SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ The 49ers went 10-22 during the first two years of coach Kyle Shanahan's regime. They have a mostly young roster, a quarterback going through his first full season a starter and a head coach appearing in the NFC Championship for the first time at his position.
Yet Shanahan's team was noticeably relaxed this week. Receiver Emmanuel Sanders has continued to preach the 49ers have been in playoff-level games since early December. Cornerback Richard Sherman reiterated this is just another normal week of preparation.
Receivers Kendrick Bourne and Deebo Samuel continued to dance at the start of practice like they would if the calendar said October. Fred Warner and Kwon Alexander screamed across the field after stretching to encourage teammates on the offensive end bring their same energy to practice.
There were about five times the normal number of media members at the 49ers' Santa Clara headquarters this week. Players were required to have podium sessions in the Levi's Stadium auditorium. The FOX broadcast team was doing interviews in the swanky club for high rollers nearby the team's locker room.
Suffice to say, the 49ers did all they could to treat this like a normal even though it's anything but. Which leads to the first key to winning Sunday's game that could give the franchise its seventh trip to the Super Bowl.
