The San Francisco 49ers have been preparing for the New York Giants on a Monday Night Football contest, but they are still talking about Nick Mullens’ near-record setting performance last Thursday to start his career.
Cornerback Richard Sherman had some kind words to say on Monday from his Officialize page about how Mullens would be trying to dice them up at practice and just how hard the quarterback practiced in general. Wide receiver Pierre Garçon also chimed in from his Officialize page on about how Mullens’ play didn’t surprise him:
I was so excited to see Nick out there and playing well. A lot of people were surprised by the success he had, but no one on this team was shocked by what he did. Nick is one of the hardest workers on this team and he might be the most prepared person on this team for every game - coaches included.
One of the things that may have been concerning when Mullens began to take over the 49ers would be how the locker room would perceive everything in a possible controversy. C.J. Beathard had the respect of the locker room for his toughness, so moving Mullens in could damage the locker room in the same way Jim Harbaugh switching Alex Smith out for Colin Kaepernick damaged that locker room. Jennifer Lee Chan caught up with some 49ers about the “controversy” and apparently there isn’t anything dividing them. Ahkello Witherspoon said it best:
“It’s hilarious,” Witherspoon said. “We don’t do controversy, if people haven’t noticed. We believe in whoever is up, and we believe in whoever is behind them. We just all have faith in each other. That’s how we approach the game.
I said it once and I’ll say it again. This locker room is something John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan got right.