6 Burning Questions Facing the San Francisco 49ers in Week 12

Will the San Francisco 49ers even show up Week 12 against the Arizona Cardinals?

The Niners didn’t show up to Seattle in Week 11 until midway through the second quarter. By then, the Seahawks had scored three touchdowns, and the score was 20-0. Game over. San Francisco was coming off a bye week and still couldn’t get up for the start of the game. Shameful.

Now, the Niners have nothing to play for—their record is 3-7. Sunday, they face the 8-2 Cardinals, who blew out the Niners in Arizona in Week 3.

Will the Niners mail it in for the second week in a row?

That’s burning question No. 1. Here are five more facing the 49ers for Week 12.

Can the 49ers Stop Chris Johnson?

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The Niners couldn’t stop Cardinals running back Chris Johnson in Week 3. He rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns even though Arizona didn’t have its best run-blocker—former 49ers Pro Bowl guard Mike Iupati.

Iupati will play this Sunday. So, you can bet the Cardinals will try to “grind the meat,” meaning run the ball behind Iupati and force it down the Niners’ throats like San Francisco did to Arizona the past few seasons.

The Cardinals would be nuts not to run the ball against the Niners—they just gave up 255 rushing yards to the Seattle Seahawks last week. Glenn Dorsey, San Francisco’s best run-stuffing defensive end, tore his ACL and is out for the season.

Do the Niners stand a chance against Johnson and Iupati?

How Will Eric Mangini Defend Larry Fitzgerald?

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In Week 3, 49ers defensive coordinator Eric Mangini seemed to think his cornerbacks couldn’t cover the Cardinals’ wide receivers man to man.

Mangini rarely called man coverages in that game—he mostly uses different types of zone coverages, and none of them worked. Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer shredded the 49ers defense. Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald caught nine passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns—he seemed wide-open all game.

Mangini has to change his approach. He should make cornerback Dontae Johnson shadow Fitzgerald wherever he goes Sunday. Johnson has the size (6’2”) and speed (4.45 40-yard dash) to hang with Fitzgerald in man coverage.

Will Anquan Boldin Have a Big Game Against His Former Team?

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It must have been hard for Anquan Boldin to watch Larry Fitzgerald light up the 49ers defense Week 3.

Boldin was the Cardinals’ go-to guy before Fitzgerald, and they chose to keep Fitzgerald long term, not Boldin. Week 3, it seemed the Cardinals had made the right choice. Boldin caught just two passes for 14 yards. He looked old.

But he didn’t look old last week against the Seattle Seahawks. In his first game with quarterback Blaine Gabbert, the 35-year-old caught five passes for 93 yards. He seemed reinvigorated. Maybe he just needed a new quarterback. Maybe Colin Kaepernick was bringing Boldin down.

With Gabbert throwing the ball, will Boldin have a big game Sunday against his former team?

Will Vance McDonald Become a Go-to Guy in the Red Zone?

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The 49ers offense moved the ball surprisingly well last week against the Seattle Seahawks. San Francisco averaged 5.9 yards per play—an excellent average.

But, the Niners scored just 13 points. Unacceptable.

The only player who scored a touchdown was third-year tight end Vance McDonald, who ran a beautiful “stick-nod” route from Seattle’s 19-yard line. McDonald faked like he was running a shallow curl route to the outside and then ran a post route over the middle. Easy touchdown.

The “stick-nod” is a classic West Coast offense play that is especially effective in the red zone. Will the Niners use it again this Sunday? Will McDonald become San Francisco’s go-to guy near the opponent’s goal line?

Will Blaine Gabbert Continue to Improve?

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Blaine Gabbert faced a highly ranked Atlanta Falcons defense during his first start with the 49ers and didn’t get to play with San Francisco’s best offensive weapons: Carlos Hyde, Vernon Davis and Anquan Boldin.

Gabbert still won. He played like a mature, seasoned veteran, although he did throw two interceptions and posted a quarterback rating of just 76.2.

The next week, Gabbert faced an even tougher Seattle Seahawks defense. Faced it without a viable running game—Hyde still was hurt.

And yet, Gabbert played even better than he did the previous week. The 26-year-old threw zero picks, committed no major mistakes and posted a passer rating of 98.2 against the Seahawks.

Will Gabbert’s play continue to improve Sunday against the third-ranked Cardinals defense? If it does improve, he almost certainly will be the 49ers’ starting quarterback in 2016.

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