The 49ers are sitting pretty at 3-0, but let’s be honest, the road here hasn’t exactly been Murderers’ Row. Beating up the Seahawks in Week 1, sneaking past the Saints in Week 2, and then escaping the Cardinals in a 16-15 win. Now comes Week 4, and things get interesting. The Jaguars actually look like a real test, and Liam Coen‘s ‘stealing’ might make things even harder for Kyle Shanahan.

Yes, the 49ers’ defensive coordinator recently accused the Jaguars’ HC of ‘legal’ stealing. “Liam Coen and his staff coming from Minnesota they got legally a really advanced signal stealing system where they always find a way to put themselves in an advantageous situation. They do a great job of it. We have to be great with our signals. We gotta be great with our communication to combat some of those tells we might give on the field,” Robert Saleh said.

Now, Coen has never been accused of ‘illegally’ stealing signals off the opposition. Ever. What he does (and he does it best) is arguably the most efficient utilization of pre-snap motions and a blend of personnel packages. There’s a reason why he was arguably one of the best OCs in the league last season.

Those motions and personnel packages provide a deeper insight into how the defenses react and provide him with more understanding of potential coverages. He’s been making good use of it since his OC days, and he’s continuing the trend now that he’s a head coach.

Take the season opener vs the Panthers, for example. According to Ryan O’Halloran, Coen used at least 3 personnel packages and ten pre-snap motions in what was a 26-10 thumping of the Carolina side.

“Whatever nugget they can find, they catch it,” Saleh said. “They always happen to find themselves in good situations based on the coverage you show. There’s nothing illegal about it. I’m not suggesting that,” he added.

And the Jaguars‘ offense has been putting up decent numbers so far. They’re churning out 356.3 yards per game (good for eighth in the league) and averaging 23.3 points. Kyle Shanahan will not have it easy, especially after Brandon Aiyuk’s latest injury update.

Kyle Shanahan receives bad news

Sure, the 49ers have had a perfect start to the season. But the fans’ happiness is always short-lived because for every win, there’s an injury update that follows. Kyle Shanahan suffered arguably the biggest blow that he could’ve when Nick Bosa got hit with an ACL injury a few days ago. And he won’t be back with the side for the entire season.

The only thing that could’ve softened the blow was probably Brandon Aiyuk‘s swift return. But 49ers GM John Lynch‘s words just threw a wrench into that idea. Aiyuk isn’t anywhere close to returning. “We’ll be a better team when Brandon’s out there, so we look forward to that day but it’s not close,” Lynch said. “He’s got to continue to hit markers, but he is tracking well. He’s working hard,” he added.

It’s a little concerning. Sure, it’s an ACL injury, and we all know how long that can take. But he’s been out since the Chiefs game last season. That was week 7. He should’ve at least been a limited participant by now. “It’s not close” probably means a few more months. And after Bosa’s injury, a lot can go wrong by then.

Ricky Pearsall has done a great job stepping up in the receiving game so far. But tight end George Kittle also being on the sideline means that it’ll be time to ring the alarm bells if he ends up missing a game. Tough times for Kyle Shanahan.