49ers notes from KFFL

San Francisco 49ers fans are excited about the possibilities of Kyle Shanahan utilizing his young athletic quarterback, Trey Lance. The head coach believes his rookie star-in-the-making has the potential not only to hurt an opposing defense with his arm but also to frustrate an opponent with his legs. However, that's not something on which Shanahan and the 49ers want to rely. "Any time you can have a guy create an off-schedule play and buy more time, that's great," Shanahan explained. "When you can run around, and people are playing soft zones, I mean, those only can hold up so long. But that starts turning into a little bit of backyard ball. "When you get into some of those situations, sometimes it's late in games, you're down a lot, and you can

The San Francisco 49ers are preparing to play the Arizona Cardinals this weekend. 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. Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff. Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Opening comments: "Alright. Injuries for today: [CB] K'Waun [Williams], still the calf, will not practice. [QB] Jimmy Garoppolo, calf, will not practice. [T] Trent Williams, shoulder, not practicing. [TE George] Kittle, calf, not practicing. [DL] Samson Ebukam, hamstring, not practicing. [C] Alex Mack will have a vet day. [CB] Josh Norman, chest, is

The San Francisco 49ers are preparing for their Week 5 contest against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Today's practice report looked very much like what head coach Kyle Shanahan previewed beforehand. There was no Jimmy Garoppolo, as the quarterback continues to recover from a calf injury. "I mean, it could go up to game time," Garoppolo said before practice about Sunday's game status. "We've done it before up to game time. And it's really just about getting the mental reps while I can out there today, see where I'm at tomorrow and everything." There was no Trent Williams, who, like Garoppolo, was injured this past weekend against the Seattle Seahawks. San Francisco continues to be cautious

San Francisco 49ers safety Jimmie Ward has gone against several rookie quarterbacks over his career, and he's done it from several positions on defense. He knows the difference between going against a rookie and a seasoned veteran. Coaches tend to keep things simple for younger players trying to transition to the pro level. That means a lot of plays are designed to get the football out of their hands quickly. Often, the game plan also involves playing it safe. "I don't know too many [young] quarterbacks that will go for a deep ball on third-and-one and third-and-two," Ward said Wednesday on 95.7 The Game's Damon, Ratto & Kolsky show. "Most likely, they're going to play it safe and try to run some kind of quick-game route to get the