49ers’ East Coast road trip has been a disaster from the start
The 49ers’ Week 2 win over the New York Jets didn’t go particularly well for the victors. They lost defensive end Nick Bosa to a presumed torn ACL. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, running back Raheem Mostert and defensive lineman Solomon Thomas were also among those injured in the game. San Francisco’s problems didn’t start at kickoff though, and they didn’t end after the final whistle.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday in a video conference with reporters was supposed to give updates on Bosa, Thomas and others. His updates were limited though thanks to an issue with the MRI truck that was supposed to be joining the team at The Greenbrier in West Virginia.
“A lot of this stuff isn’t still confirmed yet. You guys know we’re at the Greenbrier,” Shanahan said. “We had an MRI truck scheduled up here and that truck broke last night, So, the local hospital is helping us out with MRIs, but that’s why we’re behind on everything.”
That’s right. The truck meant to help confirm the 49ers’ injuries couldn’t even make it without getting injured itself.
The 49ers should’ve had an inkling their two-game East Coast swing may not be its best ever road trip though. Their flight to New Jersey wound up getting delayed because their charter plane was crashed into on the runway before the team left San Jose.
“Yeah, the plane we were supposed to take out on Friday somehow, I don’t know how, but someone crashed into it on the runway,” Shanahan explained. “People working, I guess. So, they dented it and we thought they were going to fix it and then they thought it was not safe to travel. So, I’m glad they made that decision, but they got us a new plane in San Francisco. We had to go to a different airport and so it got us about a six-hour delay. So, it just got us in real late. We didn’t get in until about 2:30, land, and get to the hotel around 4:00. We were supposed to get there at 9:00, but luckily, we came on Friday. It would have been a big issue if we came on Saturday.”
That’s about as bad as a road trip can start for an NFL team, which aims to keep a tight schedule. Having a six or seven hour delay thrown into the top of the trip doesn’t help that.
On top of the delay, they suffered a number of substantial injuries, followed by the issue with the MRI truck. It was just a nightmare 48 hours all around for the 49ers. They’ll look to turn their fortunes around during their stay on the East Coast before facing the Giants on Sept. 27 at MetLife Stadium.
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