SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Kyle Shanahan readily admits that depending on the situation, he’s a different play-caller than the one who pushed the envelope sometimes beyond the bounds of wisdom after arriving at 4949 Marie P. DeBartolo Way in 2017.
That’s why Shanahan, now a wise old hand at 42, has no intention of getting into an empty-the-playbook contest with Mike McDaniel, his former lieutenant and the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
To steal a line from former New York Jets coach Herm Edwards in 2009, “You play to win the game.”
There’s some grumbling among the fan base about “Conservative Kyle” given the 49ers’ potential offensive firepower that includes wide back Deebo Samuel, running back Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Those four and others are at the disposal of a veteran spread-the-wealth quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo.
Just because McDaniel has quarterback Tua Tagovaiola opening things up with a rhythm passing game featuring jet-propelled wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle doesn’t mean Shanahan will be hell-bent on showing off his play-design chops. Not if the path to victory is best achieved by making the offense a complement to the NFL’s best defense.
I asked Shanahan about how the play of his defense factored in to his play-calling and his response was illuminating.
“What’s the best way to win the game?” Shanahan said Wednesday as the 49ers (7-4) started serious preparations to face the Miami Dolphins (8-3) Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. “I think that’s something I’ve gotten better at.”
Rather than repeat Shanahan’s entire 336-word answer, his reason for playing it safe and making discretion the better part of valor is that he coaches differently now that he’s responsible for the entire team as opposed to his days as a coordinator with Houston, Washington and Atlanta. In those stops, Shanahan was fixated on point totals while paying little or no attention to how the defense was playing.
The play of the 49ers’ defense is why Shanahan settled for point-blank field goals against in a 22-16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
“You’ve got a chance to go for it, but there’s no way they’re beating us if we get those 40 runs the way our defense is playing,” Shanahan said. “That’s how I feel.”
In last week’s 13-0 win over the Saints, Shanahan thought playing the clock in the fourth quarter was as important as playing the opponent.
“You look back at the clock and think about where your team’s at and what’s the best way to win the game,” Shanahan said. “That becomes clearer as you look at the whole picture.”
The 49ers have been explosive on occasion — scoring 38 against Arizona, 31 in their second meeting against the Rams and 37 against Carolina. But if a complementary offense means killing the last 6:18 against on the ground as the 49ers did against the Saints, so be it.
“To be able to break them and finish the game off the way we wanted to start it says a lot about who we are and the way we fight for four quarters,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said.
To middle linebacker Fred Warner, the clock-killing drive was as beautiful as any big play by the 49ers offense if not more.
“The entire 60 minutes was all worth it when they made sure we didn’t get back out on that field at the end,” Warner said. “You’ve just got to find ways to win in this league, it doesn’t matter how you get it. If we’ve got to score 50 or we’ve got to hold them to nothing, we’ve got to find ways to win.”
Even with the addition of McCaffrey and the explosive potential of Samuel, the 49ers as currently constructed are about physicality and controlling the tempo. They’re not the Kansas City Chiefs. They’re not the Dolphins. Like it or not, they don’t aspire to be either one.
Teams want to have an identity. The 49ers know who they are and what they’re about as much or more than any team in the NFL.
The 49ers threw the ball 21 times in the first half against Arizona and 28 times against New Orleans, but don’t mistake that for aerial fireworks. The pass plays against five- and six-man fronts were the kind at which Garoppolo executes best — quick timing routes, check-downs, swings and screens. It’s no coincidence that Garoppolo, even as he has improved at going off schedule and throwing outside the boundary, is on a 137-pass streak with no interceptions that is the longest of his career.
Shanahan can be borderline obsessive when it comes to the amount of rushing plays — 30, 35 and even 40 on a good day. The rushing attempts represent as much if not more than the yardage that comes with them. If his offense runs that often, victory is almost assured.
In his third year with the 49ers, Shanahan began to adjust his play-calling style when he was convinced he had something special on defense. He could open things up offensively when necessary — a 48-46 win over New Orleans comes to mind — but was just as happy to slowly put a stranglehold on a game as long as it came with the desired end result.
Joe Staley, the former 49ers left tackle who played on the 2019 team that went 13-3, saw evidence of that approach against the Saints.
“He understood how well his defense was playing,” Staley said on his weekly appearance on KNBR. “They were all locked in, getting turnovers, keeping everything in front and then he called a game offensively to pair with that.”
In his own KNBR appearances, Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young has said he believes that deep down, Shanahan would love to open up the throttle and attack through the air at every turn.
With different personnel, maybe, and even then it’s no lock. Shanahan loves stacking running plays one after another and watching it sap the life out of the opponent.
As long as the 49ers are stopping people on defense, “Conservative Kyle” is here to stay in 2022. It may not be the best strategy for Madden or fantasy football, but it’s the 49ers’ best shot at returning to the Super Bowl.
