SANTA CLARA — Let the video games start.
No, I don’t imply the 49ers’ preseason, which kicks off the primary of its three video games on Friday at Levi’s Stadium.
I’m speaking concerning the sport inside these video games.
Particularly, how Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan manages to do as little as attainable for all 180 minutes he’s required to area his crew.
Shanahan has made it no secret that he has little curiosity within the preseason. If he had his approach, he would dispose of the preseason video games altogether.
I think about 1 / 4 into Friday’s quasi-season debut, Niners’ season ticket holders who paid the complete regular-season worth for tickets to a sport between gamers in official crew uniforms, however who're most positively not the San Francisco 49ers and Inexperienced Bay Packers, will really feel the identical approach.
Shanahan prefers the intrateam practices that the 49ers have been doing thus far in coaching camp and the intrateam classes that the Niners can have for 2 days subsequent week with the Minnesota Vikings.
“I’m extra into the scrimmage than the sport,” Shanahan mentioned. “I’d want that’s all we did, all three weeks, and by no means play in a sport.”
Does first-year-starting quarterback Trey Lance want snaps? Completely.
However Shanahan doesn’t see the worth of preseason snaps, what would Lance be gleaning from the expertise?
NFL coaches have at all times discovered the preseason to be extra nuisance than a blessing. Rams coach Sean McVay — a department off Shanahan’s teaching tree — sat his whole offense for all 4 preseason video games in 2018. He’s maintained that place yearly since, even because the NFL eradicated a preseason sport from the schedule.
To McVay, the chance of damage wasn’t definitely worth the reward of seeing what he may moderately confirm in practices and managed scrimmages with different groups.
The Niners can see the logic in that — final 12 months Lance chipped the bone on the finish of his proper index finger within the Niners’ last preseason sport. It was an damage that Lance mentioned affected him all season. If the identical factor have been to occur this preseason, the Niners’ win whole at sportsbooks in Las Vegas could be taken off the board — this season’s lofty hopes would probably be shattered.
The apple didn’t fall removed from the tree with McVay and Shanahan. The Niners’ coach is but to fully punt the preseason, however with so many head coaches within the league able to tracing their teaching lineage to the 2 NFC West head honchos — and Shanahan and McVay’s success — the already watered-down exhibition schedule is more likely to be extra diluted than ever this season.
Shanahan mentioned that Lance would possibly play Friday and within the crew’s third preseason sport at Houston. No ensures have been made on both sport, although.
That’s the primary sport throughout the sport. Do the gamers folks pay to see even play?
Irrespective of which gamers are on the sector — Lance included — it’s extremely unlikely that Shanahan would run something however essentially the most vanilla offense. For defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, count on a protection as bland as his press conferences.
The Niners’ offense will evolve with Lance on the assist — his skillset calls for it. We’ve seen hints of this new playbook throughout practices this previous week. However why put the great things on tape for the remainder of the league?
That’s the second sport throughout the sport.
Final 12 months, Shanahan did put some good things within the Niners’ third preseason sport. He put in a full-blown quarterback rotation with Jimmy Garoppolo and Lance.
It proved foolhardy due to the Lance damage, however there was some profit: he may snicker on the media freakout.
Thanks for that one, Kyle.
The Lions — the 49ers’ Week 1 opponent — additionally freaked out on the quarterback rotation. The ultimate preseason sport has been handled because the gown rehearsal for many years. Right here the Niners have been busting out a giant, daring new offense?
No. Shanahan admitted after Week 1 that the quarterback rotation was all for present — a gaslight. He wished the Lions to organize for 2 quarterbacks. They did. And by the point they realized Lance was solely a bit participant for the Niners, San Francisco had a four-touchdown lead.
I don’t assume Shanahan will present us something within the preseason, but when he does, don’t take it at face worth.
However then there’s the third sport throughout the sport, and that is the enjoyable one for dorks like me.
The Niners have been higher than most all through Shanahan’s tenure at discovering undrafted rookie free brokers. The objective with many of those gamers is to have them on the crew’s observe squad for attainable in-season call-ups and year-over-year development.
However to get a participant to the observe squad, they first should be lower — anybody can decide them up and signal them to their lively roster or observe squad.
The difficulty right here for the Niners is that the remainder of the league is aware of that the 49ers are good at discovering diamonds within the tough.
And people are the gamers that might characteristic prominently in preseason video games.
There are a number of gamers that match that mould this season, however one stands out greater than the remaining: operating again Jordan Mason.
The Georgia Tech product appears like the true deal — he’s a easy, upright runner with glorious cut-and-go skill.
The Niners have their 4 operating backs for the 53-man roster set, barring damage: Elijah Mitchell, Jeff Wilson, Trey Sermon (who has been spectacular in camp), and rookie Tyrion Davis-Worth, who was chosen within the third spherical of the latest draft.
Usually, the undrafted rookie could be tasked with carrying the ball two dozen occasions in a preseason sport. Can Shanahan threat the remainder of the NFL — roughly half of which runs what's successfully his offense — discovering out that Mason is superior?
These video games throughout the sport are so much for Shanahan to juggle, all within the justified effort to make these preseason video games as uninteresting as attainable.
Sure, I can see why he needs the preseason to go away and why you'll too come Friday night time.