{"id":29752,"date":"2022-07-30T01:01:52","date_gmt":"2022-07-30T01:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/kawakami-wait-hes-funny-what-trey-lances-wry-humor-could-mean-for-his-49ers-tenure\/"},"modified":"2022-07-30T01:01:52","modified_gmt":"2022-07-30T01:01:52","slug":"kawakami-wait-hes-funny-what-trey-lances-wry-humor-could-mean-for-his-49ers-tenure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/kawakami-wait-hes-funny-what-trey-lances-wry-humor-could-mean-for-his-49ers-tenure\/","title":{"rendered":"Kawakami: Wait, he’s funny? What Trey Lance’s wry humor could mean for his 49ers tenure"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Here’s an early review of Trey Lance after two training camp days in the spotlight: He’s light on his feet, he’s smart, he isn’t afraid of the big stage and he’s consistently entertaining.<\/p>\n

And that was just during his wry performance with the media on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Why should anybody really care that Lance is revealing a very funny side now that he’s the 49ers’ unquestioned starting quarterback? Well, Jimmy Garoppolo’s low-key, blue-collar amiability during pressers was the exact personality that his teammates related with and loved so much. Garoppolo is a nice guy with a quiet but very real competitive fire, and all of that translated to the field.<\/p>\n

And now, after spending a year very much trying to avoid any headlines that would be uncomfortable for him, Garoppolo, and the team, we’re getting a looser Lance up at the podium. Which means he’s providing more information about his style and the way he’s dealing with his first year as a starter, Kyle Shanahan’s system and all else that this job encompasses. And not surprisingly, it’s a little different than the way Garoppolo did it, and not just on the field.<\/p>\n

For instance, when I asked Lance about the few times during Thursday’s team drills when Shanahan briefly spoke to him quite animatedly after incompletions, Lance’s answer was focused but also light-hearted in a way that Garoppolo probably never would’ve attempted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m asking what he thought about it or if he saw something different,\u201d Lance said of his practice interactions with Shanahan, who always stands right behind the QB during the plays. \u201cHe goes through the play with us, so he’s always pointing to where he would’ve gone with the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wait for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if he couldn’t have made the throw,\u201d Lance said with a smile. \u201cIt’s fun, and it helps me out a lot. Him standing right behind always, and he sees every single play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or this answer when he was asked if the start of this camp feels markedly different now that Shanahan and his teammates have publicly committed to Lance as QB1:<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, the only difference: I was hoping you guys would stop asking about it all the time,\u201d Lance said, jokingly. Then he continued: \u201cFor me, there wasn’t really a moment or anything like that. I mean I’ve been excited. I’ve been preparing to play since I got here, since the day I got drafted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m obviously excited for this year, but nothing has really changed this offseason.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or when Lance either accidentally or slyly offered up a potential timeline for cornerback Jason Verrett to come off of the PUP list: \u201cIt’ll be good to get JV back soon, hopefully in these next few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that moment, you could see the thought bubble over Lance’s head: Oops! Nobody but Shanahan is supposed to give out injury timelines, and sometimes even Shanahan won’t do that. Such as with Verrett at the start of camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know, I didn’t mean the next few weeks,\u201d Lance said with a sheepish grin. \u201cI have no idea<\/em> what his timeline is.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Trey Lance is at the podium. #49ersCamp<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/8VgSggp63j<\/p>\n

\u2014 San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) July 28, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

OK, I’m not saying that Lance is due to host a comedy special soon. I’m just pointing out that many of us doubted there was a very quick-witted side to Lance last year that he was waiting to break out and that it would be an important part of the way he leads this offense and this team.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, I was definitely in a different spot mentally, I would say,\u201d Lance said. \u201cJust feeling a lot more confident this year coming in, knowing what I’m doing, knowing the offense a lot better, knowing the guys a lot better. Having been around this organization and this coaching staff for a year, I think it’ll be a great thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

We’re also starting to get a feel for how the situation worked last year, when Lance was the obvious heir apparent but Garoppolo got one last season as the starter \u2014 and remained a very, very popular starter.<\/p>\n

It might’ve had some awkward moments last year, and there might be more coming: Garoppolo reported to camp on Tuesday, passed his physical and now is in limbo as the 49ers try to find a trade. The 49ers might eventually just have to release him in the next few weeks if no trade is found. And Garoppolo was seen in the weight room adjacent to the practice field on Wednesday, so he might be around a bit, too.<\/p>\n

But all indications are that Garoppolo and Lance have always been supportive of each other; Garoppolo isn’t a grumbler and Lance isn’t a plotter. It would’ve been dumb and sourly self-defeating for either to try to blow it up in 2021, and neither one is dumb or sour. So, whichever way the Garoppolo situation is resolved, Lance doesn’t seem much bothered by any of it now. He’s got a huge season coming up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is what it is, it’s nothing weird at all,\u201d Lance said. \u201cI’ve never had anything I could possibly say that’s bad about Jimmy. He’s been a big bro to me since the day I came in. He could’ve made things hell for me, honestly, last year. He didn’t. He helped me out with everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in his own way, Lance has already begun forming bonds with key members of the locker room. He worked out with Brandon Aiyuk right after Lance was drafted, and the two have kept up that relationship. It’s obviously a good one.<\/p>\n

Aiyuk was comfortable enough to relate that Lance recently told him (jokingly) he thought that Aiyuk was giving him dirty looks last year. They kept working out together back then and were frequent workout partners last offseason, with Lance getting ready to take over the offense. So obviously the looks weren’t that<\/em> dirty, right, Trey?<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you know anything about Brandon, he doesn’t talk a lot,\u201d Lance said, chuckling. \u201cSo the first couple times we worked out together, he didn’t talk to me at all. Right after I got drafted, he said, ‘What’s up,’ to me and we went to work. But I learned really quickly that’s how he carries himself. He’s about his work. He’s about business when he is on the field. And even when he is not, but yeah, we’ve gotten really close this offseason and I’m super excited for him this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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We’re just getting started.#49ersCamp<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Lcqp5NZ4QM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) July 28, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

At least early on, especially with Deebo Samuel not practicing while his agent and the 49ers try to hammer out a long-term extension, there’s definitely been a Lance-Aiyuk connection in these sessions. In Thursday’s practice, with the first-team offense (also missing Trent Williams with an excused absence) regularly getting harried by Nick Bosa and the starting defense, Lance’s most electric plays came when he moved around in the pocket and found Aiyuk downfield.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just have to be ready on every single play,\u201d Aiyuk said Wednesday. \u201cWhere in the past, you may not have gotten the ball on certain plays, you have to be ready on every play, because you might get the ball, even though we haven’t thrown that ball here or in that spot in years past \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe definitely does extend the field. He makes those safeties back up and get out of their pedals fast. I think that’s great because that will give us all the underneath stuff that we like to throw as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 49ers’ passing game maybe isn’t as rhythmic with Lance right now as it was with Garoppolo. Maybe the ball comes out a little more slowly this early in Lance’s tenure. Maybe he needs to make quicker decisions, particularly when No. 97 is flying around the edge.<\/p>\n

But the offense also feels more dangerous these days \u2014 there’s a wider array of possibilities on every play, good and bad, for the 49ers with Lance at QB. He threw a bad interception to Jimmie Ward on Thursday. He also spun away from Bosa one time and found Aiyuk for about a 20-yard pickup. Each of the 49ers’ three QBs threw an interception in this practice, and each time the offense turned around and did something positive right afterward.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter a turnover, I thought we turned the page really well,\u201d Lance said. \u201cI thought the next few reps for all of us after our turnovers, we turned it around really quick, which I think is a bigger part than not throwing picks at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe defense was fast, receivers were fast. Yeah, it’s been a ton of fun these past couple of days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just from my eyeball test, I think Lance’s throwing motion is a little quicker than it was the last time I saw him, which was when he subbed for an injured Garoppolo in the 49ers’ Jan. 2 wins over Houston. (I missed all of the offseason public practices due to a long season turned in by a local NBA team.)<\/p>\n

So I asked Lance: Is your delivery tightened up a bit these days?<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ll let you guys decide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Is it something you worked on?<\/p>\n

\u201cI threw a lot of footballs this offseason, I’ll say that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lance said all that with a smile, too. He’s been smiling all camp and, from the video and reports I’ve seen of the OTAs and minicamp sessions, he was smiling then, too. I think it’s his nature. He’s an upbeat, thoughtful, creative guy. That’s his personality and that’s how he’ll play and lead.<\/p>\n

It’s not going to be hard for the 49ers’ veterans to rally around Lance. I think most of them already have.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think when you have a kind of a veteran team who is expecting to have success this year and you got a rookie who’s playing, who’s coming in playing almost as a rookie quarterback cause it’s his first time starting, it really helps that he’s a likable guy,\u201d Shanahan said Wednesday. \u201cI mean, if he wasn’t, it makes things a lot tougher, just like it does in every aspect of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Trey’s a very genuine, good person; he works hard, he treats people with a lot of respect, and I think the team really does appreciate that about him, which gives him a good start. \u2026 But \u2026 it’s about how you play, it’s how you hold people accountable, it’s how you hold yourself accountable; and people are going to follow the guys that they believe in, who think gives them a chance to win. But his personality really helps him with the team. \u201d<\/p>\n

Lance is certainly not shy. He’s made for the bright lights. We’ll have to see how he plays and how he bounces back from the inevitable low points in his first season as a starter, on a team built to win right now. But Lance’s light and bouncy moments so far are pretty decent evidence of how he’ll approach this whole endeavor, and it seems like a pretty auspicious way to do it.<\/p>\n

(Photo: Stan Szeto \/ USA Today)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n