Photo credit: 49ers
The playoff hopes of the San Francisco 49ers are clinging onto life by a thread. A loss against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday would not extinguish them, but it would essentially require going 5-1 down the stretch, including three divisional games.
Game status report
Richard Sherman practiced all three days this week, but was never expected to play. Sherman, Deebo Samuel and Raheem Mostert are all expected, or at least hoped by Kyle Shanahan, to return in two weeks to face the Los Angeles Rams.
Kendrick Bourne was removed from the reserve/COVID-19 list and will play on Sunday. Both Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have said that despite Bourne missing two weeks of practice, they expect to lean on him.
Questionable:
- WR River Cracraft (quadricep)
- WR Trent Taylor (back)
OUT:
- RB Tevin Coleman (knee)
- LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (hamstring)
- WR Deebo Samuel (hamstring)
- CB K’Waun Williams (ankle)
Shanahan trying to ‘keep it real’
Currently, the 49ers are 10-point underdogs going into New Orleansl, with most bettors putting their money on the Saints, per OddsShark. So, how does Shanahan sell his team, missing most of their starters and reeling from a 34-17 Thursday night loss to the Packers, that they can win?
“I try to keep it real with the guys,” Shanahan said.
Keeping it real.
If we’re keeping it real, the 49ers need to establish the running game early, using motion and putting JaMycal Hasty—the best outside zone rusher currently available—in early positions to succeed.
Shanahan said he’s aware of the optics heading in, saying, “I know no one’s giving us a shot,” and that certainly, there’s motivation to be found there. But he’s aligned his focus towards improving.
“That is a motivation, that is exciting, but everything I’ve been this week is, I really don’t care about much else except getting better,” Shanahan said. “Whoever that is, whatever player it is, whatever coach it is. And if you can kind of narrow your thoughts to that, then you have a chance to do better and the better you do the better chance we have at wining.
And you add on the spot that no one thinks you can, and I mean I think that entices everybody. You always want to prove people wrong and we know it’s going to be a big challenge, but that’s something that we’re ready to go compete for not just on Sunday. We’ve been working for this all week and we’ll see what happens Sunday, but our guys are going to go out there and go for it.”
Sherman’s return already baring fruit, as Aiyuk looks set for stardom
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Richard Sherman hasn’t exactly been an ever-present figure in the 49ers’ locker room like he normally would be as he works through an injury. But his return to the practice field this week allowed rookie Brandon Aiyuk to get some invaluable one-on-one reps against a future Hall of Famer.
Because of the limited preseason and Aiyuk’s hamstring injury, their time together has been limited. With Aiyuk hitting his stride and Sherman getting healthy, this week represented something of a launch point for the remainder of the season, in terms of the rookie picking the brain of the vet.
Aiyuk raved on Friday about having Sherman back, saying that the veteran has not just been providing general tips, but specifically in terms of beating Sherman.
“The tools that he has in his bag, you don’t get to see all the time,” Aiyuk said. “So when you’re going up against older corners who have little tricks that they do, I get to see it firsthand practicing and I’m able to become aware of those things. Because you don’t know what you don’t know.
So when he when he does certain things, I’m able to see it and just talk to him about those things, just pick his brain, what he what he sees and what things that I could do. Even when I’m going against him, he coaches me up on ways to even beat him. I love having Sherm out there.”
Jason Verrett recalled one of those occasions this week, when he said Sherman got the better of Aiyuk in one-on-one drills. Immediately after the play, Verrett said, Sherman was coaching him up.
“After that play in one-on-one that Sherm had against Brandon, he was just giving him tips with working on his releases and trying to give different looks, that way he’s not giving the same look each and every time he does a certain route,” Verrett said.
With Samuel still out, Aiyuk will remain the team’s featured receiver, after missing last week’s game on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Over his last two games, Aiyuk has 14 receptions, 206 yards and one touchdown.
Verrett said there’s one trait about the rookie that stands out.
“He’s not scared,” Verrett said. He’s not scared of the challenges, he’s not scared to learn. Each and every week he’s striving to be that guy… He’s definitely trying to strive to be the number one guy.”