- 8 months ago
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00:00The Niner offense, good enough.
00:03The defense, not good enough.
00:06They're here.
00:07We're here.
00:08We're two weeks away from everybody knowing their seed,
00:11and the Niners are one of two teams that completely control their own.
00:16That's just a fact.
00:18Whatever the schedule's been and whatever got us here.
00:20Matt and San Rafael, you're first.
00:22Hi, Matt.
00:22Thanks for calling.
00:25Hey, guys.
00:25How's it going?
00:26What's up?
00:26Yeah, I mean, I think this defense, obviously, far from being Houston
00:33or even, you know, the Niner defense from, you know, 2019,
00:38but this defense has proven to be pretty serviceable.
00:43And if the offense right now going into the playoffs is playing at this level,
00:47putting up 30-plus,
00:49and everybody on the offense is still available come playoff time,
00:52I think there are way less teams in the playoffs.
00:57That can hold the Niners to less than 30 than can score over 30 on us,
01:03if that makes sense.
01:04I think the chances of us being held to under 30 points are next to nothing,
01:11barring Houston.
01:12And then you look around the league,
01:14I don't think there's a lot of teams that are threatening to outscore the
01:17Niners even with our defense.
01:18So, that being said, I think the chances are great as long as this defense doesn't
01:23start to spiral into a level below where it's at right now.
01:27But they're playing well enough, and then you throw in maybe a late return from
01:30Fred Warner.
01:31That's a shot in the arm that you can't quantify.
01:34So, I like it moving into the playoffs right now.
01:37I feel like everything is moving in the right direction.
01:39Matt, thanks.
01:40I tend to agree.
01:43I think we'll learn more, obviously, in the next, what is it, 12 days.
01:47We'll learn more and see how they look against two other teams who are going to
01:53be in this dance with them, and quarterbacks who have largely had good years.
01:58They're not the greatest of quarterbacks, but Caleb Williams and Sam Darnold have
02:02certainly done some things.
02:03I tend to agree, but I also think this Niner situation, it wasn't built to be this
02:11way, but maybe the timing is good.
02:13Because this is just kind of the NFL now.
02:16When you watch Jacksonville go to Denver and rock 31 at mile high.
02:22Didn't Lawrence have five touchdowns?
02:24In the other game, he had six.
02:26Yeah, that was the week before.
02:27But when you see that, and Denver is one of the teams that has been lauded as a
02:33defensive juggernaut, people love to fawn over the Rams defense and the Seahawks
02:37defense, but the last time I saw those two play, I believe the final score was 39-38.
02:44So, who the hell out there is really doing that?
02:49Where they're just like, we're going to ride our defense all the way to the end.
02:52The answer is very quick.
02:54It's Houston, and then the conversation ends.
02:56Because I'd put Seattle up there, too.
02:58I wouldn't.
02:58I'm just looking at the stat.
03:00That's a stat.
03:01The percentage of drives that end in a score.
03:05Houston's defense, you only score on them 26% of the time.
03:08They're the league leaders.
03:10And if you go all the way down to the bottom, it's the Cowboys at 50.
03:12Half the drives against the Cowboys result in points.
03:16Number two on this list is Seattle.
03:18Only 30% of their drives, they give up points.
03:21The Niners are 12th, but the Rams are 4th, and the Bears are 9th.
03:25And so, Philadelphia is 7th.
03:27These other teams you may be facing in the playoffs, they have defenses that are among the top 10 in this one category.
03:34And I think this category is an important one because you don't want the other team to score on you.
03:38Yeah, no, absolutely.
03:39I'm not trying to say that Seattle doesn't have, in today's NFL, a good defense.
03:45I don't think it's a defense that's just going to be like, hey, let's put you on our back and let's take you all the way to the end.
03:52Because when they go up against an elite offense, I believe that elite offense will kind of look like an elite offense.
03:59The same way Matt Stafford and Puka Nakua absolutely destroyed them in their building just last week.
04:08So, I know the Rams are really good.
04:11I get that.
04:12But Seattle's got a great resume this year.
04:16There's no two ways about it.
04:18But I do think they can be had when they're going up against an elite offense.
04:23Seattle's schedule this year, if people want to do that to the Niners, I don't.
04:30I think leave the schedule subject alone.
04:33But Seattle has mirrored the 49ers in terms of the number of elite quarterbacks they have to face.
04:39It's actually, I know they didn't have a fourth place schedule.
04:42They might as well have.
04:44It's kind of the same thing.
04:46They faced Baker Mayfield.
04:47They faced Trevor Lawrence.
04:49They faced C.J. Stroud.
04:50All that same stuff.
04:51They faced Aaron Rodgers.
04:53If you want to talk about the quarterbacking greats, they faced Matt Stafford.
05:00That's it.
05:01I mean, if you want to put Brock on the list, they faced him in week one.
05:04He got hurt halfway through the game.
05:06It was a low-scoring, grinded-out game.
05:08But I think there are a few offenses, Niners, Rams, Bills, maybe a couple others,
05:16that I just think they're going to move the ball against almost anybody they face.
05:19It just depends on the game flow and certainly the location and also the situation.
05:25And I think about the second game between the Niners and the Rams where the Rams just came out and popped you twice.
05:31And Juwan had the fumble and all of a sudden you're down 21-0.
05:34And half of that laminated play sheet for Kyle Shanahan was useless because you're chasing the game early.
05:40So I think it's so important for the 49ers especially to be in front and to be able to dictate the game flow.
05:48And that's where the Seattle one is going to be interesting when they play.
05:52Seattle doesn't run the ball very well.
05:53And so it'll come down to whether or not you can get to Sam Darnold, who's been up and down.
05:59Played well this last weekend, but beyond that.
06:02Good second half.
06:03Yeah, that's fine.
06:04Pretty awful first half, actually.
06:05Pretty bad, but just the way it went against Indy where they couldn't do anything.
06:09So it's a week-to-week situation.
06:11No doubt.
06:11Dale and Salinas next up.
06:13Hi, Dale.
06:14Thank you for the call.
06:15What's going on?
06:17Well, just taking veterans to their medical appointments and driving back home now.
06:22And I got a quick Warriors comment that I think you guys need to send a tape.
06:27I don't know if Dibbs knows what a real-to-real tape is.
06:29But you need a big tape of this radio station in the last few days to show the Celtics owner that there is fan frenzy out here.
06:39Even at the time, I was only 13 and 15.
06:43That's a good point.
06:44That's a good point, Dale.
06:47Yeah, thank you.
06:48My big comment and concern.
06:50Oh, Merry Christmas to you guys, too, by the way.
06:51You, too, Dale.
06:52Yeah, happy holidays, everybody.
06:55My big comment and concern coming up here against the Bears, I don't know if it seems like a lot of people here didn't watch the Bears-Packers game the other day.
07:03The Bears only got penalized three times that they went after the quarterback against the Packers.
07:08They took both quarterbacks out, basically.
07:10It's kind of like the New Orleans Saints-style defense.
07:13They were playing dirty.
07:14They were tapping the ball.
07:16They were punching after the ball was down.
07:18Nothing was getting called.
07:21I'm not sure if that's called playoff ball or just that's a Chicago-Packers game, but I think the Niners are going to have to be a little careful of that.
07:29And, you know, I was surprised the Packers didn't come back and, like, use an enforcer, but it's not like hockey.
07:35But I think the big concern I have is who's going to be taken out this game by that excessively aggressive defense the Bears have.
07:43That's an interesting comment, Dale.
07:45And, I mean, I've watched a lot of all of these teams this year, and I always do.
07:50Like, sure, are there teams that can flex a little bit more physicality than others?
07:55Maybe.
07:56I always think it's interesting when people talk about physicality, though, and enforcers and dirty play in the NFL.
08:03I just don't think that the opposite even exists.
08:06Like, every play is dirty.
08:08There is so much.
08:09Oh, there's dirty, and then there's trying to hurt a guy dirty.
08:11Right.
08:11I don't see that.
08:13I don't think the Chicago Bears are trying to hurt anybody.
08:15I think that football, when played really well, and when guys, especially at the end of the year, are ignited by the fact that something has worked, they get to 10 wins, 11 wins, 12 wins, they can start smelling the playoffs come together, they realize that something special is on the line, and they are playing with every single bit that they've got.
08:34And it is a violent, maniacal situation out there.
08:38So, yes, the Bears will do that, and there's probably somebody named Dale in Chicago or a suburb today calling up to one of the Chicago radio stations and saying the same thing about the 49ers, who have always been a very physical bunch.
08:56Troy Aikman talked about them last night and said the 49ers, like, there's a standard, there's a standard of effort and physicality that you have to meet to play for this team, and he goes, and I see everybody doing it, even the backups who have been thrown in there.
09:12So, like, I get it, but I don't worry about that.
09:16The Niners will be ready for that.
09:17The Bears need to be ready for that.
09:19These are two good football teams.
09:20Yeah, and if you're the Niners, you just got to try to protect the ball because the Bears have 31 takeaways this year.
09:26That's two a game.
09:27They lead the NFL in takeaways and in turnover percentage, which is drives on your defense that end with you turning them over.
09:34One in every five, they get a turnover, 19.3%.
09:38And quietly now, the Niners are starting to generate some turnovers of their own.
09:42A couple last night, the punch out on special teams, and then the beautiful, sweet pick six.
09:48D winners just steps in front, and when he catches that, he probably looks and says,
09:52Yeah, I got 75 yards to run.
09:55I like my chances.
09:57I got three offensive linemen and a grandpa to beat.
09:59I think he said, they actually asked him about it, and he said it was one of those situations.
10:04He's like, I caught it, and I took a few steps, and I looked around, and all I could hear was my breath.
10:10Do you know those moments where, like, and I'm, I don't know.
10:13Like when you're in the flow state.
10:14Right.
10:14I don't know how many of us regular people ever experience something like this, but where, like,
10:18you just, you kind of, you kind of go to a different place, and, and you just, it's Monday night football,
10:25and you just picked off a future Hall of Fame quarterback, and you take a few steps, and you look around,
10:30and all you can see is people suddenly heading for the exits in the stands.
10:35I mean, it's got to be.
10:37Not those people in red.
10:38Yeah, exactly.
10:39It's got to be an otherworldly type of experience, and he definitely said that that's what he was feeling.
10:45Yeah, and I mean, the game was over already.
10:48There was no doubt about the result, but that was just beautiful icing on the cake,
10:52and, you know, you jump right in front, you get it, and it's like, yes, gone.
10:56Touchdown.
10:57Touchdown me.
10:58Let's get on the plane, boys.
11:00Only thing I need to beat is my own shoelaces.
11:02Yeah.
11:02And he did it.
11:03He sure did.
11:03Yeah, yeah, great stuff, man.
11:06Absolutely great stuff.
11:07888-957-9570.
11:09By the way, Brent Jones is going to join us in about an hour and a half.
11:11Okay.
11:12Yeah.
11:12You know what I'm saying?
11:13Hall of Famer.
11:14Brent Jones is going to join us here in about an hour and a half.
11:17Legend.
11:18And talk this out a little bit, but I don't know.
11:21I don't know.
11:21Maybe I'm letting my, you know, my excitement for all of this kind of lead the thought process.
11:28I was sitting there with all of you at halftime.
11:31I think all of us had the same thought.
11:34And it's sort of a microcosm of the entire year.
11:38The Niners are winning.
11:40Brock and the offense are humming.
11:42And you're sitting there kind of on your hands, on the couch, like, hmm, but I don't really like, I don't like this process.
11:51This is not the way it looks.
11:53It's not the way it's supposed to look.
11:5544-year-old grandpa is just going up and down the field, hitting wide open receivers, standing by themselves.
12:00Guys named Pierce.
12:01Yeah.
12:01That does not feel like something that is going to transfer to when Matt Stafford or Jalen Hurts are on the other side of the field.
12:12But then again, right?
12:16Here we are.
12:18And those teams, too, have had their wobbly, weird moments.
12:22You know, the Rams.
12:24What did the Rams do the last three weeks?
12:26Matt Stafford, Carolina, two picks, you lose.
12:30Big lead right there in Seattle, Thursday night football.
12:34You blew it.
12:35And another team you may face is Tampa Bay.
12:38And they were teed up to just go out there and handle Carolina.
12:41And that game was a little back and forth.
12:43And then Baker couldn't get it done.
12:45And that Tampa Bay offense should be scarier than it actually is.
12:49They've got a lot of pieces.
12:49So many weapons and everybody's back now and, you know, Abuka and all the rest of the receivers.
12:55And yet, you know, you go out there and you give it away, unable to close it out in Carolina.
13:00I mean, that's kind of what I'm thinking.
13:01It's like I feel if you're pointing to the Niner defense right now and saying that it's,
13:06and I don't know what word you'd use, I would use inconsistent.
13:09I'd borrow from Richard Sherman and say mediocre.
13:11Yeah.
13:12Yeah.
13:12But, like, understandably mediocre.
13:14Young and inexperienced and hampered and all of that.
13:22So, that's the word I would use.
13:24And if you want to say, dude, that's a wart for the Niners, I'd be like, yep.
13:28Now tell me the team that doesn't have a wart.
13:31Right.
13:32Can't find one.
13:32They've all got warts.
13:33Can't find one.
13:35I mean, the Rams are the closest.
13:37I think so.
13:38To being wartless.
13:40But their wart is one of the big Niner warts last year, which is their special teams keeps
13:45kicking themselves in the butt.
13:46Yeah.
13:47Which is scary.
13:49That's a problem.
13:49And they've got their No. 2 receiver who's out, and we don't know if he's going to be back.
13:53And that's kind of Philadelphia's wart.
13:54Other than the internal tension that seems to exist, they've had a lot of injuries in Philadelphia.
14:00And, you know, your center retired last year.
14:03So, they're another team, I think, that should be scarier than they actually are right now.
14:07One other wart for the Rams I forgot.
14:09I forgot after the Niners won last night.
14:12You know what one of the warts for the Rams is?
14:14No.
14:15They're a third place football team.
14:16Wow.
14:17They'll get that third place schedule next year, though.
14:20It's actually kind of scary.
14:22Yeah, it is.
14:23Most people think they're the best team in the NFL.
14:26They're in third place in their own division.
14:28It's crazy.
14:29What are we doing?
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