6 Burning Questions Facing the San Francisco 49ers Week 5

Can the San Francisco 49ers get their running game going against the New York Giants?

The Niners’ entire offense depends on the success of its running game. When Carlos Hyde is picking up five yards per carry, the play-action passing game and rollout passing game become weapons for quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Hyde was dominant Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, so San Francisco’s entire offense looked good. Even Kaepernick played well.

Since Week 1, Hyde has averaged 3.2 yards per carry. This week, he faces the NFL's best run defense. The Giants are allowing just 3.1 yards per carry.

Will Hyde step up? That’s one burning question. Here are five more facing the 49ers' Week 5.

Will Michael Wilhoite or Gerald Hodges Start at Inside Linebacker?

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Wednesday afternoon, a reporter asked head coach Jim Tomsula if Gerald Hodges, the linebacker the Niners traded for Tuesday afternoon, will start right away. Tomsula dodged the question.

“I haven’t met him yet,” Tomsula said. “He’s still going through the processing. They’ve got to get the physical; they have to do all that kind of stuff, so he’s doing all that. I’m hoping to get with him at lunch, and we will see.”

Hodges is the NFL's 15th-highest graded inside linebacker this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Michael Wilhoite is the rated 43rd out of 51 inside linebackers, also per PFF.

Clearly, Hodges is better than Wilhoite, but can Hodges learn the defense quickly enough to start Week 5? Maybe he and Tomsula can work that out over lunch.

Can DC Eric Mangini Use Man-to-Man Coverage Against the Giants

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Defensive coordinator Eric Mangini got away with using man-to-man coverage last week against the Green Bay Packers.

That’s because the Niners’ outside cornerbacks—Tramaine Brock and Kenneth Acker—could cover the Packers’ outside receivers—James Jones and Ty Montgomery—man to man. This allowed the Niners to double-cover Randall Cobb in the slot.

Week 5, the Niners have to account for Giants stud receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who mostly lines up outside, unlike Cobb. You can bet Beckham will line up across from Acker as often as possible, like the Pittsburgh Steelers did with Antonio Brown Week 2.

Can Acker hold his own against Beckham, or will Mangini have to use zone coverages most of the game?

Will OC Geep Chryst Start Using the 49ers’ Big Free-Agent Signings

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This offseason, the 49ers’ two biggest offseason signings were wide receiver Torrey Smith and running back Reggie Bush. Smith has nine catches through four games, and Bush has one catch and three carries through two games (he missed two games due to an injured calf).

What was the point of signing Smith and Bush if offensive coordinator Geep Chryst won’t use them? Why is Chryst wasting the 49ers’ money?

Chryst has to call more plays for those two. Smith can burn defenses deep if they load the box, and Bush can burn defenses around the outside if they blitz up the middle.

Can Chryst figure out ways to get those two more involved in the offense?

Will Colin Kaepernick Continue to Play Tentatively?

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Colin Kaepernick played tentatively Week 4. He seemed to second-guess everything he did. Is that because he threw four interceptions Week 3?

“It’s something that you’re going to have in the back of your mind,” Kaepernick admitted to a group of reporters Wednesday morning. “You’re going to make sure that you protect the ball. I put our team in a bad situation in the Arizona game—I wasn’t going to allow that to happen again. It did cost us, yes, but that’s something I correct moving forward.”

According to Kaepernick, he made a conscious decision to play tentatively last week. All he has to do is flip a switch and he’ll be confident again.

Is that how confidence works? Can Kaepernick will himself to play more aggressively, or will he keep second-guessing himself even though he’s trying not to?

Will Blaine Gabbert Replace Colin Kaepernick Before the Game Is Over?

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If Colin Kaepernick keeps throwing deep passes out of bounds and one-hoppers to receivers standing fewer than 10 yards away, what will the Niners do?

If Kaepernick struggles against the Giants and the Niners score only three points before halftime, what will they do?

Will they bench him? How long will they let him drag the rest of the team down, especially if the defense plays as well as it played Week 4?

No one thinks backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert is a future franchise guy, but maybe he can play well enough not to almost single-handedly lose games the way Kaepernick has the past two weeks.

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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