So week one didn’t exactly go as planned for the San Francisco 49ers. But today is a new day and the 49ers are looking to bounce back in their home opener against the Detroit Lions – whose week one also didn’t exactly go as planned.
From Richard Sherman’s first home game as a 49er to the spotlight on the rookies to new food options, here are a few things to watch for as Jimmy Garoppolo and Company take the field at 1:05 p.m. at Levi’s Stadium.
Richard Sherman – San Francisco 49er
Today will make cornerback Richard Sherman’s first home game in a 49ers uniform, and it will be interesting to see how the fans react.
“I don’t expect anything,” Sherman said. “I just go out there and expect to play at a high level and go out there and execute. I’ve never been one to sit there and listen up to hear if they cheer or boo. Either way, I go out there and do my job. A lot of times I’ve done my job really well and got boo’d, so it is what it is.”
More importantly, the 49ers’ somewhat banged up secondary will be facing a Lions’ offense and team that had, as Sherman put it, had “some unfortunate circumstances last week.” Sherman is especially familiar with his former Seahawks’ teammate, Golden Tate.
“He’s a dynamic receiver, very tough to tackle,” said Sherman. Anytime he has the ball in his hands he can go the distance. He has great speed. He has great balance. Everything you want in a running back and a receiver. He does a great job.”
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh spoke about the importance of communication in the secondary, no matter who they’re defending.
“Communication from a secondary standpoint, just talking to each other about alerts, awareness, formation indicators, those are all very, very important especially during the course of a game,” Saleh said. “The communication on the sideline is so important. They’ve got to get to a point where they know what each other’s thinking without ever having to communicate it…When we get to that point, where they’ve been playing together for awhile and they continue with that non-stop communication, it should get pretty good.”
Right Guard
Garoppolo will look to improve on a week one performance where he threw three interceptions and one where the 49ers were 1-of-4 in the red zone; but injuries will make that easier said than done.
Over at right guard, Joshua Garnett (toe) is out for the game and Mike Person (foot) is questionable. If Person can’t play, newly signed Najee Toran, who participated in the majority of the 49ers offseason program, will start.
“…[I]t’s a huge advantage for him that he’s had a lot more experience and knows what’s going on.” said head coach Kyle Shanahan. “Any time you have more experience in a system and have gotten more reps, there’s a huge advantage for you and I think that’s what helped him win that spot this week.”
Dante Pettis
After suffering a thigh contusion in last week’s loss to the Vikings, wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who had been Garoppolo’s favorite target, will be out against the Lions. That means rookie wide receiver Dante Pettis, who had an impressive touchdown catch and game last week, will start in his place.
“For him to come out in his first game like that and have that good of an appearance, obviously there’s some things to clean up like all rookies, but for the most part I was pretty happy with it,” Garoppolo said this week. “He’s a confident guy and he plays like that.”
Shanahan also sees that confidence and knows that having an NFL game under his belt will help Pettis.
“…I think he’s a guy who the game isn’t too big for,” Shanahan said. “I think he’s very relaxed. He’s very confident in being himself all of the time. That’s why he’s okay with his cat celebration. That stuff doesn’t bother him. He is who he is and he goes out to that first game and I don’t think it was too big for him. But, I think he did see how quickly things can change…”
Fred Warner
With LB Malcolm Smith out with a hamstring injury, rookie Fred Warner started last week, and will this week, at MIKE, meaning he’s getting the play calls from the coaching staff and he’s responsible for the defense in position.
“[H]e had good command of the huddle, did a really good job relaying the message of the calls, did a great job getting people lined up,” Saleh said. “He made plays when they were presented to him. Saw the game very well. He did have mistakes, some that are not seen to the naked eye. So, he’s got a lot of stuff that he does have to clean up. Statistically, obviously, he produced and made a lot of plays. But, he’ll tell you himself that there’s a lot of room to get better.”
That being said, both Shanahan and Saleh said this week that if Warner has another strong performance, it is likely he and Reuben Foster will be lining up next to each other when Foster returns next week.
Touchdown Terrace
And what is football without food? The 49ers have a number of new dining options for all of your dining options. Make sure to head on over to Touchdown Terrace presented by Levy. You can find it outside the main concourse, with “local food offerings from barbacco (Italian), Copita (Mexican), The Chairman (Asian street food), Michael Mina’s Bourbon Pub (American), and Salt & Straw (ice cream) and beverages,” per the 49ers.
The media was given the opportunity to try some of the delicacies and it was all delicious. Enjoy 49ers fans!
