San Francisco 49ers: Stacking up the running backs against the NFC West
By Kevin Saito
The San Francisco 49ers made some big changes to their running game this offseason – but, where does that leave them against their division foes?
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan obviously has certain philosophies and ways he likes doing things. And, as he enters his second season at the helm, we’re starting to see that he has certain types of players her prefers to implement his systems.
Possibly one of the more consequential moves he’s made to the roster, is in the running game. Shanahan and the 49ers let Carlos Hyde walk as a free agent, letting him sign with Cleveland.
To replace him, they brought in former Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon – giving him a deal more than double in value to the one Hyde signed.
Having a strong running game is important. You have got to have a strong running game to move the chains, grind out yards, and keep the clock moving. It’s critical to have that component to your offense in tight games, as well as games being played in poor weather – something you can expect to see in late season games.
If you’re playing a December or January game in say, Green Bay, for instance, you had best be able to move the ball on the ground if you hope to give yourself any shot at winning.
Which is why it’s still somewhat surprising that the 49ers would have let Hyde walk, given that he’s proven to be a power back who can move the chains over his four seasons with San Francisco.
With Jimmy Garoppolo leading the passing game, we can expect to see plenty of fireworks. After all, Shanahan built an electric passing game in Atlanta. But, history shows us you need a solid ground attack to put things away.
It’s a lesson you would have thought Shanahan would have learned after Atlanta’s painful come-from-ahead loss to the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
If they’d only been able to control the clock with their running backs, they could have won that game – and yet, because they couldn’t, because they got almost nothing from their ground attack in the second half of that game, Tom Brady led New England back from a 25 point deficit to win the game.
But, that’s all a problem to consider at a future date. Right now, let’s take a closer look at San Francisco’s ground game. Specifically, how it compares to their NFC West foes.
In this series of articles, we’ve already stacked up the 49ers wide receivers against the rest of the division – now, we turn our attention to their running backs.