49ers QB Brock Purdy, WR Ricky Pearsall out again for Week 8 game vs. Texans “Center Jake Brendel, and defensive ends Bryce Huff and Yetur Gross-Matos also have been ruled out for Sunday’s game against
the Texans due to hamstring injuries.
Center Matt Hennessy is scheduled to make his first start as a member of the 49ers with Brendel out of action.“
Five 49ers players to watch in road Week 8 game vs. DeMeco Ryans’ Texans
“Houston’s Danielle Hunter regularly has worked out with Williams since Hunter entered the NFL in 2015 as a third-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings. They have trained together and compared notes to help each other in their particular disciplines.
Hunter is a perennial double-digit sack producer. He has 78 sacks in his last 96 games since 2018. There will be no surprises for Williams or Hunter, so it should be an intriguing one-on-one matchup to watch.“
Back with the 49ers, Robert Saleh is unleashing terror on offenses — and healing himself (paywall)
“It’s more than game plan,” Lenoir told The Athletic. “He doesn’t just game plan. He dissects. You know like in biology class, you’ve got the frog? You’ve got to open him up and see … where’s his heart at?
“With Saleh, we’re going straight for the heart.”
Meet the 49ers’ unsung hero DB, who is also the ‘ultimate energy giver’ (paywall)
“The coaching staff thinks so highly of him that Saleh called Lucas “invaluable” after practice on Thursday.
“He sees all the nuance in football, every little detail,” Saleh said. “He studies his butt off, and he’s giving juice to everybody. He’s talking smack with everybody.
“He plays corner, he plays nickel, he’s played safety. It’d be a disservice to try to explain how valuable he is. He is awesome.”
49ers enjoy Robert Saleh’s reboot of the defense, but will he be one and done? (paywall)
“The way he attacks meetings, the way he talks, he deserves a head coach job,” Okuayinonu said. “But right now he’s my defense coordinator.”
49ers vs. Texans: The Standard’s 5 fast predictions (paywall)
“Kawakami: Houston 17, 49ers 16. This feels like the opposite of the Atlanta matchup, which was quietly a great one for the 49ers. The Texans aren’t a good team, but they can do stuff defensively that will bug the 49ers and set up some short fields for the Houston offense.”
