The offense was not pretty once it crossed the 20-yard line last year"No matter who was playing quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers in 2018 Womens Jerick McKinnon Jersey , the red zone offense wasn’t pretty. For the entire season, the team finished dead last in red zone touchdown percentage at 41%. When Jimmy Garoppolo was under center, the offense was 5-12, which is also 41%. It wasn’t just one persons fault. I saw everything from penalties to fumbles to guys simply not getting open. I’ll use one example with each QB. That seems fair.The issueHave to block somebody The first game of the season the 49ers offense couldn’t budge the Minnesota Vikings front. Here’s how the sequence went: It’s third down and one. Alfred Morris struggles but gets just enough for a first. It’s now first and goal from the four. Weston Richburg doesn’t block anybody and Mike Person gets beat. Gain of one. Next play, the offense gets bailed out by a defensive holding call after nobody could get open and Jimmy G takes a sack. But it’s now first and goal from the one. Laken Tomlinson pulls but forgets to block the linebacker and Morris is met at the line for no gain. The next play Joshua Garnett gets tossed out of the way like a rag doll and his man hits Morris and he fumbles.This was one of the ugliest sequences you’ll see from an offense. Up front, the interior offensive line just looked overmatched in each short yardage situation. While this was just the first game, the offense finished 18th in short-yardage run situations on third and fourth down. They were 16th in plays where the running back was tackled either at or the line of scrimmage. A healthy backfield will help. The team has plenty of guys that can create for themselves. They line needs to be tougher and more physical up front.Go-to Receiver One thing I saw teams do on third and five or more was flood the middle of the field and make somebody on the perimeter beat them. Take away George Kittle and force someone else to get open, essentially. Check this play out from Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals.Starting at the top of the screen, Marquise Goodwin doesn’t even get to the sticks on his route, let alone gets open. The zone the Cardinals are in all but takeaway the other two routes to that side. Because the 49ers needed to gain seven yards, the linebacker to Kittle’s side didn’t have to respect the underneath route out of the backfield by Kyle Juszczyk.There were plenty of times where Kittle was wide open on third down, but didn’t even get targeted. Check out this play below. It’s third and two:How do you not even look Kittle’s way!When Dante Pettis was down, the other receivers really struggled to get open on third down when they weren’t schemed open. That’s likely why we’ll see the 49ers add another target on the perimeter on Day 2 of the draft. Plays like this are likely why the team is interested in strong receivers like N’Keal Harry and Deebo Samuel.Time to improve the timingWhat is pretty clear in these clips and just watching the red zone offense is that the timing was off on a lot of their passing routes. The play above with Marquise Goodwin is a timing issue. He gets jammed at the line, and the timing of the entire play is off. That’s what happens when you have a backup QB playing. Garoppolo was far from perfect Frank Gore Jersey White , he had some misses and held on to the ball too long. Garoppolo has that gunslinger mentality with a release that is as quick as it gets. Jimmy G knowing where to go with the ball should improve the teams red zone deficiencies.It’s tough to read too much into the 49ers offense last year with all of the injuries. They But health matters. “Your best ability is your availability.” It’d be nice to see Garoppolo and the receivers build a rapport with each other. The offense was 15th in red zone opportunities per game last year. Kyle Shanahan is a wizard. He’ll need healthy bodies, 11 players on the same page, and a receiver not named Kittle to be a consistent threat if the 49ers are going to take the next step in 2019.Survivor, straight up picks for Week 3 NFL action We are officially 1/8th of the way through the 2018 NFL season. Week 3 is upon us, and it kicks off with the Cleveland Browns hosting the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football. Neither team is going to make the playoffs this year, but they have shown some signs of life through the first two weeks. Maybe TNF won’t be a bore!It’s time once again for our pick ‘em and Survivor pool contest options. We have the weekly prediction contest this season, and you can make those picks here. We also have a traditional “Pick ‘Em” contest. If you still want to join, the group name is Niners Nation, the group ID is 45734, and the password is go49ers. You’re pretty far behind, but feel free to join.Survivor pools continue. I took the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1, and went with the New Orleans Saints in Week 2. The Cleveland Browns gave them a scare, but the Browns did Browns things, and the Saints managed the win. This week Womens Deion Sanders Jersey , the Minnesota Vikings are going to be incredibly popular as a 17 point favorite at home against Buffalo. The pick is a safe one, but I’m leaning toward Chicago over Oakland Arizona. It’s a road game, which is concerning, but that Bears defense looks really good. Another option would be Miami over Oakland, but the Dolphins are not the most inspiring of teams.Tonight, Week 3 opens with the Jets and Browns squaring off. The Jets thumped the Lions on the road in their opener and then lost an ugly one at home to Miami. Cleveland tied Pittsburgh in Week 1, and then lost a heartbreaker in Week 2 — and both games would have swung the other way with an adequate kicker. The Browns are a three point favorite, marking the first time they’ve been home favorites since 2015. I don’t have a great feel for this one, but given how the Browns have played thus far against the Steelers and Saints, I’m going to lay the pointsHere are the rest of my straight-up picks. I was 10-5-1 last week, bringing my season record to 20-10-2. I’ll have my picks against the spread later this weekend.Jets @ Browns: BrownsSaints @ Falcons: Falcons49ers @ Chiefs: ChiefsRaiders @ Dolphins: DolphinsBills @ Vikings: VikingsColts @ Eagles: EaglesPackers @ Washington: WashingtonBengals @ Panthers: BengalsTitans @ Jaguars: JaguarsBroncos @ Ravens: RavensGiants @ Texans: TexansChargers @ Rams: RamsBears @ Cardinals: BearsCowboys @ Seahawks: SeahawksPatriots @ Lions: PatriotsSteelers @ Buccaneers: Bucs