Peon Awesome

That was CJ's best game by far. Yeah he was largely responsible for the Byrd TD but that was his one big stain on an otherwise really solid performance. The thing that makes it all the better is that this is the 1st time he's been under decent coaching in about 2.5 years. So there's legit chance for serious growth. Plus there was a big mental element supposedly to his lackluster play. No better way to get right mentally than to build confidence with some big plays.

The trade was a win-win-win scenario. Win for the Panthers getting trade capital in a rebuild and making opportunities to better develop their other offensive playmakers. Win for the 49ers getting an otherworldly talent and having the coaches to make the most of his abilities. Win for my fantasy football team that drafted McCaffrey with the first pick. Everyone comes out on top.

Mahomes game him some respect here

Amazing how good the defense looks when they can actually catch their breath. Our chances in the 2nd half rest on our offense actually extending drives and avoiding 3 and outs and turnovers.

At least Pineiro has been surprisingly money all year.

It wouldn't surprise me whatsoever if it was the 4th quarter, down by 1 score and Wilks opts to punt it from the Falcons 36 yard line on a 4th and 3.

The 6.6 mph is an interesting bar. That's a very leisurely jog, equivalent to a 12.4 second 40 yard time. I'm guessing they use that cutoff more to measure how often lineman are making a legit effort to hussle to block downfield, which granted is a good thing to see that he's doing that as much as he is. But it doesn't really highlight his speed.

I wouldn't even trade the 2025 5th rounder we got from San Fran for Mac Jones. Looks like crap and getting handily outplayed by Zappe

I'd be happy with him as defensive coordinator but don't want him as head coach. I can't stand the conservative game management. He doesn't play to win. That works if the other team beats themselves, but you're not going to consistently win that way and you're going to gradually undermine your team's confidence. I think we're just seeing how historically terrible Rhule was that Wilks' basic competence looks so good. But we can do better.

Whoops posted in the wrong thread.

So did PJ just get a lot better in 1 week or did he just disprove Wilks BS from last week that he wasn't capable of running a 2 minute offense?

Smith tried to fair catch from the 1 yard line. Lucky the ball carried to the end zone. Special teams coach, where you at?

Asking price for Burns just went up to THREE 1st round picks

Yeah it's one of the nice things about McCaffrey going to the 49ers is we can see how a good offensive mind schemes him. I have a feeling it's going to make the deal look like a bargain for them. Still will seem like an OK deal for us cause we weren't going to be able to unlock his full potential anyway.

Another super impressive stat from PFF

My main point is people seem to way overvalue a late 1st or early 2nd round draft pick. Half of them don't even merit a 2nd contract. Who have we drafted in that range in the last 10 years? Yetur Gross Matos, Greg Little, Vernon Butler, and Kelvin Benjamin. No, seriously. Depending on your definition of late 1st/early 2nd (this range is 28-38), that is the entire list. No cherry picking. Yeah there are gems even in the 6th round every year. The point is, what's more likely: McCaffrey stays reasonably healthy for the next 2 years and serves as the ideal safety net for a rookie qb or you find a player even 80% as good as McCaffrey at that range? None of McCaffrey's injuries are harbingers of long term issues. Hell he could have probably returned and played a lot more the last 2 years if we were playing for anything. You're gambling either way. Either gambling you'll find a stud at pick 35 or gambling that McCaffrey stays healthy. If someone gives us a pick in the middle of the 1st or two 1sts like the Panthers reportedly want, that's a different story; odds would shift significantly. But late 1st/early 2nd? I'm not convinced.

Yeah, that's hitting us whether we keep him or not. So any decisions on keeping him (or any player really) is contingent on whether we think he's worth his base salary, in this case the $12 million. If you cut him, you don't get a refund on the dead cap and you don't magically replace his production for free. You're going to use that $12 million. I don't think we'll easily replace it with that money unless we get a steal in the draft. So I'd keep him. I can see the argument otherwise, especially if you worry about his injury history but everything is a calculated risk.

I'd plan on keeping him for the duration of his contract IF HEALTHY. That's the benefit of the non-guaranteed money. If he suffers another major injury, we can get out unscathed. If he doesn't, I'd happily pay $12 million per year when the going rate for a good wr is now easily over $20 million per year.

Dude, everyone knows this team is a complete dumpster fire. The people advocating for McCaffrey are saying maybe we shouldn't give away one of the only good things left on this team for cents on the dollar.

Does having more receptions mean he's being "used as a receiver more"? I'd say you have a point if McCaffrey was being lined up as a wide receiver several times per game, but that's not true. He's catching passes out of the backfield the vast majority of the time and using his shiftiness to get a chunk of yardage. Maybe the last game where we neutered PJ there was more of an effort to get the ball in his hands but for the most part this year, it feels like McCaffrey is getting his receiving yardage in spite of McAdoo mostly ignoring his abilities as a receiver. Hell he has sat back as an extra blocker more times than not particularly in the first 3-4 games. And again, our offense is laughably bad. Think about how many yards he would have with Mahomes throwing him passes. You're making too much of an effort to downplay McCaffrey's ability.

Double post, my bad

Yeah if there's ever a team to point to as an example, it's the Giants. We've been basically the Giants until this year. Solid defense, frequently injured RB, inept coaching, lack of a franchise qb. Now they're competing week in and week out and tied for the 2nd best record in the NFL. Saquon Barkley leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage. As good as Daboll has been, they wouldn't be 5-1 trading Saquon for a fraction of his value the way half of the Huddle is clamoring with McCaffrey

The Chiefs used their 2020 1st round pick on Clyde Edwards-Helaire. You think that's a smarter move than even a 1 year rental on McCaffrey for close to league minimum salary? They would easily be the super bowl favorite. Honestly it's a down year for the NFL as a whole and Kansas City and Buffalo seem like the only 2 teams with any legit shot at the Super Bowl. You can give up pick 32 for McCaffrey and nearly guarantee your super bowl win, or you can sit on your thumbs, hope for the best and try to draft another Clyde Edwards-Helaire with that precious pick you were just too damn smart to give up. I don't doubt for one second that KC and Buffalo would happily get on the phone with Fitterer if their 1st round pick was enough for the Panthers. I just think the team is genuine that it's not and I don't blame them. The last pick of the 1st round is not going to help a rookie qb and the team as a whole more than McCaffrey will.

McCaffrey is 4th in the NFL in yards from scrimmage, only behind Saquon, Tyreek Hill and Nick Chubb. That's with him operating within the worst offense in the NFL. I hardly think people will look at that and scoff at the lack of production

Well in a world where a perennial 1100 yard receiver can be neutered to 35 yards per game, it'd be naive to think the coaching staff isn't holding some of them back. Plus I said presumably half of them could fit the bill. Are you that pessimistic to think that's not the case and they all suck regardless of coaching/schemes? I'm sorry but if we have to replace half the roster with free agents to improve the team, there is literally no pathway to relevance. We should just accept being the 2010s Browns and soak in all the top 5 picks for the next 8 years. I'd prefer to hold out for a better outlook than that.