Discussions about Trey Lance usually focus on where the 49ers quarterback can improve. Let’s mix it up by looking at what he does well.
Intelligence
Talk with anyone who has spent time around Trey Lance, and they will tell you how smart he is. The intelligence transfers over to the playing field.
During his time at North Dakota State, Lance was often asked to make calls on his own at the line of scrimmage based on the alignment of the defense. Lance was responsible for checking out of plays, and at times it was up to him to set pass protections as well as passing concepts.
The responsibilities on Lance’s shoulders were much different than most college quarterbacks. Think about how many times you see a college quarterback get to the line and then turn and look to the sideline for the play call or adjustment.
Lance’s experience in college set him up for working in Kyle Shanahan’s system. One which asks the quarterback to check in or out of plays at the line of scrimmage, just like he did in college.
Leadership
Leadership comes in many forms, one of the most important is taking responsibility when things don’t go as planned.
Following the 49ers week one loss to Chicago, Lance showed who he is as a leader. Instead of blaming his performance on the rain, pointing to mistakes of teammates, or not having George Kittle, Trey Lance put the responsibility for losing on his shoulders. Taking responsibility carries a great deal of weight and earns respect from teammates.
Threat in the run game
The ability to make an impact in the run game was a key piece which drew the 49ers to Trey Lance in the run up to the 2021 draft.
During his short time at North Dakota State, Lance showed the ability to run around and through the defense. As a result of the threat Lance posed as a runner, opposing defenses often focused their attention on stopping the quarterback. This in turn helped open the running lanes for others.
During the five quarters Lance played in 2022, 49ers running backs gained 176 yards and scored a touchdown on 21 attempts when lined up in either the shotgun or pistol formation. The average of 8.4 yards per carry was nearly double the 49ers season average of 4.7.
I question his leadership. A player can do all of the right things and his teammates just don’t feel him. Lance is a good guy but I just don’t see the players following him like they did Jimmy G or in a very short time Purdy. I think he might be trying a little too hard. Leadership is not something you can manufacture its just natural to who you are and I just don’t think he has it. imho
OC, your talking about a different leadership than Jack.
You are talking about saying/doing the right things when the team needs it and people trusting/ looking to you for guidance in tight situations.
Jack is talking about Lance leading the team from implementing knowledge of the system.
I have to question this as well.
Kyle had a meeting asking the team to get behind Lance. The team was clearly fell in behind Jimmy and has done so for Brock… but I don’t think they have done so for Trey.
Maybe I’m wrong. I just question it given the lack of evidence.
He hasn’t had a chance to lead, really.
He may be a great leader.
Coach,
Winning at the most important position in football should garner big respect from your teammates. Brock’s winning record gave him that honor.
My sense is that true leadership is shown when the team is struggling through a series of bad situations.
Because that has yet to happen in Purdy’s small stint as a starter, I can’t commit to saying that he is a true leader.
I certainly don’t see or expect this to happen. But after Kaepernick’s extraordinary run in 2012 many were crowning him as the next great 49ers QB. When he begin to regress in 2014, his shine dulled as quickly as it started. Defensive Cordinators begin to pick out his weaknesses and crushed his career.
As I’ve commented on a few occasions, Brock is the guy. But for me, the real test begins this season after D-Cords have done a deep analysis of his weaknesses.
If he can remain intact and continue to win as well as show the teue mettle of leadership when the team struggles, he will be the unquestioned leader, imho.
AES,
TL seems to me to be a kind, polite and good man. The kind of man that you would love to have as a son in law. That being said he seems to lack that magnetic personality it takes to be a leader. A true leader is born not developed. He is the kid on the playground who all of the other kids will follow. It has nothing to do with the position you play or even how well you play. It is the power of personality. I just don’t see it in Lance. That doesn’t mean he won’t end up beating out Purdy. Not every starting QB is a great leader.
“TL seems to me to be a kind, polite and good man. The kind of man that you would love to have as a son in law. That being said he seems to lack that magnetic personality it takes to be a leader. A true leader is born not developed.”
That is highly subjective, Coach.
Leaders can be made through life experiences. In my experience, I saw family members and friends go into the military as average types and come back home with strong character and leaders in their sphere of influence.
And that’s just one example, there are many more.
Had Lance not been injured and led the team to the playoffs, I’m sure that he would be acknowledged as a leader as well. In football, leaders are made on the field not the sidelines. Until Lance can get on the field for a significance of time, none of can really determine if he’s a leader or not, imho.
I believe Lance could demonstrate strong leadership skills if he gets the opportunities on the field. I believe Purdy has already accomplished that. Coming off the bench to take firm control of the huddle was big. Making all the plays he made while helping the team win 8 games was more proof and then playing out the rest of the Philly game while injured and in pain further cemented his status as leader of the team.
“I believe Lance could demonstrate strong leadership skills if he gets the opportunities on the field. I believe Purdy has already accomplished that. Coming off the bench to take firm control of the huddle was big.”
I agree with your comment. But, I don’t view this as Purdy being part of this conversation. He’s already shown leadership abilities in his brief time as a starter.
This has to do more (imo) as to whether Trey has leadership qualities or not. And my point is that we can’t make that determination with him unable to put more than 4 games under his belt.
Saying that he’s not la eader at this early stage of his 4 game NFL career is an unfair assessment, imho.
Isn’t that what I said?
I believe the majority of us have said this.
Players want a QB to win and for the QB to put each player in a position to look good and achieve. Players sensed, rightly or wrongly, that Brock was that man. Try could reclaim that ground if he can do what players want any QB to do. This is where accuracy, among other skills, will make a big difference.
I don’t think that’s a fair assessment of Lance’s leadership. He was drafted to take over for a popular (in the locker room) winning QB. He was just handed the job in his second year while the previous guy had just gone to the NFC Championship Game. He played all of a game and half or so in mostly tough conditions. Lance has had little opportunity to establish himself as leader. Purdy certainly wasn’t a leader when he took over. He was the emergency QB and everyone (players included) were likely just happy to get anything productive from him. Purdy performed well, the team won with him so now he’s looked up favorably by the locker room.
Another thing that Lance has is a strong arm. I believe that this was something that attracted the 49ers to him as well.
The last strong arm QB that Shanahan had was Matty “Ice” in Atlanta. I believe that Shanahan drafted Danny Gray to take the top off the defense with the plan of Lance throwing him the ball.
I honestly don’t expect Gray to be a big contributer this coming season with Purdy as the starter. Purdy is a younger and more athletic version of Jimmy G. And like JG, he is not going to make that many deep throws. I see rookie Cameron Latu playing a role as Kittle’s backup due to his ability to make YAC, which is more suitable for Purdy’s mid-field throwing style.
This is no knock on Purdy, he is “the guy” at QB. But he can’t do some of the things that Lance can, and vis-a-versa.
Im really rooting for Trey (like all of us) but i was dissapointed in his running abilities (and how he was asked to run between the tackles into linebackers) even though i do love the added dimension to the offense. It seemed like if we needed 9 yards he got 7, if we needed 3 he got 2. Looked like he ran into defenders, didnt break tackles, and didnt have much burst. Id be interested to know his yardage gained vs expected yardage on his running plays, and yardage after contact compaired to other qbs and running backs.
BALONEY …. The niners have a full QB room for the first time in a long time, and some people just keep picking at it as though we were beggars. Many of us on here lived through some QB droughts that didn’t have a QB that could sit on the bench with any of the ( 3 or 4) that we have now….Enjoy the riches while we have them….
A MAJOR asset of Lance, not mentioned, is his very strong arm.
He has physical traits that Purdy never will.
Due to injuries and other factors, he’s not yet had a chance to show what he can do.
Relative to Purdy, Lance has a higher ceiling, and a lower floor.
I’d like to see Lance start for the first 10 games of the season (unless he is really bad).
I like Purdy. A lot.
However, this is the last chance to see what Lance can do, before a 5th-year option decision would be made.
I don’t buy that Trey’s strong arm and running ability give him a higher potential upside than Brock.
I’d go with Brock instead, because of what’s inside his head and his heart. This matters much more than how far you can throw the ball. Come on, this is the team that won its first Lombardis with Joe Montana. Didn’t that teach us anything, or has it simply been too long, and memory has faded?
Also, I question Trey’s vaunted running ability. Reminds me of when Alex Smith was drafted. We heard a lot of stuff in the offseason about how he could run. By the time he took the field in a real game, I was expecting the second coming of Steve Young. Ha, nope.
What a joke. It turned out that Alex was not a great runner despite all the buildup. He had skinny little legs and looked awkward on the run. From what I’ve seen of Lance so far, he’s not a great runner either. He can move, but there’s no shiftiness, no escapability, say along the lines of a Russell Wilson.
Although Brock is my starter, I am pulling for Trey Lance too, because I’m a 49er fan and for him to succeed would mean Shanahan’s gamble paid off, and the team wins big.
gw,
You seem to have forgotten 1/14/12. One of the greatest QB runs in 49er history. Smith looked like a pretty good runner that day. imho
A definite career high point. Alex was running for only 10-12 yards in a typical game. He cannot be described as a running QB. With defenses keying on other plays, they can be surprised once in a while.
Many people talk about Lances arm strength but that’s meaningless if he’s not accurate. Purdy can and has thrown many deep passes. So if Lance can throw 10 yards deeper, that worth something but not much with his accuracy issues. Lance has a way to go before he can hold out any hope of beating out Purdy.
Is Purdy accurate? Yes, at this point more so than Lance.
But if you get a chance, watch his game against the Raiders. Especially, pay attention to his passes to George Kittle.
If I could use one word to discribe those passes to Kittle it would, “ouch!”
If I could find a weakness in Brock’s game, it would be that he tries to force passes. Accuracy issues certainly can cause problems, but so can forcing throws, as seen in one pass to Kittle that went for an Int. I certainly hope that Purdy can correct this with more playing time.
But like Lance, he’s young enough to learn.
Well of course. It’s highly unlikely that he’s reached his peak after 8 games. I’d expect him to improve this year and next at a minimum. The great thing about Purdy isn’t that he was perfect because he wasn’t, it’s that he was so damn good as a rookie starter. There should be much upside going forward as he learns from his mistakes.
No argument here. But, I also said that Lance has the opportunity to correct some issues as well, because he’s still young and pliable.
For my part, Purdy has to prove himself more-so in year two. Defensive Cordinators will be much more vigilant of him this season. DCords now know that if you disrupt Purdy it will likely disrupt the entire offense.
It makes for an interesting upcoming season.
Lance has never been considered to be a shifty runner. I’m not sure why you’re commenting on it. Lance is a strong runner. He’s not Lamar Jackson or Michael Vick as a runner. He never was. He’s Cam Newton, Josh Allen or maybe John Elway as a runner….not elusive but strong and pretty fast in a straight line. But all three and Lance have cannons for arms too.
I don’t think he lacks leadership, that was never a knock on him coming out of college. The issue is the organization attempted to take the reigns from jimmy and give them to Lance. No surprise the team didn’t back the move. Brock replace an injured Jimmy, more of an organic opportunity.
There is a big difference between a teenager leading other teenagers and a 20yo trying to lead grown men. imho
Yes there is a difference..but you can’t take the job of a proven winner and give it to the 20yr because you want to save money…then blame the kid because grown men don’t want to follow him.
Coach,
That may be true. But there have been many older players that can’t lead grown men, as well. One, Jeff George comes to mind. Jay Cutler was an above QB, and towards the end of his career he was not a leader on men.
I think back to Josh Allen’s rookie year. He had 12 games under belt, and was nowhere near a leader of men. BTW, he was 5-7 with a completion percentage of a little over 52.
And I say this, because in Lance’s case, he has not played enough to be able to establish himself as a leader.
Also, the best player doesn’t always need to be a leader to win in sports. We have witnessed this in our own backyard with Stephen Curry. Draymond Green is the leader of the Warriors.
Again, and again, we haven’t seen enough of Lance to make a qualified assessment.
Aes,
I agree with you about not needing to be a leader to QB in the NFL. I don’t see Aaron Rodgers as a leader or Jared Goff. I believe there are many others I could name if I took the time to think about it. My original post said nothing about Lance not being good enough to start for the 9ers I was just contradicting Jacks assertion that leadership was one of the three things Lance does well. I don’t see him as a natural leader but if he can improve his accuracy he could compete for the starting QB spot.
I hear you, Coach. It’s all good.
I’m looking forward to TC when many questions will be answered.
The biggest battle I’m keeping my eyes on is between Darnold and Lance and the two rookie LBs Winters and Graham.
I like Lance as a young man, but, and some will take issue with this, imo it’s a little early to anoint him as the starter on any NFL team. Many talk about his “high ceiling,” but what is this based on? His strong arm, big body, and “athleticism,” whatever that means. And he is not a running qb, btw, which I remember Old Coach being perhaps the first to state a few years ago on this blog. I believe it was Shoup who voiced the same opinion a few days ago. To be frank, production-wise there isn’t much except one year in a minor college division. In the NFL, you can count the games he started or came in for relief with the five fingers on your hand, and in none of them did he demonstrate consistent accuracy. He impressed in one, two seasons ago against a weak Houston team. I’m not writing this to demean him but to be factual. It seems to me that the explanation for the signing of Darnold was obvious. His resurrecting his career here isn’t a given, and I don’t know if he’ll beat out Lance for the second qb spot, but I think it will be a small miracle if he doesn’t. If there’s a tie, then I think you have to give the spot to him based on his experience and demonstrated ability to lead receivers. Thank goodness for Purdy.
George,
Very good points. But if may, I would ask, what do you think made the 49ers give up so much to draft him?
I agree that his college career had a very small sample size. But, that said, the 49ers apparently felt that Lance could be molded into a top rated nfl QB.
Imo, I don’t think that the 49ers have abandoned that vision.
Since, I’ve pretty much exhausted this topic, I’ll just leave it at this, let’s see what Lance can do in TC now that he’s fully healthy.
AES, they fell in love with him for some reason or reasons I wouldn’t try to guess at. If they wanted a true running qb, Fields was there, from a major conference with more experience and demonstrated accuracy in throwing long. I’ll never forget Ohio State/Clemson in that semifinal game.
AES,
It would be very difficult for any QB to prove himself if KS continues with his normal game plans in the preseason. He plays his 1st string as little as any coach in football. Can looking good with and against backups win a starting QB job. There are so few full contact practices and practices are so short I don’t know how a coach can make that decision.
Coach,
I never made a comment that Lance would be the starting QB. In fact, I’ve made it quite clear that Purdy is, ” the guy” in reference to Jeff Garcia’s term.
When it comes to Lance, I only want to see him play when healthy. This may likely take place in TC and preseason, if Purdy is not ready.
On a positive note, NFL Network is reporting that Pudy is flying out to Florida to begin throwing for a couple weeks. Hopefully, he’s ready to go in TC.
The obvious answer is the big arm and mobility. Many fans think of QB mobility like Lamar Jackson and Michael Vick. Take it to the house QB scrambling. But there’s more to QB mobility than gashing the defense for huge rushing gains. There’s mobility for moving the pocket around (roll outs, bootlegs…etc.) and for keeping the pass rushers honest (backside roll out keeps backside rushers from crashing down into the backfield against the wide zone run play).
Now as to Lance specifically coming out of college? He threw deep and he protected the ball: 28 TDs ZERO INTs in 2019. North Dakota State ran an offense that was much simpler but similar to Shanahan’s play action heavy scheme. So there was some familiarity for Lance moving up from N. Dakota State’s scheme to Shanahan’s scheme. So big arm, mobility, scheme familiarity and didn’t turn the ball over. Plus Shanahan’s burning desire for his own Josh Allen….a mobile QB with a big arm.
The comp for Lance is somewhere between Josh Allen and John Elway…..maybe Cam Newton in his prime.
I think the real competition is between Lance and Darnold, still part of me would like to see Lance play a few regular season games to at least improve his trade value.
AES,
Is Fla where he and Mahomes QB coach resides?
Coach,
Here’s the official report.
@TomPelissero
#49ers QB Brock Purdy is headed to Jacksonville today to throw the next couple weeks with QB coach Will Hewlett and ortho specialist Tom Gormely — another sign Purdy is progressing through his rehab following elbow surgery and remains on track to be ready for the 2023 season.