Niner Noise
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San Francisco 49ers: 5 things to accomplish during Week 11 bye

By Peter Panacy

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - AUGUST 25: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers looks on in the second quarter of a preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 25, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - AUGUST 25: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers looks on in the second quarter of a preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 25, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 09: Dante Pettis #18 of the San Francisco 49ers watches as the ball bounces after an incomplete pass in the second half of the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 09: Dante Pettis #18 of the San Francisco 49ers watches as the ball bounces after an incomplete pass in the second half of the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /

No. 4: Work in Some of the 49ers Backups

Niner Noise already went over this to a certain extent earlier, looking at three backup players who should start over the rest of 2018.

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The examples included were wide receiver Dante Pettis over the veteran, Pierre Garçon, D.J. Jones at nose tackle over Earl Mitchell and fellow wideout Richie James over slot receiver Trent Taylor.

In the case of Pettis and Jones, both players are younger and cheaper than their veteran counterparts. So, if the remainder of the season is truly about finding those building blocks for the future, there’s little sense in giving relatively meaningless snaps to players in which the Niners aren’t totally invested beyond this year.

As far as James over Taylor, the former’s explosiveness and speed far outranks that of the latter. And Kyle Shanahan loves speed, right?

There are few better opportunities to usher in such changes than the bye week. It affords chances for second-string players to work with first-team units, developing chemistry with other would-be starters and to match those guys up against the top levels of competition in practice.

If it doesn’t pan out, fine. At least Shanahan would have given it a look and can take away the data.