Former 49ers wide receiver reveals the selflessness behind the offense's success
The San Francisco 49ers have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL.
Recently, former 49ers wide receiver Willie Snead spoke about the key to the team's success on offense and it is no surprise that he highlighted the selflessness of wide receivers.
Willie Snead reveals the selflessness behind 49ers offense's success
The Niners have had a potent offense for several years now. Offensive mastermind Kyle Shanahan has done a great job turning the Niners into an offensive powerhouse. It does not hurt to have some of the most talented players in the NFL at your disposal, but there is more to it than that.
In 2023, the Niners had the third-highest number of points scored and the second-highest number of yards in the NFL with 6,773. Christian McCaffrey was far and away the best running back in the league, quarterback Brock Purdy played great, and Brandon Aiyuk established himself as an elite wide receiver.
They seemed to be firing on all cylinders for most of the season.
It can be easy to say that the Niners were just gifted with great talent, and that may be true, but it does not tell the full story.
A big part of why the team's offense was so successful is because they play selflessly.
Willie Snead, who had critical words for the Niners after he left earlier this offseason, nonetheless had nothing but praise for the selflessness that was fostered on the offensive side of the ball. Snead spoke about this in a recent interview posted below courtesy of Coach Yac on X:
Former 49ers WR Willie Snead talks about the mentality the Niners receivers have when blocking:
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) July 18, 2024
“One thing I’ll say about our group in San Fran, was that we was all in on blocking. From Aiyuk, to Deebo, definitely JJ. All of us took blocking very seriously. We knew if we got our… pic.twitter.com/rWauAUMP6G
If you cannot access the video or read the accompanying quote, Snead basically just talks about how all of the wide receivers, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, and Aiyuk, took great pride in their blocking. He said that Shanahan would openly challenge players during film sessions and say that if they cannot pick up a block to allow their teammate to get down the field and potentially score, then they would get someone else in there.
This is the key ingredient to San Francisco's success. The fact the 49ers have so many stars and so many mouths to feed but all still play as a team and a cohesive unit speaks volumes about the job Shanahan has done getting these star players and big personalities to buy into this philosophy.
One hopes this ethos remains intact, but the longer the Niners go without winning a Super Bowl, the harder it will be to get guys to continually buy into the system.
Let's hope this selfless approach will not change in the 2024 season.
Read more from Niner Noise
feed