Trey Lance has his critics after struggling for the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1. Boomer Esiason is one of the naysayers about the Niners’ starter.
Esiason who, as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, lost Super Bowl XXXIII to the Joe Montana and Jerry Rice-inspired 49ers, assessed Lance after the latter’s shaky performance against the Chicago Bears. Boomer’s assessment led to an interesting comparison with one of the 49ers’ NFC West rivals, Arizona Cardinals starter Kyler Murray.
It’s not exactly a flattering comparison, but Esiason also outlined how Lance can avoid making the same mistakes as Murray. Avoiding those mistakes can save Lance from being hooked by Week 3 in favor of former starting signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo.
Lance Should Avoid Murray Comparison
Esiason, who also spent time with the New York Jets and Cards during his 14 seasons as a player, discussed Lance during an episode of 95.7 The Game’s Kickoff With Boomer & Valenti.
The discussion led Esiason to liken the erratic early showings in Lance’s career, which “look like he is playing the game with his hair on fire,” to Murray’s up and down performances:
“Trey just doesn’t look ready to me. He looks like he is playing the game with his hair on fire & he’s a little to inaccurate for my liking. You can run around & make plays, but like Kyler Murray has proven, it doesn’t win games.”
@7BOOMERESIASON on Kickoff with Boomer & Valenti
Those are strong words about two young quarterbacks who play the game in a different way to how Esiason plied his trade. Murray and Lance are more mobile, better natural athletes who trust their core physical tools to get them out of trouble and manufacture big plays from losing positions.
When it works they make magic, like when Murray connected with DeAndre Hopkins on the famed ‘Hail Murray’ play against the Buffalo Bills in 2020:
The Hail Murray is the 2020 @Bridgestone Clutch Performance Play of the Year! #NFLHonors @K1 @DeAndreHopkins
Lance is no stranger to ad-libbed moments of brilliance. He even managed to produce one of those amid his struggles against the Bears.
The play occurred in a clutch situation on 3rd-and-long and was highlighted by Akash Anavarathan of SB Nation’s Niners Nation:
The subtle pocket movement from Trey Lance is so encouraging. 3rd-and-10, need a throw to keep the chains moving.
Keeps his eyes downfield, subtly steps up in the pocket to avoid Robert Quinn and hits Ross Dwelley right at the sticks for a first down.
The problem with this freelancing style is it doesn’t fit the percentages. For every one of plays like these, Lance and Murray will miss on four or five attempts to conjure something from nothing.
It’s one reason why Lance is considered to be on shaky ground for his bid to unseat Garoppolo permanently. Completing just 13 of 28 passes in Chicago hardly helped Lance’s case to keep the job, but Esiason doesn’t think another change is on the horizon just yet.
Scheme Can Help Lance Make the Grade
The key to Lance making the grade as Garoppolo’s successor won’t be his playing style, but the scheme the 49ers design around him. Fortunately, Esiason believes head coach Kyle Shanahan will furnish his young quarterback with the right plays to help him thrive.
A lot of those plays will be dependant on Lance’s ability to “gain yards on the ground.”
“I think a poor game against Seattle then the change may come, but I don’t think Kyle will allow that. I think he is going to give Trey a lot of easy throws & use his athleticism in the offense to gain yards on the ground.”
@7BOOMERESIASON on Kickoff with Boomer and Valenti
Lance showed off his flair as a runner by amassing 54 yards on 13 attempts in Week 1. Those gains were a reminder of the dual-threat skills that made him worthy of being drafted third overall in 2021.
Murray’s similar athleticism made him the first-overall pick two years earlier. While he’s still a work in progress, Murray has earned two Pro-Bowl nods and taken the Cardinals from 3-13 in 2018 to the playoffs last season.
The 49ers would surely settle for the same from Lance. Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have staked their reputations on Lance being a success, so they’ll continue to work on ways of making the starter more comfortable.
Some may resent a team having to make so many allowances for a player the 49ers traded three first-round picks to draft, but Lance’s skill-set doesn’t fit the traditional expectations for quarterbacks. Fortunately, Shanahan proved he can build an offense around a running passer when he helped make Robert Griffin III NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012.
The formula didn’t last, but it does represent the blueprint for the 49ers turning Lance into a prolific and winning starter.
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49ers’ Trey Lance Earns Unflattering Comparison to Former No. 1 Pick