The San Francisco 49ers were bad in the red zone last year. Really bad. The offense ranked No. 21 in the league in overall scoring but dead last when it came to red zone efficiency. That's an area the team's decision-makers hoped to improve this offseason.
The 49ers went out and drafted two talented wide receivers to add to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's arsenal. The team improved the depth in the running back room with the addition of Tevin Coleman. Oh, and there's that George Kittle guy who was already there. You know, San Francisco's record-breaking Pro Bowl tight end.
Kyle Shanahan hopes all of the 49ers' offseason moves help alleviate the offense's red-zone woes. The head coach joined KNBR on Tuesday afternoon and discussed why he thinks his squad will be better inside the 20-yard line.
"The way you get better in the red zone is you get better everywhere," Shanahan said on the "Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks" show. "If you're not that great of an offense, which I don't think we have been yet, it's only going to get harder as you get down there. So that's going to be obvious.
"If you can get better everywhere else, you also get better in the red zone. The things that take the pressure off the people in the red zone always start with can you just run the ball? If you can run the ball down there, that takes a lot of pressure off everyone."
Shanahan goes on to note that having a quarterback capable of running is an advantage in the red zone, but not a necessity. That's not a priority for the 49ers coach when he scouts signal-callers. If a player is capable of it, that's great. If not, that's okay too.
"You've got to develop the run, so you get a safety in there, and then you've got to have some guys who can get over the top to space it out a little bit," Shanahan continued. "We've had a couple of guys. Kittle's been one of our strongest, but when you do have a guy like Kittle who sticks out, he's not going to get the best looks down there, and you've got to go to other people.
"That's what I feel we've added a little bit this year. We've brought in some guys who can help us out. I expect the guys who have been here to be a lot better than they have in the last two years, and I think we can be a little bit more balanced in every aspect."
Shanahan notes that the team also struggled with penalties in the red zone.
"You can't have setbacks down there, whether it's a sack, whether it's penalties," he added. "It's always going to be harder, but when you're starting behind the chains and stuff, you make it nearly impossible."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.