Running back Christian McCaffrey, then with the Carolina Panthers, faced the Los Angeles Rams during Week 6. He'll meet them again during Week 8, this time with the San Francisco 49ers.
The Niners traded for the star player last week. That should make game planning against the Rams more interesting for head coach Kyle Shanahan.
"When you add someone like Christian, it's always a lot more fun," Shanahan admitted to reporters before Wednesday's practice.
That doesn't mean Shanahan plans to change much regarding the game plan against the Rams. Instead, McCaffrey simply adds yet another weapon to his arsenal.
"You try your hardest to get your good players the ball in space, and you see what they do with it," Shanahan said. "It's a pretty simple game [for] both of us because we know each other well. It usually [turns into] a physicality game, and [depends on] who turns the ball over least, and who makes one more play than the other."
The Rams tried to trade for McCaffrey too, but it was the 49ers who offered the better trade package to the Panthers. This week, Rams head coach Sean McVay revealed his thoughts on losing out on the McCaffrey sweepstakes to Shanahan and the division-rival 49ers.
"You thought, 'Oh, s--t. They're getting another great player?'" McVay said.
The Rams coach added, "I think he's a phenomenal player. Obviously, we saw him recently. I've always had respect for his game and the versatility. I think that's your first inclination. And then you have what a great job Kyle and his staff do of maximizing and utilizing versatile offensive weapons. So that was my first reaction."
Last week, McCaffrey didn't have much time to study the game plan or learn the playbook's language. He arrived Friday morning after learning the Panthers traded him to the 49ers the night before. McCaffrey played 22 snaps on offense against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The running back should be more prepared this week. However, that doesn't mean it won't be challenging to get up to speed.
"It's a real challenge for anybody, but you've got to work at it," Shanahan said. "He did that a lot in the 48 hours he was here to be a part of it [on Sunday], and I'm not worried about him doing it this week too."
It's also a learning process for Shanahan. The coach is still getting to know his new running back and figuring out the best ways to utilize him in each week's game plan. With time, McCaffrey's snap count should increase.
"It's something that you feel out once you get to know people," Shanahan shared. "You get to know your team. You get to know your player. You get to know his backups. You just get familiar with people. ... I try to get to know the athlete, and how they play throughout the game, and how we use them, and how you balance people out. That's usually how we do it."
