What? You mean you guys like these things?
We haven’t done too many mailbags this year, but maybe I can change that. Because of the timing, I wasn’t able to get to every question asked in my call for submissions, but keep an eye out for the next one. I post over in the Niners Nation Feed when I’m going to do a mailbag, and I’ll be sure to not do it on a Thursday this time. By the way, if you haven’t gone to The Feedyet, what’s stopping you? Not only am I there, but Fooch posts there a lot, too. Come
hang out with the Niners Nation alum!
Now, as for this week, this is going up Saturday afternoon, and the San Francisco 49ers are preparing for the Las Vegas Raiders. This seems like another tricky game for the team. Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins always seems to play well against the 49ers, like some long-standing grudge against Kyle Shanahan when the former was going to come in a few years before the latter traded for Jimmy Garoppolo. I think the 49ers can pull off the victory—based on the Raiders starting to remember they are the Raiders—but they can’t make the same mistakes they did against the Atlanta Falcons.
Ok, onto your questions:
If a Pontiac and a Buick both leave Chicago at the same time……….
—NYners
They both will have engine failure two miles outside of city limits.
And keeping with the STs theme — why do they still have faith in Cowing returning punts? I’m terrified he’s gonna drop it, even on a fair catch. If the former Ram who’s on the practice squad isn’t any better, why do we even have him on the team?
—TheGoldenRatio
Probably because they don’t want to pull from the very limited pool of wide receivers they already have and risk someone else getting beat up on the return game. I have to think that as the wide receivers come back, the 49ers move to…well…moving on from Cowing. At least at returner. They have Brandin Cooks on the roster, and while he’s not as fast as he was a decade ago, he’s still got some wheels and has been a returner in the past. De’Zhaun Stribling could also be a good option, but for reasons I just outlined, they may want him fresh for the offense and not on return duty because they aren’t going to be able to rely on Mike Evans for every play.
I can’t fathom a situation where Cowing is the punt returner in January based on what we’ve seen. This isn’t even about his ball security issues; it’s about his decision-making.
I’m of the mind that our D line is pretty awesome with Defo and Bosa on the field. My only reservation is injuries, especially Bosa. Do we really need to make a splash with an extra Edge? White, Williams and Height seems like a good rotation across from Bosa.
—80849er
It could help, but I also think the 49ers need to hold onto some draft picks and salary cap space. Whoever they bring in, they have to make room for by releasing someone else, allocating what is the thinnest of margins in cap space, and sacrificing development of their younger talent. Not to mention draft picks. It’s not the greatest answer, but when they bring in a Khalil Mack or some sort, that’s going to take snaps away from a younger player who needs that experience and fewer picks to get more ammo in case that younger player doesn’t work out.
I want to win now, just like all of you do, but not at the cost of development to stay competitive. I am not a fan of the Los Angeles’ Rams way of just “buying” a Super Bowl for one year. Some players you know won’t click; others need to be on the field and mess up, even in a championship season. The DeForest Buckner trade was great because while it removed snaps, it didn’t do so much that it tossed the depth chart to the bench. Adding more could make things cramped. It also helped with the culture since Buckner has been there before and can be a good mentor
Speaking of which, that has already been paying dividends for young talent. Romello Height is getting up a bit earlier now, for one thing. The others have a lot to learn from Buckner as a player, and it’s already rubbing off.
Has something changed in Piñeiro’s mechanics, or with the snap and hold timing? Is he more accurate from one hash mark or another? How does he compare to the league average percentage of missed extra points? Why hasn’t the team brought in another kicker for a tryout?
Why haven’t they brought someone else in? Probably because Piñeiro just signed an extension with $10 million in guaranteed money. Kyle Shanahan did seem a bit miffed after the Atlanta game, but shortly after that, John Lynch affirmedthe 49ers were sticking with Piñeiro. If you were wanting kicker tryouts—those aren’t happening.
Have we hit David Akers or even Jake Moody levels of kicking? It’s a rough patch, but I give him a couple more games. If he misses more XPs in the next two games, regardless of whether it’s a victory or loss, the 49ers have to do something. It’s just like if their punt returner had bad ball security and they did nothing…
Brandon Aiyuk owes the 49ers $13 million. If you’d signed that contract, what would you have spent the $13 million on?
—Fooch
I’d go to Vegas and make max bets on Casino War while getting bottle service. I’d set aside half for an executive suite at Levi’s Stadium for one game. I’d also buy a sealed copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga for the Sega Saturn. If there’s money leftover I’ll also buy a gold cart of Nintendo World Championships.
