The Niners Aren't Completely Doomed Yet

A more optimistic take on the recent injuries + a DOOM Index poll, courtesy of the FTN Slack community.

Sep 23, 2020

San Francisco 49ers/YouTube - Fred Warner previews Week 3 vs. the New York Giants.

If you listen the the average fan, the season ended before Week 3 even began. I mean really: our poll evaluating our half-joke/half-serious community “doom index” was brutal: (In Honor of James!)

On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the “Most Doomed”, you guys replied with:
- Most Doomed - 5%
- Pretty Doomed - 16%
- Somewhat Doomed - 47%
- Kinda Doomed - 21%
- Least Doomed - 11%

And I get it. MetLife sucks, and injuries suck. Having no preseason sucks. It’s never good for a starting QB to miss time and Nick Bosa is one of the best pass rushers out there. I won’t deny any of this, and San Francisco’s losses were easily he most devastating out of any team last week. But I want to throw in a few reasons 49ers fans shouldn’t be jumping off the cliff yet. There’s 14 weeks of games left, and those are just as important for the season.

Short Term Injuries

Bosa and Thomas aside, most injuries are looking to be short-term. And that is nothing new for the 49ers. Remember the crazy amount of injuries last season? Ford missed half the season. Kittle missed two divisional games. Tartt was gone for most of the tough series of games. Our offense somehow existed while Staley, McGlinchey, and Juszczyk were all injured. And plenty more if you need a reminder. I think many of us forgot how much injuries affected us last year - yet those guys came back and the Niners made the Super Bowl.

Short-term, we can handle many of these losses. Take Sherman: Our corners played well enough against the Jets. I know their receivers are horrible, and Spoon messed up in garbage time, but you play who’s in front of you. And the Giants and Eagles don’t have the healthiest receiving corps themselves. They just respectively lost Sterling Shepard and Jalen Reagor. The Niners also have a great coaching staff, good running backs, tight end depth, and are bringing in Ansah to help the pass rush. The Niners are better equipped than most teams in handling these losses - the depth was what helped the 49ers reach the big game last season, and it will again be key this season.

Scheduling

Speaking of the Giants and Eagles, our schedule is blessed in the next few weeks. Giants, Eagles, Dolphins is a great slate where our injured guys can rest up. On paper, these are the easiest games we have left. The Giants lost their best player and have a leaky defense. The Eagles have a terrible offensive line and few receivers left with first round pick Jalen Reagor on IR - Wentz is not set up for success at all. The Dolphins are in a massive rebuild, but Fitzmagic could make things interesting. The schedule will get much harder in later weeks - with a gauntlet including the Patriots, Rams twice, Seahawks, Packers, Saints, and Bills. All 6 of these teams are expected to either compete for the playoffs or compete for a championship. Thankfully, our bye week also happens to be in between the gauntlet, so the 49ers can get a well-deserved break. And of course, sadly more injuries will come our way. This is football after all - injuries will happen to every team, and already have affected most teams. But if there had to be a giant wave of injuries at any time, I’d prefer to deal with them before we play against anyone too scary, and at least the 49ers have a chance to sign people and or make a corresponding move.

Playoff Format: Wild-Cards

And finally, the NFL gave us a nice gift with the new playoff format. Only one team getting a bye is very questionable, but the extra wildcard spot is a gift for a team in the NFC West. The Seahawks, Cardinals, and Rams all looking good and having easy games outside of the division is a major problem. But the extra spot gives a lot of leeway, and makes it more likely the division’s third seed (or even fourth seed if things get really crazy) can make it. Outside of the division, the division loser of Packers/Bears/Vikings and Bucs/Saints are looking like the early competition. This can change rapidly, but the Niners are not out of the race yet.

Roster Moves

As expected, DE Nick Bosa and DT Solomon Thomas were officially put on IR, and of course, done for the season.
EDGE Ziggy Ansah was officially signed on a one year deal. He will wear number 98, Ronald Blair’s number. It’s likely he paid Blair for the number so I wouldn’t worry about his status too much.
DL Dion Jordan was elevated to the active roster. His number will be #96.
DL Alex Barrett and RB Austin Walter were added to the practice squad. Barrett has signed with the team multiple times. Walter originally joined the 49ers as a UDFA in 2019, and then joined the Giants practice squad that year. Later, he played for the XFL Dallas Renegades.

Early Injury Updates

George Kittle was limited in practice. This is far from a guarantee we see him against the Giants, but it’s a good sign that he’s on the right track.

Dre Greenlaw was also limited with a quad injury - he suffered a quad contusion on Sunday.
Dee Ford not being placed on IR is interesting. There’s a chance he could play within the next three weeks if he isn’t put on the list. It’s hard to say since there’s very little information on his back injury. He did not practice, however.
Tevin Coleman is expected to miss about a month of playing time, longer than Raheem Mostert. Neither practiced today.
CB Jason Verrett fully practiced. This was the first time he did since the season began - and he is expected to be active for Sunday.
Jimmy Garoppolo did not practice, and will likely sit out this week. Kyle Shanahan referred to Nick Mullens as the new starter.

Around The NFL

Chargers QB Tyrod Taylor had his lung punctured by the team doctor. Taylor cracked his ribs, and the doctor was attempting to administer an injection for pain relief. This all happened before kickoff against the Chiefs - which resulted in rookie Justin Herbert being informed he would start just seconds before the game would start. Taylor was hospitalized and discharged the same day, but Herbert, the Oregon product, is expected to start on Sunday. Herbert played very well.
Giants WR Sterling Shepard was placed on IR with a hamstring injury. The talented young wideout cannot stay healthy.
The Eagles placed WR Jalen Reagor on IR with a UCL tear - he is expected to return in the 2nd half of the season.
Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo was placed on IR with a hip injury.
Hall of Fame RB Gale Sayers just passed away. Rest in peace. He died from complications due to Alzheimer’s and dementia - at the age of 77. The legendary Bears RB will be missed.
These first 2 weeks of the NFL season have been the highest scoring (combined) in NFL History, a remarkable feat - the league continues to swing towards an even more pass-heavy game and fast pace.

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