General manager John Lynch made a plea Friday to the fan base.
Don’t give up on us; make some noise Sunday night when the Dallas Cowboys come to town.
“I know our fans are frustrated this year,” Lynch said on his weekly appearance on the 49ers’ flagship station KNBR-680. “I just say hang with us and help this be the home field advantage that it can be. I’ve got a ton of belief that we’re going to find our way in a good way here soon, but it’s got to start this week.
“This is really a critical game for us as a team.”
The 49ers are coming off a 28-18 loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. They’re 3-4 with a bye to come after facing Dallas on Sunday night. The fans aren’t the only ones who are restless, judging from the observations of some former 49ers this week on the radio.
A sampling:
Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice on 95.7 The Game: “Back in the day, I’m gonna be honest with you, if we played like the way we played (against Kansas City), we would have probably been swinging on each other on the sidelines. We would have been fighting each other. That was not the Forty-Niner standard right there.”
Former tight end Brent Jones on KNBR-680: We’ve got to have buy-in across the board. Nobody’s afraid of us anymore. Everybody was always afraid of us the last couple of years. We’re playing like knuckleheads.”
Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young on KNBR-680: “We’re about the Super Bowl. It felt further away today.”
Hall of Fame defensive ack Ronnie Lott on KNBR-680: “Watching that game, to me, it as more about beating yourself. Protecting the ball, doing all the things you’ve got to do. Being smart with the football. Understanding situations. All of these guys have shown they can do it. They’ve played under pressure. To me, it’s simple, protect the ball, go out and get the ball.”
Young: “(Brock Purdy) needs to grow into that place where, ‘What is too much? What can’t I do?’ I think last year, he left the year thinking, `There’s nothing I can’t do. We just dominate.’ This is harder and there’s growth out of this. The problem is people have created that type of doubt and anxiety and now you’ve got to drag yourself out of it.”
Jones: “We need to figure out how to pick up the blitz or we’re going to get Brock Purdy killed.”
Former safety and current NBC Sports Bay Area analyst Donte Whitner: “I think (Brock) was pressing. He was trying to do too much. He has a lot of injuries around him and he’s the only guy that can make this offense go. On the first interception, he definitely predetermined that throw and I think Kyle Shanahan can do a better job of giving him better options on that play so he doesn’t have to predetermine it.”
Jones: “Throwing deep outside, you’ve got to have a really strong arm. Brock’s got a good arm, but it’s not an Elway-esque arm so you don’t rely on those throws for your bread and butter.
Rice: “(The 49ers) need to simplify everything where Brock Purdy is more comfortable, he can see the lanes and stuff like that. I think that’s going to equate to winning football games. And also, our defense fought hard. But eventually, they’re going to get tired.”
Whitner: “Getting Christian McCaffery back will be almost like the day they traded for Christian McCaffery.”
Young: “We’ve got to get more dynamic. We have struggled in the red zone. It can’t be one person. There’s no way you lead the league in red zone it’s one guy. We’re going to have come up with crazier stuff to get in there.
Jones: “If Kyle’s got to cut a couple of players, special teams players, then do it. Throw down the gauntlet. Let people know this is not a country club. We’ve got to beat the Cowboys and get to the bye.”
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Rice: “I’m still going to stay positive. They’ve got to somehow turn it back around, get a win against those Cowboys, which I hate those Cowboys. They’re coming to town, but we’ve got to get it.”
Lott: “They’ve all played in prime time games. They’ve all been Denzel Washington. They will show up, they will play, they will make the plays they need to make and hopefully they’ll do what they’re capable of doing.”
Whitner: “After the first eight games of the season they normally don’t do well. It’s almost like they’re collecting data. I know this year is an anomaly because they’ve had so many injuries. I just know this is a must win this week.”
