The San Francisco 49ers Are In Trouble
By Erik Lambert
Aug 17, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) sits on the ground after taking a hit against the Denver Broncos in the first quarter at Levi
Viewed as the second best team in the NFL by many pundits, the San Francisco 49ers look more and more vulnerable with each week.
Antoine Bethea joins Navorro Bowman on growing defensive losses
The problems for the team really began in the NFC championship game. That was when their vaunted defense, one of the best in the league, lost arguably its best player in linebacker Navorro Bowman to a gruesome knee injury. Since then things have gotten progressively worse. Nose tackle Glenn Dorsey went down with a torn biceps. To top it off, free agent Pro Bowl safety Antoine Bethea suffered a concussion in week two of the preseason. Depth has helped carry the day before for San Francisco but even their roster can’t continue to sustain key losses at this rate. The fact they gave up 34 points including 17 in the first half was clear indication of that.
Colin Kaepernick and offense anything but humming
Even so, thank heavens thing are looking great on offense, right? Well apparently not. Despite some high profile additions to an already talented unit that include Steve Johnson and Carlos Hyde, the 49ers have looked listless in two preseason games, scoring a combined three points. Colin Kaepernick, fresh off his monstrous pay day from the team, has six completions for 56 yards in that span. No rushing yards. No touchdowns. All around the effort has seriously been lacking. Never mind the fact Kendall Hunter is out for the year with a torn ACL and guard Alex Boone remains on a holdout for a new contract. It just looks like a team that is lacking any sort of cohesiveness.
Not exactly the title contender everybody sees them as.