SANTA CLARA – A center is often asked to interpret what is going on in the huddle. The center makes the line calls and calls out shifts in the defensive front, and sometimes, the center will even translate the quarterback’s accent for the rest of the team.
That’s what 49ers center Daniel Kilgore did when his fellow Tennessean, C.J. Beathard was calling plays as the team’s quarterback.
“I had to translate,” Kilgore told Tolbert and Lund Thursday afternoon.
Beathard admitted that sometimes players couldn’t tell the difference from when he said “X” and when he said “F.”
Kilgore said it would have been fine except for one large exception, 315-pound left tackle Joe Staley.
“Absolutely the biggest complainer, Joe Staley,” Kilgore admitted. “But he can’t understand anybody. So I had to interpret what C.J. was saying. I had to translate at first.”
Part of it was Beathard’s natural shyness. “He was a little quiet at first,” Kilgore said, “being a rookie.”
However, those problems of accent disappeared when Jimmy Garoppolo, from Illinois, became the quarterback. The issue with him is making sure he gets the entire play call correctly, and that’s where players have corrected him.
Kilgore said the main issue with play transmission is the multiple formations and shifts. The team has about 50 basic plays according to Kilgore but “thousands of formations”
Each play also dictates what different groups should do including the offensive line, running backs, tight ends and receivers. Kilgore also said plays will often change based upon what type of front and coverage the defense is playing.