There is no vaccine for this kind of product, this kind of football, and there is no cure in sight for this football team.
Worst Team In the NFL.
M-E-S-S, Mess, Mess, Mess.
This is on the head coach.
There is, of course, blame to go around on everyone, starting at the top, with the owner, who was certain before 49ers 31, Jets 13 that there is a brilliant mind inside the head of Adam Gase.
The brilliant mind was on the visiting sideline inside the head of Kyle Shanahan.
The Adam Gase Watch is on in earnest.
Gase played scared, played not to lose, and is threatening to preside over the demise of his franchise quarterback.
He ordered a field goal trailing 24-3 with 17:49 remaining.
First half against the 49ers: 21-3.
First half against the Bills: 21-3.
Notice a pattern here?
Sam Darnold (21-for-32, 179 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions) couldn’t lift the Jets. on Sunday. Of course, he would have had to be the young Arnold Schwarzenegger. But he didn’t do anything that makes you feel better about his progress, or his future either.
He didn’t make this M-E-S-S, Mess, Mess, Mess. He simply cannot overcome it. He did what he could with one hand tied behind his back. Brought a water pistol to a gunfight. Threw underneath to every Tom, Dick and Harry, completing nothing longer than 18 yards until Garbage Time.
He is stranded on Darnold Island.
He is in danger of drowning in the deep end of the pool, and it is sad to watch.
And Gase is his lifeguard.
For long-suffering Jets fans, not to mention Darnold, this is devolving quickly into the football equivalent of “Jaws.”
This is a rebuilding season, there clearly isn’t nearly enough talent, but there is no excuse for being this noncompetitive two weeks in a row.
A coach with a brilliant mind ought to be able to make chicken salad out of the chicken s–t that is on his plate.
No, it isn’t Gase’s job to coordinate a defense that still lacks a pass rush and adequate cornerbacks, it’s his job to develop a quarterback who can give his team a fighting chance on days when defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is mourning the departures of C.J. Mosley and Jamal Adams.
Once again, he failed at his job.
We know about all the injuries and the paucity of wide receivers and the overhauled offensive line and Frank Gore replacing Le’Veon Bell.
But we also know that the 49ers didn’t have tight end George Kittle or receiver Deebo Samuel or defensive end Dee Ford or cornerback Richard Sherman, and then, with 6:26 remaining in the first quarter, they suddenly didn’t have DE Nick Bosa, carted off with a knee injury, and then, with 5:37 left in the first quarter, they didn’t have DT Solomon Thomas either, also carted off with a knee injury.
And Jimmy Garoppolo was hobbling on a right ankle that forced him out of the game at halftime.
A first half that saw Gase go fourth-and-1 from the SF 20 with third-string RB Josh Adams, and get zilch, and 14-3 remained 14-3. “I thought I was gonna go to a certain play,” Gase said, “and then I changed my mind.”
The second half begins and it is third-and-3 and Darnold finds Josh Malone for 1 lousy yard, and Nick Mullens is the quarterback now, and on third-and-31, Jerick McKinnon cuts sharply left through a gaping hole for 55 yards. McKinnon is the running back because Raheem Mostert, who had scored untouched on an 80-yard touchdown run at 23.1 mph on the first play from scrimmage, was declared out with a knee injury.
“We have to stay with the other team,” Gase said. “If our defense is struggling, we have to do better on offense. We have to find a way to get in the end zone. When we’re kicking field goals, it’s not gonna help us if they’re scoring touchdowns.”
Except when you’re down 24-3 late in the third quarter, apparently:
Darnold, second-and-goal at the 8 following a Pierre Desir interception: rolls right, 1-yard completion to Berrios. Flushed right, incomplete in the end zone for Forgotten Man Chris Herndon.
“We gotta score a touchdown there,” Darnold said.
Field goal there instead. FIELD GOAL?
“There’s not a ton of great plays on fourth-and-7 when you’re playing that defense,” Gase said. “Just try to get SOMETHING going, get just a little bit of positive juices flowing with our guys.”
A field goal there, late in the third quarter, gets a little bit of positive juices flowing with the other guys. “I don’t want to get into all the analytics,” Darnold said.
Herndon caught one pass for 5 yards on four targets even though Darnold was throwing to people named Berrios and Hogan and Malone after Breshad Perriman (ankle) left in the second quarter.
“We had to play this week a certain way, we were worried about letting those ends really get rushing up the field,” Gase said.
And no targets for tight end Ryan Griffin?
“We were using the tight ends a lot in protection today,” Gase said.
In a nutshell, here was Gase’s offensive game plan: Try to stay third-and-manageable.”
If you don’t play to win, you won’t win. “I’m pissed right now,” Gase said. “That s–t’s no fun going out there and getting your ass beat. We need to get better fast.”
He needs to get better fast.
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