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Twenty-four days have passed since the San Francisco 49ers fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV. The 49ers, who allowed 21 unanswered 4th-quarter points, are still regrouping from the loss.
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan,said time is the best medicine for recovering from the Super Bowl defeat.
49ers focus on further improving their run game
Shanahan said in a press conference at the NFL combine that the goal in the run game is to catch up with the Ravens.
Catching Baltimore in total rushing yards won’t be easy. The Ravens accumulated 3,481 yards in both the regular season and postseason, whereas the 49ers only totaled 2,917 yards.
The Ravens were knocked out in the divisional round by the Titans, but they still outran the Niners by 564 yards despite the 49ers playing two more games.
The difference was made by MVP and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson who added 1,349 rushing yards to Baltimore’s regular season and postseason totals. The Ravens also had an additional 1,000-yard-rusher in running back Mark Ingram, who totaled 1,040 yards.
As Lamar Jackson wins NFL MVP, a reminder of his most ridiculous play of the yearpic.twitter.com/B5Gf5m3W3Q
— PFF (@PFF) February 1, 2020
Jackson averaged 6.9 yards per carry in the regular season, whereas Garoppolo averaged 1.3 yards per carry. Garoppolo, a pocket passer, will never be able reach Jackson’s level of rushing success, but Shanahan hopes to get him involved.
The 49ers head coach mentioned that the program will try to improve franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s 40-yard-dash time. At the 2014 NFL Combine, he ran a 4.97.
Before he became the franchise quarterback of the #49ers, Jimmy Garoppolo was representing the EIU Panthers in the 2014 NFL Combine. pic.twitter.com/lPrWY4HejY
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers_) February 22, 2020
How San Francisco plans to continue rushing success
Shanahan also discussed how he will continue the success the 49ers have had in the rushing game.
The team focused their 2019 running game around four separate running backs in Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida, Tevin Coleman and Jeff Wilson. They also involved wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who tallied 159 rushing yards of his own.
Mostert is the returning starter coming off a 772-yard regular season. Breida added 623 yards and Coleman ran for 544 yards on the season.
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1219063094141423616
49ers support Garoppolo despite Super Bowl interceptions
San Francisco General Manager John Lynch said he was proud of his first-year starting quarterback, who threw for 3,978 yards and 27 touchdowns in the regular season.
Similary, San Francisco fullback Kyle Juszczyk showed frustration with the negativity around Garoppolo’s Super Bowl performance, which consisted of two interceptions.
"It's unfortunate that one or two plays can really change everyones outlook."@JuiceCheck44 is frustrated with the criticism of his QB @JimmyG_10 after #SBLIV. pic.twitter.com/u1mQ10FAE7
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) February 14, 2020
Looking forward to the Draft
Lynch said the organization is committed to finding players that fit their organization despite less equity this year and a late first rou
nd pick.
