Getty Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo before a 49ers preseason game on August 29.
The San Francisco 49ers preseason has come and gone, and as fans anxiously wait for the real games to begin, they abide their time by throwing random thoughts into the vast universe of Twitter.
And after Thursday’s, Aug. 25, lopsided 17-0 loss against the Houston Texans, a great deal of those social media discussions revolved around quarterback Trey Lance’s performance during the preseason finale
Lance himself wasn’t concerned about his outing of 7-for-11 passing with 49 yards during his 22 snaps on that winless night and took the loss in stride.
“Some ups and downs, for sure,” Lance said following the game. “It never feels good to lose, but I’m going to learn from it, turn the page.”
Enter all the fans and Bay Area media who believe that based on preseason and training camp, it should be quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo leading the charge during the 2022 regular season.
And as of Aug. 27., Garoppolo is still with the 49ers.
Preseason words
During and following the loss, Twitter was heating up with fresh takes from armchair warriors regarding particular plays and bringing up Garoppolo’s current status with the team.
That face you make when you realize Trey Lance isn’t ready for the NFL.. but you already threw Jimmy G in the garbage like a big dope. #49ers
“The face you make when you realize Trey Lance isn’t ready for the NFL,” someone tweeted. “But you already threw Jimmy G in the garbage like a big dope.”
“Trey Lance is going to make Jimmy G a rich guy here soon,” one person said. “I see nothing that suggests second year Trey Lance is ready to take over yet.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick on Trey Lance:
“He was the number 3 pick in draft for a reason.”
Me:
Some even used memes and gifs to get their opinion across.
Oh my god it wasn’t a joke Trey Lance actually sucks at football 😭
“Oh my god it wasn’t a joke,” someone put out there. “Trey Lance actually sucks at football.”
However, more fans and media members were quick to jump to Lance’s defense because, well, it was literally preseason.
“For Trey Lance – his feet are EVERYTHING,” one person said. “He’ll get there…”
My biggest takeaway after watching Trey Lance last night is the same takeaway I’ve had since the start of training camp
Be patient, because there will be growing pains
There are going to be plays, drives, and entire games that won’t look pretty, it’s all a part of the process
“My biggest takeaway after watching Trey Lance last night is the same takeaway I’ve had since the start of training camp,” another noted. “Be patient, because there will be growing pains. There are going to be plays, drives and entire games that won’t look pretty, it’s all part of the process.”
Trey Lance went 7/11 behind that atrocious offensive line and people want to push outlandish tweets. #ContextMatters
“Trey Lance went 7/11 behind that atrocious offensive line and people want to push outlandish tweets,” one person tweeted.
“He’s Just as Ready to Go as He Can Be”
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan had the second-year quarterback’s, well, back following the game.
“We’ve run out of those [preseason] games and he’s just ready to go as he can be,” Shanahan told the press.
Shanahan also explained why he decided to keep Lance in the game for three drives instead of two
“I would love to get Trey more practice and everything and more experience, so I would always want more of that,” he said. “He needs to get in these real games now and start playing and there’s going to be times he makes some mistakes and he has to learn from them and find a way to still win the game and overcome some of those things as he learns on the run. I’m glad he did get some experience in this preseason. Always wish he could have got more, but I’m glad that he came out healthy this year, where last year he came out with that broken pinky that did affect him.”