49ers’ Pearsall ready for breakout game; McCaffrey expected to face Titans

SANTA CLARA Ricky Pearsall switched to a nifty double move and made arguably the ers biggest catch last championship It was a huge play coach Kyle Shanahan recalled Friday of that third-and-long conversion which ignited a scoring drive just before halftime in Cleveland The ers would figure the encounter s final points in their - win on Nov But neither Pearsall s catch nor any of his other receptions this season have produced touchdowns The ers could require greater production from Pearsall and other wide receivers this Sunday against Tennessee seeing how running back Christian McCaffrey is expected to play through an illness When you start worrying about other things that s when you can drive yourself nuts I try not to do that Pearsall noted I try to know what I can control and that s being available when I can for Brock showing up on those third downs when I can and making plays when they come my way to help this band win Ultimately when we see a W on the board that s all that matters I don t care about the stats or whatever Shanahan echoed that stance adding that he doesn t personally give receivers votes of confidence unless the media is hounding them and as for Pearsall Shanahan mentioned No need for me to explain anything He understands it Shanahan back in Cleveland almost two weeks ago went with his gut eschewed a clock-killing run play and made Pearsall the No option for Purdy on third-and- from the ers with seconds until halftime It was an unbelievable trail Shanahan revealed Pearsall s shift to a perfect double move forced Purdy to delay his throw a four-hitch effort in which the ers offensive line gave him just enough time to hit Pearsall All stars aligned Shanahan mentioned of the drive that ended with a -yard field goal off the post As for touchdowns Jauan Jennings accounts for all five among ers wide receivers this season the same amount as McCaffrey and tight end George Kittle That s not helping anyone overlook Brandon Aiyuk s season-long absence Pearsall s sophomore season started with -yard efforts in two of the first three games Then came a knee injury in Week that shelved him for six games In three games since his return he s produced one catch for no gain two catches for six yards two catches for yards Being a receiver sometimes the ball doesn t come your way Pearsall declared There are different coverages that have to be right He s got to be able to see you You have to beat your defender There are a bunch of variables that go into being open getting the ball thrown to you and making a play I ve just got to stay ready The roster s other four receivers can relate In the past three games coinciding with Brock Purdy s return Demarcus Robinson has their only other two receptions while Kendrick Bourne and Skyy Moore have been shut out and rookie Jordan Watkins has been inactive A year removed from a serious knee injury Aiyuk has stayed away this season including from this week s band photo At this point it doesn t seem like he s coming back Kittle stated I try my best not to think about it I love Brandon I wish he was here It kind of just makes me sad so I just push it to the side Look we have to make due with what we have in the locker room and the guys that want to be here are here Kittle noted the ers thrived especially in the run tournament when Aiyuk paired with Jennings as physical down-field blockers As for Aiyuk s receiving ability Kittle recalls how he can run mph then stop on a dime then jump inches with a freakishly long wing span and catch any ball you throw to him That by itself puts him in a class of his own That s why you paid him million a year The ers however voided Aiyuk s guarantees of million back in July reportedly for failing to abide by their rehabilitation plan Purdy while declining to stray into Aiyuk s off-field business still highly regards his on-field presence or what it was Aiyuk is he s a baller he makes plays In man-to-man matchups he does a great job of creating separation and he s an explosive contestant Purdy explained You get the ball in his hands and he can go get YAC and bring juice to the offense when he is in and run blocking Aiyuk has so several clips of getting in and blocking linebackers and safeties and corners and running down field with a running back and blocking guys Like he did it all at receiver LINEBACKER OUTLOOK Curtis Robinson is poised to start his third straight challenge at middle linebacker in place of Tatum Bethune who remains out with a high-ankle sprain Both have tried covering for All-Pro Fred Warner who required right-ankle surgery almost two months ago Curtis is no different than all of them in terms of size length foot speed all that stuff defensive coordinator Robert Saleh mentioned He just happens to be really good at calling the defense and he creates a calm in there Robinson has nine tackles over his two combined starts after in the Nov win at Arizona where Bethune got hurt INJURY STATEMENT Out are defensive linemen Sam Okuayinonu ankle and Yetur Gross-Matos hamstring injured reserve linebackers Tatum Bethune ankle and Nick Martin concussion and quarterback Kurtis Rourke reserve non-football-injury list Bethune and fellow linebacker Nick Martin concussion ran on the side but did not practice this week nor did current practice-squad addition Eric Kendricks calf The Titans ruled out only cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis Achilles but listed three offensive linemen as questionable center Lloyd Cushenberry foot left tackle Dan Moore neck and guard Kevin Zeitler groin did not practice Friday Also questionable are defensive end C J Ravenell toe and linebacker James Williams illness SALEH S PROSPECTS The Titans are in the area for a new coach with Mike McCoy serving as an interim coach since Brian Callahan s firing Shanahan is bracing for Robert Saleh his defensive coordiantor to leave for a head-coach post like four years ago with the New York Jets Saleh returned this year after rebuffing offers elsewhere Robert had a lot of opportunity to be a D-coordinator The Raiders was definitely one of them and he got close to a couple of head-coach jobs Shanahan announced He was definitely our first choice and he explained we were his I m glad he kept his word or we d have beef I hope for us he s not a head coach next year But when you have the talent Robert does it s a matter of time