Training Camp Hot Takes: The Biggest Storylines and Week 2 Preview: New York Jets + Should the NFL push back the playoffs?

Season is fast approaching, bad news in Santa Clara, and a delay of the playoffs may be necessary for scheduling conflicts.

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Sep 01, 2020

San Francisco 49ers/YouTube

Training camp is officially over, and while that most likely means the next two weeks will be the slowest 2 weeks ever, still, 2 WEEKS TILL FOOTBALL! Along with a ton of news around the league in the past day or so, the 49ers have also had some big events, including superstar LB Fred Warner being placed on the COVID-19 list. Before people panic, remember, being placed on the list can simply mean that he came in contact with a virus carrier, rather than actually having it himself. Still, this is not good, especially after going nearly a month with no COVID positive tests. The average duration of a stay on the COVID-19 list is about 8 days, so barring a disaster in which Warner does not pass 3 tests in the next 2 weeks, he will be back and ready for Week 1.

The team announced they had 4 players in for tryouts today:

EDGE Kendall Coleman
EDGE DeVonte Lambert
EDGE Cameron Malveaux
LB David Kenney

Coleman is a rookie UDFA out of Syracuse:

Four-year starter at defensive end from 2016-19 ... In 44 games (43 starts), logged 137 tackles (70 solo), 26.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks to go along with two pass breakups and one blocked kick ... Two-time All-ECAC selection ... Tallied four tackles, one sack and two quarterback hits as a member of the East roster for the 2020 East-West Shrine Bowl ... Attended the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine ... 2019 Bill Horr Award winner as Syracuse's team MVP ... As a junior in 2018, Coleman and Alton Robinson formed the top sack duo in the ACC with 20 combined quarterback takedowns

Lambert had a brief stint with Tampa Bay, way back in 2016, but has not touched an NFL field since, and Malveaux has had practice squad time with Arizona, Kansas City, and most recently Washington. Kenney played for Tampa, the 25 year old does not have any major game experience.

On the injury front:

Fred Warner, of course, was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. He has to pass 3 COVID-19 tests in a row to be taken off.
Dre Greenlaw, another Niners LB, was diagnosed with a concussion after missing yesterday, and is in protocol.
Trent Williams had a well-deserved veteran day.
K’Waun Williams practiced for the first time since his calf strain. Top 5 slot CB in the league is back.
Kittle, Dwelley, Juszczyk, Aiyuk, Trent Williams, Garland, Bosa, Ford, Warner, and Greenlaw all did not practice. All but Dwelley are starters. Not good.

Around the League

Giants signed Logan Ryan to a 1 year deal today. A strange signing for a bad team, but nevertheless a good one. Ryan was one of the best remaining FA available.
Alvin Kamara has begun a hold-out for a new contract from the New Orleans Saints.
Leonard Fournette, the bruising former #4 overall pick out of LSU was released today by Jacksonville. No team has claimed him yet, and Doug Marrone said that they could not find a single trade partner to offer anything for him. Fournette is not a bad RB, he is not particularly good either, although in Jacksonville, it is hard to do that. Logical Landing Spots:
- Los Angeles Rams - They have a committee going on, but Fournette would make for a great replacement for Todd Gurley III in LA, at least til Cam Akers gets going.
- Miami Dolphins - With Breida and Jordan Howard, Miami has good RBs already, but they may be looking for a long-term partner in the backfield for Tua, and Fournette fits the bill.
- Washington Football Team - Probably the most likely, Fournette would go to learn from AP who he was compared to coming out of Baton Rouge. The WFT have almost no other RB talent outside of Bryce Love who is a massive question mark.
- New Orleans Saints - Kamara was already injury-prone, his hold-out makes his status even more murky. Fournette is plenty capable of carrying a big load til Kamara comes back.
- Seattle Seahawks - Please no. In all seriousness, the RB room in the Emerald City is quite crowded, but Fournette would be the closest thing playstyle to Lynch that they have ever had. And their career arcs: Dangerously similar. Makes a little too much sense, and Seattle would then likely ship Chris Carson for a pick/EDGE rusher which they so desperately desire.
Roger Goodell announced that the NFL was taking over an investigation into the Washington Football Team and the massive controversy surrounding them. Dan Snyder needs to go.
Superstar S Derwin James, the freak athlete out of FSU for the Chargers has torn his meniscus and will likely miss another full season while recovering. Tough break for the extremely talented safety, who just cannot stay healthy.

Training Camp - Hot Takes

Training Camp wrapped up. I am now bored. In all seriousness, this training camp had massive implications for the 49ers season, considering the turnover this team has undergone, with players like DeForest Buckner and Joe Staley out, and Trent Williams and Javon Kinlaw in. Some bold predictions (and leave yours in the comments!):

Solomon Thomas will breakout.

I know, I know, we have said this for years now. Thomas will likely never reach the expectations we had, but that does not mean he still cannot turn it up. The 49ers declined his 5th year option, predictably, and Thomas now has the added incentive of a contract year incoming. But more than that: opportunity. Buckner’s departure left a gigantic hole in the middle of that DL, and so far, Thomas, not Kinlaw, or Street, or anyone else, has stepped up the most, putting on muscle, taking big steps in his technique, and attacking like he did in college. I expect him to have a big season.

Jaquiski Tartt will make the pro bowl.

Tartt has not been healthy for a quick minute, but when he is, he is arguably better than Jimmie Ward. Tartt has had an impressive training camp to say the least, and Saleh has reportedly been using him as a chess piece, because of Tartt’s elite man coverage ability and instincts in the run game. Tartt has the ball-production, instincts, and once again, opportunity to have a big season.

Brandon Aiyuk will be WR1 by midseason.

Don’t get me wrong. Deebo is a beast. But Aiyuk is the lone skill position player ever picked in the 1st for this front office, not to mention they traded up for him. I’ve already mentioned the uncanny Odell comparison, physically and play style, but Aiyuk’s speed and hands will make him an instant hit in this offense, and likely a OROY contender, although likely not a winner. Garoppolo already has great chemistry with the former Sun Devil.

Jerick McKinnon starts more games than Raheem Mostert

Mostert is a 49ers folk-hero, with his magnificent performances in the playoffs. And he will start the season as RB1. But let’s not forget who is getting the big bucks in the locker room. Shanahan has been salivating to use McKinnon for damn near 3 years, this is his first chance to do it. His play-calling will be fully unlocked with McKinnon’s ability in the passing game as well as his speed and elusiveness, and while Mostert ends up with a similar amount of carries, McKinnon becomes the star carrier in this offense.

Previewing Week 2: New York Jets

To put it bluntly, if this game is anywhere near close, the 49ers are in trouble. The Jets have had a very weird offseason to say the least. Their star MLB who has played less than 2 games for them, CJ Mosley, opted out from this season, and then their best player of the last decade, Jamal Adams, requested a trade and got his request, being sent to Seattle (ugh!) for a boatload of picks. The Jets are in the weirdest place to be. On one hand, they have two great building blocks on offense with Darnold and the hulking LT out of Louisville, Mekhi Becton, along with the Baylor height-weight-speed monster WR, Denzel Mims. On defense, decent, with Quinnen Williams, Marcus Maye, and the aforementioned Mosley anchoring each level. If you just knew that, you would assume they were rebuilding and well on their way to creating a great team.

But then you look at their moves of the past few years, and Adam Gase looks… stupid. They gave Le’Veon Bell a massive contract only for him to be outplayed by immortal Frank Gore during TC. They trade Leonard Williams for not much, and then sign veterans to take over the team. It’s almost as if half the team is rebuilding and the other half is trying to compete. And that’s what you get for hiring a dysfunctional coach who alienates his players in Adam Gase. Gase needs to go, and Gregg Williams likely with him. Williams is a good coach, only he’s more of a problem then Gase with player relationships.

The Matchup

Outside of Mekhi Becton, who is a rookie, the Jets have damn near nobody on their OL. Sam Darnold will be seeing red and gold ghosts all day, Bosa and Ford will likely terrorize him all day along with the rest of the DL. The Jets lack WR talent as well, so the run game will likely be used the most, so Fred Warner and Kwon Alexander need to play well. As long as no player intentionally plays bad, the defense will have a field-day.

On offense, the same. The run game will be a focal point, I don’t expect Jimmy to throw it more than 20 times. The Jets LB core is shot, with Avery Williamson being the only notable player there, and their DL is no good either, even if Quinnen Williams takes a big leap in year 2. Expect a big game from…

X-Factor: Raheem Mostert

As long as he is on his game, Mostert will get a 100 yards or more guaranteed. The Jets defense just is not built to withstand a consistent rushing attack, even with our depleted O-Line. Not much else to be said.

Prediction:
San Francisco - 42
New York - 14

At one point the Jets defense will break under the running game, and the Jets offense simply can’t keep up with the 49ers scoring output. This game is essentially already a done deal. Shanahan and Jimmy - on cruise control.

Final Thoughts: Scheduling

In case you somehow missed it, there’s currently a pandemic going on. And some players will eventually get the virus and will be required to sit out of games. As mentioned, 49ers linebacker Fred Warner just landed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

When looking at how the NFL season will progress, I keep looking towards the MLB. Their players are not in a bubble and have larger rosters than say, the NBA. And games keep getting pushed back. Some of these delays have been protest related, but most have been because players contracted COVID-19. Most recently, an Oakland Athletics member (could be a player or staff) tested positive and had their series versus the Astros and Mariners delayed.

In baseball, it is pretty easy to deal with delays. There is a more flexible schedule, teams can play doubleheaders, and they aren’t limited to a certain amount of games per week. The NFL schedule does not have this flexibility. Currently, the wildcard round is supposed to start on January 9th, 6 days after week 17.

So my question is, should the playoffs be pushed back a couple of weeks? Obviously this will require a lot of planning changes for the Super Bowl, set to be in Tampa. But I doubt this will heavily affect TV rankings with people stuck at home. Players get more of a chance to heal if injured, which is especially important with only one team getting a bye per conference this season. And there is time added to make up any games if necessary. The main problems would be that some teams could be heavily more rested than other going into the playoffs, and delayed games will be very frustrating for fantasy players.

Do you think the playoff schedule should be changed, or should it remain as planned?

For The Niners

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