Shanahan vs. Belichick is a chess match
The Patriots’ coach says 49ers’ leader has ‘great offensive mind’
Let’s just get the infamous history out of the way. When they last met, four seasons ago in the Super Bowl, Kyle Shanahan’s offense built a 28- 3 lead over Bill Belichick’s defense.
Not that they need a reminder of the New England Patriots’ record comeback.
It was Shanahan’s final act as the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator before becoming the 49ers’ coach. So, yes, he knows what his 49ers (3- 3) are in for when they visit Belichick’s Patriots (2-3) today.
A constant chess match awaits between two of the NFL’S sharpest minds.
“When it’s not working, he’s always going to have a plan to adjust,” Shanahan said of Belichick. “So, the game never stops. You’ve always got to keep going, and hopefully you have more points than them when time runs out.”
Four seasons ago, the Patriots historically adjusted and won 3428 in Super Bowl LI in Houston.
Last season, Shanahan again saw a Super Bowl lead vanish in the fourth quarter, when the 49ers fell to the Kansas City Chiefs. Belichick, however, credited Shanahan for the monumental task of getting the 49ers onto that championship stage so fast.
“He’s shown pretty quickly in San Francisco how good he is and how quickly he put a great team on the field and took them to the top of the NFC,” Belichick said this week.
Belichick has faced Shanahan two other times, also when the latter was a coordinator rather than a head coach. Belichick won both of those meetings too — 34-27 in 2009 when Shanahan was running the Houston offense and 34-27 in 2011 when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator for Washington.
“Kyle has a great offensive mind,” Belichick said. “He really knows how to attack and stress a defense, puts the defense in compromising positions.”
Here are five ways the 49ers must succeed to improve to 3- 0 on the road:
1. TRACKING NEWTON >> Cam Newton is coming off a lousy game, after coming off a COVID-19 hiatus. Last Sunday, in an upset loss to Denver, he threw for 157 yards with two interceptions, four sacks and no touchdowns.
New ton’s passer rating has dropped weekly and he’s yet to throw more than one touchdown in a game with the Patriots. The last time Tom Brady went four straight games with no more than one touchdown pass was 2014.
What makes Newton so intimidating is he’s the Patriots’ leading rusher (225 yards) with five touchdown runs and a 5.0-yard-per-carry average.
The Patriots’ makeshift line will cause more scrambles, so the 49ers linebackers must be on the prowl.. Starting safeties Jimmie Ward (quadriceps) and Jaquiski Tartt (groin) are out and likely replaced by Tarvarius Moore and Marcell Harris; Johnathan Cyprien and Jared Mayden got called up from the practice squad Saturday.
2. RUN IT AGAIN >> The Patriots have allowed only one rushing touchdown all season. The 49ers must alter that.
What made the 49ers so efficient and 2019-like last Sunday was their ability to run so well, and that includes Jimmy Garoppolo’s short tosses to Deebo Samuel that officially counted as pass plays but are runs in Shanahan’s mind.
Raheem Mostert will be missed, again. He went on injured reserve Saturday with a high-ankle sprain, and the 49ers offense fell into a third- quarter rut without him last Sunday. Jerick Mckinnon needs to show he can regain the burst and play-making ability from his first few games this season.
Mixing in Jeff Wilson Jr. is a trusted choice, but the more enticing factor is to turn loose rookie JaMycal Hasty, whose speed and shiftiness fared well as a fourth- quarter closer last game.
3. KITTLE’S COHORTS >> Surely you heard how much Belichick raved about Kittle on Monday. All of it seemed sincere, all of it worthy. Obviously, the Patriots will try to con
tain the 49ers’ offensive catalyst and force others to beat them.
“I don’t think there’s anybody in the league that does everything overall as well as he does,” Belichick said of Kittle. “He doesn’t really have any weak points at all.”
Kittle said it was “awesome” to hear Belichick rave about him. But he knows he’s in for a challenging Sunday afternoon.
“Probably a lot of double teams, different coverages, and they’re going to throw a whole bunch of things to confuse us, maybe,” Kittle said. “You can game plan for so much, but, honestly, it’s going to be more of a reactionary thing out there.”
Samuel is coming off a fantastic game and looks hungry for more yards, either on the ground or finally on passes beyond the line of scrimmage.
Perhaps rookie Brandon Aiyuk (three touchdowns in five games) will gain extra motivation by seeing his Arizona State predecessor, N’keal Harry, on the other sideline.
Now would be a great time for Trent Taylor to emerge, and he showed signs last game with a spin move for a third-down conversion on their third touchdown drive.
4. MIND GAMES >> Garoppolo knows as well as Shanahan about the Patriots’ unpredictability under Belichick. For 3 1/2 years, Garoppolo worked “at a very high level” as Brady’s backup and their scout team quarterback, Belichick said.
What is the No. 1 rule going against a Belichick defense? “Is that a trick question,” Garoppolo initially responded.
“You’ve got to be on your toes,” Garoppolo continued. “Finding the safeties is a big part of it. They do a great job mixing and matching their DBS.
“At the end of the day, you’ve just got to play ball. They’ll do something we’re not prepared for and at the end of the day you’ve got to play ball.”
Two weeks ago against Miami, Garoppolo performed so poorly he was benched. No doubt his ankle injury was a significant factor in his
performance, but he will be facing a similar defensive scheme Sunday, Miami coach Brian Flores learned at the foot of Belichick.
“My ankle is feeling a lot better than the Miami week, so that will definitely help out,” said Garoppolo, adding that in-game adjustments will be key.
The 49ers have been outscored 6763 after halftime, 48-36 in the fourth quarter.
5. CORNERBACK COMPETITION >> The Patriots have not allowed more than 20 points in any of their three home games. If a shootout ensues, it will be fascinating to see how Garoppolo airs it out, considering last week’s super-short passing game and his two-interception disaster against the Dolphins.
Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore is the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year – a familiar title considering the 49ers just shut down Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, the 2017-18 POY. The Pats’ secondary is further loaded with brothers Jason and Devin McCourty, Adrian Philips and interception leader J.C. Jackson.
On the flip side, the 49ers stabilized their cornerback corps last game with the return of Emmanuel Moseley and the heroics of Jason Verrett, who made a fourth-down interception in the end zone. But the cornerback who might have the biggest task is Jamar Taylor. Aside from sealing the slot against runs by Newton, Taylor often will face veteran receiver Julian Edelman.
Edelman, a 12th-year veteran and Redwood City native, remains the Patriots’ most-targeted player, though he’s caught just 20 of 36 targets for 302 yards and no touchdowns. His 619 receptions are second in team history to Wes Welker, the 49ers’ current wide receivers coach.
“I think he’s still got it, personally,” 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. “He still can find a way to separate in the slot and he’s still hard to cover. … He’s had an unbelievable career and it’s still going.”