49ers News: Are we having fun yet?

49ers miss Christian McCaffrey’s versatility on offense

“That not only meant missed third-down conversions but also left Purdy searching for outlets that never came open. The result was a career-high six sacks and 13 pressures taken by Purdy in Minnesota.

Through two weeks, the 49ers are tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the highest rate of sacks allowed per dropback (11.7%) in the NFL despite those sacks coming in the second-slowest average time in the league (5.76 seconds).

In other words, Purdy has come under more pressure because he’s holding the ball too long since he doesn’t have the reliable McCaffrey, who led the NFL in first downs (114) and touchdowns (21) in 2023, to throw to when downfield coverage is good.

How much longer the 49ers will be without McCaffrey remains to be seen. His Achilles tendonitis has been a difficult injury to diagnose because of its unpredictability.”

49ers minutia minute: Deebo Samuel’s injury; rookie DBs see action (paywall)

“The theme of Sunday’s game was that Purdy didn’t have a lot of easy reads. The Vikings blitzed on 23 of his 45 dropbacks and often had his hot reads accounted for. Which led to a lot of double clutching from Purdy and to coverage sacks for the Vikings.

After the game, an impressed Purdy told Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores that his scheme was “crazy.”

Still, Purdy managed to throw for 319 yards. Next Gen Stats has a stat called expected completion percentage, which takes into account everything from how much separation a receiver has on a given throw to how far from the quarterback he is to how much pressure the passer is under. Next Gen’s prediction for Purdy was 60.4 percent, one of the lowest expectations for any quarterback in Week 2. He ended up beating that mark by a long shot in completing 77.8 percent of his throws.”

PFF’s best and worst graded 49ers players vs. Vikings, plus snap counts

“Fred Warner’s phenomenal season continues. The star linebacker was the highest-graded player in the game, and has earned a 95.8 defensive grade over two weeks—the best of any NFL player during that span. Warner finished the game with seven tackles, two passes defensed, an interception, and two forced fumbles. His interception was the ninth of his career. Warner’s 95.8 defensive grade against the Vikings was a career high, and his 80.9 run defense grade led the team.

Deommodore Lenoir was the game’s highest-graded defensive back, with an 85.8 coverage grade, second only to Warner’s 94.2 mark. The cornerback allowed just two catches for eight yards on three targets and earned a game-high 85.7 tackling grade.”

Kyle Shanahan reflects on 49ers’ loss vs. Vikings, provides significant injury update

“Here’s everything he had to say.”

49ers’ Deebo Samuel to miss couple of weeks with calf strain

“He told me he thinks he did it when he caught, I think it was the third to last play,” Shanahan said. “They had a blitz down in the red zone. He caught the hot route breaking in. He says he thinks he did it on that play.”