© Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Throw it all out the window. Jerick McKinnon at quarterback. Kyle Juszczyk at center. Robbie Gould at right guard. Pure chaos.
That’s kind of where we’re at right now. Another loss and Cardinals win will secure (officially) San Francisco’s rejection from the playoffs. While they prepare for their Sunday matchup with the Dallas Cowboys, they have no certainty on who their center and right guard will be.
Robbie Gould at guard?
Rewind to the start of this season. Weston Richburg was and still is on the physically unable to perform list after complications with recovery from a torn patellar tendon. His time with the 49ers may well be at its end, and the team restructured his contract a second time this year to make that impending move easier on next year’s cap.
Ben Garland sprained his ankle badly in training camp and recovered enough to play five games before re-injuring it. Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday he does not expect him back this season.
That left the team scrounging for center options. First, Spencer Long, who retired just about as soon as he signed. Then, Jake Brendel opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns, leaving Hroniss Grasu as the starting center to begin the year. He’s played eight games and started three times.
Eventually, Daniel Brunskill took over the starting job at center. But he suffered a sprained shoulder last week, and Grasu is dealing with a knee injury. Neither practiced on Wednesday.
Brunskill’s replacements at right guard were Tom Compton, who suffered two concussions in three weeks and can be presumed out for the year after a placement on injured reserve, and Colton McKivitz, who was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 List on Wednesday. Another guard option, Ross Reynolds, who was waived off IR with an injury settlement, was stretchered off after a knee injury in a training camp practice.
So, that leaves the 49ers with… um… give me a sec here *googles 49ers roster* Tony Bergstrom? And Dakoda Shepley? And as Kyle Shanahan joked, maybe even Robbie Gould.
“[Bergstrom] better be [ready], or we’ll have to try Robbie there or somebody,” Shanahan said. “That’s part of what people are dealing with with the COVID issues on top of the injuries we’ve had prior, so that’s what makes the COVID stuff tough for us because of where we’re at. So we got a couple new practice squad guys in today, so we’ll see them today on the field and so that at least gives us some options. We’ll see how the week goes with that but that’s the challenge of this year.”
It is not hyperbole to say that San Francisco could literally be down to its seventh-choice center, and at best it’s fourth-choice right guard if Brunskill, Grasu and McKivitz are all out Sunday.
At age 34, Bergstrom is a veteran offensive lineman who has been in and out of the NFL since 2012, when he got his start as a third-round draft pick with the Raiders, drafted as a guard after playing tackle at BYU.
Shepley, 25, was a standout with the Saskatchewan Roughriders last year, where he was given an award naming him the team’s most impressive rookie. He worked with offensive line specialist Duke Manyweather this offseason, who runs an offensive line summit in Texas.
The two other offensive linemen San Francisco signed to the practice squad on Wednesday are Aaron Neary and Isaiah Williams.
Neary, 28, is an Eastern Washington University alum and started his career with the Denver Broncos, but has had stints with the Eagles, Rams, Browns and Bears, mostly on those team’s practice squads.
Williams, 27, attended the University of Akron, where he played on both the offensive and defensive lines. He, like Neary, was an undrafted free agent, and has spent time with Washington, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Oakland and New Orleans, mostly on practice squads.
So, prepare for a worst case of Bergstrom and Shepley on Sunday. Maybe that’s what Shanahan meant when he said Monday that he was “up for anything.”
Is Kittle really coming back?
George Kittle was designated as an injured reserve-return candidate on Wednesday, with three weeks to go in the season. That’s about on par with his initial timeline in recovering from a foot fracture, with Week 17 representing the most probably, if at all possible return date.
He returned to practice in limited fashion, but will not play this week.
SPOTTED: The People’s Tight End ? pic.twitter.com/yvLk8Qpc4C
— Keiana Martin (@KeianaMartinTV) December 16, 2020
The real question here is, do you risk bringing back Kittle in a season that seems to be lost?
What happens if the 49ers lose on Sunday? Shanahan had initially said that he was “holding out hope” he and Jimmy Garoppolo could return, but that he only wanted to bring them back if it was the team was still competitive.
If they lose Sunday, it would have an affect on Shanahan’s thinking in Kittle returning.
“I would think about it a lot differently,” Shanahan said. “I’m not saying a for sure no. If I thought it would help him and I thought it would help our team, definitely. I mean there’s more things to it than just making the playoffs.
“Obviously that’s the number one thing, but it would have to do with what George, if he’s risking anything then it would be an easy decision. We wouldn’t even think about it. But if he could 100 percent come back and be normal, then that’s something I’ll talk to him about, talk to John (Lynch) about and we’ll figure out what’s best for him and the team.”
Why he’s sticking with Mullens
Shanahan likes Nick Mullens. But Shanahan is also at his wit’s end with Nick Mullens, pointing out his errors in no uncertain terms over the last week.
He said Wednesday that Mullens would remain the starter and he’d “see how that goes.” Before, you know, tearing into him, he praised Mullens, who is behind only Patrick Mahomes and Andrew Luck in terms of passing yards for his number of starts.
— KNBR (@KNBR) December 8, 2020
“Nick’s played some good football for us, he really has,” Shanahan said. “He’s got some numbers to back that up. Some of the positions we put Nick in and some of the plays that he has made are very impressive for backup quarterback.”
But? But… Mullens has also made numerous mistakes. He has 10 touchdowns, but also 10 interceptions on the year and has a 23:20 ratio for his career and a 5-10 record. He’s fumbled five times this year and turned over the last three.
Aside from the first two games of the season, San Francisco has won every game with a positive turnover differential, and lost every game with a negative turnover differential.
Shanahan needs more from Mullens, and immediately. He didn’t hold back.
“Nick, first and foremost, if he wants to stay out there, he’s got to stop turning the ball over,” Shanahan said. “But I think when you look back to Sunday night, I think that the thing that sticks out the most is, he missed a number of open throws, just throwing over guy’s heads, I’d guess about four of them right now. And I think that really sticks out to people and sticks out to fans and it does to me also. Nick needs to make those throws and he’s capable of making those throws. But I also know it doesn’t help when you have nine drops on top of that.”
Mullens took ownership for his errors, and explained how he can limit turnovers without playing in fear of committing them.
“You just keep emphasizing it,” Mullens said. “Just make the simple play. That’s the biggest thing, just make the simple play. Don’t try to do too much. If it’s not there, throw it away. And that’s up to me. I have the ball in my hands every play. So I just got to protect it.”
Other notes: Expectations for Aiyuk, practice report
High bar for Aiyuk
Shanahan said Brandon Aiyuk, who has a pair of rushing touchdowns, four receiving touchdowns, 660 receiving yards, and a chance to break Jerry Rice’s rookie receiving record of 927 yards (Aiyuk’s averaged 99 yards per game over his last five, putting him on pace for 957 yards, or 858 yards using his season-long average of 66 yards per game), isn’t anywhere near his ceiling.
“Aiyuk’s having a very good season, doing a good job for us and playing like more than a rookie,” Shanahan said. “But Aiyuk has not arrived yet. He can get a lot better. A lot.”
Switch at right tackle? Not a chance
This has not been a good season for Mike McGlinchey. He lost weight in the offseason, and when he gets beat, which is too often, it looks like it’s a result of him being too light. He used to be more vulnerable to speed rushers and it appears like he overcorrected and is now too vulnerable to bull rushers.
But, McGlinchey is still an excellent run blocker, and not all of his games have been poor in pass protection. The issue is largely the fact that he might have a very solid game, but starts to make those mistakes, like key holding calls as he did last Sunday, and getting bulldozed, in key, late-game situations. That has been apparent all year, most noticeably against the Philadelphia Eagles.
When asked, Shanahan said he has not considered switching right tackles (By the way, really? Who would you go to? You’re going to drop McGlinchey for Justin Skule right now? Brief rant over).
“No, I haven’t considered that at all,” Shanahan said. “Mike McGlinchey’s our right tackle and I feel very good about our right tackle. Do I think he’s playing the best he can? No.
“I get the attention he got, especially getting that holding call on the last play and getting beat in protection there, but also going against a good rusher, that doesn’t give an excuse of it, but I’m not going to sit and make a huge judgment off of that.
“McGlinchey played very good, winning football for us last year. I do not think he’s the reason we’re struggling. I think it’s a collective deal and I’m very happy with McGlinchey here and I know John and I would do that all over again if we had the choice to.”
Perhaps the telling part of that statement is Shanahan pointing to “very good, winning football for us last year.” Maybe all it takes is McGlinchey adding some weight. He’s a player who tends to go with the flow of the team, so when they’re running the ball effectively, and playing with confident, he’s not anywhere near the liability he’s shown up as this season.
Practice report
Shanahan said this is how he expected the 49ers’ practice report to look (Kittle, on IR-return, won’t be listed):
Likely OUT:
- Daniel Brunskill (shoulder sprain)
- Hroniss Grasu (knee)
- Raheem Mostert (ankle)
- Deebo Samuel (hamstring)
Likely limited:
- D.J. Jones (ankle)
- Emmanuel Moseley (hamstring)
- Fred Warner (stinger)
- K’Waun Williams (ankle)