49ers notebook: Quinton Patten, Aaron Lynch shine in loss to Packers

SANTA CLARA - Bright spots! We’ve got bright spots!

It’s been a tough season, layered over a brutal offseason, for 49ers fans so far this autumn. Sunday brought another loss for rookie coach Jim Tomsula. But yes, there were silver linings, including the play of a couple young Niners.

Wide receiver Quinton Patton set up his team’s only score with a nifty run on a jet sweep. Running from right to left behind the line of scrimmage, Patton took a little shovel pass from Colin Kaepernick, got around the left edge and sped virtually untouched for 40 yards. San Francisco finished the drive with Phil Dawson’s 33-yard field goal.

Patton was checked for a concussion after the game, but he seemed to be in good spirits in the locker room.

The other standout was outside linebacker Aaron Lynch, who terrorized Green Bay to the tune of two sacks, three quarterback hits and four tackles for losses. He was especially hard on Packers right tackle Don Barclay, who was filling in for injured starter Bryan Bulaga.

“Aaron played good today,” veteran defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey said. “We put our emphasis on him rushing, and he did an awesome job today.”

HYDE AND SEEK

In Week 1, halfback Carlos Hyde carried the ball 26 times for 168 yards. Not coincidentally, the 49ers got their only win so far this season, 20-3 over Minnesota on “Monday Night Football.”

Against the Packers on Sunday, Hyde ran a mere eight times for 20 yards. Not coincidentally, the 49ers lost.

Granted, the numbers were affected by the flow of the game. Still, Tomsula acknowledged it wasn’t a formula for winning.

“No, that’s not what we want,” the coach said.

In the postgame locker room, Hyde insisted he wasn’t concerned about getting more touches.

“I ain’t really worried about that,” he said.

“Just whatever I can do to help this team win, that’s what I’m gonna do.”

THE ADVENTURES OF COLIN AND CLAY

One thing that’s different for the Packers this year: They have moved Clay Matthews, once a nearly unblockable edge rusher, to inside linebacker.

One thing that hasn’t changed: Matthews is still trying to get under Kaepernick’s skin.

In the 2013 regular-season opener at Candlestick Park, Matthews went airborne to hit Kaepernick out of bounds, drawing a dead-ball foul and sparking a minor brawl. Sunday, right after Green Bay had taken a 14-3 lead in the third quarter, Kaepernick gave the ball to Hyde on a read-option play and was belted by Matthews.

Kaepernick wanted a penalty.

“I didn’t get a reason why it wasn’t,” he said. “To me, not only did I not have the ball but it was also targeting the head. But to me, we’re on to the next play. I can’t sit there and complain about it.”

The real indignity came two plays later, when Matthews blitzed up the middle and sacked Kaepernick for a 10-yard loss - then got up to strike a pose and kiss his biceps. That’s Kap’s signature move.

ADVICE FROM DR. BROOKS

Outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks has had a stormy couple of years with the 49ers. He hit a teammate with a beer bottle during the 2013 offseason, and last year got into some public squabbles with coaches.

Brooks has regained a vital role on the San Francisco defense. But he remains outspoken. After the loss to Green Bay, he gladly shared his suggestions for the 49ers’ pass rush.

“If it was up to me, I would come out in base defense on first and second down,” Brooks said. “And then come out in the nickel or dime when it was second-and-long, third-and-long, whatever. And just mix up some pressures, man. You know what I’m saying? Get the quarterback off his game. Don’t just let him go out there and play seven on seven. Because that’s pretty much what (Aaron Rodgers) did the first series. Whole first series he was playing seven on seven. We was playing zone.

“I just think we’re trying to find our identity right now as a defense, as a team.”

You can reach Staff Writer Phil Barber at 521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. Follow Phil on Twitter @Skinny_Post.