Just looking at the score, it would seem like the San Francisco 49ers got absolutely embarrassed by the Denver Broncos. But scores don’t matter in the preseason, there’s much more to it than that. Watching the game, the 49ers don’t have as much to worry about as you might think after getting beat 34-0.
The first team offense didn’t play very long but from the few series they did play they looked to be fine. The player I was impressed with the most was running back Frank Gore, he seemed to be in regular season form already. The offensive line Gore was running behind wasn’t the one he’s grown accustomed too either. Daniel Kilgore was starting at center and is expected to be their starter when the regular season start, Joe Looney was starting at right guard and is also going to be their starter until Alex Boone ends his hold out, and Jonathan Martin was starting at right tackle in place of the injured Anthony Davis. But even with all of those new guys, they showed improvement from the first week of preseason.
Something that jumped out to me pretty early on offense was quarterback Colin Kaepernick seemed to look for wide receiver Brandon Lloyd early and often. Lloyd just came back from a minor injury and this was his first preseason game. Him and Kaepernick apparently have a very good chemistry already after minicamps and some of training camp. Lloyd has already shown at practice he can be a very good redzone threat and it looked like Kaepernick was trying to get it going with Lloyd right away.
Another wide receiver that impressed me was rookie Bruce Ellington. Where he impressed me the most was in the return game. He is taking full advantage of the absence of LaMichael James. Ellington made some very good returns and is going to make a very strong case to be their primary return man even when James comes back. Even on offense it seemed as though offensive coordinator Greg Roman was trying to get Ellington the ball so he could make some plays. The more Ellington plays the more I think he’s going to make the roster and make an impact during the regular season.
On the defensive side of the ball things were a little trickier. To start with, the defense was missing a lot of their starters. Justin Smith, Ray McDonald, NaVorro Bowman, Patrick Willis, Tramaine Brock, and Ian Williams were all absent. Missing five of your starting front seven is a pretty big deal, especially when that’s the key to your defense. Two of the guys filling in on the front seven, Quinton Dial and Tank Carradine, were extremely impressive. Both made very good plays and wreaked havoc in the backfield.
Another player that impressed me on defense was Jimmie Ward. Ward covered in the slot extremely well, especially against an offense like the Broncos’ (although it’s preseason and offenses are pretty ordinary at this time). He also showed that he is not afraid to make a tackle and stick his nose in there. Rookie Kenneth Acker is another defensive back that was impressive. He’s making a very strong case for why he should make the roster as a rookie.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh admitted after the game that the 49ers need to improve a lot. As Harbaugh said, they need to get more precise. He also said that the coaching staff needs to stop experimenting. Once these things happen and they get all or most of their starters back on defense they’ll be just fine. Don’t pay attention to the scores in the preseason, they can be very deceiving.