Niner Noise
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5 problems the San Francisco 49ers will face in 2017

By Peter Panacy

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 02: Anthony Hitchens #59 of the Dallas Cowboys sacks quarterback Blaine Gabbert #2 of the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium on October 2, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 02: Anthony Hitchens #59 of the Dallas Cowboys sacks quarterback Blaine Gabbert #2 of the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium on October 2, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – SEPTEMBER 20: Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan looks on during a game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on September 20, 2015 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – SEPTEMBER 20: Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan looks on during a game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on September 20, 2015 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /

No. 5: 49ers Offensive Consistency and Production

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

Kyle Shanahan’s offense is one of the most complex in the NFL.

This is the reason who so many of the team’s free-agent offensive pickups had previous experience playing under Shanahan. They’ve worked with the scheme and can teach it to the rest of the crop.

The problem, though, is this will take time.

Earlier this offseason, coordinator Robert Saleh’s defense was notably ahead of the offense during OTAs and minicamp. And while Shanahan’s offense has made strides getting closer to the centerpoint, signs are pointing to this side of the ball experiencing major troubles this season.

The Sacramento Bee’s Matt Barrows described one such issue at training camp recently:

"[Brian] Hoyer and the rest of the quarterbacks apparently were working on their hard counts. They certainly were effective at drawing penalties … but mostly from fellow offensive players. There were at least three false-start fouls, with Kyle Shanahan angrily sending the second-team offense off the field after an infraction."

While there have been some offensive standouts at camp, it’s starting to look like a sizable chunk of offensive shortcomings will carry over into the regular season.

One of those offensive units is higher on this list, but let’s get into the secondary on the next slide.