In Jimmy we trust?

Posted By on October 27, 2022

The 49ers offense is stuck in neutral.

Through the first seven weeks of the season Kyle Shanahan’s group is on pace to match the point total of the 2017 squad, only 20.7 per game.

While there are several issues holding the Niners offense back, the conversation tends to come back around to the quarterback.

During his weekly radio appearance with the Tolbert and Copes Show on KNBR, Steve Young was asked about what is holding San Francisco’s offense back.

“There is, and when I say lack of trust between Jimmy and Kyle, what I’m saying is, and I repeat this all the time — Mike (Shanahan) said this to me,” Young said. “I know that (Bills head coach) Sean McDermott has said it to Josh Allen. I know that Patrick Mahomes has heard this because Andy (Chiefs head coach Andy Reid) told me this — but turning to those guys and saying ‘I am going to be aggressive for four quarters. You protect me.’ And that’s that trust level. I don’t think we’re there.

“People start to see your game plan. You’ve got to kind of be iterative. And then I think either Kyle has to go all in and say, ‘I’m just going to do it. I’m going to let it rip the way I want to and take it where it comes,’ or ‘I’m going to continue to manage through the second halves.’ And that would speak to why we’re not coming back in the fourth quarter and all of that.”

If there is a lack of trust in Garoppolo from Shanahan, his play calling doesn’t show it.

Garoppolo made his first start of the year against Denver in week three. In each game Shanahan has chosen to pass more often than run.

The numbers aren’t close. Shanahan has asked Garoppolo to drop back on just over 63 percent of the offensive snaps he’s played. This is a dramatic increase over previous seasons.

When San Francisco has been successful under Shanahan the offense was much more balanced. During their 2019 run to the Super Bowl they passed on 51 percent of their plays. Last season they reached the NFC Championship game while throwing 52 percent of the time.

The recipe from success is quite clear, however Shanahan continues to deviate from it.

Against Kansas City the 49ers scored ten points on their first two possessions. They ran the ball seven times and passed it six.

Over the remainder of the half, Shanahan called passes on 70 percent of the plays. The percentage would have been even higher were it not for a kneel down on the final play.

The answer to turning things around is staring right back at Shanahan. He said as much during his Wednesday media session.

“I think when it comes to turnovers, that’s one thing that I always try to stay balanced. I think when you get throwing too much, I think that tends to happen.”

Getting back to a more balanced approach is vital to the 49ers offensive success.

In basketball terms Jimmy Garoppolo is a facilitator. He’s the point guard who is best when dishing the ball off and letting his teammates score. As Shanahan mentioned, bad things tend to happen when Garoppolo is the one being asked to shoot too often.

San Francisco made a splash when they traded for running back Christian McCaffrey. He will have a full week of practice underneath him heading into Sunday’s pivotal matchup with Los Angeles.

The smart move for Shanahan is to give the Rams a heavy dose of McCaffrey and fellow running back Jeff Wilson Jr. They form quite a combination, which will only grow stronger when Elijah Mitchell returns from injury.

This article has 40 Comments

  1. Run the ball more. Wilson Jr. needs 20+ carries per game. The defense is better when the 49ers are chewing up clock while on offense.

  2. agree with Jack but I still have a sinking feeling, which I continue to hold, that we are an average team and likely do not make the playoffs in what amounts to a lost year. Sad.

  3. Deebo may be slowed by injuries but I predicted a subpar year for him after he got the amazingly large salary agreement. He does not seem the same man. Not just in skill but in his enthusiasm. Same with Warner who is grossly overpaid and has become a sort of competent but not more ML.

    1. Interesting, I got that subtle impression too. Funny how contract year guys fly around. But let’s be honest, it’s human nature to start to play safer when you’ve gotten paid. HECK, even if you haven’t gotten paid in this body-slamming game you have to eventually start taking your “foot off the gas” — some guys just go full bore longer than others. Even Brady – with the hard times at home and on the team – I suspect his foot is easing up a little too :)

      1. It sounds like you never played football before. If your on the field you are in no way taking your foot off the gas. As soon as you would u would get rocked and probably hurt. I think what your talking about has more to do with off season dedication and preperation. I do completely agree about Deebo and Warner not playing up to their contract, especially Warner. Ive stated numerous times, probably mainly on theathletic site, that Deebo looks slower to me.

        1. agree..he looks slower, rounder, and less motivated. By the way, I am female and attended University High in SF and never lost my speed or motivation in flag football!

  4. Would you trust Jimmy G? Against Chiefs, on the 3 yard line at the end of the half. Every fan knows “protect the ball” at least kick a FG. Play call, super easy reads, Wilson’s hot route open for a walk in TD. (Thanks for point that out Jack).

    JG reads the opposite side of the field than the designed play call, throws off his back foot falling down trying to loft it over the defender to Kittle, assuming he saw the defender :) lol — INT.

    Would you trust that?? No, once you had the lead in a game you’d veer away from that risk all day — and sadly eventually lose by being “too conservative.”

    I’d tell Shannahan – Jimmy be damned — be agressive and see what happens. Maybe JG shines more with guns blazing. Maybe the Fans finally see why KS get’s conservative, lol.

    1. There should be a hot read to the side that the blitz is coming from. When you see it coming, which Jimmy did right away, you do not turn your head to the other side of the field or you end up like Lance. That play provided an opportunity if there was a blitz from that side but it was not exploited. It was a bad play for the situation and if anything Jimmy should have changed the call. Nobody blocked the blitzer and they should have known that when they lined up. I do gree that he should have not thrown it up for grabs but I think he was trying to get it to Kittle who was open in back of Ray Ray, but was not able to get enough on the ball because of the blitz. Did you notice that Ray Ray made no attempt to a catch the ball or defend against an INT and it was his man who intercepted. Bad play call and bad execution in more than one place. People say he makes bad interceptions but any interception is bad. Mahomes threw one. Good teams overcome. As far as he can’t make throws remember he is not calling the plays or running the routes. Should have just thrown it into the first row as soon as he saw they were screwed but easier said than done. Not sure if he had the ability to change the call though. If not, someone on the sideline should have called time out before the snap.

  5. I have to say I dont think its fair to blame KS here. This may not be the most popular take but I dont believe a team can win the SB relying on defense and rushing the ball. You can certainly win some games and be successful, but I think the NFL has proven for quite awhile now that you have to have a good passing offense. The 49ers faced loaded boxes as much if not more than any team in the entire NFL. The right call in those situations is to pass. And this is the main reason why teams view JG the way they do. He is unable to take advantage and make defenses pay. It may not always be his fault but more often than not it most definitely is. It does seem like hes trying to push the ball more at least, which he needs to keep doing.

  6. I found the statements by Steve Young to be very interesting but without examples it’s hard to know exactly what he’s referring to. As for the high percentage of passes, I think it might be because Shanahan has only had one good back to work with and maybe wanted to limit his touches to keep him fresh and injury free. Now that he has CMC he will probably call more running plays. However, sometimes the defense can dictate what you do on offense. If the defense has 8 guys in the box, it’s tough to run.

  7. Its been become increasingly clear to me that JG does not see the field well. The only times he really has success is if he can hit his 1st read. Its almost predetermined. So thats a tough spot for a coach as you cant trust your QB but you have so many weapons against loaded fronts that you have to be able to pass. This has lead to all these screens and whatnot. Moreless QBs can make coaches look good or bad. Limited QBs make coaches look pretty bland

  8. JG was not in the 49ers plans this season. Shanahan has the task of making the best he can with Jimmy running the offense. This is going to be an ongoing process.
    It’s the defense that is my biggest concern at the moment. They need to get it together ASAP!
    We knew what we had in Jimmy when Lance went down. And we always felt that JG would be picked-up by our great defense. The defense has been the main disappointment imho.
    It’s time for the defense to step-up or shut-up about supposedly being great.

  9. Jimmy gets all the blame when the defense gave the game to the Chiefs? Lol… I hope he exits SF next season and brings his accuracy and instant release to a city that respects him.

        1. Yeah, maybe you missed it Bruce, but JG overthrew the pass in the endzone to E. Sanders. Again, accuracy is not Jimmy’s forte.

          1. First – the ball landed on the 5 yard line 55 yards from where Jimmy launched it. Had Sanders been near the goal line it probably would have been completed. So much for a weak arm. Everyone seems to agree he can’t throw deep but he doesn’t call the plays and these low percentage throws mean you don’t hit them all the time. I don’t have the figures but I would bet Kyle calls the fewest shot plays like this of any other play caller. Stands to reason that Kyle doesn’t work on it a lot in practice too. (Reps ya know) I don’t disagree with Eric’s point but could have bet that others would.

  10. I agree with Young. It is obvious there is a lack of trust and it was never more evident than the 2019 playoff run. After Jimmy threw a pick to a wide open Vikings LB Kendricks , Kyle figuratively benched Jimmy for the rest of the playoffs. Then in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl , Jimmy reaffirmed Kyle’s misgivings. The NFCCG versus the Rams was an almost identical scenario. In the 4th quarter the Rams held Jimmy to 2 3 and outs .

    Fastforward to the end of the first half in the Falcons game. We got the ball back with around 1:40 and had at least 1 TO. Kyle called a series of dinks and dunks until there was less than 20 seconds left. Jimmy finally attempted a long pass to a double covered Deebo which was intercepted.

  11. Jack, I’m a big fan but you missed the target on this one. How in the world can you possibly write this article and not mention the offensive line? Did you consider that Shanahan is overloaded on pass plays because he doesn’t trust the O-Line to run block? Brendel is one of the worst Centers in the NFL. Banks is better than I expected but he’s still not better than average. Burford is up and down. Some plays he looks competent and some plays he looks like he’s on ice skates trying not to get trucked. Neither one of the Guards gets to the 2nd level consistently. They may grade out better than the reality of their performance since they aren’t dinged for missed blocks because they never get to the point of attack to actually miss the block. The 49ers offense is in neutral because Shanalynch failed to draft Creed Humphrey and let Laken Tomlinson walk, then thought Jake Freakng Brendel would be an adequate starting NFL Center. Jimmy G can be a competent QB. You’ve got NFL stars at every skill position. The 49ers have a below average offense because the offensive line is below average. It’s that simple.

  12. The problem is the lack of attention that was paid to the Oline. Aside from Williams they suck. You can’t have Jimmy G throwing more than screens and swings passes if he is laying on his back. They shold have traded for 2 good Olineman instead of McCaffrey. It has been proven that a lot of backs can gain 4 yards if they have a little room to run but the best back goes nowhere if there is no room.

  13. KS seems to call lots of running plays in the first couple of drives and they work. Then he goes away from the run. I agree, but why does he go away from the run? It seems to me that the holes that are there the first couple of drives start closing up after that. Last week he called run plays almost solely to the left side behind Banks, Williams, Kittle and Juice during the first 2 drives and they were successful. After that he started running more behind Burford and McGlinchey and they ended up in 2nd and 3rd and long situation and we all know Jimmy is not at his best 2nd or 3rd and long. After the run plays stop working KS goes heavily to the pass and with this O line that is a recipe for disaster. KS needs to run the ball 40 times this week regardless of the score. He needs to run 70% left and when he does run right he needs to use misdirection. After saying that I don’t think they will win this week whether they run 40 times or not because Juice is not playing. Go back and look at the 49ers running game in the past when Juice is out, it is pretty dismal. Especially when they have used Dwelley at FB. I predicted in early Aug. that cutting J. Hokit would come back to haunt them and we will see if I was right this week. The D better keep the Rams to less than 14 if we stand any chance of winning.

  14. Shanahan has shown a penchant for over-thinking himself on more than a few occasions.
    I can count on my hand the times he has gotten to cute on play calling inside the 10 yard line that resulted in a field goal instead of a TD.

    I really like Shanahan’s offensive creativity, but I would question his discipline as to when to go fancy.
    Last Sunday Andy Reid used his offensive creativity that worked to perfection. I hope that Shanahan can glean from Reid going forward.
    But there’s a lot of football left and I have not change my line that the 49ers are a playoff team.

  15. Tom Brady, anyone??? A trade to the 49ers at this low ebb of his life and career could do wonders for the man’s psyche. Return to the Bay Area and his family here. Chance to join the team he closely followed and cheered on as a youth. 49ers aren’t going to win it all with Jimmy. But with Brady, even now in the twilight of his career, they just might be able to pull it off.

    1. We could have had him 2 years ago but KS said no. Ugh!
      We are probably looking at SB number 8 by now. Instead…

    2. Brady looked old last night against the Ravens. He’s no longer in the twilight of career, it’s more like nighty-night. I got to see the great Johnnie Unitas at the end of his career and it was not a pretty sight. Unitas was a shell of himself before he called it quits.

      Brady would do well to leave the game before he starts to look like Unitas.

    1. Jimmy is a marginal QB. Shanahan has tried to open up the offense by having JG take some deep throws and it has not worked. Garoppolo is a good not great QB and limits Shanahan’s game planning.

      Jimmy’s best asset is in the mid-range passing game and even in that, I get nervous when he passes the ball.
      But he is the Starter, and I will roll with him.

      1. I hear you AES. I am one of the more vocal anti JG here. But he is the starter and like you said, we roll with him.

        I am tired of seeing the same throw in the middle over and over again. I cannot even remember the last time a back-shoulder pass was thrown to our receivers. Too bad Lance got hurt early on. Now we wait another year to see if he might be the answer.

        1. I predict that next year when Trey is the starter, he will be the one receiving all the criticism that Jimmy now gets. I guess it’s just human nature. You can either look at Jimmy as an average NFL quarterback or as the 15th best quarterback in the entire world which is pretty impressive in my mind.

    1. i just watched . it is very informative Jimmy has his problems no doubt but the route running and the concepts sure leave a lot to be desired. i think Shannahan needs to demand more from his wide receiver coaches and to maybe simplify some of his mad scientist concepts. it seems he sometimes has too many options to process and not enough time

      1. No, redundancy in our draft picking has caught up with the 49ers….The. Reuben foster ‘s, Pettis, mcglicnchys,, joe williams, Trey sermons, Trey Lance, , and I could go on .Combined with defenses stacking the box because Garoppolo can’t throw outside the hashes and at that point they should audible deep but they choose to run into that stacked box brick wall accounting for Trey Lance s injury—in addition to shabby calling 13 scripted plays before the wheels fall off, niner empire is doomed this season

        1. Walsh audibled constantly because he had that built-in to his system with Montana throwing deep to rice or Taylor;same with seifert and young as well as marriucci with Garcia rice and Owens… Montana actually wrote a book called audibles…Andy Reid comes from the Walsh tree, via Mike holmgren. Watch the # of times mahomes ( who Lynch and shanny passed in the draft) changes the play at the los…Reid is old school and knows a good QB when he sees one…Pete Carroll in a rebuilding year founda QB w/o giving up 3 1st rounders…he’s an ex 49er coach. And look at that front office staff on the Seattle website–3 pages long! These guys aren’t messing around….but our current 49er team hasn’t had a ball travel 50 yards in the air in regular season since marriucci was coach because mcglinchey can’t hold a block and garoppolo doesn’t throw the deep ball well

  18. I would rather watch Boise State Univ. when Urban Meyer coached them to beat Alabama in the bowl game than the current 49ers. At least he spread the ball around like Bill Walsh and Andy Reid so defenses couldn’t key on one player to injure him like they did with Trey Lance

  19. And PS: I m not calling Trey Lance a bust athletically, I m calling him a bust the way shabby uses him. The Chicago Bears way of using Justin fields today vs Dallas s/b Shabby’s schematic.

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