With Trey Lance being the talk of the town, teams might start having to game plan for him on Sundays. Well, actually, they should be doing so regardless, because his skillset is much different than Jimmy Garoppolo's, San Francisco's current starter.
When asked about how other coaches might plan for Lance, especially since Lance has started training camp well, Shanahan was indifferent, stating that teams would likely do their due diligence.
"I mean, I don't care," Shanahan said. "I think that people assume that whether I say it or not. I mean, coaches always prepare, so whether I say it or not, it could be a stretch or [it could] be exactly what I mean. So, we will see when we get to that week. That's how I feel now, but, I mean, we do gameplan and we do study tape and I can't tell you guys what I'm going to think a month from now, or tomorrow."
Another topic of training camp has been the mixing of starters in with the second team and backups potentially getting starter reps.
Obviously, the most intriguing area is whether Lance would be getting any first team reps or even starting a quarterback competition. While Shanahan confirmed the former, he downplayed the chances of the latter, as he continuously has throughout this offseason.
"We haven't planned it yet, we don't do that much, but I will mix those guys in," Shanahan said. "I mean, Trey will get reps with the 1s and stuff and that doesn't mean [that the] competition's open, it means I want him to get some reps with the [starting] O-Line, I want to get some with the receivers. He does get [reps] with the receivers."
Still, don't read too much into the situation as Shanahan does not mind mixing and matching his different practice teams to try out different schemes.
"We put those guys in every group," the coach added. "We do it with the tight ends. I mean, if you guys watch our practices for the last four years, you'll see Kittle in with the 3s sometimes, Deebo [in there as well]. It's really about the reps and how to get guys going and sometimes when you do things different schematically, I got to make sure those other guys get those reps too."
However, Shanahan confirming that Lance will get first team reps in situational areas will be a pleasant scene for members of The Faithful, who are eager to see what their rookie quarterback can show them.