SANTA CLARA — Opening the season with a double-digit rout didn’t ease the minds of 49ers’ fans, who’ve relayed their concerns via social media for this week’s mailbag:
How worried about CMC should we be? (@JM41484)
On a scale of 1 to 10, the first instinct is to rate it a TEN!!!! He is the reigning NFL rushing champion and AP Offensive Player of the Year. It sounded dire as he became a game-time scratch Monday, followed by coach Kyle Shanahan adding “Achilles tendinitis” to McCaffrey’s injury chart a month after a calf strain. Remember last season, linebacker Dre Greenlaw had Achilles tendinitis late in the season before he ruptured his other Achilles in the Super Bowl.
All that said, let’s dial the concern level to an “8.” He has not vanished from practice. NFC games are more important than an opener against a historically woeful AFC team. A Week 3 divisional matchup against the Rams is even bigger than Sunday’s trip to Minnesota. The playoffs and Super Bowl are the biggest of all.
If/when CMC is back to 100% will Kyle finally split carries with Mason based on his performance Week 1. (@JoshySpeez)
Two measuring sticks exist in terms of McCaffrey’s calf issues. After an initial injury in the January 2023 playoff win over Dallas, McCaffrey responded with 15 carries in the contorted NFC Championship loss at Philadelphia. After leaving last season’s Dec. 31 win at Washington, McCaffrey had 17 carries in the playoff-opening win over Green Bay while no other running backs got a carry.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with last season. It’s just something I’m dealing with that I’ll get right,” McCaffrey said Wednesday. His mentality may be that he’s playing; the reality is it will be a group decision like last Monday’s.
McCaffrey was a ball hog last season en route to his first NFL rushing title, totaling 331 carries through the playoffs; the second-most used rusher in each game totaled 106 carries. McCaffrey shared the load more in 2022 upon his midseason arrival, racking up 189 carries while each game’s next-most used rusher totaled 117 carries.
Does the success of Jordan Mason show that Christian McCaffrey is just a system running back? (@DamionTachikoma)
This is either dark humor toward those in the Brock-Purdy-Is-A-System-Quarterback Fan Club, or it’s a legitimate question.
Steve Young answered it on KNBR 680-AM: “To have an offense where you can plug and play like that … What is the value of being here and being able to have a system that gets the most out of you, the full measure of you as a player? You can find it out here. That’s what I loved about Monday. Christian can’t play and now we see the full measure of Mason. He jumps in and just dominates. He can go score 14, 15 touchdowns this season if he gets a shot.”
That said, McCaffrey’s multi-dimensional skills are unmatched in the NFL and a perfect fit for Shanahan’s offense. Mason had 83 carries and just three receptions through …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
