SANTA CLARA – Now that the 49ers have tossed back a six-pack of wins, let’s see what the fans are thirsting for in this Week 8 mailbag via my Instagram and Twitter taps:
Can the defense play better than they already have? (@iLikeGSW)
Let’s let Nick Bosa, their early-season MVP, answer: “Earlier in games, we can play better. It takes us a minute to settle down. If we just stick to what we do right off the bat … That’s part of the game, making adjustments. Teams know they have to run the ball to beat us, so it’s about trusting our technique.”
At what point do people start to accept that the only reason we’ve “only played bad teams” is because we are the ones that make them all look bad? (@mrgazhunt)
Each win strengthens the 49ers’ case. The incoming Carolina Panthers (4-2) are on a four-game heater with replacement QB Kyle Allen. The 49ers’ previous opponents came in much cooler: Bucs (0-0), Bengals (0-1), Steelers (0-2), Browns (2-2), Rams (3-2, on two-game skid) and Washington (1-5).
After Sunday’s 9-0 shutout, DeForest Buckner aptly framed it: “It’s never going to be pretty. It’s the NFL. It doesn’t matter who you go against. Everybody’s good. You just have to find a way to win.”
Is Jimmy Garoppolo really the franchise quarterback to lead us to the Super Bowl? Our defense had had to step up time and again after his turnovers this year, and he just seems like another game manager? (@SeekingsJeremy)
Garoppolo is 12-2 as a 49ers starter, 6-0 this season. Seems franchise-quarterback worthy, no? OK, the defense indeed keeps bailing him out after turnovers, a noble duty they truly relish. Garoppolo has been on when needed most, such as the home-opener comeback over the Steelers and Sunday’s post-interception finish (8-of-8, three field-goal drives in the rain). Lot of football to play, only six games into his ACL comeback.
What are we gonna do about WR? (@patr2111)
It’s hard to fathom a season-long stretch like this. Keep in mind their passing attack is vulnerable without their starting tackles and Pro Bowl fullback. No other team has fewer catches (63) from its wide-receiver corps. Thing is, the defensive-oriented 49ers don’t need to rely on their passing game in a shootout. Yet.
We need a damn WR. I do not trust these dudes (@READYBOi_)
If the 49ers brass doesn’t trust Dante Pettis and Deebo Samuel – their second-round picks the past two drafts – then that would be damning, and they still trust them. Adding a receiver is possible via trade, but they have no 2020 second-round pick, and giving up the first rounder would severely handicap their draft. Barring an injury next game, they’ll likely wait for an in-house candidate to break out or come back from injury, such as …
Who are the two most likely players they will bring back from injured reserve? (@imos18)
Wide receiver Trent Taylor (foot) is the No. 1 candidate for short-term IR. After that, it could be dependent on which position’s depth is thinnest, either at wide receiver (Jalen Hurd), cornerback (Jason Verrett) or defensive end (Kentavius Street). Also, tight end Garrett Celek could come off the physically-unable-to-perform list in the coming weeks.
When will the WRs step up? Pettis and Goodwin, no receptions? That’s poor. Is it coaching or scheme that’s the root of the issue? (@Mattbro1995)
Sunday definitely was not their day. Goodwin got clocked on a route in the first quarter and the 49ers turned more to Kendrick Bourne, who delivered. In the latest chapter of Pettis’ inconsistent season, he had a potential touchdown turn into an interception when he – and Garoppolo — didn’t see the safety.
Any shot Staley plays? (@alandadler)
Left tackle Joe Staley has a shot, more likely a long shot. The 49ers do not need to rush Staley’s return from a Sept. 15 fibula fracture, not when the 13th-year veteran likely be working overtime into January. Justin Skule has been a model temp and pleasant surprise.
Kyle Allen or Cam Newton? Who provides a bigger challenge for the defense? (@murphiuslee)
Allen remains the starter, and he is 4-0 since replacing the injured Newton, whose best days as a Panther are behind him (see: road to Super Bowl 50, Levi’s Stadium). Allen has the hot hand, and teammates covet a winner. Newton’s last look: losing to the Bucs in Week 2 and then dressing up for his press conference in a head scarf.
Best way to slow CMC? (@j.martz110)
Perhaps the 49ers know Christian McCaffrey’s potential flaws. After all, they could have drafted him No. 3 overall but instead took his Stanford teammate, Solomon Thomas. Too high of a pick for a running back? Perhaps but he’s the multi-talented weapon that would thrive in Shanahan’s offense and is now carrying the Panthers.
Is there a prevailing sense in Santa Clara that a Super Bowl window has officially opened and needs to be exploited to its fullest? (@HurricaneGolden)
That’s very presumptuous, but we’ll allow it, considering the 49ers enter Week 8 at 6-0 (plus bye) instead of 1-6 and 0-7 like the previous years. They’re going full speed after their sixth Lombardi Trophy. By “exploiting” the high times, I assume you wonder if they’ll add firepower before the Oct. 29 draft, and I’m not convinced they will.
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