49ers News: The road back to .500 begins today

49ers minutia minute: Examining problems at linebacker, cornerback in loss to Rams (paywall)

“What went wrong on the fake punt in the second quarter? The player on the right edge of the 49ers’ line was Conley, a 205-pound wide receiver. The Rams simply overloaded that side and the 49ers couldn’t stop the surge. It was Los Angeles’ first momentum-changing play of the game and extended a drive that ended with Williams’ touchdown catch.

The other costly special teams blunder was the Rams’ 37-yard punt return that helped set up the game-winning field goal. Mustapha whiffed on his tackle attempt as the ball landed while Tonges, who appeared to be blocked from behind, was unable to seal the outside. He and the other player on that side, Odum, also seemed to bump into one another.

“There was a clip in the back, which would have negated (the returner) from getting to the sideline,” Shanahan said. “But once they did end up clipping us and got to the edge, then our contain player who was supposed to be there was not there. He was sucked up in the middle.”

49ers mailbag: Options at defensive tackle; Why was Christian McCaffrey in Germany? (paywall)

“(Anecdote: I wanted to interview Greenlaw in the locker room last week regarding Fred Warner’s penchant for punching footballs from offensive players. I had to wait a couple of minutes because Greenlaw was in a three-point jump-shooting contest … which he won. Conclusion: His Achilles seems pretty functional to me.)”

Why 49ers’ clock management strategy backfired at end of loss to Rams

“The clock ticked down to 1:12 remaining when the next play started from the 49ers’ 43-yard line.

An incomplete pass took only four seconds off the clock.”

49ers overreactions: Are playoff hopes in danger after 1-2 start?

“But, even with the 49ers’ awful losses in back-to-back weeks, their season is not wrecked.

They have plenty of time to turn things around. There are 14 games remaining in the regular season.

There are only two unbeaten teams in the NFC through three weeks: the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings.

The 49ers, Rams and Cardinals each are two games behind the Seahawks with 1-2 records. And San Francisco still faces Seattle twice this season.

No team in the NFC is going to run away with this thing. The 49ers’ season will not be defined by these two losses to the Vikings and the Rams.”

Branch: 49ers game review: What happened to the vaunted defensive line against Rams? (paywall)

“The 49ers never touched Stafford when they rushed four linemen. He completed 6 of 10 passes for 117 yards, a total which doesn’t include the deep balls that resulted in the 73 yards in pass interference penalties on drives that led to a touchdown and the game-winning field goal.

Sorensen likely figured the 49ers could disrupt Stafford by rushing four considering the state of the Rams’ patchwork line. Due to injuries, their starting center was Beaux Limmer, a rookie sixth-round pick. And their starting left guard, Logan Bruss, had never played a regular-season snap before Sunday.”

49ers practice and media schedule leading to Week 4 matchup vs. Patriots

“Wednesday, September 25

12:40 p.m. – Kyle Shanahan press conference

1:50 p.m. – Practice

Thursday, September 26

1:00 p.m. – Practice

After practice (approx. 2:45 p.m.) – Nick Sorensen press conference

Following Sorensen – Chris Foerster press conference

Following Foerster – Brock Purdy press conference

Friday, September 27

12:30 p.m. – Practice

After practice (approx. 1:40 p.m.) – Kyle Shanahan press conference.”

Baldy on 49ers: Praise for Brock Purdy, Jauan Jennings; Brandon Aiyuk looks ‘pedestrian’

“He looks pedestrian, and he’s playing like he’s pedestrian,” Baldinger said. “You don’t see the moves to separate. He just doesn’t seem like the same person. He doesn’t have any sort of swag about him at all right now. He just seems like a guy out there.

“Now, is that training camp? Is that it? Probably. It probably is a big chunk of it. No offseason, no training camp, no preseason. And then, just go and hit the ground running.”

Aiyuk didn’t practice with his teammates until the week leading to the start of the regular season, missing all of training camp and the preseason while locked in a contract standoff with the 49ers.

“And maybe it’s going to take a while,” Baldinger added. “Three years ago, when he was in that proverbial doghouse to start the season, he dug himself out. I’m not saying he’s in a doghouse. He’s not. But maybe it’s just going to take time for him to find that rhythm back into this offense right now because he’s not really heavily involved right now. And he doesn’t play like he should be.”