Passing game is in serious disarray
In a pass-happy league, the 49ers appear to have the necessary players to keep pace with their peers.
Anquan Boldin? The wideout, who turns 35 Saturday, has had two straight 1,000-yard seasons and ranks 13th in NFL history in receptions. Torrey Smith? The speed-starved 49ers signed him to a $40 million contract in March because his yards-per-catch-average (16.9) ranked fourth in the NFL from 2011 through ’14. Vernon Davis? At 31, he remains one of the NFL’s fastest tight ends and is merely two years removed from his last Pro Bowl berth.
Of course, an NFL team needs a competent quarterback, and the 49ers employ Colin Kaepernick, who was signed to a six-year, $126 million contract extension in 2014.
On Monday, however, head coach Jim Tomsula said the offense wasn’t about drop-back passing and was “built more with our tight ends,” three of whom have fewer than 17 career catches.
“We’re not a drop-back team,” Tomsula said. “We’re not built that way. We’re not built like other teams. We’re not comparing ourselves to those teams.”
That stunner came less than 24 hours after Kaepernick showed why the 49ers might not hang their hat on drop-back passing in a 47-7 loss at Arizona. In the worst performance of his 42-start career, Kaepernick was intercepted four times, had a career-low 67 yards and posted the ninth-lowest passer rating (16.7) by a quarterback since 2010.
On Monday, ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski, two years removed from declaring Kaepernick could be “one of the greatest quarterbacks ever,” struck a far different note on Twitter: “Had to shred my guy Colin Kap today! He was awful in his reads, throws, footwork and mechanics! He has the toolset, but doesn’t use them!”
The offensive staff appeared to be similarly unimpressed Sunday. In a game San Francisco trailed 28-0 midway through the second quarter, the 49ers feared the forward pass, finishing with 29 rushing attempts and 19 passes.
Kaepernick had arrived without an interception in 142 attempts, but his performance was so unsightly it inspired job-security questions on a team whose backup is Blaine Gabbert (career passer rating: 66.8). On Monday, Tomsula reiterated that Kaepernick’s spot is safe.
“I believe in Colin Kaepernick,” he said. “And I think he’s got the tools to be a darn good quarterback in this league.”
Is Kaepernick currently a good quarterback? Tomsula didn’t answer directly.
“Yesterday, we weren’t a good team,” he said. “No, yesterday none of us were very good.”
Tomsula emphasized that included the coaching staff and provided a specific example. In the third quarter, from the 49ers’ 1-yard line, Kaepernick stood several yards deep in the end zone in the pistol formation and handed the ball to running back Carlos Hyde. The result: safety.
“That’s my fault,” Tomsula said. “I knew that play went in. … Nothing is happening on that field that doesn’t go across my desk.”
And that includes decisions about Kaepernick and the offense, despite Tomsula’s defensive background. In the offseason, Tomsula huddled with the staff, which stripped back the playbook and incorporated more read-option plays from the pistol, a staple of Kaepernick’s offense at Nevada.
On Monday, Tomsula was asked if the staff had discussed whether Kaepernick could develop as a pocket passer while leading an offense that incorporates so much read-option.
“Yeah, we did,” Tomsula said. “And I guess that’s where it comes back to trying to be sensitive to what we’re asking out of our quarterback and of our offense. Maybe that’s where the scaled-back thing (comes from) because I don’t know that I would term it that way. Yes, there’s less volume, but there’s a lot of concepts. It’s still a hefty amount of plays on the call sheet.”
Based on the pre- and postgame observations of Arizona defenders, the 49ers could have a quarterback whose passing deficiencies have inspired the creation of a simple-to-stop offense.
Last week, safety Tony Jefferson said the Cardinals wanted Kaepernick to throw the ball toward the sideline because “we don’t think that’s his strength.” On Sunday, Kaepernick threw three passes of 10-plus yards outside the numbers and each was intercepted, according to Pro Football Focus.
On Sunday, safety Tyrann Mathieu said the 49ers’ passing game had been so “simplified” it was easy to see routes developing. Added safety Rashad Johnson of Kaepernick’s first two interceptions, each of which was returned for a touchdown: “Those are the ones you dream about because you have to do nothing for them. You just break and they are right there to you.”
As it turns out, Mathieu caught as many of Kaepernick’s passes as Boldin (2) and Smith (0), accomplished pass-catchers in an offense that’s not about drop-back passing.
Kaepernick “looked totally unprepared yesterday,” former NFL quarterback Steve Beuerlein said on CBS Sports Network. “… You have to blame him on the field. He has to play a lot better. But I don’t think he is getting coached up right now, either.”