NFC Notes: 49ers, Cardinals, Allen Robinson, Rams, Seahawks

49ers

49ers S Talanoa Hufanga had a pick-six that sealed the game against the Rams on Monday Night Football and has drawn praise from HC Kyle Shanahan and DE Nick Bosa.

“Screens are like — you can smell a rat when it comes to those things,” Hufanga said, via NFL.com. “Very quick to the flat, they had been doing it all night trying to get it to Kupp. I think they were trying to get back on track, just trying to get things going. Guys are just swarming. The defense was playing lights out.”

“I think anyone who’s seen Huf play this year and even last year, the guy doesn’t hesitate and if you do that you better make some very good, educated guesses or it’s not long before you give up the big plays and keep both teams in the game, and that’s what Huf’s been really impressed with here this year,” Shanahan said of Hufanga.

“I think he’s just really smart. He’s an incredible blitzer,” Nick Bosa said of Hufanga. “He can do pretty much anything on the field. I think he trains with Troy Polamalu throughout the offseason, so that can’t hurt. And yeah, I think his mind is his biggest asset.”

Cardinals

Rams

The biggest addition the Rams made this offseason was giving WR Allen Robinson $14 million a year to shore up their receiving corps after trading away Robert Woods and facing an extended time without Odell Beckham. Yet despite being one of the stars of training camp, Robinson has been virtually invisible to start the season. He has just nine catches for 95 yards and a touchdown, and his 18 targets from QB Matthew Stafford are a distant third on the team behind — understandably — WR Cooper Kupp‘s 54 and — less understandably — TE Tyler Higbee‘s 38. 

“A lot of those (passes to Robinson) are kind of 50-50 shots at the moment, and we just haven’t hit on some of them,” Stafford said via the Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue. “Some of them (tonight) were late desperation shots late in the game. I maybe can put that ball in the red zone in a little bit better spot, maybe a hair bit more back-shoulder for him on the fade, just keep trying to put it in really good spots for him, and he’s doing a great job of working on all of his routes.”

Rams HC Sean McVay said their issues with Robinson are more indicative of bigger-picture problems with Los Angeles’ offense right now. 

“It’s just kind of been a struggle overall,” McVay said, via ProFootballTalk. “There’s been a lot of different things. Being able to get receivers the ball is such a product of the offense as a whole. We’re at our best when everybody’s getting involved. You look at the two games that we’ve been able to kind of stay on schedule, it’s been getting different guys involved. Obviously Cooper’s a huge part of it, but whether it be Allen or any of the other eligibles, those are things that we’re continuing to work towards. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We still have a lot of time, but we’ve got to be better for sure.”

Seahawks

  • The Seahawks brought in two offensive linemen for workouts on Tuesday including OT Myron Cunningham and G Jordan Meredith. (Aaron Wilson)
  • Seattle also hosted OT Sebastian Gutierrez for a visit. 

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