By: Andy Davies

The San Francisco 49ers are one of the most successful franchises in NFL history. Only the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers (both 6) have more Super Bowl wins than the 49ers (5). The 49ers’ five Super Bowls all came between the years of 1981 and 1994. They have lost two since, in the 2012 and 2019 seasons. The quarterbacks that led the 49ers to the Lombardi Trophy were Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young. Three of those five wins saw Montana as the starter and Young as the backup.

Young is seen by many as the best backup quarterback in history, considering the gold jacket that he earned despite many years as the backup to Montana. He would win a Super Bowl as the starter after the franchise moved on from Montana. Ever since Young decided to hang up his cleats, the 49ers have struggled to find his replacement. Have they found the guy in Trey Lance?

Perhaps, but here is why the quarterback situation involving Lance and current starter Jimmy Garoppolo could prevent the 49ers from winning the NFC West during the 2021 season.

Struggles Since Young

Jeff Garcia was the man to come in for Young. During his five seasons in the Bay, he threw for 113 touchdowns and 56 interceptions as well as 16,408 passing yards. He had a 35-36 record as a starter for the 49ers in the regular season and a 1-2 record in the postseason, meaning he never hit the heights of his predecessor.

Alex Smith was the number one overall pick in 2005, shattering Aaron Rodgers’ dreams. However, he was a good quarterback, not a great quarterback. Colin Kaepernick replaced Smith and took the 49ers to the Super Bowl. They ended up losing to the Baltimore Ravens in a game often called the ”˜Blackout Bowl’. Kaepernick failed to live up to the standards he set that season.

He would be kicked out of the league for taking the knee in a protest against police brutality in 2016. He has not played a snap in the NFL since. Jimmy Garoppolo was traded from the Patriots to the 49ers midway through the 2017 season. He gave hope to the organization after winning all five of the games he started in 2017. The fanbase had hope going into the 2018 season.

Many non-49ers fans had San Francisco down as their dark horse for the season. A season-ending injury to Garoppolo in Week 3 saw the starting role shared between Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard. However, the 49ers finished 4-12 as they went into 2019 with the second overall pick. Nick Bosa was selected and transformed the defense of San Francisco and Jimmy G had the best season of his career. He threw for 3,978 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Despite these stats, Garoppolo saw his production limited in the NFC Championship game as the coaching staff decided to use more of their running game. This led to many questions leading to the Super Bowl. The 49ers threw away a ten-point lead in the fourth quarter as they would end up losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 54.

Garoppolo was criticized heavily for an overthrown pass to Emmanuel Sanders that would have given San Francisco back the lead. His 2020 season saw a mixture of poor form and injury. During the 2021 offseason, the 49ers traded up with the Miami Dolphins to gain the number three overall pick. They took Lance with the pick, showcasing their intentions to eventually move off from Garoppolo. There is now talk of whether San Francisco and head coach Kyle Shanahan will start Lance in week one. The other scenarios discussed are either Lance coming in mid-season or sitting out the whole campaign as the backup to Garoppolo. The uncertainty will have a significant impact on the 49ers’ season.

The Strength of the NFC West

This is a problem that will affect all four teams in the best division in the NFL. There is a chance that all four teams can make the playoffs. Los Angeles has an exciting new quarterback in 2009 first overall pick Matthew Stafford. Both the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals have quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray that they would never dream of trading away. Meanwhile, the 49ers’ starting quarterback is largely unpopular by fans, due to a mixture of the overthrown pass in the Super Bowl, his poor 2020 campaign and his injury record.

San Francisco has the least trusted quarterback in the division. With the position being one of the most crucial in all sports, it does not bode well for a team when there is uncertainty in the position. Garoppolo may be benched at some point during the season for Lance. However, the 49ers would be putting a rookie that will still be learning the system into the toughest division in the NFL.

Learning From Mahomes, Jackson, Tua and Burrow

If San Francisco are to help Lance succeed, they will need to take some lessons from recent draft classes. Patrick Mahomes, widely seen as the best quarterback in the league, spent all but one game of his 2017 rookie season as a backup to Alex Smith. The Chiefs then traded Smith the following offseason and Mahomes has never looked back. In his first three full seasons as a starter in the NFL, he has reached two Super Bowls, winning one. He has also been crowned MVP and Super Bowl MVP and reached three successive AFC Championship games. All three have been at home. On the flip side, 2020 first overall pick Joe Burrow started in week one of his rookie year. He wouldn’t last the season, only playing ten games before injury curtailed his first NFL campaign. He was impressive before his injury but there are no guarantees he will be the same player when he returns.

Lamar Jackson was a backup to Joe Flacco during his 2018 rookie year but won the starting role midseason. He has since gone on to win an MVP award and is the future of the franchise. Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins brought Tua Tagovailoa in mid-season but he struggled in his rookie season. He is seen to already be on the hot seat, with many feeling the Dolphins rushed him in. These examples all show there are reasons for the 49ers to be hasty when it comes to choosing when to bring Lance into the starting role.

Lance Or Garoppolo In 2021?

The 49ers will have to decide soon who their starter will be in 2021. Considering Lance has only played one full season (2019), he is likely to start the season as the backup. He only threw for a combined total of 31 passing attempts, two touchdowns and 1 interception across the 2018 and 2020 seasons, albeit the latter campaign being disrupted by the pandemic. He is likely to be a work in progress but his 28 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in 2019 mean that he is one for the future.

Garoppolo will likely start in week one but it was clear from the NFC Championship game that Shanahan doesn’t completely trust him.

Jimmy G is a capable quarterback but his health is a concern. Expect Garoppolo to remain as the starter provided the 49ers are winning games but for Lance to come in should Garoppolo either be injured or start the season poorly.

Should this happen, this will be the end of Garoppolo’s time in San Francisco. Depending on timing, he will then be traded either before the deadline or in the 2022 offseason.

Can The 49ers Returning Players Avoid A Repeat Of 2020?

This is key if the 49ers are to challenge for both the NFC West and the NFC. After earning the number one seed and reaching Super Bowl 54 during the 2019 campaign, San Francisco finished 6-10 in 2020 and bottom of the division. A ”˜Super Bowl Hangover’ played its part but the main cause of such a decline was down to a colossal amount of injuries the team suffered. Along with the aforementioned Garoppolo, the 49ers also saw Bosa, Dee Ford, George Kittle, Raheem Mostert, Deebo Samuel and Solomon Thomas miss large chunks of the 2020 season due to injury.

San Francisco had 33 players reported questionable and there were 186 occasions when the 49ers reported a player on injured reserve. They had the second-most injuries of any team in the NFL over the past twenty years. Should all these players come back, then this 49ers roster will be one of the best in the league. This will make life much easier for whoever the San Francisco starting quarterback is.

However, from the strength of the division to the uncertainty at quarterback, San Francisco will find it tough to win the NFC West.

The post Why the QB situation may prevent the 49ers from winning the NFC West appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Drew Feinberg

The NFC West has quickly become one of the most intriguing divisions to follow throughout the entire NFL. With high-powered offenses, hard-hitting defenses and some of the biggest stars in the game, there’s a reason you see NFC West teams so often on primetime games. Not only the on-field talent shines bright in this division; the NFC West is home to arguably the best group of head coaches in the entire league: Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Kliff Kingsbury and Pete Carroll.

From the youngest head coach in the league (McVay, 35) to the oldest (Carroll, 69), the NFC West has it all. Most or all of the current NFC West head coaches are known as “football geniuses” and for good reason; they are all among the most innovative play-callers and leaders in the league. However, because this is the internet, one has to be the best, and that, my friends, is what I’m here today to do.

Which coach will reign supreme? Who will be the head coach standing on top of the mountain? Let’s begin ranking the four coaches from worst to best. 

4. Kliff Kingsbury

Kingsbury has had an up-and-down start to his tenure as the Arizona Cardinals head coach.  Prior to his promotion to the NFL, Kingsbury served as head coach of Texas Tech University from 2013 to 2018 where he coached future NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. Before that, Kingsbury was the offensive coordinator for Texas A&M University where he served as the offensive coordinator for Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel during his historic 2012 season. 

The thing is, while Kingsbury’s track record may be impressive on paper, he has had trouble winning games; a pretty important aspect to keeping your job in the NFL. His record at Texas Tech was 35-40 and he currently boasts a head coaching record of 13-18-1; a somewhat pedestrian record for an “offensive genius”.

Kingsbury has the potential to soar up this list with the roster the Cardinals are building. Arizona’s Kyler Murray-led air raid offense will be in its third year, and Murray will be in his second year with star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

There’s no doubt Kingsbury is a creative football mind who has risen through the ranks to NFL head coaching quickly. Ranked amongst head coaches from other NFL divisions, Kingsbury would surely rank higher than fourth. However, the question of whether or not he is the leader the Arizona Cardinals need is still up in the air.

3. Sean McVay

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay was hailed as the next great offensive mind after he was hired as the youngest head coach in NFL history back in 2017. McVay has had his fair share of highs and lows since his hiring, as he made it to the Super Bowl in his second year as a head coach. Ever since making that Super Bowl, practically every person who coached under McVay has left for their own head coaching gig, leaving McVay to pick up the pieces each season. 

It’s really tough ranking McVay so low on this short list, considering he is easily a top 10 head coach in the entire league. However, I guess that just goes to show how good this division is. McVay’s style is fairly simple. Run the ball and use play-action. While the concept seems so simple to counter, many NFL defensive coordinators have tried and failed.

While seeing his fair share of struggles, McVay has led the Rams to four winning seasons in as many years. With such an impressive resume, why don’t I have him ranked higher, you ask? Well, for starters, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has won a Super Bowl, and McVay hasn’t; and 49er’s head coach Kyle Shanahan has a 5-3 record against McVay since 2017.

Not a knock on McVay’s abilities at all, moreso an illuminate on how good Carroll and Shanahan are.

2. Pete Carroll

Carroll ranks third amongst active coaches in total wins, with 145. In his ten seasons as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Carroll and star quarterback Russell Wilson led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title in 2013, and an NFC Championship in 2014. The man is a walking Hall of Famer.

While he most likely will be seen on the sidelines chewing gum, with a whimsical smile on his face, Carroll has been the poster boy for being a leader in the NFL. He’s a defensive innovator who gets guys to want to play for him; a seemingly difficult task in the league. 

Carroll, however, is not a perfect head coach. He has a knack for being a risky play-caller, which occasionally pays off in his favor. However, when it doesn’t it costs him a Super Bowl title. More recently, Carroll has been criticized for “letting Russ cook” or “not letting Russ cook enough”. Everybody in the NFL is subject for criticism, but overall Carroll exudes consistency. 

Why is he not ranked first on this list, you might ask? Despite an eight year streak of winning seasons, and a Super Bowl ring, time will soon catch up to Carroll. He is the elder statesman in the division, and there is one coach who I believed snatched the crown right from Carroll’s head. There is no doubt in my mind that Carroll is a top 10, even top five head coach in the NFL. However, when ranked strictly within the NFC West, one coach reigns supreme.

1. Kyle Shanahan

Move over McVay, the NFC West has a new offensive guru. Over his four seasons as head coach of the San Francisco 49er’s, Shanahan has been touted as the best play designer in the NFL; and for good reason. 

Before his hiring in San Francisco, Shanahan served as offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons in 2016, where he helped lead quarterback Matt Ryan to an MVP win and Super Bowl appearance. Since being hired in San Francisco, Shanahan has brought an innovative, unseen style to the NFL, and has changed the way the game is played. 

Boasting a new-age, run first offense, Shanahan led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance in 2019, seemingly the only healthy season the Niners have had under Shanahan. There is no denying Shanahan’s level of football genius. It was on display during the 2019 NFC Championship game, where Shanahan correctly predicted a flag that has yet to occur. 

While only 40, and with two Super Bowl appearances under his belt, Shanahan will surely have more success as a head coach in the NFL. The scary thought for other coaches around the NFL, and in the NFC West particularly, is that Shanahan will only get smarter. He will mature as a coach, and it will only make his opponents more confused when he outsmarts them further. Shanahan is a different beast and my top head coach in the NFC West.

The post Ranking the NFC West Coaches appeared first on Pro Football Mania.