San Francisco 49ers: Some Call It Optimism, Some Call It Delusion

The San Francisco 49ers square off with Indianapolis in a week five matchup believing they’re close to turning a corner – but, are they really?

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brian Hoyer has had a rough start to the 2017 season. Which is putting it incredibly kindly. And yet, hope springs eternal, as Hoyer believes a 49ers offense that’s been anemic – which is again, putting it incredibly kindly – is on the verge of turning a corner and putting it all together.

You must either admire the optimism – or cringe at the sheer delusion of it all.

Two weeks ago, Hoyer and the 49ers teased us all with an offensive orgy that rolled up 39 points and 421 total yards of total offense (308 passing, 113 rushing) against the Los Angeles Rams – the team sitting atop the division.

And in that game, Hoyer looked competent. Capable. He carved the Rams up for 332 yards on 23 of 37 passing, with two touchdowns and one interception. And if not for a controversial call to end the game, perhaps the 49ers would have notched their first win of the season.

The following week though, facing division rival Arizona, Hoyer and the 49ers offense reverted back to the form we’ve become accustomed to seeing this season. Which is to say, against Arizona, Hoyer and the 49ers reverted back to being a very bad unit.

For the third time in four weeks, Hoyer did not throw a touchdown pass. Actually, for an even broader perspective of the futility, it was the third time in four weeks that Hoyer failed to lead the 49ers to a touchdown – at all.

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With Hoyer under center through the season’s first four weeks, San Francisco has scored a total of just 66 points – or an average of 16.5 points per game.

Amazingly enough, there are a handful of teams actually worse off in the scoring department than San Francisco – Cincinatti, Cleveland, Chicago, Giants, Baltimore, and Miami. Needless to say, that’s not the kind of company you want to be keeping if you’re looking for success in the NFL.

And yet despite the team’s inability to find the endzone, Hoyer insists that they’re super close to turning that corner – just a “few plays away,” in fact. In a recent interview, Hoyer had the following to say.

"“It’s encouraging because you can see that you’re only a few plays away. But it’s also tough to swallow because you know that you’re that close. And we’re not. We’re 0-4. It’s a results business. No one’s going to care that we almost won that game, or almost won this game. You only care if you win. It’s tough, but you can either go in one of two directions. You can say I’m going to just keep doing what I’m doing, or are you going to work that much harder to get that extra edge to win that game.”"

Now, obviously, Hoyer can’t really say or do anything. He has to say and do all the right things. He has to project an image of confidence. He has to put forth the image that better times are ahead for this team – and that those better times aren’t that far off.

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The trouble with that though, is that the facts on the ground don’t quite match the reality of what we’re seeing on the field.

And those facts are that San Francisco is averaging just 193 passing yards per game – twenty-fourth in the NFL. And as a unit, the 49ers offense is averaging just 298 yards per game – twenty-ffith in the league.

But perhaps the most damning fact of all is the team’s 0-4 record, absolute lack of scoring punch, and offensive ineptitude.

And it’s not as if San Francisco is completely devoid of talent on that side of the ball. Carlos Hyde heads up what was the league’s fourth-best running attack last season. Pierre Garcon has broken 1,000 yards twice in his career, and is always a threat. Marquise Goodwin is a burner who can put up solid numbers. And rookie Trent Taylor is developing into a reliable target.

The main area where this team is lacking, is competent and consistent play under center.

Hoyer is right, the NFL is a results-based business. And unfortunately, with Hoyer under center, the results just haven’t been there. The offensive explosion against the Rams certainly seems like the exception to the rule – the anomaly in a season that’s quickly spiraling out of control.

Fans have to hope that Hoyer is right – that this team is close and really is only a few plays away from turning the corner. But from this vantage point, it sure doesn’t seem that way.