Golden Nuggets: Monitoring Trent Williams and Ambry Thomas

The Intertwined Evolutions of Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay

“It’s that Shanahan … well, he’s just a little bit better at this than McVay. McVay is one of the best offensive designers in the league, but in the face of similar defensive adjustments, Shanahan’s answers were just much better than McVay’s. The power running game with the fullback is just a touch scarier than a zone running game with a lead blocking wide receiver—and not just because of the X’s and O’s, but because of Shanahan’s well-coached running game. Shanahan just had the edge.”

Hutchinson: How 49ers have learned to embrace the duality of Jimmy Garoppolo

“That’s why you can’t talk about the man without inviting chaos. There is a certain fury that emerges when discussing Garoppolo.

The reality is that he is a limited, turnover- and injury-prone quarterback who is excellent within a certain range, with a propensity to make some outstanding throws inside of, and at the edge of that range.

He also possesses a level of confidence which is up there with the greats of his position. Whether he can or cannot make a throw is irrelevant. Garoppolo almost always believes he can, and his unflappable disposition coupled with that unreasonable confidence is part of why he’s so well-respected and trusted by his teammates.”

Transcripts: What Kyle Shanahan, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Richard Hightower said ahead of 49ers-Rams

“The San Francisco 49ers are preparing to play the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan, special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo spoke with reporters before today’s practice. Here is everything they had to say.”

49ers-Rams: Trent Williams believes he will play but won’t practice on Wednesday

“So hopefully, we’ll have some better luck this game. But I know he believes he’s playing, and so do I. So, we’ll see how that pans out as the week goes. If he can, he will.”

Has San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo reshaped his NFL future?

“Since his retirement in the offseason, [Alex] Smith and his family moved back to the Bay Area nearly a decade after departing for Kansas City. It’s allowed him to reconnect with the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2005 and with a city he says helped him grow as a man.”

Matthew Stafford vs. Cover 7! Stopping Kyle Shanahan’s run game! What the film and analytics reveal about 49ers-Rams (paywall)

“The 49ers won both regular-season meetings: 31-10 in Week 10 and 27-24 in Week 18. What will determine which team wins round three and advances to the Super Bowl? Below is an in-depth look combining X’s and O’s and analytics.”

Should 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo have more throwaways? Kyle Shanahan has lengthy response (paywall)

“I think one of the hardest things with Jimmy is when people are covered, he believes he can just put the ball in the right spot, which he does a lot,” Shanahan said. “That throw that he threw to Jauan Jennings on third-and-5 — we were hot, he didn’t have time to throw that ball and somehow, he created it, which is one of the most talented throws I’ve ever seen. And Jauan ended up dropping it.”