The San Francisco 49ers are entering their bye week with a lot of uncertainty surrounding the team in both the short-term and the long-term. However, a win over the Atlanta Falcons have confidence building in Blaine Gabbert's ability to potentially lead the team at least for another week. After benching Colin Kaepernick in Week 9, Gabbert has been named the starting for quarterback for at least one more game.
According to Paul Gutierrez via ESPN.com, Gabbert is getting the starting nod against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 11. Head coach Jim Tomsula noted that he liked how Gabbert handled himself in his first start and hopes that consistency helps the team get another win against a key opponent. The backup quarterback certainly looked the part of a successful quarterback against the Falcons throwing for 185 yards and two touchdowns along with two interceptions. It was enough to keep Kaepernick on the bench for the next game and potentially more.
"Blaine did a nice job, did some really good things with his feet and his arm and his brain," Tomsula said, via ESPN.com. "Really did a nice job, so congratulations to him. But I thought across the board, offensively, everybody stepped it up, and we did a better job, and I was happy to see that. We've still got to keep getting better. We've still a lot of improvement to make."
The quarterback play might no longer be an issue for the 49ers, but the run game is a different story. According to ESPN, Hyde dealing with a stress fracture in his foot and is listed as day-to-day. He has not been at practice while missing game time. That is not pairing well with the loss of Reggie Bush to an ACL tear. The injuries forced the 49ers to make roster adjustments bringing on Pierre Thomas. However, Gutierrez is reporting the 49ers have released Thomas after a week on the team and signed Travaris Cadet instead.
It is unclear what kind of impact Cadet will have, but he has a week and more to get adjusted into the offense. The 49ers will ideally have Hyde back for Week 11, but his health is still up in the air. If Hyde is unable to play, Cadet along with Shaun Draughn who played significant minutes for San Francisco against the Falcons.
Anquan Boldin is also listed as day-to-day with a hamstring injury. He is expected to be fine come Week 11 which is good news for Gabbert. Quinton Patton and Torrey Smith along with Garrett Celek proved to be enough for Gabbert against the Falcons, but the Seahawks defense will be much more difficult, so having a healthy group of receivers to work will help the quarterback play be successful.
