Study habits: How 49ers players grapple with ‘rocket scientist’ coach’s playbook
Part of the challenge in preparing to play against a Kyle Shanahan-coached offense is not knowing what you’re going to get on game days.
Sure, defensive coordinators throughout the NFL understand Shanahan is going to base a lot of what the 49ers offense does off outside zone running plays. The scheme stretches defenses from sideline to sideline and can create gaps for Shanahan to exploit.
While Shanahan’s philosophy is common knowledge given he’s been calling plays since 2008, the X’s and O’s involved are constantly changing. Shanahan has become an expert in adaptation, which is why the 49ers have been able to withstand so many injuries this season and remain in the playoff hunt at 4-3 ahead of Sunday’s game in Seattle.
Lost speedy running back Raheem Mostert to a high ankle sprain? No problem. Shanahan altered the running attack to suit Jeff Wilson Jr.’s power style, and Wilson ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns in less than three quarters against coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots.
Lost quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo Week 2? Shanahan created an offense allowing backup quarterback Nick Mullens to pull the strings on a 420-yard performance in a 20-point blowout of the New York Giants.
Creating the game plans happens Monday nights through Tuesdays during a normal week of the regular season. That’s when Shanahan and his offensive staff, including top lieutenants Mike LaFleur and Mike McDaniel, draw up new plays for the week that get installed on Wednesdays and Thursdays in practice.
“We’re always trying to balance things off with the formations and all stuff that try to make things look new and put the defense in binds, but it usually has to do with what we’re going against, what you see on tape (from defenses),” Shanahan said this week. “There’s lots of ways to do stuff. There’s tons of ways and we put pressure on each other, really, to try to come up with the best ways every week. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”
49ers offense faces tough Wednesdays
Sometimes those game plans can be 80 plays worth of information, meaning if you’re a member of the 49ers’ offense, you better have good study habits and be able to cram if you’re going to play at a high level on Sundays.
“That’s every week, man. I mean, you just get used to it,” tight end George Kittle said. “You have to expect to be stumped on some things. Definitely the first walkthrough, because you install the pass plays and then you install the run plays, and you go out to walk through 15 minutes later, and you just installed like 80 plays and now you go walk through them and you go in for an hour to study and you go back out to practice. So Wednesdays are always tough.”
The new plays are often different versions of what the 49ers are used to running, which has made the installation process easier for players who have been in the system for a while.
For example, the team has a myriad of ways to give a receiver the ball on a sweep or end-around. A receiver can go in motion one way, come back the other and get the ball from the quarterback immediately after the snap. Or the receiver, like Deebo Samuel, can line up in the backfield and take the hand off while the other receiver goes in motion to fake like he’s getting the ball.
And when it works, it gets noticed.
“They do as good a job as anybody as making everything look the same,” CBS analyst and former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said during the 49ers-Patriots broadcast from last week, noting the 49ers can run multiple plays out of the same formation.
And on those outside runs that work so effectively, “I know it’s crazy, but they have 50 different ways to do it,” Romo said.
“Each week’s a little different,” Garoppolo said. “Some weeks are harder than the other. But for the most part, I think we have a great group of guys who are willing to learn that stuff. And it’s not easy. It takes time and guys have to take it home with them and study it and get in their playbook and get on the film. But with the veterans that we have on the team, especially offensively just how we can do all those things that we do, it makes it a lot easier and it makes us more dangerous.”
Fullback leads 49ers running backs
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk has a unique perspective. He’s one of a few offensive players that can line up all over the field on any given play. He’s an integral part of Shanahan’s complex running game that changes on a weekly basis because the team is constantly shuffling running backs due to injuries. This week, the 49ers are expected to have Tevin Coleman available for the first time since Week 2 while Mostert and Wilson are out with their ankle injuries.
In addition to his work as a traditional fullback, Juszczyk can also line up outside as a pass catcher and still be used a featured blocker on swing passes. And on runs, he has autonomy and quick wit to adjust his blocks on the fly, which sometimes means crossing the formation to pick up an unblocked linebacker or safety to ensure the play is successful.
“Some of that is just reacting to the play and blocking who’s the most dangerous,” Juszczyk said. “But I don’t go up to the line of scrimmage and just think I don’t have an assignment here and just block whoever. I usually do have an assignment of where I need to get to and then just kind of react from there based on what happens during the play.”
Left tackle Trent Williams came to the 49ers this offseason familiar with what it takes to grapple with Shanahan’s playbook after beginning his career playing under Shanahan with Washington. While the foundation of the offense remains the same, the moving parts and nuances are more advanced.
“It’s night and day,” Williams said. “It’s the same theme, same scheme, a lot of it is off the stretch (run). But Kyle’s got people going every which direction.”
Making it hard on defenses
An emphasis is to make life hard on opposing linebackers who had sift through Shanahan’s pre-snap motions and post-snap fakes to figure out who has the ball.
“They have certain keys and certain people that they got to watch and Kyle’s smart enough to know that,” Williams said. “He’ll send those guys in the opposite direction, make guys kind of slow play or overplay. So with that brings great complexity to the playbook in itself.
“It’s like science, almost. Kyle is like a rocket scientist in my opinion.”
A win in Seattle would get the 49ers to 5-3 and could spring them into one of the seven playoff spots with half the schedule remaining. A victory would also give Shanahan victories over Sean McVay, Belichick and Pete Carroll in consecutive weeks.
At some point beyond this season, Shanahan might have to find replacements for LaFleur and McDaniel is they take jobs elsewhere. They’re both considered two of the best offensive assistants in the NFL and candidates to run their own offenses, especially if one were to join defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s staff if he gets a head coaching job in the offseason.
“You think about it all the time,” Shanahan said. “That’s why you’re always trying to train people. You can’t speak enough about, one, having talented people, but just the time and the experience of working with people. You can’t make that up in one year. So, you’re always trying to get guys with you and train in the best way, and you want to hold onto them as long as possible, but we’ve got a number of really good coaches and I understand you can’t do that forever.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
