What is the Offensive Identity of the 49ers?

The 49ers shouldn't transition to a pass-heavy offense nor should they relegate themselves back to a run-heavy side.

Every team has an identity on both sides of the ball.

For the San Francisco 49ers, their identity for years has been a physical and aggressive one. Defensively, their identity has remained steadfast and hasn't wavered as they are always a strong side.

The offense, however, has been sporadic the last two seasons. This year, the offense was poised to reach an impasse until it acquired Christian McCaffrey. Now, it looks to be clicking on all cylinders, especially after its best performance of the year against the Cardinals. 

Running the football has been the identity of the 49ers offense, but that was secondary when they faced the Cardinals. They committed to being a pass-heavy offense, and it looks like they could be headed toward that being their focal point after having massive success.

So what is the offensive identity of the 49ers?

Their identity is adaptability. That is THE strength for the offense. As soon as Kyle Shanahan can realize this, then the offense will maintain its high-level form that it reached in its matchup with Arizona. No longer must the 49ers remain stubborn as a run heavy team. Shanahan has to acknowledge that the passing offense is lethal.

Yes, it may be difficult to trust Jimmy Garoppolo, but Shanahan cannot keep limiting the offense just because of that. Just look at how the offense was when Shanahan finally let Garoppolo have a hand on the steering wheel. They had their BEST performance all year long on offense and put up their most points. That is not a coincidence. Passing the ball is lethal for the 49ers, especially with the way Garoppolo is playing this year.

The 49ers shouldn't transition to a pass-heavy offense nor should they relegate themselves back to a run-heavy side. What they should commit to is becoming adaptable. If a defense is going to commit to stopping the run by loading up the box, then the 49ers need to make them pay by throwing. Force a defense to play honest. Then, if Garoppolo is struggling, whether it is what the defense is doing or if he doesn't have it that day, then the run game will always be there for them to tap back into.

All season long Shanahan has just dialed up a run-heavy offense and it wasn't generating points. Now that he called a game that became a tendency breaker versus the Cardinals, he should view that as proof that he can have the offense go in any direction with the run or pass depending on how a defense is playing. The 49ers have all the talent in the world in both facets of the offense to be able to switch it up at any moment or stretch of a game.

The sooner Shanahan can see and accept this, the better this offense will be. No more running the ball just because that is your "identity/strength" offensively. Just call the offense that takes advantage of a defense and not one that is stubborn. If Shanahan accomplishes, then I do not see why the 49ers won't make a serious run at the Super Bowl.