Three points to ponder while warming up the old cathode-ray TV for 49ers at New England:
• George Kittle is not a decoy.
Often a coach or receiver will cover up a sub-productive game by that receiver by claiming that the game plan was for that receiver to serve as a decoy.
That is often a lie. Great receivers are seldom if ever used as a decoy for an entire game.
As Eric Branch, The Chronicle’s 49ers expert, points out, the Patriots stopped standout tight ends Darren Waller (2 receptions) and Travis Kelce (3).