SANTA CLARA — Trey Lance faked the first-quarter handoff and carried the ball up the center of the sector.
It was his third up-the-middle run of the sport. It was his closing run of the sport. It was his closing run of the season.
Lance broke his proper ankle on the zone-read run. When he tried to stand up, the ankle was pointing 90 levels to the suitable — a byproduct of a late slide try and a collision with Seattle linebacker Cody Barton.
Quarterbacks are future within the NFL, so when a staff’s starter goes down with a horrible, season-ending damage just like the one Lance suffered Sunday, the pure response is to search out somebody or one thing accountable.
The primary particular person in line is Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers’ head coach and play caller.
Shanahan had known as for 29 designed runs for Lance — greater than half of his general speeding makes an attempt — within the second-year quarterback’s first 4 NFL begins. The overwhelming majority of these designed runs got here up the center.
“Buffalo does it on a regular basis with their quarterback,” Shanahan stated. “It’s a reasonably regular play. It’s part of soccer, and it’s unlucky he harm his ankle on it, but it surely’s a really regular play. You guys ought to watch another folks.”
It’s straightforward to say that Lance was sure to be injured when he was used like a fullback.
The difficulty, as Lance defined earlier this week, is that if he was going to run the ball, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound quarterback needed to go up the center.
“I’m not larger, quicker, and stronger than just about everybody else,” Lance stated. “Guys catch up so much faster, area is crammed, guys shut so much quicker.
“I've to study to guard myself, simply being in a distinct state of affairs figuring out how necessary it's for me to remain wholesome … For probably the most half, after I’m working between the tackles or working on third down, I’m not ever going to slip and go fourth-and-two and simply surrender on the play.”
The feedback turned out to be prescient.
We had seen on Lance’s 53 continuing runs earlier than his fateful one Sunday that he was not kidding about defenders closing a lot quicker. Lamar Jackson, he isn't.
Final season, in Lance’s first profession begin towards the Arizona Cardinals, the rookie quarterback was chased down by opposing defensive ends with gorgeous ease. It was a harsh welcome-to-the-NFL second.
“Guys coming downhill, guys don’t hesitate,” Lance stated Wednesday.
Lance has a whole lot of expertise, however in three-plus video games as a starter, he had not proven the power to successfully transfer the ball down the sector with simply his arm. His problem finishing brief and medium passes may very well be countered by his capability to run the ball up the center. It was an integral a part of transferring the chains, and it was mandatory at this early stage of Lance’s profession.
The Niners coaches hoped that the extra snaps Lance took and the extra practices he had, the more practical he would change into as a thrower, diminishing the necessity to run the ball.
Shanahan was doing probably the most he may with the quarterback he drafted for the sake of the staff that surrounded him.
Was there threat in that plan? After all. However each play in soccer is a threat — it’s unattainable to attempt to keep away from that threat and nonetheless win video games. Particularly when you might have a quarterback who wants reps on the sector.
You may’t defend a quarterback — and restrict your offense — when the passer has not but confirmed he can win video games by himself.
You may’t blame Lance for a freak damage, and you'll’t blame Shanahan for calling performs that he believed would hold Niners’ offense on the sector.
The one knock on Shanahan that might be truthful is that he had performed a quarterback who was not prepared.
However Lance was by no means going to change into prepared sitting on the sideline. When he returns subsequent season, the identical fact will apply.
