- 2 days ago
Willard and Dibs debate if the 49ers can move the ball without Mike Evans. Does this mean that they need to be aggressive on the trade market now?
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00:00Is this fair or foul?
00:03And I know, to me, it's the narrative of the week.
00:05And I think it's foul.
00:07But here's the idea that we're now going to run with.
00:11The Niners can't move the ball without Mike Evans.
00:13For me, the reason I say it's foul is because it's just too quick to come to that conclusion.
00:23I'm not cool with your 6-0, and obviously you've been able to move the ball,
00:30I don't want to say at will, but pretty well most of the year.
00:34You know what I mean?
00:34Seattle obviously did some things.
00:37And then in the second half yesterday, things got bogged down.
00:40You had a couple three-and-outs there.
00:42I don't really count the one at the end.
00:43That's the way it's all built to be in the four-minute drill,
00:46even though there was less than four minutes left to go in the game.
00:49So, okay, you had a couple three-and-outs.
00:52The earlier drive without Mike Evans, they went down the field pretty well.
00:55Got three points out of it.
00:57Kyle addressed that.
00:59I'm not saying that it looked great, and I get it.
01:02Mike Evans deserves tons of credit for where this 49er offense is right now.
01:08But for me, it's a little quick to take the game situation that existed yesterday
01:14and at halftime what felt like a Niner win.
01:17It felt like that thing was over at halftime.
01:21So, I don't know.
01:23Did the Niners fall into that trap a little bit with regard to time and score and situation?
01:31Okay, I can get into that.
01:34It's too quick for me to say that this team now is going to struggle to move the ball without
01:41Mike Evans.
01:41I think we're going to get a chance to see it.
01:43That's the thing, and it's a small sample, and obviously you were in a situation where you had the one
01:49drive,
01:49and you mentioned it.
01:50You got a field goal out of it.
01:51You went from your 21.
01:53You went 65 yards down, and you had to settle for a field goal.
01:57Third down, they made a play.
01:58They tipped a pass, and you got the kick.
02:00Eddie made it, thankfully.
02:01It turned out to be something that made a lot of us feel good.
02:05It's pretty important.
02:0623-3.
02:07You're thinking, okay, go ahead and get a stop and get maybe another field goal and salt this thing away.
02:12But it was when they got the ball back the other two times that they were unable to move it,
02:16and they were trying to throw it.
02:18So, we'll see.
02:19If they go into Atlanta without Mike Evans, and you already don't have Debo, most likely,
02:24Kirk may play.
02:25I don't know how much he would play.
02:28Even if he comes back, it'd be his first action.
02:31So, if your receivers are Kirk and Watkins and Cowing, and I guess some of those other guys.
02:39Malik Turner.
02:39Thank you, Malik Turner.
02:40Malik Turner, Brandon Cooks.
02:42There you have it.
02:42Yeah.
02:43If that is your receiving core, well, you're not allowed to score zero points.
02:47It'll be interesting to see how he formulates a game plan and how they approach going about it offensively.
02:53And what is it that he said about Demarcus Robinson last week?
02:56Did he say out loud that he thought it was going to be after the bye?
03:00Or is Demarcus a possibility for the game against the Falcons?
03:06He said that it was doubtful.
03:09Grandy, see if you can pull that for us.
03:11I can't remember exactly what Kyle said about Demarcus Robinson,
03:14but I think he's no more than one more missed game away.
03:17So, that's the other way I'll say this.
03:20Look, I think the Niners are still favored this weekend, okay?
03:24It's three.
03:24It's three.
03:25On the road.
03:25Yeah, yeah.
03:26They're still favored this weekend.
03:27I don't know about what he said last week,
03:29but he did say after the game yesterday that Christian Kirk is a possibility to play next week,
03:34but he doesn't think Demarcus Robinson will be ready to come off of IR yet.
03:38Yeah, I think Robinson is the Raider game.
03:40I think Evans is going to be the Raider game.
03:43I think Debo's going to be a maybe for the Raiders game.
03:46I think Christian Kirk is probably going to – this is just my read now.
03:50I'm no expert on these injuries.
03:52But I noticed this.
03:53For example, Niner signed Brandon Cooks off the street.
03:57What did they do with him the first week?
03:59Did they sit him the first week?
04:01Sure did.
04:01And then he got up the speed and he played.
04:03So, they wanted two weeks of practice, and then they played him.
04:07Same thing with Christian Kirk.
04:09Christian Kirk practiced last week, but he pretty much missed all of camp except for one day.
04:13So, he can be in meetings, but he's not out there doing it.
04:18So, then he did it last week.
04:19It kept him deactive or inactive.
04:22And then this week, my guess is he practices again.
04:26Kyle Shanahan's going to say it's only a chance because they don't want to just assume that he's going to
04:30come out of there healthy.
04:31But if he does, I bet you'll see Christian Kirk in this game this weekend.
04:34And so, if it is Cooks and Kirk and Watkins and Cowing and Turner, can you go win a football
04:41game?
04:42We'll see how it looks.
04:45But for the other side of this conversation that I know a lot of people want to have, and we
04:50were just having with Jay in Boston,
04:52I believe the Niners will be ultra-aggressive at the trade deadline.
04:55However, I do want to, what if you acquire, in the next three and a half weeks, what if you
05:02do acquire DeForest Buckner?
05:05What if you do grab a receiver?
05:08I don't even know which one.
05:09But you also acquire Nick Bosa, Debo Samuel, Demarcus Robinson.
05:18I guess you could.
05:19Dejan Stribling.
05:20Maybe.
05:21I think Stribling's going to still be, even after the bye.
05:24You said three and a half weeks.
05:25Yeah, I get it.
05:26But I think he might be more than that.
05:27Well, and the deadline's three weeks from today.
05:29Exactly.
05:30So, in the next three weeks, what if you acquire all of those players?
05:35How are you feeling then?
05:37You're feeling good, but I still want more.
05:39Okay.
05:40And this is why.
05:40How many roster spots do you have?
05:42Well, you have as many as you need if you have good players.
05:45Like, if you get DeForest Buckner, then you have a roster spot for DeForest Buckner.
05:50Sure.
05:50And then you wait.
05:51Maybe it's Sebastian Valdez again.
05:52You play the waiting game.
05:53Although, the way he played yesterday, he almost tackled the handoff where he burst through
05:58and almost got the Daniels before he was able to give up the ball.
06:01The reason why, and this was my tease, the reason why I want them to be ultra aggressive
06:07is because when you look at this roster and you look at what they've done in this last draft,
06:12you called it a home run.
06:13I don't think you're wrong.
06:14It's early.
06:15You look at last year's draft.
06:16That's at least a ground rule double.
06:18It might be more than that.
06:20So, as you look at going forward, players that you have, controllable contracts, it's not
06:26a full-on F them picks, but if you want to think about next year and Ricky Pearsall healthy,
06:32knock on wood and stripling, and you've got maybe Debo re-signs.
06:36You still have Kittle and Williams.
06:38You have so many spots that are accounted for that, to me, right now, adding legitimate
06:44players in this window where you might be on a Super Bowl track, long way to go, it would
06:50be worth the risk for me because you have so many guys that you've already drafted who
06:55will be back next year.
06:56I don't disagree.
06:56I don't disagree.
06:57And I also understand people's desire to, like, well, let's be ready for the inevitable
07:03injuries that are coming.
07:04But I do want to, again, reissue the numbers crunch that does happen.
07:11I know it's really fun.
07:12I like, again, I agree with your aggressiveness.
07:15But if the 49ers, let's take Jay's, you know, trade idea that he threw out, and he wants
07:20to start tossing around early draft picks for Garrett Wilson.
07:23And we've done this exercise before.
07:25I still would like to know what a Niner fan would want to do if, come, let's call it
07:31week, I don't know, 12.
07:33How about that?
07:33Come week 12, you have acquired Garrett Wilson at the trade deadline.
07:38And Mike Evans is ready to go.
07:41And Demarcus Robinson is back.
07:44And Christian Kirk is playing.
07:46And Debo Samuel is back.
07:50And Dajon Stribling is also ready to go.
07:54So, like, what do you do?
07:57What, like, what does the coaching staff do if you've got, I don't know, eight healthy,
08:05like proven?
08:06Six.
08:07I mean, like, you're not including, well, you're not including cowing and Watkins.
08:11No, I'm not.
08:12I'm not including cowing and Watkins.
08:14And I don't know, at that point, how proven would Kirk be?
08:17You look at Evans and Debo.
08:20He's a proven receiver.
08:21Christian Kirk is a proven receiver in this league.
08:24Okay, but not in this system.
08:25And he hasn't been able to play.
08:26So, you really don't know what you're going to get from Christian Kirk.
08:29You look at Evans and Debo.
08:31Yes, they are locks in that scenario.
08:34And depending on how a Garrett Wilson, for example, how does he fit?
08:39How does he factor into the system?
08:41And Dajon Stribling, well, he's coming off a very serious injury.
08:44So, even when he's ready, you can slow play him to the point where make sure he's absolutely ready.
08:51Or if somebody catches a hangnail or if somebody's really not playing great, it gives you flexibility.
08:57And for me, the cowing and Watkins piece of it is, you guys, you know, you're wide receivers 7 and
09:038.
09:04I'm not worried about those two guys at all.
09:05I'm with you there.
09:06I'm with you there.
09:07And if you want to, look, if what you're suggesting is you want to be willing to redshirt Dajon Stribling,
09:12okay.
09:13Like, I hear your point.
09:14I don't agree.
09:15But I hear your point.
09:18Yeah.
09:18I just, I want to throw that out there for everybody who's hot after a wide receiver.
09:23Like, just keep in mind, they've got one game to play in the next, what, basically almost three weeks.
09:33They've got one football game.
09:35I don't think there's anybody that you can acquire and get them up to speed in the five days when
09:41that game will happen.
09:42And then after that, the trade deadline will be near, but not quite here yet for your game against the
09:48Raiders.
09:49But it is entirely possible that Christian Kirk, Demarcus Robinson, Debo Samuel, and Mike Evans are all ready for that
09:55game.
09:57And you, so like, I don't think I'm going to look at those facts.
10:03Now, they know more than we do about the health track of those players.
10:06And they will be able to track all of that through the bye as the trade deadline approaches.
10:12And if there are problems with one of them, particularly Mike Evans, and you want to sacrifice an early draft
10:18pick for Garrett Wilson, I'm all ears.
10:21But if everybody's tracking toward being healthy, I just, I don't know that, like, you can't grab high-level players
10:29and then have them be, like, on standby.
10:32Well, they wouldn't be.
10:33You know what I mean?
10:33Like, we'll break glass if we need you.
10:36Brandon Cooks, to me, is the guy.
10:38He's expendable.
10:39Right, so he's expendable.
10:40If it's, you know, Debo in Mike, and then you've got Garrett Wilson, and then Demarcus Robinson, okay, that's a
10:47solid forward.
10:47If Christian Kirk is healthy and actually still pretty good, and we really don't know, you said this before, like,
10:54you know, anything you get from him is kind of a bonus.
10:56And for me, Christian Kirk is kind of a myth.
10:59But if he's able to play and play well, well, then, yeah, now you, again, have a good, solid core.
11:04You've got a great room.
11:05I'm looking at Brandon Cooks.
11:07He's got five targets on the year.
11:09Cowling has five targets on the year.
11:12Jordan Watkins has three targets on the year.
11:14So anybody that you would acquire, even if it were Jawan Jennings, let's go further down the rung.
11:20You get Jawan Jennings.
11:22He's ahead of all three of those guys automatically.
11:24Well, and I got, see, Jawan, though, is someone that I wouldn't be worried about.
11:28Like, okay, if we got to deactivate you in week 14, then fine.
11:33You're inactive.
11:34Garrett Wilson.
11:35Okay?
11:36I just, and again, I know in a Super Bowl run, nobody wants to hear about the future.
11:42And I'm with you.
11:44You know, bleep the future this year.
11:46But after this year, in theory, Stribling is back, and you hope for Pearsall as well.
11:55Mike Evans is on a multi-year deal.
11:58And then here comes Garrett Wilson.
12:01And these are the cap hits for the next four years after this year.
12:0523, 35, 36, and 38.
12:11And those escalators come right next to Brock Purdy's escalators, which start next year.
12:16And you've used two early draft picks on wide receivers the last couple of drafts.
12:22So, like.
12:22He's not the one.
12:24That's not the guy.
12:24He's not the one.
12:25You want somebody who is a little bit more seasoned and a little bit, I guess, cheaper
12:31and on a much shorter deal.
12:33Like, if you didn't have Stribling and Pearsall, then Garrett Wilson, yeah, by all means.
12:38He's the future.
12:40But you have the future already in your building.
12:42You hope.
12:43So, I think you're looking for more of a one-year guy.
12:47And I haven't run through all the contracts, but somebody more affordable.
12:51Somebody who, like you said, you come in here and, you know, play for four or five games.
12:55And if you're awesome, you get to stay up.
12:57And if you're not, well, it didn't cost us that much.
12:59I think the sizable name that actually could.
13:02But we'll see how this plays out.
13:04But the sizable name that potentially makes sense is Brian Thomas.
13:08It's not Garrett Wilson, okay?
13:11It's Brian Thomas Jr.
13:14And that's because you're dealing with a team that, first of all, he's out of favor.
13:19They have moved on.
13:21They like Parker Washington and Jacoby Myers.
13:24And so, he is now moving down the depth chart.
13:27But this is an early draft pick.
13:29And a guy who's still on a rookie deal.
13:31Who has, I think, only one more year left on that deal after this year.
13:35It's the option.
13:35Right.
13:36It's the option year.
13:37Actually, it's one year than the option.
13:38I apologize.
13:39I know that some people are ready to give up all the picks.
13:42But I can promise you Brian does not cost you a one.
13:45I don't even think he would cost you a two.
13:47He feels like a three or a four to me.
13:50And he's also still a young player who I think you tuck him next to Mike Evans.
13:56He could learn a whole hell of a lot.
13:58And hopefully, he can contribute.
14:00And if he doesn't, well, okie dokie.
14:04Do you know what I mean?
14:04Like, you can move on and get out of it.
14:07What the evaluation is of him, the fit in the system, all of that, I have no idea.
14:13But that's the kind of player, I could see that.
14:17But again, I'm still going to continue to say, like, we got to see what unfolds and develops
14:22over the next three weeks.
14:25You have one game in five days.
14:26You're going to have to go with what you got.
14:29Because you're not going to get anyone else up to speed in time.
14:32And then after that, you sit on the bye.
14:34You're checking in on everybody's health.
14:36How's Mike?
14:37How's DeMarcus?
14:38How's Debo?
14:39How's Dajon?
14:40And then as you get ready for the Raider game in three weeks, that's right before the
14:45deadline.
14:45If you want to pull the trigger before that, and you feel like it's needed, do it.
14:50If not, maybe right after the Raider game.
14:53And you see who's healthy.
14:55But, you know, this is not toilet paper during COVID.
15:00Okay?
15:01We're not filling.
15:02That got crazy.
15:02It did.
15:03I'm not filling the garage.
15:04I had to use a newspaper.
15:07I didn't.
15:07I thought it would be a funny line, though.
15:09It was funny.
15:09I laughed.
15:10We're not filling the garage with wide receivers just in case.
15:14Are we still washing groceries?
15:17Out there scrubbing down your groceries.
15:20What happened to us?
15:22So many bad things.
15:23Yeah.
15:24So many bad things.
15:24Did you do it?
15:25No.
15:26Did you never wipe groceries?
15:27Left them outside.
15:28I did it once, but it was for show.
15:30Yeah.
15:30It's because someone was watching, and I'm like, oh, yeah, we're going to wipe.
15:33We left them outside, like, oh, they're out there for an hour, and that'll do the trick.
15:38My favorite at the grocery store was that they covered up the credit card machine, right?
15:45They're like, we covered up all of the buttons with plastic.
15:49I'm like, well, now all of us are just touching the plastic.
15:52Fair.
15:53What the hell did you do?
15:54What did you do?
15:55We're just covering up what we're supposed to touch with something else that we touched.
15:59That's fair.
16:00It's like putting plastic over the banisters.
16:04Well, now I'm touching the plastic.
16:05Yeah.
16:06What are we doing?
16:07Or plastic over the furniture, you know?
16:09I remember there were footprints all over the ground.
16:11Still are in some places.
16:13Like, showing you exactly what six feet of social distancing looks like.
16:18Anyway, I digest.
16:20When I look at the situation, you go to Atlanta, and let's just say Evans doesn't play whatever,
16:25win or lose, it doesn't even matter.
16:27At that point, you can go out and trade for a receiver, bring them in, they'll have the
16:32bye week to, and I know you can't really practice, but you can have them, like, learn
16:37the system, and then you get back from the bye, and then now they can go out there and
16:41practice and hopefully learn more of the system and be somebody who can be available.
16:46But if you wait till the deadline, like you said, it's a couple-week ramp up for somebody
16:51who's not been in the system.
16:52And so then you're running into when everybody's coming back.
16:56Yeah.
16:56I guess the other thing that I would say about this, and I've said it before, I keep sort
17:01of hearing, there's like an anxiety to this, that it misses me.
17:08I'm not sure where it's coming from.
17:09I'd love to explore it a little bit.
17:11Why are 49er fans worried that the Niners seemingly don't notice that they're good, and so they
17:21won't be aggressive?
17:22When has this front office ever done that?
17:26Well, they've been aggressive, and last year I think it was just Keon White, and that was
17:30really for trinkets.
17:31It wasn't, it didn't cost them much of anything.
17:33Which I thought made sense at the time, like you were bolstering a team that, in my opinion,
17:39it was like, you want to talk about a team that I thought capped out.
17:43They maximized what they had by getting to the round two of the playoffs.
17:46That was not a team that was going to win a Super Bowl, missing Nick Bosa, Fred Warner,
17:52et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
17:54That's just, they didn't have the defense to do it.
17:56I don't think the right people were out there to change that.
17:59So that was the move they made.
18:01But again, from Trent Williams at the draft, or Christian McCaffrey at the deadline, or
18:07Emmanuel Sanders, or whatever.
18:10Like, when has this team ever, when has this regime ever just fallen asleep at the wheel
18:18during a big year?
18:19They don't do that.
18:19Exactly.
18:20And just go back to when they went to Atlanta in 2022.
18:24Falcons beat them 28-14.
18:26Niners fell to 3-3.
18:28But you felt like you had a team that was one player away.
18:32And on that day, they rushed for about 40 yards.
18:36Yeah, Wilson had 25.
18:38Debo had 11.
18:39Tevin Coleman had three.
18:41So you looked at that and thought, we're just a running back away.
18:45Let's get Christian McCaffrey for a second, third, fourth, and fifth.
18:48And so you did, and the rest is ongoing history.
18:51And that team was 3-3.
18:52And you got aggressive with four picks for McCaffrey.
18:56Can you, Kalshi, trade on anything that the Niners will be aggressive at the deadline?
19:00I'll look into it.
19:01I'm going to liquidate.
19:05Liquidate.
19:06You can do a trade on first coach to be fired in the NFL.
19:10That also won't be Kyle.
19:11It might be somebody we saw last night.
19:14You can do a trade on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach
19:14to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be
19:14fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on
19:14first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach
19:14to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be
19:14fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on
19:14first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach
19:14to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be
19:14fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on
19:14first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach
19:14to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be fired on first coach to be
19:14fired