00:00I don't know that I've ever seen in August where the opinions are this varied
00:04in terms of the Niners are a Super Bowl contender slash favorite
00:10all the way over to, oh, the Niners are kind of in some sort of a reboot transition deal.
00:17And, you know, like, whatever, this is not supposed to be the year for the 49ers.
00:24I've heard those, both opinions and everything in between.
00:28And I've actually grown to a spot, Dibs, where I'm excited by that.
00:33I don't know what we're going to see on Sunday, but that's kind of exciting to me
00:37because I do liken this to 2019, the year that made Robert Sala,
00:44the year that made Nick Bosa, and the Niners had what they have,
00:48two road games to start the year, and a lot of people predicting a finish somewhere around 500.
00:54And they came out and went, whop, whop, and nailed the Bucs and the Bengals in back-to-back weeks
01:01en route to an eight-game win streak to open the season and a trip to the Super Bowl
01:06that they then lost, yes.
01:08But I'm not, like, saying this is that, but I am saying this could be that or anywhere in between.
01:16And so that's kind of fun for me.
01:18That's fun.
01:18There's a real excitement and anticipation into who they're going to be this year.
01:23No doubt.
01:24And I think 2019 is a great comp when you look at where that team was and where this team is,
01:30which is a little bit of kind of a mixed bag of expectations.
01:34And I think about 2019, and the over-under for that season, the win total set by Vegas was eight.
01:41And if you wanted to bet the over, it was minus 120, so slightly juiced to where if you wanted to bet over eight,
01:48you would have to pay a little bit in the juice category.
01:53And then I thought about it, and they went eight-no.
01:57They opened up eight-no.
01:58Eight-no.
01:59So if you're betting the over on eight, and they open up eight-no, I like your chances.
02:03And they went 13-3, and they went all the way.
02:06And the other thing that I've done, and I can get into this a little bit deeper as we do maybe a deep dive on 2019 versus this year,
02:14but the quarterbacks they faced, and we talked about it in the green room,
02:17when they came out of the shoot and the QBs they faced.
02:21But the one thing that I noticed about, no matter who they faced,
02:24and they weren't a who's-who of great quarterbacks, but I'm looking at the sack totals,
02:30and in order the first eight weeks, 3-4-2-4-4-3-7-3.
02:35That defense got after the quarterback.
02:38And those quarterbacks weren't very good, and as a result, you got turnovers,
02:43you got pick sixes, and Jimmy Garoppolo in a running game that was cemented by guys who are barely still in the league.
02:52Classic Shanahan running back.
02:54Exactly.
02:54Yep, yep.
02:55Give me the ball.
02:56Let's take it from them, and let's run it with Mostert, Coleman, and Breida.
03:01Yep.
03:01Yeah, and we'll go ahead and start 8-0, and then we can kind of go from there.
03:04And then just cruise through the playoffs.
03:07Cruise through the playoffs.
03:08NFC Championship game, one of the most boring games I've ever seen.
03:11We don't even need to throw the ball.
03:13We don't even need to throw the ball.
03:15We just hand it to Raheem Mostert, and we're going to the Super Bowl, and that game was over early.
03:21Yep.
03:21That's right.
03:21That's how good they were.
03:22So I'm not projecting that kind of dominance this year at all.
03:26I'm really not.
03:27But I do wonder how you all would answer this question.
03:31Which statement sounds closer to reality or closer to how you feel right now, each of you as fans?
03:40Week one is here.
03:42The Niners are relatively healthy.
03:44Juwan is back practicing.
03:46Still hasn't spoken yet.
03:47We'll get more information as the week unfolds.
03:49But Jennings trending toward playing alongside Ricky Pearsall for week one in Seattle.
03:57888-957-957.
04:00We will take your phone calls right now.
04:03Which statement sounds closer to how you feel?
04:08Statement one, the Niners are a Super Bowl contender.
04:12Statement two, the Niners are rebooting.
04:15Which one sounds closer to how you feel right now?
04:20They don't need to be a perfect snapshot of how you feel.
04:23But which one sounds closer to how you feel right now?
04:27Yeah, it's Super Bowl contender.
04:29You think so?
04:30Yes, absolutely.
04:31And I look at their quarterbacks they're going to face coming out of the chute.
04:35You've got Darnold, Rattler, Kyler Murray.
04:38Fine, you've had problems with him.
04:40Trevor Lawrence, he might be in line for a reboot.
04:44Matthew Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Penix Jr. and Stroud.
04:48And are you going to go 8-0?
04:49Of course not.
04:50Maybe not, of course not.
04:51Maybe.
04:51You're allowed to.
04:52You're also allowed to go 0-8.
04:54Which 0-8 might put Shanahan on the hot seat.
04:57I don't think that he even has a seat currently.
05:00But if I think about which of those two, yes, they're much closer to being a Super Bowl contender.
05:06And for me, Super Bowl contender means you make the playoffs.
05:09And you make the playoffs with a team that is, you know, not fluky.
05:15Like if you win the NFC South and you go 8-9 or 9-8, are you a Super Bowl contender?
05:21I mean, no.
05:22You've got to at least win 10 games.
05:24At least.
05:24Sure.
05:25At least, don't you think?
05:26I do think that.
05:27And I also think about this in terms of Stiney and Guru, and they're talking about, well,
05:32if they miss the playoffs, dot, dot, dot, well, if they go 11-6 and miss the playoffs, it's
05:37different than if they go 5-12 and miss the playoffs.
05:40So everything for me, Shanahan, like Purdy, everything else, it's all so contextual.
05:46It's pretty interesting that you just did the first half of the season with those quarterbacks.
05:51I'd argue that the second half gets even juicier.
05:54Even juicier.
05:55Even juicier?
05:56Yes.
05:57Yes.
05:57Think about it.
05:59You stopped at week 8 with C.J. Stroud.
06:02When you go to week 9, the answer is, I don't know.
06:06It's either Russell Wilson or Jackson Dart, most likely.
06:09And yes, both halves have a Stafford and a Murray in there, as does the second half.
06:14But then look what happens down the stretch.
06:16If you are in need of victories, you will face Bryce Young, who followed by whoever the
06:22hell Cleveland decides is a quarterback that week, followed by Bi-Week, followed by rookie
06:29Cam Ward, followed by Daniel Jones, followed by Caleb Williams, and then followed by Seattle
06:37here, and most likely Sam Darnold.
06:39I'd argue that second half looks even more inviting than the first.
06:44Yep.
06:44Definitely.
06:45And just looking at the 2019 defense and what they did to, it was Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton,
06:52Mason Rudolph.
06:53Baker Mayfield, who went 8-for-22 against that solid defense.
06:58Jared Goff threw for 78 yards.
07:00And the next week, Case Keenum in Washington.
07:03I know it was a monsoon.
07:05The Niners won 9-0 in that game.
07:07Keenum threw for 77 yards.
07:09Then Kyle Allen.
07:11Then Kyler Murray.
07:12That was your first eight quarterbacks, and you beat all eight.
07:15Yep.
07:16Yep.
07:16So, 8-8-9-5-7-9-5-70 is the number.
07:20However, what sounds closer to how you feel?
07:22The Niners are a Super Bowl contender, or the Niners are rebooting?
07:26Let's go to Jose in Vallejo.
07:28Thanks for leading us off, Jose.
07:29What's up?
07:29Thanks for calling.
07:31Hey, how's it going, fellas?
07:33How's it going?
07:33What's up?
07:34Thank you for taking my call.
07:34Yeah, man.
07:36I think the Niners are totally more towards Super Bowl contenders because of the players
07:42they have, and the coach they have.
07:44They're not just regular players.
07:46They're the players with experience, veterans that are hungry.
07:48So, they have a rapport.
07:50New acquisition of Robert Sala as a DC.
07:54We here in the Bay know what he's about.
07:56That's something that's going to help us.
07:59And, I mean, I just think that they're closer towards Super Bowl contenders.
08:04Obviously, the question was, what are they closer to?
08:06I don't think that they're going to win this Super Bowl, but I definitely do not think that
08:10they're in reboot stage at all.
08:11I think they're far from that.
08:14Maybe like two to three years, if we don't end up winning anything at all, we would be
08:18closer in that time frame towards rebooting than we would Super Bowl contenders.
08:23That's my take.
08:24Yeah, Jose, thanks.
08:25I mean, I think the whole idea of could they actually win the whole thing is maybe a conversation
08:30that happens later in the year.
08:32Like, my mind, I was telling you this earlier.
08:34My mind doesn't go to the end of the year yet.
08:36Like, ooh, maybe 12 and 5.
08:38Like, I want to see who they are.
08:41All these teams are about to embark on a huge journey.
08:44It's going to be filled with ups and downs and injuries and problems and highs and lows
08:48and all of that.
08:49So, are they actually a contender to win the whole thing?
08:53To me, that's a question for later.
08:55But out of the gate, we will get a sense of just like, are you a good football team?
09:01Or are you not ready for this action?
09:02Right, right.
09:03Are your young people ready to step up and be pro football players?
09:07And I know the depth chart came out today, so we can poke through that and see where
09:11young people are going to actually have to step up and do big things.
09:15And there are a number of them.
09:16But between now and January is a lifetime of football to be played.
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