SANTA CLARA Frank Gore Color Rush Jersey , Calif. (AP) — head coaches in the NFC West together last year as longtime friends and colleagues tasked with revitalizing struggling franchises.McVay has done a much quicker job overhauling the Los Angeles Rams than Shanahan has with the San Francisco 49ers. The teams headed in opposite directions meet for the first time this season on Sunday when the Rams (6-0) hope to remain the NFL’s only unbeaten team when they visit the struggling 49ers (1-5).McVay credits Shanahan for his success, pointing to his four years as an assistant in Washington when Shanahan was offensive coordinator for much of his development.“I wouldn’t really say it was a give and take,” McVay said. “It was more me taking information from him, and him a lot of giving. I think more than anything, just being committed to an identity. The way he prepared was so impressive. The way that he saw the game. His ability to make things look the same and attack defensive structures and rules and manipulate those. He’s a great coach. I learned so much from him.”That knowledge has helped McVay build one of the NFL’s top teams with a dynamic offense led by quarterback Jared Goff and running back Todd Gurley that ranks third in scoring (32.7 points per game) and second in yards per play (7.16) after winning the NFC West last season.The Niners haven’t had nearly as much success, winning just six games last year and struggling mightily this year after quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 3.San Francisco showed glimpses of becoming what Shanahan envisioned with five straight wins to end last season with Garoppolo at quarterback, but the team has a 1-13 record under Shanahan when either Brian Hoyer or C.J. Beathard starts.Beathard has shown improvement in his second year, leading San Francisco to back-to-back 400-yard games, but his seven turnovers in three starts contributed to the losses.While the results have been different and the teams take slightly divergent approaches — the Rams preferring three-receiver sets and the 49ers relying more on a two-back offense with fullback Kyle Juszczyk — both coaches have taken what they did together in Washington to their current teams.“He’s a good coach and a real good friend. We got to put a lot of that stuff in together,” Shanahan said. “Just like you do everywhere and everyone you work with, you’re always a product of your environment. You carry things over, you change a few things. We’ve both gone some different directions over the last few years, but when you do turn on the tape it’s very similar.”Here are some other things to watch:TAKE THE TOP OFFHaving a healthy Marquise Goodwin last week provided a big boost to San Francisco’s offense. He made four catches for 126 yards https://www.49ersfanshop.com/Bradley-Pinion-Jersey , including touchdowns of 67 and 30 yards in the first half. Perhaps even more importantly, his sprinter’s speed forces defenses to provide help in coverage, opening up holes in the running game and opportunities for other receivers.“Guys are respecting his speed, and you’ve got to respect his speed,” Beathard said. “He can take the tops off of coverages, so it definitely helps having him out there.”GOOD GURLEYGurley is off to a scintillating start with 870 yards from scrimmage and 11 TDs through six games. Since the merger in 1970, only two other players have reached those marks in six games: Priest Holmes for Kansas City in 2002, Emmitt Smith for Dallas in 1995. Gurley ran for 208 yards and two TDs last week in Denver. Gurley had 149 yards from scrimmage and three TDs in his only game against the Niners last year.RUN TO DAYLIGHTRaheem Mostert had just 13 carries since entering the NFL in 2015 before having a breakthrough performance last week for the 49ers. Mostert carried 12 times for 87 yards at Green Bay, forming a potent rushing duo with Matt Breida. San Francisco ranks third in rushing with 142.5 yards per game and a 5.12 average per carry.FAMILY AFFAIRThe 49ers are hosting alumni weekend and will be wearing 1994 throwback jerseys to honor their last Super Bowl championship team. That team means a lot to McVay, whose grandfather, John, helped build the 49ers dynasty as general manager. Sean McVay listed several of his favorite players from that era, including Steve Young Laken Tomlinson Jersey , Jerry Rice, Dexter Carter and Merton Hanks. He also said he had a Deion Sanders jersey from that 1994 season.“It’s always weird going against them,” he said. “But you feel so fortunate just to have the family history my grandpa established and developed.” SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo has resumed throwing and taking drop backs as he rehabilitates from a major knee injury that derailed his first full season as San Francisco’s starting quarterback.The process of coming back is going smoothly and Garoppolo hopes to be able to take part in seven-on-seven drills when the 49ers begin OTAs next month and be fully cleared by the time training camp starts in late July.Once the season begins Sept. 8 in the opener at Tampa Bay, Garoppolo believes the only difference will be the brace he will wear on his surgically repaired left knee.“I wore one initially as a rookie,” he said. “Then, I kind of got away from it. I think this year it’s a certainty. But, we’ll see how it goes down the road.”Garoppolo said he doesn’t believe the brace will impact his mobility a bit since the new ones are so lightweight that it’s almost “like you’re not wearing anything sometimes.”The 49ers are counting on Garoppolo being back to the player he was when they acquired him during the 2017 season from New England and he won his first five starts with the team to end that season.He was rewarded with a five-year, $137.5 million contract that offseason to be San Francisco’s franchise quarterback only to go down with the season-ending ACL injury in a Week 3 loss at Kansas City last season.“I think initially probably was the hardest part, the acceptance of everything,” he said. “The first couple weeks, really, you can’t put any weight on it with the meniscus and all that stuff. Probably the first month or two was the worst. But Terrell Owens Color Rush Jersey , after that, you get running and everything and you start to feel like yourself again.”Garoppolo was helped in his rehab by the fact that running back Jerick McKinnon tore his ACL earlier in September and was a good guide and partner during the process that has continued throughout the offseason.Garoppolo said it took some time to get the trust back in his knee, but now feels comfortable running and throwing the ball.“It’s encouraging,” he said. “Every day gets easier and easier. Able to make this throw better than I was a week ago. It’s small victories like that. Throughout the whole process, it’s all about small victories because you’re not going to jump out and be able to throw it 60, 70 yards again. Small victories.”Having a healthy Garoppolo and McKinnon will be key this season for the 49ers, who are coming off a 4-12 season in coach Kyle Shanahan’s second year with the team.Shanahan let the players know as they gathered this week for the start of the offseason program that improvement is necessary.“His big thing was the past couple of years we really needed to get the culture and everything,” defensive lineman DeForest Buckner said. “He feels like the culture is here and we have the talent. Now we have to go out and execute. We had setbacks on the way, especially last year. We had big expectations for the team and we didn’t achieve those expectations and those goals.”Buckner was one of the few bright spots for the Niners last season with a career-high 12 sacks. The seventh overall pick in the 2016 draft proved he was a foundation piece for the 49ers.Now the team will have to start planning on how to keep Buckner. He is eligible for a contract extension this summer if the 49ers want to lock him up long term before he can become a free agent following the 2020 season.“We had conversations here and there,” Buckner said. “It’s very early. Just because I’m eligible for a new contract going into my fourth year, it’s still very early in the process.”