Golden Nuggets: Nick Bosa wants to break Aldon Smith’s franchise record for sacks in a season

49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans gave his vote of confidence for Nci Bosa as Defensive Player of the Year. If Bosa continues his hot streak during the final month, he’ll at least finish “on the podium.”

Bosa has 49ers single-season sack record in his sights

The star pass rusher’s second half of the season surge makes breaking the 49ers single-season sack record a viable possibility. That record is currently held by Aldon Smith.

“It’s 19 and a half, Aldon,” Bosa said immediately when asked if he knew what the record was.

“Yeah, I’d like that. Definitely would like to have my name on there for this organization but also just trying to take it one day at a time.”

49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans believes Bosa’s third-year performance warrants his name being in the mix for DPOY or CPOY. The former linebacker is very happy and thankful to have the Ohio State product on his team.

Juszczyk, 49ers frustrated by rise in cases, COVID-19 protocols

“I’m cautious to say anything because I don’t know exactly what all the rules are yet,” Juszczyk said. “We haven’t been told everything, but I definitely think there is some frustration in the locker room especially because we’ve been clean this whole year. We haven’t even sniffed Covid here.”

“We’ve been following all the rules that we’ve been given,” Juszczyk said. “It’s a little frustrating. Hate to see things going backward. I felt like we were moving in the right direction. I’ll stay positive and say hopefully these regulations just get more guys playing on Sunday. Hopefully, we get what we want out of it.”

Kittle calls lack of respect for Trent Williams ‘outrageous’

“The fact that Trent Williams is eighth in Pro Bowl voting I think is absolutely insane,” Kittle said. “He’s probably the most talented player in football.”

Somehow, Williams really was eighth among offensive tackles when the latest Pro Bowl vote totals were released on Dec. 9. Yeah, his numbers on the field are much, much better than his vote totals right now.

“Trent Williams, the lack of respect Trent Williams gets I think is outrageous,” Kittle said. “I know that he gets highlights posted every once in a while, but you just watch every single game, every single clip, he just physically dominates every single person that’s across from him.

“And the fact that he’s not talked about more, I think it’s outrageous. He’s a hell of a football player that needs way more recognition.”

Three key areas in which the 49ers have evolved — but not without lingering concernsWeek 8 seems like it was a turning point for the 49ers, who’ve improved at key spots since then. But the team still faces some concerns.

What remains concerning: Dee Ford is now out for the season, so the 49ers are short a dominant edge rusher to bookend Bosa. That’s what made their 2019 pass rush overpowering.

So far, free-agent acquisition Samson Ebukam has only 1 1/2 sacks. He might’ve delivered his best game in Cincinnati, so that’s potentially encouraging. But the 49ers consistently need more from Ebukam, Charles Omenihu and Jordan Willis on the edge.

That’s the only way that Bosa, who’s faced more double-teams than any other edge rusher in the NFL, will see more room to work.

Brandon Aiyuk details how Kyle Shanahan talk helped him become proLife in the NFL isn’t always easy, but Brandon Aiyuk has shown tremendous growth both as a player and person this season.

“I think that was just an opportunity for them talking to me about what they feel, what I needed to get done, and where they see things at,” Aiyuk said. “That was an opportunity for me to see it in a way we hadn’t seen it before or heard it before. I think that conversation was great, and that was pretty much what it was. Just clearing the air and getting on common ground so we could move forward.

“I was glad to actually hear it because I was able to understand what they were seeing and they were thinking, and how they saw because we saw it completely different. For them to get it out that way and me to get on the same page as them.”