Lance finds admirer in his debut vs. Chiefs

SANTA CLARA » Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid knows a thing or two about great quarterback play.

Between coaching Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, Alex Smith, and now, Patrick Mahomes, Reid’s reputation as a quarterback whisperer and alltime great offensive mind is unquestioned. Reid is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and is as responsible for the style of offense in the modern NFL game as any coach in the league.

And when I asked him about 49ers’ rookie quarterback Trey Lance after Saturday’s preseason opener, he beamed.

“You’re in good hands,” Reid said, a statement meant for the 49ers and their fans.

Trust me, the quotes don’t do Reid’s smile justice.

“He’s a good player,” Reid continued. “He looked poised and composed — and he had a nice play on that firecracker there.”

Yes, while Lance’s box score

from his NFL debut in the 49ers’ preseason opener against the Chiefs doesn’t read as all that impressive — 5 of 14, 128 yards, one touchdown, four sacks against — it certainly impressed Reid.

That “firecracker” — Lance’s 80-yard (45 in the air) touchdown throw to Trent Sherfield — will leave that kind of impression.

Reid’s also familiar with the peculiarity of the 49ers’ quarterback situation. Before the Niners paired Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, Reid was the coach who decided to throw caution to the wind, punt their professional but limited veteran quarterback (Alex Smith), trade up in the draft, and take a flyer on an unproven college QB.

Of course, Mahomes’ first full season as a starter after a year on the bench resulted in an MVP award. His second, a Lombardi Trophy. His success has also ushered in a spread offense revolution throughout the NFL.

Now, teams around the league are taking after Reid, who, instead of trying to make Mahomes fit into his West Coast-style NFL offense, tailored that offense to integrate the Air Raid concepts that Mahomes ran at Texas Tech.

The NFL now even has a team that runs Air Raid full time — the Arizona Cardinals.

Lance isn’t a square peg trying to fit into a round hole, but that “firecracker” throw showed the melding of the rookie’s college offense at North Dakota State — which shares many core tenets with Shanahan’s — and the Niners’ attack.

So many of Lance’s throwing touchdowns for the Bison came off under-center play-action looks where Lance could throw it over defenders who bit on the play fake, even for a second.

The deep throws not only scored touchdowns, but they also stretched the field for the North Dakota State run game.

Especially when Lance is allowed to run read-option looks — the Niners have installed a ton of those plays in Training Camp practice — the field will open up for him.

Shanahan is ready to unleash it. The foundation has been set.

The Niners’ head coach runs more “21” personnel plays (two backs, one tight end) than anyone in the NFL. But Saturday on more than half of Lance’s snaps, Shanahan used “11” personnel (three wide receivers) — the ideal set for spread-offense, read-option runs.

For now, Lance is being asked to be a pocket passer. Shanahan doesn’t want teams to have tape on the good stuff.

But Reid sees through Shanahan’s ploy. Even with the incomplete passes and four sacks Lance took, he was pushing the ball downfield. That’s how you need to play the game in 2021. It’s what Kansas City, aiming to go to a third-straight Super Bowl, does better than anyone.

For now, at least.