The San Francisco 49ers were improved against the run as they lost to the Panthers, and they showed signs of improvement. A team that is not playing very well overall needs to find any victories they can when they look at their tape, and it is important to remember that this team has been built to ensure that it would be successful a couple years from now. They played the run fairly well, and they have hope for the rest of this season. The 49ers will have a terrible record, but they will have a lot of time to improve. They must look at something every week that will make them look better.
Drafting
The 49ers have drafted very well under their new regime, and they will probably do so in the future. They will have a very young, very cheap, and very good team in a couple years, and they will have established their culture over that time so that new players know what they are all about. It is really important for the 49ers to do something that will make them better every week, and they will start to win a game here and there just because of improvement. Holding Christian McCaffrey in check is a very good start, and it shows that the defense was drafted properly before the season started.
Offense
The 49ers may have to wait until the end of the season to make the trade with the Redskins for Kirk Cousins.
We can all see that Kirk Cousins is not happy in Washington, and he would be hard pressed to go back to the Redskins. The 49ers could trade for Cousins, or they could wait for him to enter free agency and try to woo him with the biggest payday possible. This team has no offense at the moment because they worked so hard on their defense.
They can spend another year working on their defense as they slowly find pieces for their offense. This seems to be the right way to run a team, and it will make them much better in the future.
Patience
The 49ers have to have patience if they want to succeed going forward. They could be set up for the next 15 years if they can run their club right over the next couple of years, and it would be wise for them to ensure that they have taken the time to get all the right pieces in the right places.
They should not be in a hurry because they cannot win this division, and they will be in contention in a couple years after they have gone through all the steps that will make them a very good club. San Francisco has committed to the long rebuild that is often required in the NFL, and they should stay on that course for as long as possible. Patience will pay off in the end after a couple good drafts and free agent signings.
