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After fielding one of the best-rushing offenses in the NFL, with Jordan Mason leading the way and Isaac Guerendo rounding out the ground attack, Christian McCaffrey has made his presence known for the San Francisco 49ers since Week 10, rushing the ball 43 times for an admittedly underwhelming 149 yards and zero touchdowns.
What gives? How did the 49ers go from one of the better rushing offenses in the NFL to one of the worst when adding back a multi-time Pro Bowler? Why aren't Mason and Guerendo getting more involved when CMC clearly isn't getting much going on the ground?
Asked that very question by reporters on Wednesday, Shanahan broke it down plainly, noting that while McCaffrey has been struggling from a statistical standpoint, his team just isn't one that relies on a three-man rotation.
“No, I just think, even when Mason was going a ton, we didn’t get Isaac a lot. So I mean, we’re not just a big three-man-rotation team, especially when you have a solidified starter. We’re not trying to get Christian off the field more. We want to keep him fresh and keep him at his best, but Christian’s also a guy who gets better as he goes. He’s a guy who feels a lot more comfortable being out there,” Shanahan told reporters.
“I also don’t think the way these games have gone, we didn’t run the ball much last week at all in general. So not many people, we didn’t, I think we got 14 runs. So when that’s the case, you’re not going on long drives, you only have 13 plays or 14 plays in the whole first half with one of them being close to a two-minute drive, the other’s being four-and-out. It’s just not going to work out that way.”
Should the 49ers give Mason more runs to help ease McCaffrey's burden? Yes, even if he isn't the same caliber of player overall, the Georgia Tech product is still averaging 5.1 yards per carry, and Guerendo is doing even better at an even 6.0. Unfortunately, that probably isn't going to happen, which is bad news for CMC, as he's been down in the dumps about his lack of production.
Kyle Shanahan calls Christian McCaffrey the right kind of psycho
Discussing McCaffrey's struggles and how he's taken it personally since returning to the field, Shanahan noted that he believes his All-Pro back will be just fine, as he has that “psycho” mentality to get back on track.
“I think that’s what makes Christian great. Christian, I’ve told you guys, he’s a psycho in the best way possible. Christian had a fumble there at the end of the game,” Shanahan told reporters. “No matter what I say to him, he is not going to forgive himself for a fumble for probably the rest of his life, he’ll still be mad at himself for that. That’s just how he rolls. That’s his mindset in everything. You should see him in OTAs, if he drops the ball and how he acts after that and apologizing to us later in the day for a dropped ball in OTAs on period one. That’s what makes him great, and it means a lot to him.”
On paper, McCaffrey should rebound, as he has an extensive body of work that highlights just how effective he can be at the NFL level. Factor in his psycho mentality of wanting to be the best no matter what, and it's safe to say that if the 49ers rebound in 2024, it will be because McCaffrey figured out a way to get back on track.
