SANTA CLARA — After a sixth consecutive loss, this time a 34-17 drubbing by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 49ers GM Trent Baalke rode an elevator down to the locker room.
“Boy, it’s not easy being you right now,” a sympathetic elevator attendee whispered to the executive.
No it’s not.
The San Francisco 49ers’ fall from grace is an utter embarrassment to the people of Northern California. Baalke’s elevator trip down eight flights of stairs was symbolism at its finest. The franchise has been blown to smithereens under his watch and is now barely recognizable.
We have to rehash the same story each and every week: This team actually entered a football season with two flawed backup quarterbacks, with no real receiving threat, with a defensive coordinator carrying a notorious track record for his inability to defend the run, with $40 million of cap space sitting in the bank.
Week after week, every flaw has been repeatedly punctured with a knife. The 49ers are legitimately trying to put out wildfires with a squirt gun. Fans who were outraged a few weeks ago are now no longer interested.
The longer this same conversation lingers around the 49ers, the more out of touch with reality CEO Jed York appears. I’ve been yelling from the mountaintops that York can win back credibility from his dwindling fan base by ridding himself of Baalke now. Until he pulls the trigger, others in the organization will continue to look foolish having to answer for these shortcomings.
That includes the head coach. Because it’s Week 7 and Chip Kelly has officially run out of answers.
“We’re a 1-6 team,” Kelly said. “You are what you are.”
And what are the 49ers? A talentless roster. An empty promise of hope. A waste of your Sunday.
Need some fresh evidence of how backwards things are in Santa Clara? NFL team’s usually promote practice squad players to fill a roster spot. The 49ers promoted running back DuJuan Harris on Sunday, and he was arguably the team’s most productive player on offense, touching the ball 13 times for 57 yards.
“I’m just doing what I can,” Harris said, who has been cut twice since the start of the season.
Colin Kaepernick can make plays with his feet, but he can’t complete passes with regularity. Two games into his starting tenure have yielded little results; just 44.8 percent of his throws are being caught. Whoever stood on the table to keep Kaepernick on the roster — likely Kelly — instead of bringing in a rookie quarterback, has further backed this franchise into a corner.
“I think we threw for 100 yards,” Kaepernick said. “That’s not going to win in the NFL.”
The 49ers muffed a punt by having two players collide. A Buccaneers backup running back named Peyton Barber (who?) reeled off 84 yards in garbage time. 49ers third-string running back Shaun Draughn led the 49ers in receiving with five catches and 37 yards. Pathetic, but expected at this point for Baalke’s 49ers.
The Buccaneers and Bills are not powerhouse NFL teams — Buffalo hasn’t made the playoffs since 1999. And yet they both manhandled the 49ers without star players like Sammy Watkins and Doug Martin. Kelly’s squad has been outscored 79-33 in the last two weeks. After the bye week, it’s Drew Brees’ turn, then the Cardinals on the road, then Tom Brady. The NFL might have to invent a mercy rule in the middle of the season.
If this continues into November and December, 49ers fans may have no other option other than to revolt. Headed southbound on 101 from San Francisco, traffic was considerably lighter, as were the stands. People are having a hard time justifying wasting a truck full of money on one of the NFL’s worst teams.
If the 49ers bring a 1-14 record into the season finale against the Seahawks on Jan. 1 — sadly, a realistic scenario — you could see a boycott in full effect. Especially given that it’s the night after New Year’s Eve, the stands could be 80 percent empty. Maybe that’s the moment it’ll all click for York.
And the saddest part we’ve come to realize in this wasted 2016 season, is that Baalke’s damaged the roster so badly, there will not be a quick fix. This is not a Carson Wentz-Philadelphia Eagles situation where a young stud quarterback hopefully can lift this team by his lonesome. It’s going to take multiple drafts and the correct use of free agency for the 49ers to even sniff 8-8.
On Friday, ESPN the magazine released franchise index rankings, placing the 49ers in dead last place — 122nd overall. The truth hurts.
At least the Cleveland Browns purged their roster of old veterans and underachieving draft picks this season, a built-in excuse for an 0-7 record. The 49ers did not have a plan, and have no excuses. You can truly call yourself a faithful fan if you keep following this football team.