Impressive rookie QB Trey Lance thrilling 49ers, worrying the rest of the NFL.
The 49ers do not have a quarterback controversy.
They do not have a quarterback quandary, or even a quarterback competition.
Those things can be annoying and divisive.
That’s not what the 49ers have. What they do have is a quarterback opportunity, which makes them the envy of the rest of the league.
Opportunity is knocking, enthusiastically, like the guy who just found out you’re dating his girlfriend. The 49ers could be on to something big here.
Trey Lance is looking better than the 49ers expected and hoped he would at this very early point in training camp. Reports are that he seems surprisingly comfortable, especially for a young man with very limited college experience, learning a system that has to seem like advanced calculus compared to his Algebra 1 college system.
Lance won’t make the Hall of Fame, or the starting lineup, on the strength of the long touchdown pass he threw in a training camp practice Tuesday, but it was an encouraging progress milestone.
Lance is dialed in, he is working hard and he is cool. So far he has skipped over the part where Kyle Shanahan reports to the media, Trey threw some interceptions today, and he is still in the early stages of learning the system, and it will take him time to get used to the speed of the NFL game, but that’s to be expected.
In a relatively short time, the dynamic has shifted.
This is no longer about the 49ers’ awkward dance with a lameduck starting quarter
back and a deerinheadlights rookie. Now the problem has shifted to the 49ers’ opponents, who were hoping this season would be a bumpy, klunky transition, costing the 49ers a precious year of the George Kittle/Nick Bosa/Fred Warner window of opportunity.
Now the worry for the 49ers’ foes is, what if Shanahan just took his offensivegenius game up to the next level by drafting a legskills quarterback? Oldtimers remember that Bill Walsh was considered a clever and innovative fellow, but he was not upgraded to genius until he plugged Joe Montana into the innovative system.
That’s not to say Lance is the next Montana, but he’s also not the next James Wiseman. The Warriors gambled on drafting the superin experienced Wiseman, hoping he would develop quickly and provide the missing link to the next championship.
Wiseman might yet be that guy, but it’s going to take a while. Lance might not need as long to develop into a key cog in an elite machine. The Warriors are still sold on Wiseman’s physical skills and his desire, but they don’t yet know if he’s a basketball play
er, if he has a feel and instinct for the game that is the difference between a guy and an AllStar.
The 49ers are getting the sense that Lance is a football
player, not just a super athlete who plays football.
The challenge now is bringing Lance along without letting the situation suck all the oxygen out of the room. Shanahan has shown a deft touch, wisely avoiding two pitfalls that can cause a quarterback competition to become a problem.
One, Shanahan has avoided the cliche of annoyance at the media. Many coaches’ default response to any questions about a quarterback duel is to bristle and blame the media for fanning flames of controversy (which we can do, it’s part of the fun). Shanahan knows he’d look foolish by going allin to draft a dynamic, running quarterback, then chafe at questions about when the new guy will start.
Two, Shanahan has been honest with his players. He let it be known from the start that Lance is the 49ers’ future and Jimmy Garoppolo is the capable and valued placeholder. That seems obvious, but some coaches would tapdance and try to avoid hurt feelings.
The players appreciate Shanahan’s direct approach. Nobody has to take sides in the locker room. Everyone likes Jimmy, and understands that he is not getting jerked around by a wishywashy coach.
The players are getting to like Lance, they still appreciate Garoppolo, and they seem excited about the dynamic stuff this twoheaded quarterback has the potential to produce.
Now it looks like the timetable for Lance has progressed to the point where he is likely to see spot duty early in the season, as a situational threat.
Picture it: Hot day at Levi’s Stadium, late in the game, the opposing defense gassed, the last thing they want to see is a fresh Lance trotting onto the field.
Yeah, the education and development of Trey Lance is not the 49ers’ problem. It’s the other guys’ problem, and the 49ers’ opportunity. Knockknock.