SANTA CLARA–The 49ers aren’t in win-now mode. In fact, they’re not even close to it.
But during the first half of Sunday’s season-opener against the Carolina Panthers, head coach Kyle Shanahan was playing to win.
On two separate occasions, Shanahan kept his offense on the field on fourth down instead of sending his punt unit out. Trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, Shanahan dialed up a passing play on fourth and four from the Carolina 44-yard line. Down 10-0 in the second quarter, Shanahan called a fullback trap on fourth and one from the Panthers’ 45-yard line. Both attempts failed.
Shanahan didn’t need to keep his offense on the field. His defense was doing a fine job. The 49ers didn’t have a playoff berth on the line. This was week one of the regular season, and Shanahan’s debut game.
In total, Shanahan gambled on fourth down on four separate occasions, and would have had a fifth attempt at the end of the third quarter if his quarterback, Brian Hoyer, didn’t take a delay of game penalty that forced the 49ers to kick a field goal.
“I can’t remember exactly every single one (fourth down attempt),” Shanahan said. “I think in the second half it’s because we needed to with the difference in the score. I think we were down one, it was just out of field goal range for us and I liked what we had, thought we had a chance to move the chains and we didn’t get it. But anytime you’re in that type of area, between the 50 and the 35, it’s always that area where do you want to punt or pin them inside the 10 or do you want to go and get yourself a touchdown?”
When the game was still within reach, the 49ers tried to gain an edge by gambling in situations when most coaches wouldn’t. San Francisco was at a severe talent disadvantage on Sunday, and it didn’t take a former wunderkind offensive coordinator turned NFL head coach to figure that out. To beat the Panthers, the 49ers needed to take chances. They also needed to execute. They accomplished one of those goals, and by the looks of the scoreboard, failed miserably at the other.
“I definitely expected us to be farther along, I think that every week,” Shanahan said. “It’s not something new. It’s something we’ve been doing since the first day we got here. I was disappointed in that. I believe we had five of them. It’s hard enough to win in this league but you can’t beat yourself. That’s something we’ve got to figure out why it’s happening and we’ve got to clean it up.”
Despite a 20-point blowout, Shanahan wasn’t discouraged by his players’ efforts. San Francisco’s defense looked improved compared to last year’s unit, and it played most of the day without rookie Reuben Foster, who suffered a first quarter ankle injury yet still had a team-high three tackles at halftime.
“I thought our guys responded, though,” Shanahan said. “I didn’t see a lack of effort or guys stopping in any way. I thought our defense battled all game. They gave up two touchdown drives and both of them were off of turnovers in a short field. That was a tough position that the offense put them in. I’ll see the tape tomorrow, but I thought the effort was there, we just have to get better.”
For Shanahan, the manner in which San Francisco failed to execute was an obvious source of frustration. He was hired based in large part because of his ability to manage an innovative offense, and for most of the day, the unit he oversees closely was dreadful. His quarterback committed a pair of costly turnovers, his offensive line allowed four first half sacks, and he estimates that more than half of the 49ers’ 10 penalties were offensive procedure issues.
It doesn’t matter that Sunday was Shanahan’s first opportunity to show the rest of the league what he’s brewing. Any way you mix it, San Francisco left out the hops.
“It was disappointing, but whether it was the first, last or any one I have the rest of my career, it’s disappointing,” Shanahan said. “So I don’t think it matters that it was the first. Anytime you lose and lose that way, it’s frustrating, disappointing and I’ll feel that all day today and night and I’m sure our players will too and we’ve got to watch the tape and figure out a way to get better.”
Shanahan didn’t need to coach with such an aggressive mindset on Sunday. He did need his team to look like it had some semblance of direction on the offensive side of the ball. He knows it’s a small sample size, and he deals in reality, so he knows that overhauling the 49ers is akin to building Rome. It won’t happen in one day.
The big-picture perspective that Shanahan brought to his postgame press conference is an asset to him. His first game as a head coach came in a home stadium that was half full, perhaps due to the 90-plus degree temperatures and beating sun, and perhaps due to to the terrible performances of the 49ers’ most recent teams. Shanahan was presented with a chance to take shots at his players for their inability to pull it together, and to address a fan base that appeared largely apathetic.
He didn’t do either, instead opting to take ownership of his team’s poor performance, and to offer an understanding outlook of where the 49ers are at, and where they need to go.
“I thought the fans were great,” Shanahan said. “They came out early in the game, they were loud, I heard all of them early. I don’t think we gave them much to cheer for in the second half and definitely can’t blame them for that. I definitely want them to stick with us. This has been a great fan base for a long time, I think it still is, and they haven’t had a lot to cheer about recently. But I can promise them we’re doing everything we can and working as hard as we can to change that and we’re going to do it as soon as we possibly can.”
Shanahan is a natural-born competitor handling a roster that faces an uphill battle to remain competitive. He understands it will take a few fourth down gambles to keep San Francisco in games, and he’s aware not all of those gambles are going to be executed. Instead of choosing to harp on a loss, a brutal defeat sure to leave fans questioning the 49ers’ direction, Shanahan vowed to get back to business. He knows this rebuild will take time, but he won’t be –and shouldn’t be– afraid to try sneaking in a few victories along the way.