San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has had a chance to review the film from last night's preseason-opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and better assess how his players performed in the game. He jumped on a conference call today and was, of course, asked about his quarterbacks. However, he was also asked about several other players.
One is second-year wide receiver Jauan Jennings, whom the team drafted out of Tennessee in the seventh round last year.
"I was excited with how Jauan played," Shanahan said. "He's a physical guy who loves to play football, and I wanted to see it transfer over to the game and make sure he can still stay under enough control and do the assignments, also. If you watched him in the running game, he really got after it trying to -- I mean, the maximum effort every play, how he dug out those safeties on blocks, how he's blocking on the backside, on the corners.
"And then when he got his opportunities when the ball was thrown to him, he came through. We hit him on that seam, hit him on a couple of screens that he hit hard, and got us, I think, two first downs on them. I was happy with Jauan."
Another receiver, Nsimba Webster, looks ready to take over the game on offense and special teams at the end. The 49ers claimed him off waivers from the Los Angeles Rams on July 21.
"And then Nsimba, he did a hell of a job," Shanahan shared. "He gave us that spark there at the end to take that lead. That drive was pretty much him and (JaMycal) Hasty. He started it off with that kick return, then was followed up by a reverse. I was just happy how he ran the ball.
"The game didn't look too big for him. He looked like he enjoyed the physicality of the game. He definitely got himself a chance to be in the mix."
Then you have Talanoa Hufanga, the tough rookie safety out of USC. Shanahan was asked if he was encouraged by the former Trojan's play last night.
"Yes, I am," Shanahan responded. "That was fun to watch him out there. Another guy who plays with a lot of energy, and he's done a decent job in practice. But I wanted to see how he could carry that to the field, and I knew he'd be amped up and ready to go.
"It was kind of neat because watching him play live, I felt like there was a little more to him even. A little more energy he played with, and sometimes when that happens, sometimes it can make people bust their assignments and do worse. But I thought it helped him play better, and I thought it showed up on defense and special teams."