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Sad Kyle Shanahan tends to be more open and forthcoming with information that happy Kyle Shanahan. Despite turning 41 on Monday, it was a mostly sad Kyle Shanahan out in Glendale, Arizona, coming off a loss which all but ended the 49ers’ prospects of a playoff berth.
A harsh reality for Nick Mullens
If you wanted answers on what Shanahan thinks of Nick Mullens, they were provided on Monday. In short, he views Mullens as having an elite mind, but not executing to his potential and is considering whether he should start C.J. Beathard against the Dallas Cowboys.
Now that’s not all the context and nuance he provided, but it’s the gist. Here’s what he said on a potential switch at quarterback.
“I haven’t really had a chance to discuss that with anyone but I’m up for anything right now,” Shanahan said. “So we’ll see how that goes over the next couple days.”
He said he needs to decide, based on the rampant turnover issues San Francisco is facing, who he feels better with. In their last six games, they have only beaten the Los Angeles Rams. The only game they had with a positive turnover differential in that stretch? You guessed it: Los Angeles.
In those five other games, the 49ers have a combined -9 turnover differential. Aside from the first (+1 turnover differential against Arizona, lost) and second (-1 turnover differential against the Jets, won), San Francisco has won every game with a positive turnover differential, and lost every game with a negative turnover differential.
Shanahan said Mullens knows pretty much immediately when he’s made a mistake, but that it’s clearly about putting knowledge into action. He added that the “nine drops” he saw made matters worse.
“I think I’m pretty hard on him but he’s harder on himself so that’s why I say he’s fun to coach, I mean you don’t have to beat around the bush with anything,” Shanahan said. “He sees it, probably knows the answer, because he watches on his own, found it before I get to him, and then he hears it from me, so Nick’s great with that stuff, but the game is just not about knowing. It’s as hard out there and you got to play well and he didn’t play his best. I know he missed some open throws and stuff.”
Asked what Mullens did wrong on the pick-six, Shanahan delivered blunt answer. He said he called a pass for Jeff Wilson Jr., intended as a man coverage beater, but which instead saw zone, eliminating
“To throw it away,” Shanahan said. “I told him I wish he still threw it to Jeff, because I think it still would have been a catch-tackle. And then he went to the other side and the pocket was getting there and I guess he didn’t see the guy totally on Jus and he tried to complete it to Jus. Once he bypassed number one, he needed to sail it, throw it to me on the bench.”
That’s been a huge problem especially for Mullens, but with every 49ers quarterback. They seem unable to take their medicine and throw the ball away. Shanahan said he still believes that both Mullens and Beathard are capable of being starting quarterbacks, just “haven’t played like it.”
Whoever starts on Sunday will be the one Shanahan believes that can be most Alex Smith-like, and hold onto the ball. The turnovers are clearly wearing on Shanahan, who made clear it’s not acceptable.
“I thought a couple times the pocket was bad and [Mullens] escaped and gave us a chance to make a play,” Shanahan said. “And then there was a couple times in the game where we picked it up and I think he got a little spooked and got out of there just because of how it was going. But Nick’s a tough guy. He has no problem hanging in there and taking hits.
“But you got to be careful holding on to that ball, you know, that was my biggest disappointment in the pocket is when stuff did break down to people around him and he’s trying to make a play and get away. Not having two hands on the ball, because it’s a matter of time you turn it over and that’s happened too much.”
Injury updates: Garoppolo, Kittle, Samuel and others
- It is yet unclear if Jimmy Garoppolo will return this season. In order for him to return, there must be absolute clarity that he can’t re-injure his ankle, which would necessitate surgery. “I wouldn’t say I’m confident,” Shanahan said. “I would say it’s up in the air… Until the doctors tell me there’s no chance of [re-injury]… We’re not gonna do it if there is a risk.”
- Shanahan is hoping George Kittle can return to practice for the 49ers this week. Kittle’s initial timeline on his foot fracture placed his possible return at Week 17. It’s unclear, even if he is healthy by then, if the 49ers will let him play given that they may be mathematically eliminated from from a playoff berth at that point.
- Deebo Samuel suffered a hamstring strain and will be “out a while.” Shanahan said he will not return this season unless the 49ers make the playoffs.
- Daniel Brunskill sprained his shoulder and is day-to-day.
- Raheem Mostert is discernibly still dealing with complications from his not-so-fully-healed sprained ankle. He will undergo further imaging.
- Fred Warner suffered a stinger (neck/shoulder nerve injury) and will also undergo further imaging.
- Jauan Jennings, who was the team’s 7th-round draft choice, has been out most of the year with a severely pulled hamstring which Shanahan said was nearly torn. He said he does not expect him to play this season, but may return to practice and that this offseason “will be big for Jauan.”
- Kevin Givens, who is returning from the birth of his first child, could be eligible to return to practice as soon as Wednesday or Thursday after passing his mandatory week’s worth of COVID-19 tests.
The 49ers also released DE Alex Barrett and CB Breian Boddy-Calhoun who will almost certainly be re-signed to the practice squad. When the 49ers need extra bodies, they are forced to permanently promote players to the active roster from the practice squad (only two activations allowed each week) and then they immediately re-sign them to the practice squad. It’s a bit of roster manipulation which, thanks to the week it takes for new players to sign and join other teams, has made it easier to cut and retain players.
Deebo Samuel’s 2020 lesson: Come physically prepared
When Samuel came out of South Carolina, the one thing Shanahan was warned about by Will Muschamp is Samuel’s weight. Muschamp said that Samuel tends to pack on pounds in the offseason, and it takes him a while to work into shape.
By the end of this season, Samuel will have played 25 games out of a possible 35, which includes his one-snap performance on Sunday (making it more like 24-for-35). That means he’ll have missed 30 percent of the games he could have played in, with nine of the 10 absences coming this year.
Shanahan sees the extended stay on the sideline as an opportunity for Samuel to reckon with the tolls of the NFL and take care of his body more intently this offseason. He said he spoke to a dejected Samuel Monday and encouraged him to view the positive side of the injury.
“Every time Deebo’s come back, he’s gotten re-injured,” Shanahan said. “And it’s because he hasn’t been in a position to really be in great football shape. I was just telling Deebo that—he was so down that he might end up missing the rest of this year—I was like, I know it seems like a bad thing, but it’s a positive thing if you make sure that this hamstring injury is what you learn for the rest of your life on why every day in this league matters and how much you have to work in the offseason, how much you have to take care of yourself so you can play for a full year. Because that’s the only thing that’s going to hold a guy back like [Samuel].”