unday by upsetting their division rival https://www.49ersfanshop.com/Joshua-Garnett-Jersey , the Seattle Seahawks. There’s already tons of media on us breaking the losing streak and how well Deforest Buckner and Nick Mullens played, but the unsung hero is this contest was Solomon Thomas. Checking the box score, you’ll see 2 tackles, but so much of what Thomas accomplished on Sunday won’t show up on any stat sheet.Playing at both inside and outside positions on the defensive line, he was able to consistently cause havoc and control blockers. This allowed for other players to make plays. Today we take a look at some of the film and how Thomas helped San Francisco win the game.First thing I noticed from Thomas was his ability to control the line of scrimmage. He was able to get under his blockers and discard them easily to make the tackle. He also did a great job in the outside of setting the edge and funneling the Seattle run game back into the teeth of the San Francisco defense. Here we have two great examples of Thomas standing up Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown. Thomas shows solid technique by jumping outside as to not get hooked, then using his inside arm, he extends and leans in to prevent Brown from getting into his chest. Then as the ball carrier approaches, he tosses him aside and gets in on the action.When the play wasn’t coming Thomas’ way, he showed great quickness down the line to crash down the runner before they could gain any yards. More solid technique as he rushes up the field first, checks for any reverses or bootlegs, then makes a beeline towards the running back. Here’s two great examples of him doing just that.Solomon Thomas played his best on the inside. I’m looking forward to seeing him dominate more from his natural position. While his outside game still needs some work, inside he’s able play well because he’s quick off the ball. It also looks like he’s been working with Buckner on his hand technique as he was beating blockers left and right using similar moves. This first clip is pure power, he stands up the guard, and then tosses him to the side to make the tackle.Thomas also did well for himself in the pass game causing pressure and eating up blockers. This allowed one on ones for other lineman and also kept Fred Warner and Elijah Lee free to roam sideline to sideline.In our first clip, the 49ers use scheme to get Buckner one-on-one in space and it works. Arik Armstead takes a wide rush outside George Kittle Jersey , while Thomas and Ronald Blair run a stunt on the opposite side. Thomas attacks the inside guard so quickly the center is forced to lean over and double him. This leaves Buckner one-on-one with no other lineman close enough to help. Once Buckner beats the guard, he’s untouched toward the QB for the sack.Thomas also caused pressure himself on the quarterback. Here we see some of the hand technique mentioned earlier. He swats the guards hands away and then rips under him to pass by. Wilson is forced to break out of the pocket and is eventually corralled by Buckner.Thomas’ biggest impact on Sunday came late in the game. Did you notice every time there was a big play by Seattle it was called back by a holding call? There were three, two at the end of regulation, and one in overtime. All three were called on the offensive lineman attempting to block Solomon Thomas. I have those clips below. Each time he simply beat the blocker at the point of attack and the lineman was forced to hold him. Each time it was a drive killer and eventually gave San Francisco the ball back to go and win the game.4th quarter, 3rd and 4. Holding. Seahawks forced to punt a few plays later.4th quarter. One Minute left. This would’ve gotten them into field goal range to win but the Seahawks were forced to punt again. Regulation ends in a tie.Overtime. Seahawks driving to win the game, their drive is killed by a third holding call drawn by Thomas.In those three plays alone you can see Thomas has improved. Combine those clips with the rest above and we start to get an idea of his overall growth and ability. There’s a lot of people on this site and in the NFL universe who tagged Thomas a reach, and seem him as a bust. I can admit myself there were game where he was simply invisible. He started the season slow, we often saw him getting beat at the point of attack and pushed around. The last few weeks however he’s been on a tear. He’s also been mentioned on PFF’s “refocused weekly game recap” the last two weeks in a row. While his overall rating isn’t exceptional, his play on the field shows promise of things to come in the upcoming seasons.It’s possible the 49ers will draft an edge rusher with their first round pick in the upcoming draft with hopes of continuing to bolster the pass rush. I do believe in Thomas they have a solid player who has shown some versatility and more important shown he can improve and get better. The sky’s the limit next season. Go Niners! We’re going to look at departures from each position prior to Week 1 of the 2018 season and see how they fared after leaving the San Francisco 49ers. Some players went on to better careers, while others may be out of the league. We won’t be highlighting every transaction, just some notable ones. Today, we look at the backfield.If there’s anything we learned from the running backs in 2018, it’s that A: Kyle Shanahan can identify and coach them up better than anyone else in the league and/or B: the 49ers are loaded at the position. Throughout the season, a new body would come in for someone else be it Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert or Jeff Wilson Jr. Which makes it all the more understanding why they moved on from who they did. While Jerick McKinnon was a nice upgrade K'Waun Williams Color Rush Jersey , Carlos Hyde had the experience in Shanahan’s difficult-to-learn offense. He also couldn’t catch in that offense (a deep Jimmy Garoppolo throw comes to mind here). Here’s a list of the more notable departures, and as far as the running backs go, there’s only two big names to jot down. Note that with some exceptions,many camp bodies, training camp transactions, and roster cuts during the season are not listed. Carlos HydeJoe WilliamsCarlos HydeWhen Carlos Hyde was drafted in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, it was clear the 49ers were looking for an eventual replacement for Frank Gore. When the 2014 season ended, the 49ers let Gore walk in free agency, leaving the role all for Hyde’s taking. At the time, all of this made sense. While the 49ers handled the situation about as poorly as one could imagine, the logic made sense. Get younger and cheaper at the position. Hyde wasn’t a bad running back by any stretch of the imagination, but he couldn’t stay healthy and his play of a cannonball shooting through the tackles lacked the vision and patience Gore had. He also had issues catching the ball, made most apparent in Kyle Shanahan’s arrival. As 2017 went on, Hyde relinquished more and more carries to rookie Matt Breida, but https://www.49ersfanshop.com/Marquise-Goodwin-Jersey , as a consummate teammate he was, remained positive on his role and wanted to return in 2018. That didn’t happen. The 49ers signed Jerick McKinnon and Hyde went to the Cleveland Browns. And it got worse. Despite the Browns drafting Nick Chubb early in the 2018 draft (second round, 35th overall), Hyde was the No. 1 back. That didn’t last long. Hyde put together great runs and games, but was dealt to the Jacksonville Jaguars in a midseason trade, giving the Browns their draft pick full reign of the backfield. Hyde turned in respectable numbers for “a Browns team” (63 yards-per game average) but Chubb took things to a whole new level as time went on, further hurting Hyde’s stock. With the Jaguars, Hyde played four games, starting in one and amassing 189 yards in Jacksonville. Combined with his 382 yards in Cleveland, Hyde finished 2018 with 172 rushing attempts, 571 yards, and five touchdowns. The Jaguars had character issues with starter Leonard Fournette, so perhaps Hyde has found a home with the Jaguars, but his 2018 couldn’t have gone any worse from a team commitment standpoint. Joe WilliamsNow we go to the other end of the spectrum. Hyde brought hope and promise, Williams brought questions on if he could make it at the NFL level. The 49ers used a fourth round pick on Williams in the 2017 NFL draft Joe Staley Jersey , but Williams never saw the field in 2017 or 2018. Williams came with some issues, most notable his quitting and returning to the Utah Utes football team. His reasoning was sound as it revolved around his sister’s death in 2006—11 years prior—but it still raised some eyebrows with possible character concerns. It also didn’t help that he was kicked off his previous team that he transferred to Utah from, the University of Connecticut. On the field Williams had some good, but mostly bad. When you thought he got it, he’d fumble the ball, run into his offensive line, or do something to indicate he needed time. Undrafted free agent Matt Breida beat him out in 2017 and the 49ers placed Williams on injured reserve. In 2018, the 49ers waived him, not even bringing him to the practice squad (that was left to someone who got playing time, Jeff Wilson Jr.). That’s enough to say the 49ers had about enough. Williams has not been picked up by any other team in the NFL. Would you like to have either of these running backs back on the team?