49ers vs. Seahawks Preview: Leonard Williams, JSN & the Key Matchups

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Now back to Murfin Marcus on The Sports Leader. Streaming live on thesportsleader.com and KNBR. The Sports Leader app. Murfin Marcus is sponsored by Bigelow Tea. Grab a mug and tea proudly.
00:00:17
Speaker 2: Really good team football. They're running the ball. They're staying ahead of schedule. There's very limited third downs. When they do throw it, they're playing on time. There has been many occasions where there's people unaccounted for for the quarterback. And when there has been, he's gotten rid of the ball. So now we just spoke about how he's been able to extend plays and take care of the football and still have that element of creativity and playmaking that keeps the ball moving forward. So they've been doing a great job.
00:00:43
Speaker 3: There is Mike McDonald, the enemy Seattle Seahawks head coach, talking about Brock Purdy and his ability to not be sacked. And that's going to be obviously a big part of this game on Sunday, which if the 49ers win, if they win this game and get to 5-0, they'll have division wins over the Rams and the Seahawks, both on the road.
00:01:06
Speaker 4: I mean, man, oh, man.
00:01:07
Speaker 3: One of my buddies said to me, and just kind of casually after they held off the Broncos, he goes, whew, man, this is good. He goes, now we can afford to lose in Seattle on Sunday.
00:01:14
Speaker 4: Afford? Well, that's interesting. Ah, that's a weird mentality to have. I don't know. Does anybody here buy that?
00:01:19
Speaker 5: No?
00:01:20
Speaker 3: I mean, because now, if you do lose to Seattle, you're 4-1, they're 4-1.
00:01:24
Speaker 4: You're 1-1 in the division, they're 1-1 in the division.
00:01:26
Speaker 3: I mean, against the Rams, basically. I'm not even counting the Cardinals, although the Cardinals can be a mess. So you don't see that, like the Niners have a cushion.
00:01:33
Speaker 4: Going into this one?
00:01:34
Speaker 6: No, I don't think the 49ers should be fat and happy after beating the Denver Broncos because we know how much weight that these divisional matchups carry. So if you get a win against the Seahawks, it's almost like winning two games in your division. So, yeah, I don't know if I'm buying into that theory.
00:01:46
Speaker 5: All right, all right.
00:01:46
Speaker 3: Well, it is, and again, so much to gain if they do. We'll talk to Greg Bell, the Tacoma News Tribune, next segment, and John Lynch at 8 a.m. As we get ready for the 49ers and the Seahawks 125 on Sunday. And yes, if you're just tuning in, we did address the thrilling win for the Valks last night. And we'll talk to Jane Kenny, the outstanding Valkyries beat writer from the San Francisco Stanford standard at 915 in the morning. And we also commiserated with Marcus for his Yankees being eliminated.
00:02:15
Speaker 4: What fan interference? I didn't see no ball get touched.
00:02:18
Speaker 3: And the Padres, a little schadenfreude and all that. I was just showing Marcus two hours after the game, Joe Musgrove and Fernando Tatis were out in front of the dugout in sweats, hitting fungos like playing a game where they were trying to hit a target in the bleachers.
00:02:29
Speaker 4: Almost like kind of endearing. Endearing that they didn't want to leave the yard. Yeah, it looked like they were playing a little fungo golf or something. Yeah, all those plucky Padres.
00:02:37
Speaker 3: All right, anyway, we'll get back into that a little bit, too. But Mike McDonald, what did he have to say about rushing... Brock Purdy, you just heard one of the bites about, you know, this guy gets rid of the ball.
00:02:47
Speaker 4: Cut V, Walt. How does he game plan to rush Brock Purdy?
00:02:52
Speaker 2: Their offense is very efficient.
00:02:54
Speaker 4: It's also explosive.
00:02:55
Speaker 2: He throws on time, and then when it's not there, he's very creative in how he extends plays and makes plays. So it's kind of not a one-man job for us.
00:03:04
Speaker 4: It's an 11-, 12-man job.
00:03:05
Speaker 5: Okay, 12-man job.
00:03:06
Speaker 2: 12-man job.
00:03:09
Speaker 4: What's he doing? He's calling in the 12th man. Bringing in the 12th. He's bringing in 12ths. I wonder how hyped it's going to be up there. Oh, it's going to be loud. You think so? Yeah. They're still coming off the Super Bowl.
00:03:19
Speaker 3: They're not fat and happy and, you know, an uninspiring loss to the commanders, a almost blown game against the Chargers.
00:03:26
Speaker 6: I think maybe that creates more energy and maybe more urgency for the Seahawks to get back on track because I don't think they enjoy looking up at the 49ers in the standings right now.
00:03:38
Speaker 5: All right.
00:03:39
Speaker 4: I like that. Yeah.
00:03:40
Speaker 6: But I mean, look, the Seahawks and that defense is going to show up for this matchup every single time they have the opportunity to square off against Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy. And last year, as you heard Mike talk about getting pressure on Brock Purdy in that playoff game, Brock Purdy dropped back 33 times. He was pressured 19 times on those dropbacks, which was the highest rate of Brock Purdy's career. So again, we've been praising this offensive line a lot this year for not giving up a single sack. It's essentially the same offensive line. Now, I actually think I got to correct myself that it was Spencer Burford starting at left guard, not Connor Colby. So there's the difference there. Connor Colby, Dominic Poonie, Colton McKibbitz, Jake Brendel. I throw to that conversation. We know how good Trent Williams is, but all those guys have improved this year. But there's no question in my mind. This is going to be the biggest test for that offensive line this weekend because the Seahawks can create pressure with just that four man rush, which makes that defense so hard to move the ball.
00:04:32
Speaker 4: Look at it.
00:04:32
Speaker 3: Quarterback hits for the Seahawks this year. Not just sacks, but it hits. Leonard Williams with six. Derek Hall with six. Demarcus Lawrence, old man, with five. Then Jaron Reed with three. Nwosu with three. Byron Murphy with two. Drake Thomas with two. Nick Emanwari with two. In terms of sacks right now, their sack leader is Leonard Williams with three. Derek Hall with two.
00:04:51
Speaker 4: Yeah, dude.
00:04:52
Speaker 6: And you mentioned the name Nick Imanwari, the stud safety slash nickel slash linebacker slash defensive end, dude. I was watching a little bit of film, saw the game last week. They lined him in that defensive end and he was putting on spin moves on the outside. Like that's the type of talent that he is.
00:05:06
Speaker 4: The fever backer.
00:05:07
Speaker 3: That's what the Niners are trying to do with Jaden Duggar. And leading the team with tackles for loss, Leonard Williams. He leads in quarterback hits, tackles for loss, and sacks.
00:05:14
Speaker 6: Yeah, now he was down with a bit of an ankle injury last week, but it sounds like he has a good chance to play this weekend.
00:05:19
Speaker 4: All right, more Mike McDonald.
00:05:21
Speaker 3: I always say this very specifically because I have a great friend, Malcolm MacDonald, and people misspell this name all the time.
00:05:27
Speaker 4: It's M-A-C little D. Little D. So to speak. That sounds insulting. Lowercase D. Should we go with lowercase D?
00:05:33
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:05:35
Speaker 4: M-A-C lowercase D.
00:05:37
Speaker 3: That is maybe one of the most misspelled last.
00:05:39
Speaker 4: Names of all time because everybody's like, wait, what, huh?
00:05:42
Speaker 3: But yeah, Mike, I believe it means you're from a certain region of the Scottish Highlands of Europe.
00:05:47
Speaker 4: A lowercase D.
00:05:49
Speaker 3: But anyway, point is that Mike McDonald spoke about no.
00:05:53
Speaker 4: Kyle Juszczyk, and that is going to be interesting. Cut W, Walt. How will the Niners look without Juice?
00:06:00
Speaker 2: It's harder to anticipate how they're going to deploy their people. They've done such a great job over the years of the next player playing at a high level and filling in those roles and then kind of tweaking how they deploy their people, so a lot of respect for how they've done business. Kyle's been extremely durable over the years, so there's not a lot of things you can go to and see how they actually did it with the people that are on their current roster, so shout out to him for being able to play all those games, but I don't think they're going to end up an 11-person all-game. I don't think that's how they want to operate. We'll, we'll have a plan for, for 11, but we're anticipating, you know, multiple tight end people out there and, and, uh, we'll have to, we're going to have to adjust throughout the game to kind of test how we think they're going to play it.
00:06:44
Speaker 3: It is a game within a game because the average fan like me, I'm not watching Kyle.
00:06:48
Speaker 4: You stick on every play.
00:06:50
Speaker 3: He's frequently going in motion and laying great blocks that spring, you know, whether it's McCaffrey or Kalon black or, George Kittle on a screen or something like that. He's not really like, you know, an obvious guy, but you know that.
00:07:02
Speaker 4: They're better with him out there, you know?
00:07:05
Speaker 5: Um, so.
00:07:06
Speaker 3: Can Braden Willis play at that level? Can Luke Farrell play at that level? I mean, Jake Tom, just now you miss him at his place where he's had success, Seattle.
00:07:12
Speaker 6: Yeah, no question about it. And I've already always kind of compared Kyle Juszczyk to the 49er offense, like Draymond Green to the Warriors dynasty. Like there's so much more that he does that doesn't show up in the box score. The pre-snap motion just to maybe recognize Brock Purdy, what he's going against.
00:07:29
Speaker 4: The blocking, obviously, the receiving ability.
00:07:31
Speaker 6: Like, Kyle Shanahan has done a great job finding replacements when guys go down. We saw that last year with the wide receiver room. We saw it last year with George Kittle going down. But Kyle Juszczyk is so unique. He's a rare breed in the NFL, just being an actual fullback, but also having the ability to do so much. He has such a bigger impact than the box score, obviously, says so. They got to figure out a way to do it with Willis or somebody this weekend because Juice is not going to be out there, but Kyle's got to get creative to create some of those mismatch opportunities.
00:08:01
Speaker 3: And I'm just kind of preparing ourselves for this. I mean, they ain't going to march up and down the field. They're not going to score 30 for Purdy, I don't think. And last week, it was a 3-3 game into the third quarter, and It was a little frustrating.
00:08:14
Speaker 4: I would anticipate similar type of energy. Yeah, and let me ask you this.
00:08:19
Speaker 6: If it is expected to be a close game with a three-point spread, how are we feeling about Eddie Pinero right now?
00:08:24
Speaker 4: Great question, Dane.
00:08:25
Speaker 3: My fantasy kicker. And I was like, oh, yeah, he hasn't looked the same. First of all, I'll tell you this as his fantasy character. He's not getting as many opportunities.
00:08:32
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:08:33
Speaker 3: You just haven't seen him that much. So he misses a PAT, and everybody's like, wait, what? And then you don't see the guy for hours because they've been scoring touchdowns. And then he does off the upright a 57-yarder, I think, against Arizona or Miami. So that one sticks in your head. It was still a good cook. So he hasn't been terrible, but he's had very few opportunities and a couple of misses.
00:08:56
Speaker 5: I'm not.
00:08:57
Speaker 4: I guess to answer your question is.
00:08:58
Speaker 3: I'm not at all feeling bad about him, but he needs a positive energy game.
00:09:03
Speaker 6: And this might be a game where he has to kick four field goals. Yeah, and he's got to make sure he hits extra points as well. He's missed a couple of those this year.
00:09:10
Speaker 4: Is it two? I think he's missed two on this season. Is he missed two? I thought I missed the one. Yeah, for sure. He might've missed two in one game. I think it might've been two. You might be right about that.
00:09:17
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:09:17
Speaker 3: Uh, anyway, Mike McDonald on Mike Evans, who's going to be hopefully the, by the way, Evans at the Valks game last night.
00:09:23
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:09:23
Speaker 6: Shout out the 49ers, Mike Evans, Debo Samuel, and DeMarcus Robinson. I believe we're all out there.
00:09:29
Speaker 3: They showed Evans, and he had his arm around, I think, what must have been his daughter or something. I was like, hey, easy on the ribs. Easy on the ribs, buddy.
00:09:35
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:09:35
Speaker 4: Don't lean into anybody, buddy. What are you doing out there? Yeah, make sure nobody's trying to squeeze through your aisle.
00:09:39
Speaker 3: He didn't look like he was in excruciating pain.
00:09:41
Speaker 4: He did last Sunday, though. I know, but I'm saying, Balhalla might have healed him. Balhalla might have healed him. He might have to go purify himself at Balhalla. Is it Balhalla or Balhalla? I think it's Balhalla.
00:09:50
Speaker 5: Right.
00:09:51
Speaker 4: I've always called it Balhalla. Yeah, B-A-L-L, but the original is Valhalla. So you say ball holler, ball holler. It's ball. They're playing ball. They're playing ball. All right. It's not that hard.
00:10:00
Speaker 3: Here's Mike McDonald on Mike Evans.
00:10:06
Speaker 2: They've always had a good passing game. Mike Evans is a big target that can run the whole route tree and also win on outside lane throws. He's a really great player. He obviously knows... how to play the position at a really, really high level. So they've moved him around quite a bit more so probably than his whole career without speaking for him, but definitely have to understand where he is.
00:10:26
Speaker 4: Yeah, and hopefully he's healthy.
00:10:28
Speaker 3: He said they're moving him around more than any other time in his career.
00:10:31
Speaker 6: Yeah, Mike Evans really didn't play the X at all in Tampa Bay, and Kyle Shanahan has moved him around. He's getting creative, and that's one of the guys in the wide receiver room throwing Debo Samuel two pieces that were not a part of the 49ers offense last year when they struggled so much against the Seahawks.
00:10:44
Speaker 3: Once again, bodies that will be in uniform that were not in the Week 18 loss or the divisional loss.
00:10:50
Speaker 4: Fred Warner, George Kittle.
00:10:53
Speaker 3: Dre Greenlaw, Deebo Samuel, Mike Evans, Osa Odigizua, and Mikel Williams. Also on the Seattle side, they're missing Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. I mean, on paper, the Niners are in a better spot.
00:11:07
Speaker 4: On paper, the 49ers got better this offseason.
00:11:10
Speaker 6: I don't think you can say the same thing about the Seahawks, and we've kind of seen some of those flaws early on this season.
00:11:14
Speaker 3: 714 texted to remind us, not just one missed field goal and two missed PATs.
00:11:19
Speaker 4: A blocked field goal, too.
00:11:20
Speaker 1: That's right.
00:11:21
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:11:22
Speaker 3: So is that Eddie's fault? I think that kid was going to be good. He's kind of symbolizing my rough fantasy year, by the way.
00:11:28
Speaker 4: Yeah. I'm not dumping him, though. Doesn't matter. Even if a kick gets blocked, you're still going to blame the kicker. You do blame the kicker. Shout out Jake Moody. Any time a quarterback gets sacked, you blame the quarterback. Exactly.
00:11:37
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah.
00:11:38
Speaker 4: All right, listen.
00:11:38
Speaker 3: Hey, well, let's make the transition up to Seattle. Talk to Greg Bell, our good buddy. Gee, Bell and I might go on a digression about Eric Chavez's work at third base.
00:11:48
Speaker 4: Oh, I'm here for it.
00:11:49
Speaker 3: He and I covered the 1999-2000 A's together. Or maybe Mike Magnante's lefty presence out of the pen. Giants could have used Mike Magnante this year, I'll tell you that.
00:11:58
Speaker 4: They could use a lot. All right. Greg Bell from Seattle next on The Sports Leader.
00:12:03
Speaker 1: KMBR, The Sports Leader. Now back to Murfin Marcus on The Sports Leader. Streaming live on thesportsleader.com at KNBR. The Sports Leader app. Murfin Marcus is sponsored by Bigelow Tea. Grab a mug and tea proudly.
00:12:22
Speaker 3: The best part about the 49ers playing the Seahawks is hooking up with G.
00:12:25
Speaker 6: Bell.
00:12:26
Speaker 4: Greg Bell, my old buddy from the A's beat.
00:12:29
Speaker 3: And crushing it in Seattle for all these years at the News Tribune. He's a West Point man. We'll have to talk about that at some point. Seahawks beat writer Greg Bell. It is always good to catch up with you, G.
00:12:41
Speaker 4: Welcome back, Murph, your buddy. I got my partner Marcus here. How you doing, Greg?
00:12:45
Speaker 5: Hey, Greg. Hey, guys. Thanks for having me on again. I see what you did there with Nirvana. Seattle guy appreciates that.
00:12:52
Speaker 3: Are they still like, you know, if you hear Nirvana in a Seattle bar, does everybody start banging their heads?
00:12:58
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:12:58
Speaker 5: It's back to 1990s. Yeah. You guys moved up there when? Like 2002 or 2003, something like that?
00:13:03
Speaker 4: Yeah, 2005 after the Raiders.
00:13:11
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, after the Raiders. Bill Callahan, they had a 4-12 season. We've got to be the dumbest team in America. It was after that season.
00:13:19
Speaker 3: You know, Marcus, my partner here is a lifelong Raiders fan, sadly, Greg. So, Greg, you guys can talk about maybe the sadness of the 0-4 Raiders together.
00:13:29
Speaker 5: Man, you've endured, Marcus, if you're a lifelong Raiders fan. Enjoy the Clint Kupiak.
00:13:36
Speaker 4: Yeah, well, yeah, that's the thing. I wanted to jump off and talk to you about Clint Kubiak.
00:13:39
Speaker 6: I should also mention to you my least favorite stat, that I'm 34 years old, and Clint Kubiak is the 19th different head coach of my lifetime. So looking at it from your perspective, from the Seattle Seahawks, how much different is this offense this year without Clint Kubiak calling plays for the Seahawks?
00:13:56
Speaker 5: Not that much. The reason that they got Brian Fleury, the tight ends coach and run game coordinator from the 49ers, is to continue the Shanahan outside zone system. What is different in the problem, guys, is the running backs aren't the same as Clint Kubiak had because Zach Charbonnet is still on the physically unable to perform list from the knee injury that blew out his knee against the 49ers in a divisional playoff game. And, of course, Kenneth Walker is now Andy Reid's new toy in Kansas City. And it's just a mismatch behind him. Jadarian Price was supposed to be the guy, the first-round draft pick from Notre Dame, Wasn't even Notre Dame's number one running back. It was Jeremiah Love. And Price was the number two behind him. But now Price is on injury reserve. He had a rib injury in week two. He re-aggravated it last week in practice. And so he missed the Charger game. And then they put him on injury reserve right before the game. He's out at least a month. They just signed a practice squad running back off the Washington Commanders practice squad. And he's probably going to be in uniform this week. And it's Emmanuel Wilson. who few NFL guys have heard of. He's from Green Bay, a 500-yard backlash to what the Packers signed a one-year minimum salary deal with Seattle. All of a sudden, he's their running back one. So they've had games like the one they lost in Washington where they threw it 45 times and ran it only 18 for 44 yards. The scheme's the same. The results and the guys are different, and that's really the biggest problem and difference for their offense right now.
00:15:26
Speaker 4: Interesting stuff. Sounds like a pretty.
00:15:29
Speaker 3: Sounds like the Niners last year is what it sounds like, and something to watch going into this game, the Seahawks' lack of run game. We've been talking almost for the last two days exclusively about Mike McDonald's defense, so I want to actually ask about another question about the offense, and that's the quarterback. Super Bowl champ Sam Darnold, and then he got injured in the opener and came back.
00:15:48
Speaker 4: What's the progress report? His numbers weren't dazzling, I think, against the Chargers. What's the look?
00:15:54
Speaker 3: He's operating without Clint Kibiak, too, Greg. What's the Darnold progress report?
00:15:58
Speaker 5: Well, yeah, he got injured in the fourth, fifth play of the season when Jermont Jones sacked him from behind. First thing anyone's seen in Seattle, Jermont Jones do anything around Seattle. He was a Seahawk for four years. He didn't do anything. Then he ends up knocking out the Super Bowl quarterback. He missed most of that first game and all of the second game. And Drew Locke was fantastic. That 70% passer, the second best passer and passer rating in the league. In the two ones, they had a Lockett starting quarterback. Since Darnold has come back, he has looked good with this glute injury of getting away from pressure, and there's been a lot of it to get away from because he's suffered without the running game again. The running game sets up the play-action passes. It gets Jackson Smith and Jick more open in the secondary. He has to play the run more honestly, and Darnold hasn't had that. He's had three interceptions in the last two games, two of them really bad. The pick six in Washington that clinched the commander's win was a late throw over the middle that a linebacker stepped in front of the tight end. A throw that Darnold says, yeah, I should have dirted that. The very first play Seattle ran against the Chargers, Darnold just blindly threw into the flat for a check down without even looking. And the linebacker was standing right there. And it's like a play that the old Mount Tam High School would not have put up with, Murph. There's no way. An NFL quarterback should play that pass. It was a really mysterious pass from a Super Bowl champion quarterback. That's a long way of saying he is not at all what he was last year, but if you remember, he led the NFL in turnovers last year during the regular season with 20, and then part of the big reason why the Seahawks won the Super Bowl is he didn't turn it over at all in the three playoff games. They just relied on their defense, turned the ball over to give an offense a short field and cheap points on Seattle's defense, and that's really the formula for the Seahawks. Guys, they've only lost four times in 12 months. I'm going to break down the losses. A year ago against Tampa Bay, they lost when Darnold turned the ball over, throwing it off of Buccaneers' helmet for interception, the minus territory, and it gifted his Bucs a field goal at the end of the game to win. L.A. in November, four interceptions, a career high for Darnold. They still only lost by two points when a 61-yard field goal by Jason Myers just missed at the horn. Then they lose the Washington game. because of three turnovers, one price drop in the ball, the rookie running back, and two interceptions, including a pick six by Darnold. The point is, when they don't turn the ball over, teams don't drive repeatedly down the field for multiple touchdowns a game on Mike McDonald's defense. That's the key on Sunday. Don't give the 49ers short fields. They'll play field position, rely on their defense, and that's what beat Shanahan's offense the last two times they met last year.
00:18:49
Speaker 6: Yeah, and we've seen that defense perform pretty damn well against this 49ers team. Now, Greg, I want to ask you about this defense. I heard Mike McDonald yesterday kind of talk about the one area where they've struggled this year, the ranked 30th in the NFL against screen passes. We know Kyle Shanahan can get into his bag and dial some screens for George Goodall and Chris McCaffrey. So how much of the matchup do you think that is going to decide this weekend?
00:19:11
Speaker 5: It's a joke up here in Seattle about screen passes because under Pete Carroll for 15 years, they were terrible at it. They were terrible at defending it and they were terrible at doing it. And it's been the exact opposite under McDonald. Brian Fleury actually has shown a screen game up here offensively and defensively. The reason, there's two reasons why the Seahawks have been defending screen passes really well. One, they're really tackling well. When they tackle Ernest Jones, those guys, when they tackle, guys go to the ground. There's no yards after contact. And the second reason is Nicky Mori. And you all in San Francisco saw what Nicky Mori did to the 49ers last year. He single-handedly throttled George Kittle down the field and Christian McCaffrey immediately after the catch, which few NFL teams can do. When Nicky Mori got hurt on the fourth play of his career last regular season opener, That's when the 49ers ended up moving down the field with George Kittle going against Ty Okada at safety instead of Imanwuri after the high ankle sprain Imanwuri got. And that's when they ended up winning the game with 17 points. Ever since Imanwuri has been back from that, he has excelled. His best games have been against San Francisco because of his tackling and his coverage ability on Kittle. That's the key to the game for the Seahawks defense. Nicky Manwari has not been full go until just last week. He finally was playing 70 plus percent of the snaps after the ankle surgery he had in July. They've been slow playing him for the longer term. It looks like now this week will be the first time he's going to be an 80, 90% snap guy playing at every level of defense. Sometime as a defensive end, sometime as a hybrid Sam linebacker, sometime as a drop safety, sometime as a slot corner cover guy. And all the time, in the flat spying McCaffrey. That's what they're going to do on Sunday again. I'm sure McDonald's going to have Christian McCaffrey when he's short. and George Kittle when he goes down the field with Nick Emanuari, the cover guy.
00:21:10
Speaker 4: Man, good breakdown.
00:21:11
Speaker 3: Nick Emanuari giving the Niners nightmares. Greg Bell is the voice you hear breaking it down. Longtime beat writer for the Seahawks, for the News Tribune up there in the PNW. And as he pointed out, man, they just don't lose many games. And when they do, it takes something unusual. But the Niners were one of those teams. They beat them last year when Nick Emanuari got hurt. Nick Emanuari is such a dude. But I was looking at the stats, Greg. And we were just talking right before you came on the air. The guy leading the team in sacks, quarterback hits, and tackles for loss is Leonard Williams.
00:21:42
Speaker 4: I see his injury report. I don't know. Is he okay?
00:21:45
Speaker 3: I think you said he– read your story. He was jogging out to practice. And what kind of year is he having, and how does he loom Sunday?
00:21:52
Speaker 5: Appreciate you reading the story, Mer. Thank you. Wendy, my wife, didn't even do that, so thank you for that. Come on.
00:21:59
Speaker 4: After these years of marriage, bro, you guys are just– come on. I'll be saying to Candace, did you hear that? I'll say to Candace, did you hear the thing on the show today? She's like, yeah, no. No, I didn't.
00:22:08
Speaker 5: Anyway, go ahead. What job do you.
00:22:12
Speaker 4: Have?
00:22:13
Speaker 5: What do you do?
00:22:14
Speaker 4: Dreaded USC Trojan Leonard Williams, yes.
00:22:18
Speaker 5: Yes, he is. Sorry. You shouldn't bring up UCLA football anymore. But anyway, Leonard Williams, ankle sprain. late in the game against the Chargers. It looked bad. He was on his back. He was grasping his face mask with two hands. It looked like he was in pain. Went into the blue 10. Everyone in the stadiums hushed. And then he came out and was holding a helmet waiting to get back in the game at the very end, and McDonald didn't put him back in. He did jog onto the practice field yesterday. He was listed as a limited participant. McDonald said that he's optimistic that he's going to play, and it looked like yesterday he is going to play. He's so key because McDonald moves him up and down the defensive lines. He'll be a zero-tech nose tackle at one point. He'll be a three-tech. He'll be a five. He'll be a nine outside the tight end and playing almost like the DeMarcus Lawrence off the edge. That's what McDonald likes to move him, chest piece up and down the line. So even when his stats aren't their best, he is an asset to make the offense say, where's 99? And then when they do that, sometimes they lose Byron Murphy in pass rest. Murphy is the unsung hero of this defense. Maybe it's the nature of playing defensive tackle. Teams try to double-team Byron Murphy when they run, and he has an uncanny ability to stop double-teams and split them. He drops to his knee. I don't know how many of your listeners are into CrossFit. There's this thing called a Turkish kettlebell get-up that CrossFitters do. I've been told that once or twice. I've done it a few times. And you lift the kettlebell. You come up off your knee and thrust the kettlebell into the air at the same time. He does that with two 320-pound offensive linemen who are the best in the world at what they do. And he splits them with one arm. Watch film. It's famous on YouTube and whatever the kids watch. And he splits double teams by himself by going to a knee, something coaches don't want to teach because most guys aren't strong or fast enough to get off their knee from a double team. And Murphy kills doubles, eats them up. And he frees up Leonard Williams from blockers getting to him. He frees up Ernest Jones from blockers. Blockers get into the second level on the middle linebacker. And without Byron Murphy doing that, they would be in trouble in their front a lot of times. So Byron Murphy makes Leonard Williams and everybody else so much better. 91 for the Seahawks on Sunday is someone the 49ers are trying to figure out how to block when they want to run the ball.
00:24:39
Speaker 4: He's the guy behind the guy. Iron Murphy.
00:24:41
Speaker 3: Always got to respect the hard work of a Murphy.
00:24:45
Speaker 4: I'm sort of the D-tackle around here.
00:24:47
Speaker 5: That's true.
00:24:47
Speaker 4: Gee, Bill, I'm the D-tackle around here. It's got to be the last name.
00:24:49
Speaker 3: Hey, we can't let you go without talking about Jerry Rice Smith in Jigba. Oh, my goodness. Talk about delivering on the hype, man. This guy, he leads the NFL with six touchdowns is one stat. The other stat is just he's the best. What's it like watching this guy play and how– How much should the 49ers be worried about him?
00:25:12
Speaker 5: It's funny you bring up Jerry Rice. Murph and I covered Rice at the Raiders. And I'm not comparing them as their careers, and certainly not yet. Smith and Jig was still only 22, 23 years old. But their body control and the way they control a defender when the ball is in the air, Smith and Jig was very Jerry Rice-like in that way. And that has now, in the last two years, allowed Darnold to throw it to him when he's covered. Russell Wilson back in the day here in Seattle would never throw to receivers that were covered, even when he had DK Metcalf, even when he had Doug Baldwin at his best, because he was so risk-averse to throwing interceptions. Darnold is not. And Darnold, obviously, his turnover was last year. But Darnold will throw when Smith and Jigba is covered, and Smith and Jigba for now two seasons running has rewarded that. Teams have tried everything. Bracket, side-to-side, cloud, cover six with hybrid zone man. man up, inside leverage, it doesn't matter. He still gets the ball, even when he's covered. That's how his numbers have been so off the chart. The target numbers for Smith and Jigba a lot of games is like 90% to him, 10% to the other nine receivers they have on the roster, and yet he still produces. So it's going to happen again on Sunday. He's going to have five of the first six targets of the game. He's going to have like 80-some yards in the first half, and the Niners will still be doing cloud and bracket and everything else to try to stop him. The key is to get pass rush on Darnold to then shorten Smith and Jigba's routes and not allow him to do the improv break-offs and keep a defender on his back. The teams that have success at the times against Smith and Jigba is when the ball has to come out sooner than scheduled, and Smith and Jigba can't do his magic down the field, but You're right. I say Jerry Rice up here, and people are like, oh, come on. But it's the body control and his reaction to the ball in the air that reminds me of Rice.
00:27:09
Speaker 4: You got to say Steve Largen up there. That's what you got to say.
00:27:12
Speaker 5: I know. You say 80, it's Steve Largen.
00:27:14
Speaker 4: Although, there's really.
00:27:16
Speaker 3: No comp between JSN and Steve Largen. They're completely different players.
00:27:20
Speaker 4: Absolutely. Other than just being really good.
00:27:22
Speaker 5: Steve Largen himself would say that. Yeah, Steve Largen is up here quite a bit still around the team, and he himself would say the same thing, Murph. You're exactly right. Oh, man.
00:27:31
Speaker 3: Well, if you just listen to Greg Bell the last 10, 12 minutes, there was some good stuff there, man. Very substantive stuff from.
00:27:37
Speaker 4: The great Greg Bell.
00:27:39
Speaker 3: I'm surprised that a man that knowledgeable and on top of it would be so out of it when it comes to the rise, renaissance, and return of UCLA football.
00:27:49
Speaker 4: You can't slide that little insult in there.
00:27:51
Speaker 5: Are you a believer?
00:27:52
Speaker 4: We're 4-0, Coach Bob Chez. We're 4-0.
00:27:56
Speaker 3: We've been doing things we've never done. We're tougher than other guys. We're more resilient than other guys. We have more spirit than other guys.
00:28:03
Speaker 4: The Bruins are back, buddy.
00:28:04
Speaker 5: They got to have bake sales to turn the light on. They got to have bake.
00:28:08
Speaker 4: Sales to turn the light on.
00:28:09
Speaker 5: No, buddy, no.
00:28:10
Speaker 4: The Bruins are back, baby.
00:28:11
Speaker 3: Take the 11 and a half at Eugene this weekend and thank me later.
00:28:15
Speaker 4: All right?
00:28:17
Speaker 5: They got dudes on sandwich boards walking around to.
00:28:19
Speaker 4: Beat me now. Hey, you better worry about beating Tulane tomorrow. Go, Harvey.
00:28:27
Speaker 5: You're right. They got Tulane this week. You're right.
00:28:30
Speaker 4: You guys barely beat Temple.
00:28:32
Speaker 3: I'm looking up your army.
00:28:34
Speaker 5: I know. If we beat Navy, I'll as well. We'll be there.
00:28:40
Speaker 4: Marcus and I will be there.
00:28:42
Speaker 5: Are you going?
00:28:42
Speaker 7: Yes.
00:28:44
Speaker 5: Sweet. I'll see you in Times Square. I will be there.
00:28:46
Speaker 4: Cannot wait, brother. We'll have to hook up again. We'll talk again.
00:28:49
Speaker 3: They play November 29th. We'll talk to you that week. We'll plan a meetup at Molly's Pub on the Lower East Side.
00:28:57
Speaker 4: How's that?
00:28:58
Speaker 5: Done. Joe's Pizza after. We're there.
00:29:01
Speaker 4: And you will owe me a beer after Navy continues the win streak.
00:29:05
Speaker 5: Oh, that's tough, dude. You're going to have me on your show, and then you're going to talk some Navy on me?
00:29:09
Speaker 3: Well, I'll tell you the truth. This is probably the year to get them. Navy's a little down this year, so I think you guys got a chance. Hey, man, great breakdown on the Seahawks. That was some really good stuff, and it should be. I mean, I don't know, just for fun, you anticipating just a dead close game to the final possession, or do you think?
00:29:24
Speaker 5: I do.
00:29:25
Speaker 4: Okay.
00:29:25
Speaker 5: I do. I think it's going to be both teams under 20 points, and yeah, that kind of 17-13 type of game.
00:29:32
Speaker 7: I do.
00:29:32
Speaker 4: They seem to do that. 13-3, 17-13, you name it. So, great stuff, Greg.
00:29:37
Speaker 5: We'll see you soon.
00:29:38
Speaker 1: Okay, bud?
00:29:38
Speaker 5: Yeah, thanks, Ray.
00:29:40
Speaker 6: Great.
00:29:40
Speaker 5: Appreciate it. Yeah.
00:29:41
Speaker 3: The great Greg bell. There's some good stuff there, man. On Leonard Williams, JSN, Mike McDonald, uh, Byron Murphy.
00:29:48
Speaker 4: Sam Darnold, Emon warrior.
00:29:49
Speaker 7: Really?
00:29:49
Speaker 4: The only thing not going well for them is their run game.
00:29:52
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:29:53
Speaker 6: And that's a huge struggle because that was a key factor in them dominating the 49ers on those last two games.
00:29:58
Speaker 3: Are Brian and Bobby approaching that game tomorrow?
00:30:02
Speaker 6: You know, I'll probably stay away from that game. I've been going back and forth all week.
00:30:07
Speaker 4: You call me a chicken? You're the one running scared and not doing the show tomorrow. All right. Good stuff. Hey, John Lynch. Next on Esports Later.
00:30:17
Speaker 1: This is the big hit. Sponsored by Benjamin Moore Paints. Experience the Benjamin Moore retail difference at our independently owned authorized retailers today or at BenjaminMoore.com. Murph and Marcus continue live from the Casino Matrix Progressive Jackpot Studios. Casino Matrix. Progressive jackpots are here.
00:30:38
Speaker 4: Where are you?
00:30:39
Speaker 1: Just drop in.
00:30:40
Speaker 6: 1-800-GAMBLER.
00:30:42
Speaker 2: I think probably verbally in practice, verbally in the huddle, not just doing what's what's called, but understanding.
00:30:50
Speaker 4: Why and speaking up when he has opinions on things. It's been kind of cool. But he's always been confident.
00:30:55
Speaker 7: It's just whether or not he's expressed vocally, which to me doesn't always matter.
00:31:00
Speaker 5: But Brock's Brock, man.
00:31:02
Speaker 7: He's a stud.
00:31:02
Speaker 4: He always has been. He's playing at an extremely high level right now.
00:31:06
Speaker 3: There he is, Christian McCaffrey, talking about Brock Purdy, who's getting lots of love as the 49ers start 4-0.
00:31:11
Speaker 4: 4-0, bro.
00:31:13
Speaker 3: And trying to make it 5-0 up in Seattle. We just talked to Greg Bell up in Seattle, kind of a A daunting reminder of how solid the Seahawks are and how difficult matchup it is, whether it's Nick Ebenwury or Leonard Williams or Byron Murphy or Mike McDonald.
00:31:28
Speaker 4: There's lots of.
00:31:30
Speaker 3: Lots of problems up there on defense, and then you've got to deal with JSN. He said he gets 80% to 90% of their targets. He said it doesn't matter what the Niners are going to do to him. They're going to target him right away. He said the only way to limit JSN is to pressure Darnold.
00:31:43
Speaker 4: Yeah, and that's the thing.
00:31:43
Speaker 6: You've got to force Sam Darnold to make some of those mistakes that he made last year where he turned the ball over, and Greg Bell reminded us that he led the NFL in interceptions last year, so that's something definitely the 49ers need to do. Because they only have one interception going back to week one of the season against Matthew Stafford this year. So if they can create turnovers and win that turnover battle, obviously that will give the.
00:32:03
Speaker 4: 49ers the edge in this matchup.
00:32:06
Speaker 6: But to me, the intriguing thing about the Seattle Seahawks offense is it's almost phenomenal. completely different from what we saw last year when they had so much success running the ball with Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Now they are relying on JSN to carry this offense. They've kind of morphed more into a pass first team instead of a run first team, but we'll see how that plays out this weekend.
00:32:24
Speaker 7: All right.
00:32:24
Speaker 3: We're waiting for John Lynch to call, which we're looking forward to very, very much. Our Thursday chat with John Lynch as the Niners.
00:32:30
Speaker 4: Get ready. Lynch is probably hyped up. He's probably hitting a tackling dummy right now here.
00:32:34
Speaker 3: He's on the sleds this morning. 125 kickoff, of course, will be back on the leader. 680 and 104.5. And Niners are three-point dogs.
00:32:43
Speaker 4: All the elements.
00:32:44
Speaker 3: The revenge for the embarrassing playoff loss. Or the revenge for the Week 18 13-3 loss. Or the revenge for the fact that Seattle partied in their stadium. Which I guess will be more of a storyline tomorrow. On November 29th, and the connection made right on time for our president.
00:32:59
Speaker 4: Of football ops, John Lynch.
00:33:01
Speaker 1: He's humble.
00:33:02
Speaker 7: I'm so grateful that you became our coach, Tony, and my parents were incredible folks, but I don't know if anybody had the impact this guy did. Hall of Fame football coach, but even a better person.
00:33:13
Speaker 1: He's lifted the Lombardi.
00:33:15
Speaker 4: We're world champs, brother. We're world champs.
00:33:18
Speaker 1: He's earned the gold jacket.
00:33:19
Speaker 3: Tony Dungy, he said to us, our job is to win championships here in Tampa.
00:33:24
Speaker 4: But if that's all we do, we will not have done enough.
00:33:26
Speaker 1: Now he's laser focused on a championship for the faithful.
00:33:30
Speaker 5: Touchdown!
00:33:35
Speaker 4: San Francisco! CMC, enter the dragon, baby!
00:33:41
Speaker 1: Here's the 49ers president of football operations and general manager, John Lynch, with Murph and Marcus on The Sports Leader.
00:33:51
Speaker 3: All right, our 49ers executive show is sponsored by Supercuts and sponsored by Just Another Day in CA. Discover how California is shaping the world every single day. You got Murph and Marcus back at full strength. John, big week, big win over the Broncos last Sunday. Big game Sunday in Seattle, even though it's October. I guess I say, first of all, good morning. And second of all, I'd say, is it a big game? Is it too early to call it a big game, John?
00:34:17
Speaker 5: How are you? Hey, John. Hey, guys.
00:34:21
Speaker 7: Absolutely not. It is a big game. You know, first of all, they all are. We only play 17, and so they all are really big. It's a division game. It's a division game against the reigning Super Bowl champs, and so for all those reasons, it's a really big game. I think that's really been a hallmark of this team is that we've approached each and every week as a big game. which it is and and but that's that's hard human nature kicks in and it's hard not to go up and down based upon your opponent and I think this this group has been extremely mature extremely focused and had a really tough you know like mindset of doing that and and that's why we've had the success we've had thus far we understand it's just a start and we just got to keep uh We've got to keep going and doing the things we've been doing to be successful and obviously know that it's heightened against a team as gifted as this team is, as tough a mindset as this team has that the Seahawks do.
00:35:30
Speaker 3: You are listening to John Lynch, and he's on KMBR AM and KMBR FM, San Francisco, the sports leader of Cumulus Media Station on the UMA guest line. Johnny, I do want to focus most of this on Seattle and have fun talking, but just a little look back and maybe linking the two. Can you guys muster a Dre Greenlaw versus Denver level of energy for the Seahawks? John, you're 57 was pretty high.
00:35:53
Speaker 4: What was your view of all that?
00:35:56
Speaker 7: Well, I, you know, I've been there and I've been there going back to Tampa. I didn't have any bones to pick with Tampa, but when you, when you play them, it's just like, it's emotions come out and, players typically, if, if they can, if they can channel all that, all that energy, um, they typically play really well. So I had, I had an idea that Dre would be on a heater and, uh, he was, he was, and, um, you know, I, I think those things happen. I, I remember it. I went back to Tampa and, and, you know, I played really well. Um, and, uh, you know, there's just an energy you want. It's like playing against your, your family. Um, now Dre, I think this feels like family to him and, you know, things, things happen during, during free agency. Things happen when you leave a place. Um, but can you channel that into going and playing well? And that's exactly, Dre was all over the field and he was arriving with, uh, bad intentions. It was fun to watch and, uh, was really proud of.
00:36:57
Speaker 5: Of Dre.
00:36:58
Speaker 7: Um, I think Sean Payton, he handled that well. There's a number of ways you could have. I remember doing something very similar, and it wasn't even against my old team. During free agency, the one year I really hit free agency, the Chargers, my hometown, asked me, and they weren't a good team at the time. It was back to Drew Brees. They had just drafted Phillip Rivers. And A.J. Smith, their GM, their owner, asked me to get on a recruiting call. Their head coach, Marty Schottenheimer, was a big fan of mine, had been, and they're recruiting me. And A.J. Smith, the GM at the time, says, you know what, guys? I appreciate Dean, their owner, getting John on, but we've had a mantra this offseason, younger, faster. John doesn't fit that. And the owner was livid. Marty was livid. The call ended. But during that game, every time I'd make a tackle, I was finding A.J. Smith and pointing at him. I don't think as many cameras then, and so I didn't get fined, but I should have. Because every time I made a tackle, I was pointing at A.J. Smith, and I said, younger, faster, how about better?
00:38:07
Speaker 1: Oh, man.
00:38:11
Speaker 7: I've been there.
00:38:12
Speaker 6: Well, John, even beyond just this past weekend against the Denver Broncos, when you guys reconnected with Dre Greenlaw this offseason, was that something you guys noticed that maybe he was coming back to San Francisco slash Santa Clara with that chip on his shoulder mentality of having something to prove after what happened last year in Denver?
00:38:29
Speaker 7: I think so. I mean, competitors are always looking for something to prove. The best players that I ever played with, the best competitors, some hide it. more than others, but there's always a chip on your shoulder that somebody's doubting them. And, um, and there's just a, a quest to want to be great at something. And so when you combine all those things, um, and Dre's got a fire that burns, you can, you can see it with the way he, uh, aside from just being incredibly talented, um, this guy's a tremendous competitor. Uh, we call him Mike Tyson for a reason. He's, he's a ferocious competitor and it's great to have him on our side.
00:39:07
Speaker 4: I didn't know you guys called him Mike Tyson.
00:39:09
Speaker 7: Well, yeah, Kyle likes calling him Tyson because there's just a lot of– he's very compact and explosive. He delivers knockouts. I mean, who could ever forget being at Seattle in 19 when he makes the tackle on the one-inch line, one of the greatest plays I've seen. Yeah, there's a ferocity and a violence to which he plays the game of football that's really fun to watch.
00:39:34
Speaker 5: Awesome.
00:39:34
Speaker 3: John Lynch and voice you here on the UMA guest line. Of course, 49 or Seahawks is all we're talking about. One 25 kickoff on the leader up in Seattle. You will be without number 44. And it's been a long time since we could say that. I believe 2022 might've been the last game.
00:39:47
Speaker 4: He missed Kyle use chick.
00:39:49
Speaker 3: If you could kind of in this answer, tell us a, how he's doing and be how big of an adjustments is going to be for you guys. I mean, is it, you guys are going to have to kind of reinvent some things without him.
00:40:00
Speaker 7: Well, first of all, he's doing very well, and we all are extremely grateful for that. That, to me, to my eye, had ACL written all over it. It just did not look right, and it speaks to Juice's toughness, his physical prowess, all the hard work he's put in, and also his instinct. I think Juice is... a really aware player of what's around him and, and for him to not be able to see that guy, but to feel someone and pull his leg out of there at the last second. Um, you know, I think that's, that's probably what saved him and why it's, it's, uh, you know, more of a short-term thing than, than what could have been. Um, you know, as to what he means to us, um, he means a lot. Like, uh, you know, sometimes we think of things when grading players like factor grade, you know, the opportunities they get, how many times do they make the play and, and juices factor grade like is off the charts. And, you know, almost every time we go to him, he comes, he comes through and he comes through in a big way, but there's so much nuance to his game. Um, but the way we motion them, uh, that's hard to do the change of direction and then being able to see things on the move, um, You know, things get muddy in there, but Juice can always, and you tell halfbacks oftentimes, let the fullback be your eyes. And Juice is a guy, you know, I played at Stanford, and I joke sometimes that some of the dumbest football players I ever played with played at Stanford. Because sometimes that type of mindset of a Stanford person, it's paralysis through analysis. So can you take those smarts and be able to process very quickly that and juice being a Harvard man, he's one of the best processors I've ever been around. And so he can weed through all those things. And I think that's why those backs, why our coaches have so much trust for him. And then he's extremely talented. And inevitably when I'm around football and some of the best minds, you know, and people will talk about our system and what makes it hard. Juice's name always comes up because of the things we're able to do it. You know, it's called 21 personnel. Typically when juice is in there, that's, That's one tight end, two backs, two receivers. But we can become anything out of that. Juice can split out, play a receiver. He can do all that motion. So I think it's a big loss. You know, Jake Tonjes was a guy who could kind of fill that role. We don't have Jake. And so now it's two guys like Braden Willis and Luke Farrell who's been playing a lot along with Kittle. We'll find a way, but Juice is a significant loss to say the least.
00:42:42
Speaker 3: Well, and amid all that, too, so the Giants used to have a phrase, let Timmy smoke, Tim Lincecum, you know, let Pablo eat, you know, Pablo Sandoval, let Barry serve. Should we say let Kyle drink juice? How about that fine getting rescinded, huh?
00:42:59
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think the league saw better of that. And, you know, I think they're always very concerned about, you know, and rightly so, how– how I think in the days of social media, how the youth are going to see things. But, you know, every time I watch football, I see a lot of commercials for Bud Light, for all these things. And so I think, you know, and then obviously the context with Kyle and all you have to do is come to a game and hear everyone yell juice and know that he's been doing that for a long time and it's actually drinking juice. So, But I think they saw better of that. That's why they have an appeal process, and I'm glad that kind of rectified itself.
00:43:39
Speaker 4: Yeah, no doubt about it.
00:43:40
Speaker 6: Now, John, you did mention the word toughness when talking about Kyle Juszczyk, which made me immediately think about Mike Evans, who showed a lot of toughness this past weekend. You can tell just from watching on TV that he was dealing with some pain, dealing with that rib injury. So what can you tell us about what he's playing through right now and some of that toughness that he did show suiting up last Sunday against the Broncos?
00:43:59
Speaker 7: I think it's always interesting, you know, in this league, when you play with players, when you're in this role and you watch a player on a daily basis, you get to really understand what makes them tick. When you see them from afar, you appreciate their talents. You appreciate, you can see, like in a given game, man, this guy's not afraid to go across the middle. But, man, the toughness that Mike Evans exhibited, he's on like, He's on my esteemed, like, Rondé Barbers, one of the toughest players. When you watch our Super Bowl videos and we're in Philly, you know, he's kind of galloping as he goes 96 yards, intercepting Donovan McNabb because he had a torn PCL but never missed a game, never missed a snap with it. You know, so there's, like, there's things that just stick in your– Derek Brooks was another teammate. Derek never missed anything. There were countless games he should have, but Mike Evans is on that like holy grail. He had a significant rib situation, and he wasn't going to miss, and he told me that from day one. The doctors and trainers were telling me, it's going to be really difficult. Basically, don't count on him. I remember the first time in the locker room, kind of going down there, you always want to hear it for yourself. I said, hey, Mike, good news, we'll have you for Seattle. He said, no, I'm playing this week. And he said it in a way like he's playing this week. And obviously we got to do right by him and not put him in a situation. And that's really like a pain tolerance thing. And you could see, I think everybody in that stadium, if you were watching, could see he was in pain. But I also don't think we win that game without Mike Evans and his contributions. So, you know, obviously knew the great player. We've seen that kind of bear its fruit. in his early time here, but, uh, his toughness meter is, uh, is special and, uh, respect is all I can say there. Man.
00:45:54
Speaker 5: Oh man.
00:45:55
Speaker 3: You, you told us last Thursday, he is, uh, Rondé Barber told you he's a tough SOB and now we saw it and now we'll see him hopefully again this Sunday against the Seahawks. And that leads us to the Seahawks and this, this word, Mike McDonald. And, you know, there's a lot of statistical evidence that he can slow down almost any offense, including Kyle Shanahan's. So, as you guys prepare for another go-round, and familiarity becomes a thing here where you guys have a lot of film on him and a lot of film on their players.
00:46:25
Speaker 4: How.
00:46:27
Speaker 3: Frustrating is it to go against this guy? Do you just accept the fact that it's going to be a slugfest, pitcher's duel, low-scoring game? Or what's your attitude when you're getting off the plane about cracking the mike mcdonald code i.
00:46:41
Speaker 7: Think like a great opportunity um you know look we we've got a lot of belief in ourselves we understand that they're they're extremely good they they won the super bowl for a reason and they they went and won that they didn't they didn't kind of fall into that they you have to and uh they certainly earned that mike mcdonald's a tremendous coach um You can see the way he talks come to life on the silent film. They've got tremendous players. John Schneider, their GM, has done a great job. They're a well-constructed team. They play the right way. I think it's a great challenge. We know we can do it. You think of the first game of the season last year. We went up there and we found a way to get a win. We've done it before. We understand the magnitude of the challenge, but I think we look at it as a great opportunity to go up there and put everything we've got out there and hopefully come back with a victory.
00:47:42
Speaker 6: John, we're now five weeks into the season and your offensive line still hasn't a lot of sack. But if you go back to those two matchups at the end of the season against the Seahawks, they were able to generate a lot of pressure. Now, the big difference is Connor Colby starting at left guard instead of Spencer Burford. But to you, from your perspective, what's the biggest difference between this year's offensive line play versus last year's offensive line play?
00:48:03
Speaker 7: Uh, first of all, I mean, I think it's important to note they are playing at a, at a very, very high level. Um, you know, and, and, uh, Yeah, I think continuity is a big deal. You know, absent that left guard spot where we were kind of trying to find the answer all camp and guys were rotating through, our offensive line has stayed, you know, very healthy. And so continuity at that position is extremely important. And these guys have all played a lot of football, but they got to play a lot of football together. And they're all prideful guys. And, you know, I think a lot of people, for whatever reason, have been doubting that group. We think they've played at a at a pretty high level. I will acknowledge, I think they've elevated their game, and I think they'll have to. We saw that versus Denver. Denver had guys like Zach Allen in the interior, DJ Jones, and those guys, Nick Benito on the outside, and that was a huge challenge. Seattle's just as good or better, you know, up front with all the guys they have, so our guys understand that, but I think When you talk about the no sacks thing, everybody factors into that. It's how you're running the ball on first and second downs so that we're an advantageous third down. It's them doing their job at an incredibly high level, which they have. It's Brock getting rid of the ball.
00:49:20
Speaker 5: Ball.
00:49:20
Speaker 7: It's our receivers being where they're supposed to be. So I think we kind of see that as a collective, you know, stat. But those guys, there's no doubt about it. They're playing at a very high level, and it's a big reason our record is what it is.
00:49:36
Speaker 4: We had Jake Brendel on as our player of the week.
00:49:38
Speaker 3: He told us Trent Williams throws down windmill dunks on a 10 foot regulation hoop.
00:49:44
Speaker 4: He called it quote, a lot of beef in the air. Unquote. Have you, have you witnessed this?
00:49:49
Speaker 7: I have not, you know, we have that hoop down there. Um, but I, I, I think that would make me cringe watching Trent do that because they, you know, I just want them out there on the field, but I, I would not doubt it. Some of the athletic things that I see this man do, it's just, uh, not many people can do the things that he can do. And it's funny, you know, you watch film and if you study Trent, some of his, we call it, Kyle will call it like ninja moves, the way he'll pull a guy down. Next thing you know, the guy's on his face. And people try to emulate it. You'll see other teams and their left tackle trying to emulate it. And it's like, dude, no, that's not for you. That's Trent. Trent can only try that because Trent can only execute it. And he's just different. Some guys are different. He is different. And we're sure... Happy to have him.
00:50:38
Speaker 3: All right, John, I'm looking at a list here. Eagles trade two-time Pro Bowler Cam Juergens. Joey Porter Jr. goes from the Steelers to the Cowboys. We can throw in J.J. McCarthy from the Vikings to the Giants. Trade season seems to be underway. How is this affecting your life? A lot of people are speculating that you guys could make a move for a D-lineman I know you're not going to tell me the trade that you have working right now. However, can you tell the fans out there, should they stand by?
00:51:11
Speaker 4: Are you in active mode?
00:51:16
Speaker 7: I think you're always in active mode. I mean, that's part of this business is like, how can you improve yourself? So that means, you know, on Tuesdays I sit in here, with our staff, and I watch college players all day long because you're always getting out on the road this weekend watching some college games. You're going to see your Bruins and Eugene on Saturday. So, you know, you're doing those things. You're constantly talking with other GMs from other teams and just kind of staying abreast of the market. But the biggest focus is on our team right now. And, you know, I've said you have to put yourself in position to be a buyer in those things. And then things have to line up. And so I think the first part, you know, we're doing that. You know, our guys are playing at a high level. We just got to make sure we keep focusing on that. We have a very big challenge. And I always say, you know, I think– Our history speaks that we will not hesitate to improve this team if we can. We've done that on a number of occasions. We're doing our jobs and real proud of the way our team's playing. Sometimes we've had a number of injuries. Hopefully we start getting some of these guys back and stop losing people because sometimes you can see those as acquisitions when you start getting these players back. We're already playing this well. Man, when these guys come back, we're going to be hard to deal with. So looking forward to that. And we'll always try to improve our team in any way possible.
00:52:57
Speaker 6: Well, John, one of those players that could be back this weekend is Mikel Williams, who was back at practice yesterday. Sounds like he's got a chance to play this weekend. So with all the injuries that you guys have dealt with on the defensive line, how big is his potential impact if he does play this weekend?
00:53:12
Speaker 7: It's huge. He was the 11th pick in the draft for a reason. He's an extremely talented young man. He's an extremely tough young man. He plays with great awareness. I think he was just scratching the surface last year of what he can be. It's been a long time on the sidelines. He's been eager. We did what we thought was in his best interest and our team's best interest to give him some extra time early this season, and he's worked his tail off. He's got to finish the week, but we're excited to see Mikel. I will say a lot of focus has been on our O-line. I thought our D-line collectively had their best game last week. They did a really good job controlling the run game. The sack numbers aren't huge right now, but we're consistently pressuring people. Real proud of that group. We've had to patch it together. Now we're starting to get Mikel back and Romello came back with a big club on his hand last week and played really well so excited of what this group can be and Mikel will be a big part of that and we'll see if he can get out there Sunday he's got to finish the week in practice but we're hopeful that he can be.
00:54:27
Speaker 4: Wrapping it up John do you get a different feel in Seattle?
00:54:31
Speaker 3: You said at the start of the conversation every one of them is big and I'm sure every stadium you go to but Seeing the green, seeing the stadium, hearing the fans, seeing the turf, is there a different feeling inside you at that place?
00:54:50
Speaker 7: Most of the time, the answer is yes. They're a very good football team, and they have been for a long time. And so I think you always know, man, this is a tough place to go get a win. But you kind of embrace that. You look forward to that challenge there. I mean, so much of life, so much of football and success is being able to block out the proverbial noise. Well, here we have real noise. Can you block that out? Can you focus amidst all that chaos? And that's really what being a good team, being a good player boils down to in this league. It's being able to focus on your job when you got craziness flying around all over you. And that could be players. That could be the sound. So it's a great challenge, and I've always loved great challenges, and I think our team embraces those. We know this is a very good football team, and we've got a lot of belief in ourselves, though, and we're looking forward to going up and laying it all on the line and seeing where this thing ends up Sunday.
00:55:52
Speaker 4: Pretty darn good for early October.
00:55:54
Speaker 3: I'll tell you, by the way, on the way out, did you, did you see your, uh, Debo Samuel, Mike Evans and DeMarcus Robinson were all at the golden state Valkyries playoff win last night.
00:56:04
Speaker 4: Did you check that? Did you see that?
00:56:07
Speaker 7: I Corey, Corey, uh, it made me aware of that. And, um, you know, happy for those guys. It sounds like they're doing great. So, uh, you know, kudos to the Valkyries and, uh, I know Mike, I learned that about him during the free agent process when we signed him, that he coaches a lot of basketball for his daughters. He's really into it, and I think he's got some players. His daughters are some players, so he's really into that. So it's awesome for him to be able to do that. I think he had his daughter with him last night. Real cool experience for them.
00:56:41
Speaker 4: That was awesome.
00:56:41
Speaker 3: And then finally, we've got a bit of pouring one out.
00:56:44
Speaker 4: Last week I hyped you up.
00:56:45
Speaker 3: We played blink one 82, all the small things. And now I got to pour one out for you, buddy. You're got, despite a hyped up Petco park, I've never seen San Diego that crazy. You guys couldn't do brewers were pretty pesky, but any, did you feel a little sting when the Padres went down?
00:57:02
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:57:02
Speaker 7: Yeah. That, that was, I was with them every pitch. That was a great series. Uh, every game was tight. Every inning was tight. Um, Really, the Padres are a really talented team, and I thought they had grit. I thought they battled all year. But, man, you could see in that series why the Brewers won the amount of games. I think most wins in Major League Baseball, and they just every inning put pressure on you. That's a good team. I've never seen Churrio play. That guy's a baller. Um, they got a lot of really good players that the, uh, Contreras, I'd seen his brother play a lot. That guy, he, he was awesome in the series. Pat Murphy, Pat Murphy recruited my brother who, uh, to Notre Dame years ago. I remember him in our house. Um, but, uh, my brother eventually ended up becoming a Bruin, played UCLA baseball, but, uh, Pat Murphy recruited him to Notre Dame. And so I've always liked him and man, he's a good manager. So credit to the, uh, to the brewers that, you know, they won that many games for a reason. And, um, you know, it was hard to see the pods go down, but, but that's.
00:58:08
Speaker 5: That's life.
00:58:09
Speaker 3: I'll just end it on this saying that crowd made me miss the San Diego chargers. Like there's really no reason they shouldn't be. They shouldn't be in LA, man. I mean, that, that, that crowd showed what San Diego can do if they get it going down there.
00:58:25
Speaker 4: So bring back the San Diego chargers, John.
00:58:30
Speaker 7: Someday.
00:58:33
Speaker 5: All right.
00:58:33
Speaker 3: Well, listen, we always enjoy the chat, and I know you'll be having those juices flowing.
00:58:37
Speaker 4: Hey, and get me a dub in Eugene, by the way.
00:58:41
Speaker 5: Get me a.
00:58:42
Speaker 3: And by the way, keep your paws off Bob Chesney. Don't bring him on to Kyle's staff in any way, shape, or form, all right? Do not offer Chesney a job.
00:58:51
Speaker 4: Pretty special.
00:58:52
Speaker 7: Pretty special, yeah.
00:58:54
Speaker 3: So you'll have fun up there, man. Dan Lanning and Chesney will be a good matchup, and there's some good players.
00:58:57
Speaker 4: We've got a running back. We've got an offensive line. We're running it like crazy.
00:59:01
Speaker 3: So have a great trip, and it's on your way up to Seattle, so it works out pretty nice.
00:59:05
Speaker 4: So we'll talk to you next week.
00:59:07
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:59:07
Speaker 4: Thanks, John.
00:59:08
Speaker 2: Okay.
00:59:08
Speaker 5: See you guys.
00:59:09
Speaker 4: John Lynch, Padre fan. Can you feel me even as a Raider bring back the San Diego Chargers?
00:59:15
Speaker 6: Yeah, but I was biting my tongue a little bit because from what I remember, that stadium Qualcomm used to get taken over by Raider fans all the time. You're talking about the San Diego crowd.
00:59:24
Speaker 4: The San Diego Raiders?
00:59:25
Speaker 6: Yeah, the San Diego Raiders. It's like when Giants fans used to take over Petco.
00:59:28
Speaker 3: I did cover, I think, two Raiders-Chargers games down there, or one or two, and it was nuts.
00:59:34
Speaker 4: But, I mean, come on. San Diego, San Diego. Super Chokers.
00:59:38
Speaker 1: You know it.
00:59:39
Speaker 5: Yeah, uh-huh.
00:59:40
Speaker 4: I had a buddy who was a Chargers fan growing up. He used to sing it all the time, and I used to mock the hell out of him. You do? Okay, I thought I predated you guys. San Diego Super Chokers. That's what I used to call them. Oh, so you hate them? Oh, I hate the Chargers. I hate everybody in the AFC West.
00:59:51
Speaker 6: But you don't hate LA. I don't hate the Arizona Cardinals. Yeah, I would say if I'm power ranking them, Chargers are at the bottom of the list. Hate the Broncos and the Chiefs way more than the Chargers, but I still got a little bit of hate for them.
01:00:01
Speaker 1: I'll say this.
01:00:01
Speaker 3: That San Diego crowd... That was a significant presence. That Petco crowd was electric, and they never stopped. And they were that way all the time.
01:00:10
Speaker 4: It's a party. You got to give them their due. It was a party when we went down there this summer. You got to give them their due.
01:00:15
Speaker 3: I mean, people think San Diego is like an overgrown beach town, and it hasn't had a reputation as a great sports town. But man, oh man, those Padres are lighting them up. Just like Seattle, we'll be going for the 49ers.
01:00:26
Speaker 4: All right, what do we got? We got cooler content. We got Matt Maioco.
01:00:30
Speaker 3: We got a Valks hit with Jane Kenny from the SF Standard 915 on the Sports Leader.