49ers notebook: McGlinchey vows to improve; Kittle uses Kelce as motivation
The story of the 49ers’ forgettable 2020 defense revolves mostly around injuries. The biggest issue for Kyle Shanahan’s team has been about availability, not necessarily about key players taking a step back from the Super Bowl run of 2019.
But there are exceptions. And perhaps the most notable one is right tackle Mike McGlinchey, who didn’t have the season he was expecting while many thought he would take a Pro Bowl jump in his third season.
“There’s things I did a lot better than last year, but I wasn’t consistent enough,” McGlinchey said over Zoom Thursday. “And the fact of the matter is, there were some bad moments this year that I let my team down when they needed me to be at my best and I didn’t get it done.”
McGlinchey, the No. 9 pick in 2018 draft, had some of his worst gaffs in high profile situations. His mistakes led to pass rushers getting to 49ers quarterbacks leading to interceptions and fumbles. The first-time captain simply wasn’t good enough in protection while the right side of the offensive line has been a weak point throughout the season.
But Shanahan doesn’t sound all that concerned. He still believes McGlinchey is an asset at right tackle, evident by his work in the running game, where he’s Pro Football Focus’ second highest graded tackle in the league (behind his teammate on the left side, Trent Williams).
McGlinchey’s five sacks allowed, according to PFF, are tied for the sixth most among tackles.
The 49ers face a deadline in early May to pick up McGlinchey’s fifth-year option for 2022 that could make him one of the most highly paid players on offense. Shanahan said earlier this week that he and the front office hadn’t discussed the decision, but Shanahan sounded convinced McGlinchey would stick around for the foreseeable future.
“McGlinchey is going to be here,” Shanahan said. “I didn’t even realize that was up next year, which means I feel pretty good about McGlinchey.”
McGlinchey spoke openly about his struggles on the field and trying to be too perfect. He said, “it’s a balance between wanting to be perfect and playing great football.”
It can be a product of thinking too much and trying too hard, rather than letting natural instincts take over.
“And I think that’s a lesson that I’ve really learned this year is that no matter what happens, and no matter the mistakes that I’ve made and the plays that I’ve given up, I can’t ever let it again affect the next week,” McGlinchey said. “I can’t ever let it again affect the next game. I can’t ever let it affect the next play. And that’s something that I learned throughout this year and I learned it the hard way, unfortunately. But it’s been a valuable year in that regard.”
McGlinchey’s teammates understand what he’s going through. Tight end George Kittle said he had a similar issue in college. Before games at Iowa, he would draw a red circle on his wrist tape and use it as a reset button. These days he taps his forearm tattoos of the Joker from Batman and Master Chief, the main character in the Halo video games.
Kittle said he used to see a sports psychologist to help him get over trying to be too perfect and it’s allowed him to play free and easy in the NFL.
“I think (football is) 90 percent in your head and 10 percent in your physical attributes,” Kittle said. “If you can’t handle the mental side of it, the physical side doesn’t even matter because you can’t go out and play football.”
Said Williams, McGlinchey’s bookend on the other side of the offensive line: “It does happen a lot where you kind of overthink. You want to be perfect. It took me two to three years to find a balance of just not overthinking, doing my job and letting my game come to me.
“The game of football happens extremely fast, especially in our position when you’re a foot away from some of the most scary athletes that you could even think about.”
McGlinchey next year will be under the microscope to improve. It could come with more weight. He started training camp at roughly 295 pounds, five pounds lighter than he played last season and earned the nickname “Big Slim” from cornerback Richard Sherman. Both Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have suggested recently McGlinchey could afford to put some weight back on this offseason and get stronger.
“But I would not equate the things that happened to me this year based off my body weight,” McGlinchey said. “I think it was all technique based, it was all having my feet in the ground when I needed to have my feet in the ground.”
A theme from Shanahan ahead of Sunday’s finale against the Seattle Seahawks has been for his players to use 2020 to get better for 2021. In McGlinchey’s case, dealing with criticism is something Shanahan thinks will help him improve.
“I’ve had those moments in my life,” Shanahan said. “You don’t like people questioning you. ... I don’t care how good you are. It’s how you react to that. That’s why I think it’s a good thing for Mike to go through that stuff because I think it can make him stronger. He’s made of the right stuff. He’s a good football player. He’s going to have a great career and I plan on it being here and I hope he takes it the right way and it makes him a better player next year for it.”
Kittle embraces Kelce breaking his record
Kittle’s record for receiving yards by a tight end from 2018 fell over the weekend. Chiefs star Travis Kelce broke it with 98 yards against the Atlanta Falcons, giving him 1,416 on the season. Kittle’s previous mark was 1,377.
Kittle said he keeps in regular contact with Kelce, last season’s Super Bowl foe, and is happy to see his receiving record fall.
“I’m happy that he broke my record because it gives me something else to go after again next year,” said Kittle. “That’s what I’m looking forward to. I think he’s going to continue to break records, he’s going to continue to set the bar. It gives all of us other tight ends something else to chase.”
Kittle, of course, signed a five-year, $75 million contract in August. News of Kelce’s new extension came just hours after news broke of Kittle’s deal. Kelce signed for four years and $57.25 million.
Kittle said he looked up to Kelce back when he was in college. He still does thanks largely to his consistency. Kelce has reached over 1,000 yards in five straight seasons, and he’s 43 yards behind Bills receiver Stefon Diggs for the NFL lead. No tight end has ever led the league in receiving over a whole season.
Kittle has reached 1,000 yards twice, becoming the 49ers’ first tight end to ever reach that mark.
“He’s raised the bar, he’s raised the standard,” Kittle said. “If guys don’t compete with that, then he’s just going to run away with it. So it’s really fun to watch a tight end like that succeed at such a high level and play at such a high level week in and week out. I mean, he’s one of my favorite players in the NFL to watch. And I think, honestly, he should really be up for offensive player of the year because of the things that he’s doing at tight end. It’s actually amazing.”
—Williams on Thursday was named the winner of the annual Garry Niver Award, voted on by members of the San Francisco chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America. The award goes to the player who best represents professionalism and cooperation with local media. Williams won the Good Guy Media Award with Washington in 2015.
Previous 49ers winners include Sherman in 2019, Joe Staley in 2018 and receiver Marquise Goodwin in 2017.
—The 49ers on Thursday activated practice squad players Josh Johnson and Kevin White from the practice squad COVID-19 list, making them eligible to play Sunday. Joshson, the quarterback, could be in uniform for the first time backing up C.J. Beathard. Former first-round draft choice Josh Rosen held the backup role last week in an emergency after Johnson was added to the list.
