49ers in good spot for coach selection
The Atlanta Falcons played the Seattle Seahawks in an NFC semifinal Saturday in Atlanta, and the real winner was the San Francisco 49ers.
While five NFL franchises with head coaching vacancies have filled them, the 49ers are the only team still looking for a coach. As such, they’re the lone team patient enough to wait for a possible chance to hire Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan or his New England Patriots counterpart, Josh McDaniels. And now, assuming they’re willing to wait a bit longer, they could have their choice between the two.
If they can nab one of them, it would be the smartest thing the 49ers have done in quite some time.
Shanahan made his case — again — to be a head coach with the performance of the Falcons’ offence Saturday as they ousted the Seahawks from the playoffs with a 3620 triumph. Quarterback Matt Ryan threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns. Three different receivers had touchdown catches. Tailback Devonta Freeman added a touchdown run. Atlanta had touchdown drives of 99, 75 and 75 yards.
But as striking as it was to see that done against Seattle, it’s what Shanahan, Ryan, wide receiver Julio Jones and the Atlanta offence have done all season. The Falcons had the league’s highest-scoring offence during the regular season, and they simply carried that over into Saturday.
They will play in the NFC title game next Sunday, either at Dallas or at home against the Green Bay Packers, depending upon the outcome of Sunday’s other NFC matchup. Can the Falcons win? Sure they can. Their offence gives them a chance against anyone.
Their defence and special teams struggled at times Saturday. The defence looked shaky on an impressive early touchdown drive by the Seahawks but settled down from there. The Falcons took advantage of Seattle’s pitiable offensive line and harassed quarterback Russell Wilson into three sacks and two interceptions.
That is the sort of complementary defence that the Falcons must play, generating turnovers and allowing the offence to do the rest. They’re not good enough on that side of the football to go out and shut down opposing offences.