Arians sees a bit of Harbaugh in offense
The winless 49ers’ record isn’t reminiscent of their recent glory days, but they’ve got this going for them: Their offense is similar to how it looked when they were winning under Jim Harbaugh.
At least that’s the opinion of Arizona head coach Bruce Arians, a two-time NFL Coach of the Year who shares an offensive bent with Harbaugh and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.
The 49ers are “a lot more like when Jimmy was there,” Arians said. “They’ve got an excellent offensive scheme that’s a proven winner.”
Arians, whose team will host the 49ers on Sunday, went 1-3 against the 49ers from 2013 through ’14 when Harbaugh was their head coach. Arians went 4-0 against the 49ers when they had Jim Tomsula (2015) and Chip Kelly (2016).
Kelly, of course, didn’t deviate from his no-huddle, uptempo offense last year, even though the 49ers’ lack of talent translated into a steady stream of short possessions. The 49ers ranked last in time of possession and 26th in points.
Arians said Shanahan has been successful because he isn’t married to a certain scheme.
“One thing he’s done extremely well everywhere he’s been is adapt to his players,” Arians said. “Don’t just systemize it. Put them in positions to be successful.”
The best example of Shanahan adjusting to his players came in 2012, when he tailored a zone-read scheme to highlight the dual-threat ability of rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III.
However, Shanahan prefers for his quarterbacks to play primarily from the pocket, which he noted in the offseason when explaining why the 49ers didn’t re-sign Colin Kaepernick.
As for the Cardinals, they signed former 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert, rather than Kaepernick. Gabbert, who also has running ability, is the No. 3 quarterback behind Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton. Gabbert has been inactive for each game this season.
Arians was asked if he was surprised Kaepernick remains unemployed.
“In the right system, he’s still a heck of a player,” Arians said. “I really don’t like talking about guys who are not on my team.” Injury report: Running back Carlos Hyde (hip) was limited in practice and Shanahan said he’s likely to remain limited throughout the week after he was injured in the first quarter of last Thursday’s loss to the Rams.
After missing some snaps in the first half, Hyde returned and finished with 84 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Hyde’s backups are undrafted rookie Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert.
In other injury news, three players who sustained concussions have been cleared for football activity, but not contact. Fullback Kyle Juszyzyk, linebacker Brock Coyle and safety Jaquiski Tartt wore noncontact jerseys in practice.
Inside linebacker Reuben Foster (ankle) didn’t practice, and Shanahan expects him to be sidelined throughout the week.