Full Transcript for Previewing week 6 on Niners Nightly with Larry Krueger | Taking calls from fans, interview with Todd Husak and much more

some help. Maybe at D-tackle, maybe at D-end, maybe at wide receiver. At least that's what it looks like right now. Things can change. 00:03:03 Speaker 1: It's football. Check back Sunday. 00:03:05 Speaker 2: But here's Steve Young with Murph and Marcus talking about the Niners and their situation this year and how they need to go for it. 00:03:13 Speaker 3: Can we continue to, can we just take this five and O and build off of it and just take it and run it, run the, run the table and just not worry about anything. Like everyone's we're good. And I think that part of us feels like, yeah, we probably should, if we're going to, if we're going to go all in for, and I know every one of these guys from Trent, they're all going to be irritated that you hear this, but you can't help it. You get old fast in the NFL. And so when you have great players, you got to take advantage. And so the window, we talk about the window. And it's like you've got these guys that are all healthy, all performing, four guys on offense that are going to the Hall of Fame. You've got to go all in. In some ways, I don't want to say it's Ram-like, because you know that they've been doing it the last couple of years. 00:03:56 Speaker 4: They're going all in. 00:03:57 Speaker 3: And I'm not saying to copy them, because we've always been all in. We were way before the Rams were doing it. So, yeah, I think that we've got to optimize everything. like Brock has done with his game, like Mike Evans has brought in, like optimize and make sure that we're doing everything we can. Cause 2026, I don't really want to think about 2027, 28, 29. I want to think about what that looks like. I really think you can smell the 2026 can be that year, but let's go all in. And I'm so, yes, I think that your original question, Marcus is let's, let's figure out how to bolster, which will, which we think inevitably by, by December, if our pass rush is middling, it'll cost us, right? It'll be a problem. And then if we don't have the depth, because we can't keep everybody healthy the whole time, we better have some depth. The Rams are in a really tight spot, but you can see how good they are. And they're going to get healthier. Miles is going to come back and play. And they're really good. You saw them on Monday night. They got beat, but you can see how good they are. You can see how good Seattle is. And so in that way, they're not going away, so we should lean in. 00:05:13 Speaker 1: Yeah, no, I mean, I couldn't agree. 00:05:15 Speaker 2: I couldn't agree more, I should say, than I do with Steve Young on that. I mean, it's just you've got this amazing situation right now where the NFC West is absolutely dominant over every other division in the conference, for sure, maybe the league. And three of the best Super Bowl contenders are the Niners, the Seahawks, and the Rams. And even though the Niners got a 20-point win over the Rams, the Rams can put up, you know, 30 points a game, and they got a great defense.

00:05:47 Speaker 1: And, you know, they're really, really good. 00:05:49 Speaker 2: Stafford, I mean, you know, when he gets cooking, their weapons, they're a little slow on offense. It seems like some of their weapons don't get a lot of separation right now, but still, the Rams look good. 00:06:01 Speaker 1: And then Seattle, I mean, let's be honest. 00:06:03 Speaker 2: If they get that first down, they're in position to tie the game or win the game. That easily could have been a loss this weekend, despite how well the 49ers played and how many incredible plays they made and how incredible Brock was and Evans was and Keyon White was and Renardo Green was and Grayson Halton was. They were this close to losing. So they need to go for it. Now, the question is at 808 KMBR for you guys, if you're a 49er fan, who defines. 00:06:34 Speaker 1: Going for it? 00:06:35 Speaker 2: I mean, give me a player that you want. that gets the Niners over the top. What exactly do they need? The Niners are 5-0. They're the new Super Bowl favorite. Their offense is scoring 30 a game, third best in the NFL. Their defense is giving up 18.6 per game. That's third best in the NFL. They're the only NFL team in the top five of both offensive points per game and defensive points allowed per game. 00:07:01 Speaker 1: So it's a good football team. 00:07:03 Speaker 2: They're lowly rated right now on special teams because of some bad plays, but you guys all know their special teams is rock solid. Brant Boyer's terrific. Eddie Pinheiro's reliable. The punter's terrific. By the way, the punter, Corliss Waitman, named today NFC Special Team Player of the Week. Five punts against Seattle. 43.2 average. Five down inside the 20. Three inside the 10. He had a long of 51 yards. I mean, you got a really good punter. You got a really good kicker. The punt return game is a little bit of a question, but in Debo, you have a great kick returner that you love. You got some of the best special teamers, you know, guys like Gifford and Saran Neal. I mean, they've committed to the special team. So it's a good football team, top to bottom, maybe even borderline great. What gets them over the top? What individual, who I should say, gets them over the top? If John Lynch were sitting here tonight and you could call him up at 808-KMBR and say, John, get this guy and we'll win it all. I mean, the Niners have been waiting 30 freaking years for this. 00:08:09 Speaker 1: There's kids walking around. 00:08:10 Speaker 2: Kids, there's people who have mortgages walking around saying, I've never seen the 49ers win the Super Bowl. You know, come on. This is an iconic brand. They need to get it done. I mean, they've got to have passion about it. They've got to really go for it. Roll over cash for the future. Do the right thing, but go for it. Go add to this deal. Now, Lynch was asked about it several times in the offseason, the summer, about adding to this team. And he's like, look, you've got to kind of earn that. You've got to earn that on the field. 00:08:43 Speaker 1: Well, guess what? 00:08:43 Speaker 2: They've earned it. They've earned it. They're 5-0. We're inside the window on the trade deadline. We're inside of a month. Who gets them over the top? Now, the way I look at it, there's a lot of talk about wide receiver. The healthy wide receivers right now, Mike Evans, Brandon Cooks, Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins. 00:09:04 Speaker 1: So they don't have a lot right now. 00:09:05 Speaker 2: Practice squad wise, they have, they've got Xavier Smith, who's a return man. You've got Wesley Grimes, who I really like, very talented. In fact, I'd be very interested to see if Grimes could do it. I mean, he's a smart kid. He's got size. He's got speed. I mean, watching this guy in the practice field, he looks like a ton. He looks like a ton. I mean, he really looks good. Big, tall, angular receiver, plucks the ball with his hands, 4'3 speed. 00:09:34 Speaker 1: He looks good. 00:09:34 Speaker 2: Now, he might be more developmental. I mean, that's kind of the question for Shanahan. Is that the category he's in? That might be how they see him right now. They've got Will Pauling, who played an extensive college career at Wisconsin, finished up at Notre Dame. So and you got Malik Turner, who's a special teamer and pretty reliable kind of utility wide receiver, not a star by any stretch. Then you got Stripling. coming back potentially. I would say don't plan for before December, maybe even mid-December. You got to Marcus Robinson and Christian Kirk returning, possibly after the bye. Debo is going to be out two weeks and then there's the bye. I would expect that you're going to see Debo after the bye week. against the Raiders. That's when I think he'll be, he'll come back. So you do have some guys coming back. And you know, you're, you're, you've got a, you've got a good group of receivers right now, but you know, I kind of feel like the receiver position, they might be able to, to fill from within or to do it very cheaply. I was talking to some commanders people today and yesterday, and they think that Luke McCaffrey could be cut. I mean, it, The way the 49ers move the ball on offense, I don't know that they need Jacob Cowing and that big play dynamic as a punt returner. What they really need is somebody who's going to go back there and catch the ball. I'd put juice back there if I thought he would catch the ball. Just catch the ball. You know, Brock Purdy, make sure you don't cough it up again. Don't cough up offensive possessions when you have Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, you know, Mike Evans. I mean, it's an all-star team on offense. Just don't screw it up. I don't need a big return. I need somebody who's going to catch the ball. Could Luke McCaffrey be that guy? If he gets cut, I could see him being that guy. There's Jerry Judy in the trade market. There's Brian Thomas. People are talking about Juwan Jennings. That's an interesting one. I

mean, Jennings is not getting any run in Minnesota. I always don't want to discuss that one too much just from the standpoint of I know the Niners would love Jennings, but why is Minnesota giving him to the Niners? And if you're the 49ers, what do you really want to pay for that? You could reunite Evans and Chris Godwin. Tampa's out of it. You could try to trade a big dose of draft capital and knock on the Jets' door for Garrett Wilson. 00:11:59 Speaker 1: I mean, there are options there. 00:12:01 Speaker 2: I think if it was me, I would try to solve that either internally or on the cheap. Wait for Jennings to be cut. He's going to make himself a nightmare situation in that locker room. I've been around Jennings in that locker room, and when he's Not happy, man, you don't want him in that room. And he's probably not happy right now. So out of nowhere, Ian Rappaport's like, yeah, they may trade Jennings. Well, where's that coming from? That's coming from either the agent or from the Vikings who are like, get this guy out of here. Now, interestingly enough, he played 94% of the snaps against Miami. So it's not like they're not using him. He's playing quite a bit. He played 49 snaps this last week and 94% of the snaps a couple weeks ago. But he only has five targets in four games. And is he really what they need? Do they need another kind of possession tough receiver? I mean, he would help, but they could really use that field. When you watch the Niners in the All-22, the only takeaway I had negative on their offense was just they look a little slow right now. with Evans not running well and most of their speed receivers either sitting on the sidelines or hurt. So they don't look like real dynamic, and they could use a dynamic mover. 00:13:18 Speaker 5: Who is that? 00:13:19 Speaker 2: Is that Jerry Judy? Is that Brian Thomas? Is that Garrett Wilson? Or can they find somebody cheaper than that? I do think you're going to see Leonard Floyd. That would be my guess. The two guys that I think I could see them trying to add on the cheap up front, would be A'shaun Robinson and Leonard Floyd. Floyd, both those guys have tons of experience playing for Raheem. And A'shaun Robinson is on Tampa. He's playing well, but they're going nowhere. And I think he's probably gettable. And Leonard Floyd, there was talk a few weeks ago the Niners wanted him. I'm sure it's about price at this point. And it's just a matter of what is he willing to take? What are they willing to offer? Can they get together on the same page? And then you got Bosa potentially coming back, maybe soon. But You know, I've heard a lot of people say they got to go all in. And Steve just kind of said all in. And some people would look at those names and be like, you know, Leonard Floyd, Luke McCaffrey, A'shaun Robinson. 00:14:14 Speaker 1: No, no offense. That's not all in. All right. 00:14:17 Speaker 2: Well, do you what do you want to do if you're a 49er? You want to trade draft capital for DeForest Buckner? You want to try to try to trade for Deron Payne? He'll be here Monday night with the Commanders. Um, Khalil Mack is a name that's been thrown around. 00:14:31 Speaker 6: Yeah. 00:14:31 Speaker 2: Yeah. Diaby out of Tampa, Will McDonald from the jets, Josh sweat from Cardinals. I mean, these are the names that are out there in the trade market. Um, I I'll say this, another guy that I could totally see with the 49ers coming back is Solomon Thomas. You know, the Tennessee's on Tennessee's roster right now, Tennessee. If there's a trade partner that makes sense, it's probably Tennessee, Tennessee. I think has, um, Jermaine Johnson, they have solid Solly Thomas, who's, you know, say what you want. He was disappointing as a top five pick, but the motor is awesome and he's a smart guy and he can, he can play in a rotation, super hyperactive and he's very energetic. I think, you know, he's, as I said, he's a smart player. And I'm not just saying that cause he went to Stanford. I mean, he's really a smart football player and he's a guy who's scheme versatile and he's got a high motor. 00:15:24 Speaker 1: It's always revving. They also have. 00:15:26 Speaker 2: Oluwafemi Oladejo, who I think would be a perfect fit for Raheem's defense. So you've got three guys there in Tennessee that I think make a lot of sense. But if you want to chime in, 808-KMBR is the number. Do you agree with Steve Young? Should the Niners be all in at the trade deadline? And who represents all in? 00:15:45 Speaker 1: 808-KMBR. 00:15:46 Speaker 2: Let's take one right here, and then we'll take a timeout. Todd Husek is going to join us at roughly 640. So we've got some time. Mark's in the city on the sports leader. 00:15:56 Speaker 1: Hey, Mark, how are you? 00:15:58 Speaker 6: Yo, hello, Larry. Great to hear from you. Thank you for taking the call. I think what Steve's talking about all in, you know, let's go back to the last Super Bowl victory. All in. So, okay, Khalid Mack, they need that pass rusher. 00:16:16 Speaker 4: I don't know. 00:16:17 Speaker 6: Eddie DiBartolo would have done whatever it takes. 00:16:20 Speaker 4: To get him. 00:16:21 Speaker 6: You remember back when they won that Super Bowl, they got about six different guys. 00:16:28 Speaker 7: They did. 00:16:28 Speaker 1: Ricky Jackson, Dent, all those guys. They got a ton. 00:16:32 Speaker 6: Yeah, they got Dent. What was it? 00:16:34 Speaker 4: Dent? 00:16:35 Speaker 3: Dion? 00:16:36 Speaker 2: Charles Mann, Ricky Jackson. I mean, they had all kinds of guys through those years. I mean, Kevin Green, Chris Dolman, Tim Harris. 00:16:44 Speaker 1: I mean, the Niners. 00:16:45 Speaker 2: If you were a premier pass rusher, you played for the Niners at some point in the 80s. 00:16:50 Speaker 6: It's no coincidence that that's when the salary cap kicked in, right, the next year. So, obviously, there's those restrictions. But I really, really think that they've got to try to get Khalid Mack from San

Diego. The chances of Bosa getting hurt again by the end of the year, I wouldn't bet against him getting hurt again. 00:17:15 Speaker 8: And then wide. 00:17:19 Speaker 6: Receiver, I mean, Juwan Jennings, but like you said, I don't think he is going to be able to come back. Some of the guys that you mentioned I think would be great, but I definitely think, what do you think about them getting Khalid Mack? 00:17:36 Speaker 2: Well, I mean, Khalil is a big time player. 00:17:38 Speaker 1: I mean, there's no question. 00:17:39 Speaker 2: I mean, and then the Niners won him before, except, you know, Mark Davis wouldn't deal with them, dealt him to the Bears. I think the Niners had a very competitive offer. I mean, the book on Khalil Mack forever is that, you know, pound for pound, he's one of the strongest guys that hit size in all of football. And I've seen him a couple of times. I was at Enel Segundo for Niners Chargers practice, joint practice this summer. He looks great, man. I mean, he looks great. He's playing great. And He would be reignited, I'm sure, if you put him on a contender. Yeah, I mean, he's the kind of hired gun mercenary. 00:18:13 Speaker 1: Off the edge. 00:18:14 Speaker 2: You know, they did it with Chase Young, but Chase Young dogged it. Chase Young didn't play hard. Chase Young had lost the fire. He's playing hard now for the Saints. I don't know what was going on with him at the time. 00:18:24 Speaker 1: He was a good dude. 00:18:25 Speaker 2: I talked to him a bunch of times, but he just wasn't bringing it. 00:18:29 Speaker 1: And that's the one thing. Khalil does bring it. 00:18:31 Speaker 2: I mean, he's got tremendous motor. And it may be a big name guy like that, but it may not, you know, I mean, was, was anybody last year jumping up and down going? Yes, we got key on white, you know, but key on white at seven pressures on Sunday up in Seattle. And he's their best defensive lineman right now. He's awesome inside, outside stunt game. You know, he's a pass rusher. He's a run defender. He's an awesome athlete. I mean, he was a second round pick at a G tech for a reason and you're seeing it. So, you got to trust your, your personnel department. I'll give you a name that nobody really knows that I think is probably maybe could be as better than Khalil Mack would be Yaya Diaby, who was a great player at Louisville. He's on the, he's in his, the final year of his rookie deal. He's in Tampa, they're Owen, whatever. Um, but he's young and he's 260 pounds and he flies off the edge. So, I mean, Khalil Mack is going to make more people, you know, you, you'll win the press conference. You'll win the day. People will be like, Oh my God, the Niners got Khalil. But, uh, Diaby might actually be better. 00:19:34 Speaker 1: Mark, great call, man. Appreciate you. Have a great night. 00:19:37 Speaker 2: Let's take one more here. Bob's in the city on the sports leader. 00:19:40 Speaker 1: Hey, Bob. 00:19:42 Speaker 4: Hey, how's it going? 00:19:43 Speaker 9: Hey, how you doing? 00:19:44 Speaker 4: Hey, it's going good. 00:19:44 Speaker 1: Hey, it's going well, man. How are you? 00:19:46 Speaker 8: Well, he basically took who I was going to take. 00:19:49 Speaker 6: So i'll just say fred dean. 00:19:53 Speaker 7: Get fred dean man remember fred dean's first game with the niners he had like four sacks in his first game that was welcome to the niners we instantly loved fred dean. 00:20:03 Speaker 6: Definitely I'll just take your advice. 00:20:07 Speaker 7: And go with the Diaby guy. 00:20:09 Speaker 5: He sounds amazing. 00:20:09 Speaker 6: I'll have to start checking him out. 00:20:12 Speaker 1: Yeah, check him out. Yeah, he's a really good young player. 00:20:15 Speaker 2: I mean, it's great to have the name guys, but you know what? Football is, there's so many collisions and your body only lasts so long. And if you can find somebody, I mean, I thought that was genius last year getting Keyon White. Not only did he help him last year, but he was under contract this year. And so now you've got a player who they can develop. And Kocerek is a phenomenal coach. So you put a real big time talent who's not necessarily a scheme fit in New England because he really wasn't. 00:20:43 Speaker 1: They were a 3-4 team. He's a 4-3 guy. 00:20:45 Speaker 2: And you bring him to the Niners and you put him in that 4-3 wide nine. And it's just, it's like hand to glove, man. He fits perfectly and he's been dominating. So yeah, no, good call, Bob. 00:20:57 Speaker 1: Let me take one more. Chris is in Fairfield on the sports leader. Hey, Chris. 00:21:03 Speaker 5: Hey, Larry. 00:21:04 Speaker 8: It's so nice to hear your voice. Seriously, I love having you back on KNBR. 00:21:08 Speaker 1: I've called you a million times before. 00:21:10 Speaker 8: I was thinking, the question was, what is going to be something that is going to just put them past and make them the Super Bowl favorites? Well, the one thing that I've noticed is they are getting gassed in the middle through the halfback guts, halfback dives, and it would be really nice to clean that up. Now, DeForest Buckner, I know we had him before and all this stuff, and he's fine. But why not Vita Vea? He just got put under contract. And he is definitely one of the greatest run stuffers in the middle of your line. And I feel like if you had him and anything off the edges, it's only going to elevate the edges because of how much penetration you're getting up the middle. And if we're talking about a splash hit, I don't understand. I know he did just get signed this year. And so maybe the numbers don't match. But, gosh, if you want to talk about someone that's going to cause a splash and make it real difficult to run against us, I'd like to see Vitavia. And the last part, just out of whim, I've thought about this. Derwin James. 00:22:12 Speaker 6: Should we use a Derwin James? 00:22:14 Speaker 8: Especially during the fact that we don't have Greenlaw

right now for a week or so. But I'm just saying, I know he doesn't play linebacker. But, man, is he a run-stuffer. And I thought those two players. 00:22:28 Speaker 4: I do, too. 00:22:29 Speaker 8: I have since he came out of college. And I feel like he's not really getting utilized to the max of his ability in San Diego. I even picked him in my fantasy league for my defense because of it. But that's not working. And if, you know, God forbid you could get both of them, that would change everything. But I think one of those would be enough for the fan base to go, okay, this is something. These are two special people. Whatever we have to give up for it, hopefully it's not too much, and I don't know if the Vita Veya finances will work. 00:23:00 Speaker 6: Thanks. 00:23:01 Speaker 2: Yeah, I appreciate the call, Chris, and thanks for the kind words. I would say, you know, Vita Veya is interesting. 00:23:07 Speaker 6: Why? 00:23:07 Speaker 2: Because he's from Milpitas, and he probably would want to be here, you know, and you could probably not, even if, yes, he signed a one-year deal with Tampa, and he is making a pretty penny, so it would impact your cap quite a bit. You know, I'm not the capologist guy. I'll leave that to Lombardi and others. But I don't you know, I think it would be difficult to fold him in. But, you know, the cap is a is a thing that can be massaged and you can move stuff around. If he was willing to be here into the future, then maybe you could get get an extension on him and spread things out a little bit. Vitavia, I wonder how many years he's got left. But, man, that's the home run call. I mean, he's just he's just the monster in the middle. I do agree with you on that front. I think that piece is almost essential. You know, DJ Jones, obviously you're not getting DJ out of Denver, but that kind of piece, an enormously strong, you know, one technique that can play next to Grayson Halton, next to Oso Digizua and kind of, and kind of give them that versatility to play Halton a few fewer snaps and keep him fresher. How amazing is Halton look, by the way, we're going to talk about that next segment, but I'll give you two other names. You know, Vita Veyas, like that's top shelf. That's, you know, that's the top, that's top shelf liquor right there. But, you know, the Chargers, and we keep calling them San Diego, but of course we know they're in LA, but we'll call them San Diego because it feels good to call them San Diego. They should have stayed in San Diego, but the Chargers have a monster in the middle named Tierra Tart, who's just a behemoth, man. I mean, this guy is just too gapper. This guy's, this guy's like a, you know, wide as a bus. I mean, he's just, And he's quick and he comes off the flying off the ball. He's great against the run. 00:24:49 Speaker 1: So, I mean, he would be great. Vita Vea would be great. 00:24:52 Speaker 2: The cheaper version of that that I think is the most likely of the three is a Sean Robinson because he played for. 00:24:59 Speaker 1: Him in L.A. He's a little bit older, but he's a house man. He's a big boy. 00:25:03 Speaker 2: And he you know, it's all about keeping. I mean, why are the Niners the Niners right now? Why are they playing so incredible on defense? 00:25:10 Speaker 1: Fred Warner. 00:25:12 Speaker 2: He's got 50 tackles, three passes defense, three forced fumbles. He could be the defensive player of the year. The guy's making play after play after play. Keep bodies off of Warner and Greenlaw, and that's what these guys can do. 00:25:25 Speaker 1: Robinson can do it. Tartt can do it. 00:25:28 Speaker 2: Obviously, Vita Vea is probably the best at it. But I think Robinson's probably the cheapest. All right, we're going to take a timeout, pay some bills, come back, and talk a little bit about some guys that shined, and then we'll welcome in the great Todd Husek. 00:25:41 Speaker 1: And we'll finish up the hour talking ball with Todd on the Sports Leader. 00:25:45 Speaker 5: KMBR, the Sports Leader. Now from the O'Donnell Financial Group Sports Desk. Learn more at odfigroup.com. O'Donnell Financial Group. Because planning is a process, not a product. The Hall of. 00:26:02 Speaker 9: Famer Steve Young joined Murph and Marcus today and discussed how he doesn't need to be Pollyanna anymore. It's time to go all in on the 49ers 5-0 start. Listen to that interview on the Esports Leader's YouTube page. 00:26:23 Speaker 2: Hey, it's Krug from my friends at Fliff. Got a few players you're feeling good about this football season? Get in on the action with Fliff Pick'em Fantasy. Play for free every day with your bonus daily dollar. You can also make a deposit and compete for cash prizes. Start with two or more NFL players and build your Pick'em entry around how you think they're going to perform. 00:26:44 Speaker 1: It's real easy. 00:26:44 Speaker 2: This week on Fliff, I'm looking at Brock Purdy, with higher than 10.5 yards as the longest run. I think he'll have longer than a 10.5-yard run. So one 11-yard run goes over. 00:26:58 Speaker 1: I'll take that. 00:26:59 Speaker 2: And then I'll take Jaden Daniels less than or more than 35.5 rush yards. Daniels last week had over 100 yards rushing. So make those picks on flip for free or compete for cash prizes. Your call plus get cash back on every deposit. Your team's not playing, but one of your flip picks is that's right. You're working hard, but you could be working harder by flipping. Now, you know, new players are, can receive up to a $ 250 deposit match. 00:27:29 Speaker 1: That's right. 00:27:30 Speaker 2: Download FLIF. Use promo code KRUG. 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apply. See full promotional rules. 00:27:54 Speaker 1: FLIF, Inc. Sports Leader. Sports Leader. Oh, that's good stuff. 00:28:34 Speaker 4: Good stuff. 00:28:35 Speaker 2: If I had like a three-hour show, if this had been back in the day and it was like me and G-Rad sitting here, I think I'd say, gee, why don't we go with 808 KMBR? 00:28:45 Speaker 1: Let's see who can imitate Fred Warner. Today's about sending a message. We're the big dogs in this fight. Oh, what a line by Warner, man. 00:28:55 Speaker 2: Makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Talk about a guy. 00:28:58 Speaker 1: He's like, they got to go through us. And then he's like, we're in enemy territory. Listen, today's not just about winning. Today's about sending a message. Who the fuck dogs in the fight? Today's about sending a message. 00:29:12 Speaker 7: Oh, man. 00:29:13 Speaker 2: You think Malik Mustafa sent a message on that first shot against Rashid Shahid? 00:29:19 Speaker 1: Hello, Rashid. 00:29:20 Speaker 4: Bam. 00:29:22 Speaker 1: Dude, I love watching Malik Mustafa. 00:29:24 Speaker 2: He is just awesome. I mean, he really takes me back to Ronnie and, you know, that whole era. There were some big-time hitters back in the day. 00:29:36 Speaker 1: Atwater, Fulcher, Ronnie, Chuck C. 00:29:41 Speaker 2: You know, just, oh, God, Joey Browner, some big-time hitters. David and Sonny Vale's a big-time hitter. He's with us as well on the Sports Leader. On the UMA guest line, what's up, David? 00:29:55 Speaker 4: Larry, it's great to hear your voice. You are the voice of the fan of Northern California, and thank you so much for all your knowledge. 00:30:03 Speaker 1: Thank you, sir. 00:30:04 Speaker 4: Whatever John Lynch does, it better be good at 5-0. That's going to be injected into his success, and everybody's expecting him to hit it big and to take us to the Super Bowl that we need to win one more time. And I want to remind you, Larry, because you're going to know about this that the 49ers have been underdogs in the national media forever, since the 80s. I think it took Joe Montana three Super Bowls before he started getting respect from. 00:30:32 Speaker 1: The national media. It's pretty close. That's pretty close. 00:30:37 Speaker 4: And so, you know, I leave it with that, Larry. You make the comments to mine, and thank you for being on the air. 00:30:43 Speaker 2: Appreciate you, man. Thank you for the nice words. Um, yeah, I mean, that's the thing. John Lynch has popularized the mid season trade because he's made so many and they've worked out so well. So, um, you know, one thing that you got to look for as an angle that people oftentimes don't look for, look at what GMs deal with each other, because a lot of these guys don't trust each other and you got to have a trust to make a mid season trade. You got to have communication. You got to have open dialogue. John's made trades with new England. Obviously he has a good relationship there. I think, I think that's

Elliot Wolf. You know, he's made deals with Indianapolis, got a good relationship there with Chris Ballard. And then there's a number of people around the NFL that John has good relationships with, but you know, I would think Tennessee with Borgonzi and Sala, they had the joint practice this summer. I could see them getting together on a deal. So, so yeah, so yeah, I mean, it will be interesting. And he's, I think he knows it. I mean, John's going to do something. It's not going to sit on his hands. And you say, well, why is this so imperative? Because this is their go time. Because three years from now, Bosa's not better. Because three years from now, Kittle's not better. Juice is not better. CMC's not better. Trent's not better. It is time to go. 00:31:58 Speaker 1: And Brock Purdy is on pace for a MVP season. He's on pace. You know what Brock Purdy's pace. 00:32:03 Speaker 2: Is this year? 44 touchdowns and five picks. 00:32:08 Speaker 1: That's amazing. 00:32:09 Speaker 2: He's got 14 total touchdowns and two turnovers right now. He's playing amazing football. If you get a chance, go watch the JTO Sullivan breakdown on Purdy. It just kind of shows how Purdy made so many plays and extended so many plays with his resourcefulness in his legs and knowing when to bail out of the pocket and moving decisively within the pocket. 00:32:31 Speaker 1: He's having an amazing year. 00:32:32 Speaker 2: The Niners have the NFL's second-best negative play percentage. They don't have a lot of negative plays, and that's just it. That's plays that result in negative yardage. They don't have that. They've eliminated that. So it's going to be really interesting. Washington's next, and watch out for Jaden Daniels. He leads the NFL. He hasn't turned it over either. He's got no turnovers, no fumbles, no picks. And you think he's going to be motivated coming off. 00:32:58 Speaker 1: That loss last week? That was embarrassing. 00:33:01 Speaker 2: That was an embarrassing loss for them. So they're going to come in pissed off. And ready to roll. And the Niners better be ready Monday night for the commanders. They already beat the Seahawks and they're capable of pulling the upset here. 00:33:14 Speaker 1: But why are the Niners so good? I mean, there's several things. 00:33:17 Speaker 2: The Niners are the best red zone team in the NFL. Number one on offense, top five on defense. Best team in the NFL in the red zone. That goes a great distance to to being the best team. 00:33:28 Speaker 1: The Niners' defense. This is the one that shocks me. 00:33:31 Speaker 2: The Niners' defense is the best team in the NFL at minimizing opponents' explosives on offense. Raheem Morris could probably ask for 2% of the team right now, and they probably would give it to him. That's how well he's going right now. Seriously, Raheem Morris could do anything he wants right now. Niners are No. 1 in the NFL in fewest penalties committed. 00:33:55 Speaker 1: No. 1 in DVOA. 00:33:59 Speaker 2: Brock Purdy is the highest rated passer in the history of the NFL. I mean, they're getting tremendous performance out of a number of kind of relatively no-name defensive players. 00:34:13 Speaker 1: But this is another one. I mean, a couple guys that are really balling. 00:34:16 Speaker 2: Keyon White, 21% pressure rate, seven pressures last week. 00:34:23 Speaker 1: He is playing amazing football. And then Renardo Green. 00:34:27 Speaker 2: Renardo Green is allowing the fourth lowest passer rating in pass coverage this year. 00:34:32 Speaker 1: It's a next-gen stat. Green looks terrific. Absolutely terrific. 00:34:38 Speaker 2: And he didn't look terrific at the end of last year. Raheem Morris is getting great play across the board out of his defensive backs, the corners, the safeties. 00:34:49 Speaker 1: Do you remember? 00:34:50 Speaker 2: It wasn't that long ago people were like, the Niners need a safety. Nobody's complaining about Jair Brown anymore. Nobody's complaining about Siegel anymore. Nobody's saying anything about Mustafa other than, man, that's three damn good safeties right there, and they all hit like trucks. So not only did the Niners win the game this weekend, they out-hit Seattle. And that goes right to what Fred Warner just said. It's not about winning the game only. It's about sending a message. And who's the big dog in this fight? And when you look at the 49ers right now on defense... And you look at some of the guys that they have on defense. I would love to see them at one really, you know, game record defender. But Greenlaw, Stout, those safeties I just named, I mean, they're some of the hardest hitters in the NFL or reside on this defense. 00:35:38 Speaker 1: All right, let's take a timeout. 00:35:39 Speaker 2: Todd Husek's going to join us next, and we'll finish up the hour with the great Husek and get his thoughts on how the Niners are sitting at 5-0 in the Commander game coming up on Monday night. 00:35:48 Speaker 1: It's all straight ahead on Esports Leaders. 00:35:51 Speaker 5: KNBR, the sports leader. Faithful Niners Nightly with Larry Krueger now continues on your proud home of 49ers football. KNBR, the sports leader. 00:36:13 Speaker 1: Welcome back. 00:36:14 Speaker 2: Larry Krueger with you. It's Niners Nightly on a Wednesday. Hope everybody's having a great one. Todd Husek is one of my favorite guys. We talk a lot of football during the season. We sit next to each other in the press box, and he makes me a smarter viewer. Former Stanford quarterback, former, wait a second, Washington commander. 00:36:34 Speaker 1: No, no, that's not true. That was a red skin. Washington red skin. It sounds so much better. 00:36:42 Speaker 10: By the way, they called me out. Like, where did my allegiance lie? The team that drafted me or the team I'm working for now? It is 100% Niners. 00:36:52 Speaker 1: Let's go. 00:36:53 Speaker 10: I'm over the Redskins commanders. I'm rooting for the Niners 100%. There's no question about

that. 00:37:01 Speaker 2: You've got to have something. What do you have as a memento? Do you have a t-shirt, a workout shirt that says Redskins? Do you have a helmet? 00:37:09 Speaker 10: You know what I have? 00:37:09 Speaker 1: What do you have? You've got to have something that commemorates your time there. 00:37:13 Speaker 10: I completed my first pass to Larry Centers in the last game of my rookie year. Deion Sanders, who was a buddy of mine. He was on that team. He ran out onto the field and grabbed that ball and brought it back to me and gave it to me. And a couple of guys autographed it. And I still have that first completion. One of two, I only completed two passes in the history of my NFL career, but I got that first one and that it's still with me today, but that's wow. 00:37:42 Speaker 1: That's about it. 00:37:43 Speaker 10: And I actually, that's not true. I have a mini helmet signed by Bruce Smith, Dion Sanders, champ Bailey, Jeff. 00:37:51 Speaker 2: George, Jeff George. And I could tell some Jeff George stories from the Raiders. There are some great ones there, but I won't, I won't tell those. 00:37:59 Speaker 10: We can fill a whole show on that one. 00:38:01 Speaker 1: Cause I got some too. I got some great Jeff Georges. 00:38:06 Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, that that's, that's great. So you got some commander stuff. So that that's good. I'm feeling good about, about the game, but you know, the commanders just lost a game where Daniel's lost track of the play clock. And, and I, you know, the head coach took the responsibility, but the quarterback was on the ground and was there laying there for a good second and a half. And he probably needed about a second and a half more to get that spike. Um, so they could have gotten the field goal try. And so I would imagine a very kind of focused commander team's going to show up Monday night because you know, that was a rough, rough flight. 00:38:43 Speaker 1: Home, very rough flight. And that was a total botch by the quarterback. 00:38:49 Speaker 10: Communication has to happen from the coach to the quarterback, but it's on the quarterback to know the situation, the down and distance, how much time's left, how many timeouts are left, how that wasn't explicitly communicated prior to that play. I mean, that should never happen. 00:39:07 Speaker 5: It really is. 00:39:08 Speaker 10: And it's one of those things that at a high school level, if that happened, everybody would be devastated. let alone when a game means that much at that level, wins and losses and making the playoffs and not, how does that not cross everybody's mind to make sure everybody is on the same page? same page the quarterback the coach all the offensive linemen you've got to make that play you you drop back you either have a completion or you throw it away immediately and then you kick the field goal to win the game by the way the the other play from the weekend that i think was that monday night game they kicked the ball on second down They kicked that field goal on second down with. 00:39:52 Speaker 1: Two minutes left. 00:39:54 Speaker 10: The Bills over the Rams on that Monday night game, if they miss that kick, that is a huge mistake by the Bills. Luckily, they made it, but if that didn't happen, imagine if the Rams get the ball back. 00:40:10 Speaker 3: With two minutes left. 00:40:11 Speaker 10: They go down. They need 30 yards to kick the field goal and win the game. 00:40:15 Speaker 1: You know what it is? You know what it is? 00:40:16 Speaker 2: It's, it's Fred Warner. It's like Nate Landman popped it out earlier in the game. Now that's becoming such that, that, that, that is becoming so perfected by so many of the best linebackers in the league that it's a viable concern that, that's, you know, so one guy's going to stand up the back, you know, last, last in that game, it was cook and here comes Landman or somebody with the peanut punch and it's working. 00:40:41 Speaker 1: So I think there's a lot of fear. It was a lot of fear there by Brady. 00:40:44 Speaker 10: But, that wasn't a 25 yard field goal. That was a 45 yarder. 00:40:48 Speaker 2: I know that was, they got a good kicker by the way. And it wasn't, he isn't my fantasy team. So I was happy to see that. I was like, okay, yeah, let's go to, let's go to bass here. 00:40:56 Speaker 10: He made the kick, but that was, that was another interesting one. But yeah, there, it goes back to what I talked about on the show last week. Coaching is so important. And you look at what Ben Johnson has done for Caleb Williams and what Liam Cohen has done for Trevor Lawrence and what, Kyle Shanahan has done with Brock Purdy and Andy Reid with Patrick Mahomes. When you get that head coach and quarterback combination, it is special. But the coach is maybe more important because they can get middling quarterbacks to play at a higher level and good quarterbacks to play at great levels. And the job of a coach is to unlock that potential, and you're seeing that across the NFL, across college. right now where the great coaches are unlocking the potential of their players. And it's, it's benefiting those teams, the ones with the great coaches and then combined with really good quarterbacks are the ones that are at the top of the board. And it doesn't always have to be that way. 00:41:56 Speaker 1: It's look at Minnesota. 00:41:58 Speaker 10: Who's undefeated. They're great coaches without good quarterback play that are undefeated. So I, I'm not a big believer in Minnesota. I think they will revert to the mean, but when you have like McVay and Stafford, I mean that, There's a handful of instances across the NFL where you have that combination, and that's where you get the teams at the top right now. And we're seeing it in San Francisco where it's not just the coach and the quarterback. It's the entire team right now. This is a culture. When I was on with Murph and Marcus the other day, and they asked, what's your big takeaway from the game? I talked about 10 things, but then you go, go back to it. It's like the big takeaway. This is a mentally and physically tough team that can overcome adversity and believes. 00:42:48 Speaker 5: In one another. 00:42:49 Speaker 1: And they believe in hold that thought, hold that thought. We'll come back. We'll pay the bills. 00:42:53 Speaker 2: We're going to go a little overtime tonight. I will join Todd on sports phone, but we'll break right here. We'll come back with more on these sports leader 00:43:01 Speaker 5: Sports leader.