49ers HC Kyle Shanahan Tempers Expectations for Week 1 vs. the Jets

Sounds like Shanahan has some anxiety about the start of the season.

Feb 7, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan speaks during a press conference before Super Bowl LVIII at Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

SANTA CLARA -- On paper, the 49ers have the best team in the NFL. So they absolutely should beat the Jets on Monday night.

But the 49ers are still experiencing a Super Bowl hangover. And teams that lose a Super Bowl often struggle for various reasons in the first game of the following season.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan seems concerned that his loaded roster could underperform against the Jets. Check out this exchange from Thurday's press conference courtesy of the 49ers p.r. department.

Q: Anytime you start a new season, there's some things you're uncertain about. Last year was QB Brock Purdy’s health, you've got some new faces, some rookies in the lineup. If you had to pinpoint some things that you're not certain about, curious about how they're going to turn out on Monday, what would they be?

SHANAHAN: “I love going through a whole training camp and knowing exactly what you’ve got right away and just preparing everyone for Week One and then working off that. It is a little different when your left tackle hasn't been there, your guards, your running back and your starting receiver. Then you’ve got also [LB Dre] Greenlaw, you’ve got Huf. But those guys, Huf has got a possibility this week. Greenlaw we're going to have to wait on. But the guys on offense, there's the little question marks with the injuries and the guy's not here and then all of a sudden they are here, the guys are healthy. But, we’ve still got to work. It's awesome to have our guys back. I feel so good about our team especially being able to finish these and get those two guys back contractually, get some of the health back that guys have been missing on offense which feels great. But now I'm all about going to work and usually you start that pretty early in training camp. I’ve got a lot of confidence in these guys that they're conditioned, they've done everything. But football's about playing as a team and having 11 guys move together and that's what we're trying to get done in these practices.”

Q: What about the workload for those two guys, Williams and Aiyuk, do you expect Brandon to be able to play the 98-percent of the snaps that he normally can?

SHANAHAN: “Yeah, I'd be surprised with that, but my expectations are that I'd be surprised with 98-percent. But I'll see as the week goes. We've had one practice with him. He threw with Brock over the weekend. We got one practice with Trent. Today will be their second. We'll see how they are these three days and then kind of evaluate it.”

TRANSLATION: The 49ers have a great roster, but it's going to take them a few weeks before they hit their stride because so many key players missed training camp. He specifically listed Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, Jon Feliciano, Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk -- five starters on offense. Plus two starters on defense -- Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga.

Sounds like Shanahan has some anxiety about the start of the season. I don't blame him.