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Kyle Shanahan's patience is wearing thin to the point he's openly challenging his players to prove they belong to the 49ers (2-8) continue trying to build towards a return to playoff contention.
"Do they want to solidify themselves as a starter, a backup? Do you want to be a part of this here? "The second-year coach asked Tuesday, hours after a drop to the New York Giants (2-7) on Monday night. "Do they want to be one of the answers or a solution to what we're going through?"
Shanahan addressed his team Tuesday morning before sending off players on their bye week. He left them with a stern and clear message: The remaining six games will be about which players will be around.
"You're always playing for something," he said. "This league does not have patience. I do not have patience. No one in this league has patience. You should not have to say that to players. And most of the players have been around, (mostly) veterans, understand that. But a lot of people do not understand that. And sometimes you have to educate people on that. "
The 49ers followed a 27-23 defeat, surrendering a 10-point lead in the second half, losing the crucial turnover battle 2-0 and winning the game. The Giants orchestrated a go-ahead touchdown drive in the final two minutes, with the help of two defensive penalties, and the Nick Mullens-led offense could not get into the end zone before time expired.
It was reminiscent of losses to the Chargers, Packers and Cardinals, with the 49ers failing to finish after putting themselves in position to win.
Even without franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco has been disappointed in winnable games and currently in line for the No. 2 pick in the draft behind the Raiders (1-8).
The campaign has gone in the wrong direction after the 49ers entered 2018 feeling competitive enough to be in the postseason mix.
Losing Garoppolo in Week 3 was obviously the most dispiriting development, but it was not alone.
Solomon Thomas, fellow first-round choice Reuben Foster, third-round cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, slot wideout Trent Taylor and promising young safety Adrian Colbert particularly after ending last season on a five-game winning streak with Garoppolo under center.
Many of San Francisco's young players have regressed, especially on defense. Foster (shoulder, hamstring), Taylor (back) and Colbert (high ankle sprain) have been injured.
Shanahan used these second-year players as an example during his talk Tuesday, noting a strong finish to one season.
"I told our rookies, we had a lot of rookies finish the year last year on a high note and gave us a lot of confidence," Shanahan said. "And some of those guys got better or worse Week 1 and through this year. And some have gone the right way and some have not. (I'm very aware of that. That's stuff I'll look into these six games. "
The 49ers' game following the weekend will be on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6), owners of the league's worst scoring and most turnover-prone offense (25 through nine games).
But San Francisco has yet to win from Levi's Stadium, and it has not won an early game on the East Coast (10 am West Coast start time) since Garoppolo's first two starts in Chicago and Houston.
The 49ers' next four games are against teams with losing records at Tampa Bay, at Seattle (4-5), home versus Denver (3-6) and home versus the Seahawks. The last two games are at home against the Bears (6-3) and on the road versus the Rams (9-1).
"We'll see the guys who really want to be part of this," Shanahan said. "And I see better than I hear. And I'll always say that. And a lot of guys say the right things. I see guys work and their actions show it. … I feel we're just getting started in finding out what our team is."
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