Kyle Juszczyk a sounding board for offense

Posted By on August 21, 2018

San Francisco 49ers running back Kyle Juszczyk (44) is tackled by Houston Texans’ Johnson Bademosi (20) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

SANTA CLARA — When fullback Kyle Juszczyk talks, Jimmy Garoppolo listens.

Both in games and during practice, when the 49ers finish a drive, Garoppolo finds Juszczyk and they hash it out. The television broadcast often catches them chatting on the sideline. Juszczyk speaks and Garoppolo nods with a stern expression. He looks like a golfer taking advice from a caddy.

“He’s not your average fullback,” Garoppolo said Tuesday in the 49ers auditorium. “He talks the same language as me, even if it’s just routes or how he sees the coverage and how I see the coverage. It’s good to talk that way.”

Juszczyk is bright — he went to Harvard. He has a panoramic view of football, sees the big picture, just like a quarterback.

“Because I’m involved in so many different things, I’m able to talk to Jimmy about so many different aspects,” Juszczyk said Tuesday while standing alone at his locker. “I’m involved in the run game, the pass game, the pass protection. There are just so many similarities there between him and me because we both have so many responsibilities. We have a lot to talk about. And we have fun with it. This past game, he would tell me half of the play call and I would have to say the rest. I was pretty good at it, too.”

Click here to read the rest of the article.

This article has 152 Comments

  1. “Once it clicks, Kyle can call anything and you understand what it is, even if you’ve never run the play before. Just the way he has set it up, there are rules. He can call a play, and you know what you need to do based on those rules.”

    Wonder what those rules are? Do you have any idea Grant?

    2. Really like Juice/ This should be a fine year for him. He and Jimmy G. should be a winning pair for the next several years. He is our best FB since the great Tom Rathman.

  2. “Now, a team’s nickel defense plays far more than its base defense, which has become almost an afterthought.”

    It’s time to start referring to nickel as the base defense.

  3. Grant, it’s these kind of pieces that keep me coming back here. You just don’t get this kind of perspective or insight from the other 49ers beat writers. Well done, sir. We’ll done.

    1. Um, Sebbie… Shanahan will use him consistent with Shanahan’s offensive scheme.

      1. Yup, and KS is a disciple of the WCO, or at least with WCO concepts. Utilization of the short passing game to sustain drives, Balanced offense so the other team cannot put 8 men in the box and dare them to pass.
        .
        JH was a disciple of the Bo Schembechler, 3 yards and a cloud of dust scheme, and Baalke was all about power football.
        .
        It sure is refreshing to see the Niners attack weaknesses in the defense, and use speed to run around defenders rather than trying to run over players. The latter only results in more attrition. With JG, KS will be able to have a field general, commanding the field, exploiting weaknesses, finding the seams in the defense.
        .
        I hope KS lets Juice run the ball more. Then he can be the Swiss Army knife, that can run, block and catch the ball.

      1. So are you just here to troll me? Will you ever add anything to the football conversations?

          1. Thanks for confirming my suspicion. Try to make your trolling funny or at least clever for entertainment purposes.

            1. You bet sistah! Love your takes. Keep ’em coming. BTW when are you coming over to teach me your mad comedy skills?

              I didn’t want to admit this at first but I think I am falling four you Eighty.

              XOXOXO

  6. He’s “…bright – he went to Harvard.”
    And that’s where you lost me. I’m sure he’s bright, but it has nothing to do w/ Harvard. In fact, after 4 years at Harvard he’s probably less bright. The Ivy League is a club, not higher learning. Other than that I enjoy your commentary.

    1. beast, unless you are a legacy child, with a less than 5% admission rate you have to be pretty damned bright to get into Harvard in the first place.

      Do you have any other rants against “elitists”?

  7. Once again Grant awesome article, I know I get on you about the negative stuff but you are a very talented writer and you hash it up and hold your own by interacting with us knuckleheads! Your parents raised you well and continue to make decisions in your life that we the bloggers and readers have fun talking football, crazy life and other things! Please keep these articles coming! Hope Sherman,Buckner, Pettis orwitherspoon lets you do a deep interview on them!

    1. I’d like to have Grant prepare and publish a breakdown of all 9er position coaches–who’s doing a good job, who’s failing, and why.

      C’mon Grant, you can do it.

      2. I’d like data on the first derivatives of the coach’s vital stats — how fast are their weights changing, how quickly are they losing hair, etc. etc. Inquiring minds want to know…..

      3. Grant–and some of us–rip players mercilessly. Well, these players have position coaches. Are the players all unteachable turds and the coaches the very best in the business? Are the coaches–some of them anyway–worthy of a disparaging hot take or two by Grant?

    1. The problem is this rule creates more confusion than anything else.
      The “head up” portion should be covered in the crown of the helmet rule which has been in place for several years.
      However, if its applied in conjunction with

      Article 8
      (g) If a player uses ANY part of his helmet (including the top/crown and forehead/”hairline” parts) OR FACEMASK to butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily.

      Every “head’s up” tackle is also illegal as you cannot initiate contact with your facemask. Even if you try to lead with your shoulder, and part of the helmet makes contact with the offensive player (which it will almost always do) that’s an illegal hit.

      The biggest problem is I don’t believe the ref’s know how this rule should be applied.

      What I find funny is the NFL has no problem enacting a rule that allows them fine the players “for their safety” but won’t do anything regarding their fake turf which has so many studies showing it increases the risk of ACL injuries that futbol stars are not allowed to play on it.

    2. Every Coach who has commented on it says that is the way they teach the players to tackle. The problem is the extra focus put on it by he rules committee due to Ryan Shazier’s injury last season. Instead of understanding that severe injuries are going to happen in a violent sport and accepting it, they try to over regulate a core part of the game for fear of future litigation/bad publicity. Most of the calls that I’ve seen this preseason were not penalties. They were an overreaction by officials who have been told to be vigilant about enforcing regulations that make no sense. It’s a freaking mess and it’s going to make games unwatchable if it’s enforced during the regular season as it has been so far in the preseason.

    2. I’m holding out for the Yahoo Pick ‘Em League. Waiting for CFC to set it up and post a link. I wanna retain my crown!

    1. No George they’re not. It’s funny to read these stories from fans who want the player in question on their team because they make no sense. Why would the Rams trade Aaron Donald? They have him under contract for another year and then can franchise him for two years at a rate lower than what he wants in a contract extension. That gives them his services at good market value for 3 years. It would be idiotic to trade him unless another team offered a ridiculous amount of compensation, but even then ask yourself what the chances are of that happening? Everybody and their Mother are criticizing the Raiders for not paying Mack what he wants to get him signed, but I can pretty much guarantee you there aren’t many if any teams that want to pay him what he wants because you put yourself into big time cap trouble when you pay a defensive player like a QB or even beyond the market value of the position. Both Mack and Donald are holding out for beyond market deals. That is why they remain unsigned and both the Raiders and Rams would be stupid to trade them when they can control their rights for the next 3 years without signing an extension.

      1. Will be fun to watch if nothing else. Stranger things have happened in the NFL. After all, team execs/decision makers are people and are very capable of making dumb moves.

        1. True enough Cassie, but it would be incredibly stupid for the Rams and/or Raiders to trade these guys now. Maybe after the season if things get really bad, but they’d be giving up an elite player for nothing as far as this season goes. Might as well wait until after the season and see what is being offered then if you want to trade.

      2. rocket, when I post things like this, it’s because they’re food for thought, not because I have any idea if they’re true. Years ago, when I first came to this blog, I gave them more credence but have since learned my lesson.

        As to your point that the Rams have him for another three years, I think the writer of the article was taking a longer term view. But it doesn’t matter. Three years is a long time. They might have a lot more cap then and, who knows, he might not be very good anymore due to decline or to injury (which, to be clear, I’m not wishing on him). It’s also possible that during that period the League will decide to ban sacks. I’m not predicting this, only saying that anything’s possible. Banning sacks would be a possibility if the League went into a revenue spin and thought the remedy was to juice offenses.

        1. George I didn’t mean to insinuate you were wrong for posting it, and if I did my apologies. I was just referring to the article itself as an example of a fan piece that is unrealistic due to the author wanting the player for his team. Keep on posting links for whatever you find interesting as you are right about them stimulating conversation.

          1. rocketman, no worries. I have a tough skin anyway. I was defending myself in case you did mean it.

            I remember that a few years ago I posted a pic here of Richard Sherman hugging Harbaugh on the field at Stanford, and someone was so offended that he said he wanted me dead.

            Strong passions on this blog. Now it’s about politics. That’s another reason I post things like this, to keep the focus.

            1. I hear ya George. I didn’t intend to go off on a political rant but when someone states an opinion that is clearly wrong it drives me nuts. That is the problem with voting in our country in many ways. A high percentage of voters don’t know the issues or policies, and just accept whatever their party leaning tells them.

              Glad you are still alive after positing that blasphemous picture ;)

          2. Seeing the author of that article didn’t once suggest that Donald come to “his” team or any other, you’re being a total ass.

            1. What team could trade for Aaron Donald, and pay him $25 million or more? It would have to be a team with lots of cap room. A team that has stockpiled some extra draft picks. A team with a solid roster except for their pass rush, so that spending that much on the line would make sense.
              A team like the San Francisco 49ers.

              Straight from the article, and if you read it all you can quickly see it’s just a 9er fan taking shots at the Rams. That’s fine, but it’s not journalism; it’s propaganda.

              2. Abject apologies, totally missed the last line.

                Guess me ‘n him are the total asses.

              3. At least 80% of the news is propaganda, while journalism has become an endangered species.

  14. Good interesting article. I love Kj’s versatility. My concern here is administrative and financial. I see a pattern in which the Niners zero in on a player and then shell out big or biggish money and I am not convinced the talent level is proportionate. Eg : Garcon, Mckinnon, KJ, Ward …

    1. Other then continuing to divide it doesn’t mean anything. What Randy Moss did was far more effective swaying us then the kneelers.

      1. I agree what Moss did was great. The link I posted was a thoughtful and reasonable take on the kneeling controversy. I know it won’t change the minds of those opposed to the action, but I thought it was a great explanation that was worth the time to watch.

  16. What a joke this topic has become. I can’t believe it a democratic candidate with a great response to protesting. Man how people forget what Obama did to this country. Absolutely ruined it. I’m not the biggest trump fan but at least our country isn’t going to Sh*t financially. The economy has never been so good. But hey let’s blame the president for not respecting the way athletes are protesting. It’s become a joke. Let’s move on a play football! I don’t care about athletes opinions on who should be running this country. There political outlook is meaningless to me. Save it.

    1. Absolutely ruined it? Right up there Hoover, John Tyler, Fillmore? Check your history–the full picture, not a cherry-picked decade or two.

      Now, as you called for, let’s return to football. Please.

    2. “The economy has never been so good.”

      Yep, and that economic growth started during the Obama administration.

    3. You are severely misinformed or are a blind Republican supporter if you believe Obama ruined the economy and Trump has fixed it. Do some research on how bad Bush left the economy and all the upward trends that started under Obama that have continued under Trump. Obama had his faults, but he was left with one of the worst financial messes in American history when he took office and left Trump in a lot better shape than he was left in. The only thing Trump has done is give massive Tax cuts to corporations and the top 1% along with a few bucks to the rest of the working public, under the guise of it helping everybody. Go and look at the earnings of the bottom 50% of the work force in the US, or how the average wage is in comparison to inflation, or how much debt 80% of the country is carrying, and tell us again how good the economy is. Look at the fine print of the tax cuts given to most of the workers in the Country where it will tell you most of the tax cuts will be phased out within the next decade. How about the record deficit we are operating with while continuing to increase Military spending that is already more than the most of the other Countries in the world combined. It’s a lie and the bubble is going to burst and put this country into another recession, even if we haven’t fully recovered from the last one as of yet.

    4. Raw, are you aware of what was happening in the economy in 2008 and 2009 when the keys were first handed to Obama? Then compare it to 2017 when Trump took over. I suggest you shut up, read up then hang your head in shame where it belongs.

  18. What are you talking about. The housing market crashed with him LOL. That’s good. It had everything to do with trump. A guy that has a clue with money. Not a guy that got this country Trillions in debt. Lol.

    1. ??? Are you serious? The Bush administration was responsible for the crash and recession that followed. Even blind Republicans know that.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_housing_bubble

      Also, your claim about Trump having a clue with money is also ridiculous. He’s increased the deficit to record highs in a year and half. He also went bankrupt 6 times and was given loans by his Father when he started out. He’s the perfect example of an idiot who had all the opportunity to be successful because of his birth right.

    2. Clue with money, paying off women, throwing hissy fits over a military parade, tossing ‘the softest’ paper towels to Puerto Ricans, etc., etc.

      Now, Rebuild, how about football–what part do you see 9er position coaches playing in the current quality of 9er play?

      1. Well I think our O line coach and RBs coach Turner are essentially to this season. We have got to establish and running game to make things easier for JG and to help the D out which will need help.

        1. I agree they are essential. But, in doing their job, are they effective? I wonder at times. That’s why I’d like Grant to weigh-in.

        2. The sooner Garnett or Cooper can seize the RG position, the sooner this OL can become a machine in the run game. Until then, I imagine we will come out of the Gates Of Urizen guns blazing, predominately through the air….

    3. With him? No, before him. What kind of f-ing idiot do you have to be to try and push this lying rationale?

  20. Just know that the country was SO fu*cked with Obama that this country wanted such a drastic change from what it had just experienced. Democrats from Democratic states flipped. It was embarrassing. The people spoke. Obama care LMAO.

    1. And lucky for the Pres there was something called the Electoral College…’cause the popular vote was a tad short.

      Can we please get back to football?

      2. Lucky? That’s how we elect Presidents in this country, through the Electoral College. We’ve never elected a President via the popular vote. President Trump completely and utterly outworked the overly seasoned political candidate, Hillary Clinton.

        1. C’mon razor. The world isn’t as binary as you might think. Let’s get back to football. See my question to you posted below.

          1. You attempted to demean President Trump’s victory by suggesting he got lucky, and I merely pointed out he won by outworking his opponent. Luck had nothing to do with the long established rules of the Electoral College….

            1. “Luck had nothing to do with the long established rules of the Electoral College….”

              He rode the “red wave”

            2. “You attempted to demean President Trump’s victory by suggesting he got lucky, and I merely pointed out he won by outworking his opponent. Luck had nothing to do with the long established rules of the Electoral College”

              Well, you know there’s the whole Russia part of the matter, and Donnie’s illegal payouts to silence the women he cheated with right before the election…But yeah, his electoral win was totally legitimate huh?! LOL

    2. Raw,

      The Democratic states that flipped gave Obama a high favorable rating right up until he left office. What really happened is a lot of Democratic voters didn’t bother to vote due to being underwhelmed by Hilary.

      Educate yourself on policies and their ramifications. You clearly have no idea what you are talking about and are just restating what you’ve read or heard from Conservative sources. The Country was in recovery for most of the Obama era because the Bush administration left this country in the worst recession since the great depression. I agree Obama had his issues, but he inherited one of the worst economies in history and left it in much better shape when he finished his time in office. Trump has benefitted from what started under Obama. He’s increased it with the Tax cuts, but as I explained, Tax cuts are a long used Republican trick to create an illusion of economic growth and prosperity when the reality is most of the workers in the Country are struggling to keep their heads above water or even make a living wage.

  22. Rebuild A Winner aka RAW is another clueless being…..

    Rocket good job on stating the facts…

    ..its very hard for their brain to reconcile the fake news they learned on FOX news years ago and the true facts that live forever in the history books….

    The idiot totally forgot how bad Bush and Cheney fcked up the country….

    1. Hey I said i’d Stop talking about political views. Which I will. Your a cowherd though for calling someone an idiot online. You can me an idiot to my face I will slap the taste out of your mouth. You are entitled to your political views but leave the idiot stuff out of it.

              1. You got me. You caught my many grammatical errors. You are very good at English. I’m not. English is my second language. Question for you though. Being that your so good at English why does your little blog you use to do( I hope) suck as*? ??‍♂️

              2. It sucked so bad that you still remember it even though it hasn’t been active for about 5 years. Thanks for the memories.

      2. RAw, people call you an idiot because you are posting uninformed idiocy. Do some investigating before spouting off. And threatening fisticuffs retaliation doesn’t help your argument.

        2. This conversation was over long ago. Everyone can have there opinion on there political view. When you start throwing idiot around that means if someone doesn’t agree with your opinion there wrong. You believe it’s uniformed because you don’t agree with it. You have your on beliefs. I’m not here to change them. Don’t try to change my point of view by telling me I’m uniformed. This conversation doesn’t belong here. I prefer to talk football. Last I checked we all root for the same team.

  23. Beginning of the End

     Cohen wanted to publicly reveal that Trump directed him to commit crimes. The implication of his statement is obvious — it is a crime to direct someone else to commit a crime. And Cohen is not done. His attorney Lanny Davis told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Tuesday night that Cohen is willing to provide information to Mueller about a possible “conspiracy to collude” with Russia and whether Trump “knew ahead of time” about computer hacking.

    1. President Trump is like a drawing salve, and the infection is the deep swap. He’s drawing them all out to reveal themselves!

      1. Razor… I’ve asked the question of others…

        To what degree has the quality (good or crappy) of position coaching influenced the performance of the 9ers? Many people love to rip on players, but what role if any do position coaches have?

        1. I think they play a role as well Cassie. For instance, I think the team will be looking for a new secondary coach after the season if the DBs continue to play like they are.

        2. Too early to tell. It takes time to develop a winning culture, because knowledge is what changes a players opinions and impressions. The more knowledge they develop, the faster the turnaround….

        3. Wonder where the tipping points are, particularly with younger players…

          1) Gifted athlete with top-shelf skills at position he is slotted for — having an incompetent position coach with hyper alpha male sensibilities. How does the player perform?

          2) Average athlete with adequate skills at position he is slotted for — having a gifted coach known for effective teaching and getting most from players. How well does the player perform?

          I know there are many more variables and permutations than described above–certainly. Just curious as to what the 9ers have with their position coaches. I think MWD may be correct on the secondary coach matter. Winning culture noted by Razor is a factor too. We rip players, the GM, and the HC, and maybe a coordinator….but what about those position coaches?

          Grant…..your opinion?

          1. Bill Walsh prized ego in players. They’re compelled to do their utmost best, and have the confidence that buoys the ship when it hits a storm. Ask any shrink and he’ll tell you that there’s evidence linking competitiveness and ego. Having said that, when it comes to coaching, Walsh believed in communication interchange. Communication comes from fighting off your ego and listening. Secondly, the interchange comes by way of the player(s) not fearing to speak freely, and communicate their doubts, questions, etc.

            1. Yup. Wonder how Walsh worked with his position coaches–what those relationships were like during his tenure. Some coaches became off-shoots of the Walsh coaching tree, others not. Would like to understand how all that went down.

  26. Hey Grant. Broken record me here.

    What do you think of the quality of 9er position coaches–great, poor, abysmal, amateurish? Could a really lousy coaching staff be contributing to less-than-optimal player performance? Could the best position coaches ever to serve in the NFL do anything with the players we have?

    1. The Garoppolo deal was an easy one to figure out. They found a good QB they wanted, and the choice was to franchise tag him or sign him to a long term deal.

      For the next 3 years the deal is basically the same value as if they’d just tagged him each season, but by doing it this way they afforded themselves the ability to manipulate which year those dollars hit the cap.

      It’s a 5 year deal with an out at 3 if he flops.

    2. Good read. It is a calculated low risk gamble. As Jack mentioned, it has no long term salary cap ramifications because most of the guarantees are paid out in the first 3 years. If he doesn’t work out the only downside is a lot of York money being spent for naught.

      It was interesting to read their thoughts on the throwing motion/release and how that makes up for sketchy pass protection. That’s exactly what we saw once JG took over.

    1. Gonna be fun! Hope he gets a couple series in and exits in a healthy state.

      Perhaps he gets a pick for a sure pick-six, only to snap his Achilles as he crosses the goal line.

      1. Cassie … I’ve never been a fan of Sherms ..
        (since the turkey leg chomping on the SF logo .. and the
        blow up at the lady reporter incident .. scaring the
        bee-jeezus outta her) … but
        don’t jinx him .. pul-eeze

  33. PFF, so take it with a grain of salt.

    https://www.49ers.com/news/pro-football-focus-takes-note-of-three-49ers-rookies

    “Reed is technically listed as a safety on the 49ers depth chart, but through two games he’s taken 57 of his 75 snaps lined up as a slot cornerback. He’s been targeted six times there and while he’s allowed four catches, only one has gone for a first down while three have resulted in stops.”

    “The 49ers new right tackle has played 44 of his team’s 143 offensive snaps so far this preseason and has graded out much better as a pass-protector (69.0 pass-blocking grade) than as a run-blocker (58.8 run-blocking grade). In two games, McGlinchey hasn’t allowed a single pressure on any of his 26 pass-blocking snaps.”

    McG got beat once by Lawrence. But PFF didn’t count it as a pressure, so what gives? His running grade is concerning, as that is supposed to be his strength.

    1. If it is the play I am thinking of they would have put that on the OG as it was a stunt and the OG should have been the one picking Lawrence up.

      Hardly surprising the run grade is low given how bad the run game has been. However, this highlights one of the weaknesses of PFF. If McG executes his block perfectly but it has no impact on the play, my understanding is he gets a 0 grade for the play (same applies if he gets beat and it has no bearing). In the last game for instance a lot of the negative plays were caused by others messing up even when McG executed his task well. With so few good run plays he wouldn’t have gotten much opportunity to get positive graded plays.

    2. “McG got beat once by Lawrence. But PFF didn’t count it as a pressure, so what gives? ”

      I may be recalling incorrectly, but I think that was the play that the fault was primarily assigned to the RG and not with the Glinch.

    3. McGlinchey didn’t get beat by Lawrence. That was a bad switch between him and Person.

    4. @#80

      McGlinchey didn’t get beat by Lawrence. That was a bad switch between him and Person.

      this is a -1

      hmm…..be careful #80 those +1s are precious

        1. Is this another way of saying you were wrong about McGlinchey ……?

          Dude are you ever gonna man-up?

            1. Shuddup OneWhiner, #80 manned up big time for me last night. I still got starz in my eyes he spun me round round right round like a record baby right round round round!

              I happen to work for UPS and Eighty made me laugh out loud last night. Said I was the best package handler he has ever met. AWWWWWWWWW!

  34. Appears we’re dissecting McGlinchey with nearly the same vigor we dismantled Pettis and the tipped pass.

    Can’t wait ’til we put our long snapper under the microscope–maybe after the all-important 3rd preseason game.

    1. None of us are defensive back material. No way can we put the last play out of our minds.

    1. Autoimmune disorders can be nasty. I’ve known people who’ve struggled with it.

      2. Me too. Half of his face was paralyzed, and he continued to have a ‘Lazy eye’ look, even after he recovered enough to go back to work.
        .
        Thankfully, it took him only one year to recover, but it was an ordeal.

    2. This is a dread disease of creeping paralysis. My wife was stricken several years ago and thankfully has made a full recovery. He is undergoing blood transfusions to rid himself of overly aggressive white blood cells that are attacking his distal neurons.Travis can come all the way back if indeed it was caught early, but who knows how long it might take. He’ll have heavy physical therapy to rebuild neurons in hands and feet. Balance bigly effected. One other nfl kid took over 6 months to be able to walk again and never returned to the nfl.
      Five months after being stricken my wife wore high heels at our daughter’s wedding.
      Two years after that danced in heels in a dance competition at 64 years old. ?
      Hope for Travis, he knows how to work. ?

      3. Agreed. It’s also a comment you should respect by not using it as a part of your vendetta.

      4. Thanks for the insight, Brother, and for the good news about your bride. Glad to hear she’s doing well.

Comments are closed.