[ad_1]
SANTA CLARA, Calif .– Since the time the San Francisco 49ers showed up for training camp on July 27, coach Kyle Shanahan has appeared in front of the media 14 times. In almost all of these sessions, most of the questions focused on one topic: rookie quarterback Trey Lance.
Shanahan patiently answered the 83 questions related to Lance as he is willing to share them and showed no signs of frustration with the constant roadblock.
But there is one question that Shanahan hasn’t given much answers to, and it’s the one that matters most: how will he know when Lance is ready to start?
“When I think he gives us the best chance of winning,” Shanahan said.
How does Shanahan determine it?
“I don’t know,” Shanahan said. “I haven’t really defined that for myself either. Just when I think it’s okay, when he looks ready, when I think the team looks ready.”
For coaches trying to thread the needle with an established veteran quarterback and talented rookie, there is no manual on how to make the decision. There are a number of guesses, especially when it comes to an unknown product.
This is especially true for Lance, who is making the leap from the state of North Dakota, the powerhouse of the FCS, to one of the most prominent positions in the sport. He came in as the third pick in the April Draft with 17 college games, including 318 passing attempts.
That’s why Shanahan has spent this camp sticking to Jimmy Garoppolo as a starter with Lance as a backup, occasionally sprinkling a few reps with Lance’s starters in an effort to allow him to play in a situational fashion.
Through it all, Shanahan has remained relaxed about the quarterback’s never-ending questions, largely because for the first time during his time with the 49ers, he feels good in his depth at the most important position in the game.
“I can’t get caught up in everything else,” Shanahan said. “I understand why it’s fun and it’s a decision that everyone cares about. I can’t do it. I’m just really excited, I think we’ve always had a quarterback like Jimmy who can give you the chance to win the Super Bowl. And when he didn’t make it we really struggled. And I also think he drafted a guy who can make it too. And yeah, that makes me very excited. us the best chance of winning is definitely what I’m trying to focus on. “
Lance’s time will come, but for a trainer like Shanahan, there’s a lot to consider before it gets there. Take a look at coaches like Sean McDermott and Doug Pederson, both of whom have had to figure out when to turn to highly drafted quarterbacks in recent years.
“A strange deal” for Carson Wentz
Sometimes situations like this the 49ers find themselves in have a way of working out.
In 2016, the Philadelphia Eagles used the No.2 pick on Carson Wentz – another great, physically gifted quarterback from North Dakota State. They also had an accomplished veteran in Sam Bradford, whom they traded for the year before.
Wentz was undoubtedly the future, but the original plan was for Bradford to be the present while Wentz adjusted to the NFL. In their first training camp together, Pederson did something the Niners haven’t done so far with Garoppolo and Lance: split the reps with his two quarterbacks, allowing Wentz plenty of opportunities with the starters.
The goal was to get Wentz up to speed, but cut his reps towards the end of camp so Bradford could get the heavy lifting going into the season.
As this camp unfolded, however, Wentz continued to impress Pederson and the coaching staff with the way he behaved and how quickly he adapted to offense.
“The way he came in and ran his business from the way he studied our playbook, how he handled the media, how he trained, how he managed the team,” said said Pederson. “He kind of stepped in as a veteran even though he was a rookie who had never taken an NFL snapshot. So honestly you hope they’re ready because once the lights go on , it’s football and they’re going to play, and that’s why you’re drafting these guys. “
Looking back, Pederson described a Wentz rookie in similar terms to what you now hear about Lance. The state of North Dakota had put so much on Wentz’s plate as a starter that he was on top of most of the operational stuff early on that can be difficult for young quarterbacks.
Wentz was good enough at camp to pass Bradford before the start of the season. It turned out he didn’t need it.
On August 30, 2016, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered an ACL tear and other structural damage to his left knee, ending his season earlier and leaving a team that thought they could fight desperately for a starting quarterback.
Enter the Eagles, who had seen enough of Wentz to feel comfortable moving Bradford. They received first and fourth round selections in the 2017 NFL Draft for Bradford.
Those Eagles went 7-9 in 2016, but Wentz’s experience and the addition of valuable draft capital played a part in what happened in 2017. They jumped to 13-3 and went won Super Bowl LII.
“It was just a weird deal because of the way things turned out for us at the end of camp, with us moving Sam to Minnesota and Carson stepping in there,” said Pederson. “But he was ready, he was prepared and he took the bull by the horns.”
Josh Allen’s “vision”
Two years after Wentz became No. 2 to the Eagles, the Buffalo Bills moved up to No. 7 in the draft to take on Josh Allen of Wyoming. Project analysts considered Allen to be one of the most physically gifted quarterbacks they had seen in years. As with Lance, there were questions about his accuracy and level of college competition.
Upon arriving at Buffalo, Allen was not given the incumbent position, entering into a competition with AJ McCarron and Nathan Peterman. Like Shanahan now, McDermott walked into training camp with no preconceptions of who would win the job.
The goal was to get Allen up and running as quickly as possible but not to force the issue, knowing that it might take a while for him to become the best version of himself.
“It comes down to the vision of how you see this guy the first year,” McDermott said. “It’s really, what’s the goal the first year? And you’re kind of working backwards from there.”
Allen had a solid (albeit unspectacular) preseason, and the Bills eventually traded McCarron and went with Peterman as a starter. Peterman struggled so hard in Game 1 that Allen scored in the middle of a 47-3 loss. He made his first start the following week as McDermott pledged to go through the bumps and bruises knowing it would help Allen in the long run.
The Bills went 5-6 with Allen starting his rookie year. In 2019, Buffalo went 10-6 and then jumped to 13-3 with Allen posting an 81.7 QBR last year. His completion percentage rose from 52.8% to 58.8% to 69.2% in those three seasons.
In other words, it is something that did not happen overnight. McDermott said credit for Allen’s improvement in accuracy goes to Allen for his willingness to work with a personal shift coach like Jordan Palmer during the offseason.
“Really, he’s still growing, which I’m very happy with,” McDermott said. “He knows the areas where he needs to improve. Josh spends so much time away from us, and thanks to him and Jordan. We keep in touch with that, which is important to us too.”
“Do not hide anything”
So far, the Niners have remained steadfast in their desire to retain Garoppolo and let Lance develop at his own pace. They budgeted for Garoppolo’s contract and did their best to allow him and Lance to form a relationship on their own.
“You just have to have a good plan,” said Bears coach Matt Nagy, who faces a similar situation now with rookie Justin Fields and veteran Andy Dalton and in 2017, when he was Kansas offensive coordinator. City with veteran Alex Smith and rookie Patrick Mahomes. “It takes communication, you just have to talk about it and make sure everyone understands what it is. You’re not hiding anything. You’re open with it. And I think that’s what all of them are. teams will probably do in these situations. That’s what we did [in Kansas City]. “
Indeed, Shanahan and his team followed through on their plan, which was one of the main reasons their quarterback dilemma didn’t turn into a quarterback controversy.
Soon a decision will have to be made.
Maybe, like in Philadelphia, things will work out. Or maybe Garoppolo will struggle and Lance’s opportunity will present itself. Or maybe Garoppolo will play well and Lance will play situationally as the Niners return to the playoffs the Chiefs-style do in 2017.
No matter how it turns out, the right time for Lance will be defined by Shanahan.
“Every situation is different,” Pederson said. “Kyle has obviously been to San Francisco; he’s an established head coach now. He’s won a lot of games and he’s got some great quarterbacks. They’ll know when it’s time for Trey to play.”
[ad_2]
Source link