49ers news: Kyle Shanahan says the team must protect George Kittle and Jimmy Garoppolo from themselves



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Here’s a look at Kyle Shanahan’s transcript from Friday. He talks about Trey Lance making his debut, George Kittle and Jimmy Garoppolo’s potential to play, and provided other injury updates.

Full steam ahead for debut QB Trey Lance?

“Yeah.”

How was the week for you? How did you feel when you came up with a suitable game plan for Trey, a new starting quarterback?

“Just because he’s his first start, just trying to give him stuff he’s comfortable with, stuff we’ve put him through.” You don’t want to sit there and invent too many new things. There are only a few days to practice it and you just want to make sure it is as comfortable as possible.

Just to make sure I heard you right, Kittle is dubious you said?

“Yes.”

How much worse can he be at this point this week than he was last week?

“The main thing was last week, he was able to go today and today he didn’t feel able to do it. So we have until Sunday to decide, but that’s why it’s questionable this week when it was questionable last week.

And it’s the calf, it’s not the knee?

“Yes. No, he never had anything with the knee. Even though it looked like it, it was just violent.

It must be a very practical sort of thing on the bridge. How much do you expect everyone to level up to make up for the loss of two very important offensive players?

“Kittle isn’t sure yet, but it’s been the plan all week. We weren’t sure all week, we weren’t sure all last week either. I know it started like that, but it got a little scary on Wednesday and Thursday. So, we’ve been down this route before, so you’re not making a big deal out of it. We play a good team and whether or not they’re out there we’ll need the whole practical deck.

Obviously, you will be raising QB Nate Sudfeld. How far is it? Maybe, just to know the game plan?

“Nate has been great. He’s been in this league for a while. He knows how to prepare when he doesn’t have a lot of reps. He did it every week. He had an idea earlier this week that he had a better chance of getting up with Jimmy being questionable throughout the week. So I know how excited he is and I know how much fun he had with the majority of the Boy Scout team reps this week, unlike Trey. So it went well.

Are you encouraged by the progress that Jimmy Garoppolo has made this week and are you confident he could play after Bye Week?

“I don’t know. I didn’t think about it, but I thought he had a chance this week, so I think he also has a chance then.

Is RB Elijah Mitchell ready to go?

“Yeah.”

In return with that, not knowing how Jimmy will react, isn’t it an anointing from Trey saying it’s his job from now on?

“Correct. Yes, our starting quarterback is injured. If he had been one hundred percent today, we would have gone with him.

You mentioned on the radio yesterday that Jimmy wanted to try. Was he just not or did you guys or he made the decision?

“It’s a group effort, but when you have guys like Jimmy, guys like Kittle, sometimes you have to protect them from themselves. They all think they can leave, but a lot of that is hope. You have to see the next day when you go out to train and when you warm up for it. And that’s when reality hits when you have to do it right before and try to warm up for it, try to prepare to go and it just doesn’t react the right way. And then we all have to make the smartest decision. “

Guess that’s the case with Kittle?

“Yes.”

Obviously he has a chance to play—?

“Yes, he had the opportunity to train today. But he wasn’t ready to go today. So, we are going to try it tomorrow.

Did the few films released on Trey have a competitive advantage?

“I think sometimes, a little. You can ask them that, but it’s not like the whole game is different. You have a different guy in this role, but it’s not like it’s a whole different team. There are so many different things you can do. And obviously, when there are different players in there, there will be different things, but I don’t think it’s that much of a difference.

What are the challenges for you with basically your two best running backs are rookies, your quarterback is a rookie, just to advance this area with the three guys who have very little experience?

“I think it’s just balancing, trying to do the best you can to attack someone. You always try to put the players in the best possible position, which tries to give them a schematic advantage. But you also have to be careful that no matter how hard you try to do it, they also have to be able to play fast and do what they’ve been doing their entire career to get them to this point. So you have to find that balance as a coach. You don’t just throw them away and keep it simple because they’re rookies, because it’s a tough league and you’re up against good people. So sometimes that puts them in check, but sometimes if you go overboard to try and help them, it can also handcuff them a bit. So you try to find that balance throughout the week, through the games, and you see how it goes. “

Hall of Fame QB Steve Young hit the radio this week and said Trey Lance reminded him of a young Steve Young. Do you see it when you watch Lance play?

“I understand why he says that. I was pretty young when Steve started, but I have an idea. And Steve, I don’t know when he started, if it was still good or bad, but he was running around and going after him. And so, I think he always gave his teams a chance to win, whatever. I think Steve has become, basically, the last parts I know since at least when I was in high school, he was a surgeon. I mean the ball went to the right place every time. I don’t know if it always has been but it is like that for a lot of people in this league. When you start it takes a while to become automatic in this stuff and very few people get there. But guys like Steve, while he was learning he was still doing a ton of plays and I think that’s how he could relate to him.

What happened with DL DJ Jones?

“His knee hurt on Thursday. Yeah, Thursday when he walked in he tried to try and it hurt too much. So he took it off, but today was good, so no problem.

When old 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick made his first start in 2012, everyone was like, “Oh damn he’s not ready, I hope he can pass the ball and run.” And then it set itself up as a visiting clinic. Having said that, do you have any idea how good Trey Lance is on Sunday, is it kind of exciting, but do you have this idea, it could go a few different ways?

“Yes. Yet that’s how I feel every week. Even quarterbacks that have already played thousands of games. I still have, when you have quarterbacks that are great pitchers and all of a sudden one day they fight. That’s the way the league plays out every Sunday. I can’t wait to see him play. I know he has the ability to do a lot of things. But it’s gonna be his first time for the whole game and I’m just excited to see him play, but I don’t expect anything. You’re trying to prepare a guy as good as possible. From our perspective, I know he did his part in the game. Preparation And then, when Sunday comes, it’s usually the place where you have fun and let go and you live with the results.

Just briefly, not briefly, but the Arizona Cardinals, you face them every year, obviously, twice a year. Are they different this year? Is there something that you can watch a movie and say “okay, this is an area where, you can say they’ve made improvements”?

“Yes, I think they have improved in all aspects. I thought they had a good team last year. I think their offense improved, just playing with a lot of the same guys who got even better, but the guys they added helped them a lot too. I think about defense playing in [Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator] Vance’s [Joesph] another year’s system helps all the guys who have done it and their additions have really helped. Their secondary for me is much better. Their foreheads are healthy, some of the guys they lost last year plus guys like [Arizona Cardinals DE] JJ Watt is huge. And the investments they made in the linebacker added talent there. So yes, from start to finish they have improved a lot.

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