Niners Nation
Week 12 49ers MEGA Recap: Tape Takeaways, Trench Grades, and an Ugly Watch for Brock Purdy (paywall)
“I was underwhelmed by both of the 49ers’ left guards. I talked to Jake Brendel about the rotation of Spencer Burford and Ben Bartch. Here’s what he told me after Monday’s game:
It’s just kind of a way to, one, create competition, I think. And two, also just make sure that one guy is not going to get caught in a, I’m tired and can’t execute something position. So they are constantly fresh, which I think is great, but at the same time, I mean, there they are different players.
He was highly complimentary of both, saying they both grasp the scheme well. But here’s what he said on their differences:
Spence is a little bit longer, I think, and Ben has a little bit more overall drive with his feet a little bit in the running game.
That’s a fair assessment. Bartch pops much more in the running game. There’s just more initial power. But Burford can recover a bit better in pass protection with his length.“
2026 NFL mock draft: 49ers target Brandon Aiyuk replacement
“Between Brandon Aiyuk’s impending split from the 49ers, Ricky Pearsall’s struggles to catch on, and Jauan Jennings’ trepidatious contract outlook, San Francisco could be nearing a complete restart at the WR spot,” Cummings wrote. “Chris Bell can help catalyze that kind of rebuild.
“At 6’2″, 225 pounds, with over 32″ arms, Bell has the size, contact authority, and uber-explosive RAC profile that Kyle Shanahan craves. But his keen zone intelligence and domineering catch-point skills have helped him field comparisons to A.J. Brown.”
Kyle Shanahan shares final updates ahead of 49ers-Browns Week 13 matchup
“”Yeah, I watch how guys move, how they block, how they execute their routes, how they beat man-coverage, how long it takes to get them to their spots in zones. I see zero difference with Ricky now to those three games. I think the things you didn’t have to worry about as much with receivers, but now in the day of age of everyone talking about stats and fantasy stuff, seven days a week, 24-hours a day, it does put pressure on those guys a lot. I used to hear it from people’s uncles when I walked out of a stadium hearing how I messed up their fantasy game not getting their nephew the ball and stuff like that. But, now I know just that stuff is so talked about and everything, but like K.B. [WR Kendrick Bourne] went for 150 two weeks in a row and I think K.B.’s played the same each week. Sometimes that stuff’s out of the receiver’s hands, sometimes it’s just unbelievable some of the opportunities they get and what they do in them. But, usually it’s where the zones are going and the opportunities they get just based off of coverage.”
49ers vs. Browns: The Standard’s 5 fast predictions (paywall)
“Kawakami: 49ers 20, Browns 17....
