49ers Kyle Nelson blames supplements for 10-game suspension

Jimmy Garoppolo is entering the 2020 season with little or no concern about the ACL injury he suffered on September 23, 2018. There are other concerns, of course, like COVID-19 and the lack of an offseason's worth of practices, but his knee is not among them anymore. Garoppolo should still have one of the league's best defenses and a top rushing attack to support him. Those two things were key in last season's division championship, and Super Bowl run. Head coach Kyle Shanahan also pointed out that the defense and run game were crucial in Garoppolo's return from his injury, and helped take much of the pressure off the quarterback. "Our defense carried us at the beginning of the year," Shanahan told his friend, Chris Simms, on the

The Seattle Seahawks' trade for safety Jamal Adams gives the San Francisco 49ers' division rival one of the players best suited to defend an offense that features running backs and tight ends in the passing game. The San Francisco 49ers have perhaps the league's top offensive mind in head coach Kyle Shanahan while the Seahawks have a defensive guru for a head coach in Pete Carroll. When the 49ers have the ball the two go toe-to-toe on play calls in a manner that can only be compared to a game of chess. Shanahan calls passing plays designed to get tight end George Kittle or one of the bevy of players who line up in the backfield open as much as any coach in the NFL. Just fewer than 50 percent of the 49ers' passing yards in 2019 went to a back or tight

In June, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk created a stink over some offseason comments by Kyle Shanahan. The San Francisco 49ers head coach commented during the team's State of the Franchise event about his desire to get back to that fourth quarter in the Super Bowl and finish the job. Florio felt the comments dismissed the work it takes to get to that point and set unrealistic expectations. Except, Shanahan did note that he was well aware that the journey would not be easy, and that this season will be harder than ever. "That's why all of our guys have got to take this challenge, and we've got to take advantage of this offseason," Shanahan said in June.