When you lose a game like the San Francisco 49ers did on Sunday in Minnesota, and when you are dealing with the injuries the 49ers are facing, it would seem like your next game might be a little hopeless. But there are a couple of reasons 49ers fans should be hopeful for a win on Sunday. First, the 49ers are still a very talented team. And they haven't forgotten how to win.
Second, the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday's opponent, are hurting more than the 49ers. The Rams are missing several starters, and are coming off a blowout loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Even so, you can't overlook any team in the NFL. So the 49ers will need to play well to improve to 2-1.
We opened the 49ers Webzone mailbag this week and found a lot of questions that needed to be answered. Some questions were angry. Some were more concerned than mad. But that's normal following an ugly loss. So let's jump in and see what's on your mind.
Does the offense look out of sync (possibly from the injuries, holdouts/ins)? - Mr. Grinch
Yes, the 49ers offense is not quite right. And understandably so. They have a wide receiver who held in and missed all of training camp. They have a left tackle who held out and missed all of camp. They're missing the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year. They missed Deebo Samuel and George Kittle on a few plays here and there, due to injury.
And on top of that, they're the defending NFC Champions, so everyone is coming for them. They've been sloppy so far, but they'll figure it out. It takes time to get in sync, and that will come.
With this debacle against Minnesota now over, which 49ers team are we going to see against a very hungry Rams squad? - Ed H.
I predict we see an angry 49ers team. If not, then the fans may be angry after that game, just like they were last week. But I expect the 49ers to bounce back. Yes, they lost three straight games last season without Samuel, and this time, they don't have Christian McCaffrey either. But they should be fine. They still have a good defense, and some good players on offense.
I feel like Shanahan outsmarted himself during the goal line & short yardage 4th downs by calling a pass instead of just handing it off to Mason who was busting through most of the game. Do you think Kyle should trust JP more in those short-yardage downs? - Andy G.
I'm sure Kyle Shanahan trusts Jordan Mason. After all, he's given him the ball a total of 50 times in the first two games. Shanahan may have outsmarted himself by thinking everyone figured he would hand the ball off to Mason on those short-yardage plays, so he decided to throw the ball instead. I don't have an issue with throwing the ball, but I wasn't crazy about them being in shotgun.
That said, if the players had executed the plays, things may have turned out differently.
Do Conley, Bell, Cowing, and the running backs have anything to offer? Mason is great, but he's not going to sustain this. - TheGreavance
Chris Conley was good in the postseason last year, but he's a backup player. So we shouldn't expect him to light the world on fire. Ronnie Bell is limited in what he can do. He was a low-round pick for a reason. And Jacob Cowing is a rookie who probably needs a little time. Remember, he missed some time during training camp. And as good as he was in the preseason, it was just preseason, and he was playing against reserves.
With Samuel and McCaffrey missing time, though, someone needs to step up. You're right, Mason can't carry this load for much longer. A running back needs to show up and help out. And another wide receiver or two needs to step up. Also, the offensive line has to be better. They can't allow Purdy to be pressured as much as he has been so far.
After that debacle last Sunday in Minnesota, do you think Shanahan and Lynch will FINALLY dedicate some draft capital to the offensive line? I know everyone presumes to be an expert, but the O-line has been a liability for at least last season, if not a concern the year before that. Fix it already. - Tony M.
By draft capital, I assume Tony means first-round draft capital. The 49ers have used some draft capital on the offensive line, it's just normally lower rounds. Here are some recent draft picks that were used on the offensive line:
2021: Aaron Banks (second round), Jaylon Moore (fifth round)
2022: Spencer Burford (fourth round), Nick Zakelj (sixth round)
2023: None
2024: Dominick Puni (third round), Jarrett Kingston (sixth round)
I will agree, though, that the 49ers need to use some first and second-round picks on the offensive line at some point. Especially the tackle positions. But they don't normally pick high enough to get anyone worth being picked in the first round. That's one reason why they haven't done it. But they also believe in putting their top picks and money into skill position players. Even offensive line coach, Chris Foerster, said as much back in May. "This is my personal opinion," Foerster said at 49ers OTAs. "If they ask me, invest in guys that touch the ball, guys that can touch the ball and score touchdowns. And then there's a range of guys, second, third, fourth round, fifth round even, that we will find starting offensive linemen in.
"Yeah, you draft Trent Williams," Foerster added. "You pick a draft where you're getting a difference maker. But there's guys that can make a difference, that touch the ball, well into the second, third, fourth rounds, or second and third rounds, at least. And definitely in the first round. That guy that touches the ball, it makes a huge difference in the game."
Why does the team always have an issue with the O-line and special teams? Every year they get more defensive instead of offensive. 3rd down coverts and red zone. - Craig H.
I addressed the offensive line in the previous response. As for special teams, I wish I knew. They seem to be bad every year. Would a new special team's coach solve that issue? Perhaps. But it also may be that Shanahan doesn't worry about special teams as much as he does offense and defense.
Whatever the reason, they need to figure out how to get better.
Why does it take losing before the team plays to their potential? The coaches need to find a way to get them up to play at the highest level each week win or lose! I'm expecting the Niners to come out next week and have a great game! - Tom P.
Winning in the NFL isn't easy. But maybe the 49ers get bored with the normal Sunday games. They seem to play best on the bigger stages, like Monday night, Sunday night, and in the postseason. Maybe when you're as good as they are, you start thinking you can coast through the regular season and turn it on in the playoffs. I hope that's not the case, but they start slowly in most seasons.
In 2019 and 2023, they started hot. But the other seasons under Shanahan have been slow starts. Is that because they don't play much in the preseason? Steve Young said September is the new preseason. Some teams just take a while to get going.
Should we have secured better O-line players instead of overpaying a role player? - Aaron T.
I don't think of Brandon Aiyuk as a role player. Last season, he was an All-Pro wide receiver with 1,342 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. And he got paid like it. Now, he needs to perform like that. And he will. Hopefully, it won't take him too many weeks to round into form.
When will 57, 29, and 14 be ready to play? - Scott D.
Talanoa Hufanga (number 29) could play this Sunday. If not, he should be very close to returning. Ricky Pearsall (number 14) has to miss at least the first four games. Will he return in week five? I find that hard to believe, but he seems motivated to return, so it's possible.
Dre Greenlaw (number 57) will be out for most of the season. It's hard to say when he will return, but based on what some orthopedic surgeons said right after his surgery, I tend to believe it will be November at the earliest.
When will anybody be held accountable for any of this, including the head coach? - Chris L.
It's only one game. After week one, everyone was happy. The 49ers will bounce back, and everyone will be happy again. Don't worry too much about it. When you consider the crazy offseason, the injuries, and how much went wrong in that game, it's amazing the 49ers had a chance to win it at the end.
We can mostly thank Fred Warner for that, too. Is he the best player on the team? With McCaffrey out, and Williams not himself yet, Warner gets my vote.
Is Kyle Shanahan's bag of plays finally empty? Do other teams know what to expect as they don't bite on the movements like they once did? - Mike M.
No, I don't think so. But other teams are starting to figure some things out. More and more teams are running this offense, and because of its effectiveness, more and more teams are spending time trying to figure out how to slow it down.
So no, Shanahan's bag of plays isn't empty. But as teams adjust to him, he'll need to adjust to their adjustments. And again, missing McCaffrey is a big deal. Mason isn't making fans miss McCaffrey very much in the run game, but in the passing game, McCaffrey's absence has been massive. Purdy misses his security blanket, especially when there's pressure coming at him. Being that check-down option is one of the things that makes McCaffrey so special.
Why isn't the game plan changed for Brock to get the ball out of hands faster? It would have prevented sacks and opened up the run game, which Mason was doing just fine running. It would be better to have some kind of mystery in the game plan. Deebo is not a good runner unless there's some sort of mystery. Needs to be much more creative. - Ty P.
Purdy normally gets the ball out very fast. He processes things before and after the snap as fast as any QB in the league. But the defensive scheme was causing him to hold onto the ball a little longer than he normally would. He even told Vikings Defensive Coordinator, Brian Flores, after the game that his scheme is "crazy."
I don't feel like it was a lack of creativity, I just think they ran into a great scheme that was being very well executed by the players. Sometimes that happens.
What's with the O line?!? Yesterday's game was a hot mess. I'm surprised the score wasn't worse. They don't need to be perfect but come on in certain situations they looked like a Pop Warner team. Hope they BRING IT Sunday in LA! - Annette B.
They were good in week one, but not good in week two. Even Williams played poorly on Sunday. After week one, I wrote nice things about Colton McKivitz. In week two, he made me regret writing good things about him. And Jake Brendel was bad in Minnesota. The 49ers need a new center, but the coaching staff likes Brendel. Maybe when Jon Feliciano returns, they'll make a move. But I doubt it.
What was Trent's stat line yesterday? Felt like lots of pressure came from his side. - Stefan A.
Yes, Williams was not his normal self. He'll get there, but it may take a little time. The problem is, Williams was so good in week one that we expected him to be that way in week two, as well. He wasn't, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. Trent Williams is the least of worries.
How is Kittle doing? - Mike L.
Kittle is fine. He went to the locker room during Sunday's game to get an IV for cramps. He will be good to go this Sunday.
I realize Mason isn't McCaffrey, but why has Kyle Shanahan completely abandoned the option of throwing to our RB? Mason can catch. McCaffrey was targeted 83 times last season. Through 2 weeks, Mason is on pace to get 17 targets. The offense has lost a dimension, or Shanahan is too stubborn to adjust. - KCarps
Indeed, the 49ers have not thrown the ball to Mason as much as they do to Christian McCaffrey. They've targeted him only once in each game. He caught both passes.
But part of the reason Mason isn't being targeted as much in the passing game is because he isn't McCaffrey. No one is. McCaffrey creates mismatches and keeps defensive coordinators up at night. There's a reason he came close to being named NFL MVP last season.
Seems that the blueprint is to bring the house and attack the line of scrimmage w/ confusion around the 1st 5 yards of scrimmage. Ravens did this to us and so did the Vikings. Other than Kittle, do we have anyone who can beat press man coverage? Where is our pass rush? - Lowbridge
The 49ers wide receivers had trouble with that in the Super Bowl. That's why they drafted Pearsall. But he isn't playing yet, and when he does play, it will likely take him some time to get acclimated to NFL play. Not to mention getting in NFL game shape.
As far as the pass rush, it's been missing most of the first two games. Nick Bosa got home a couple of times, but there hasn't been as much pressure as what 49ers fans have come to expect. Is it the scheme? Is it the players?
That's all we have for this week. We'll be back next week with a new 49ers Webzone Mailbag.