- 4 months ago
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00:00The only guy in America who knows more about football than me, it's our very own Greg Cosell.
00:05And, of course, also as he joins us.
00:07Wow, and then...
00:08Right? Yep, River Island.
00:09We're very humble today as well.
00:11River Island's guest line.
00:12It's close too, Greg, honestly.
00:14This is what happens when I let him talk. We forgot to say that you're joining us on the River Island's guest line.
00:19Yeah.
00:20And that you have become one of America's foremost handicappers.
00:26So, we'll be asking you for...
00:29Well, actually, I guess we can't ask you for a pick this week, Greg.
00:32No, I guess I won't be doing that this week.
00:35The Niners don't play.
00:37No, they do not.
00:38And they're 9-4 now, huh?
00:42Oh, yeah.
00:43I mean, that feels like a contender record, Greg.
00:49It is a contender record.
00:51I didn't look at their schedule for the remaining games, but obviously they'll have some division games.
00:56So, it's going to be a fun time down the stretch, guys, with, what, five?
01:01Well, let's see, 9-4.
01:02That would be 13.
01:03I can do math.
01:04Oh, yeah.
01:06Four to play.
01:07Four games left.
01:07One of them is a division game.
01:09They will host Seattle, the final game of the year.
01:13And who are the other three?
01:14So, they will host Tennessee, and then they will go on the road to Indy, and then they will host the Chicago Bears.
01:22Oh, so you'd have to assume, and then we'll really talk real stuff.
01:27Sure.
01:27We're just, you know, speculating, which is, you know, the fun part, I guess.
01:30Yeah, exactly.
01:31So, you have to assume they're going to beat Tennessee.
01:33So, then they've got three pretty tough games.
01:35Right.
01:36Right.
01:37Yeah.
01:37And so, can't wait to dive in, because each one of those have their own sort of idiosyncrasies, especially the Bears.
01:43Yeah.
01:43They're sitting at the one seed, but a lot of people don't think they're the best team and whatnot.
01:47But before we get so ahead of ourselves, let's go back to Cleveland.
01:51And I would sort of love, and maybe this is easy, I know you get tired of the Purdy stuff,
01:56but coming off of a three-interception game, and then coming into a game where there was bad weather
02:02and a really good front, his decision-making, I thought, was different and really good.
02:09But what did you see from his play, taking all that into account?
02:13Well, he's obviously the best quarterback to ever play the game, don't you think?
02:17Facts.
02:18Cut that.
02:19And that's what I'm talking about.
02:21There you go, Greg.
02:22Well, you know, it's funny, because, you know, on Sunday, to be honest with you guys, I watch the Red Zone.
02:29You know, Sunday is my day where I actually just enjoy football, so I'm not just watching one game.
02:34I just let it roll over me.
02:35I enjoy it, you know, because I kind of work a few hours during the week.
02:39So Sunday is just kind of, let me watch some football and be a normal human being.
02:43So, you know, I don't see every single play, obviously.
02:46So when I put the tape on and I see the first play of the game, I just thought to myself,
02:51well, that's just Kyle Shanahan.
02:53And I don't know if you guys remember the first play of the game.
02:55Oh, yeah, yeah.
02:56Yeah, he had use check for 23 yards.
02:59I mean, it just, that was so classic Shanahan, the way they have this new thing,
03:03and I have to find out what it's called.
03:05I don't know what they call it, where use check is kind of in an angle alignment,
03:09and he goes in motion, and they do multiple things off of that.
03:14He has multiple motion concepts, and they do multiple things.
03:17It's become a staple of their offense.
03:19I'm sure you guys know what I mean.
03:20You can visualize it.
03:22But this time on that play, he released inside of Kittle to the closed boundary,
03:27and he ran a corner out.
03:28I mean, there's no way, and Jim Schwartz is absolutely one of the best
03:32who's been doing it for years and years and years, as you guys know,
03:35as a D coordinator in this league.
03:37But there's no way that he anticipated that was going to be the first call of the game.
03:41No way.
03:42And Purdy off play action boot, hit use check for 23 yards,
03:45and it just made the game right off the bat feel like, oh, this could be an interesting game.
03:50You know, and to me, that's just, you know, where Kyle is so good with those kinds of things.
03:56And even all the teams that now emulate Shanahan's motion,
03:58they have come up with that now, Greg, which is kind of what you talked about,
04:01the angle motion where he's almost 45 degrees to the line of scrimmage,
04:05and he'll either come inside and help the tackle or he'll go outside and help the tight end
04:10or, in this case, he'll kind of wiggle out.
04:13Has Shanahan really innovated even more off of his crazy motion now that teams are starting to copy him?
04:20Yeah, I mean, I think it's a slight innovation for sure.
04:23You know, I'm not one who ever uses the word revolutionize.
04:25I don't use that word, but I think it's just an innovation off the fact that Kyle's always been
04:31a high-percentage motion guy, as you guys know.
04:35He's believed that, just like Sean McVay believes in high-percentage motion.
04:39More and more teams obviously use motion now than ever before for multiple reasons.
04:44So you're always trying to find a way to show a motion and do things off that particular motion
04:50because there's not going to be a thousand motions.
04:52So what you have to do is try to figure out what you can do off motions,
04:56maybe a little tweak like what we're just talking about.
04:59Like I said, I wish I knew what they called it,
05:01but I think people can visualize that Juszczyk kind of lines up.
05:04It's almost like a wing alignment, but he's angled, and then he does multiple things.
05:09In the pass game, in the run game, they do a lot of different things off of it,
05:13and, you know, I'm sure teams that the Niners will play will study this in detail
05:17and see if they can find some kind of tell, some kind of indicator,
05:21but, you know, obviously I'm not studying the way a defensive team in the league will
05:25where they have six guys who are going through this,
05:27and I'm just, you know, one little lonely guy watching this, but it's pretty cool.
05:31Greg Cosell, NFL Films, joining us here.
05:34Willard and Dibbs, 95-7 the game, as he does every Wednesday.
05:38Greg, I don't even know how to ask this question,
05:40because you're so good with regard to, like, the way the X's and O's come together.
05:45Are there X's and O's in special teams?
05:48Because the Niners went...
05:50You're asking me about something I truly don't know about.
05:54Well, that's why...
05:55There are, though.
05:56Yeah, that's why, like, how did they go from the worst special teams team in the league to the best?
06:02That I can't answer, I'm just being honest, but, you know, years and years ago,
06:06I'm going back 15 years, maybe longer,
06:09one of the best special teams coordinators in the league for years,
06:13a guy named Bobby April, I think his son is a coach,
06:15and he came and spent a day with me, and this goes back a long time,
06:20so I certainly don't remember all the details.
06:23And, you know, he walked through a lot of things with me,
06:26and obviously that has advanced in 15 years, just like everything has advanced.
06:31But, yes, special teams is tactical just like everything else.
06:35Nothing in this league is done on a whim.
06:38You know, I know a lot of fans, when teams don't do well, you know,
06:41they don't realize...
06:42I've been fortunate in my career, guys,
06:44that I've been able to go to training camps.
06:46Coaches have allowed me to sit in in meetings.
06:48So I see all the details, and boy, is it detail.
06:51That's the thing that always resonates with me when I sit in in meetings.
06:55And, obviously, I've been watching coaching tape.
06:57I think we got the coaching tape in 1991.
07:00So I've been watching coaching tape since then,
07:02and I keep learning and learning and learning.
07:04You're always learning.
07:05But nothing is done on a whim.
07:08Everything is detailed.
07:10Now, does that mean it's executed properly all the time?
07:12Of course not.
07:13I remember Merrill Hodge, who I worked with for years and years,
07:16one of my best friends, would always say,
07:18coaches have all the power but no control.
07:20Because you can coach it and coach it and coach it,
07:22but, you know, then the players have to go out and do it.
07:24You can't do it for them.
07:26So, but everything is coached.
07:28There's nothing that is, you know, just left to, hey, you know,
07:31I always use this example with quarterbacks,
07:33particularly the quarterbacks that are movement guys
07:35and make a lot of plays outside of structure.
07:37Still, practice is not, hey, they don't roll the ball out and say,
07:40hey, let's run around and make a play today.
07:42That's, you know, I'm sure you guys have been able over the years
07:45to see some 49ers, you know, practices and all that.
07:49Everything is detailed.
07:50And I'm sure when it's not done right,
07:52Kyle lets the people know who are not doing it right that, hey,
07:55that's really not the way you want it done.
07:57Yeah, and for Cleveland, you've got Cordy catching a kickoff out of bounds
08:00and then Larvandian muffs a punt.
08:03So I don't know if that's, I mean, I'm sure.
08:05And you know what, the muffed punt, you know, I saw that play live, you know,
08:10because obviously Red Zone shows plays like that.
08:12You know, it's a turnover.
08:13You know, I mean, as a coach, what are you going to do there?
08:16I mean, and then people say things like, well, it's bad coaching, you know,
08:19because they made a mistake on special teams.
08:21You know, again, you know, and look, I understand as in every profession,
08:26some guys are, you know, coaches are better than others.
08:28It's like any profession.
08:30But, you know, when a guy drops a punt like that, I don't,
08:32and that was deep in his own territory too.
08:34I mean, I think that was, they were already in the red zone when he muffed the punt,
08:37if I'm not mistaken.
08:38So, you know, what do you say?
08:39I mean, you know, is that Kevin Stefanski's fault?
08:42Yeah, I think that he coached him to actually catch the ball.
08:45So I'm going to put that.
08:47My guess is they probably did that when they were working on that.
08:50Yeah, and that's great analysis by you.
08:52Didn't coach him hard enough, obviously.
08:54No, apparently not.
08:55And it's Greg Cosell here on 95.7 The Game.
08:57I do want to take you back to the previous touchdown where Brock Purdy,
09:02and you already praised him as the best quarterback ever,
09:04but the read option, walk me through the read option play.
09:08Third and goal from the two felt to me like 99% of the time he would give that,
09:14but he didn't.
09:14What did you see that he saw, Greg?
09:17Oh, you mean that you're talking about the two-yard touchdown on third and goal
09:20late in the third quarter, right?
09:21Correct, yes.
09:21I mean, that was just your basic zone read.
09:24They don't do that very often.
09:26And how many times, you know, the one thing I can't remember was McCaffrey in the game
09:30or Robinson, but it doesn't matter.
09:32It was McCaffrey.
09:32The point is, it was McCaffrey, yeah, because I know Robinson did play some meaningful snaps
09:36in this game.
09:37So we know that McCaffrey, I mean, he's a touchdown machine, you know,
09:41so he gets the ball in those situations.
09:44So it was a great call because the first two plays, I believe, you know, they didn't go anywhere.
09:49And then we saw that the linebacker, Diabadi, I believe it was, he crashed inside off the edge
09:55really hard.
09:56You know, he's looking to tackle McCaffrey and make a hero play, and Purdy just kept it.
10:00And you know what?
10:01You could have walked into the end zone on that one.
10:03It was so good.
10:04So it was just another really good call.
10:08And by the way, I thought the Jennings seven-yard touchdown, too, was a great example of just
10:15using motion, you know, and that was also a third-down play, by the way, and that's so
10:20critical.
10:21You know, I'm not saying anything profound to say that you've got to score touchdowns
10:24in the red zone, but, you know, there's ways to do that.
10:27And I've never been a believer, and they don't have those kinds of receivers.
10:30I've never been a believer, you know, in the fade ball, throwing it up.
10:33So you've got to scheme it.
10:34And I thought that, obviously, the Purdy two-yard touchdown and the Jennings seven-yard TD
10:39were just beautifully schemed plays.
10:42Greg, I'm curious, after two weeks as a starter, what is your review of Shadur Sanders?
10:49Yeah, he was not very good in this game.
10:52And, you know, it's funny, because the way he wasn't very good, guys, because obviously
10:57if you look at his numbers, you know, you go, oh, they're not terrible.
10:59But he just really didn't turn it loose in this game on throws that were there.
11:05And again, I don't know if he – I can't be in his head, but he just – he struggled
11:12at times in this game processing from the pocket with the result being that he left throws on
11:17the field that were there.
11:18Jerry Judy, if he threw the ball the way he should have, would have had 150 yards receiving.
11:23He missed Judy a number of times, and not the obvious one where he overthrew him, you know,
11:27where everybody just sees that, times where he didn't throw it to him when the play design
11:32was clean, and he's got to make those throws.
11:36You know, and one issue he had in college, which he showed again, he's been showing in
11:41the two games in which he played.
11:43This you can coach, by the way.
11:45He must learn to keep both hands on the ball when he moves in and out of the pocket.
11:49He has a very strong tendency to just hold the ball with one hand, and you cannot do that
11:55in this league.
11:56You just can't.
11:58But there were just too many times where the design of the play was really there.
12:03It was clean, and he just, for whatever reason, did not turn it loose.
12:08This was a game where just the processing part, the mental part, was just not there.
12:13And, you know, it's not enough reps to make any judgment, guys, believe me.
12:17I don't want people to think, oh, I'm deciding he can't play in the league.
12:20That's not true at all.
12:21This is only what the tape showed in this game.
12:23He's going to continue to play.
12:25He just needs more and more reps, and hopefully he continues to get better.
12:29Yeah, and Deshaun Watson's practice window has been opened, so maybe he'll hear footsteps
12:34from Deshaun Watson.
12:35I doubt that he actually will.
12:36Yeah, I'm not really sure what that means, Scott.
12:38He hasn't played in a long time.
12:39And then when he did play in Cleveland, he was actually not – you wouldn't even say
12:42he was not very good.
12:43He was bad.
12:44Right.
12:44So I don't know where he stands in his career at this point in time.
12:48And, again, we're not going to get into the other stuff.
12:50No.
12:50But there was a time, and through his first, what, 340 – I can't remember how many years
12:54he was in Houston before he signed the big deal with Cleveland.
12:57But he looked like he was on his way to being a top-five quarterback in the league,
13:00and it kind of all fell apart.
13:03And now he hasn't played in so long that, I mean, who knows?
13:06Yeah, off the field and on the field, he has not done very well.
13:10He has not looked good.
13:11Greg, as we enter the bye week for the 49ers, I just thought that we could ask you about,
13:16in general, the NFC and what you've seen, because it feels like every team has its warts.
13:22When you look around the rest of the NFC, who really catches your eye as a team that you
13:26can bank on?
13:27You know, it's funny you say that, because I've always been a believer, and I don't
13:30know if we've had this conversation, that if a team has, whether you want to call it a
13:34weakness, a flaw, something that's not very good, it's the NFL, guys.
13:38That can crop up and hurt you any time.
13:41So look what happened with the Rams.
13:42What is their weakness on the defensive side of the ball?
13:45It's the corner position, because their front's really, really good.
13:48So obviously, that was a game where no one thought that Carolina would beat them, but
13:53how did Carolina beat them?
13:54They hit some big plays in the pass game in critical moments, because, as I said, the weakness,
14:00flaw, whatever you want to call it, for the Rams' defense is their corners.
14:04So it bit them in the you-know-where in this given game.
14:08It can happen any time in the NFL, and that's just the way the league is.
14:13They're still, even the bad teams, they're still NFL players, and you never know in a
14:20given game that that can happen, and it happened to the Rams.
14:23So if you do kind of look around the league, though, maybe here's a different way to ask
14:29it.
14:30Styles made fights.
14:32Of the other good teams in the NFL, what do you think would be kind of the most difficult
14:39matchups, if you will, for what the 49ers do?
14:42Oh, well, first of all, you know, I think that another team in their division is very
14:50good in getting better, and that's Seattle.
14:52Yeah, sure.
14:53Seattle's defense is very, very good, and I know they play them again, as you said.
14:57They end the season with them, is that correct?
14:59Correct.
15:00Last game of the year, yeah.
15:01And it's in San Francisco.
15:02And where is that game?
15:03It's here.
15:03It's in San Francisco.
15:04Okay.
15:05Yeah.
15:05You're right.
15:06They, you know, Mike McDonald is just, and I've heard him speak, you know, I don't spend a
15:11lot of time listening to press conferences and things like that, but every once in a
15:14while, you know, particularly when I watch tape and see something, sometimes I say, oh,
15:17I'd love to hear the coach talk about something.
15:20He's a really sharp guy, and their defense is getting better and better.
15:24The way they use their personnel, the way he's so multiple with his fronts, shows you
15:29different things, a lot of late rotation and coverage, you know, their defense is just
15:34getting better and better, and they've got that, you know, that puzzle player in Nick
15:38Emanuari, the 6'3 and plus 220 pound, you know, safety slot corner, whatever you want
15:43to call them, who ran, I think, a 4-3-7, 4-3-8 at the combine.
15:48You know, they're really, really good.
15:49The front's good.
15:50The defense is getting better.
15:52They're, again, their weakness per se, if you want to call it a weakness, is they don't
15:57run the ball with the consistency that they want.
16:00So, you know, in any given game, could that be a problem where all of a sudden they're,
16:03if a game comes down to where they're facing a lot of third and longs, does that become
16:09an issue?
16:10You know, maybe it does.
16:12But, you know, their defense is just a really, really good defense.
16:17Witherspoon, Devin Witherspoon made a play this week.
16:19It was actually a 13-yard game by TJ Hawkinson, but he ran from one side of the field to the
16:24other, and when I watched the tape, I had to just watch it a couple times and go, oh,
16:28my God, that's Devin Witherspoon.
16:29I mean, so they're just, they're a fun defense to watch, and they're a tough team to play
16:34against.
16:35Yeah, week 18, it'll be fun to see if that game actually matters.
16:38Greg, I just wanted to get your thoughts here as we get close to the end about Philadelphia.
16:42Like, what do you see from the Eagles on tape?
16:45Are they good enough to defend, or are they a train wreck, or somewhere in between?
16:50Well, I think that I can only tell you what the tape shows.
16:53Of course.
16:54I think probably if you're making a big statement, there are probably some people who, because
16:58they still have a good roster, are just waiting for them to be, quote-unquote, the Eagles,
17:02and then other people who are saying what you just said, that, hey, this is one of those
17:05seasons where it's falling apart.
17:06We don't really know the answer to that.
17:08That's for the future.
17:09But what the tape shows, look, their identity last year, people keep saying, what's their
17:15identity?
17:15Well, their identity is running the football.
17:18They're not a drop-back passing team.
17:21So if they can't run the football, their offense does not have any real consistency to it.
17:26So we know what their identity is.
17:28They've just been bad at that identity.
17:30And they don't have another thing they can do.
17:33See, that's the problem.
17:35They're not a drop-back passing team.
17:36So if they can't run the ball and they get caught in too many long-yarded situations,
17:40because they lead the NFL in going three and out this year, which was probably not on anybody's
17:45bingo card before the season, that the Eagles would lead the NFL in going three and out
17:49on offense.
17:50But they don't have a true drop-back passing game.
17:53So therefore, they get stuck on offense.
17:56And that's been a huge, huge problem for them.
17:59Greg, I really want to ask you about one of the Niner receivers, because he's been a favorite
18:03in our conversations through the last couple of seasons, quite frankly.
18:07And that's Ricky Pearsall.
18:09And I want to know, coming back from this injury, what you see.
18:13Because he looks a little bit like the forgotten guy in the passing game, three games since
18:18his return, five total catches for 19 yards, and only a total of nine targets.
18:25What do you see is going on with him?
18:28I mean, to me watching, I don't see anything going on with him personally.
18:32You know, we've talked about the fact that, you know, they're kind of a passing game that
18:36doesn't focus on a player.
18:38But obviously, nine targets in three games is a very small amount for a starting wide receiver.
18:43The only way I would answer that is, let's see how the season keeps progressing.
18:47You know, he came back from an injury.
18:49He missed more time than I think a lot of people thought he would when we first found
18:52out about the injury.
18:53You know, it seemed like every week, oh, Ricky might be back this week.
18:56And then all of a sudden, a month goes by and he hadn't played.
18:59So, you know, again, I don't, you know, missing that time is a big deal.
19:04So let's just see how it goes.
19:05You know, I doubt he's lost his ability.
19:08You know, that doesn't really happen.
19:10I mean, he's a young player.
19:11So let's just see how it plays out.
19:13I mean, we've talked about the fact that there are some games in which Kittle doesn't have
19:17a lot of targets.
19:18Obviously, in this game, he had the 33-yarder, which was a great catch.
19:21And then he had a really big play where the Browns played zone that got him down into the
19:26low red zone.
19:27It was a 14-yarder.
19:28But let's see how it goes.
19:31You know, but it is a little strange.
19:33I certainly don't have an answer to that, you know, because I'm not there.
19:36But, you know, nine targets in three games is, you'd expect a lot more.
19:40Yeah, very, very low, obviously.
19:42All right.
19:42So as we said, no Niner game this week.
19:44So we'll give you the entire league, Greg.
19:47What's Greg Cosell's lock of the week for week 14?
19:51Oh, God.
19:52I'm trying to look at what we're doing in my matchup show this week.
19:55There's some big games.
19:56There are some very big games.
19:57Yeah, I tell you, I'm fascinated by the Bengals and the Bills.
20:03And obviously, that's the AFC.
20:04So, you know, maybe fans in San Francisco are not necessarily focused on that one.
20:08But Burrow is back.
20:10He's just a different cat.
20:12I mean, you watch him play.
20:13I had a coach describe him to me and tell me he's a computer chip.
20:17He just sees the game.
20:18You know, it's intuitive.
20:20You know, there are times Purdy's like that, too, just the way he sees it.
20:23But Burrow just makes the Bengals a team that you never know.
20:27And by the way, their defense has somewhat improved the last couple of weeks.
20:30And the Bills are a very, very odd team to me.
20:33Because they've got a quarterback who, you know, to me,
20:36is the most physically gifted quarterback in the league.
20:39And I've believed that for years.
20:42And yet, they don't really throw the ball a lot if the game doesn't call for it.
20:46And I'm pretty sure it's because they don't feel good about their wide receiver core.
20:50But they are a running football team.
20:52I mean, who would have thought that James Cook would have 232 carries at this point in the season?
20:57You know, and he's not a big man.
20:59So, you wonder, you know, if he's going to hold up.
21:01But they're a fascinating team to me because they have this quarterback that really is not being asked to do very much.
21:07And then the game that is truly fascinating is also an AFC game, is the Texans and the Chiefs.
21:14Because the Chiefs, it appears, are going to be playing with two backup tackles.
21:20That's what it looks like as of now.
21:22Now, we're talking on a Wednesday.
21:24Who knows, you know, tomorrow's there's practice.
21:27Friday's there's practice.
21:28But there are two starting tackles.
21:30One of them's on IR.
21:31The other didn't practice today.
21:32So, if they're playing with backup tackles against Will Anderson and Daniil Hunter.
21:37And, by the way, the interior of their D-line is pretty good, too.
21:40And they've got stars everywhere on their defense.
21:44That's a fascinating game to me.
21:46A fascinating game.
21:48Texans and Bengals parlay.
21:49Thank you, Greg.
21:50Yeah, boy.
21:50It would be such a shame if the Chiefs missed the playoffs, Greg.
21:54Such a shame.
21:55I know you guys would be unhappy about that.
21:57Yeah.
21:57I wouldn't want that.
21:59Oh, it's funny.
21:59I remember a couple years ago, and I'm sure you guys remember it extremely well.
22:04And it just shows you how fans are.
22:05Walking out of the stadium in Las Vegas.
22:08And, fortunately, I was staying in Mandalay Bay, which was the league hotel, so I could walk.
22:13And, obviously, it was the game that the 49ers lost to the Chiefs.
22:16Oh, Greg.
22:16You know, there were a lot of questions, the whole deal.
22:18And I'm listening to 49ers fans, and I don't engage.
22:21You know, I'm just walking and smiling.
22:22And all I'm hearing is, they just got to fire Shanahan.
22:25He doesn't know what the hell he's doing.
22:27And, you know, because it's so raw in that moment.
22:30You know, you're a big fan.
22:32You live and die with it.
22:33And you just lost a game that you easily could have won.
22:36And you're just feeling like, you know, you got to blame somebody.
22:38It's funny, Greg.
22:39I don't remember the game you're talking about at all.
22:41Me either, yeah.
22:42I love it.
22:42It's been that.
22:44Yeah.
22:44So, anyway, hey, Greg, great stuff.
22:47We'll talk to you next week.
22:49Hey, guys, I love being with you every week.
22:51Thanks so much.
22:51Us too.
22:52All right.
22:52Greg Cosell, NFL Film.
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