Kyle Shanahan explains Trey Lance’s on-field Absence
The third overall pick has seen just five snaps since Week 6.
The 49ers are rolling right now, sitting at 6-5 after an impressive 34-26 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
Starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been playing out of his skin of late, averaging an 111.88 passer rating over the previous five weeks.
Early in their campaign, San Francisco utilized Lance in red zone situations, appearing in Weeks 1, 3, 4 and 5, totalling one touchdown and one interception. Though Lance, has only taken five snaps at Jacksonville in Week 11.
Lance suffered a knee injury during his first start in early October and has sparingly seen the field since. Why? Allow Kyle Shanahan to explain.
“It’s more about me, to tell you the truth,” Shanahan said Monday, via Jennifer Lee Chan of NBCSportsBayArea.com. “In terms of calling plays, we get into a rhythm of attacking a defense and what fronts they are playing and what coverages. Every play kind of plays off the next play and you get a feel, our players do and I, of what we are going to.”
Lance’s inclusion makes things unpredictable for the opposing team, but Shanahan admitted it also makes his life more complex, with defenses also unforeseeable.
“What’s been hard on me, that I didn’t realize, is when you do bring in a different quarterback who gets a different set of plays, it’s almost the first play I’ve been seeing of a new defense,” Shanahan told local media. “You see what fronts and coverages they are doing but they are doing it completely to a plan as a threat of the runner at that position.
“I don’t know what to anticipate with it, and then I got to stay in it for a while to get a feel for that. And then you go back and that feels kind of off for the last guy, so it kind of hurts my rhythm a little bit of understanding what a defense is getting. That’s why personally as the year has gone I’ve gotten a little more away from it because I like to get a feel for what the defense is doing.”
In Lance’s absence, the 49ers have thrived — winning four of their last five — including a crucial divisional win over the Rams. With things looking smooth in the Bay, there’s no reason for the third overall pick to see game time in this moment.
Lance’s time will come, but for now Garoppolo is the captain of Shanahan’s ship, of that there is no doubt.
What now for Trey Lance and the 49ERS?
Trey Lance sent social media and the 49ers Faithful into a spin and now the thought on everyone’s minds is ‘When will Lance get more first-team reps?’ As for the answer, we’ll leave it to coach.
Trey Lance sent social media and the 49ers Faithful into a spin with an enticing debut (preseason) performance against Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs in Santa Clara.
Lance gave 49ers their first look since being drafted by Kyle Shanahan with Pick 2 in the 2021 NFL Draft, going 5-for-14, with 128 Passing Yards, 1 TD and a 93.7 QB Rating.
What really sent the NFL world into overdrive though was Lance’s 80-yard touchdown bomb to Trent Sherfield, his first completion of the ballgame.
The thought on everyone’s minds is ‘When will Lance get more first-team reps?’ As for the answer, we’ll leave it to coach.
“I don’t know,” Shanahan told San Francisco reporters . “I haven’t really defined that for myself either. Just when I think it feels right, when he seems ready, when I think the team seems ready.
“I mean, we’ll continue to mix him in there. But I don’t plan on just doing that completely. But Trey, what he showed in that game is, you know, I wish I could have left them there longer. I know he enjoys playing and he’s only been able to play one game in over a year, but I think it was good for him to get out.
“I think he started out good, got a little excited sometimes which he does. And you get a little excited, some of your technique and stuff you lose which will be fun to watch with him. Trey’s a guy who’s tough on himself and loves to correct things and since we’ve had him he’s been very good at correcting mistakes.”
The most glaring error, according to the Niners head coach, occurred when Lance failed to throw the ball away and was resultantly sacked. It was one of four occasions where Lance was sacked by the Chiefs defense.
“I think the worst one was the one down in the red zone,” Shanahan said. “They did an all-out blitz and we were in an empty formation and he’s got to get rid of that to his hot throws. So that was the main one that was on him.
“On the other ones, you can always get rid of it when someone doesn’t hold up in protection too long, but I think it would have been tough to, especially some of the down and distance we were in. But there was one that he definitely needed to get rid of just because of the blitz that they brought.”
Lance has brought an electricity to the Niners, reminiscent of the excitement during their Super Bowl season of 2019. Whether he’s capable of delivering a similar outcome time will tell.
Though I can think of one man who is…
Trey Lance: Jimmy G is ‘one of the best people i’ve been around’
After Kyle Shanahan traded up to select North Dakota State product Trey Lance with pick 3 in the 2021 NFL Draft, Jimmy Garoppolo would’ve been well within his rights to give Lance the Brett Favre treatment.
Though, Garoppolo has acted on the principle of paying it back — just like Tom Brady did for him all those years ago in Foxboro.
After Kyle Shanahan traded up to select North Dakota State product Trey Lance with pick 3 in the 2021 NFL Draft, Jimmy Garoppolo would’ve been well within his rights to give Lance the Brett Favre treatment.
Though, Garoppolo has acted on the principle of paying it back — just like Tom Brady did for him all those years ago in Foxboro.
Speaking at Carson Wentz’s charity softball game, Lance said “Yeah, it’s been awesome,” via Jackson Roberts of KVRR.
“He’s a great guy. I mean, one of the best people I’ve been around and I’ve been fortunate to be around some, I think, really really great people, guys that are going to play today and guys still in that locker room right now. Jimmy is just like it and that organization is the same exact way.
“So I just feel very blessed and fortunate to be where I am and be able to be a part of something like this. I’ve heard from other guys’ experiences and how we handled OTAs and things like that, our coaching staff and everyone that runs that organization does it at a really high level.”
Despite the hype surrounding Lance and his freakish physical gifts, people shouldn’t be quick to forget Garoppolo was one deep ball away from securing San Fransisco its first Super Bowl since 1995.
It seems as if Jimmy G will get his chance to lead the 49ers toward another postseason but make no mistake Lance is the future, and if Garoppolo doesn’t perform, he may well become the present.