How Trey Lance and Kyle Shanahan can silence the critics

Here's the blueprint for how Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers can shut everyone up about Trey Lance for at least one week.

Is any of this fair? Not remotely. But it's the year 2022, and many people apparently expect greatness right out of the gate.

Lance and Shanahan need a big win Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Another loss, especially one that includes a poor performance from the young quarterback, would be very difficult to endure. Here's how the 49ers can silence their critics -- for at least one week.

Take 49ers legend Bill Walsh's advice

During the team's Week 1 loss to Chicago, Lance ran the ball 13 times -- leading the team. He ended up throwing 28 passes, completing 13 for 164 with no touchdowns and an interception. The rain largely kept the 49ers offense from attacking very often through the air.

However, one 49ers legend thinks Shanahan was trying to protect his young quarterback a bit too much. Steve Young, speaking with KNBR's Tolbert & Copes on Wednesday afternoon, was hoping to see more:

“Kyle was not expansive with the game plan for Trey. It wasn’t like here’s your coming out party. Not it was very, very careful, very reserved. Got to the 10-0 lead. At halftime Kyle probably thought to himself ‘perfection.’ Everything’s fine, let’s go close this down and then they got jammed up.

“It makes you wonder. I don’t know how you felt about Trey’s appearances last year. Not only were they few and far between, which to me if you were really grooming him you could’ve found spots for him to make more appearances. And then when he did appear, it felt like there were 15 quarterback runs. Like you never got the sense that they wanted to test the quarterback part of it.

“Let’s let the processing, the things that we have high confidence on, let’s get going. I think it was very kept. There’s no question that Kyle wants to be very, very careful here and he got caught at it. And I think he would probably admit it. ‘I wanted to be careful, get a lead, get our defense to squash ’em, and get out of town.’ And they got jammed up.”



The NFL is always evolving, and it's hard to win without adjusting on the fly. Some core concepts, however, remain true throughout the test of time.

One such concept, penned by the late, great Hall of Famer Bill Walsh, is firmly entrenched on that list: "My philosophy," Walsh wrote back in 1979, "has been to control the ball with the forward pass."

I grew up watching Walsh's offense shred opposing defenses on a weekly basis. His teams always found a way to run the ball effectively, but everything was predicated off of his passing attack.

Shanahan is known as a coach who has outstanding passing concepts that, before the play, look exactly like his running plays. He's also known for being one of the most innovative running-game schemers in the modern NFL. Every single year, his team is among the league's best in terms of running the ball.

But it's time to let it fly. It's time to give Lance the keys to the Ferarri, for real.

Brandon Ayiuk, step to the front of the line

We need to see Brandon Aiyuk take on the alpha role this Sunday. He's absolutely shredding dudes on the perimeter, and since midway through last season he's been unbelievable after the catch.

An absolute beast. A guy Lance seems to really have great chemistry with. A game-changer.

I'm a huge Deebo Samuel fan. And I hope to see him get more involved in the downfield passing game on Sunday. But if Lance is going to take his first real step toward superstardom, he and Ayiuk need to start taking games over.

They'll have a great chance on Sunday against the Seahawks. Seattle features a banged-up secondary and young, inexperienced cornerbacks. I'm expecting a big day from No. 11.



Feed Jordan Mason

The loss of starting running back Elijah Mitchell for the next eight weeks shines a spotlight on the 49ers' depth at this position. Thankfully, Shanahan makes it his life's work to find as many talented backs as possible and may have the answer in Jordan Mason, the undrafted rookie free agent out of Georgia Tech.

During the preseason, Mason looked like a top talent. He showed quickness, vision, decisiveness and has the talent Shanahan prizes above all others: He is a one-cut-and-go running back who hits top gear in a heartbeat.

I understand that Jeff Wilson Jr. is a tenured veteran who is trusted. He's going to play, and likely play a decent amount. 

That being said, I want to see a healthy dose of Mason on Sunday in the second half of the game. If the 49ers do follow my blueprint and highlight the passing game early, there should be plenty of opportunities to put the game away in the second half by pounding the rock down Seattle's throat.

And in that role, I see Mason as the team's best option.