The San Francisco 49ers are 4-4 and still trail the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West race. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan knows his team could be trending upward. The 49ers expect to get several players back from injuries after the bye week. That could help the team go on a run in the second half of the season, much like it did last year when it made the playoffs and fought to the NFC Championship Game.
Shanahan spoke with reporters via a conference call on Monday. He was asked where he views his team as it heads into the bye week.
"I think everything you look at, whether it's at the beginning of the year, during the year, towards the end, you just want a chance to get into the tournament," Shanahan said, "and with where we stand now, I still feel we have a very good chance of that. So we have to play good football here, going forward. The thing that you want most with your team is that you're getting better as the year goes and just all around in all three phases. [We] probably had our best game as a team yesterday, and I think that was real good timing for it.
"I think we need this bye week. We need to rest up a little bit and, hopefully, get some guys back. Right when we get it going a little bit, it's always tough to take some time off, but I do think we need it just for our health and stuff. And we have to come back in here and have a good Monday, good Tuesday, before we get going with the game plan next Wednesday."
Aiyuk playing consistent football
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk caught six passes for 81 yards and hauled in a touchdown from running back Christian McCaffrey against the Rams. It was Aiyuk's third consecutive game catching six-or-more passes for 81-or-more receiving yards.
How has the coach assessed his receiver's performances in the last few weeks?
"I think B.A.'s been great," Shanahan said. "I think he's been one of our more consistent players. Just the conditioning he's brought to each play, the effort he's brought to each play, the intent that he's doing.
"I thought one of my favorite plays in the game versus Kansas City was the way he blocked on a linebacker on one of the plays and just how he kept going all the way through the whistle, and he's been letting the game come to him. And it eventually has these past few weeks. He's gotten a number of opportunities, and he's made the most of each one."
Everyone figured Aiyuk's workload would increase against the Rams with Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings inactive. Aiyuk played 98 percent of the offensive snaps on Sunday, his highest percentage since Week 1 (99 percent).
"I think once we found out on Saturday that Jauan was not going to go also, we had to move [wide receiver] Ray-Ray [McCloud] back to a different position and spot play [wide receiver] Willie [Snead IV] there and to bring in [wide receiver] Danny [Gray] also," Shanahan said. "So really, the pressure was put on Aiyuk that we were going to rotate the other guys more, so we thought he was conditioned enough and was playing consistently enough that he could stay out there longer, and he rose to the occasion.
"Sometimes when guys get too many reps, their play gets sloppy, and they pick and choose when to go and when not to trying to conserve energy. And that wasn't the case with B.A. He's conditioned to handle that, and he handled it well."
McCaffrey making things easier
Christian McCaffrey accounted for nearly half of the 49ers' total yards on Sunday. His 183 all-purpose yards marked his sixth time this season and the 38th of his career with 100-or-more all-purpose yards.
That kind of production, and the consistent threat of yet another offensive weapon, has made things easier for the 49ers.
"It adds an element for other things for people to worry about," Shanahan explained. "It adds an element on areas to go when you think it's a weakness in the defense. Quarterbacks can always get to check downs as an outlet, but it gives it more percentage of that outlet being a bigger play too. So the more different things that a player can bring to the offense, the harder all the areas become to defend."
What is happening at right guard?
Spencer Burford started Sunday's game at right guard but split time with Daniel Brunskill. Burford accounted for 31 offensive snaps, while Brunskill had 22. Shanahan doesn't envision the 49ers ending the rotation anytime soon; explaining why.
"We love how it's going right now," Shanahan said. "D-linemen are rotated throughout entire games and get to play O-lineman fresh all the time, so I don't think it's a knock on either of those guys. I think they're both doing good in their reps that they get, and I think it helps both of them. It allows you to be fresher.
"I think it's made both of them better, and if we ever see a need to change it, we'll do it, but I haven't really thought about not doing it yet."