{"id":17259,"date":"2024-12-12T23:37:14","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T23:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=17259"},"modified":"2024-12-12T23:37:14","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T23:37:14","slug":"breaking-49ers-need-deebo-samuel-to-be-who-he-believes-he-still-is-in-must-win-game-vs-rams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=17259","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: 49ers need Deebo Samuel to be who he believes he still is in must-win game vs. Rams"},"content":{"rendered":"
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49ers wide receiver\u00a0Deebo Samuel, who has 97 yards in the past four games, complained on social media about being underused before deleting his post.Stacy Revere\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The last time\u00a0Deebo Samuel\u00a0created such a spotlight, he basked in its glow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A year ago, on Dec. 3, 2023, the\u00a0San Francisco 49ers\u2019 All-Pro wide receiver entered Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia as the target of Eagles fan ire and exited with 198 all-purpose yards and a career-high three touchdowns in a 42-19 victory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Samuel had spent the previous 11 months getting Philadelphia\u2019s profane partisans worked up with incendiary comments before he spent three hours shutting them up. He became the fourth wide receiver since 2000 to have two receiving touchdowns and a rushing score in a game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI love the fact that he can talk and set the stage and walk into a hostile environment and just thrive,\u201d pass rusher\u00a0Nick Bosa\u00a0said after the game. \u201cThat\u2019s what greatness is made of, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On Thursday night, 374 days later, Samuel has a chance to prove that greatness isn\u2019t gone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Samuel again has created a stir before the 49ers (6-7) host the Rams (7-6) at Levi\u2019s Stadium in a game S.F. must win to maintain any hope of reaching the playoffs. On Monday, the emotional team captain suggested on social media that his recent drought \u2014 he has had 97 total yards in the past four games \u2014 was due to factors beyond his control: \u201cNot struggling at all just not getting the ball!!!!!!!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This time, based on the comments to his nine-word message he later deleted, Samuel has angered his own fans, who, among other criticisms, have called out his poor timing: Samuel complained about his usage a day after a mood-lifting 38-13 win over the Bears that snapped a three-game losing streak and featured a season-high point total and 452 yards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Samuel didn\u2019t apologize Tuesday when asked about his post, but acknowledged he allowed his emotions to boil over.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou read what you read,\u201d Samuel said. \u201cI was frustrated, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Despite stats suggesting otherwise, Samuel, who will turn 29 in January, seems to believe he can be the same do-everything force he was in 2021 when he earned a three-year, $73.5 million extension by accounting for 1,770 total yards, scoring 14 touchdowns, leading the NFL in yards per catch (18.2) and averaging 6.2 yards on his carries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If so, the 49ers desperately need to see that version of Samuel against L.A., given their offensive attrition. The 49ers will play without three All-Pros \u2014 wide receiver\u00a0Brandon Aiyuk,\u00a0running back\u00a0Christian McCaffrey\u00a0and left tackle\u00a0Trent Williams\u00a0\u2014 and could be forced to give their fourth-string running back, Patrick Taylor, his first career start with rookie speedster Issac Guerendo questionable to play because of a sprained foot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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However, they faced a similar situation against the Bears and Samuel didn\u2019t fill the void. He had 13 yards on five carries and two receptions for 22 yards on three targets, just one more than rookie wide receiver\u00a0Ricky Pearsall, who has one catch in the past four games. Tight end\u00a0George Kittle\u00a0and wide receiver\u00a0Jauan Jennings combined for 13 receptions for 241 yards and two touchdowns on 14 targets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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49ers vs. Rams<\/h3>\n
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Kickoff:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a05:15 p.m. Channel 2, Prime Video (104.5, 680, 107.7)<\/p>\n

Spotlight on CB\u00a0Deommodore Lenoir:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0The 49ers lost to the Rams 27-24 in Week 3 when Los Angeles didn\u2019t have Pro Bowl wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp available. The two will play Thursday and are playing better than ever, combining for 17 catches, 254 yards and two\u00a0TDs in Sunday\u2019s 44-42 win over the Bills. Lenoir can\u2019t limit them alone, but the versatile corner figures to see plenty of Kupp when he lines up in the slot and could go against Nacua on his outside snaps.<\/p>\n

Injury notes:<\/strong><\/span> Rams\u00a0\u2014 CB Cobie Durant (chest) is out. 49ers \u2014 LT Trent Williams (ankle) is out; DE Nick Bosa (hip, oblique), RB Isaac Guerendo (foot) and LB Dre Greenlaw (Achilles) are questionable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A day later, Samuel posted his social-media message, which had his teammates taking pains Tuesday to explain the reasons for his subpar season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Samuel has 553 yards on 40 catches and is on pace for 860 total yards, which would be the fewest in any of the five seasons in which he has played more than seven games. He has caught 62.5% of the passes on which he has been targeted. Kittle and Jennings have combined to catch 77.9% of the passes thrown their way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI think he\u2019s right,\u201d quarterback\u00a0Brock Purdy\u00a0said. \u201cHe\u2019s doing great right now with what we ask of him in the offense. And he is not struggling or anything. \u2026 There\u2019s just moments, I guess, throughout seasons where guys just don\u2019t get the ball, just depending on what the defensive scheme is and them taking guys away.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Samuel averaged 6.3 yards per rushing attempt in his first five seasons (2019-23), the highest average in the NFL among players with 150-plus rushes over that span. This season, he\u2019s averaging a career-worst 2.9 yards on 32 carries, making him one of four players with at least 30 attempts to average less than 3.0 yards per carry in 2024.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Kittle said Samuel wasn\u2019t successful as a running back against the Bears because Chicago\u2019s defense had \u201cbetter calls\u201d on some plays and the 49ers didn\u2019t execute blocks on others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cTo me, Deebo\u2019s very close to just breaking it wide open,\u201d Kittle said. \u201cGuys want to voice their opinion on social media. It is what it is. I don\u2019t care. It doesn\u2019t make anyone in this locker room think any differently about him. Deebo thinks highly of himself, as we all think very highly of Deebo, because he\u2019s a hell of a football player.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The numbers offer evidence that what has made Samuel special has been lacking. He\u2019s not an elite route runner, but he has been among the NFL\u2019s best with the ball in his hands because of his acceleration and force. From 2019 through 2023, he averaged a broken tackle every 6.4 touches; this season, he\u2019s averaging a broken tackle every 18. Samuel led NFL receivers with 38 broken tackles after catches from 2021 through 2023. This season, he has three, tied for 24th among wideouts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Is Samuel running with less violence? On Tuesday, when asked about his struggles as a running back, he said defenses have been ready for him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThey\u2019re not surprised anymore,\u201d Samuel said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been running it for three years now. We\u2019ve got a 50-50 chance when I\u2019m in the backfield of me getting a handoff or an end-around.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In 2021, when the 49ers were 3-5, they surprised the Rams in a 31-10 home win on \u201cMonday Night Football\u201d by lining up Samuel at running back and giving him a career-high five carries, which resulted in 36 yards and a touchdown. It marked the start of a second-half turnaround in a 10-7 season in which Samuel became a self-proclaimed \u201cwide back\u201d and ascended into NFL stardom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Three years later, the circumstances are similar with the 49ers facing the Rams in a must-win, prime-time game at Levi\u2019s Stadium. This time, however, Samuel doesn\u2019t appear to be the same.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Samuel created the spotlight that will be squarely on him Thursday. The stage is set to see if he can, again, summon something special, proving that the greatness he displayed just a year ago isn\u2019t gone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n

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Eric Branch has covered the 49ers at the San Francisco Chronicle since 2011, when he arrived after covering the team in 2010 at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.<\/p>\n

A graduate of UCLA, he\u2019s won nine national APSE awards in various divisions, including recognition in 2018 for a breaking-news story on the arrest of 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster. In 2023, he received a first-place award in feature writing from the Pro Football Writers of America for a story on team pastor Earl Smith. Before covering the 49ers, he covered endless events, including archery tournaments and lawnmower races, while also working at the Logansport (Ind.) Pharos-Tribune, York (Pa.) Daily Record, Alexandria (La.) Town Talk and San Luis Obispo Tribune. He was included in the \u201cBest American Sports Writing 2001,\u201d under notable writing of that year, for a column on the joy and challenge of being a small-town sportswriter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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