in the midst of a short week
Youth Dustin Hopkins Jersey , as they continue preparations to face the Oakland Raiders on Thursday Night Football. Both teams gave their players some
time off on Monday to recuperate from Week 8. They will hold fairly normal
practices on Tuesday, and then likely have walkthroughs on Wednesday.The short
week mean the media availability is truncated as well. Normally the 49ers
practice Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and have different availability each
day. This week, it’s all happening on Tuesday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan will
meet with the media at approximately 12:30 p.m. PT. He will be followed by
defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, and then quarterback C.J. Beathard. The
locker room will be open after that, until 1:30 p.m. The 49ers are holding a
late practice at 4:45 p.m. as they work to get their players recovered from this
past Sunday’s game.The 49ers will stream the press conferences Twitter,
Facebook, and the team’s app. The 49ers beat writers will also have updates from
the media sessions. I’ve embedded our beat writer Twitter list so you can follow
along. We’ll have transcripts later today, along with the Tuesday injury
report.A Twitter List by NinersNation TheSan Francisco 49ers are 1-6 and coming
off their most demoralizing loss of the season — a 39-10 shellacking from the
Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium. The tough task now for Kyle Shanahan’s
squad, coming off their fifth-straight loss, is looking forward to the three
consecutive winnable games against opponents with a combined record of 3-17.
Next up: the Arizona Cardinals, whose only win was against the 49ers in Week
5.With the trade deadline approaching and the 49ers struggling, there are plenty
of questions to figure out as we near the midway point in the season. I’m back
with my weekly mailbag column. You’re welcome to drop questions in here for next
week’s mailbag
Rookie Nick Mullens Jersey , or tweet me @rob_lowder.“Better Rivals (Oscar) mentioned Solly played in position more to his strength this week.
Should we hope to see more of that? Will it matter? Does anything matter?” Evan
SowardsAnything matters, Evan, including Solomon Thomas. It would also seem that
putting him in the best position to succeed matters too. Oscar, myself, and many
have long wondered why the 49ers insisted on playing Solomon Thomas on the edge
of the defensive line when he made his name at Stanford on the interior.
Allowing your No. 3 pick in 2017 the opportunity to play in a familiar position
seems like good business, and frankly, common sense.Coordinator Robert Saleh got
creative with the defensive alignment against the Rams, giving Thomas more
interior snaps than any other game in 2018. Oscar offered a more in-depth
breakdown of Thomas’ performance on Twitter. Give it a look. The results were
what you’d expect. Thomas’ usage against the Rams should become the standard if
the 49ers want to maximize his talent.“Do you think we will make another trade
splash again like Jimmy G before the deadline?” PaddyThe NFL trade deadline is
Tuesday, October 30th at 1 p.m. PST. I don’t think the 49ers will make a splash
on par with the Jimmy Garoppolo trade last season, but I do believe they’ll be
actively seeking to unload and acquire players. We know the 49ers are short on
talent, but the team only holds six picks in the 2019 draft, so perhaps they’ll
see the deadline as an opportunity to bolster their draft capital by trading
away rather than for. Pass rushers and defensive backs strike me as positions
the 49ers may look to acquire prior to Tuesday.“The team as a whole is giving up
in games they’re behind in and losing focus in games they’re ahead. How do the
coaches address those mental issues?” JeremyI don’t see a 49ers team that’s
giving up on games more than I do making an insurmountable number of mistakes.
Turnovers have been the theme of the season so far. The 49ers’ defense has
forced only three on the season while the offense has given up a whopping 18 -
10 interceptions and 8 fumbles. It’s very difficult to win football games with a
-15 turnover ratio, especially when coupled with the number of missed
assignments we’ve seen from the 49ers on both sides of the ball.“How does the
position look now that Adrian Colbert is on IR?” Niner AlexStarting free safety
Adrian Colbert suffered a high ankle sprain against the Rams and was placed on
injured reserve Monday. He’s unlikely to return this season. On the bright side,
Colbert’s injury looked to be much more severe when he was carted off the field
after colliding with cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon.The 49ers now look to rookie
D.J. Reed, who stepped in Sunday to fill the void left by Colbert. Cornerback
Jimmie Ward is also capable of playing free safety whenever he recovers from the
hamstring injury that kept him out against the Rams. The 49ers also have rookie
Tarvarius Moore
Nick Mullens 49ers Jersey , a former safety turned cornerback, should they get desperate.“Why is Foster missing so many tackles?” SpencerFoster so far this
season hasn’t flashed the same elite form we saw last season. Ben Linsey of Pro
Football Focus wrote Wednesday about the significant drop-off in Foster’s
performance. Foster was among PFF’ elite linebackers last season and how now
plummeted to bottom-10 in the NFL. Linsey cites both the missed tackles that
Spencer noticed, as well as struggles in coverage - both solid aspects of
Foster’s 2017 form. Given the second-year linebacker’s stacked resume dating
back to his time in Alabama, his slump seems more like an anomaly than the new
normal. Foster’s performance is something to watch moving forward.“Would you
rather trade away Armstead or Thomas, seeing as we probably need to get rid of
one so the other can finally have a more solidified role on the team? If so,
what kind of package could we get back?” Ha Ha HaI wouldn’t trade either. Arik
Armstead and Solomon Thomas are not mutually exclusive. They can both exist on
the defensive line together, especially in a day-and-age where an effective
rotation of lineman is an essential element of the defense. Thomas is only in
his second season and the 49ers may be finally realizing how to best to utilize
their No. 3 pick. Armstead may not be living up to his first-round billing, but
he’s a solid defensive lineman that I believe is a candidate for a contract
extension at the right price, rather than paying the $9 million he’s due next
season under the fifth-year option.“Who should we “raid” from Gruden’s fire
sale?” QuintUKIf the Raiders really are willing to part ways with anyone on
their roster, the 49ers’ interest should include but is not limited to:DE Bruce
IrvinCB Rashaan MelvinCB Gareon ConleyS Karl Joseph“Rob, quick question about
the draft. I am a big believer in drafting offense but signing FA defense (so
hard to draft good defensive players, see: Thomas, S). Do you agree with that?”
Anthony FlumI can’t say that I agree with you, Anthony. At first glance, there’s
just as many successful defensive players drafted every year as there are
offensive. Take this year for example: Denzel Ward
Authentic George Kittle Jersey , Bradley Chubb, Roquan Smith, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Marcus Davenport and Derwin James are just some of the early names
that jump off the board as great picks so far. There’s a lot of offensive talent
that seems to be panning out as well. I’m a believer in taking the best player
available when you’re on the clock, on either side of the ball. “Do you think
Gar?on get traded before the deadline?” TinyPierre Gar?on, at 32, coming off a
season-ending neck injury, has only caught 21 passes for 230 yards this season.
He’s due $9.2 million this year and $8.4 in 2019. I don’t believe any team would
be willing to take on that contract given Gar?on’s lack of production at this
stage of his career.“If the Niners won the next 3 against teams that are a
combined record of 3-17, do you see them building some of the momentum they had
at the end of last season? Not necessarily the wins, but at least feeling like
they team is headed in the right direction.” Kelly HoneycuttI decided to save
Kelly’s question for the end so we can wrap up this week’s mailbag on a positive
note. The 49ers’ next three opponents - Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders and
New York Giants - are all very beatable one-win teams. It’s a chance for the
roster to gain some much-needed confidence in their ability to win. I do believe
that the 49ers will chalk up two wins over the next three weeks. If they don’t,
well, at least they’ll have draft position to hang their hat on.
