Kyle Shanahan Explains Why He Likes Nick Mullens So Much

Kyle Shanahan doesn't praise easily.

Kyle Shanahan doesn't praise easily.

He keeps it real. Pulls no punches. Delivers the good with the bad. Especially when he talks about his quarterbacks. 

Shanahan typically sounds lukewarm at best when discussing Jimmy Garoppolo. Rarely goes into specifics about what makes Garoppolo good.

But this season when Shanahan discusses Nick Mullens, he's extremely positive and talks at length about his good qualities.

Here's what Shanahan said Friday about Mullens when asked what he's emphasizing this week for the young quarterback.

"Almost the same stuff I've been emphasizing every week with him. Do what you're supposed to do: The play is called, you read the coverage, you go to the right person, don't try to make stuff up. Be aggressive, but do it within the play. I thought Nick did a real good job of that last week. He made the right plays. I know he'd love to have that pick back on third and goal at the five. He could have done that better. His other pick, it was a good throw. It was just unfortunate with it tipping off Aiyuk's knee. 

"But I thought he played very well. And then there were a couple times during the game when the play wasn't there and he still made a couple off-schedule plays to Kendrick Bourne, which I thought was a great job. And that's the stuff I want to see him do, because he's very good at seeing it the right way and letting it go with no hesitation. But sometimes when you try to get a little riskier, you might be down 10 points or you might feel like we need to make a play, I love what he does, but I don't want him to force that stuff, because turnovers are really what have cost us here when we've lost games. I want him to be better with the ball that way, and I think he was last week, minus the third and goal at the five."

Shanahan kept it real about the turnovers -- they're an issue for Mullens. But they also are an issue for Garoppolo.

Shanahan also gushed about Mullens' ability to read defenses "the right way" and throw the ball "without hesitation." Shanahan never says those things about Garoppolo. Shanahan seems to view Garoppolo as an indecisive quarterback who may not always understand what he sees when he looks at a defense.

Plus, Garoppolo rarely makes "off-schedule plays" anymore. He used to make them before he tore his ACL. Now, he just plants himself in the pocket and throws or gets sacked. 

It seems to me that Shanahan prefers Mullens over Garoppolo but hasn't mustered up the courage to say it.

Or maybe I'm just reading too much into things.