SANTA CLARA -- This was the day the 49ers saw their preliminary list of plays that will be used on first and second downs in Super Bowl LIV.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk could barely wait to see what coach Kyle Shanahan and his coaching staff had in mind, as the 49ers continue preparations to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Miami on Feb. 2.
“Man, I got so antsy,” Juszczyk said on Thursday. “We had yesterday off, and I expected to come in here and hear all the good stuff they game-planned for us.
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“It really was like Christmas coming in today -- fresh packet, all sorts of new, fun stuff that Kyle has for us. Excited to go out there and start working on it.”
Running back Raheem Mostert, coming off a 220-yard, four-touchdown performance against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship, was also eager to see the plays translate from the iPad to the practice field.
“It’s going to be really exciting to go out there today and run these plays,” Mostert said. “It is mostly about what we do. We’re not necessarily focused on how the Chiefs run their defense. It’s more so about us. It’s going to be real fun.
“We got some stuff I know that’s going to be really fun. And I can’t wait to go out there and run those plays. The anticipation and to see Kyle, I don’t know if he’s going to open up the playbook or not, but he’s a genius at what he does. I know we’re going to have plays that complement other plays.”
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The 49ers turned to their running game to seize control over the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay in the NFC playoffs. In those two games, the 49ers ran the ball on 89 of their 119 offensive plays.
But the 49ers’ run game is unique. They don’t just run the ball to run the ball. They have a wide array of running plays and blocking schemes that keep everything fresh and unpredictable.
“Certain defensive schemes are designed to take away a gap run,” Juszczyk said. “Another one is designed to take away wide zone. But when you run the gap scheme, the wide zone, the misdirection, the inside zones, there aren’t too many defensive schemes that are built to take away every single one of those.
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“Throughout the season, each week one of those schemes has taken over and been the reason we won that game. It really hasn’t been one or the other. We feel like we can do them all.”
The Chiefs did not feature a great run defense during the regular season, allowing 128.2 yards per game (26th in the league) and 4.9 yards per rushing attempt (tied for 28th).
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