49ers mailbag: Why not play Trey Lance in Philly? What’s up with the play-calling?
The 49ers are coming off a two-game road trip and will welcome fans into Levi’s Stadium for the first time since the NFC Championship game in January 2020. And they’ll do it against their same opponent, the Green Bay Packers.
Let’s get right to our mailbag. The first two weeks have offered a lot to talk about.
@smpanoplos asks: If ever there was a game where Trey Lance’s skills were needed - mobility, off script play making ability, ability to stretch the field with deep throws - it was this one. So if not now, then when?
It’s a fair point and one Shanahan was asked about during his conference call on Monday.
Shanahan said he didn’t feel the direction of the game warranted making a change to quarterback. Reading between the lines, it might not have been a great time to put in a rookie for his first extended action in a hostile environment and against a defensive line that was dominating the 49ers up front.
“I understand every angle that people want to take with it. But I also understand that we’re an NFL team and we’re trying to win each game and we do have a starting quarterback and that usually makes it pretty simple,” Shanahan said. “But when your backup quarterback does have a skill set that can bring different things to the game, that’s what gives him an option for us to do. He has something that someone has to prepare for week in and week out. And I think that’s an awesome club that we have in our bag that we can use at any time.
“But you don’t really make decisions based off your team of just putting a guy in totally just for how that is for him in the future. I think that’d be irresponsible to everybody else in the room. You do it if you think it gives you a chance based off of what’s going on in that game, that game only. In the meantime, yeah, it’s nice for a guy to get out there. But if it wasn’t because he was bringing a different element that we thought could help us with something that we’re going against, there’s no other reason that we would do it.”
To me, it sounds like Shanahan doesn’t believe Lance is quite ready for that spot. After all, it was a defensive slugfest where one mistake could have determined the outcome. Lance doesn’t have enough equity just yet. Garoppolo needed to battle through his struggles and he did, with the help of an adjustment in play calling. Once Shanahan saw the drop-back passing game wasn’t working, he started dinking and dunking with screens to negate the pass rush. It worked and changed the trajectory of the game.
I do wonder, though, if Shanahan’s thinking would have changed if Garoppolo didn’t put together the 97-yard scoring drive at the end of the first half. If he continued to play like he did in the first quarter, then maybe he would have thought harder about making a switch.
@Extraneous_Ed asks: By the end of the regular season, the Niners leading rusher will be: A) Elijah Mitchell B) Trey Sermon OR JaMycal Hasty C) Jeff Wilson D) Someone who hasn’t taken a snap for this team yet this season.
For now, I think it will be Mitchell.
I think he has the most complete skill set of that group, though I’m not sure of his long-term injury status (or Sermon’s, or Hasty’s, or Wilson’s for that matter). Hasty is going to miss multiple games with a high ankle sprain and it looks like Wilson will play 10 or 11 games, max. It would be hard for either of them to lead the team in rushing. Sermon has one carry and is coming off a scary-looking head injury. We don’t know when he’ll play next.
Mitchell returned to Sunday’s game after dealing with his shoulder issues, which Shanahan tabbed as a stinger afterwards. If he can play through the pain, I think he fits what Shanahan wants to do most, and we know the coaching staff already believes in him more than the others based on how he was used Sunday. He received 17 carries while Hasty was second among running backs with five.
@Rick_Rosteck asks: What is your take on the offensive play-calling so far this year? This last game looked pretty vanilla and conservative TBH.
More than I ever, I think September is being used as an extension of the preseason. The starters didn’t play much in the three preseason games and extending the season to 17 games gives coaches more leeway to keep things simple early on. Then play callers can get go deeper into their bags in November and December and use things that haven’t been put on film.
As much as fans might not love the aesthetic of the offense in Philadelphia, the 49ers won the game and kept a lot in their back pocket. That could be an advantage when playoff spots are on the line later in the year.
@EvrettDaze asks: If the Niners signed Frank Gore how do you think he would hypothetically do in a K.S. scheme? (I’d love to see them sign him out of respect...but just wondering how you think he would fit if it was to happen)
I don’t think Frank Gore fits what they want to do. The 49ers are an outside zone running team. Their running backs are typically the one-cut-and-go types. Gore, as great as he’s been throughout his career, is good at prodding the line and is best used in a power running scheme. He’s also 38 and has averaged 3.6 and 3.5 yards per carry over his last two seasons, respectively.
Plus, Gore has reportedly turned down offers from other teams to try his hand(s) in boxing. I just don’t see a reunion with San Francisco happening until he officially retires and does so as a member of the 49ers.
@DatFlipLife asks: What’s the real deal behind Shanahan and Brandon Aiyuk? Aiyuk is extremely talented and an added dimension to this offense so why did he only play like 38 snaps?
From what I gather, Aiyuk hadn’t been playing very well in practice since reporters were no longer allowed to watch after training camp. He had a hot start, started dropping passes in the preseason and on the practice field, and then had a hamstring injury.
I haven’t heard any specific reasons as to Aiyuk’s downtown in play (aside from what we could assume with the hamstring). It might be something as simple as needing time to come back from the injury or something bothering him away from the field. I don’t know for sure and don’t want to speculate.
The only thing I feel comfortable saying: There were a few weeks where Aiyuk wasn’t playing like himself and the 49ers plan to work him back into the game plan more and more when he regains his form.
As far as snap counts go, his 38 were the second-most among receivers. I’d imagine the low total has something to do with trying to keep him from aggravating the injury.
@motoxracer21 asks: Jimmy has a Pro Bowl year and the Niners win the Super Bowl. They still hand Lance the keys next year?
This is a fascinating question. An aside, it’s funny people talk about this like a bad scenario for San Francisco. As if winning a Super Bowl isn’t worth some quarterback controversy.
But my answer is no. If Garoppolo plays at a high level and wins the Super Bowl, Lance can wait another year. Shanahan has preached about going with the quarterback that gives his team the best chance to win. It would be hard to argue Lance over Garoppolo coming off a parade down Market Street to celebrate a sixth Lombardi.
That is, unless someone offers the 49ers a trade package for Garoppolo they can’t turn down. Garoppolo might be worth multiple first-round picks if all this plays out, which could mean the 49ers would get back some of the draft capital they dealt to get Lance in the first place.
But let’s not put the cart before the horse. The season is a long way from over. The good news, nothing has happened just yet to count the 49ers out of the contending conversation. They could still upgrade the roster, namely cornerback, with a trade like they did in 2019 when they acquired Emmanuel Sanders, who felt like a finishing piece to the offense.
We’ll learn a lot more about Garoppolo, the running back situation and secondary issues in the next three games. After the Packers on Sunday night, San Francisco hosts Russell Wilson and the Seahawks and then travels to play early MVP candidate Kyler Murray and the Cardinals. Then comes the bye to regroup and take inventory of the roster. It’s at that point they’ll have a real idea of what they need for the rest of the season.
This story was originally published September 22, 2021 at 7:30 AM.
