Full Transcript for Matt Maiocco breaks down Week 1 around the NFL including the 49ers dominant win over the Rams

the Miami Dolphins, the Arizona Cardinals, and then the Denver Broncos. For the Rams, their schedule is brutal. They got to play the Giants who looked good last night, go on the road back-to-back weeks to take on the Denver Broncos. and the Eagles then have to come back and take on the Bills. So what do you think of the opportunity the 49ers have right now, Matt, where they can place themselves ahead of them in the NFC West and probably can win this division? 00:02:53 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, you know, Seattle, to me, it's a three-team race. And then the Cardinals were probably the big surprise of week one, even more so of a surprise than the 49ers beating the Rams by 20 points. But, yeah, I mean, I think the Rams are going to be fortunate to come out of these first four games two and two. And it's not out of the possibility that they're one and three, because those are all three competitive games. We'll see when Donald comes back, but then we'll also find out if he's anywhere near what he was when we last saw him. But with Miles Garrett out for at least the next four games, it does leave the Rams pretty vulnerable there. So it very well could be that You know, the Rams are one and three or maybe at best two and two. And that certainly provides an opening for the Seahawks and the 49ers to create a little bit of distance. 00:03:48 Speaker 1: Talking to Matt Maioco, our 49ers insider from NBC Sports Bay Area. Looking back at Thursday and what we saw from the 49er offense, I mean, it's just such a testament to what Kyle Shanahan can do when he has not just a bunch of weapons, but a variety of weapons and what they were able to accomplish with the diversity across that offense with so many different players getting to touch the ball and having big days. In terms of the running game, what we saw from Kalon Black's workload, do you think that's game plan specific or do you think that's something they might do with McCaffrey early in the season to manage that regularly? 00:04:19 Speaker 2: I think it might be something they do the entire season and including the postseason if they get there. You know, the one thing I asked Kyle Shanahan last week was about having a back that maybe they feel more is more equipped to go in and handle some of the same duties that if not all of the same duties of McCaffrey. And what Shanahan told me was in the run game, no question, but the past game is completely different. But I think what we saw in this game was that Kalon Black came in early. You know, he came in, what, about four or five plays into the game. Yeah, very first drive. And then he went out and then came back in. So he was in on two different occasions on that very first drive of the game. But I think what's, 49ers feel comfortable doing is putting Kalon Black out there in first and second downs and then if it's third down third and six or whatever I think they feel more comfortable putting McCaffrey back out there so I still think that McCaffrey is going to be a guy who is out there on third downs but first and second they feel pretty confident about Kalon Black and he's been nothing but impressive since he got here and you could see it on Thursday night how just He's so decisive. He's got that lower center of gravity. He's really strong. And when he hits that hole, I mean, there is no dancing around. 00:05:46 Speaker 4: He is all in. 00:05:47 Speaker 2: And to the point where he even kind of runs up on the backs of some of his offensive linemen. Colton McKivitt says, yeah, man, he's a hard-running back, and I have the bruises on my back to prove it. So I think they really like him, and he's given them every reason to like him. He is the exact kind of back that Kyle Shanahan and Bobby Turner love to have because of just, like I said, his decisiveness, his aggressiveness, and he's always moving forward. 00:06:18 Speaker 5: Last time we saw Matthew Stafford against the 49ers, Stafford and Sean McVay went to 13 personnel and picked apart the defense with Tatum Bethune in coverage. How much of a difference does Fred Warner's presence make this Niners defense? 00:06:32 Speaker 2: Oh, yeah, huge, absolutely huge. And even the combination of him, I mean, him alone is great. And, you know, the guys who stepped in last year, they did just fine. I mean, I would think that they probably did better than anyone could have thought they would do, speaking about D winners taking over for Dre Greenlaw and Tatum Bethune taking over for Fred Warner. 00:06:52 Speaker 4: But, I mean, look at this. I mean, the 49ers traded well. 00:06:56 Speaker 2: D winners and Tatum Bethune wasn't even active for this game. But the combination of Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, they just bring a completely different mindset to that defense. And last year, the 49ers were just lacking enforcers. You know, they just didn't have that same panache on defense, that same aggressiveness, that butt kicker mentality. the emotion, the passion or anything else. He just didn't have the guys to do that. But you saw it, man, those guys. And I'm not sure that Greenlaw had a great game, but just what he brings to the table, I think is infectious. And you could tell that Fred Warner was feeling it too. So yeah, that 48 hours defense just in the middle there is vastly improved over the defense that we saw most of last season. 00:07:47 Speaker 1: Talking to Matt Mayocco, a few more minutes here on the UMA guest line. I wanted to ask about Dajon Stripling, who had a deltoid sprain in his ankle on that non-contact injury. I guess they're saying it could be at least a month, maybe surgery at some point. I saw you tweet that you thought this was positive news relative to what it all looked like, I think, or it looked like to all of us initially on the field. And I was with you on that. What's the precedent in general for an injury like this? And how cautious will they be with this? 00:08:12 Speaker 4: I mean, you know, he's... not just this season. 00:08:15

Speaker 2: I mean, they got him for four years and they really like him and he's given them kind of like Kalon Black. He's given them every reason to really like him. So, you know, they're seeking different opinions, second, third opinions to figure out what this thing is going to do, how it's going to react, what's the best course. So, I mean, the reason I tweeted that, and I think a lot of people kind of felt the same way. 00:08:38 Speaker 4: I mean, you know, the internet doctors and. 00:08:40 Speaker 2: Guys who are like legitimate, team physicians in the past or whatever, they were talking about the Achilles when it first happened. And so from going from potential of Achilles, season ender, hope he's back next year early on, to it's not the Achilles, and it's something that potentially could keep him out for maybe a little bit more than a month. I mean, that's definitely a positive because when he was carted off the field, there was a part of me, a big part of me that thought, wow, his rookie season might be over. So if they can get him back, really at any point, but just say eight games into the season, if they can get him back to get him for the final nine games, that is a win because they'll be getting Christian Kirk back. at some point, so he can fill in for a little bit. I mean, completely different positions and way they play the game, but the 49ers have their top three guys. I think they're pretty well set in stone with Mike Evans, Debo Samuel, and Demarcus Robinson, but they will need a fourth guy to mix in there, so whether that's Jacob Cowling, maybe later Christian Kirk, maybe Kaderil Hodge, maybe Jordan Watkins is able to step up and prove his worth and get a uniform issued to him on game day. 00:09:59 Speaker 4: So they'll have to kind of keep that thing afloat. 00:10:02 Speaker 2: But I mean, they could, despite the injury to Ricky Pearsall and despite the injury to Dajon Stripling, that wide receiving core is still in much better shape than it was a year ago. And just the overall playmakers on offense and the options that Brock Purdy has really gives them a little bit of leeway there, a little bit of cushion as far as absorbing an injury like this. 00:10:28 Speaker 3: Last one for you, Matt. 00:10:29 Speaker 5: I want to give you some praise for your outfit on pre and post. You were rocking that Peaky Blinders cabbie hat. Have you worn that before? Or did you buy that specifically for the Australia game? 00:10:39 Speaker 2: Well, I bought it in Ireland. on the summer that went there with the family. There was a person in a bar, I was wearing it in a bar in Melbourne, and some young lady came up to me and said, how proud are you of your Irish heritage? 00:10:58 Speaker 4: And I said, well, considering I'm. 00:11:00 Speaker 2: Italian, not as much as you might think, but when I did buy it with wife approval, I immediately thought, oh, this would be a cool hat to break out for week one. 00:11:13 Speaker 4: And so you. 00:11:14 Speaker 2: Won't see it again. I'll be in the studio the rest of the season. But I felt like it kind of fit the vibe. that I was going for for week one in Melbourne. 00:11:23 Speaker 1: Definitely a good look, dude. Plus, if you flip it backwards, you're Samuel L. Jackson. You know what I mean? If you ever need to be, then you got a hat that does it. 00:11:31 Speaker 3: He's a badass. 00:11:32 Speaker 1: Matt Mayocco, our 49ers insider in NBC Sports Bay Area. Matt, going to be fun all season long. Enjoy the rest of the week. We'll talk to you next time. 00:11:39 Speaker 4: Okay, thanks, guys. Appreciate it. 00:11:40 Speaker 1: Thanks, Matt. There you go, the great Matt Mayocco. Yeah, dude, that was a good look. You looked sharp with that. 00:11:44 Speaker 3: He pulled that off, man. 00:11:45 Speaker 1: I like that. 00:11:45 Speaker 5: Not many people can pull off the cabbie hat. 00:11:47 Speaker 3: I've tried that before. It doesn't work for me. 00:11:50 Speaker 1: Yeah, smart of him to say with wife approval. 00:11:53 Speaker 4: Yes. 00:11:53 Speaker 1: Because that's a thing. Dude, this is, he'd probably be upset at me for even saying this, but my dad, the reason I mentioned the backwards version of it is. 00:12:01 Speaker 3: He tried that? 00:12:02 Speaker 1: Dude, my dad at one point, like in the probably early 2000s, maybe like mid-2000s, the mid-aughts, saw Sam Jackson was rocking those. It was like, you think I could pull that? The Kangol. The Kangol. 00:12:15 Speaker 3: Oh, Kangol? 00:12:15 Speaker 1: It actually is Kangol. It's like their logo's a kangaroo. K-A-N-G-O-L. Okay, gotcha. And it looks like it's a backwards newsboy hat or something like that. Sort of like that. But it's framed differently. Like, they're built a little stronger, so it's got that big front-facing thing. 00:12:28 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:12:28 Speaker 1: My dad bought a couple of them, and he came out. Me and my brother and sister just, like, howled at him. He's like, what? What do you mean, what? 00:12:34 Speaker 3: What's your big deal, man? 00:12:35 Speaker 1: We're like, dude, you can't wear that. You can't be Rocky. You can't just change your look like that. 00:12:39 Speaker 3: Only two people to pull that off. Sam Jackson and Bruce Arians. 00:12:43 Speaker 1: Bruce Arians did pull... Well, dude, Sam Jackson goes backwards, though. 00:12:46 Speaker 3: Right. 00:12:46 Speaker 1: That is a hell of a look. 00:12:47 Speaker 3: Yes, Bruce Arians. 00:12:48 Speaker 1: Doesn't Denzel rock the backwards sometimes? 00:12:50 Speaker 3: Not that I've seen. 00:12:51 Speaker 1: I think he used to, maybe. 00:12:52 Speaker 3: Every now and then, maybe like a 90s interview. 00:12:54 Speaker 1: Yeah, dude. I think you could get an Eddie Murphy in a backwards. 00:12:56 Speaker 4: Yeah. 00:12:56 Speaker 1: Like a leather one. 00:12:57 Speaker 3: By the way, I have seen our guy Dan Dunn rock that. It's not bad. 00:13:00 Speaker 1: What, like a Kangol? Yeah. Or like a Newsboy hat like

that? 00:13:03 Speaker 3: Yeah, like a cabbie hat. 00:13:04 Speaker 5: Like, he was trying to break it out for the 49ers dinner, and I was like, I don't know if that's the occasion for that, Dan, but it. 00:13:10 Speaker 3: Is a good look on you. 00:13:10 Speaker 1: It's a great occasion for that. 00:13:12 Speaker 3: Well, I said no. 00:13:14 Speaker 1: Danny? 00:13:14 Speaker 4: Yeah, Derek was like, you can't do that. 00:13:16 Speaker 1: You got shut down on a stylistic decision by this guy? Yeah. 00:13:20 Speaker 5: Well, yeah. 00:13:22 Speaker 3: Danny, you got to be your own man, man, and then tell me that I'm wrong in that situation. 00:13:26 Speaker 1: He was like, if Mike's going to spike his hair to go there, you got to. Yeah, dude, if Mike's going to wear a Titans hat, that's Mike's good Titans hat. 00:13:32 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a good one. It's a good one. 00:13:34 Speaker 1: Dude, that's incredible. You asked him, really, if you should wear it? You look good that night, too. You look sharp, dude. Yeah, I just sent him a picture. 00:13:42 Speaker 3: I was like, hey, how does this look? I didn't think it was a hat occasion. But then again... I think. 00:13:47 Speaker 1: Here's the thing, though. I think you're looking out because you don't want him to, like... Yeah. do something that is not in the right... And he pulls it off. 00:13:53 Speaker 3: I just didn't know for that setting that was the right thing to do. 00:13:55 Speaker 1: I don't think you're, like, not looking out. 00:13:57 Speaker 3: Of course I'm looking out. 00:13:59 Speaker 1: But here's the other thing. He wasn't even there, Danny. 00:14:02 Speaker 3: He just wanted my opinion. 00:14:03 Speaker 1: He didn't even go to this thing. 00:14:04 Speaker 5: Danny trusts my fashion sense. 00:14:06 Speaker 1: I don't know if I trust your fashion sense. You were right about not wearing a hat there. No one else was wearing a hat. Nobody else was wearing a hat. 00:14:12 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah. But there's other occasions where he can wear a cabi hat and pull it off. 00:14:16 Speaker 1: What other time would you wear one, Dan? I don't know. Derek really wanted me to wear one to work. So you wanted to wear it for the show. 00:14:23 Speaker 3: I wanted to wear it for the show and see what the chat thinks. 00:14:25 Speaker 1: Like he just does it as his thing now? 00:14:27 Speaker 3: Yeah, why not? 00:14:27 Speaker 1: He's just one of these guys who. 00:14:28 Speaker 3: He's Danny Dunn, the cabbie hat boarder. 00:14:29 Speaker 1: I wear these hats now. The hat and the beard. Yeah, dude. The hat and the beard. We're going to change your look, Dan. 00:14:33 Speaker 5: Well, I will say, Danny's life has changed since I told him to rock the beard. 00:14:38 Speaker 3: He's getting compliments all the time. Look at that beard. 00:14:40 Speaker 1: And you know where it started, dude? It started at that 49er dinner where Krug walked up and he's like, look at this guy, man. I love this beard, man. You've been wearing this for a long time? Yeah. He made another comment, too, but we won't jump into that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, Danny just fell back against the wall laughing. 00:14:52 Speaker 5: I have a crew calling out our guy Dan during the roundtable, just being like, hey, everybody worked hard today, except for Dan Dunn eating a piece of pizza. 00:14:57 Speaker 1: Yeah. Camera pans to Danny sitting there eating in slow motion. 00:15:01 Speaker 3: Jesus, crew, I'm just having a good time here. 00:15:03 Speaker 1: I know, dude. That's pretty funny, dude. You missed any of that? Matt Mayocco interview, all available at thesportsleader.com and the The Sports Leader app. Susan Slesser is going to join. 00:15:14 Speaker 3: Us at 3.15? 00:15:15 Speaker 5: 3.15, yes. 00:15:15 Speaker 1: She'll join us talking some Giants ball ahead of the Giants and the Cardinals starting a three-game series. Final road trip of the season, St. Louis and the Dodgers. There you go. By the way, still trying to fend off that 100 losses. 00:15:27 Speaker 3: They have to lose out, right? 00:15:28 Speaker 1: They swept. I was like, on Friday, they could have gotten their first four games. After getting their first sweep, they could have gotten their first four-game win streak. 00:15:35 Speaker 5: Right. 00:15:36 Speaker 1: Did not get it on Friday. They ended up losing Saturday and Sunday. So they're still at 62 wins, I believe, is right where they're at. 00:15:41 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:15:41 Speaker 5: And it sounds like everybody's going down for the season. Raphael Dever's done. Yeah, man. 00:15:45 Speaker 1: Now Dever's done for the year. 00:15:46 Speaker 3: And it sounds like Logan Webb could be joining him soon. 00:15:48 Speaker 1: Did you see that? Well, I asked that a while back. I'm like, is it still important to have him out there on this contract with, you know, knowing that this is kind of a loss? Not kind of. It's a lost season. Yeah. Did you see how many? They called up another guy. I'm blanking on his name. I apologize, everybody. This is unprofessional. But they called somebody up, and he took it back yesterday. Officially now at? 67 players used this season? Yep. 00:16:08 Speaker 2: 67. 00:16:08 Speaker 3: Franchise record for different players. 00:16:10 Speaker 1: Forgive me for not knowing, but ask me what happened at the end of the Vikings game. Come on, man. 00:16:15 Speaker 3: Come on now. 00:16:15 Speaker 1: Van Ginkle's getting sacks now? 00:16:17 Speaker 3: We all had priorities yesterday. 00:16:18 Speaker 1: We got Van Ginkle out there, dude? 00:16:20 Speaker 3: How about Giants on Sunday night baseball on Peacock? 00:16:22 Speaker 1: How about Giants rocking an Apple TV game on Friday and a Sunday night baseball game On Sunday. 00:16:29 Speaker 5: It was good to see Krug in the broadcast booth with the Apple TV guys. 00:16:32 Speaker 3: Did he happen to go on the NBC? Does anybody know? I didn't watch the game. 00:16:34 Speaker 1: I don't know, but I found out the Giants were on the NBC national game on Friday. sometime on Saturday, I think, I was watching something on Peacock, and so an advertisement came up for it, and I was like, nice, dude, and it was using Rafael Devers and Bryce Eldridge, they were the only two players throughout the entire montage of games, because they had Tatis and all these other dudes on the Padres, and then it's like, the image they use is Tatis and Devers, I was like, nice, dude, Devers going for 40. Like, 25 minutes later, I got a push notification. Like, Devers out for the year. 00:17:01 Speaker 5: Well, I was kind of surprised it was that matchup. Like, we got the Phillies and Braves playing yesterday. I was like, they're going Sunday night baseball with Padres and Giants. 00:17:08 Speaker 1: All right. Scott Bandura is the guy who got called. 00:17:09 Speaker 3: Yeah, Scott Bandura. 00:17:10 Speaker 1: There you go. Thank you for making me look more professional. I dropped a Van Ginkle to try to get out of it. 00:17:14 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:17:14 Speaker 1: You know what I mean? 00:17:14 Speaker 3: Andrew Van Ginkle, good pass rusher. 00:17:16 Speaker 1: Was he with Miami before? 00:17:18 Speaker 5: He was. 00:17:18 Speaker 3: He's a Brian Flores guy. 00:17:19 Speaker 1: I was deep in the week one slate yesterday. 00:17:22 Speaker 3: As we all should be. 00:17:23 Speaker 1: How'd your fantasy teams do? 00:17:24 Speaker 4: Terrible. 00:17:25 Speaker 3: All three of them. 00:17:25 Speaker 5: 0-3? 00:17:26 Speaker 1: Yep. 00:17:28 Speaker 3: Marcus beat me. 00:17:30 Speaker 1: That was crew reacting to me saying I was going to beat him in fantasy. And then I handed him his ass. Nice. 00:17:43 Speaker 5: By the way, Danny had performances from Caleb Williams and who else, Danny? 00:17:48 Speaker 3: That was impressive. Z. 00:17:49 Speaker 1: Gibbs there were so many impressive performances week one why don't we take a break and get into week one we'll talk about the big sounds like murph's gonna beat him big performances yeah i saw murph had a big day we'll talk about the big performances of the weekend in week one and what are we buying and what are we not buying what was real and what was just maybe a uh a match-up situation or or a big day for somebody week one there is still some sloppy stuff out there in terms of of the effectiveness of some of these teams, but a lot of the superstars showed up in what was an electric week one. Real or fake, the week one version? We'll do it next. Dirty work on a Monday on the Sports Leader.