5 Bold Predictions for San Francisco 49ers' Week 1 Matchup

First bold prediction: Jarryd Hayne, the former Rugby League star and preseason sensation, will not suit up for the San Francisco 49ers’ Week 1 game against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night.

That’s impression I got Thursday morning when an Australian reporter asked 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula how confident he is in Hayne’s ability to field a punt.

“Very confident,” Tomsula said, “but again, you start talking about the 46. How much can you do? What can you do for the team?...The things that we’re doing this week, do they fit your skill set?...Special teams, OK if you can catch a punt, but can you do other things?”

Allow me to answer for the head coach: No, Hayne can’t do other things. He does one thing well—return punts. He’s below-average at everything else. He will sit on game day.

Here are five more bold predictions for the Niners’ Week 1 matchup.

Carlos Hyde Will Gain 100 Rushing Yards and Score a Touchdown

Joe Mahoney/Associated Press

Adrian Peterson is the best running back in the NFL, and he played only one game last year. He’s fresh. The Niners have to expect him to run the ball a lot Monday night.

That means the Niners have to run the ball a lot too. They will lose if the Vikings dominate the time of possession.

Carlos Hyde will be the Niners' go-to guy on offense against Minnesota. So long as Hyde keeps churning out four yards per carry, the Niners will give him the ball as much possible.

Hyde will finish the game with 25 carries, 102 yards and a touchdown.

NaVorro Bowman Will Play No More Than 60 Snaps

Joe Mahoney/Associated Press

Last time NaVorro Bowman played the Minnesota Vikings—Week 3 of 2012—the Niners defense never took him off the field. He played all 79 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

San Francisco would be irresponsible to play Bowman 79 snaps Monday night. He is coming off a torn ACL and MCL and hasn’t played in a real game since January 2014. During the preseason this year he played just 45 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.

The Niners will bring Bowman back gradually. He will play no more than 60 snaps against the Vikings. Look for the team to replace him frequently with rookie safety Jaquiski Tartt on passing downs.

Teddy Bridgewater Will Complete 70 Percent of His Passes

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

On Thursday morning, I asked Jim Tomsula for his assessment of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

“I think Teddy’s a good quarterback, a well-coached quarterback,” the 49ers coach said. “You saw [him] improve dramatically and, again, that’s not a surprise to any of us on who’s coaching him. He’s done a really good job. Obviously, mobile. He can throw the ball. He can move the pocket and he can make you pay with his feet.”

The dramatic improvement Tomsula referenced occurred during the final five weeks of the 2014 regular season, when Bridgewater completed 101 of 140 pass attempts—72.1 percent—even though he was a rookie who had virtually no running game to fall back on.

Now, Bridgewater has running back Adrian Peterson and gets to face a Niners secondary that features young, unproven cornerbacks such as Kenneth Acker, Keith Reaser and Dontae Johnson.

Bridgewater will be highly efficient, completing 70 percent of his passes on Monday, although he may not pass much. Peterson probably will carry the load on offense.

Colin Kaepernick Will Throw His First Pass to Vernon Davis

Michael Zagaris/Getty Images

Last season was tight end Vernon Davis’ worst in the NFL. This offseason, he discussed what went wrong.

“Whenever I’d run, like, my deep over routes, there was a safety sitting over there already,” Davis said, per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. “It was just game-planning. And nothing really every opened up. But I was really ever a factor in the offense last year. ... The first game, yeah. But the second game, the tight ends (weren’t) really involved as a whole.”

In other words, he felt like an afterthought.

On Thursday afternoon, I asked him if he feels more involved in the offense this year. “Yes,” he said as he sighed and laughed. “Big smile on my face.”

But why does he feel more involved?

“Practice, man,” Davis said. “Everything for me is happening in practice. I’ve probably caught more balls than I’ve ever caught here in my 10 years of practice.”

From what I could tell, Davis caught more passes than any other player during the 49ers’ training camp. And he frequently caught the first pass of practice. The coaches got him involved right away.

That is exactly how to use Davis. Sometimes, he seems discouraged if he doesn’t get the ball early in a game. The new coaching staff won’t let him get discouraged. The first pass is going to him Monday night.

Colin Kaepernick Will Get Sacked Five Times

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When it comes to blitzing, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer is one of the most creative and aggressive play-callers in the NFL. He will test the Niners’ protection schemes.

Pass protection will be an issue for the Niners all season, especially early on. Remember, this group hasn’t played together. The Niners signed starting right tackle Erik Pears this offseason and traded for starting right guard Jordan Devey on August 18.

How effectively will this new offensive line communicate on 3rd-and-8 when the Vikings show an exotic blitz? Will every offensive lineman be on the same page? Probably not—offensive lines take time to jell. Kaepernick will have to run for his life, and Minnesota will sack him five times.

All quotations and practice observations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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