Well, it’s always funnier when the 49ers beat the Cowboys. And it’s always better when we have a mailbag before a 49ers game.
So I found out I have this nifty little tool that lets me link your comments to my Niners Nation Feed post directly. It’s pretty neat, so I’m using it for this. Our mailbag requests come during the week in The Feed. I go through comments, good and/or bad, and pick a few to respond to. Those I don’t respond to are probably because I don’t have a witty-enough response or something I simply didn’t have time for (the final 53-man roster at season’s end is a great question, but I don’t even want to rack my brain on that one). Basically, it’s not you, it’s me.
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All you need to do is see my mailbag post on The Feed and then make a comment about what we should talk about! We had a lot of questions this week. I’ll try to answer some of them:
I don’t mind parity; I do think it’s being taken a biiiiit too far, however. I’m against a top team having a first pick in the draft—that’s where you get all the NBA controversies with lotteries and such. That said NBA draft “lottery” was originally implemented to prevent all-out tanking, but somehow elite prospects get picked up by specific teams, defying the odds.
Here’s what I WOULD like. I agree with your salary cap worries, but I don’t think it should be removed—instead, adjusted. Several companies that have remote workers adjust salaries based on cost of living. For example, I live in Seattle, Washington, so my salary for a position would be significantly higher than someone living in Jackpot, Nevada. I think income tax can be a key decision-maker for players, and teams that have to deal with income taxes should adjust accordingly. Washington has no income tax; California does. So adjust the salary cap accordingly based on the tax structure of that team’s state. How do you do this? I have no idea. I am the worst at numbers.
My other suggestion for the salary cap is that for any player drafted by a team who accrues x years on that team and is up for an extension, a percentage of their new deal doesn’t count against the salary cap. This lets them get the deal they want without crippling the team. This also rewards teams for drafting well rather than penalizing them. It’s like a franchise tag you can use once a year on a newly signed contract. Oftentimes, players don’t want to leave their team, but the business side of things gets in the way, and the team can only offer so much. Having a rule like this in effect would create roster consistency and ensure the talent gets the salary they deserve. You can go even further, like any pick in the second round-on, while the first round has the fifth-year option.
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The whole idea is that teams are rewarded for investing their resources and time into a prospect rather than the player’s contract being up and priced out of whatever team wants to keep them.
Probably the Minnesota Vikings now that Kirk Cousins is back. I’m still traumatized by his last game against the 49ers in the purple back in 2023. Cousins went 35-for-45 (77 percent completions), for 378 yards, two touchdowns, and a single interception.
You know that game better for this stupid Steve Wilks call. This game was where the murmurs of Wilks’ incompetence pretty much spilled out into screaming rants. After this game, he left the booth and came to the sidelines to call games. You know how that season turned out. Yes, the 49ers went to the Super Bowl, but those defensive formations, man.
So looking back, Kirk Cousins back on the Vikings scares me. If not for that trade this week, I’d probably lean towards the Chicago Bears, but the Vikings are my pick.
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I don’t get it at this point. He’s reinstated, and the 49ers have two weeks. I’ve been on the 49ers’ side for all of this until right now, when I’m wondering why they just don’t cut the cord. My guess is they don’t want to cut him and have him go to a team they may face in two weeks. I doubt he’s in football shape, but I also wonder what he could give the Seahawks and/or Vikings if he signed with them. Keeping him for two weeks makes any signing more of a crunch.
But then he could go to the Rams? I just don’t know what the 49ers are doing right now. Get it over with already.
Here’s a nice stat that will help you figure this out:
58.1…yet somehow the 49ers are still standing. I think Colby is surrounded by talent (hey there, Colton McKivitz), but he’s clearly the weak link of the offensive line at left guard. The rest of the line has been doing a fine job. Now that said, can he get better? I think so. This is only his second season, and it’s still an improvement over last year.
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If the 49ers look to add another guard in the draft (one can wish upon a star), I hope they lock up Dominick Puni so they have some consistency on that line. I don’t think Colby is horrible (remember Erik Pears? THAT was bad), but we need to see how he develops for the rest of the year. The last thing we need is Jeffery Simmons lined up against him in the playoffs.
I’d say the 2023 team was maybe more balanced—once they figured their decorum out. The 2023 team had that losing streak to the Vikings and Bengals and looked awful. I don’t know what they did to turn it around, but whatever it was, it got them to the Super Bowl. The issue with the 2023 team was defensive coaching (Steve Wilks was defensive coordinator) and Brock Purdy’s inexperience (which he mitigated well).
The 2026 team is balanced, but I need to see more from the defense. I don’t mind the pass rush having a hard time sacking the quarterback, so long as the secondary is making pass-catchers pay for catching the ball. Sure, the Raiders had dial-a-turnovers against the 49ers, but that’s an anomaly. A lot of those turnovers (like the end zone fumble) are simply not going to happen most of the time. The stats will tell me otherwise, as the 49ers defense is one of the better defenses in the league (especially against the run), but both the Falcons game and the Raiders game have me questioning the pass rush. Since we got Nick Bosa back and DeForest Buckner returned, I hope that changes as things gel.
That sounds like something El Shorts would do. I wonder what ever happened to that guy? He was a good dude.
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Whichever one eliminates the team that is the worst matchup for the 49ers. The Minnesota Vikings did the 49ers fans a favor in 2019 by knocking the New Orleans Saints out, and that was the team I thought would give the 49ers the most headaches (though the Saleh defense showed itself against the Packers at the end).
If I have to look at what’s there, I’d probably just enjoy Giants-Vikings and watching the Giants knock the Vikings out. Since the NFC East is not very good this year, that would provide some pretty good comedy. As far as a game, Bears-Packers would be great, since it removes one of the threats to the 49ers. Then again, Bears-Rams would be nice, but I don’t know who I’d want to win that one.
So specifically wide receivers, I’m going to go with De’Zhaun Stribling, Mike Evans, Jordan Watkins, Brandin Cooks, Deebo Samuel, and Keenan Allen. I think once Stribling is good to go and Evans returns to the field, Jacob Cowing could be the odd man out. I’d put Cooks on punt returns and Watkins/Samuel on Kickoff returns.
I think we’ve seen what Cowing is capable of, and all I see is bad decisions, bad ball security, and quitting on plays (like Brock Purdy’s interception against the Falcons). He’s been with the team long enough (drafted in 2024) and there just hasn’t been anything to “wow” me.
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Unfortunately, the 49ers wide receivers aren’t getting any younger, so maybe cutting him would be a bad idea. I just don’t see how he can play with who the 49ers have.
I suck at chess. It’s a silly game. I’ll own you in Life, though.
No, but you can. That could be a great feed topic for you to rank the best commenters. I don’t want to get involved playing favorites.
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