Everyone knows who will be under center for the Detroit Lions in Week 1. Jared Goff is the unquestioned starter in his first year with the team. Things are so clear-cut with Detroit’s Week 1 opponent, the San Francisco 49ers.
The Niners have high-priced veteran Jimmy Garoppolo as the nominal starter, but they will also bring high-profile rookie Trey Lance to Ford Field on Sunday. They are divergently styled quarterbacks, and that makes game preparation tough for Lions head coach Dan Campbell and his staff. In fact, the ambiguity coming out of San Francisco on the QB front has given Detroit’s rookie head coach even more to think about in his regular-season debut.
“I think you’ve got to prepare for both,” Campbell said before Monday’ practice session in Allen Park. “You have to assume that they may try to mix (Lance) in there and use him a little bit. We’ll make sure that we’ve taken care of some of that.”
Either way, it’s Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme that is the focus for Campbell. He knows it’s a challenge to stop the intricately designed plays with several options built into each read on the snap.
“Our guys, they’re going to have to be very disciplined with what their keys are and what we’re asking them to do,” Campbell said. “Because these guys will get on you. They will, and if you let them get some explosive runs on you, we’re going to be in trouble.”
Lance has been dealing with a finger issue, but reports from San Francisco indicate that might be a thing of the past now. Garoppolo still projects to start, but Shanahan has had no qualms in the past about playing multiple QBs in order to get a competitive edge.
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