Kurtenbach: There’s no excuse for the 49ers to be this bad.

The reality of the

49ers’ situation has been inescapable for a while now.

This team is bad. Really bad. And every week, it seems to get a bit worse

(so long as they’re not playing the Raiders).

The Niners were embarrassed in their 43-16 loss to the Seahawks Sunday. Seattle looked like a big brother playing a younger sibling — heeding Mom’s calls to “let them win” for spurts amid heavyhanded runs of complete dominance.

It was not a respectable loss for San Francisco — there were no moral victories to be found — and while I’m wary to make too much out of one game against a playoff-caliber opponent, Sunday’s game, paired with the previous week’s listless performance against the Buccaneers and the team’s generally dreary play over the last two months (feel free to celebrate a Thursday Night Football win, but it’s not a full-value victory), raises some questions about the trajectory of this 49ers team going forward.

When Garoppolo tore his ACL in Kansas City in Week 3, it was clear that the 49ers’ season was lost.

But 10 weeks later, there’s simply no excuse for the 49ers’ being this uninspiring, this undisciplined, and this consistently overmatched.

There’s just no excuse for them being this bad.

While injury and inexperience are valid and well-cited factors in the 49ers 2-10 record, they can’t explain away all of this team’s sins.

No, there’s clearly another factor in play — one that’s apparently uncouth to bring up: ineptitude.

And it can be found at every level for this team.

When Garoppolo was carted off the field against the Chiefs, another 49ers’ season started — one that exists solely in the abstract.

If you watch the 49ers on a weekly basis, you have plenty of time for the mind to wander, and in that time, you’ve certainly imagined how the Niners’ 2018 season would be playing out had Garoppolo remained healthy.

Amid the imaginary land of rainbows, unicorns, and handsome quarterbacks with two healthy knees, do you see the Niners contending for the playoffs?

I can’t get there.

Now, there are some building blocks in place in Santa Clara — mostly on the offensive side of the ball. (And that’s no coincidence.)

George Kittle has been tremendous all season — he’s one of the best tight ends in the NFL and a bonafide keeper. Matt Breida is a keeper too — he should play plenty alongside prized, but injured, free agent Jerick McKinnon in the 49ers’ backfield next season. I like the state of the offensive line, particularly in the run game, and rookie Dante Pettis has broken out over the last two games — he could be the Niners’ No. 2 receiver for years to come.

Do the Niners have enough playmakers to keep up in an NFL that’s undergoing an Air Raid revolution where the best offenses look like they’re playing 7-on-7? I’m on the fence.

The fact that the 49ers’ offense has an elite coordinator calling the plays might get me over the edge, though. Shanahan’s ability to scheme guys open for third-string quarterback Nick Mullens was on full display against the Seahawks. It’s not easy to move the ball when your quarterback can’t throw outside the numbers and you have a practice squad guy in at running back, but the 49ers did it on Sunday.

But while Shanahan is a tremendous offensive coordinator, there’s little evidence to date that he’s a good head coach or all-around talent evaluator.

The past week has pushed an unflattering truth to the forefront for the Niners — this team lacks adequate building blocks on defense. And while defense might not be en vogue in this iteration of the NFL, you still need to be slightly competent on that side of the ball to contend.

The 49ers are not even close to competent, and there’s no a clear path to get to that level this offseason. There’s simply too much ground to cover.

Solomon Thomas was supposed to be a building block. He isn’t.

Reuben Foster was supposed to be one too. Clearly, he was not.

As I see it, the Niners only have two building blocks on defense.

Outside of DeForest Buckner and rookie linebacker Fred Warner (I guess) are there any members of this 49ers’ defense you feel confident will be on this team come Week 1 of the 2020 season?

The 49ers’ defense started the season poorly and hasn’t improved. Outside of that outlier game against the Raiders, there’s nothing to applaud. Besides Warner and Buckner, who has impressed this season? Where’s the player development? Where’s the whole unit progression?

What does this team have heading into a make-or-break 2019 season?

An offense that can be good, but probably not great, and a defense that’s going to need more than one offseason to get to a level of adequacy.

A quarterback who is highly paid but still unproven and a head coach and defensive coordinator who might be living examples of the Peter Principle.

Shanahan is two years into this rebuild. Has there been enough progress to trust his administration’s trajectory?

Heading into a crucial third year that can’t get here fast enough, is a big payoff coming?

Right now, I see a lot of work between this team and graduation.