It's a bleak Monday for the San Francisco 49ers. Their already poor offensive line has gotten even thinner and the season is, by definition, meaningless. They can't make the playoffs and will have a hard time improving their draft standing.
It begged the question of Kyle Shanahan: how do you motivate the team at this point in the season? but first, the injuries.
Injuries continue on the offensive line
It was all but confirmed last week, but Shanhan said Monday, that Trent Williams won't return this season. He added that Aaron Banks "had an MCL" and will miss the final two games. So, too, will Jaylon Moore, with a quad strain.
Moore's backup was Spencer Burford, who "has a calf." The 49ers are still waiting on MRIs, but if Burford can't play this week, the situation on the left side of the offensive line would become so bleak it becomes funny.
They would be on their fourth-choice left tackle and their fourth-choice left guard, with Burford the third choice at both positions. Ben Bartch, the second choice at left guard, is already on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
San Francisco will have to do some practice squad poaching (they already added Austin Pleasants to the roster). Coy Cronk, anyone? (Real person, real name, real offensive tackle).
Elsewhere, Dre Greenlaw is probably done for the year, too. Shanahan said it's "looking like soreness" in his right calf, and while no decision has been made until he talks with Greenlaw, they may need to protect him from himself.
Lastly, Ji'Ayir Brown (ankle) and Dee Winters (chest) are both day to day.
Calling out the rookie?
Shanahan had a definite level of frustration that came across on the conference call. He was asked about the 49ers' "lack of concentration" on offense. It sounded quite a bit like he was giving Ricky Pearsall the Brandon Aiyuk (and Dante Pettis) tough love treatment. He also gave that to George Kittle, who was responsible on the other occasion.
“My thoughts are when two guys are off the ball and not one guy's on and one guy's off, that's just a lack of concentration," Shanahan said. "When the tight end’s supposed to be off the ball in one play and you're not, it’s just a concentration issue. I always attribute cadences to focus, things like that. It's stuff that you do deal with every year, but the way that we dealt with it last night and kind of the timing of when it happened really gave us an extremely small chance to win. And that's why it was such a big deal yesterday.”
Shanahan was asked a follow-up on Pearsall, about wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson talking to the rookie after two illegal formation penalties. Pearsall, of course, missed nearly all of OTAs and training camp with a shoulder injury.
“Oh, I thought he, Ricky loves to be coached and he doesn't take things personal," Shanahan said. "I think he was just as upset about it. Sometimes when there's a lot of things that he's trying to focus on and stuff and he forgets one little thing, which can end up being a big thing, especially the play that happened with it. And I mean, I didn't see Hank, but I'm sure you saw his frustration, but that's how we all were and that's how Ricky was. And sometimes that's what comes out naturally, which sometimes can get a guy to focus a little bit harder too.”
It's not to say Shanahan is wrong for criticizing a player for an error, but it's another example of him being blunt about mistakes for young receivers.
How to motivate a team with nothing to play for
Here's the question mentioned above. I asked Shanahan, with nothing to play for, how you go about motivating a team to play two more games. Here's his answer:
“I mean, motivation is telling people the situation they're in and hoping they understand the reality. I mean, this is professional sports. You get paid to do this. It's our job. You get 17 checks, which is for 17 games, whether you're in the playoffs, out of the playoffs. I mean, people who don't understand that don't last long in this league.
“And if you need me to tell you that, I will. I think guys do understand that. I think our team understands that. You have a standard to play for. You don't just sit there and play till you're in something and then shut it down. You play one way.
“And we’ve got two games here left. That's all that we got, and our goal is to find a way to play better. Our goal is to find a way to get a win. And that's what I expect out of anyone involved in this. And if they don't see it that way, and you got to convince them too much more than that, then they're probably not the type of guys that you want around here anyways.”