Kyle Shanahan Explains the 49ers' Success of Offense

Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk probably are the best trio of offensive weapons in the NFL.

Grant Cohn | Dec 20, 2021

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San Francisco 49ers

One of my favorite things about Kyle Shanahan is how reluctantly he praises Jimmy Garoppolo.

Not because I have something against Garoppolo as a person -- he's quite endearing and professional. I just happen to share Shanahan's lack of enthusiasm for Garoppolo's play.

Take this exchange between Shanahan a reporter from today's conference call.

REPORTER: "Offensively, it looks like the unit was really sharp yesterday. I mean, are they playing at an ultimate level right now that you like to see? Is this like the sharpest QB Jimmy Garoppolo’s been playing in years?"

SHANAHAN: “Yeah, I think we're getting better each week. Jimmy didn't get to play very much last year and when he did, he didn't get to play with the guys, everyone else also. So I feel like, kind of what I was trying to say last night a little bit, even though we have had some injuries, for the most part, the same group's been out there. They've gotten a lot of reps together playing, and they've just gotten crisper at that. And we’ve got guys who always make plays. We’ve got a bunch of playmakers. I think we've just gotten better at not hurting ourselves and the less we hurt ourselves, think the more we produce in yards and points.”

Notice how Shanahan immediately used the word "we," and said the offense is getting better, not Garoppolo. Shanahan said the supporting cast has improved and stayed healthy. Then he said the 49ers have a bunch of playmakers, which is true -- Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk probably are the best trio of offensive weapons in the NFL. Lots of quarterbacks would look good throwing to them.

The only thing Shanahan praised about Garoppolo was his recent stretch of not turning the ball over as much as he used to. And he's limiting his turnovers because the 49ers are limiting his pass attempts, which reduces the opportunities they have to get the ball to their elite playmakers. And that's why Garoppolo is a mere game manager, and lots of quarterbacks could do what he's doing right now.

I agree with Shanahan.

Published Dec 20, 2021

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.