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00:00Some would say the toughest half hour of the week.
00:03Some would say the best half hour of the week.
00:05It could be both.
00:06I think it often is.
00:08And when I say toughest, mainly for you,
00:10because you're forced to really get in your bag and bring it.
00:13Well, because I know a lot about football,
00:15and not often am I confronted by somebody who may,
00:19may, actually knows much about me and about football as I do.
00:23What if we actually bring Greg Cosell, NFL Films, behind the curtain?
00:28Greg, do you know that Dan Dibley wants to be you?
00:33Well, he'd be the only one then.
00:35Well, it's funny because I actually, I grew up,
00:38and as a kid I wanted to be your uncle, and then Howard Cosell,
00:41and I realized early on that I wasn't good enough or smart enough.
00:45And so as I've gotten into this business,
00:47I've gone from wannabe Cosell to wannabe Cosell.
00:51I want to be you, Greg.
00:53Wow.
00:54I don't know what to say in response to that.
00:57Now, let me ask you, did you grow up in the Bay Area?
00:59I did, yeah.
01:00And, you know, when I was a kid, and I'm in my 50s now,
01:03life was your uncle and Monday Night Football.
01:07And the only time I ever got to leave the dinner table
01:10was Monday night for halftime highlights.
01:13And so, you know, your uncle Howard would do his thing,
01:16and I got to leave the table for five minutes or whatever
01:19and actually watch Howard Cosell do halftime highlights
01:23and dandy dawn and, you know, turn out the lights,
01:26the party's over, and the whole thing.
01:27Yeah, and Howard did all that extemporaneously, too.
01:30No preparation whatsoever.
01:32And just the voice and the clarity and just the excitement
01:36that, you know, that he would bring.
01:39So that's what I wanted to be.
01:40But now that I'm really into football and, you know,
01:42you break down film like you do, I want to be you, Cosell.
01:46Oh, that's nice to hear.
01:49You're probably the only one, but thank you.
01:51No, it's a big deal around here, Greg,
01:54because that's why the rest of us look forward to Wednesday
01:56because we get to talk to you.
01:58The other six days of the week,
02:00Dibs is like scratching things out on paper trying to be you.
02:04And it's just we're excited when you join us
02:08on the River Islands guest line,
02:09and we can talk to actually you and not the fake you.
02:12Oh, wow.
02:12Well, it's funny because there's so much from watching tape
02:14that just requires people to see that it's hard to get into.
02:19And when I watch, because I'm fascinated by football,
02:22because to me, because I didn't play in high school
02:24growing up in Queens because my high school
02:26didn't have a football team, so I played basketball and baseball.
02:29So I find football to be an academic
02:33and intellectual experience.
02:35So that's the way I see it when I watch.
02:37And so much of that you can't really just talk about,
02:39let's say, in a 15-minute segment because, you know,
02:42fans can't see it.
02:43So, you know, I've tried to learn how to talk about things
02:46beyond just the obvious, like, well, they've got to run the ball.
02:49You know, I tried to go beyond all that, you know,
02:51to the point, though, where I hope that fans can at least,
02:54you know, take more in than just the obvious cliche stuff.
02:58Okay, so then how would you describe the experience
03:00of watching a 44-year-old grandpa play quarterback last week?
03:05Well, you know, it's funny.
03:07I mean, obviously, even at the end of his career,
03:10which ended in 2020, he couldn't throw it very well.
03:13But the thing that stood out to me watching Rivers
03:16from this past Sunday, and obviously he still can't throw it very well.
03:19That's not a profound statement.
03:21But the two things about Rivers that remain from his past
03:24and that were very evident watching the tape
03:26is that he sees the field with clarity,
03:29and he's an aggressive thrower willing to throw it into windows.
03:32That's who he was as a player.
03:34And there was always a toughness to Phillip Rivers.
03:38He's going to be a very fascinating discussion, guys,
03:40and now it's going to be five more years further down the road.
03:44But he's going to be a fascinating discussion for the Hall of Fame
03:46because obviously he didn't, you know, win a championship game.
03:50He didn't get to a Super Bowl.
03:52I know there are people who we all would respect greatly
03:56that think he was a better quarterback than Eli Manning,
03:59but he does not have two Super Bowl.
04:01You know, he doesn't have any Super Bowl appearances.
04:02But you saw that immediately when I watched the tape.
04:06But he just can't get the ball out.
04:08You know, I mean, everything has to be short, short, intermediate.
04:12But you even saw just watching the game and then watching the tape.
04:16And I never try to figure out, by the way,
04:17what quarterbacks are doing at the line of scrimmage
04:20when they're doing a lot of gestures and talking
04:22because, you know, you never know.
04:24So I don't spend a lot of time with that.
04:26You know, the people who act like they know, they don't know.
04:29But there's no question he's a guy that orchestrates,
04:31controls the game before the snap.
04:34In many ways, in his prime, he was just like Peyton Manning.
04:37He just wasn't spoken about that way.
04:40But he controlled the game at the line of scrimmage.
04:42And you watch the game against Seattle,
04:44and I'm looking at the numbers, 4.4 yards per attempt.
04:49How much of the just check down city are they doing with Phillip Rivers?
04:53And is that what the Niners should be expecting come Monday night?
04:56Well, the big question is, you know,
04:59if you're Robert Sala with your corners, Lenore and Green,
05:02you know, do you want to, you know, sit on routes?
05:04Because it's not likely that he's going to be throwing deep balls.
05:08Now, obviously, he can probably still throw a fade ball,
05:10which is not an arm-strength throw.
05:12But, you know, clearly he's not going to sit in the pocket for three seconds,
05:17get late in the down, and drive the ball down the field.
05:21That's not really going to happen.
05:22And I think the throw that was his deepest air yards throw was the interception
05:26at the end of the game when you had to try to push the ball down the field
05:30because you had to get into field goal range.
05:32But other than that, I mean,
05:34his best play and throw was probably 17 yards to Warren near,
05:39I believe it was near the end of the first half,
05:41where he clearly understood what the defense was doing,
05:45and he threw it into a void, a zone void, and it was a 17-yard play.
05:50But it's a, just by necessity, because of his limitations,
05:55it's a limited pass game.
05:57It's a condensed pass game would be the better word.
05:59Here's what I'd love to know from the perspective of the 49ers defense.
06:04Does Phillip Rivers having an inability to really bring a downfield game,
06:09does that allow the 49ers to load the box?
06:14In other words, does Phillip Rivers' presence help the 49ers with Jonathan Taylor?
06:20It should.
06:21Now, here's something that's fascinating.
06:23Mike McDonald, who, as you guys know,
06:25is one of the bright young coaches in the league as a head coach,
06:28but also an outstanding defensive coach,
06:30the pass game approach he took versus Rivers and the Colts
06:33was to just rush with his four-man D line,
06:37which, by the way, is very good,
06:38particularly on the inside with Williams and Murphy,
06:41and play with seven in coverage,
06:43but he played a much higher percentage of man coverage
06:47than has been the Seahawks' MO all season.
06:50So what he decided to do,
06:53because he's not been a high-percentage man-to-man defensive coach this year,
06:57McDonald, I'm speaking about,
06:58is he decided in this game against those receivers and Rivers
07:02to play a lot more man coverage.
07:04Now, I don't know what Robert Sala will do,
07:06whether he believes that his corners and safeties as well,
07:11because they do factor in, can they do that?
07:14But I think for sure you can get people into the box.
07:18Obviously, you study that run game in detail.
07:21You see the kinds of runs they like.
07:23They're pretty diverse as a run team with Taylor,
07:28but the great thing about what McDonald did is
07:32the longest Taylor run in that game was 11 yards.
07:35There were no explosive runs.
07:37That's what you have to prevent.
07:38You have to prevent the explosive runs.
07:41And that's something the Niners didn't do against Tennessee,
07:43and I wonder what you saw on the tape,
07:45where Pollard had some explosives.
07:47Are the Niners just getting pushed off the ball,
07:50especially in that interior?
07:53Well, it's funny you mention that,
07:54because there was one run in particular
07:56that posed some problems in the game for them,
07:58and that's a run that we call duo,
08:00where there's two double teams on the defensive tackles,
08:04and then you push back and you go to the second level.
08:07And they had some issues with that.
08:08Their tackles did get pushed back a bit,
08:10and Pollard obviously had a couple of runs that were longer,
08:15but I'm talking about even the six, seven, eight-yard runs,
08:17because those are the runs that really matter.
08:19Those are the runs, you know,
08:21if that's what happens with Jonathan Taylor,
08:23even if he's not breaking a 30-yarder,
08:25and Rivers can be somewhat consistently in the second and fours
08:30and the third and threes,
08:31then the fact that he doesn't have the big arm
08:33becomes less of an issue,
08:35because he doesn't have to drive the ball down the field
08:37in those situations.
08:39Is he probably, like, did you see him,
08:41he's a smart guy,
08:43and he's never been good,
08:45you know, he's never been a mobile guy to begin with.
08:48Like, I wonder about the Niners' pass rush.
08:50They're on pace to obliterate,
08:52and this is a bad thing,
08:54the record for the least sacks in a season
08:57by a 49er team,
08:59but they're going up against somebody
09:01who wasn't mobile when he was 25,
09:03and now he's 44.
09:05Like, how do you see that matchup this week?
09:07Yeah, well, that's going to be interesting
09:08as to how Robert Sala chooses to play it, guys.
09:10Does he choose to just rush four and play coverage?
09:13Does he choose to increase his pressure frequency?
09:17They played with a backup right tackle last week,
09:20a rookie, Jalen Travis from Iowa State,
09:22who I personally liked a lot coming out,
09:24but he played right tackle for the Colts.
09:26Their starting left tackle, Raymond,
09:27got hurt in the first half, I believe,
09:30and they ended up playing with a backup left tackle,
09:33so I didn't look at the, you know,
09:34it's only Wednesday, and it's a Monday night game,
09:36so you're not going to necessarily get
09:38a lot of the injury reports yet,
09:40so I don't know the status of that,
09:42but they could be playing
09:43with two backup offensive tackles,
09:45the Colts, that is,
09:46and then you have to decide,
09:48can we win one-on-one?
09:49Can Huff win one-on-one?
09:51You know, how are we going to attack?
09:54You know, that to me is a big question
09:56for Robert Sala,
09:57who obviously knows more about defense
09:59and his players than I do.
10:01And on the other side of the ball,
10:02DeForest Buckner is a maybe at best,
10:05and they're already down both of their corners
10:07with Sauce being out
10:08and Mooney Ward not playing as well,
10:10and coming off of Brock Purdy's game,
10:12just going back a little bit, Greg,
10:13what did you see from Brock?
10:15Because Mark and I were both thinking
10:16that that might have been his best game of the year.
10:20Yeah, and I was just so really disappointed,
10:22and I guess we're not going to know the answer
10:24to this about Ricky Pearsall
10:25getting hurt on his last catch of the game,
10:27which ended up being the catch that,
10:29you know, I don't want to say it sealed the game,
10:31but it was obviously a big catch,
10:32so I guess we're not going to know that,
10:35so we won't really discuss that,
10:36other than the fact that I thought
10:37Pearsall looked great.
10:39And, you know, it's funny,
10:40when I was watching the tape
10:41before I really knew what his injury was,
10:44I was thinking of you guys,
10:45because every week you ask me,
10:46you know, what about Ricky Pearsall?
10:48And he kind of looked okay, didn't you think?
10:52He looked great.
10:53He looked fantastic.
10:54Yeah, he's fantastic.
10:56I think everybody's got the same question,
10:58which is just,
11:00and I never know if this is bad luck,
11:02or if a player should be held accountable
11:03for this in some sort of a way,
11:05but he's got to find a way to stay healthy, I guess.
11:07That's everyone's question.
11:08Yeah, you just never know.
11:10So we're not going to know the answer to that.
11:11You know, obviously a lot of people say,
11:14well, they should sit him down
11:15and, you know, get healthy for the playoffs.
11:16By the way, there's no guarantee of anything right now
11:19with three games to go.
11:20So, and coaches and players don't think that way.
11:22If he gets cleared, he's going to play.
11:24And we're not going to know that.
11:25So let's not discuss it.
11:26But getting back to Purdy,
11:28you know, I thought Purdy was really sharp.
11:30I love what they do with motion.
11:33I love the way it creates things.
11:35You know, he was outstanding on third down.
11:38He was nine for 10 for 95 yards and touchdowns.
11:42Seven of the nine completions resulted in first downs.
11:46You know how good they were overall in first down
11:48and allowed on third down, excuse me.
11:51They controlled the ball for more than 37 minutes
11:53because of that.
11:55I just thought it was a really, really efficient game.
11:59And the thing you saw with Purdy,
12:00and, you know, again, when Mac Jones played
12:02and everybody was like Mac Jones versus Purdy,
12:05blah, blah, blah, because Mac played well, no question.
12:07But you saw the movement that Purdy brings to the table.
12:10He's just a better athlete.
12:12He can make plays with his legs.
12:15You know, so, you know, look, Purdy's been back for four games.
12:18They won all four.
12:19Obviously, he had the one game where he threw the three picks
12:21on Monday night.
12:22We talked about that then.
12:24But for the most part, I think he's been pretty sharp.
12:26Greg Cosell, NFL Films,
12:28with his weekly visit here on Willard and Dibs.
12:31I'm glad the name Mac Jones came up.
12:32I have an off-the-beaten-path kind of a question.
12:34There's a report out there that there are some teams
12:39that might kind of be good fits
12:42or knock on the door of Mac Jones in the offseason.
12:46And in light of Daniel Jones' injury,
12:49the Colts may still want Daniel long-term,
12:51but they're going to need to figure something out short-term.
12:54So I wondered if you think that Mac Jones' skill set
12:58would be a good fit with the Colts next year.
13:02Well, it's funny because of what's happened
13:06in the NFL this week, the guy I think would be the best fit
13:09would be Mike McDaniel in Miami.
13:12Interesting.
13:12Because it's a very similar offense, obviously.
13:17You know, now, you know, McDaniel obviously was with Kyle
13:21for years and years and years.
13:23So he certainly knows the Kyle Shanahan offense
13:26extremely well.
13:27We know he's a run-game savant.
13:28But even in the pass game, I'm sure the concepts
13:31are very, very similar in the way they're taught.
13:34And who knows what they're going to do with Tua.
13:36They can't cut him.
13:37I read today that if they cut him,
13:39it's a $99 million cap to hit.
13:42So he's going to end up being, you know,
13:45I'm sure a backup, I would think.
13:46We'll see what they do.
13:48You know, and someone like Mac Jones,
13:50who is not going to be getting $50 million a year
13:54to sign a contract.
13:54I mean, so, you know, he could be available in that regard.
14:00But, you know, Shane Steichen's a very interesting guy.
14:03He's, without going into detail,
14:05he really understood how to get the best out of Jalen Hurts.
14:09I think he knows how to get the best out of quarterbacks
14:12that have different skill sets.
14:14You know, in other words, he's not one of those coaches
14:16that here's the way I do it and you've got to fit it.
14:20I think he's one of those guys that looks at the traits
14:23and skill sets and attributes of the quarterback
14:25and says, here's what he is, here's what he isn't,
14:29and I'm going to make sure that I play to his strengths
14:32and minimize his limitations.
14:34I think Shane Steichen's really good at that.
14:36Anthony Richardson has an outside chance of being cleared.
14:39If he is, Greg, what do you see from him on tape
14:43that is positive?
14:44And, I mean, certainly, based on that noise,
14:48I don't know if you sneezed, because I'm tight,
14:50but positives and negatives of Richardson.
14:52This is not an Anthony Richardson knock
14:54in any way, shape, or form, but, you know,
14:56as I've done this, and just because of my background,
14:59I'm a quarterback guy.
15:00I love studying quarterbacks.
15:02I love talking to coaches about quarterbacks.
15:04You know, coaches ask me my opinion about quarterbacks
15:06because they know the kind of work I put in.
15:09And the thing that is tiring to me now,
15:12and I fell into this when I started years ago
15:15because it's easy to, and then I just kept learning more.
15:18I get tired of hearing that a quarterback has great traits
15:22because he can throw it hard and run fast because I don't think
15:26that any coach who's really a good offensive coach
15:30and quarterback coach would say those two things anywhere near
15:34the top of the list in evaluating and discussing quarterbacks.
15:38Those are, you know, and that's what Richardson is
15:41at this moment in time.
15:42Now, again, he's a young kid.
15:44I don't know Anthony Richardson.
15:46I don't know his work ethic.
15:47I don't know anything about him, but he's very young,
15:50and he was drafted high because people saw the fact that he's 6'5",
15:53250, or maybe even more, but he's an unbelievable athlete,
15:58the way we think of athlete, you know, and he can throw it hard
16:02and throw it far, and he can run fast.
16:04But as far as the nuanced, subtle, detailed traits
16:09of playing the position, he would have a very long way to go.
16:12Greg, I'm still trying to get a read on what the Colts' defense is.
16:19Like, in a general sense, who have they been this year?
16:22What are their weak points that the 49ers can attack?
16:26Yeah, well, they've had issues with injuries
16:28and who they've had to play on the back end.
16:32You know, they're a team like, for instance, last week,
16:34and again, I don't know their injury situation.
16:37Mekhi Blackman played every snap at outside corner.
16:40They played this kid, Edwards, who's been in and played at times
16:43through this season.
16:44He played the higher percentage of snaps at the other outside corner position,
16:48with Mitchell getting some snaps as well.
16:51We know Kenny Moore has been in the league for a long time,
16:54still a solid slot corner.
16:56I really like their safeties, guys.
16:58Nick Cross and Cam Bynum, I think they're a really good safety tandem.
17:03But, you know, and at linebacker, they've got Zahir Franklin,
17:06who every year is among the top five in tackles, just a really solid, good player.
17:12They brought in, because of Lou Anoramo being there,
17:15they brought in Jermaine Pratt, who Lou had in Cincinnati.
17:19So he's now starting with Pratt.
17:21Another, excuse me, with Franklin, he's another solid player.
17:25Up front, they play a lot of people.
17:28So, you know, they mix and match.
17:31Lot, too, they drafted in the first round a couple years ago.
17:33I think he can become a really good pass rusher.
17:37He's probably not quite there yet.
17:40But, you know, so they got to, you know, it's the back end at corner,
17:44not at safety, at corner, that's questionable right now.
17:47When you look at their front seven, they've been really good against the run most of the year.
17:51I know a lot of that was with DeForest Buckner,
17:53but how does that match up with a Niner team that has really struggled to run the ball this year?
17:57Yeah, the Niners' run game has been interesting because it's been a struggle,
18:03but it hasn't been terrible.
18:05You know what I mean?
18:05It's like you watch some teams like Seattle is really struggling to run the ball.
18:09When I look at the Niners, you know, early in the season, maybe the first month,
18:13I would say they struggled.
18:15But I would say recently it's become a little more not a struggle, certainly not explosive,
18:20but they're grinding out hard yards, you know, so they're able to at least run the ball,
18:26sustain, not be in a ton of third and longs.
18:29You just haven't seen, you know, McCaffrey break any, you know,
18:32and I'm sure people then think, well, he's lost a step.
18:35You know, I don't know what that means, but he still, I'll tell you what, he gets hard yards.
18:40He is a hard, hard runner, and, you know, they're able to sustain.
18:46They're not stuck with a lot of third and nines.
18:48Greg, you were talking earlier about the Seattle defense.
18:51I'd love to jump off of the Niners for a second, ask you about tomorrow night,
18:55and sort of see what you think about potentially what the Rams are dealing with
19:00if they've got no Devontae Adams and the matchup against that Seattle defense.
19:06Well, you know, it's fascinating because since week seven,
19:09the Rams have played 41% of their offensive snaps with three tight ends.
19:15But one of the games in which they did not play with a high percentage of three tight ends
19:20was against Seattle week 11.
19:22But, of course, they had Devontae Adams.
19:24And if Adams is clearly out, which I think he will be, I don't know if it's been officially announced,
19:28but if it's a hamstring, I can't imagine him playing four days later.
19:32Then we'll see if they choose to play as high a percentage with three tight ends.
19:37You know, I think they might because they wouldn't have Devontae Adams.
19:41So, and I really like Seattle's defense a lot.
19:46They're not a high percentage blitz defense, yet they pressure the quarterback at a really high rate.
19:52They play a good amount of zone coverage on the back end.
19:55They're a big nickel defense.
19:57They play big nickel with Nick Emanwari at safety, the third safety,
20:01and he's been a great player for them, a rookie, really good player.
20:06And they play dime.
20:07So they play big nickel and they play dime.
20:09That's what they play.
20:10And they're really good up front.
20:12Ernest Jones has been really good at linebacker.
20:17And they're just a really good defense.
20:20Good players playing well.
20:22Good scheme.
20:23You know, not high pressure scheme, but a good scheme.
20:26I like watching them.
20:27They're fun to watch.
20:28And I tell you what, they got guys who play with a swagger like Witherspoon, Devin Witherspoon.
20:33You know, he's one of those tempo setters.
20:34He plays with a swagger.
20:35Adams has officially been listed as doubtful for tomorrow night.
20:40So maybe, I mean, you know, now that Greg, Greg Cosell, NFL films, but he has also over the last month become one of America's most foremost handicappers.
20:49Greg Stradamus.
20:49And so maybe we could find out about tomorrow night, which matters a lot to Niner fans, and Monday night.
20:58Come on, what's the big pick, Greg?
21:00I can't do tomorrow night.
21:01It's one of those games.
21:03That's a hard one.
21:04Then I'm just, you know, throwing you know what against the wall.
21:06I'm just guessing.
21:07I'm just making it up.
21:08Okay.
21:09All right.
21:09Yeah.
21:10Picks against the wall.
21:10You know, this is no knock on you guys, but I like to think I have a little more, just with what I do, like some relative integrity about it.
21:20I don't want to just guess on who's going to win a game.
21:22No, no.
21:22You're actually on a show right now that has no integrity, Greg.
21:25Yeah.
21:25And a show that constantly makes guesses.
21:28And, yeah, I mean, the pick, Greg, is the under 42 and a half.
21:32We both know that.
21:33Does that mean that they think they're going to score less combined than 42 and a half?
21:39Is that what that means?
21:39It sure does.
21:40Yeah, that's what the indication would be.
21:42Okay.
21:44Yeah, I don't know any of that stuff that involves betting, so that's why I asked.
21:48A couple of really good defenses, right?
21:50Yeah.
21:50Some good defenses, no doubt.
21:52Yeah, although, you know.
21:54Go ahead.
21:55No, Greg, I was going to say, real quick, before you go, and maybe instead of a pick, how about,
22:01should the Niners put in a claim on Matthew Judon released today by the Dolphins?
22:07What do you still see in him at age 33?
22:10I haven't seen a ton of that defense this year, although they've played extremely well over the last month,
22:15by the way, extremely well from what I have seen.
22:19The fact that they released Judon tells me that they don't think he has much left.
22:23Now, again, you know, like I said, I haven't studied him as an individual,
22:27so I can't really answer that.
22:29But, you know, obviously they have a pro personnel department that studied him in detail.
22:36We'll see if they feel he still has something.
22:39And sometimes you just need bodies.
22:40I mean, sometimes you just need bodies at a position, and they may feel we want to bring in a body.
22:46And, you know, if he can play 15 good snaps, that's okay.
22:49But, you know, I don't know exactly where Judon stands right now in his, you know, with his age
22:54and obviously his declining number of snaps.
22:57All right, there it is.
22:58Greg Cosell says put all the Christmas cash on a Seahawks-Niners parlay prime time coming up this week.
23:05Yeah, that's how we're going to do it.
23:07Hey, Greg, great to have you as well.
23:09And happy holidays to you.
23:12I don't know if we get to talk to you next week.
23:14Well, maybe we can figure something out, because how can I get through a week without talking to you guys?
23:18I think a Tuesday Cosell could be in order.
23:21Oh, yeah.
23:21I think so.
23:22Yep.
23:22Let's talk it out, Greg.
23:25All right, guys.
23:25Appreciate it.
23:26Thanks so much.
23:27All right.
23:27There he goes.
23:27Greg Cosell, NFL Phil.
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