The San Francisco 49ers first-teamers played well in a 23-17 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts in their third preseason game. We look at three standouts.
Though the San Francisco 49ers suffered defeat to the Indianapolis Colts in their third preseason game, they produced another encouraging performance. The first-team offense was unable to capitalise on how well it moved the ball, while the defense will hope to do a better job of finishing off the plethora of pressures they were able to produce when the regular season starts.
San Francisco’s dominated in the the trenches, and on the offensive side that helped facilitate an upturn in the running game, which had previously struggled in preseason.
Here we look at three players who produced standout displays.
Weston Richburg
The 49ers inked Richburg to an five-year, $47.5 million contract and shipped out Daniel Kilgore, making a move to sign a top-tier player at a position that is one of the most important in Kyle Shanahan’s scheme. Former New York Giants center Richburg’s performance in the dress rehearsal suggested he is ready to start repaying the Niners faith in the regular season.
Richburg put on a clinic as the first-team offensive line again impressed. Rarely troubled in pass protection, Richburg did an excellent job of looking for work and finding secondary assignments on which he aided the Niners guards.
Producing numerous plays that saw him drive defenders into the turf, Richburg’s edge was on show throughout. He was also smooth getting to the second level and showed off his ability on reach blocks, consistently sealing defenders away from the ball to open up running lanes. If Richburg delivers this kind of display on a regular basis when the games count, San Francisco’s investment will prove worthwhile.
Arik Armstead
The 2015 first-round pick has received his fair share of criticism for a perceived lack of production and inability to stay healthy. The dissenting voices only grew louder this training camp, which Armstead watched from the sidelines due to a hamstring injury. However on his preseason debut Armstead put on a show that suggested he will be an impact player this year.
Operating both from the big end spot and occasionally as an interior rusher, Armstead was excellent against the run. He was superb setting the edge and frequently produced push to help blow up plays in the backfield.
Positive signs were also there on pass-rush downs, Armstead excelling as he was able to generate pressure by coming off the ball low and exploding into interior linemen.
Armstead, Buckner and Solomon Thomas all had success disrupting the Colts passing game and, though it was against a much-derided offensive line, the sight of all three first-round defensive linemen consistently collapsing the pocket would have been a tantalising one for a 49ers team that has long since struggled affect the quarterback.
Alfred Morris
Morris’ dream debut was the storyline of the game for the 49ers, seeming to settle the competition for the third running back spot and giving the Niners another veteran presence they can rely on outside of Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida.
Patience, vision, elusiveness and power were all on show in Morris’ display, which saw him rack up 84 yards on 17 carries. His experience in Shanahan’s system paid dividends as he read his blocks well while also producing in short yardage for a team that previously lacked a back capable of excelling in such situations.
“I’ve still got a lot of juice in these legs, I’ve still got a lot of mileage to go,” Morris, per The Sacramento Bee, told reporters after the game.
After the performance he produced on Saturday, it is tough to disagree with Morris’ self-assessment.