The 49ers are in the middle of their offseason training program. They held their first OTA practice, which was open to the media last week, and the media will be on hand for Wednesday’s practice this week.

In this week’s mailbag, 49ers fans primarily focused their questions on the offensive line and possible contract extensions for a couple of veteran players; however, they also wondered what caused the early season struggles.

@Ottomattick – Why did the 49ers play so poorly early last season, especially at home? Do you think they will start out better this season?

San Francisco started hot last season, winning their first two games on the road.

Going through the losses, the main problem for the 49ers early last season was turnovers. Against Green Bay, San Francisco had the ball on the Packers’ side of the 50 midways through the fourth quarter when Jimmy Garoppolo fumbled the ball. This led to three points for the Packers, and even though San Francisco came back to take the lead, they were now up one instead of being up four.

San Francisco started hot the following week against Seattle, scoring a touchdown on their first possession. Jimmy Garoppolo threw an interception on the next possession, followed by a missed Mitch Wishnowsky field goal. After Seattle scored to go ahead 14-7, Trenton Cannon fumbled the kickoff. Seattle scored two plays later, and the 49ers couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole.

The turnover trend continued in both losses to Arizona and the loss to Indianapolis.

Once San Francisco could clean this up, their season turned around, and they won seven of their last nine in the regular season.

The schedule sets up nicely for San Francisco to get off to a fast start in 2022. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the 49ers start the season 6-0.

@jonathanshain – “If Alex Mack retires, do the 49ers stick with what they have or do they trade for a veteran center?”

I do not see a situation in which the 49ers trade for a veteran center, and they currently have three offensive linemen on their roster who can play center.

Jake Brendel wants to get the first shot. The veteran has started only three games in his NFL career, but he has the type of mobility Kyle Shanahan looks at the position.

If Brendel doesn’t get the nod, they have Daniel Brunskill, who started eight games at the position for San Francisco. Moving him from right guard creates an opening that would be filled by either Jaylon Moore or rookie Spencer Burford.

San Francisco signed Dohnovan West as an undrafted free agent. The former Arizona State Sun Devil was solid in college but will need time to develop. It’s unlikely the 49ers will go this route.

@joninsocal – “Is JC Tretter still available?”

The eight-year veteran is still available through free agency. Tretter has started all 16 games over the last five seasons with Cleveland.

San Francisco does not have the cap space currently to add Tretter. If Alex Mack retires, they will free up $4.275 million which could then go towards making this signing come to fruition.

@NinerMcgregor – “What sort of season does Mike McGlinchey need to have for the 49ers to offer him a second contract?”

McGlinchey is playing for his next contract this season, but it likely won’t be with the 49ers.

The veteran right tackle is due to earn $10.888 million this year, and I don’t know if the 49ers are in a position to pay more than that moving forward.

I think the answer to this question is more about the development of Spencer Burford and Jaylon Moore.

If Burford or Moore shows they can take over at right tackle, McGlinchey will not be retained. This is part of what happens when a team has several players getting paid near the top of their position.

@Swansong – “What kind of season does Jimmie Ward need to have to be offered an extension?”

I expected the 49ers to try and extend Ward to lower his cap hit this offseason, and that hasn’t happened.

On Tuesday, Ward talked about making the plays it takes to become an All-Pro or be named to the Pro Bowl. It will likely take that type of season from Ward to be given a contract that meets his expectations from the 49ers.

To reach that level, Ward will need to find a way to force more turnovers, something he has struggled with throughout his career.

Ward is a solid deep safety; however, he has only two interceptions and one fumble recovery over the last five seasons.

If Ward can find a way to turn this around, he will be handsomely rewarded with a new contract following the season.

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Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, right, is tackled in front of cornerback Emmanuel Moseley of the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. (AP Photo / Tony Avelar)

Things change quickly in the NFL.

Two weeks ago, the San Francisco 49ers found themselves two games under .500 after an embarrassing loss to an Arizona Cardinals team missed many of their starters.

In six days, the 49ers turned their entire perspective around with wins against the Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars. That streak of two games got them straight into the battle for a spot in the NFC playoffs, and that’s where they’ll be with a win over the Minnesota Vikings at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.

It should come as no surprise that this week’s mailbag starts with a Viking-related question.

This is a question that I have heard several times. It’s no secret that Jimmy Garoppolo is best at throws across the middle of the field, but the teams are struggling to prevent this from happening.

What we’ve seen in particular in the past two weeks is a 49ers game that creates conflict for opposing linebackers and collateral. If the second level defenders fail to advance to stop the run, San Francisco’s renewed commitment to the floor game will slowly chew meters and time over the clock. The downside to defense is that it gives the 49ers receivers the space they need to work across the middle, and Garoppolo has a chance to get the ball out of his hand before the defenders can recover.

Garoppolo faced Mike Zimmer’s defense twice during his time with the 49ers to open the 2018 season and in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs the following year. In those two competitions, Garoppolo threw four interceptions to only two touchdowns and completed only half of his pass attempts.

If the Minnesota defensive line can take away the run and allow the linebackers to play the run slowly, it could be a very difficult matchup for Jimmy Garoppolo.

I don’t think San Francisco can keep playing as much as it has over the past two weeks. Reaching that number was as much a product of the game with leadership as an obligation to play the ball.

Time and time again we’ve seen Kyle Shanahan give up the game in progress as soon as the team is behind, which will put the game more on the shoulders of Jimmy Garoppolo.

We have seen the 49ers have to rely on Garoppolo at times this season. The Philadelphia victory is the first that comes to mind. San Francisco struggled to play the ball against the Eagles so it was up to Garoppolo to get the throws necessary to get the team across the field late in the first half to take the lead.

In the following week against Green Bay, the 49ers fell 17-0 in the first half before Garoppolo was able to collect the offense and finally take the lead with just 37 seconds of 28:27.

The short answer to that: They won’t.

What we’ve seen at the start of the Games for the past two weeks was kind of a perfect storm.

The fast rally in Los Angeles gave San Francisco the ball in a tie deep in their own territory. This enabled Kyle Shanahan to get the game underway without falling behind and receiving support, as if the offense had a role in extending the time of possession. Same scenario for her second possession of the ball in this game.

It was similar in Jacksonville. A miss by Trenton Cannon at kick-off forced the offense to begin deep within their own territory and they methodically moved the ball across the field.

The 49ers’ offense was much more explosive on the following properties, opening the second drive of the game with a 34-yard pass to Brandon Aiyuk and ending with a 25-yard run by Deebo Samuel.

San Francisco has received a good mix of methodical and explosive attacks over the past two weeks that have helped keep their defenses off the field. You have to do it again this week if you want to defeat Minnesota.

Nick Bosa will be in the discussion for NFL Comeback Player of the Year. After a cruciate ligament rupture that limited him to just 68 snapshots in 2020, Bosa already set a career high in sacks at 10 in as many games.

The biggest challengers Bosa faces are Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott and Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow. If Prescott can lead Dallas to a better record and a place in the playoffs, the award will likely go to him. Right or wrong, voters are more prone to quarterbacks in these situations.

That question stems from the fact that San Francisco currently only has about $ 12.471 million in cap space for 2022 and only 32 players are under contract.

The fastest way for the 49ers to release caps would be to release Jimmy Garoppolo and sign on to Trey Lance in 2022. That move would free up $ 25.6 million in salary caps. It is important to note that a portion of this grand total would have to be allocated to either a veteran backup through free agency or a draft-selected quarterback.

Given their past in this position, it’s hard to imagine Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch leaving Garoppolo without a quality replacement.

Dee Ford’s situation is not favorable for the 49ers from a salary standpoint. The move from Ford would give the team only $ 2.09 million.

Now that we are on that topic, two players looking to re-sign the 49ers this offseason could safely be Jimmie Ward and defensive lineman Arik Armstead. Ward and Armstead will team up to create a $ 32,965 million cap in their draft class by 2022.

The post 49ers mailbag; Can the San Francisco offense maintain this up? appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.