49ers notebook: Shanahan outlines Garoppolo’s mistakes; team working out Ansah
Kyle Shanahan made it sound like Jimmy Garoppolo’s issues late in the game against the Arizona Cardinals are easily fixable.
“The ball was underthrown a little bit. Balls are underthrown all the time,” Shanahan said Monday. “You don’t always hit guys perfectly in stride.”
Shanahan was referring to two passes on the 49ers’ final possession Sunday that both fell incomplete, giving the Cardinals the upset win over the defending NFC champions to open the regular season, 24-20, as Garoppolo was trying to piece together another fourth-quarter comeback. He tied for the NFL lead with four such drives in 2019.
But Garoppolo didn’t have a good day, particularly in the second half, when he completed just 8 of 17 for just 89 yards. The team’s issues at receiver didn’t help, nor did George Kittle’s zero catches in the second half after his knee injury caused him to hit the locker room 30 seconds before halftime.
Garoppolo had a chance to hit Kendrick Bourne for a go-ahead touchdown inside the final moments. But his throw was wobbly and short, allowing cornerback Patrick Peterson to make a late break after getting beat by a double move.
Shanahan said Bourne could have helped Garoppolo by allowing Peterson to run into him. Peterson’s back was to the ball, which could have allowed Bourne to draw pass interference and give San Francisco the ball at the 1-yard line.
“It would have been nice, I think, if Bourne wouldn’t have gone up for it, I think he would have got the PI,” Shanahan said. “So that’s something he’ll learn from.”
The other key throw in the sequence was the fourth-and-5 incompletion to receiver Trent Taylor, who ran a route toward the sideline. Garoppolo hesitated slightly and the throw was too far inside, allowing cornerback Byron Murphy to break up the pass to seal the win.
“Their timing was a little bit off on it,” Shanahan said. “(Taylor) did a little extra move at the top. Jimmy hesitated just a little bit and tried to recover with his arm, and left it a little bit behind him. So just got to get better there with throwing and catching.”
Garoppolo completed just 4 of 11 attempts to wide receivers. And Dante Pettis, the embattled 2018 second-round draft pick, went without a catch after making the start with Deebo Samuel (broken foot) and Brandon Aiyuk (hamstring) both sidelined.
Samuel was placed on injured reserve over the weekend and won’t be available until Oct. 4 against the Eagles, at the earliest, while Aiyuk is expected to return this week. He was tabbed a game-time decision Sunday after getting two practices in following a two-plus week absence.
Shanahan was asked about the receivers’ ability to separate from defenders after breaking down the film.
“From a separation standpoint, they did pretty good from the coverage (the Cardinals) were doing and part of our game plan. They didn’t get a ton of opportunities,” he said. “... We didn’t use them a ton, but when we did they did their job.”
The 49ers relied heavily on 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end, two receivers), which was a calling card from their Super Bowl run last season. But the running game didn’t work consistently and the 49ers often found themselves in third-and-long situations. They finished the game with just 2 of 11 third-down conversions (18 percent), which was worse than any game last season, when the team converted 45 percent of their third downs throughout the year.
49ers working out Ansah
San Francisco’s defense managed two sacks of Kyler Murray Sunday. Though none came from the usual suspects, Nick Bosa, Dee Ford or Arik Armstead. Reserve defensive end Kerry Hyder had one while defensive tackle D.J. Jones was credited with the other.
Hyder is currently the only true defensive end behind Bosa and Ford. The team is looking at adding depth by bringing in veteran Ezekiel Ansah for a workout on Tuesday, Shanahan said.
Ansah, 31, is a former first-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions, where he worked with 49ers defensive line coach, Kris Kocurek.
“I’ve always been a fan of Ziggy, playing against him and stuff,” Shanahan said. “He’s always been a real good player. And with Kris having such a good relationship with him over the years, coached him in Detroit, so we’ve always kept in contact with him, and I don’t know what the plan is yet. But we’re bringing him in tomorrow to work him out, see where he’s at and we’ll see how it goes.”
The 49ers have an open roster spot resulting from Samuel going on injured reserve over the weekend, so no corresponding move would need to be made to sign Ansah, the fifth-overall pick in the 2013 draft. Ansah spent last season with the Seattle Seahawks, appearing in 11 games and recording 2.5 sacks. He’s dealt with injuries that caused him to miss 14 games the past two seasons.