Kyle Shanahan Explains Why Trey Lance is Ready to Start
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Jimmy Garoppolo has a chipped bone and a torn ligament in his right thumb, according to reports, and could miss the 49ers upcoming game against the Houston Texans, and maybe the rest of the season.
If Garoppolo doesn't play, then Trey Lance will start his second career game. Here's what head coach Kyle Shanahan said about Lance on Monday, courtesy of the 49ers public relations department.
How has Trey come along? We haven't seen him pass in about two months, so how ready is he to take over if Jimmy's not able to?
“I think this last month of Trey has been his been consecutive four weeks of practice since we've had him. He's had a number of good days and he's had some bad days, like most guys do, but as far as his consistency, I feel this last month has been his best.”
What we've heard is very positive things about how out Trey is practicing. Does it come to a little bit of a gray area where if Jimmy is cleared to play, but he might not be as effective as if he's a hundred percent, that you then have to make a decision on which quarterback gives you the better chance of winning?
“Yeah, if your starting quarterback can't throw it as good as he normally does, that always is a factor. I feel like if that was the case at any time this year, if Jimmy was struggling to throw it his best, I think we would've gone with Trey. So it all depends on where he is at, but I felt good to do that throughout the year.”
When you say Trey’s had the best four weeks since he’s been here, is that all scout team? Has he had any other work other than scout team?
“No, that is all scout team. But that's the same plays as us, but that just shows how consistently he's throwing the ball, how he's moving, his accuracy, his decisions, everything, and you have to do a lot of stuff. And try stuff you normally wouldn’t do all the time, not on scout team. And I think if you talk to the defensive coaches, defensive players or myself watching it, I think we'd all feel the same.”
What's been the reason that Trey Lance has been making the progress. You talk about Jimmy going to the right spots with the ball, is that what Trey's been doing? Has he been better in the pocket? What type of improvements have you seen from him over this past month?
“Throwing the ball better, making the right decisions better. I think he's gotten healthier too. Just coming out of the preseason, coming out of his first game, I think his body's been doing better, so all of the above. Each play is different. You don't just say, ‘Hey, one guy made good decisions. The other guy didn't,’ you'd have to watch practice and you'd have to talk about the practice, which I’m not going to totally evaluate each player over the phone.”
Trey Lance, hasn't talked to a reporter since October 10th when he played against the Cardinals. Is that in any way some sort of organizational decision to just have him focus on doing his job on eliminating quarterback talk or are you just like, what are you talking about?
“No, I just try to do things that I feel like is fair and the way that you guys normally would do stuff and the way we would normally do stuff. And when you guys are requesting him a bunch, I just asked how many times does the number two quarterback talks to the media during the week, and I was told none. So then I just said, ‘Well, just keep it that way.’ We don't need to make stuff up. I think it's hard when you get guys out there, especially a young guy, and you're asking him questions. And I get that you guys are asking him questions, but he's just working, going through practice. If you ask him what he is doing good, what he is doing bad, guys are just making up stuff now just trying to be polite and answer questions. And when you don't have a guy in that situation ever, in the past, or I wouldn't want a backup in the future doing that stuff because that's just not how you do it. You just set guys up for no reason. I don't think that's necessarily right for them to put them through that. They need to get ready for an NFL game, an NFL week. And when stuff in the media happens, like it does when they normally play, I'm all for that. I just don't think it's right to do just because of the draft status, if he's not playing.”
Trey Lance injured his finger in the preseason. Did that injury linger into the season at all? Did it affect him at all when he played earlier in the year?
“Yeah, I think so. I think anytime you have a broken bone in your finger, it's always going to affect how you throw. So it doesn't mean you can't do it, but it definitely is a challenge. And I think as the year has gone and it's healed up more, I think it's helped him.”
You guys were looking, obviously, to get one of the top quarterbacks in the draft, but I was curious how much you evaluated Texans QB Davis Mills and what you thought of him?
“Yeah, we evaluated him a good amount, especially being a local guy. And we were very impressed with him. Very good football player, can throw the ball well. I knew he had battled number of injuries coming out, gotten his opportunity this year and he looks the part. He's done a hell of a job for them.”
