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00:00And Mark Schlereth will be there.
00:03And he joins us now on the River Islands guest line.
00:06Odyssey NFL insider Mark Schlereth, host of the Stinkin' Truth podcast.
00:10Insider calls are brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs.
00:15Nationwide is on your side.
00:18Hey, Stink, what's going on?
00:20What's happening, fellas?
00:21Good to be with you guys.
00:22Thanks for having me.
00:23I appreciate it.
00:25You know what that means if you're talking to us.
00:27It means it's football season, Stink.
00:28Yeah.
00:30Absolutely.
00:32Which is, well, yeah, right?
00:33The long drought is over.
00:35It is time to go.
00:37I'm excited about it.
00:38We are, too.
00:40And why don't we, like, just get an initial thought because we've been spending the last
00:44hour talking about how there's a very wide range of opinions on who the 49ers are going
00:51to be this year and sort of what their opportunity will be.
00:55What do you think?
00:57Yeah, I mean, I think they're going to be good.
00:59I mean, obviously, Christian McCaffrey's got to be healthy, right?
01:02And that, I mean, it just adds so much to their passing game, what you can use with
01:07him.
01:07He becomes an offensive weapon.
01:09So outside the numbers, his motion, his ability to run routes out of the backfield, like their
01:16route tree or their route, the routes they ran were essentially without Christian McCaffrey,
01:21check B, you know, check slow off the outside gap or the inside gap.
01:29So, you know, it's dumping balls off.
01:31Now, all of a sudden, he becomes a legitimate part of the passing tree in that offense.
01:36So now, all of a sudden, you can make decisions.
01:39Hey, man, let's go two back, but let's really use Christian as a wide receiver.
01:44Hey, let's go one back where he is the back.
01:46Let's go, you know, two back heavy personnel, two back just two, like, tailbacks.
01:51Like, it gives you so many options as a play caller and so many things as a defense that
01:56you have to think about.
01:57So that's going to be big.
01:59And obviously, you know, the wide receiver position, I really think that toward the end
02:03of last season, when I watched the 49ers and I did one of their last games against Arizona
02:08and they were so beat up, you know, it was that.
02:12But watching their film going into that game, Ricky Pearsall, I thought, had made such unbelievable
02:18strides toward the end of this season.
02:20Like, that kid feels to me like he's ready to break out.
02:23I haven't watched them in the preseason, so I haven't seen any of that.
02:26But last year, I thought he made strides.
02:29Juwan Jennings, if he can stay in the games without getting kicked out, Juwan Jennings
02:34is one of the great football players in the National Football League.
02:37That dude just kicks people's ass.
02:39I mean, I love watching him play.
02:41And he sets the tone from the offensive possession standpoint.
02:46In the run game, he mixes it up with people.
02:48He has zero fear.
02:50And I think he's a really good player.
02:52And then last year, when he finally had to get pressed into duty playing X,
02:57he proved that he can actually play wide receiver in this league.
02:59He's just not a guy that's going to mix it up and fight people.
03:02So I love that aspect.
03:04Getting your left tackle back, who, to me, I got to, you know, I mean,
03:08I have just got a man crush on Trent Williams.
03:11Watching him play is like, it's, that is like, close the study door and put a tie on the doorknob
03:18and tell my wife not to come in when I'm watching Trent Williams film.
03:22It is, like, that is like, do not come in here.
03:25It's ridiculous how good that guy is.
03:28And then I just thought they had some young players on the defensive side of the ball
03:32who stepped up and really played well.
03:35And I'm looking forward to watching them play.
03:37I think they're going to be right at the end of this thing fighting with the Rams for a division crown.
03:43And how much of your defensive optimism is really hinged on Robert Sala coming back?
03:49Because Mark and I were talking about the 2019 team.
03:52A lot of young guys.
03:52Sala was there.
03:53Is he the perfect fit for a young defense?
03:57The perfect fit in several different facets.
04:00One, he is, he's incredibly energetic and he gets his guys to play exceptionally hard.
04:08And one of the reasons they can play exceptionally hard is because he's really simple.
04:13We're just going to out-execute you.
04:15And that is something that I absolutely love.
04:19Let's keep it simple and let's just go out there and play our butts off.
04:23And that's part of, you know, that's part of his mantra.
04:26That's part of the way they operate in San Francisco under Sala.
04:31And I'm excited for them to have him back.
04:33Obviously, the last couple of years after D'Amico Ryan, his disciple, left to go coach Houston.
04:40You know, it's been Steve Wilks didn't work out.
04:43Sorensen didn't work out.
04:45Just didn't necessarily mesh with the head coach.
04:48I know their philosophies mesh between what Kyle wants to do,
04:53the aggressiveness that he wants to use on the offensive side of the ball
04:56and the way Robert Sala plays or has his guys play.
05:00So I think it's a really good match.
05:03Mark Slareth is with us here on Willard and Dibs.
05:06Insider Calls are brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs.
05:10Nationwide is on your side.
05:13Stink, those were some big comments you just made about Jawan Jennings.
05:16What is your read on what has been pitched to us as a calf injury?
05:21But let's be real, it was some sort of a contract holdout as well.
05:26Nothing really happened, though.
05:29No news yet.
05:30Yet he returned to practice this week.
05:32So what's your read on the way that went down and his potential readiness for this weekend?
05:38Yeah, I think, you know, I think that guy, he'll be ready to play.
05:42Let me just say there's very few receivers that I've ever watched in the NFL.
05:47There's a few that come to mind.
05:49Hines Ward, Steve Smith Sr.
05:54Beyond that, I can't really recall.
05:57I'm probably missing one in there.
05:59Maybe Keenan Allen.
06:01That set the toughness tone for their offense, for their football team.
06:06He sets a tone.
06:08Like, and it's, I mean, he's nasty.
06:11And, yeah, they're, you know, he won a new contract.
06:14I know that, I know, you know, they talked about that.
06:18I don't know what extent they talked about it.
06:21He obviously doesn't have much leverage at this particular point in time.
06:25And I don't know if some incentive-laden deal will be had, like they did here in Denver last year with Cortland Sutton.
06:31Give him some incentives.
06:32Let him make some more money.
06:34That's great.
06:35But he is a true competitor.
06:38And I'm telling you, just like getting involved in the run game, doing all the things that he does, I am a huge, like I couldn't be any bigger fan.
06:48Especially in a day and age where guys don't want to do that.
06:52You know, they have got an overinflated opinion of what they do and the importance they have to the game of football.
06:58This is wide receivers I'm talking about, guys who won't run the, you know, for the love of the game routes when they're not a primary, guys that don't want to sell out and get involved in the blocking game.
07:10There's a lot of these guys out there.
07:11And if I was a coach and probably why I'm not a coach, I'd make those guys line up a guard one-on-ones and I'd beat their ass.
07:18I'd take defensive linemen and beat their ass.
07:20So you have to see what other guys have to do for you to sniff a football.
07:24It's the most dependent position in football, wide receiver.
07:28And so for me, watching guys do it the right way like Juwan Jennings do it, those guys deserve to be rewarded.
07:35And those guys add value to your team, the general population, the general fans just don't see.
07:41Does Ricky Pearsall have some of those same characteristics when you watch him on film?
07:47Yeah, last year, you know, it was a short, like I broke down three games before I called a game.
07:53And watching Ricky Pearsall do what he did, man, I just was so impressed with his, like, just his ability, man.
08:00He is in and out of breaks.
08:02And, I mean, I just thought that Ricky was great.
08:06And, of course, if you play for San Francisco, you play for Kyle Shanahan, much like if you played for Mike Shanahan.
08:13If you're not going to get involved in that, then you're just not going to play.
08:18If you're not willing to do those things, you're just not going to have opportunity.
08:21So, yeah, Ricky's got that about him.
08:25He's got that ability.
08:25Hell, he got shot and he came back and played.
08:27So, you know he's got some toughness to him, right?
08:31Stink, I'm so glad and love talking anything Shanahan related with you because of your personal knowledge of it.
08:37I want to run these by you because as we start another season, this is not the whole fan base by any stretch.
08:45Maybe not even most of it, but there are a lot of questions about Kyle and there is some negativity.
08:52I want to throw with you, we compiled the top five things that are negative that we hear people say about Kyle Shanahan.
09:00And I want you to tell me if there's any merit to any of these things.
09:04Here are the five that we've kind of put together.
09:08Number one, his play calling is too conservative.
09:11Number two, he shrinks in big moments.
09:14Number three, he's not a leader of men, just a play caller.
09:19Number four, never takes accountability.
09:22And number five, he thinks he can win with anyone slash arrogance.
09:27Is there merit in any of that?
09:29Um, you know, I think as you look back, the Super Bowl loss against Kansas City, the second one, um, I just would never want to give Patrick Mahomes the ball last in any circumstance.
09:44Um, now that is not shrinking in a big moment.
09:48That's making a bad decision.
09:49So, um, thinking you can win with anyone, um, that would probably, that one would be a fair criticism in that I think I can coach guys.
10:04I think I can coach guys and get the best out of guys and have a chance to win.
10:09But, you know, I'll be, I'll be completely forthright, you know, and I did games when Nick Mullins was starting for you guys.
10:17Trust me, Kyle knows the limitations of Nick Mullins.
10:23Nick Mullins is a really good, like, he's, he's the type of guy that my words, not Kyle's.
10:30He's the type of guy that coaches say, he's going to make a great coach someday.
10:35You know, that's like saying, well, he can't really play, but he really knows what he's doing.
10:40That's like saying, hey, man, the guy's a crafty lefty.
10:43He can't throw hard, right?
10:45But, you know, and he'll figure a way to get you out.
10:49So, like, he knows, I mean, it's not arrogance.
10:53I think it's, I think it's one of those things trying to instill the most confidence you can in the players that play for you.
10:58And given what he's had and, and like the last, you know, when he, when he has mass injuries, like that would be the biggest, my biggest concern is what are we doing as an organization that is allowing our players to get hurt at the rate that they're getting hurt?
11:16That would be my, and that would be, you call it a criticism, whatever, whatever, you know, science project you want to do on that.
11:23I'm sure you've got some nerd in your building that does that, right?
11:26That crunches numbers and does science projects for you, right?
11:29Put a, and put a, one of those diagrams together, you know.
11:33Yeah, I'm sitting right here, Stink.
11:34I mean, you're talking right to me.
11:36Yeah, yeah.
11:37So, I'm sure there's somebody that'll crunch those numbers, but you look at the injury issues that the Denver Broncos had pre-Sean Payton and post-Sean Payton.
11:48And they were, I think, the healthiest team in the league last year, and before Sean got here, they had a lot of injury issues.
11:54So, like, that would be something I would dig into.
11:57But I think, I think most of those complaints are, you know, are fans that, are passionate fans that want to win.
12:09And I understand that.
12:11You've got to have something to complain about.
12:13You know, we say it all the time in this business, from a national perspective, is Kyle's one of the best, not a play caller, he's a caller of offense.
12:21And the wide-open looks he gets his guys, when you look at, you know, what an explosive play adds to your team.
12:32Every explosive play is worth almost three points, you know, if you do all the analytic stuff on that.
12:40And the amount of wide-open explosives that he designs based upon the way he calls an offense is, I would say, is good, if not better than anybody.
12:49And, you know, we always say, if they got rid of Kyle Shanahan, it'd take about 30 seconds for him to have a new job in the National Football League.
12:58So, you know, I'm a firm believer in what he's doing, and Kyle's a coach.
13:04Is he a good leader of men?
13:09Well, I mean, I haven't been in those meeting rooms, but if he's anything like his father, I will say this.
13:15Because I have, through Mike, I mean, I studied the game with Mike, and I'm over at his house looking at stuff, and I've seen Kyle run a meeting, and Kyle is awesome in meetings.
13:27Awesome.
13:29Presenting, talking to the coaching, coaching the coaches in front of the players, coaching up the players.
13:35He's dead-level awesome in those meetings.
13:39And so, I'm not sure what being a leader of men means, you know, I know, I guess I know what the media wants, but I would say that all those years in New England, that Bill Belichick was a curmudgeon, a lot of people would say, you know, he wasn't very good, or wasn't, you know, dynamic, or wasn't this, or wasn't a leader of men, whatever it is.
14:04I think a lot of that stuff is just an excuse you make up when you're pissed.
14:08So, it doesn't really mean anything to me.
14:11And what does it mean for you as a former player in the locker room when you talk about a leader of men?
14:17It's not necessarily only the rah-rah stuff, like Dan Campbell, we're going to go out and bite a kneecap, but when you're a pro and you're a veteran, what are you looking for in terms of that level of leadership from your head coach?
14:29You know, I want a guy that puts us in a position to win.
14:36Like, I want a guy that says, hey, man, if, you know, this time we're meeting and this is, you know, what our structure is, we're going to adhere to it, right?
14:46I want to, like, ultimately, you know, what makes you a great leader of men is winning games.
14:52And if you put me in a position to have success, you know, that's what I want as a player.
14:59I want to get better.
15:01I want to be in a position to win.
15:03And let me tell you, there are plenty of coaches in this league that don't put their players in those positions.
15:08I always say it, you know, guys all the time, you know, coaches all the time, put a player in a position to lose.
15:16Don't be surprised when he loses because you're the dumbass that put him there.
15:19I want to be put in a position to have success and to win.
15:23And I would argue that Kyle does that as well as any coach in football.
15:28Mark Schlereth, Stink, is with us here on Willard & Dibs 95.7, the game.
15:32We do it every other week throughout the football season.
15:35And maybe the best feeling that we've had in many months, Mark, we actually have a game right now that we can ask you about.
15:41What kind of a challenge do you believe the Seahawks will present this Sunday?
15:46Yeah, I actually watched some Seahawks film, preseason film, because I was doing something for somebody.
15:55And, man, they got, like, their run game is, their run game was pretty impressive in the preseason coming off the ball.
16:02They got a couple of running backs that can really play.
16:05I like the Charbonneau kid coming off the bench.
16:08So they got a great one-two punch there.
16:10I thought, you know, at the line of scrimmage, I thought they were winning the line of scrimmage, which was big time.
16:16They got a couple of fullbacks that will just flat-out shorten your neck, a couple of 270-pound dudes.
16:21They got a kid from Alabama.
16:24I don't even know if he made the team, but the film I watched he was making the team, he became my favorite player right off the bat.
16:30And he was just crushing people.
16:32And so I was like, that dude, winner, winner.
16:35And defensively, so I like what they're doing.
16:38I think they're going to be a much better football team.
16:41We'll see exactly what Sam Darnold is in his first year in Seattle.
16:47But I think they're a pretty damn good team.
16:49And I know one thing, based on the offense they have and Kubiak, who's running that offense,
16:54they're going to be a much more physical football team than they were a year ago.
16:57No doubt.
16:58And you look at this division, and you've got a great running back down in Arizona,
17:02a great running back in a running game in Los Angeles.
17:05How do you see the West in totality shaping up, Stink?
17:11I think it's tight, man.
17:12I mean, it depends on if Stafford's back is good.
17:15I think it's going to be a neck-and-neck race between the Niners and L.A.
17:20with the Seahawks coming in in third there.
17:24But I think the Seahawks are going to be relevant all the way down to the end for a wild-card berth.
17:29And then as much as I love my guy Jonathan Gannon down in Arizona, they are the Cardinals.
17:36So they'll be bringing up the rear.
17:40Stink, I'd love to get an idea from you on sort of what you saw from Brock Purdy last year
17:47and what you'd still like to see.
17:49Like, what do you want to see him do this year that maybe you didn't see last year?
17:53Yeah, I mean, a lot of change, obviously.
17:56A lot of injuries, obviously.
17:58All that kind of stuff.
18:00I'm a huge Brock Purdy guy.
18:02I just, like, if I could see him grow, like, three inches, that would be awesome.
18:08But I don't think that's going to happen.
18:10So, like, I still think the quarterback position is played from the neck up.
18:16I don't think you have to have the biggest physical traits with arm and all that stuff.
18:20I think he's a far more mobile guy than most people give him credit for.
18:25But he is so good at on time and getting through progression so quickly.
18:32So just to watch him continue to master that and then, you know, develop that kind of rapport
18:38with multiple different guys.
18:40Because, obviously, that was an issue last year, rolling through so many receivers
18:45and not having Christian back there.
18:48So, you know, ultimately it's time to take it and make it your football team.
18:53And I think when you come in as Mr. Irrelevant, you know, you come in as Mr. Irrelevant
18:58and you've got Christian McCaffrey and you've got Debo and, you know, you've got Trent Williams
19:02and you've got all that stuff, it's hard to take that step as this, I'm in charge here.
19:09And, you know, you'd like to see that just continue to grow for Brock Purdy.
19:13Stink, I've been looking forward to asking you this, and this is away from the Niners,
19:17but as a guy who, A, loves great football players, but also, B, you really don't like it
19:23when players start to make it kind of about themselves, I really want to hear how you read
19:30the whole Micah Parsons situation and whether you think Dallas messed that up
19:35or if you think that they got rid of a me guy.
19:40No, I think that there's an unwritten rule, especially with this rookie wage scale,
19:47that after year three, when you've become a superstar and you've outperformed your contract,
19:52there's an unwritten rule in the NFL that this thing gets done.
19:57And it usually does because the sooner you do it, the more manageable it is for the player,
20:05for you as a franchise and the player kicking the can down the road.
20:09When you continue to shuffle your feet and make it about you as an owner,
20:13and like every guy gets to the 11th hour before he signs, it's just piss-poor management.
20:19And inside a locker room, I believe...
20:26Oh, we lost him.
20:28Okay, well, we got most of what we were looking for.
20:32Did we dump him after the piss-poor management?
20:34Oh, he's back.
20:35No.
20:35Okay, we lost you there for a second, Sting.
20:37Right after the piss-poor management, you can pick it up right there.
20:40Right.
20:41I was just going to...
20:42It creates...
20:43I'm sorry, I got another interview I got to do in New Orleans.
20:48But it just creates a situation of...
20:50It creates a situation of independent contractors in the locker room.
20:54And that's never a good thing.
20:56Sting, say hi to New Orleans and tell them we're going to kick their butt next week.
21:00All right, sounds good.
21:01All right, there you go.
21:01Thanks, Mark.
21:02There you go.
21:02There you go.
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