Before the April 2021 draft, when the San Francisco 49ers traded upwards to explore the sign, the outside world thought that the 49ers would usher in a new starting quarterback in the new season. However, head coach Shanahan decided to let Gallopolo start, and Trey Reims spent most of his first season on the bench.
When Gallopolo couldn't play because of a finger injury, Lance had his chance. He didn't play much of a major game in college, and last week's game against the Texans was his second start of the season, a game that also concerned the 49ers' playoff prospects. Lance took control of the situation well, helping the team beat the Texans, and the 49ers still had the initiative to reach the playoffs.
In an interview after the game, Lance said: "[The one before the end of the first half] I probably found the rhythm of the game when I attacked in the 2 minutes. That's when I started telling [quarterback coach] Ritchie (Scangareiro) and the manager that I really found the feeling. After that, no matter what the situation, I can speed up the pace. ”
Even though Shanahan said that as long as his health allowed, Gallopolo would start first, after this game, the coaching staff had more confidence in Reims. Shanahan was delighted to see that Reims' performance in the recent month was the most consistent he had since entered the league, and the victory in this game reinforced Lance's expectations that he would be the team's future quarterback.
Lance has a superhuman physical talent that can make the 49ers' offensive system more diverse. He is 1.93 meters tall, 40 yards is said to be able to run 4.5 seconds, and his passing arm strength is also stronger than Garro Pollo. When the 49ers traded upwards, Shanahan quipped that he wanted to pick a quarterback who passed the ball like Brice and ran like Lamar Jackson.
At the moment Lance clearly does not have this level. But in Sunday's race, Shanahan's combination of dashing and long passes, designed with the characteristics of Reims, worked well. In this game, Reims passed 23 passes and 16, passed 2 touchdowns of 249 yards, and was intercepted once; at the same time, he ran 31 yards eight times and was only killed once.
Statistically, Lance's performance was not impressive, but he faithfully executed the team's tactics. Shanahan's offense is known for opening up the gap to attack the middle. By running the cross route, the receiver can always complete the large-size advance after receiving the ball. This is Gallopolo's signature tactic. And Lance is more able to use his arm strength, averaging 12 yards of passing distance this season, the highest since the 2017 season.
In this game, Lance has passed more than 10 yards 15 times, and successfully advanced 205 yards in 9 times. The Texans' defense is by no means a sieve, with high-level stats ranking in the lower middle and lower parts of the league. Lance's reading ability in his pocket has improved greatly compared to the last time, and the passing tactics have been executed very well. The 45-yard touchdown pass to Dibo Samuel is a prime example:
Due to Lance's stronger passing arm, the 49ers' far-reaching strike ability has been unlocked to some extent. In terms of high-level statistics, Gallopolo's potential pass error rate is the eighth highest in the league, while the long pass rate is the fifth lowest in the league. Even though Garropollo doesn't have a long pass, he's still prone to mistakes. The most important point is his obsession with passing the ball to the middle.
In the opinion of experts, Reims's passing style is much safer than Garropollo's. As can be seen from the figure below, Reims's passing points are more dispersed, more biased to the sideline, and there are fewer defenders there; on the contrary, Gallopolo's passing points are concentrated in the middle, because of the large number of defenders, the tolerance for mistakes is also small.
Even if the accuracy of Lance's short-term pass has yet to be honed, he can still execute the coach's tactics and complete the connection with the outside receiver in the game. The gist reims mid-range pass below accurately found Brandon Iyyuk in the middle, completing the large-size advance:
In addition to Lance's ability to expand the 49ers' offensive depth with his arm, he also has excellent mobility. The defensive team must be wary of Lance's ability to punch, and the 49ers can take advantage of this. The first touchdown of Reims' career was a dash against the Packers. When Lance was on the floor as a quarterback, Shanahan was able to use the tactics involved to make opponents uncomfortable.
Despite the few games, Lance has shown a talent worthy of the Pokers. In the 49ers' offensive system, he can execute tactics step by step and create opportunities with his talent. Maybe at his current level, it is difficult to reach the level of the first-line starting quarterback, but everything is moving in a positive direction.
Even if the 49ers still send Gallopolo to meet the Los Angeles Rams in the same area in the last game of the season, it is only a matter of time before Lance takes the position. 49ers general manager John Lynch needs to think about how to find Gallopolo's successor to make more room for Lance to grow.