“If we thought that would be the case, we’d do it,” he said. I’m going to leave out as much hope as you can until the last second to get a guy like George up.” “But you know how good of a player George is, so it’s alright we’re dealing with that. “It’s easier if you know, right away, because then you don’t have to sit and wonder and go plan A, B, C, and D,” Shanahan said. Given how important he is to both the run and the pass, it required Shanahan to spend time this week developing separate game plans depending on if he plays. He didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday before returning as a limited participant on Friday. Kittle’s availability for Sunday could be vital for the 49ers. Definitely as the game goes on, you get more comfortable with what they’re doing, how they’re playing.” So they slowly bring out more and more stuff they’ve worked on.
“People spent all offseason developing new stuff, they have a new staff, and things are just always evolving. “Early in the year, there’s not as much film,” Mack said. You can always line up Juice (Juszczyk) outside and if there’s a linebacker that follows him out there, it’s probably man-to-man coverage.”įrom a preparation standpoint, center Alex Mack pointed out that it’s still early in the season and defenses haven’t established their tendencies just yet. “It just gives us an opportunity to see how they’re adjusting to it. “That’s why most of our stuff has motions in it,” Kittle said. The 49ers had a number of passing plays where they dialed up routes for man coverage while Green Bay slipped into zones despite showing man coverage before the snap.įor San Francisco, the antidote comes in another calling card for their offense: pre-snap motion, which the 49ers have typically used at one of the highest rates in the NFL. Kittle said the Packers did a good job of disguising whether they were playing man or zone to defend the pass, in addition to plugging the edges to slow the outside zone running scheme. It led to the 49ers making adjustments at halftime, which seemed to work against Green Bay as San Francisco scored three touchdowns in the second half, including one from fullback Kyle Juszczyk that took the lead with 37 seconds remaining. Both teams also have new defensive coordinators this season with Jonathan Gannon in Philadelphia and Joe Berry with the Packers. Those teams disguised their looks and used tactics they didn’t put on film previously. Kittle, who is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks with a calf contusion, said after Sunday night’s loss the Packers were doing things defensively the 49ers weren’t prepared for, which was a similar story to the Eagles’ approach the previous week.