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

Here’s a bold prediction: The San Francisco 49ers will primarily use a spread offense against the New York Giants in Week 5.

“We made some major changes,” Niners’ offensive coordinator Geep Chryst said Wednesday morning, “but I can’t go…” and then he corrected himself. “I shouldn’t say ‘major.’ We made some changes, some adjustments that we feel good about going into this game.”

Chryst wouldn’t say what adjustments he made. “I’d rather tell you next week what we did do, than forecast what may or may not happen,” he said.

Here’s the forecast: The first four weeks of the season, Chryst’s offense revolved around tight ends. Expect that to end. Vernon Davis is dealing with an injured knee, Vance McDonald is a bust, and Garrett Celek is just a guy. This is not the group to build an offense around. I think Chryst gets that now.

Expect No. 3 receiver Bruce Ellington to play more than McDonald or Celek in Week 5, and expect the Niners to try to run the ball against the Giants’ defensive sub-packages.

Here are five more bold prediction for Week 5.

Reggie Bush Will Play More Than Carlos Hyde

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Carlos Hyde has broken a league-high 19 tackles this season, according to Pro Football Focus.

He is a terrific running back, but the 49ers’ running game hasn’t worked when he’s been in the backfield the past three games. He’s getting hit behind the line of scrimmage and averaging just 3.2 yards per carry.

There is almost no chance Hyde will have a big game against the Giants. New York has the No. 1 run defense in the NFL. The Niners need to try something new against them.

Look for the Niners to start Reggie Bush instead of Hyde at running back in Week 5, and look for the Niners to use Bush on zone-read plays out of spread formations to try to get him rolling early.

Shane Vereen Will Torch NaVorro Bowman

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Scat-backs will dominate this Week 5 matchup.

The Giants have two terrific outside receivers—Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle—whom the Niners cornerbacks can’t cover man-to-man. So San Francisco will double-cover those receivers on passing downs, and single-cover the rest of the Giants skill players.

This means that Giants scat-back Shane Vereen will have one-on-one matchups against Niners inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman. Advantage: Vereen.

Bowman used to be the best inside linebacker in the NFL at covering running backs but not anymore. Not after tearing his MCL and ACL in 2014.

According to Pro Football Focus, Bowman has given up 11 catches on 12 targets this year. He’s tentative and slow when changing directions, so look for Vereen to catch at least 10 passes in Week 5 and consistently move the chains on third down.

Torrey Smith Will Lead the 49ers in Receiving

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This offseason, the 49ers made one of the biggest free-agent acquisitions in franchise history when they signed former Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith to a five-year, $40-million contract.

Through four games, Smith is averaging a career-high 20.6 yards per catch, and Colin Kaepernick is posting a 97.9 passer rating when targeting the deep threat, according to Pro Football Focus.

The problem is that Kaepernick has targeted Smith only 15 times, and Smith has caught only nine passes.

Don’t blame Smith or Kaepernick. Blame the offensive coordinator, Geep Chryst. It’s his job to call plays in which Smith is the primary target. If Chryst can’t get Smith the ball, the front office will find someone who can.

Chryst knows the deal. Look for him to feature Smith in the passing game in Week 5, and look for Smith to lead the team in receiving.

Colin Kaepernick Will Get Benched at Halftime

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Geep Chryst will call a deep shot to Torrey Smith during the 49ers’ first possession of the game, and Colin Kaepernick will miss that throw.

Then, to get Kaepernick in rhythm, Chryst will call a bunch of bubble screens and shallow crossing routes from three-wide-receiver shotgun formations. Kaepernick will miss a lot of those throws, too. The man's confidence is shot.

None of Chryst’s adjustments will help Kaepernick, and the Niners will gain fewer than 100 yards of total offense in the first half.

On the way to the locker room during halftime, the coaches will say to each other, “We’ve tried everything we can to help the guy—let’s not go down with him. Let’s give Blaine Gabbert a shot.”

And that will be the end of the Colin Kaepernick Era in Santa Clara.

Jim Tomsula Will Be in the Hot Seat After the Niners Come out Flat on the Road

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Not only will the Niners offense play poorly in the first half, the Niners defense will play poorly, too. The whole team will come out flat, just like it did the last time it played at 1 p.m. in the Eastern Time Zone—Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Poorly-coached teams tend to play poorly on the road, and this season, the Niners have gotten outscored 90 to 25 on the road. They’re beginning to seem like a poorly-coached team.

If they come out flat for the third time on the road—which they will—Jim Tomsula will officially be on the hot seat. He could get fired during the bye week if the Niners don’t play hard for him the next few games.

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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