The team has just completed its East coast swing, with a strong victory against the Panthers and a rude awakening with the loss to the Falcons. The Panthers loss, came at a cost, with the season ending injury to Emmanuel Moseley, Nick Bosa and Erik Armstead all sustaining injuries.
John Lynch, the team's General manager and his back-room team, have done a truly remarkable job in building the team's 53-man roster, developing the practice squad. The 2018 and 2019 seasons demonstrated the impact injuries can have on a season, Lynch and his team have learned from that.
The Roster Can Now Take a Punch or Two
This team is now built to sustain a run winning their division, what is so impressive, Lynch has learned from him mistakes, he mentioned on KNBR this week, his shift away on drafting players who had history of injuries. The depth of talent in the team is illustrated in the corner back room, with Moseley being side-lined for the season, the options available are Jason Verrett, Aubrey Thomas, Samuel Womack and Donte Johnson. In cases of Thomas and Womack, they both have shown glimpse of their talent and they will no doubt get more time in the coming weeks and increase their development.
What makes Lynch a bit special in my eyes is that he has a desire to win, as a former player, he has not lost his competitive edge, if anything, losing the Superbowl and last year's NFC championship games to the Rams, has motivated him more this season to get the roster, stronger. Lynch understands the dynamics of a locker room, he knows the importance of having the right characters in the team, who can help the younger players, but also support the coach, when things are not going to plan. His ability to be honest and upfront with players, means he has the respect of the players, they may not like his decision, but they will follow him, best example of that is Garoppolo.
Lynch - The Gambler
Lynch's decision to fight off the Rams, and trade for Christian McCaffrey shows again he has learned from other GM's and need to sometimes take a calculated "Punt" to make the team stronger. The move to get McCaffrey, shows that Lynch is thinking outside of the box, he has been brave and wants this team to make a run at winning the division and a sustained run in the playoffs.
Lynch has observed from the first six weeks, the offense is exposed, the game in Atlanta, the team's running game for the very first time was truly exposed and weakened. Bill Walsh used to always use boxing analogies to describe to his players certain situations and in some way, Lynch this week, saw that his Head Coach was being pinned in the corner of the ring and he was running out of options, and the addition of McCaffrey changes that in a matter of 24 hours.
Shanahan, now has a versatile weapon, who can run the ball, run routes as good as any of the receiving team, understand blocking assignments and is a real NFL talent and when fit, will cause problems for opposing defences.
Lynch knew, he had to step in and support his head coach, his gamble on trading away some future picks, may to some, be a reach and risking the future of the team, but for me it was the right decision, it shows all of the team that everyone in the organisation is focused on the now and winning.
Finally, a quick word on the ownership, who too have learned from their mistakes (ironically Harbaugh returns to Levi's this weekend), Jed York is backing his coach and GM, staying out of the limelight and supporting them in the background. So, some credit has to go to him and he too learning to let his GM and Coach get on with the job of trying to win a Superbowl.
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