Shanahan spreads credit around for wins

Dec 12, 2017 - 4:29 AM SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Jimmy Garoppolo is 2-0 as the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback.

Just a coincidence, head coach Kyle Shanahan insisted Monday.

"I think it's a lot more than that, there's no doubt about that," Shanahan explained in his day-after press conference, basking not only in Sunday's 26-16 win at Houston but also his team's third victory in its last four outings.

"To put all of that on one person, I think, would be unfair to him and to the rest of the guys. I think Jimmy's played very well these last two games. I think the guys around him have played pretty good, too, though."

It all started when an 0-9 team rose up and beat the New York Giants 31-21 on Nov. 12, Shanahan claimed.

"I thought we had our best game versus the Giants up to that point and Jimmy didn't play," he noted. "I thought the guys played very well in that game, which allowed our quarterback (C.J. Beathard) to play pretty good, too.

"I didn't feel we played very well as a team versus Seattle (in the next game), and usually the result is the quarterback didn't play as well versus Seattle, either. I think we all played better versus Chicago and (Sunday) against Houston. I think that's not a coincidence that leads to quarterback play also."

Garoppolo threw for 344 yards against the Texans.

Not to downplay that achievement, but Shanahan also noted that Marquise Goodwin was on the other end of 106 of those passing yards on six catches.

"That's what we believed he could be, and I still believe he can be more," Shanahan said of the first-year 49er, who, with 783 yards this season, already has surpassed his four-year total with the Buffalo Bills (780).

"His ceiling is extremely high. He has the speed that scares people. He can break down very well. His hands are much better than people realize. He's a tough guy who's not scared to compete and (not) scared to go over the middle."

Veteran Pierre Garcon, injured and out for the season, gets some of the credit for Goodwin's breakout season, Shanahan said. But a lot of the credit goes to the 27-year-old.

"So much of this league is how you respond to things," Shanahan said. "Sometimes people get a lot of experience, and they struggle a little bit, and they get worse because they get intimidated by the situation. It's a little too much pressure.

"I think (Goodwin) has gone the other way. I think the pressure has hit. He's realized it. He's had some weeks where he didn't do his best, and I think he's fought through it and I think he's playing the best he has right now."

--So, what does it mean when you throw for more than 500 total yards in your first two starts for the 49ers? Apparently, not much.

When Jimmy Garoppolo's 334 passing yards against Houston on Sunday were added to the 293 he recorded in his San Francisco debut against Chicago, the total of 627 placed him at the top of the list among 49ers in their first two starts for the team.

The others in the top five? Not exactly the Four Riflemen of the Old West: Jeff Kemp (584), Troy Smith (552), J.T. O'Sullivan (516) and Matt Cavanaugh (507).

That unfeared foursome combined for a 10-11-1 record when starting for the 49ers and 30-33-1 for all teams in their careers.

--Greg Mabin got an opportunity to play both cornerback positions Sunday for different reasons.

A third rookie from Iowa on the 49ers roster, the undrafted Mabin was summoned from the bench in the second half to replace right cornerback Dontae Johnson, who was yanked for his inability to stay with Texans standout DeAndre Hopkins.

In the fourth quarter, Mabin was moved to the other side when left cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon suffered a sprained knee. Johnson returned to the game at that point at his right cornerback position.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan insisted Johnson's benching technically wasn't a demotion.

"Dontae had a very tough drive," he explained. "Any time it starts out with a pass interference, then guys lose their confidence a little bit. They were coming after him, and it was just a rough drive for him.

"Sometimes when you (take a guy out), you just want to stop the bleeding a little bit. It was nothing permanent or anything like that.

"You do it, not just to put all the blame on the kid, but also to help him."

Mabin, cut by both the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills earlier this season, was on the field for a total of 26 defensive snaps and 19 special-teams plays.

--"I remember someone asking me what our record needed to be for me to be happy with that. I didn't give them a number because I didn't go into this year thinking, 'Hey, this is what our record has to be for us to be happy.' I just want to be proud of what we put on tape, and you hope that that will take care of the record." -- 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.



REPORT CARD VS. TEXANS

--PASSING OFFENSE: A-plus -- Sure, the Texans aren't what they used to be on defense. But they were decent enough to limit Joe Flacco and Marcus Mariota to a combined 291 passing yards in their previous two games. Give it up for Jimmy Garoppolo. How in the world do you throw for 334 yards when 19 of your 32 targets go to guys named Garrett Celek, Kyle Juszczyk, Kendrick Bourne, Aldrick Robinson, Louis Murphy, Trent Taylor and George Kittle?

--RUSHING OFFENSE: B -- Barely topping 100 yards (102) is no crowning achievement, but four rushing first downs helped the 49ers run up almost 35 minutes in possession. And let's not forget about Carlos Hyde's touchdown run late in the second quarter. It was a critical break-through for an offense that hadn't scored a meaningful touchdown in four weeks.

--PASS DEFENSE: D-minus -- It's a little embarrassing when the other team has guys named Savage and Yates throwing the ball and basically one pass-catching threat, yet somehow manages 238 passing yards and two touchdowns. Alas, a silver lining arose from the ugliness of having to bench a healthy starting cornerback: At least the club has identified a primary need in the next draft.

--RUSH DEFENSE: B-plus -- The 49ers held an opponent under 100 yards rushing for a third consecutive week. Not bad for a unit that allowed three different individuals to top 100 earlier in the season. Lamar Miller's longest run in 17 tries was just an 11-yarder, which helped keep the 49ers' safeties focused on double- and triple-teaming DeAndre Hopkins. That almost wasn't enough.

--SPECIAL TEAMS: B -- Another perfect day for Robbie Gould (4-for-4 on field goals) and near-perfect day for the kick-coverage squads (total of 3 return yards allowed). We finally got a good look at the 49ers' return men, with Victor Bolden Jr. and Trent Taylor getting a total of four chances. Nothing spectacular, but no mistakes, either.

--COACHING: A-plus -- For the second week in a row, it was clear which losing team wanted it more, and that credit has to go to Kyle Shanahan. If the goal down the stretch is to convince Garoppolo that San Francisco should be his long-term home, the coach surely has done a good job of putting a smile on his recruit's face.