<
        >

          NFL Nation

          49ers' bye-week Twitter mailbag

          • Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterOct 25, 2014, 12:00 PM ET
            Close
              Paul Gutierrez joined NFL Nation in 2013 and serves as its Las Vegas Raiders reporter. He has a multi-platform role - writing on ESPN.com, television appearances on NFL Live and SportsCenter, and podcast and radio appearances. Before coming to ESPN, Gutierrez spent three years at CSN Bay Area as a multi-platform reporter, covering the Raiders and Oakland Athletics as well as anchoring the SportsNet Central cable news show. Gutierrez votes for the Baseball Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Professional Football Writers of America and currently serves as the PFWA's Las Vegas chapter president. He is also a member of the California Chicano News Media Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Gutierrez has authored three books: Tommy Davis' Tales from the Dodgers Dugout, 100 Things Raiders Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die and If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Raiders Sideline, Locker Room and Press Box with Lincoln Kennedy. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PGutierrezESPN
            Follow on X

          Let's get a bye-week San Francisco 49ers Twitter mailbag rolling ...

          @fguz78: Health, time together and, well, cohesion. Injuries have wreaked havoc on the Niners' O-line and it's easy to see why the individual parts have not clicked. Think about it: Right tackle Anthony Davis, who started the first 64 games of his career, has played in only two thus far thanks to injury; right guard Alex Boone was slowed by his offseason holdout; left guard Mike Iupati has dealt with numerous injuries and missed the last game with a concussion; and now, center Daniel Kilgore is lost for the season with a broken left ankle. Only time can help, with healing and cohesion.

          @TeejTaylor: Officially, no. But reports continue to surface that Aldon Smith's nine-game suspension could be reduced and he could return as soon as this week, even if general manager Trent Baalke and coach Jim Harbaugh claim ignorance. No doubt they hope it's true. From a pure football standpoint, Smith would give the Niners pass rush a huge lift -- five of their 12 sacks came in one game, at the St. Louis Rams -- and he'd be fresh, something the rest of the 49ers' banged-up defense cannot claim with a straight face.

          @ScreamAt_Me: Intriguing question. On one hand, you have a proven vet in Ahmad Brooks, who is tied for the team lead with Justin Smith with three sacks and is coming off a career-high 8 1/2 sacks in 2013. On the other, you have the sky's-the-limit rookie in Aaron Lynch, who has one sack thus far but is taller, more athletic and, yes, much younger and inexpensive. For my money, give me the proven commodity ... but mix in the young gun to keep offenses honest.

          @Maximill15: Let's see ... vs. St. Louis Rams (W), at New Orleans Saints (L), at New York Giants (W), vs. Washington Redskins (W), vs. Seattle Seahawks (W), at Oakland Raiders (W), at Seahawks (L), vs. San Diego Chargers (W), vs. Arizona Cardinals (W). So that makes it a prediction of 7-2, to give the Niners an overall record of 11-5. Yes, the division is still within grasp, with the 5-1 Cardinals due to come back to Earth soon and the 3-3 Seahawks stumbling about with consecutive losses. Chew on this from the glass-is-half-empty corner: the Niners are three plays away from being 3-4 and both the Seahawks and Cardinals being 5-1 -- the Philadelphia Eagles unable to punch it in from 1 yard away, the Dallas Cowboys' Terrance Williams' unbelieveable sideline catch in Seattle, and the Rams' fake punt against the Seahawks.

          @giantsniners85: I like the way you think, though Percy Harvin was a divisive force in that Seahawks locker room and they realized last season they did not need him necesarrily to win a Lombardi Trophy. Of course, it would depend upon the haul the Niners could get for Michael Crabtree in a contract year, and just how desperate another team would be. More realistically, I think, is for Stevie Johnson to start swiping snaps from Crabtree.

          And I leave you with a few #ThrowbackThursday shots I took from #TBT's past ...