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For one former NFL player, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is doing far too much with his play-calling.
The 49ers are now 2-3 after a disappointing 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, with a tough turnaround to face the Seattle Seahawks. On Wednesday, FS1 analyst Emmanuel Acho sounded off on Shanahan’s style of play-calling.
“It’s like Kyle Shanahan is coaching as if his dad is in the stands and he wants to make his dad proud,” Acho said. “He’s hooping like his ex is in the crowd and you know when you start dribbling the basketball all hard, so you can echo with the basketball on the hardwood? Kyle Shanahan is calling plays like he wants to show off.”
Those are strong words for a coach who has made two Super Bowl appearances in the past five seasons. But the Niners have dropped some surprising games this year, capped by the Cardinals defeat.
Acho didn’t stop there, also saying the team is will continue to struggle as long as Shanahan keeps getting in the way.
“The 49ers are in trouble until Shanahan gets out of his own way, because right now, he is in his own way,” Acho said. “He is what’s stopping this offense. … I need Shanahan to get out of his own way immediately.”
49ers Offensive Rankings
What Acho is specifically talking when he mentions Shanahan’s proclivity to “show off” isn’t clear. Shanahan may overcomplicate things, but the 49ers offense is still performing at a fairly high level despite the early-season struggles.
According to TeamRankings.com, San Francisco is 10th in the NFL in points per game with 25.2 a game. Further, they’re second in yards per game (407.4) and yards per play (6.3).
Where Shanahan and the 49ers offense deserves criticism is in the red zone. When San Francisco is in striking distance, they are only scoring touchdowns 40.9% of the time.
On top of that, the team is turning the ball over at a concerning rate. They are giving the ball away 1.6 times per game, which ranks 26th in the NFL.
Shanahan Comments on Second-Half Collapse
When the 49ers lost to the Cardinals last Sunday, they did so in an uncharacteristic way. San Francisco was leading 23-10 entering the fourth quarter and looked to be in the driver seat.
However, their final four drives ended with three turnovers and a failed fourth-down conversion. The Cardinals made the most of their opportunity to score and completed the comeback.
After the game, Shanahan was asked about RB Jordan Mason giving up a sack that led to QB Brock Purdy’s final interception. Shanahan defended Mason, saying that the RB had two blitzers to handle. He also made sure to say it was a comprehensive let-down by the entire offense in the fourth quarter.
“Yeah, I mentioned it after the game that, that’s not all on J.P. We all had our part. We had four possessions in the second half and we had three turnovers and one turnover on down. To make it come down to the last turnover is the easier way out. But that’s not the case,” Shanahan said on October 7.
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