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Saturday, 23 September 2023

[New post] Kurtenbach: Three Big 49ers Things — Shanahan and Lynch’s new contracts don’t change a thing

Site logo image gqlshare posted: "Another win, another 30-point outburst for the 49ers, who are now 3-0 on the season.Per the NFL, these Niners are the first team since the 2007 Patriots to score the same amount of points in the first three games of the season.Those Patriots, you might re" Daily Democrat

Kurtenbach: Three Big 49ers Things — Shanahan and Lynch's new contracts don't change a thing

gqlshare

Sep 23

Another win, another 30-point outburst for the 49ers, who are now 3-0 on the season.

Per the NFL, these Niners are the first team since the 2007 Patriots to score the same amount of points in the first three games of the season.

Those Patriots, you might remember, went 16-0 in the regular season.

Can these Niners do them one better, 17-0?

I think so.

But while you chew on that, here are a few cooler takes following the Niners' Thursday Night Football win.

Clandestine contracts

The 49ers extended general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday, without any fanfare or even a comment from the York family, who own the Niners.

We don't even know how long the extensions last.

It's difficult to argue with extending Shanahan and Lynch. They've reached the NFC Championship Game three times together, and they've built arguably the best roster in the NFL going into this season.

But both need to win the Super Bowl for this tenure to be considered a success. Sorry, that's the nature of working for the 49ers.

Now this Niners braintrust deserves multiple cracks at the ultimate prize, but if the goal hasn't been reached in a few seasons, I don't believe there would be anything stopping ownership from cutting ties with both men.

Remember, Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly were on five-year deals and were fired after one season. The Niners make so much money firing a coach and general manager is a rounding error.

Now, I expect both Shanahan and Lynch to be around for a long time yet, and my hope for them is that they are paid near the top of the market for their roles. They deserve that.

But if these two deserve to be shown the door in a few years, I don't think today's news will stop that.

More Mitchell

The 49ers might have the best running back in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey, but Elijah Mitchell might be the league's most capable backup.

It was good to see the latter get some snaps on Thursday. Not just because McCaffrey's workload has been unsustainable but also because Mitchell can positively affect winning.

It's easy to forget about Mitchell, who was placed on injured reserve twice last season and missed the NFC Championship Game because of a groin injury. But in his injury-laden career, he has run for 85-plus yards in half of his games, with many of those games coming with him as a spellback.

I don't expect McCaffrey to stop being a three-down back, but Mitchell is a more-than-viable option to pick up full series to keep the Niners' dynamo in a position to play the entire season.

The hit-maker

There's a lot of thinking in this modern game. And while that's interesting to nerds like me, the truth remains that you still need players who can set a tone with physicality to win.

We saw Deebo Samuel, McCaffrey, and George Kittle do it in Thursday's win over the Giants, and they deserve the praise they have received.

But I want to shout out a player that brings that energy to the 49ers' defense.

I don't know where that unit would be without linebacker Dre Greenlaw.

That question doesn't stem from the fact that Greenlaw is the best player on the defense, though he is quite good.

Rather, it stems from the fact that Greenlaw plays the game with an honest-to-goodness reckless abandon.

I don't know if there's a player in the game who goes harder than No. 57. It's like the man has a biological imperative to hit someone on every snap.

That fervor gets Greenlaw in trouble — he's good for one unnecessary roughness penalty per game.

But for the 49ers, that roughness is necessary. Greenlaw gives the Niners' defense an edge. They're not only to be respected, but feared — because Greenlaw is on the field and he wants to inflict pain on whoever has the ball.

It's a joy to watch him play, even if he's good for at least 15 penalty yards per game.


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