Golden Nuggets: Steve Young believes the 49ers blown lead against the Lions was a sign of immaturity

Your daily San Francisco 49ers links for Friday, September 17, 2021

Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley didn’t practice on Thursday for the second day in a row. A knee injury could keep Moseley sidelined for another game. How close is E-man to playing? Kyle Shanahan said he was “close” last week, but he hasn’t practiced this season.

Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw returned to practice, though Kinlaw’s body language here doesn’t seem promising.

Why Trey Lance might be more important to the 49ers midweek than on Sunday

Said defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans: “When you have a guy who does it for real and a guy who’s not out there just playing quarterback — we can’t ask for a better look than Trey. He’s a tough player — happy I don’t have to play against him.”

The benefits of having Lance on the roster go beyond a single week of practice. With Lance in mind, Kyle Shanahan and his staff installed an array of read-option plays this year. Those plays were dependably effective for the first week after they were installed but less so as the first-team defenders became more accustomed to Lance taking off with the ball.

49ers OC says Aiyuk has responded well after limited action

“B.A. has done an outstanding job this week answering the bell,” McDaniel said. “What’s been cool is watching a young guy who has always been so talented at every level, who has always been a default starter regardless — because he’s better than everyone — handle a small obstacle in his career.”

“In house with the 49ers, it’s not like he is in the doghouse at all or anything,” McDaniel said. “But responding this week, he’s been running his routes hard, crisp and has gotten better.

Why Williams was briefly confused during 49ers’ win vs. Lions

“Jimmy got rocked,” Williams said on Thursday. “I was like damn, I was really just looking to see if he was OK. Somehow me and my dude ended up on top of the pile after he already threw it. I was like damn, our quarterback is under like five people.”

“I just wanted to make sure he was alright, and then I hear our fans roar. I’m like, ’Dang.’ We were in Detroit. It’s supposed to an away game so you don’t hear a roar like that on the road. It kind of confused me for a second.

“I thought maybe we threw a pick and then of course I look up and see Deebo striking down the field. Oh, man. It worked out perfectly but I made sure my guy was OK.”

49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw to miss 4-6 weeks with groin injury: Source

How will his absence affect the alignment of the linebacker group?

Barrows: Greenlaw’s absence will give Azeez Al-Shaair the busiest stretch of action in his career and will put a pair of converted safeties, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and Marcell Harris, on standby.

Al-Shaair has played on base downs since entering the league as an undrafted rookie out of Florida Atlantic in 2019. He’ll now be the starting weakside linebacker, which is an every-down role. Like Greenlaw, he has good speed, but he doesn’t have a lot of heft and, as was the case with all the 49ers’ linebackers, wasn’t a great tackler against the Lions in Week 1.

Steve Young says 49ers’ late game fade in Detroit may be “a sign of immaturity”

Asked specifically what he thought about the team almost giving up its lead late in the game, Young answered, “It’s a sign of immaturity, where a coach pulls players out and the team kind of responds, in kind, and you kind of fade. But I can totally expect that now, with the way that teams are put together and how little time you have. I would expect more for the 49ers because of the locker room they have, and that kind of thing, but that’ll be a lesson. But anytime I was on a team, and we got a big lead and they pulled people out, and everyone faded, it was a sign of immaturity.”

He added, “That would be what I would say to the team, if I had a chance to go talk to them right now, ‘take that as a sign that we’re not put together yet.’”