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#Channel49 Twitter Q&A Week 2: 49ers beatdown of Cowboys, Levi's Stadium home opener vs. Bears, Niners defense and more

Every Friday at 2pm PT, Aaron Malone and I host a Twitter Q&A session with countless 49ers fans from around the web and around the world. This week, we were joined by our buddy Oscar from the Better Rivals podcast.

By Trevor Woods
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

#Channel49 was back at it as always on Friday at 2 PM PT. 49ers fans sent in questions to the hashtag, then Aaron Malone, myself, and our special guest, Oscar from the Better Rivals podcast, talked 49ers football.

Questions

The throttle was taken off, and the 49ers began to coast. It's nice to see a team continue to put up points and go for the kill, but the fact of the matter is the 49ers were always in control of this game. Up 28-3 with the Cowboys appearing outmatched in every facet, there was really no need to be overly aggressive on either side of the ball, especially the first week of the season. There was no need to call any plays that an opposing team in the future could use to game-plan against the 49ers, things became more vanilla, and the defense less aggressive. The goal is to always keep scoring, but with such a big lead, the ball control offensive approach worked out just fine.

This is a ball control, time of possession oriented offense. The only scenarios the 49ers are going to implement a fast paced no huddle attack would be on the road in Seattle, or losing big. Not many scenarios will take place for the 49ers to use a no huddle. With that said, it would be nice to see them mix up the tempo a little more at times. A quick snap here and there can keep a defense honest while making it harder for them to predict when the ball will be snapped.

Not justified, yet. Borland made strides of improvement this preseason, even returning an interception for a touchdown. However, as a whole, his play has been too inconsistent to warrant extensive playing time. Disengaging from blocks has been a problem for Borland, and his struggles have also been evident in pass coverage. Vic Fangio has complemented Borland's strides, but also pointed out to the media that he's got burnt in coverage by guessing wrong. Michael Wilhoite currently can do things better than Borland, mentally and physically. For now, Borland will contribute most on special teams.

How Hyde performs when he gets his opportunities will determine how much he is used going forward. At the very least, Hyde is going to see as many touches as Kendall Hunter used to. I expect Hyde to keep performing at a high level, he seems like the real deal. Frank Gore can still grind out yards and be a force to be reckoned with, but having some young blood to save his legs is a great problem to have. A 50-50 split as the season goes on seems realistic. The 49ers are facing an atrocious run defense this week in the Bears, Hyde will likely dazzle and earn more playing time going forward.

Last week, the 49ers faced a tough Cowboys offensive line, and the pass rush didn't come easy at times. Overall, I thought Romo was pressured enough to make him uncomfortable. The Bears offensive line isn't good at all, and Jay Cutler could be battered and bruised by the end of Sunday's game. The Bears will be without their starting center, Roberto Garza, and their starting left guard, Matt Slauson. Losing multiple lineman to injury at once usually spells disaster. The pass rush should be effective this week.

Cornerback Dontae Johnson. The day started with Johnson low on the cornerback depth chart and highly unlikely to see massive snaps. That changed in a hurry against the Cowboys. Chris Culliver, Tramaine Brock, and Jimmie Ward all went down to injury and Johnson had to come in and play. What Johnson did was shut the competition down, and even was close to intercepting Tony Romo in the game. It was an impressive performance, and one that will give the staff confidence if multiple corners get hurt this season.

Both Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall are All-Pro caliber receivers and there should be concern when squaring off against them. Both are fighting through injuries and are shaping up to be game time decisions, but let's just expect that they will be playing for the time being. The 49ers were able to limit the damage from a good set of Cowboys receivers last week, and sent Dez Bryant home frustrated and unhappy.

I like this group of corners better than the 49ers group last season. The younger secondary has legs that can keep up with the likes of Jeffery and Marshall, and they appear to be smart enough to diagnose a receivers route which will give them a good shot at eliminating a completion or at least limiting the damage. It's also worth noting that Jim Harbaugh coached under Marc Trestman for the Oakland Raiders a decade ago. Harbaugh knows this Bears offense, and I would imagine he gave the Niners defense a few pointers on how to attack this scheme.

I'm going with Vernon Davis. He was on a roll last week, and I don't see any of the Bears linebackers or Safeties being able to cover Vernon. It could be yet another big day for #85.

An ass kicking, by the 49ers. I think this Bears defense is flat out awful. Jared Allen seems like he lost too much weight and now can't shed blocks, he was blocked with ease last week. Lance Briggs is a liability now in both run stop and pass coverage. The Bears safeties aren't even starting caliber and I see the 49ers picking this defense apart any way they want to. I see most drives by the 49ers in the game ending with a score. Jay Cutler can move the Bears down the field, but if the 49ers keep scoring, their offense will become too predictable and the Niners defense will key in on the pass as they did against the Cowboys. This game could get ugly for Chicago.

I'm going to pull a "Price is Right" and predict 38-17.

Johnson may have the height, but Cox has more experience. Both players had good games last week but Cox would get the nod over Johnson.

Ellington just became the No. 3 running back, so I don't think we will see him much. It would be nice to see him get a few carries under his belt this week, and he could if the game becomes a blowout. I already like his upside as a running back more than LaMichael James! Ellington is shifty and can gain yards after first contact. This is a great way for the 49ers to get a talented athlete involved in the offense, as the receiving corps is crowded and his opportunities there are limited currently. Who else is excited to see Ellington tote the rock?

Join us next week! And don't forget to answer some of the questions in the comments below. This is an interactive space!

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