It's a short week for the San Francisco 49ers, who lost a heartbreaker on Sunday, and will now travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams on Thursday night. They will likely be missing some key players, in addition to the players they have already been without. Winning this division game, with a depleted roster, won't be easy. The Rams are a good team that is currently playing well.
We opened up the 49ers Webzone Mailbag to see what was on your mind after the 49ers lost their first game. As always, thank you for all the great questions. Let's jump in.
I'm not one of those crazy fans who think Kyle should be fired. He's a great coach. Has Shanahan's play-calling become too conservative, though? It always seems like a run up the middle, another run up the middle, now 3rd & 9, and we can't pick up the first down. He uses CMC way too much, and he will probably get hurt at some point the way he uses him. The play calling just looks vanilla, at best. I know injuries and personnel contribute to the play-calling, but can we get back to having defenses guessing? My 12-year-old could call these plays. - Tristan C.
I don't believe Kyle Shanahan's play-calling has become too conservative. He's still one of the best in the business. A lot of the issues on offense have to do with injuries, which leads to a lack of continuity. It looks, at times, like the offense just isn't on the same page.
If you go back and rewatch the offense from Sunday, there were a couple of plays Shanahan called that, if the ball had been caught, it may have been a touchdown. There were several drops on Sunday, and each was costly. Some of those drops were due to a lack of focus, but some were due to a lack of continuity.
There were also passes that Brock Purdy sailed. I counted six passes thrown too high. Two were caught, two were incomplete (one of them on third down). One was a turnover on downs, and one was intercepted. Whether it was the toe injury or rust, Purdy wasn't as sharp as he normally is.
At the end of the day, the players have to execute. I'm not saying Shanahan is perfect, but I don't think his play-calling is vanilla either.
Can you pinpoint why special teams punt and kick return coverage is still so horrible? I thought they made an emphasis to improve this year! - Andy G.
I don't know why the kick and punt coverage is so bad. And it doesn't seem like the 49ers know, either. Their special teams units stink every year. They now have one of the league's best special teams coordinators, and they're still bad.
On Tuesday, Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh was asked why rookie LB Nick Martin hasn't been active yet. Saleh said Martin has to dominate special teams first, and there are others ahead of him on special teams. How bad is Martin that he can't crack this special teams group?
How long do we have to wait for Lynch to trade for a pass rusher? - Markydee G.
If John Lynch trades for a pass rusher anytime soon, it will be a rotational piece, like an Arden Key type. If he trades for a starter on the edge, it won't be until late October, closer to the trade deadline.
I'd like to see them get someone now, but I doubt they'll handle it that way. And I'm not sure they'll get a playmaker at all. Lynch and Shanahan value draft picks, and I'm not sure Jed York wants to spend the money this season.
When will Kyle get an OC? - Darrell B.
The 49ers already have an offensive coordinator. It's Klay Kubiak. Now, if you're asking when Shanahan will replace himself as the play-caller, that's not going to happen anytime soon. He's still one of the best at it.
When will the 49ers figure out HOW to condition better and avoid SO many injuries opposed to any other team in the NFL? Also, every time the 49ers lose, the refs are somewhat involved in bad calls and no calls. - John P.
If the 49ers could figure out the injury situation, they would have already done it. That has been an issue for the past several seasons. I wish I had the answer.
Officiating in the NFL is sometimes a problem. Every team complains about calls going against them. We tend to think it's worse for the 49ers because that's the team we follow. But it's likely no different than the other teams.
Why can't we score touchdowns on the ground? How come we can't intercept any passes? Make it make sense! - Dennis A.
The disappearance of the run game has been a major problem. The offensive line has been bad and can't open any holes. The running backs seemingly have nowhere to run. And defenses have also been loading the box, at times. Still, the 49ers have to figure out a way to bring back the run game. If they can't, they will continue to struggle in the red zone and in scoring rushing touchdowns.
As for the lack of interceptions, that's a mystery. They have already dropped some potential picks this season. Fred Warner dropped two on Sunday. Upton Stout had one, but a bad pass interference call negated it.
John Lynch mentioned there's no timetable for BA. What's your realistic timetable for BA's return? - Johnny Y.
I don't expect Brandon Aiyuk back until November. And even then, I wouldn't count on him to be the 2023 version of himself. Aiyuk suffered a major knee injury. It's going to take him more than this season to get back to his old self.
When can we (9ers) get back to running the ball first and hard-nose defense? And when are the gadget play-calling going to stop? - Pernell J.
It looks like they're trying to get back to that brand of football. But the running game has been stifled over and over. Perhaps getting George Kittle back will help. But right now, the interior of the offensive line is struggling to create room to run.
But a healthy Kittle, a healthy Jauan Jennings, and a healthy Aiyuk will help the run game. Those guys are elite blockers.
Do you think Kyle will involve Tonges in the offense when Kittle comes back, cause I think they can be a helluva 1-2 punch at tight end? - Omari W.
I hope so. Jake Tonges has really stepped up in Kittle's absence. The question is, will the coaching staff value Tonges' pass-catching ability over Luke Farrell's run-blocking? I would, but I am not sure Shanahan will. He likes having those blocking tight ends. And if the 49ers go with Tonges over Farrell, will that make the run game worse?
Why is our offensive line so offensive? - Pete C.
Trent Williams, their best offensive lineman, isn't playing well. And Dominic Puni, last season's stud rookie, looks like he's regressed. Jake Brendel is his normal self, which isn't good. And Connor Colby hasn't played that well since he began starting.
Colton McKivitz may be the 49ers' best offensive lineman right now. And if that's the case, that says it all.
Why the heck are we risking Purdy's season, and why sign Brian Robinson, Jr. if we are not going to use him more? My opinion: We will lose McCaffrey for the season in the next 5 games. - Randy P.
The coaches can only go off what Purdy tells them. He felt good going into Sunday's game, and during and after it. The issues came the next day. Turf toes are known to be re-aggravated. This could be something he deals with all season, even if he takes some weeks off.
I would like to see more of Brian Robinson, too. He's running the ball fairly well, maybe even a little better than Christian McCaffrey. And more of Robinson could keep McCaffrey fresher.
I'd also like to see Jordan James some. Or, if they're not going to activate him, maybe try and get the ball into Isaac Guerendo's hands. If not as a rusher, at least as a receiver. The 49ers offense looks slow right now, and they could use more speed.
How many QBs have gotten hurt under Bananahan's watch? He will never win a championship. He's not a leader, and he would rather play his old and washed-up friends. The 49ers need to move on from him and his coaching style. This is not 49ers football! It's not creative on offense at all. They need to make Robert the head coach. Then he can hire the Miami coach as our OC once he gets fired. - Byron C.
I'm going to assume "Bananahan" is Shanahan. It's true that many of his QBs have been hurt, even before he came to San Francisco. But is that all on him? Is some of it on the offensive line? How about the quarterback himself? Or maybe just bad luck.
I will say that he doesn't put as much into his offensive line as I think he should. If that's the biggest reason his quarterbacks get injured, then perhaps it is on him. But in the NFL, QBs get hurt. Joe Montana did plenty of times. But I don't recall people blaming Bill Walsh.
As for Shanahan not winning championships, indeed, he hasn't won a Super Bowl. But he's won conference championships that got him to the big game. That's not the goal, I know. But I disagree with the thinking that he's not a leader. His players love him, and they play hard for him. Throughout all the difficult stretches, they've never quit on him (except DeVondre Campbell, but he was a quitter and a bad teammate).
Are they going to fire Kyle since he hasn't gotten a trophy? - Tony H.
Shanahan isn't going anywhere, at least not anytime soon. Just because he hasn't won a Super Bowl doesn't mean he should be fired. Remember, in order to get to the biggest game, you have to win some big games. He's done that. And if not for a missed assignment by Spencer Burford in overtime, he may have won the last Super Bowl he was in.
Also, who would you replace him with? Jim Tomsula?
What happened to the podcast? I figured you guys had taken the summer off and would be back when the season started, but… - Vern C.
You must be asking about the "No Huddle Podcast" that Al Saco, Zain Naqvi, and Brian Renick did for years. I know they're not currently doing the show, but I reached out to Saco to see where things stand and if it may make a return. He said that after eight years of doing the show, they felt like it was time to move on. So it doesn't sound like it will be returning.
Those guys had a great run for close to a decade, and we all appreciate their commitment and hard work.
That's all we have for this edition of the 49ers Webzone Mailbag. We'll be back next week with a brand new one. Hopefully, it will include happier questions and answers.