crazy thing is, Gurley and the Rams might be upstaged next week in facing a team that’s six games behind them in the NFC West.
Both the Niners and Rams (a combined 6–26 last year) boast a 4–1 record since Thanksgiving, and the idea that Garoppolo’s crew could mess with Los Angeles’ seeding and send their rivals into the playoffs on a sour note isn’t exactly far-fetched. That’s mainly because there are these things that keep happening with the Niners that make you forget what a mess they’ve been the last few years.
One of those was Garoppolo’s last touchdown pass Sunday—a five-yarder he flicked sidearm around oncoming Jaguar corner Aaron Colvin, and against his body while rolling left, into the belly of waiting receiver Trent Taylor—to put the game away.
“He’s made a lot of those,” Lynch says. “Even that first game against Seattle, he went to his left and, at first, you’re going, ‘My gosh, is that a smart throw?’ But he’s extremely confident, and he gets it in small windows because he can. It gets it out so quick, and he’s highly accurate even when he’s rolling both to the right and the left. And he’s a really good foot athlete, so he can escape.”
In a larger sense, he’s quite literally breathing life into a Niner franchise that was progressing under Lynch and Shanahan but could use the jolt.
“This place is coming to life again, man,” Lynch continued. “It’s really fun. A couple weeks ago, I’m not a big Twitter guy, but I was tweeting like I never have, because I just want this young team to feel like this is what happens when you play well.”
They’ll all get one more week of it before the reality of the offseason hits next Monday. All this fun will be on hold for another eight months, and the team will need to figure out how it’ll use all its draft picks and the $100 million in cap space burning a hole in its 2018 pockets.
But comparatively? This is pretty good. The last three offseasons kicked off with coaching searches in Santa Clara. This one will kick off with a contract negotiation with the quarterback that’s taken a month to win over a region.
“Great problem to have,” Lynch says. “Everyone’s looking for that guy, and we feel like we’ve got him in the building. We’re gonna do everything we can, and we have great respect for his representation in Don [Yee], and we’re gonna get to work. He has great perspective, he’s been through this before. We’ll get together and try to make it happen.
“We’ll probably have to have some patience, because these things don’t happen right away, but we’re gonna make every effort to get this done and secure him and make him a Niner for a long time to come.”
And remember how Lynch expects Garoppolo to spend his Christmas? It’s a pretty good indicator that all that money will be well-spent.
------------
https://www.ninersnation.com/2017/12/26/16818996/nfl-playoff-picture-week-17-rams-49ers
Maybe the Rams choose to take it easy in Week 17?
The 49ers travel to face the Rams to close out the season
By David Fucillo
Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
The NFL is heading into Week 17 with a lot less drama than we’ve had in recent years. Seven of the eight division winners are determined, and the biggest matchups will be for the final wild card berth in the AFC.
The San Francisco 49ers travel to face the Los Angeles Rams in Week 17, and it remains to be seen just how much the Rams will want to win this game. They have won the NFC West, but due to tiebreakers, cannot earn a first round bye. They are locked in to either the third or fourth seed depending on who wins the NFC South.
The question for 49ers fans is how much the Rams will want to win on Sunday vs. rest their players for wild card weekend. As the three seed, the Rams would host the Atlanta Falcons or Seattle Seahawks, and with a win advance to face the second-seeded Minnesota Vikings.
As the four seed, the Rams would host either New Orleans or Carolina, depending on who does not win the NFC South. With a win their divisional round opponent would depend on who wins the 3/6 game. If the three seed wins, the Rams would face the top seeded Philadelphia Eagles. If the six seed win, they would face the Vikings.
All of this is to say, do they see this as the best chance to position themselves to face the Eagles in the second round? Or do they just play to win and let the chips fall where they may?
I would much prefer the 49ers get everything the Rams have to offer. It would give them a bigger challenge to close out the season than if the Rams rest some of their starters. My guess is McVay plays for the win, but we’ll see what he has to say later this week.
----------
I hope they bring their A game
we just beat one of the best teams in the AFC, now I want to see how we play against the NFC’s best.
--------
3rd seed much more favorable than 4th
I don’t think they pull many starters
---------
If the Rams win during wild-card weekend, of the other teams that would be playing on divisional-weekend of the playoffs with the third seed they would have home field advantage against one of the three. They would need a lower-seeded team playing on the road win an upset.
Also, maybe the Eagles are a nicer playoff draw right now without Wentz, though I don’t think many NFL players/coaches have that mentality. My biggest fear is that Seattle somehow makes it in and beats up on a weakened Eagles team to get in the NFC Championship game.
----------
Maybe they do make it easier...
that doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t beat them otherwise.
-----------
It’s a new rivalry that is starting this year, I don’t really want the Rams to go easy on us
----------
I would rest some of the their players, but goff and the offense need to play( minus gurley). They are a young team that needs the reps in my opinion.
---------
I’ve seen coaches rest the starters and lose the first playoff game. Maybe you start your starters and play them for a half, then trott in the backups. I dunno.. I think it depends on the temperature of the team. For this game tho… I don’t care.
I’ll take a W against the rams any day of the week and twice on Sundays, and I hope we dominate and win by more than just a little! That would give the rams something to look forward to going into the playoffs!
--------
trying to manipulate seeding is a fool’s errand. if you’re worrying about who you might be playing, or not playing, you’ve pretty much lost already. the mindset has to be, they don’t care. beat whoever’s in front of you. in order to be the best, you have to beat the best.
----------
The Rams
could do the sensible thing and rest some of their starters for the playoffs.
Or they could still be butt hurt about being the only team the Niners beat last year and play to win.
I’m thinkin’ they’ll go with their starters until they get a lead and then pull them.
In other words, their starters are playing the whole game because the Rams are goin’ down.
---------
The Rams and 49ers rivalry is coming back to prominence. These two teams could be battling it out for control of the division for the next several seasons….but we aren’t there just yet.
It would go a long way to beat the Rams this Sunday. I’d love to send them into the playoffs with their tails between their legs, licking their wounds.
This rivalry could be epic. Two of the best offensive minds in th NFL, with good defenses, going toe-to-toe. It’s been too long.
----------
I would love nothing more than to dominate the rams so thoroughly that they pull Goff! I say, send them into the playoffs trying ever so hard to convince themselves that they were dominated in a game that didn’t matter!
..And my 2017 football season would be complete!!
Jimmy G Baby!!
-----------
Maybe the 49ers take it easy on the Rams
and rest a few starters. a few more than the Rams do. To keep the game competitive and allow the Rams to feel the full psychological impact of getting Jimmy G’d.
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58114385/851084984.jpg.0.jpg)
