My bad on missing yesterday’s nuggets. Even Christian McCaffrey fumbles sometimes.
Atlanta is always a tough out, no matter how bad they are. They can just bizarrely win against the 49ers for whatever reason. Their defense is looking good. I read an interesting article on the Athletic about it… their d-line coach, this guy named Nate Ollie, does a Kris Kocurek / peak Saleh days impersonation with his “attack-style defense”.
He tells his players that if “they think, they stink”, so the defensive linemen have to do nothing but go after the ball. It’s lead to their interior defenders leading the league, with Brandon Dorlus tied for #1 most QB pressures from an interior d-lineman. Their back seven is asked to do more, and while Divine Deablo is one of the better linebackers (and best names) in the league, there’ll often be space to be found if the 49ers linemen get to the second level effectively enough.
It’ll be fascinating to see how Kyle Shanahan attacks that without anybody at wide receiver. The end of last game has my antennas up a little bit, but I’m still confident in my preseason prediction.
No Nick Bosa for the 49ers; Kyle Shanahan is hopeful he returns on Thursday
“Since the 49ers played on Monday, Shanahan said Wednesday’s practice will be a walkthrough.
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw returns to practice. As for wide receiver Christian Kirk, Shanahan said, “He had a good week of practice last week. He’ll be out there again today. Hopefully, he feels good at the end of the week.”
Kyle Shanahan shares updates ahead of 49ers-Falcons game
“It’s actually not call the play faster. It’s, ‘I need it again.’ It gets cut off at 15, so sometimes no one can hear and a lot of the quarterbacks do it because I always call a play and then I just walk and think. I don’t always watch the huddle and a lot of times [QB] Mac [Jones] or someone, because they’ll be like, ‘Hey, we didn’t get it. It was choppy.’ Or someone will yell, ‘Brock’s yelling at you,’ which I can’t always hear. I did hear him a couple of times in this game, so I look up and then I try to do it again as long as it’s not past 15 seconds. Sometimes he’ll do it and I don’t get a heads up to like 16 and I start to do it again and he hears half the play call because it shuts off at 15…..I don’t remember what the play was. Probably happened five times in the game, so that’s something that happens a lot. Headsets do that.”
Nick Bosa misses practice Wednesday, but 49ers hope he will return this week
“(He) can’t go today but hoping he’ll be out there tomorrow,” Shanahan said of Bosa.
49ers minutia minute: Rookies Romello Height, Jaden Dugger shined on defense (paywall)
“In the run-up to the game, Halton talked about “building a cage” against the elusive Daniels, who ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns a week earlier, then followed through by snagging Daniels for a sack as he tried to escape in the second quarter. Fred Warner was blitzing on the play, and Daniels would have had room to roam had Halton not taken him down.
The 49ers hit Daniels a season-high 10 times. To put that in perspective, they sacked Sam Darnold five times last week but finished with eight quarterback hits.
Raheem Morris is back in Atlanta — and he’s bringing his surging 49ers defense
“Morris is also utilizing more “match” coverage, which asks defenders to start in traditional zone drops, keep their eyes on the quarterback and read routes to tighten up throwing lanes. If a pass catcher crosses into their path, the defender picks up that player, often only turning him loose for checkdowns and short gains.
The approach has not only served to limit big plays, but it has also allowed the secondary to be more active. That was evident in Green’s two-interception game in Seattle and Mustapha’s jarring hits to help seal Monday night’s win over Washington.
“Those guys aren’t counting on linebackers, so they have to be more aggressive in coverage,” Shanahan said. “Those guys are playing concepts to stop plays without any help and that’s been their edge. I think it’s made them better. It’s given them more confidence in practice, and I think that’s what we’re all seeing in games.”
How long might 49ers’ Mike Evans be sidelined? Surgeon provides perspective on Achilles tendinitis (paywall)
“Achilles tendinitis is an overuse injury, an inflammation of the tendon, that causes pain and tightness. Serious cases can involve microscopic degeneration, small tears in the fibers in the middle of the tendon, that can increase the odds of a rupture.
Given Evans’ age, and history with Achilles tendinitis, Jung said Evans is likely dealing with “wear and tear,” minor tissue degeneration that might have progressed to the point where he has had a flare-up severe enough to sideline him. Evans did not miss a game due to an Achilles issue in his first 12 seasons.
Achilles tendinitis is often treated with rest, icing and supportive footwear. Many cases can resolve within a few weeks. Assuming Evans didn’t seriously exacerbate his condition by playing Monday, it’s conceivable he could miss just one game….“If it’s just some (Achilles) wear and tear, then you’re probably in a situation where you’re managing it,” Jung said. “You try to get it to a point where it settles down, it doesn’t flare up and you just kind of keep managing it.”