With the bye week coming and a trip to Seattle looming after that, 49ers coach Jim Tomsula won’t commit to a second straight start for Gabbert.
Advertisement
In fact, Tomsula spent more time Monday praising Gabbert for the preparation for his first start than the start itself. “Where I’ll go with that, obviously, watching film last night and this morning, Blaine did a nice job”, Tomsula said. “I think it’s going to be good from here on out”. “We have a great set of quarterbacks and Blaine had a great game”. “Very confident, (and he) knew where he wanted to go, and what he wanted to do”. Gabbert had a solid day, throwing for 185 yards and two touchdowns, while completing 60 percent of his passes. “He made a few plays”, Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant said Sunday. “And then we had an open week and we’d see where things went from there”.
Even with the myriad of injuries at running back, the 49ers were able to produce on the running game.
Although Tomsula downplayed the benching of Colin Kaepernick as an opportunity for the ersatz franchise quarterback to “step back and breathe”, Gabbert simply gives the team a better chance to win right now.
One reason to panic: It’s all relative, but the 5-yard penalty for illegal motion on center Marcus Martin before the team’s first snap under Gabbert did not bode well at the time. The Niners’ new starting QB was a game manager, so adept at it that his two interceptions did not cost the team.
San Francisco’s defense caused issues for the Falcons, who couldn’t punch the football into the end zone late in the fourth quarter and had to settle for a field goal when they needed more. “It just felt good flying around, having fun”.
With the 49ers running backs-by-commitee rushing for a combined 133 yards, after two sub-200 yard offensive efforts, the offense totaled a respectable 318 yards in this game. The Niners were lucky to win that game.
The Falcons’ Matt Ryan, left, and 49ers’ Blaine Gabbert greet one another after Sunday’s game. Draughn, who led the team with 16 carries and managed 96 yards from scrimmage, had just two carries in 2015 prior to Week 9 and 14 carries in the 2014 and 2013 seasons combined. While Kaepernick’s benching is likely temporary, Gabbert looked the part of an National Football League starter at times against a Falcons team that has now lost three of its last four after starting the season 5-0. Tight end Garret Celek filled in admirably replacing recently traded tight end Vernon Davis by catching two touchdowns. White said. “We’ve got to mix it up”. “I’ve probably grown in that way to know that the connection is really about the guys you play with and how hard you play”, said Quinn, moving on to the next question as to whether he would use the comments about Atlanta’s weak defense to his advantage.
Gabbert showed poise in the pocket, contrasting the criticism he drew with the Jaguars. For example, on third down, he stood at his own 7-yard line and, with the pocket getting tight, threw a 26-yard completion to Torrey Smith at the 42. He grabbed ten catches but did not cross the goal line.
Advertisement
“It was a tough spot that we’ve gone through, and we understand where everything comes from, and it all starts pouring all over the place”, Tomsula said.
