
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — No matter where he is or what he’s doing, football is never far from San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s mind.
On a recent Friday night, Shanahan ventured to a local theater as part of a family birthday party, with the animated film “The Addams Family 2” on the big screen. By the time Shanahan left, he hadn’t spent much time basking in Snoop Dogg’s swing at the voice of Cousin Itt.
Instead, he spent the one hour, 47-minute run time on his iPad concocting new play ideas, many of which included the biggest staple of his offense: pre-snap motion.
“It was awesome because I got to just sit there with my iPad for two hours and do that type of stuff,” Shanahan said. “It’s hard to leave your job, and I guess I enjoy thinking about football.”
Indeed, whether he’s at dinner, driving in his car, lying in bed, Shanahan always has his iPad or a pen and paper nearby in case inspiration strikes and he needs to quickly jot down an idea.
It’s an obsession Shanahan shares with Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, who is looking to snap a four-game losing streak to Shanahan’s Niners on Monday Night Football at Levi’s Stadium (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN). It’s a game that will feature plenty of similar offensive concepts, but none more so than the duo’s shared affection for movement before the snap.
Since the coaches took over their jobs in 2017, Shanahan’s 49ers and McVay’s Rams rank first and eighth in the NFL in pre-snap motion used at 67.8% and 46.2%, respectively.
With receiver Robert Woods lost for the season because of a torn left ACL and Odell Beckham Jr. now in the mix, it’s unclear how much the Rams’ use of motion will…
Source : espn



