Latest news with #ChrisFoerster
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
49ers center earns amazing compliment from his position coach
The San Francisco 49ers had a rough season in 2024, finishing with in fourth place in the NFC West with a 6-11 record. Their .353 winning percentage was their worst since 2018 when they went 4-12 (.250), which somehow still wasn't bad enough to land in last in the division. While not much went right for the 49ers last year, they did get some great player up front, especially from center Jake Brendel. The former UCLA Bruin, who originally joined the team back in 2020 but opted out to COVID-19, entered his third season as the starting center and had a great year. Advertisement Pro Football Focus gave him a 65.0 overall grade, ranking him 23rd out of 64 qualified centers. He also earned a 71.6 run-blocking grade (13th) and a 55.1 pass-blocking grade (51st). However, when it comes to the grades from 49ers offensive line coach Chris Foerster, Brendel was the best of the best. 'Fewest amount of missed assignments," Foerster said. "His pass protection was the highest grade, his run blocking grade, pass blocking grade, and his mental errors were the best they've been since he's been here. They've been better than any center that we've had playing here up to this point.' Since Kyle Shanahan took over as the team's head coach, the 49ers have had Brendel, Weston Richburg and Alex Mack as their primary starting centers, and in Foerster's mind, this past season was the best yet. According to SIS Data Hub, Brendel had just six blown blocks, which was the fewest of any 49ers offensive lineman in 2024. Advertisement Foerster took some issue with the center's PFF grade, saying that they're grading without context. "It's interesting how he's rated outside of the 32 centers by whatever the grading system is. But I'm not knocking it, because my point is that everybody looks at something different," Foerster told 49ers writer Jake Hutchinson. "So you can knock what I look at and say, 'Oh, you don't know what you're talking about.' That's fine. I know what we asked him to do on every given play and what his role is, what his job is, so I can grade it." As the 49ers prepare for 2025, Brendel is set to enter his four season as the team's starting center, and if he plays the way he did down the stretch, that should be a strong base for the offense to build on to make it back to the postseason again. More 49ers: 49ers wide receivers coach says rookie has 'it' factor they're looking for This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers center Jake Brendel receives tremendous respect from his coach
New York Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Why the 49ers have faith in their offensive line — even if nobody else does
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It's not really football yet, as defensive end Nick Bosa pointed out on Wednesday. The San Francisco 49ers players are wearing helmets for the offseason workouts, but there are no pads, and there is limited contact. But every now and then you hear a coach get after a player, so there is important work being done. Last week, when offensive line coach Chris Foerster started yelling at backup tackle Austen Pleasants and rookie guard Connor Colby after a drill, it was music to coach Kyle Shanahan's ears. Advertisement Foerster and Shanahan have been together for a decade now, the last six years with the 49ers, and they like this offensive line group, no matter if the outside world thinks it will hold up. And when Foerster yells at a player, it's a sign he thinks he has someone who can play on Sundays. 'Once I think guys have a chance to play, the gloves come off,' Foerster said on Tuesday. 'Now we're gonna find out how you handle the pressure. Because when you get in a game, it's not when you succeed, it's when you fail and how you handle that. 'So they're gonna get it pretty good until they get it right.' Although they considered it, the 49ers didn't draft an offensive lineman until they turned in Colby's name in the seventh round. He will compete for the left guard job, though Ben Bartch is the favorite for the lone vacancy on the starting unit. Left tackle Trent Williams looked Wednesday as if he is healthy and in great shape, and he leads a group that has Colton McKivitz at the other tackle spot, Dominick Puni at right guard and the underrated Jake Brendel at center. Besides left guard Aaron Banks, the 49ers lost swing tackle Jaylon Moore to free agency but think free-agent signee Andre Dillard (a first-round pick in 2019) is a good fit. 'We like our group,' Foerster said. 'I like that we have some competition, especially at the left guard spot. I want to see how Jake Brendel will improve off of last year, and we all need to improve and we have spent a lot of time grinding this offseason. 'We were 6-11. We've got to play better at every position on the line.' Let's start with Brendel, who has started every game for the 49ers for the last three seasons. Many fans and scouting websites may not be impressed, but Foerster said Brendel was better last season than any 49ers center in the Shanahan era. Advertisement 'Fewest amount of (missed assignments),' Foerster said. 'His pass protection was the highest grade … his run grade, pass-protection grade, and his mental errors were the best they've been since he's been here. They've been better than any center that we've had playing here up to this point.' Foerster acknowledged how Brendel is viewed inside and outside of the 49ers' facility and said it was 'interesting.' 'Everybody looks at something different,' Foerster said. 'I know what we asked him to do on every given play and what his role is and what his job is, so I can grade it, but that doesn't mean that's how everybody else grades. They can grade him 65th out of 32, and that's their choice. 'My job is to weigh him against all the other centers in the league and all the others coming out in the draft on how they fit our scheme.' — Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) June 4, 2025 Foerster is also excited about the 6-foot-6, 315-pound Bartch filling the void at left guard, assuming he can hold off veteran Nick Zakelj and rookies Colby and Drew Moss. 'Ben has the perfect skill set for our offense,' Foerster said. 'In fact, he's stronger than guys that have his athleticism. He's got great quickness and twitch and speed for a guy of his size. And he really loves the weight room. 'The problem is, as always, it's up here,' Foerster continued, pointing to his head. 'It's not that he's not smart. It's the consistency, being able play in and play out to deal with failures and stack wins.' In the NFL, all players take it on the chin no matter how good they are. 'Even Trent Williams and Joe Staley would talk about having some tough times against Aldon Smith,' Foerster said. 'You get beat, you get better, and you win.' The 49ers considered drafting a tackle this year who could fill in at left guard for a season or two, but it didn't happen. Advertisement 'There were players in the draft like that in every round,' Foerster said. 'We go through all the scenarios. We evaluate all the guys from 1 to 16 going into camp and how do they rank out in the league — you're always looking to upgrade your talent.' Spencer Burford has seemingly been up and down those rankings his three years here and will compete with Dillard for the swing tackle job. As will the 6-7, 328-pound Pleasants, who is a new man after playing in all of five games since the Jacksonville Jaguars signed him out of Ohio in 2020. 'Last season when he signed here, I didn't see the speed,' Foerster said of Pleasants, who signed with the 49ers in December and played three games down the stretch. 'But now, all of a sudden, he's moving. He's just a giant that can really move, and I don't know what happened. … I really think he's got something in there that's special. I just don't know how soon he will be ready.' Another piece Foerster is trying to fit in is Colby, a converted tackle from Iowa. The tricky part there, Foerster laughed, is the Iowa part. 'They do an excellent job there of running the wide zone scheme, and protection-wise, he's a very well-coached player,' Foerster said. 'It's really hard though because the Iowa kids are some of the better coached players in college football, so when you get them, you have to dig in deeper into their blocks and find out if it's just the coaching or is it the player.' It reminds Foerster of the problem teams used to have signing former Indianapolis Colts offensive linemen. 'These linemen would sign contracts and go to other place,s and they never panned out very well,' he said. 'That's because Peyton Manning would always get the ball out before he got sacked, and on the new team, the quarterback held the ball. 'They were well-coached blocking for Peyton and were at their ceiling, so you gotta be careful with that kind of stuff.' Advertisement Foerster does know what he is looking for, thanks to four years with Shanahan in Washington from 2010 to 2014 and these last six years in Santa Clara. 'I know exactly what Kyle wants out of each position on the offensive line and what it requires to let the quarterback, the tight ends, the receivers, their running backs all have success,' he said. 'My job is to do everything I believe in, but give him everything he wants, and over the course of time, we've come to see the game the same.' It's a trust factor that has helped the 49ers get to the Super Bowl twice in the last six seasons. 'We just need to win a couple more games,' Foerster said. (Top photo of Nick Zakelj, Matt Hennessy and Jake Brendel: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
