Kyle Shanahan shows you how to work the refs
A year ago at this time, Sean McVay was all the rage in football, in part due to his Dr. Manhattan ability to recall any play he's ever called.
As 2018 turned into 2019, McVay's Rams fell from 15-4, NFC champions to 9-7 also-rans, and the San Francisco 49ers are now the toast of the town, having risen from 4-12 in 2018 to 15-3 and counting heading into next week's Super Bowl.
Like the Rams, the Niners are led by a young, clean cut, offensive whiz kid in Kyle Shanahan, but Shanahan's superpower isn't a photographic recall of the past. (At least, not that we've seen.) Instead, Shanahan can see the future.
As you'll see below, Shanahan explained to a side judge during San Francisco's NFC Championship win over Green Bay that Niners tight end George Kittle was about to be held by Packers safety Will Redmond... and, lo and behold, Kittle was held.
"A 5-yard out route, 85 (Kittle) versus their guy," Shanahan says in the video below. "He's going to go inside and break out, and (the defender) won't let him out. Watch."
Now, it helps that Redmond obliges Shanahan with a hold that can be seen from space, but Shanahan succeeds by respectfully articulating a specific complaint, which was quickly supported by evidence.
With the Super Bowl looming, here's hoping the NFL's mics can catch Shanahan telling a ref the final score and next month's Powerball numbers.
