Aug 24, 20234 min read

Blame Game

Trey Lance is now Mr. QB3. Kyle Shanahan has announced that 2021 third overall pick, Trey Lance, will start the season behind Sam Darnold in the Niners depth chart. Only two years in and Trey Lance is setting himself up to be a flat out bust. Which has me prepared to play the blame game.

Remember it took three consecutive first rounders and a third rounder to move up and get Lance at pick 3 in the '21 draft? Now just two years later he is on the chopping block. John Lynch is looking like Sonny Weaver if he didn't change his gameplan in Draft Day. I'm here to play the blame game, and I blame Kyle Shanahan (and Lynch). Ya know what, he is overrated just like his daddy was. Want some fact? Both of them have no idea how to scout and develop QBs. Google Shanahan and the definition of overrated shows on the search result.

I won't sit here and write about these guys being over-rated in all terms of football- that would be cap. Both Mike and Kyle have strengths as coaches and are minds that earned opportunities to coach in the NFL. They just don't know sh** about QBs. More times than none.

John Elway was in Denver more than a decade before Mike Shanahan took the reigns as Head Coach in 1995. The pair won back to back Super Bowls in Elway's final two seasons before retiring. Elway was handed to Mike when the job was accepted. Mike Shanahan was in charge of drafting Elway's successor- he drafted Michigan's Brian Griese in the 3rd round of the 1998 draft. Griese had the privilege to sit a year behind SB winning QB and former MVP, Elway. That didn't matter as Griese was still only 27-24 as a Bronco & mustered only one Pro Bowl appearance.

Mike knew he wasn't good at drafting QBs, so he rarely did. In fact, they replaced Griese with a free agent in Jake Plummer. Plummer was Mike's Jimmy Garoppolo, and brief back brace. Denver was 39-15 with Plummer as the QB, solid but not great as they were 1-3 in the playoffs- including two blowouts courtesy of the Colts & Peyton Manning. This forced Mike to try the draft again. He drafted Jay Cutler... am I starting to make some sense? Here are the notable QBs drafted by Mike Shanahan:

Griese was a tier below mediocre. Cutler was mediocre. RGIII had a special rookie season, but Shanahan killed his potential when he played him hurt in the playoffs that year. Ruined him before he could even start. Shanahan also traded for Donovan McNabb way past his prime. His son Kyle, was with him in Washington. I bet that was when Kyle adapted Mike's ideology. Or lack there of. Here is who Kyle Shanahan has drafted as HC in San Fran:

Kyle Shanahan moving up to get Trey Lance with three first round picks may go down as one of the worse decisions of all-time. It's crazy that the impact isn't seen right away due to the 49ers having such an amazing roster. The impact will be known when Brock Purdy doesn't pan out. Which is imminent, that reality will come soon. I saw it in the NFC Championship game within the first few drives. How will Purdy play when Shanahan's offense runs into a top tier defense who has the tape on the sets; formations; and tendencies in 2023?

Purdy won't be taking the keys of a 8-4 team who just landed the best gadget player in the league. There's tape now with McCaffrey in Shanahan's offense. Purdy is returning from injury and the biggest a** whoopin of his career. Those of you who think he is better than Garoppolo are nuts. Kyle Shanahan knows offense, he doesn't know QBs. Trey Lance failing, proves it.

To trade up for a project QB, that hadn't even played the year of the draft, is a monster gamble. Shanahan swore that he found the next Mahomes. Kyle was obsessed with trying to find him that type of guy, and he Javy Baez yaked it. No chance Lance was going that early with how little of time he had on the field, even if he played- he wouldn't have changed Trevor Lawrence going number one. This was Kyle Shanahan failing at what Dan Campbell succeeded at.

Knowing the investment, Shanahan rushed Lance's learning from the get go, and his injury made things even worse for himself. Lance should have never been hyped to start the 2022 season. He wasn't ready. Lance then gets hurt and watches Brock Purdy win games (after Jimmy). Purdy was sharp and persistent as starter, but in what way do we look at the results of last season and declare Purdy the guy, giving up on the project you spent THREE FIRST ROUNDERS ON. Kyle Shanahan sh** the bed in every spot with Trey Lance.

After basically saying Purdy was the starter upon his recovery, Kyle brings in Sam Darnold and Brendan Allen to compete for no reason but to make the process harder on Lance. The dude has been screwed from the beginning. Lance hasn't proved to be good enough at all, we knew this though. The cards he has been dealt must be demoralizing. Lance has been good in camp, was rocky in the preseason outing- so you scrap it? It's not Lance, a project QB, you are scrapping. It's a massive investment that you are scrapping. This is playoffs or bust for Shanahan and Lynch. I feel it should be Super Bowl or bust- but we can stick to the playoffs. If Brock Purdy doesn't pan out or this team can't win more than 10 games- then Shanahan and John Lynch need to be FIRED. No ifs; ands; or buts about it. I could give a sh** about the CMC trade or anything positive they have done. They haven't won a Super Bowl!

Blame Game

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