INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 30: Jimmy Garoppolo walks off the sector after the San Francisco 49ers misplaced the NFC championship recreation, 20-17 to the Los Angeles Rams Inglewood, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
INGLEWOOD — The NFL is a multi-billion greenback enterprise. And in massive enterprise, it’s not the neatest or the richest or the oldest that wins. It’s essentially the most aggressive.
The 49ers must take word earlier than it’s too late and their Tremendous Bowl window closes.
On Sunday — and within the weeks and months main as much as the NFC Championship Sport — aggressiveness was the distinction between the Rams going to the Tremendous Bowl and the 49ers watching it at dwelling like the remainder of us.
There have been moments of passiveness that performed out in Sunday’s contest that snowballed into one thing bigger.
There have been additionally macro developments at play — bigger-picture classes to be realized.
In the end in life, it’s not about what occurs, it’s the way you reply.
How the 49ers reply to Sunday’s loss will decide in the event that they would be the NFC’s workforce to beat for years to come back or in the event that they’ll be also-rans in a convention that has loads of them.
Let’s begin with the small stuff, the stuff that’s been nagging you and me since Sunday night.
Niners coach Kyle Shanahan has struggled with recreation administration his total profession. I argued a number of weeks in the past that he may be cursed: He can’t ever appear to get issues proper on the subject of late-game eventualities in massive contests.
After all, a lot of that has to do together with his quarterback, however that column has already been written.
However Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t begin Sunday’s recreation unexpectedly. Shanahan is aware of full effectively what his quarterback can and can't do.
In some conditions, he gave Garoppolo full belief. Shanahan aptly tried to throw the ball late within the recreation towards a Rams protection that had gone all-in to cease the 49ers’ run recreation.
However in different essential conditions within the contest, Shanahan was timid and unwilling to present Garoppolo an opportunity to make performs.
You may’t have it each methods.
The primary key occasion of passiveness was within the second quarter. The 49ers had the ball on the Los Angeles 24-yard line with 21 seconds to play tied at 7-7. Garoppolo had simply spiked the ball, leaving San Francisco one timeout remaining, as they'd simply wasted one a second earlier than in a foul teaching resolution.
Near the top zone with loads of time remaining, it was a fantastic alternative to take a shot, or two, or three. With San Francisco receiving the second-half kickoff, the likelihood was there for a game-changing 14-0 run to bookend halftime.
As an alternative, Garoppolo made an ill-advised resolution to scramble for 4 yards, and Shanahan compounded the error by deciding to let the clock almost expire earlier than stopping to arrange a Robbie Gould area purpose.
Maybe the half would have all the time ended with a Gould area purpose, however the lack of aggression denied the Niners the opportunity of 4 factors. It additionally proved prescient on how the remainder of the sport can be performed.
With roughly 10 minutes to play — straight previous Jaquiski Tartt’s dropped interception — Shanahan determined to punt from the Los Angeles 45-yard line, regardless of having solely a three-point lead, regardless of having a brief two yards to transform, and even if he put his offense on the sector after Rams coach Sean McVay’s horrible problem resolution from the play earlier than.
Shanahan stated after the sport that he by no means thought-about going for it on fourth down.
If that’s actually the case, then the illness of passiveness goes to take a very long time to eradicate in Santa Clara.
The Rams, in fact, turned their subsequent possession right into a tie recreation. Their subsequent area purpose ended up successful the sport due to the Niners’ offensive implosion the final two occasions they'd the ball within the recreation.
Such passive calls have change into par for the course with Shanahan, and it’s seeped into the offseason as effectively.
The Rams quarterback Sunday was Matthew Stafford, whom they acquired from the Lions this previous offseason in a blockbuster deal.
However Stafford was alleged to be the 49ers’ quarterback.
Kyle Shanahan was in Cabo, learning Stafford and dealing on a commerce for the previous No. 1 general choose. He went out for dinner one evening beneath the impression the 49ers and Rams would finalize a deal the following morning.
Stafford was in Cabo, too.
And so was McVay.
I don’t assume these latter two factors are a lot of a coincidence.
McVay knew the 49ers had been circling — doing due diligence — and he swooped in. He beat them to the punch to get the quarterback on the eleventh hour.
He was aggressive: He put his proprietor on the spot over the cellphone, successfully calling the Stafford resolution a do-or-die second.
The Rams selected to do it. Whereas Shanahan and the Niners had been passive, LA was aggressive. And on Sunday, Stafford was ranges higher than Garoppolo within the clutch.
Having did not land Stafford, the 49ers went massive and traded for the No. 3 general choose within the NFL Draft. Shanahan picked up what was being laid down.
However even then, he couldn’t end the job — he couldn’t really be aggressive.
As an alternative of constructing Lance his Day 1 starter, he opted to maintain Garoppolo and delay the inevitable. He selected to play a lame-duck season with Jimmy G as a result of that was the “protected” possibility.
You may see that call as validated by the Niners’ playoff run. I take a look at Garoppolo’s play within the closing weeks and postseason and surprise if a younger quarterback couldn’t have reached that time after 16-or-so video games inside Shanahan’s quarterback-friendly system.
Both approach, the choice to go along with Garoppolo gave this Niners season a transparent ceiling.
Sunday, they bumped up towards it.
A bit extra aggression they usually may need cracked it. Had Shanahan received within the margins, he may need been capable of overcome Garoppolo’s limitations as a recreation supervisor.
A bit extra aggression they usually may need had the much better quarterback Sunday, both within the type of Lance, Stafford, or a thriller man.
A bit extra aggression and the Niners may effectively be within the Tremendous Bowl.
However that’s not the best way Shanahan goes about his enterprise.
And as long as that continues to be the case, the 49ers received’t win the large recreation.