After two very expensive turnovers at the expense of the people of Washington last Sunday, Nick Mulens spoke about the need to focus on details, and more than one person who agrees with him.
On Friday, Kyle Shanah explained how important it is for Mullens to improve its productivity and reduce its errors. The 49ers coach watched the third-year quarterback struggle as his footsteps dropped.
“I think it’s gotten a little bit away from that, which happens when people go through a bit of trouble,” Shanah said. “It happens when you go through a pass rush like you did last week and that’s what you always want to come back to.”
Mullens’ accuracy has been wildly inconsistent. Jeff Garcia, a former 49er quarterback and NBC Sports Bay Area analyst, told me that he agrees with Shanahan that the fundamentals of the quarterback have become questionable.
“I don’t think he’s a mentally sharp kid,” Garcia said. “But I believe there are a lot of mechanical things that he can improve on. That doesn’t mean he should be a scumbler or this terrific athlete, but the sense of pocket presence I think is missing with him and part of it is just from his mechanics. “
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In nine Mullens releases in 2020, he has completed 190 of his 290 attempts. His 65.6 percent completion rate ranks him 21st in the NFL, but he has thrown a lot of interruptions (10) since he touched down.
Mullen’s 4.4-percent acceptance percentage ranks him 33rd out of 35 qualified qualified starters, according to ProFutbl. His 10 interceptions by any of the NFL’s early quarterbacks are eighth.
Garcia believes Mullins doesn’t need to have a hand or a rocket for incredible scrambling abilities to succeed. Instead, the Southern Miss product needs to re-focus on the basics.
“Her legs, for me, are a big issue,” Garcia said. “Tom Brady has good legs and pocket awareness. He is not a great athlete. There are many mobs who have been extremely successful in situations that have been very average as far as foot speed is concerned but they have presence and awareness and help organize their offense through how they use their pockets.
“Sitting behind a 7-step drop drop puts his left and right side in a very difficult position to save him because he doesn’t even have a pocket in his pocket. When you don’t move your pockets, you don’t really let those pockets form around you. ”
Mullens allows its basic elements to be exhausted as it faces more pressure to oppose its defense. He hesitates, is unsure about his goal and then when he tries to throw, he is always on his feet, not using the full power of his body, resulting in an error.
Garcia added that the quarterback’s footsteps in West Coast crime are tied to the concept, and how different drops are built with different concepts. Inconsistent footwork means lack of coordination between quarterbacks and their recipients.
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What Garcનોa could be the biggest part of Mullens is how the quarterback hasn’t evolved since his eight starts in 2018. In fact, it seems Mullen has been oppressed. Garcia sees it as a cyclical problem that starts with his feet and leads to a lack of confidence in his performance.
“It seems to have an impact on your decision making and what you are seeing,” Garcia said. “I see him right now at a stage where he’s trying not to make a mistake. When you try not to make a mistake, you make mistakes.”
Mullens will have to face a less-decorated defensive line on Sunday to face the Dallas Cowboys as he did in Week 14.
