The San Francisco 49ers are 4-4 and dealing with injuries, but they are also making some fundamental mistakes that need to be addressed.
And special teams are an area where those mistakes can haunt you. San Francisco has struggled to cover kick and punt returns and is also finding lackluster results when returning kicks themselves.
But 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan isn’t planning on making big changes. When asked if he would consider firing special teams coordinator Brian Schneider, Shanahan dismissed the idea.
“I have no concerns with Brian Schneider, if that’s what you mean by that. I think that’s what you’re implying and that hasn’t entered my head at all. No, that hasn’t entered my head at all,” Shanahan said on October 28.
The San Francisco boss also made a case for Schneider after the 49ers were able to limit Dallas Cowboys return man KaVontae Turpin in the 30-24 win in Week 8. He also brought up the valid point that injuries have disrupted the team’s plans.
“I was proud of us last night. I thought we were up against a huge challenge. I thought our guys played real hard and did a real good job controlling KaVontae Turpin, who is one of the bigger game changers in this game. I think we’ve dealt with a lot of stuff on special teams. A lot of changing on people, a lot of young guys starting out to play who we’ve lost and having to replace them with new guys and working with a lot of different people,” Shanahan said.
San Francisco Limits Turpin
In terms of dangerous returners, Turpin is one of the most dynamic in the NFL. The former TCU WR returned one punt for a touchdown in Week 1, and also has a 79-yard kick return on his resume.
Turpin was only able to return one punt against the Niners, which he did take for a solid 13 yards. He also returned 5 kickoffs with his longest being 26 yards. That’s solid work, considering he leads the NFL with 34.9 yards per kick return.
It could be a sign of a turnaround. But the 49ers have had consistent issues on special teams throughout the year and their performances after the BYE week will be something to monitor.
49ers and Cowboys Fight After Kickoff Return
Speaking of Turpin and kickoff returns, the 49ers and Cowboys biggest scrap of Sunday night was after a kick return. After the Dallas return man took the ball to the 35-yard line after San Francisco’s opening field goal, things got chippy.
49ers LB Dee Winters made the tackle on Turpin and was somewhat tangled while he got up. That prompted Cowboys safety Juanyeh Thomas shoving and hitting Winters, which then led to a large dustup between the two sides. You can watch it here.
It looked like a scrap over nothing and essentially resulted in nothing. Winters and Thomas were both handed unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, which were offsetting. While it was early on in the game, that was the only fight of the night.
