Analysis: Charlotte 49ers football can use tough start as building block for 2022 season

The Charlotte 49ers had a rough start to the 2022 season, falling to Florida Atlantic for the fourth-consecutive time. Chris Reynolds suffered an injury to his non-throwing arm, and Charlotte fell by 30 points to a formidable conference foe.

Florida Atlantic was the better team in all three phases of the game, and outside of the first quarter, Charlotte wasn’t truly competitive.

Head coach Will Healy didn’t mince words after the loss, calling it the one of the worst losses in his time at Charlotte.

“We got our absolute butt kicked. As bad as we’ve gotten our butt’s kicked since we’ve been here. Not acceptable,” Healy said after the game. “We were sloppy. Way too many busts. Had plenty of opportunities. We’ve got a long way to go. It’s kind of one of those things where you feel really good about it heading into the game, and then you get punched in the mouth and you realized how much work is left to be done.”

The Owls piled up 482 yards and 43 points in the rout, prompting fears the Charlotte defense may have similar issues to one year ago.

Charlotte showed flashes of explosiveness on offense, and made timely plays on defense early in the game. The 49ers must build on the positive film to keep the goal of making and winning the program’s first bowl game alive.

Here are three things we learned from Charlotte’s season-opening loss.

Defensive woes, again?

Florida Atlantic could have scored on their first three plays from scrimmage. After quarterback N’Kosi Perry found Jahmal Edrine for a 33-yard connection, then overthrew a streaking receiver without a defender within 10 yards, Larry McCammon burst free for a long touchdown run, kicking off his career night.

McCammon rushed for 118 yards and a score, leading the way for the Owls’ 218 yards on the ground. The 49ers missed defensive tackle Miguel Jackson in the loss, struggling to produce a push from the interior defensive line.

Healy added: “They kicked our butt up front. I was worried about that.”

The 49ers struggled to get lined up in the secondary early and often, leading to multiple blown coverages and touchdowns for the Owls. Charlotte’s new defensive coordinator Greg Brown had a rough welcome to the Queen City, but it’s worth noting it was his first game calling a defense in 12 seasons.

There were, however, flashes from two players in particular, Davondre “Tank” Robinson and Derek Boykins.

Robinson made his presence felt immediately upon being inserted into the lineup, following the blown coverages by the 49ers’ starting safeties on the Owls’ first possession. Robinson recorded seven tackles in the loss, making plays sideline to sideline. Boykins was featured as a team captain for the game and brought the physicality early and often. He will continue to be relied on as a leader on the 49ers’ defense throughout the season.

Charlotte’s defense did make key plays in the first half, holding the Owls to field goals and keeping the score within reach. The biggest concern for the 49ers was the lack of pass rush. The 49ers didn’t record a sack, and defensive ends Markees Watts and Amir Siddiq were kept in check throughout the evening. There are clear weaknesses at the cornerback position, and the front four must work towards covering those throughout the year and getting after the quarterback.

The quarterback position

The 49er faithful held their breath when sixth-year quarterback and team captain Chris Reynolds exited the game on the first play of the second quarter after attempting to leap through an arm tackle on a third down.

“Chris Reynolds has an upper-body injury,” Healy said about the injury. “There were times where he felt like he could go and there were times where I was watching him get hit thinking, ‘man, we’ve got to keep this guy healthy and have got to play another 11 games.’”

Reynolds was slow to get up and was taken to the locker room and ruled out for the first half, leaving James Foster to run the show in his absence. Neither quarterback played their best, but it was obvious that if Charlotte is going to compete in any capacity, Reynolds must be in the lineup.

After starting a perfect 5-for-5 for 85 yards and a 52-yard touchdown pass to Grant DuBose on the opening drive, Charlotte got away from the deep ball almost entirely. While part of that was due to the Owls’ front-four and various blitzes, the 49ers have NFL-level talent on the perimeter and must utilize it.

Foster struggled mightily in his action through the second and fourth quarters. He threw seven straight incompletions — although there were multiple wide-open drops — before completing his first pass in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Healy spoke about the momentum shift following the pick-six at the end of the first half.

“I felt like it was important with them getting the ball first in the second half that we get points. James tried to make a play and scrambled around. Worst case scenario, and obviously that was a major changing point in the game,” Healy said. “You go from being down 13 at half to being down 19 at half and it changes the complexion for sure.”

What’s next?

With 11 games still left on the schedule, including two Power Five opponents in the next four weeks, Charlotte has its work cut out for it. Making a bowl game is attainable, but changes need to be made on both sides of the ball.

“Maybe the blessing in disguise is that we play on Friday, and that’s one less day that I have to feel like complete crap. And maybe it gets our minds moving quickly for a sense of urgency to get some things fixed. There are plenty of opportunities to be a really good football team. But it wasn’t near consistent enough tonight. Offensively, defensively, special teams, nothing.”

Charlotte hosts William & Mary on Friday, Sept. 2, Maryland on Sept. 10, and will travel to Georgia State and South Carolina to round out their non-conference schedule before starting Conference USA play.

“This isn’t going to be the story of the 2022 season,” Healy said. Whether we won or whether we lost, this isn’t the end of the story. It was just a terrible feeling. It felt like we kept it close for half of a quarter and then after that we just never got anything going again. They kicked our butt. Kudos to Willie and their players, they’ve got a great football team and they made us look bad for a long time tonight.”

Healy and the 49ers will have plenty of opportunities to right the ship in 2022, and that starts with sticking together through the storm. This group lost five of its last six in the back half of 2021 and must find a way to gel and disguise its weaknesses, especially on the defensive side of the ball. It’s a long season and the 49ers will be back on the practice field Monday morning preparing to host Healy’s former head coach Mike London and the Tribe.